Morning found the entire Xeneth in celebratory mood. Merasia had yet to get officially started. The maids took extra care in making my costume lighter and more elegant. Today, I was dressed in light purple to match my amethyst eyes. My hair was left open with a few head ornaments. But it was definitely the lightest of all outfits, I had tried within two days.

I still couldn't believe two days was all I had spent in this world. At least, I had managed to survive for forty-eight hours. I would be using all my pent-up luck if I managed to pull off what I had in store.

We all gathered in front of the Throne of the Sun. The Emperor was yet to arrive. I stood in the line where Consort Scarlett was the head. On my way, I bowed slightly in the direction of Consort Eliza. She nodded in a smile. I wasn't surprised to see Consort Catherine noticing the small greeting. She gritted her teeth. Gladly, the ministers were summoned to their respective seats, and she lost me in her sight. I noticed a lady in a green outfit glancing at me time to time, but I ignored her. I saw the Earl and the General walking together, earning the spotlight. Though the commoners won't participate, they would still celebrate by being the audience. Today, whoever was going to participate was going to be just a candidate regardless of status. Afterall, Xeneth was now an Empire.

And Merasia was an event that came like Hailey's comet. Once in several of decades or centuries.

The procession of the troops began with the entrance of the Emperor and the Queen Dowager. She would definitely resign from her regency today. A kingdom could have a regent but there could be only two rulers in an Empire. The Sun and the Moon of the Empire. And since, the Empress hadn't been selected yet, it only meant that the whole Empire was now under absolute monarchy under one ruler. I confirmed my assumptions when I saw the Queen Dowager with no crown or the sash, I had seen her wearing on the day of the banquet. She would most likely be the judge for the Empress candidate. The advisors, ministers in charge of departments and the four chief consorts were standing in a different crowd than us. It was good that they had made us gather under the open sky. It would have been too stifling with a thousand people inside a ball room.

The stage ahead of us was decorated with several flowers and red ribbons. I saw the flags with a lion, python and sword emblem fluttering high above the ground. There was one flag yet to be unfurled. I guessed that would be the logo for the game. The whole silence and the pattern we were standing was grandiose enough. But the decorations all over the palace, all over the Empire was overwhelming.

The Emperor stepped forward on the raised platform. The military troops went down on one knee and bowed. The General was also dressed in a gorgeous white and golden regal like the Emperor. The only difference was the red cape of the Emperor and the blue cape of the General. He came forward and gave the First Greetings. It looked more flawless than mine. I guessed it was most probably his aura that made things different. The Emperor waved his hand. He rised up and unsheathed his sword. With an expert swing, he made the sword point downwards at the ground. The soldiers behind him rose up and followed the gesture.

"My dear, subjects!" His deep voice was heard. I don't know how he maintained his deep voice while also making sure we all could hear him. "I am honored to expand this land and it's such a great moment for all of us. But even if we are celebrating the holy Merasia today, let's hope that we can bring more prosperity to our land. Let's have more glorious moments for the sake of our descendants. Let's win! To glory!" He unsheathed his sword and raised it high in the air.

I quickly bowed, watching everyone bow down. "To Glory!"

"To Glory! To Glory! To Glory!" Everyone cheered. I looked around smiling. The enthusiasm sure was high.

"To Glory!" I whispered. I looked at the flag that was just hosted. It was an orchid flower and a snake. Powerful and dangerous. The flag fluttered freely in the breeze of the celebration.

The City Gates and the City Squares had most crowds. Those were the places of announcements of the events. There were no commoners on the streets. Everyone had taken their seats in the audience part of various locations. I headed to the Central City Square. As Consort Eliza had told me before, there was a gathering of several foreign delegates whose lands were conquered. I searched for the royal blue hood ones. They were supposed to be people from Starglade. I noticed them isolated from others. I smiled when I saw their silver hair features but I wasn't sure if there were a few light blondes too. But I had more important matters to take care of.

There were several consorts lined up. I detected none of the chief consorts in the crowd.

"We require ten consorts to sign up for the first event!" Several raised their handkerchiefs over their heads. I did not wish to do such foolish acts. "And the only requirement is you must be a good liar!" After this statement, majority of the crowd disappeared. I asked Sir Max to apply for my name. I also noticed the green outfit lady eyeing me and hesitating with choices. I don't know why I imagined a roe deer while watching her.

"Tweet?" I whispered.

Yes, Master. It appeared out of thin air.

"Background check!" I whispered again.

A screen materialized in front of me.

𝚂𝚈𝚂𝚃𝙴𝙼 𝙸𝙽𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙼𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽!

𝙿𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛 101 𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝙽𝙿𝙲 #1827382.

𝙳𝙰𝚃𝙰 𝙻𝙾𝙰𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶!

𝙽𝚊𝚖𝚎: 𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚢𝚊 𝙲𝚊𝚗𝚘
𝙽𝙿𝙲 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛
27382

𝙳𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚜 𝙲𝚊𝚗𝚘

𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢: 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚝
𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢: 78 %
𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚂𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚜: 𝙴𝚖𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚢
𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚜: 𝙷𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎, 𝚜𝚑𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚍

I had no idea what the favorability was but if it was what I thought it was, it would be a great help to me. I approached her first.

"Greetings. Are you lost and need some help?" I asked. Well, I knew she wasn't lost because she was a native and definitely, I was the one who would most probably get lost, still it was a polite way to approach. I couldn't just go to her and ask why-are-you-following-me.

"Ah, n-no! I just saw you at the banquet day and you looked so p-pretty-I mean, you are pretty in everything-" She got flustered. I sighed. I felt like facing a modern-day fangirl.

"I appreciate your compliments. You flatter me too much." I smiled. "I don't think we have ever met. I would be glad if you could enlighten me with your name." Well, she didn't know I had a system. It would be creepy if I called her out with the help of external help.

"My name is Daneliya Cano. I am the seventy-third consort of the Emperor." She bowed.

"My name is Regina Patrissia, the hundredth consort of the Emperor. Nice to meet you. Are you participating in the first event?" I asked. She hesitated.

"My friends are not participating. But I am interested to participate!" Her eyes sparkled like a child. I chuckled.

"I don't have any friends. Besides..." I remembered what Consort Eliza had said. "The events will be for individuals only. I don't think you will be at an advantageous position even if you participate with your friends." I said. Her shoulders drooped. It was kind of... cute of her to sulk. She pouted slightly but sent her escort to apply for the event.

"We won't... die, right?" She whispered, trying to reach my ear. I noticed her struggling on her toes. Just how short was she?

"I suppose not. It would be much worse than death. I don't think there will be any pride left if we lose." I glanced at her. She went from a roe deer to a frightened rabbit.

"Is that good or bad?" She whispered back.

I noticed Sir Max approaching us with a horse. Her escort too came with one. Mine was black and hers was white. The horse definitely looked like a unicorn. Mine looked like a war horse. I shrugged as I quickly jumped on its back. Sir Max was surprised to see that I needed no help.

Well, even if I was about to debut as an actor for a period movie, horses and golfs were still elite hobbies. Archery and swords were something I had learnt during training for my debut movie. But horse riding was something I had learnt long back during school days.

I snapped out of my thoughts when Daneliya was done climbing the horse. She looked at me for the answer she was expecting.

"Who knows?" I shrugged and said, holding the reins of horse.

"We can only do our best to entertain the Emperor." I smirked.