I Only Summon Villainesses

Chapter 275: Prince Altharion

A brunette-haired lady knelt before the altar where a statue of a man holding a judgment scale in one hand stood tall, a sun of seven rays blazing behind him in carved stone.

At the foot of the stairs stood a lady with blonde hair draped over her shoulders and down her back, her breasts so massive they seemed like two mountains that had lost the purpose bestowed upon them by nature and rediscovered it on her chest.

She wore a blindfold but was exceptionally charming all the same.

Beyond her knelt a group of people, all of them donned in white and crystal blue armor, each set elegantly carved, with pale blue cloaks that flowed behind them.

In the front line stood a boy with short brown hair, a lady with brunette hair, and a young girl with crimson hair. The girl’s armor was noticeably lighter than the rest, cut to reveal her waistline and even her breastline, though granted, those breasts were almost non-existent.

All of them knelt before her while she uttered a few words of prayer and finally bestowed her blindfolded gaze upon them.

“My children, it has been a year since you stepped into this world. Many have left, some have been lost, but many more of you have fulfilled your training in the academy and become the finest Light Knights this diocese has ever produced. And I’m proud of you lot.”

She paused, receiving a golden scepter which the Archpriest brought to her on a cushion pillow.

“On the authority and approval of the Radiant Judge and the Solar Pontiff, I hereby bestow the title of Templar upon you and announce the establishment of the Crystal Sky Crusade Order.”

Starting from the brown-haired boy, to the brunette-haired lady, and then the crimson-haired girl, all of them stepped forward one after the other to receive the laying on of hands from the Cardinal.

Several people from across the Kingdom had gathered at the church and flanked the pews on both sides. High nobles and the Royal family sat on the upper floor, overlooking the ceremony from carved balconies.

The King of Aetheris Kingdom and his wife occupied a prominent balcony, positioned where everyone could gaze upon them from almost any angle.

Then again, there was rarely anyone on this upper floor who hadn’t seen the King before.

The First Prince, however, was another matter entirely.

He stood behind the King, alongside his younger brother and sister. And from the moment he’d taken his position, he had become a problem for the ceremony.

Many heads kept turning to glance at him, pulling the focus away from the people below who were being bestowed radiant titles as servants of the Eternal Sun. Whispers passed between nobles like a second liturgy, quieter than the Cardinal’s words but no less fervent.

It wasn’t hard to understand why. The First Prince’s beauty bordered on the unearthly, the kind that made people forget their manners and stare. But beauty alone wouldn’t have caused this much disruption. Aetheris had no shortage of beautiful nobles.

It was what the Prince represented.

He was the first person from Aetheris Kingdom to ever qualify for the Solaris Empire’s Summoner Academy, a place that didn’t merely accept talented summoners. It was reserved for the top one percent. Sons and daughters of high nobles across the continent competed for entry and failed. The Prince had not only gained admission, he had completed his studies and returned home a grown young man, his training finished.

Even before the academy, there had been talk. Talented summoners who’d observed him claimed he possessed a high affinity to divinity. There were rumors, old folklore really, of summoners who transcended the Heroic rank entirely, summoners capable of calling upon angels. Whether that was true or not, the Prince had proven himself exceptional by any standard that mattered.

So they stared at his snowy white hair and radiant golden eyes, and their gazes radiated envy.

The Prince was unperturbed. His expression remained blank and graceful, his attention fixed on the ceremony below while the whispers swirled around him like wind around a pillar.

He wasn’t watching the ceremony, though. He was studying the people in it.

’When Aurora told me about the otherworlders, I had slightly high expectations. What is this? Most of them are trash… except for those four.’

He buried the irritation behind his composed gaze and continued to watch as titles were bestowed and applause filled the church.

The brunette-haired lady held his attention longest. She had a beauty he found harsh and compelling, the kind that didn’t invite but challenged. It was rare to find anyone like that around here, especially among women.

She was also powerful. Her aura was refined and tightly controlled, and despite being of a lower rank, the level of mastery she had over her essence struck the Prince as remarkable. More so than the obvious S-rank in the group, the one who was practically announcing his presence by letting his essence bleed into the air around him like an open flame. The brunette kept hers coiled and disciplined. That kind of control wasn’t taught easily, it was earned.

The other one, the guy with glasses, was impressive in a different way. He radiated a deep, quiet skill that hid behind a polite face and respectful posture. The kind of person who wanted you to underestimate him. The Prince recognized the type.

But it was the little red-haired girl who bothered him the most.

She gave him a sense of wariness he couldn’t quite place. He studied her for a long moment, turning the feeling over in his mind, and for a brief, uncomfortable instant, he’d almost felt like she was stronger than him.

He banished the thought immediately. She was strong, perhaps the strongest of the three, but she was also clearly inexperienced. He could tell from the way she moved. It was like she hadn’t been properly trained yet, like the raw power in her body was a weapon she was still learning to hold.

’Why is she being decorated as a Templar, then? She should be given more time to train and understand her summon better.’

But there was little authority he had over things like these. The Church had a pact to stay out of the Royal family’s business, and the Royal family had promised the same in return.

Of course, the two were working together behind the surface. They always had been, for the good of the Kingdom. Or at least, that was the arrangement.

But that union… the First Prince found it unyielding and opaque. Too many hands moving beneath the table. Too many smiles that didn’t reach the eyes.

And looking at what was transpiring right now, at these otherworlders being elevated and organized under Church authority, he couldn’t tell whether this was the start of something that would ruin the Kingdom or help elevate it.

A small smile curved on his lips.

’I guess I’ll watch for now…’