Ren won each test with ease thanks to the Mantis. The beast had copied Larissa perfectly and allowed Ren to use each of her movements with perfect precision. Every bow, every gesture, every dance step executed with the grace of someone born to nobility rather than raised in poverty.
It was like having the kingdom's best protocol teacher guiding him in real time.
♢♢♢♢
In the new stands reserved for families and the general public who'd paid the expensive ticket price, in a section with a good view of the proceedings, Ren's parents watched with expressions that oscillated between pride and disbelief.
They were seated not far from where Selphira and Julius occupied their main seats, though they didn't interact much directly outside a distant nod returned with a smile from the prince and the imposing Ashenway leader…
