Reis did not like the other option from the very moment it was mentioned. And now, Adonis didn't like it either. “This is not fair!” 

“Weren't you the one most excited about this?” Ceron asked while fixing the clasp on his collar. 

“But how come brother Ann gets to skip the jewelry and I have to move around with all these…things!” Covered in laces, jewels, gold, and silver, the youngest prince looked much like a living display case. 

Ceron was no different, but as the eldest, he couldn’t go whining about it like Adonis. Then again, the finery would at best make him look fancy, not like an over-accessorized mannequin. The 14-year-old Adonis alone was bearing that burden as a punishment for not yet looking mature. 

Behind the silver-embedded wooden screen, Reis couldn't care less about their complaints with a much bigger problem at hand. 

|Do not tie it like shoelaces.|

Shut up. 

He had barely managed to get the collars to close. Who was going to notice the strings under this much ruffle anyway? As long as it didn't slip, why did it even matter?

This was the first time Reis had the urge to ask servants for help.

And this was the only time when it wasn't allowed. 

Apparently, it was a custom. They had to get ready on their own for the whole banquet, with only each other for help. 

It started two days ago. Servants stopped providing help other than serving food. 

It was an attempt to strengthen the bonds among the siblings, Reis figured. Once the heir took his title, only distance would follow after that. 

But yet, they didn't have the liberty to wear whatever they wished. Technically, they did. 

Their mother didn't like that technicality, nor did she trust them with it. So only the queen's handpicked things were handed to them to choose from. Picking one from the other within the selection didn't really make a difference. 

At least the princesses were happy. 

And since they were, the princes didn't have much of a choice to accept it. Even if the clothes were too lavish. Even if it looked like they were dressing for a concert. Well, at least Reis didn't have to dress like a jewelry shop like Ceron and Adonis. 

“You don't look that bad,” Lorcán tried to assure the youngest, by two minutes, earning a frown in return. The timid boy who had an outfit similar to Reis, albeit with better ribbon lacing, could only avoid the gaze. 

He didn't look bad. Just something like an over-accessorized doll. 

“Are you alive there, Ann?” As the world would have it, his new siblings couldn't go ten whole minutes without suspecting him. 

“Why wouldn't I be?” A wrongly tied-up ribbon could hardly cause him any harm. 

Reis couldn't wait for this to be over. The last few days were practically torture. As soon as the future heir was appointed, they could finally breathe in peace. It didn't seem like Ceron was someone who would try to harm his brothers and sisters for no reason. 

“Your Highnesses, are you ready? The princesses are waiting.” The attendants' voices rang through their ears like warning bells. Believe it or not, it was utterly embarrassing to be still getting ready when the sisters were already done. It was a common understanding that didn’t require words. 

So they hurried, like life depended on it, adding the last piece of brooches on, throwing the coats over them, ignoring the strings, whatever it took. 

“We’re done.” The door flew open at the attendant's face, in a matter of a minute, as if they'd been long since done. 

But to their luck, when he had said the princesses are waiting, he meant it quite literally. They were waiting right outside the door. 

“You sure didn't spare any expense.” Even without the obvious hand gesture, anyone could guess Lunive was trying to spite them. 

Avena's eyes had landed right around Reis’s collar. She blinked a few times, but didn't say anything. After all, they couldn't do anything to worsen the problematic third prince's mood. 

Reis didn't know, but his family would have even allowed him to attend in his pajamas, given that he would attend. Good thing he didn't know, though, cause he really would have shown up in those. 

“The carriages are ready, your highnesses.” 

From the main palace to the banquet hall. A five-minute walk. ‘Rich people 'things I guess.’

In reality, there were far more rich-people-things out there. From the carriage, down to every flower. Reis could say at a single glance that the crystal flowers that adorned the entrance to the main hall, the one reserved for the royal family, cost more than he could have ever earned in his life. 

‘This much extravagance for just an official heir appointment?’

|You are mistaken. This is for the Ascendency Trials.|

Didn't it mean the same thing? Giving it a fancy name doesn't change what it really is. 

“The Royal Highnesses have arrived.” 

The announcer’s voice was loud even without any enchantment. 

The hall full of people turned to them, as did the King and Queen from their thrones above the platform. 

Reis did not like the attention at all. Most of the gazes made him feel like a scapegoat for some disaster, and the usual chills he felt in his nerves had gotten worse. 

“Begin the ceremony.” The king ordered, and with no time wasted, the floor was cleared almost immediately, with people stepping behind to create space. 

They were already given a rundown of the process, everything up until the actual announcement and the celebration afterwards. Luckily, their obligations were only up to the announcements, then they could leave. Most of them weren't of drinking age, not that there was a law, but it was against etiquette. 

The six royal heirs weren't given a moment to settle in, pushed right onto the stage. Well, not all of them. “Your Highness,” The elderly man, whom Reis had met quite a few times in the past few days, gestured for him to take the seat, which he did. The black and white keys matched his outfit. 

Reis internally thanked his parents back home for forcing him to learn the piano. At least, it spared him the embarrassment of tripping on the dance floor. Lorcan, who stood nearby with the violin, shared the sentiment. 

“Let the ceremony begin!”