Silver figures wearing longswords surrounded the area, trapping the cloud-like group of diplomatic ministers in the center of a silver vortex.
The knights stood in strict formation, and the diplomats' faces were filled with solemn expressions. They wore uniform blue-black robes, like the night sky, surrounding one person and forming a formation.
The girl in the center wore armor made from special materials. Her pure white, long skirt flowed like a swallowtail, moving gracefully.
Thick armor covered the skirt, and strange light shimmered across its surface. Magic patterns and ancient runes appeared and disappeared between the gaps of the armor.
Long bright silver hair perfectly blended with the armor, like a silver star flickering beneath the daylight.
Aurelian led a group of knights and diplomats, quietly waiting for the magic train that was about to arrive at the busy train platform.
The surrounding platforms were packed with people. They pressed shoulder to shoulder, just to catch a glimpse of the princess.
The Calencia Empire would never delay diplomatic affairs.
Every year, neighboring countries would send delegations here.
The Kingdom of Cant was no exception. As neighboring giants on this continent, interactions between the two sides were naturally frequent.
But this time, Emperor Aubrey allowed Aurelian to accompany the diplomatic group to visit the Kingdom of Cant. This decision surprised many people.
Even those experienced diplomatic ministers, after learning the emperor's decision and seeing Aurelian appear, began to form many guesses in their minds.
Clearly, the emperor truly hoped that Aurelian would continue the rule of the royal family.
Otherwise, why would he send her to visit another country in the name of the empire right before she was about to celebrate her birthday?
Recently, the name Aurelian Sol had been thunderous. Everyone knew that she would be the future ruler of the empire.
The current emperor seemed to want Aurelian to gain more achievements before inheriting the throne, so he could show the ministers and the people her leadership ability.
The train had already arrived at the station, but no one boarded yet. The diplomatic group was still waiting, but no one dared to ask Aurelian anything.
After all, someone had not arrived yet.
At this moment, Aurelian's knight guards saw the crowd automatically split to both sides, making a path for someone.
A silver figure appeared at the end of the crowd.
She wore silver beast-faced armor. Sharp fangs stretched out from the huge mouth on the chest armor, flashing with cold silver light.
A longsword hung at her waist. Although the blade was inside the scabbard, a burning aura kept spreading outward.
A long silver cloak moved with the wind, like a pair of shining wings.
Gwen appeared at the end of the crowd with a group of demi-human guards, looking imposing.
The knights immediately became overjoyed when they saw Gwen's familiar beast-faced armor.
"It's Knight Commander Gwen!"
"Show some respect. She's not the Knight Commander anymore. She's Count Gwen now!"
Gwen had already resigned from the position of Royal Knight Commander and returned to the Delin family to inherit the position of family head. The knights already knew this news.
But because of that, the knights admired the great knight Gwen even more.
All knights knew that this family was a legendary existence among knights.
They guarded a region, upheld justice, governed cities upon the snowy plains, and resisted foreign enemies.
They were the guardians of the north, upright and resilient.
The names of those great knights from the northern territory had already echoed across the continent.
And Gwen, who had inherited the position of family head, was even more a hero in the hearts of many knights.
Someone far beyond their reach.
But in the squad Gwen led, it seemed that not a single one of them was a knight.
They all looked like girls in their youth. Each of them wore a unique beast-shaped mask that covered their facial features.
Only their mysterious eyes, noses, and mouths were visible.
Their figures were rather small, and different colored cat ears and dog ears on their heads were fixed in the eyes of every witness.
However, the armor they wore, which was clearly different from the knights' armor and made from beast bones combined with cold iron, also proved their extraordinary identity.
The demi-human guard unit of the Clavenna family.
Everyone knew that the Clavenna family had a close relationship with demi-humans.
After all, only the Clavenna family had such a special unit.
At this moment, Gwen walked to the front of the knight order, then turned around and calmly stared at the demi-human squad in the distance.
The demi-humans stepped forward, their feet striking the floor with rhythmic steps.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
The footsteps of dozens of demi-humans were almost perfectly synchronized. The sounds of their steps overlapped almost completely, and their movements were swift and powerful, precise and imposing.
Their eyes looked straight ahead. Every movement was nearly perfect, and the coordination between them had reached a frightening level.
As they walked through the path opened by the crowd, the sound rose wave after wave like a surging tide.
The onlookers were shocked by the seriousness and neat formation of the demi-human squad and unconsciously stepped back a few steps.
It felt as if every step of that powerful squad carried the coldness of blades.
The knights were also stunned.
They had never imagined that a team's actions could be unified to such a degree.
The discipline of the demi-human squad before them, visible even to the naked eye, was better than that of the knights themselves.
It made them feel ashamed.
Even these knights felt inferior.
To achieve such a level, who knew how much effort had been put in and how much sweat had been shed.
Before, they had only heard about the strictness of the demi-human squad through rumors. Now that they saw it with their own eyes, it truly lived up to its reputation.
However… the diplomatic ministers and knights were somewhat confused.
They were only leaving the empire for a visit to the Kingdom of Cant.
Why bring so many guards?
Not to mention that the number of knights plus the demi-human guards had already exceeded their expectations.
Even the great knight Gwen had personally come here. From the look of it, perhaps she was here to strictly protect Aurelian.
It was just a princess going abroad once. Did it really need protection to this degree?
It seemed the emperor truly protected this daughter very carefully.
The diplomatic ministers thought even further.
Since Gwen and the Clavenna family's demi-human squad had both arrived here…
Did that mean… Viktor would also come?
Just as they were thinking about it, suddenly, a violent wind swept across everyone's faces.
Countless people raised their heads when they noticed it.
They saw that above the clouds, at some unknown moment, a chaotic hurricane had suddenly formed.
The white clouds twisted into a vortex like a giant eye, and the rolling wind descended from the sky like a coiling giant snake.
Whoosh!
The storm descended, and the surrounding air began to spin rapidly.
The armor on Aurelian's body clattered loudly from the wind. The knights felt the powerful gusts, and their footing almost became unstable.
White steaming mist slowly gathered, then suddenly exploded outward and scattered.
As the storm faded, a dark figure wrapped in white patterns appeared within it.
That was Viktor Clavenna.
Under everyone's shocked gaze, Viktor landed in front of Aurelian and bowed elegantly to her.
"Your Highness."
The demi-human guards, the moment they saw Viktor, also faced Aurelian and knelt on one knee.
The bone armor on their bodies collided with each other, producing sharp and intense sounds.
Their voices were slender yet carried a strong firmness. The heavy shout merged together and poured out from the squad.
"Your Highness!"
The surrounding passersby, the waiting knights, and the solemn diplomats who witnessed the scene could not help but shiver.
Viktor Clavenna had really come.
Everyone knew that Viktor was currently recognized within the empire as the most authoritative fourth-rank mage.
And it had only been a few months since he became a fourth-rank mage.
Such a young and powerful mage was now actually going with them.
The diplomatic ministers and the confused knights suddenly felt that something was not right.
'Could it be that this trip to the kingdom was not for a visit, but to prepare for war?'
The formation gradually became orderly, and the knights guided the horses toward the train carriages.
Viktor walked side by side with Aurelian.
Behind them followed Gwen and the demi-human squad.
The demi-humans surrounded the diplomats together, as if protecting them.
The diplomats were somewhat frightened. Small beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads, and they deliberately kept a certain distance from the demi-humans around them.
After all, those beside them were demi-humans.
Even though they looked disciplined, in the diplomats' eyes, demi-humans still had an animal nature that was hard to hide.
Viktor followed Aurelian, and just as they were about to step into the train, he reminded her.
"Your Highness, on this trip to the Kingdom of Cant, you are a princess. Pay attention to your words and actions."
"What you represent is the attitude of the entire empire."
Every word Viktor said entered Aurelian's ears.
She quietly nodded and kept Viktor's words in mind.
The situation of the Kingdom of Cant was somewhat different from that of the Calencia Empire.
The empire was a monarchy where power was highly centralized. Even though ministers had their titles and responsibilities, the final decision still had to follow the emperor's will.
But the Kingdom of Cant was somewhat different.
Below the royal capital of the Kingdom of Cant, there were hundreds of lords.
Any order announced by the king was not delivered directly to every minister, but passed down through ranks to the lords of the next level.
The command was implemented layer by layer.
Every lord, in their own city, was like a small king.
They controlled the economic, cultural, and political direction of the entire territory, and even the rules within it.
For the common people living within those territories, it was possible that even if they spent their entire lives there, they might never see an official with greater authority than their own lord.
While nodding, Aurelian walked into the foremost train carriage.
Viktor continued speaking, "Oh right, Your Highness. This journey is very long. The comfort of the train may not be as good as you expect, and the environment after arriving in the kingdom may also be different from the palace."
Then he turned around and called toward the demi-human squad.
"Vanilla."
As the voice sounded, a white-haired cat-eared girl walked out from the squad.
She stood in front of Aurelian and deeply bowed to this noble princess.
Seeing Vanilla's appearance, Aurelian could not help but feel surprised.
A demi-human was actually wearing a maid outfit?
This demi-human maid's manners and appearance were very different from traditional impressions.
Her etiquette and cute face even made Aurelian feel a bit of pity.
She had never seen such a gentle and refined demi-human. It was completely different from the savage image people usually talked about.
But the Vanilla in front of her did not look savage at all like the rumors said.
Aurelian felt confused, but then she heard Viktor continue.
"Your Highness, let her take care of your daily life during this time."