Aeren stared at him—this other Aeren looked exactly like him, like he was watching his own reflection. Aeren knew he wasn't real freedom.
All the people watched the scene and didn't understand what it was.
"There are two crown princes."
All of them were shocked by the scene. This had never happened before. No one had seen their reflection like this—an exact copy.
"What does this mean?"
"No one knows."
"Did he have talent or not?"
Whispers started all over the place as they continued staring at Aeren and the other Aeren who looked the same to them. They didn't know what to think—whether they should believe this unbelievable thing or ignore that Aeren showed no color.
Empress Hyliana watched her son with a bright smile and loudly announced to the world:
"HAHAHAHA, this is it, Aeren. No one can understand you."
Empress Hyliana announced to others that even if Aeren had no skill, he would become emperor.
Everyone fell silent all over the magic tower. Aeren turned his head from his reflection and started returning to his mother, thinking,
Slaves, frustrated from their chains, create their own imagination. Dreams are born from those desperate thoughts.
A dream where slaves can build their own world with their own rules, where they feel true freedom beyond the constraints that bind them.
Dream is a reflection of me, born to grant freedom within their enslaved existence.
Aeren left the stage. Dream saw this and turned himself into a butterfly, landing on Aeren's head. Aeren let him.
All of them saw the butterfly and were shocked by its unparalleled beauty. They were mesmerized by its beauty and stared at it, wanting to see it more and more.
"What is it? Is it an illusion?"
"I don't think so..."
Aeren ignored all the whispers and saw Aldwin, who was staring at him with disappointment.
Hyliana saw Aeren coming to her side.
Aeren went near his mother, and she nodded her head and turn to him and said, "I expected nothing less from the crown prince."
Aeren stood close to his mother without saying anything. He didn't show any kind of reaction.
Viviana gazed at Aeren and saw the butterfly on his head, thinking, spirit user. Huh.
Viviana turned her gaze to Ellie, who was also watching Aeren's butterfly, unable to take her eyes off it.
Viviana watched her for moments and remember her, "Ellie, your turn."
Ellie snapped out of her trance and turned her head to her mother, who was watching her with no surprise. She was amazed by the butterfly and thought about how such a beautiful butterfly could exist.
All of them in the magic tower forgot that this butterfly had looked like Aeren before—just like slaves forget their dreams.
Ellie nodded to her mother and went to the stage...
In one of the noble VIP rooms:
A boy with silver hair, handsome looks, black eyes, and a straight nose had been staring at Nil from the beginning, when she entered the Magic Tower.
After watching her for a while, when he remembered something about her. He turned his head to his father.
"Father."
His father turned his head to his son and looked confused.
"What is it?"
The silver-haired boy stared at his father and looked serious. And he pointed his hand to Nil and said,
"I want that blue-eyed girl."
His father was shocked by his son's demand and stared at him with his mouth open, not believing his son's words. He was asking for the Crown Prince's maid.
His father's eyes went to Nil—she was beautiful and looked beaten up, but her eyes looked around the place with awe.
He thought, Did he fall for her pretty face? Then he turned his head to his son and saw his expression. Hmm, it doesn't look like it. Then he remembered that his son somehow found genius people among crowds and had taken two or three with him.
Does that mean I need to act first before she gets to the magic circle stage? Or just forget about her.
His father, Thaddeus, turned his head and said, "It's impossible."
The silver-haired boy, Jarek, stood up and said, "If you don't do it, I will."
Thaddeus saw Jarek about to jump to the stage when their eyes were drawn to purple light glowing all over the place. Everyone watched the purple light with awe on their faces and saw two elemental magics surrounding Ellie with mana radiating from her body.
This meant she could use both magic and sword techniques, making her a genius among geniuses.
The two elements were ice and water, and mana had surrounded her body with those elements.
Ellie opened her eyes and saw her own purple light. This meant she had no limit on mana and magic and could be unparalleled in the world. This made her smile to herself.
People had seen this scene before when Viviana was awakening, but she had shown blue color at that time, and no one had ever seen purple.
This scene made people talk to each other as they started whispering among themselves.
"As expected of the only princess of our empire. Purple color has shown after waiting for a century..."
"Yes, the empire has a bright future."
"HAHAHA, definitely."
When all the nobles and people around her watched her with awe, envy, and jealousy, she felt happy inside but didn't show her emotions.
After enjoying her happy moment, she left the stage with her chin up.
Before Ellie could reach her place, Jarek jumped to where Nil was standing...
Aeren turned his head to Jarek, who had just jumped close to Nil. Not only did Aeren's eyes turn to Jarek, but all the people around the magic tower did as well.
All attention turned from Ellie to Jarek. His action made them interested, and people started watching him.
Jarek was about to reach Nil when Aeren blocked him.
"It's been a while, Jarek." Aeren spoke with a smile on his face, and those who still had eyes on Ellie turned to them.
"It has." Jarek was also smiling with kindness and staring at Aeren, sometimes glancing at Nil, but he didn't expect to run into Aeren.
Most of the time, Aeren would have ignored his actions.
"Why did you come down?"
Jarek looked at Aeren and went silent for a moment before replying.
"I came for my awakening. The royal family is done with theirs."
Aeren nodded his head, didn't show any interest in Jarek's awakening, and spoke:
"Go ahead."
Jarek sighed and started walking to the stage, thinking, What a mess. I thought of getting her with me. How should I approach her without any suspicion? Haa...
Jarek lifted his head to Princess Ellie, who was glaring at him with anger on her face. "Hello, Princess."
Ellie glared at him and wanted to kill him instantly, but she knew his status, so she ignored him and walked past him.
Jarek didn't think much about Princess Ellie and turned his head to the stage, whispering, "Time to shine."
All of them watched the scene between Ellie and Jarek and still didn't understand the situation between the royal family and Jarek.
Thaddeus jumped down too and watched the show happening between the royal family and his son Jarek.
Viviana and Hyliana noticed Thaddeus, who had just jumped from his upper tower and landed close to the royal family.
"Why are father and son ruining everything?"
Viviana hid her face with her fan and spoke to Thaddeus. His son had ruined her daughter's reputation.
Thaddeus watched Viviana and Hyliana, then went silent briefly. "I came to watch my son. And I have a request."
Hyliana looked at Thaddeus, turned her head to the stage, letting Viviana handle it.
Viviana understood Hyliana and was about to ask about Thaddeus's request when Aeren's voice rang out for both Viviana and Thaddeus to hear.
"No. Your request is declined."
Viviana, Thaddeus, and Hyliana turned their heads to Aeren. They were shocked by his decision because Thaddeus was like the backbone of the Empire, and Aeren didn't even listen to his request.
This conversation was only heard by the people surrounding the royal family and maids. They were all shocked by the decision, but they didn't have the power to raise their voices and ask the Crown Prince his reasons without listening to the request.
Even Viviana went silent and didn't raise her voice, turning to Hyliana, who just ignored the entire incident.
Thaddeus stood alone, shocked by his own disrespect from a child not even in his twenties.