"Sulfur, salt, mercury."

In the evening, Sherlock Hermes was in his room, confirming the advanced ritual materials to be used tonight.

He wore monocles and struggled to confirm the words he had scribbled on the labels of the bottles and cans.

Sherlock muttered under his breath, his fingers running over the jars on the shelves: "Sanctified silver powder, blessed holy water." A bouquet of air-dried black sage, unused white crystal, six new red candles......"

On the other side, in the Temple of Silver and Tin.

Princess Isabel also paced nervously in her room.

She kept reciting the names of the materials needed for the promotion ceremony in fragments, and it was visibly uneasy to sit still.

"There are also clove essential oils, cinnamon essential oils, cypress essential oils, benzoin essential oils...... There is also permanent flower essential oil, chamomile essential oil...... And also...... And ......"

Janis, an elf artist who was sitting on the side humming songs and writing tunes, put down her pen a little helplessly when she saw this.

"—and ginger, dill, white bread. I said...... Little Isha, what are you nervous about? You have to trust your court ceremonists, they are much more reliable in setting up the ceremony than you can prepare it yourself. ”

"Yes, I know ......"

Isabel muttered, not even emphasizing the words "call me Isabel instead of little Isa."

She felt a little difficult to breathe, and gently grabbed the neckline of her white gauze skirt, as if she wanted to lift the collar and fan some wind to relieve her tension - but for the image and dignity of the royal family, she did not dare to make such a vulgar act in front of outsiders.

"The first advance is easy, don't be nervous."

"You have to believe in yourself, you are very strong, and your foundation is stronger than most people. The first time you advance, it's still a full moon advancement...... There should be about six or seven people who can advance, so what are you afraid of? ”

“…… That's what I'm afraid of. ”

Isabel looked worried: "If six out of nine people can advance, but I don't—then if it gets out, it will lose the face of the royal family."

"Moreover, there will be people who gossip about you and bad things about you. They're going to make terrible ......."

She was able to embark on the path of beauty purely because of Queen Sophia's doting on her. Because of Avalon's royal family, the "Du Lac" family, normally speaking, can only choose the path of authoritarianism.

But of the Queen's six grandchildren, Her Majesty's favourite is the second-youngest, Isabel.

Younger than Isabel is her two-year-old brother.

And at a very young age, Isabel showed her exceptional artistic talent.

When she was only four years old, she accompanied the queen to the opera "Lulu's Magic Flute". In the case that she doesn't understand the Star Antimony language, she can directly hum the singing part after listening to it once.

Queen Sophia was very happy. Because she dreamed of becoming an opera master before she became queen. She even wrote several operas in her spare time after she inherited the throne. It's just that I didn't release it because of my identity.

Of her many children, only Isabel inherited her talent for opera.

That's why she pushes the crowd out.

Directly set a precedent for Isabel. She was allowed to step into the path of beauty and formally study "art".

The path of beauty is the path of harmony and art, flow and eternity.

The key skill of the path of beauty is "art".

Opera, music, painting, sculpture, drama, dance, and poetry are all mystical techniques of the path of beauty.

Art itself is mysterious. The great masters of art, without exception, are all pioneers of the path of beauty.

Just as the key skill of the authoritarian path is the "art of leadership", the art of the monarch's subordination, the art of dispatching others to obey himself, is also mysterious.

If you want to improve the depth of your path, you can't specialize in one skill.

Perhaps because of her elven ancestry, Isabel's talent lies in singing and dancing.

And since you want to embark on the path, you must go on firmly.

Once the transcendent steps on the path, they are haunted by the desire to ascend higher – they will indulge in drilling deeper and ascending higher. The longer you stay where you are, the easier it is to become insane.

It's like an excellent young man in a certain industry, who has a little talent, but is not a genius. They tend to despair of true talent – a soul-stirring moat that is not felt by those outside the industry and can only be understood after going deep into the industry.

This feeling of powerlessness and shock, if it happens in the transcendent path, will make a person crazy.

The path of beauty emphasizes the perception of the beauty of the world, the harmony and eternity of the world...... It's also easier to get crazy.

The masters of the arts, almost without exception, are crazy.

So the queen specially invited Master Janis for Isabel to teach her the skills of painting, sculpture and arrangement.

Because this is the safest route to promotion.

Anyway, it won't be Isabel's turn to succeed to the throne. Since the queen is happy, let the children play.

That's what other people thought at the time.

However, the good times were short-lived.

Since more than a decade ago, the Avalon royal family suddenly began to fall ill one after another.

At first, it was suspected that someone had poisoned it, but it was later determined that someone was performing a powerful Heir Curse—a persistent and powerful curse that even the Church's illumination could not completely dispel, and the sacred bones of the sages of the ages could not shelter.

What cannot be dispelled and resisted by the strength of one country can only be a curse issued by another country.

Who else could that be?

It can only be the Kingdom of Star Antimony.

Although Avalon doesn't have any evidence, it does know from common sense...... A Ritual Master who can use this strength can only be in the Star Antimony Kingdom.

So, starting a few years ago - with the first royal family dragged to death by an incurable curse, Avalon and Star Antimony officially entered a state of hostility.

To this day, her father is the only one left alive in Isabel's father's generation.

And half of her life has died of illness.

Only Isabel's eldest brother, Isabel, and her two-year-old brother remained.

She didn't do anything, and she inexplicably became the second heir of the kingdom of Avalon.

- If she really inherits the throne, then there will be a big problem.

Avalon, whose country admires the path of authoritarianism, has a new queen who has no authoritarian path at all.

Now she is the second heir, but no one knows if she will suddenly become the first. Because the "second" is already a very dangerous position.

Isabel hadn't done anything wrong, even more so Master Janis. However, due to the change of events, there are even rumors among the kingdom's upper echelons that the purpose of the Star Antimony Kingdom is to put Isabel on the throne - so as to plunge Avalon into chaos from within.

The privileged classes of the entire kingdom, all the transcendents in the government departments, and even most of the soldiers, come from authoritarian paths. How can the queen of the path of beauty be 100% loyal to them?

So Isabel is under a lot of pressure.

Any mistakes made in her will be magnified by others. And then be criticized, blamed.

But she didn't want to blame them either.

Because she could sense that they were also under a lot of pressure and worried about that future.

She could also understand that they were right to be wary of the fact that if she did become queen in the future, she was afraid that there would really be a long time of chaos in Avalon. But she really doesn't have the adaptability of an authoritarian way...... She tried many times, but she really couldn't learn.

All she could pray for was that her brother and brother would not die again.

But she couldn't do anything. She also said that it doesn't count.

She can only do everything according to the rules, silently and do her best - don't let others have a chance to pick on her.

Because of this, she did not use her privileges. Instead, I went to university and lived with other students.

It was only after passing the comprehensive assessment of the three semesters of her freshman year that she became an extraordinary person through formal channels. Until then, she had strictly restricted her scope of study, learning only the more marginal parts of the "art" that could be touched by ordinary people...... Then there is the practice of honing the basics, but never involving the study of supernatural powers.

She endured her temperament and practiced the basic skills for thirteen years.

It's boring and meaningless, and it's so painful that you want to vomit. But she persevered.

Because she wanted to show that she would not use royal privileges at will.

She hoped that would make those disgruntled voices disappear.

She tries to downplay her image as a "princess", hoping that people will only see her as an ordinary person, rather than as a second heir to the kingdom.

But it wasn't until now that she suddenly realized—

Maybe I have never been an "ordinary person" in the true sense.

She is still being served, pampered, and helped.

While the other transcendents were preparing their own rituals, she could only sit and drink tea. The royal ceremonial master will take care of everything for her, and she won't have to do anything - she doesn't have to worry about her ritual drawing the wrong formation, or buying inferior or fake materials that will invalidate the ceremony.

“…… I'll do it myself. ”

Isabel made up her mind.

She bowed deeply to the ceremonial master, "Master Osborne, I'm very sorry...... It's not that I don't distrust you. I just want to...... Maybe I'm watching from the sidelines...... It won't be so good. ”

Isabel didn't know how to describe the tension and anxiety in her heart.

But she always felt uneasy as she watched the gray-haired ceremonial master prepare for her own ceremony.

It's like it's your own fault, but you were snatched away by others and took the blame.

Her brothers and sisters loved her very much. Whatever she accidentally broke was the first to admit her mistake.

Although Isabel was not reprimanded at that time, she always felt uncomfortable.

— just like now.

It's like something, tormenting my heart.

"Please let me prepare for the promotion ceremony myself."

Princess Isabel repeated.

Her voice became clearer, less timid than before: "You can help me, Master Osborne." ”

The gray-haired ceremonial master on the side happily touched his beard and nodded with a smile.

"All right, my little princess. Indeed, this kind of thing...... It is true that you have to let yourself come to have a sense of ceremony.

"Remember that feeling, Your Highness Princess. The first time I entered the dream world, and the first time I came into contact with the other eight great roads. Truly break away from the status of 'apprenticeship' and become a true transcendent—"

The other side.

In Moriarty Manor, Ivas got up from bed with his forehead covered.

He hadn't really slept yet.

But his spiritual instincts told him that if he didn't wake up, he would be delayed—so he forcibly woke himself up.

The sun is setting outside.

Ivus rubbed the match with a trembling hand, repeating it several times before it ignited it.

He shuddered and lit the white candle that had been placed by his bedside - it was apparently the "healing medicine" that Oswald had prepared.

Ivas gripped the flames and felt the vitality pouring into his body from the candle flames, and then slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately...... Because Ivus was interested in the occult, he prepared a variety of materials in his room. There will be no delays.

The so-called "poor student stationery is many".

Although he didn't know how to use it, he bought everything he could buy anyway.

…… But he hadn't eaten for a day.

Find a way to fill your stomach first, and then come back and hurry up to prepare for the promotion ceremony.