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Vyan leaned casually against a post, a sardonic smile playing on his lips as he surveyed the competitors.

Beside him, his fifteen-year-old cousin Ronan let out a long sigh, clapping with the excitement of a grumpy old man.

"I wish Mother gave me the permission to join this event," he pouted.

"There, there," Vyan patted his shoulder, "You can join from next year," he consoled, as if he wasn\'t the one who suggested Celeste not to let Ronan join this year.

The equestrian display could get quite rough towards the end. Everyone got hyped to do better than the other and ended up pulling off such ridiculous stunts to the point they injure themselves.

Vyan didn\'t want Ronan to get lost in the fervor as well and hurt himself this soon. It would be better for him to start participating next year.

Ronan sighed once again and then put on an understanding smile, trying to get in a better mood. "Who do you think will come out victorious?" he asked, his tone more uplifted now.

"For now…" Vyan\'s eyes averted to the second prince, Izac, who was notoriously inept at most things that required brainpower. Yet, there he was, atop his white stallion, looking surprisingly competent. "Surprisingly, your brother is looking quite set to win."

Izac trotted confidently around the arena. His horse, Argent, moved with practiced grace, executing tight turns and clearing jumps with ease.

"Yeah, he is quite competent with handling horses and swords," Ronan remarked. "Then again, he has no choice but to. There is no way Empress Jade would let him remain talentless."

Vyan nodded, observing as Izac directed Argent towards a series of progressively higher hurdles. Vyan glanced up at the elevated seats for the emperor and empresses, where Jade was looking particularly satisfied with Izac\'s performance.

Vyan\'s chest churned with a disgusted feeling for that woman—the one who brought ruins to his parents. He was just waiting for Althea to grab the crown till he dealt with Jade.

Meanwhile, the crowd held its breath as Izac and Argent gathered themselves and leapt, clearing each obstacle with growing confidence.

By the time they reached the final, highest jump, the audience was fully invested. Argent launched into the air, Izac maintaining perfect form as they sailed over the obstacle.

The crowd erupted into cheers, and Izac, looking more than a little pleased with himself, waved to his admirers.

Vyan snorted in amusement. "Doesn\'t he look pleased with himself? I never knew he had it in him."

Ronan clapped along with the spectators and said, "At least he put on quite an enjoyable show."

"Don\'t worry, you will be up there as well, and the cheers will be much louder," Vyan encouraged, and Ronan flashed him a confident grin. "By the way, where is Katelyn? I haven\'t seen her much since she arrived."

"Oh, she is not feeling very well, so she is resting in her chamber," Ronan replied, feeling sad for his sister. She was quite excited to enjoy the equestrian display as well.

"I hope she feels better before tomorrow," Vyan mumbled, and Ronan nodded, looking forward to the next performance.

Suddenly, the excitement in the air doused a little as Easton made his entrance. In spite of that, his ebony stallion, Shadow, mirrored the confident glint in Easton\'s eye.

"Why did everyone quiet down?" Ronan murmured in confusion. "I thought they would be the loudest at Easton\'s entrance."

The corner of Vyan\'s lips twitched up as he replied, "You perhaps didn\'t hear about it yet, Ronan, but Easton is not quite in the good graces of the people these days."

"Really? Why?" Ronan was surprised. For as long as he has known, Easton had an impeccable reputation.

"I will tell you about it later," Vyan said and focused on Easton, his mind drifting back to his conversation with Althea from a little earlier.

———

Two hours ago.

"What do you mean by that?" Vyan\'s voice was laced with curiosity and a hint of impatience.

Althea\'s eyes darkened with worry. "Easton knows I am against him now," she said, recalling the tense meeting and the Estelles\' verdict. "He has probably guessed that my next target is Princess Maria. That is why he has ramped up palace security and ordered her to stay in her chambers for the entire week."

Vyan took in the gravity of the situation, nodding slowly. "Well, it was only a matter of time. You couldn\'t stay his hidden enemy forever."

Althea\'s voice trembled slightly as she asked, "So what should we do?"

Vyan\'s eyes narrowed in thought. "If Princess Maria can\'t leave her chambers, we are stuck. We will have to wait until the festival ends."

"We are putting a stop to the plan for now?" Althea\'s voice was edged with desperation.

"Yes," Vyan replied, his tone firm. "We have no choice." The original plan had been to have Princess Maria sneak into the hallways at night, where Vyan\'s people were ready to whisk her away. But now... "This needs to be handled personally by me."

———

Back to the present.

Despite the crowd not being excited in the presence of their crown prince, it was Easton who stole the show in the end.

He was the last performer of the event for whom quite the difficult arrangements were being set up, which made the spectators gasp and murmur about how impossible it would be to cross these.

Everyone could already sense something spectacular was about to happen. Either that, or a terrible disaster was waiting to happen.

After a lot of speculation, Easton finally began with a series of fluid maneuvers. He guided Shadow through tight figure-eights and sharp turns, demonstrating impeccable control and harmony with his horse.

Easton steered Shadow towards a series of hurdles. But instead of the standard jumps, these were set up in complex patterns, requiring both speed and precision.

Ronan watched with wide eyes. "Look at how they move together. It\'s like they are one!"

"It\'s not that impressive. Even Prince Izac could do it—"

Shadow launched into the air, clearing each obstacle with room to spare. The crowd gasped as Easton added a flourish, turning Shadow mid-air over one of the jumps.

"Alright, that was impressive," Vyan admitted begrudgingly.

Ronan nudged him. "You can say that again. He is amazing!" he let out in awe. "I want to be able to do something like that!"

The display continued with even more daring stunts. Easton stood up in the stirrups, balancing perfectly as Shadow galloped at full speed. He then performed a seamless dismount and remount, all while Shadow maintained a steady pace.

"Now he is just showing off," Vyan scoffed, though he couldn\'t help but clap along with the rest of the audience.

Easton wasn\'t done yet.

He guided Shadow to a full stop, then, with a slight touch, had the stallion rear up on its hind legs.

Holding that pose for a moment, they then transitioned into a series of powerful, controlled leaps, almost as if Shadow were dancing.

The finale was a breathtaking display of unmatchable skill.

Easton took Shadow through a series of blazing hoops, each jump more daring than the last. The final hoop was set higher than the others, flames licking dangerously close.

Vyan winced looking at that and wondered, who the hell allowed the flaming hoops?

He seriously disliked such dangerous stunts with the horses. He personally would never let Adam or his other horses anywhere near flames.

Easton, however, was different. He urged Shadow forward. The stallion gathered itself and leapt, soaring through the ring of fire with perfect form.

The crowd erupted into wild applause, the cheers and shouts creating a cacophony of admiration. They had all forgotten about their distrust of Easton and now were praising him in sync.

Just with one showcase of skills, everyone was a fan of Easton all over again, admitting that no one was better suited to rule the empire than him.

Easton dismounted, patting Shadow\'s neck with a poker face. He was quite happy inside with his performance, but he liked to maintain his aloof aura.

Satisfied, he looked around the crowd, searching for a particular face. But that person was nowhere in sight. A cold bucket of disappointment was splashed over him.

The announcer for the event stepped forward, positioning himself beside Easton, and proclaimed in a booming, cheerful voice, "So, ladies and gentlemen, who do you all vote for the Best Equestrian Display?"

The response was overwhelming. "Of course, His Imperial Highness, Easton!" The crowd erupted, especially the high-pitched squeals of the ladies who were clearly smitten by his performance.

The announcer laughed heartily. "Well, I shouldn\'t be surprised by this response, especially after His Imperial Highness\'s stunning performance! What an epic display! I couldn\'t take my eyes off for a second!"

"I think I forgot to blink the entire time," someone from the audience quipped, and the announcer chuckled in agreement.

"Now that we have our best performer, let\'s have His Grace, the Grand Duke, honor the winner with a captivating prize, shall we?"

Vyan sighed inwardly but maintained an appropriate smile as he moved to the center of the arena. He took the golden crest adorned with a hunter on horseback and presented it to Easton, offering a gracious congratulations.

"I have to say, Your Grace, I was quite disappointed that you didn\'t compete," Easton said, accepting the prize.

"Even if I had, I would be no match for you," Vyan replied, his tone sincere. "I must admit, your skills are unparalleled. Your fiancée must be very proud."

"Are you taunting me right now?" Easton asked, a wry smile on his face.

"Pardon?" Vyan was confused for a second until hi\'s eyes scanned the crowd and he realized Iyana was not present. "Oh," was all he could manage.

He was certain she had been there at the beginning, mingling with her military subordinates. He hadn\'t noticed when she left, just as Easton likely hadn\'t.

After Easton received his award, the first runner-up, Izac, and the second runner-up, a military lieutenant, were also recognized.

As the prize-giving ceremony concluded, the sun dipped below the horizon, signaling the end of the opening day of the Monster Hunt Festival. The day had gone smoothly, without any unexpected disruptions, which left Vyan with an eerie sensation.