I was so tired! We did magic practice practically every other day! But I could get the correct mana for Zuteilt about half the time. So she gave me permission to use it if I felt unsafe. Not very likely, given that even when I sleep, Alyssa is just one thin wall away. It was a weak spell, but if I aimed for the face, it would likely give an attacker pause if nothing else.

  The more practical spell for me to use was glow call, which had taken me much longer to learn. I could do it, but it was, and I needed like ten seconds to focus before I could. Which was less than ideal for a distress call, but there was nothing to be done but practice. But that left me physically exhausted. The perfect match to how noble living has had me mentally exhausted.

  I had gotten two new dresses as well. One was white and intended for my wedding. It was a bit disappointing that it was pure white. Nothing in Hatula was pure white. I associated weddings with the blue-and-off-white hues of my family's wedding dress. I wonder if that means I could let my little sisters wear my new wedding dress? If it is mine, I don’t see the issue. If my sisters wanted to, that is.

  The other dress was green, meant to add to my wind maiden debut. I am sure its differences meant something, but to me, it just looked like a slightly larger, heavier version of the dress I had become accustomed to. Ah, I was panicking. This was the moment. The king would acknowledge me, and with that, I would officially not hear my name for a very long time. I can’t say I am excited. But it also marks the moment that killing me becomes difficult. So it was a checkpoint of sorts.

  The queen had been kind enough to offer me a few invites to small parties. To give me a chance to see what they looked like. It was easy enough, since I was unknown and could only say I was the king’s guest and couldn’t expand on that. I got more eyes than anything, and that was going to be a true fact today as well.

  I didn’t begin the night in the gala hall. Instead, I was behind a curtain with three children. They were turning seven, and thus we shared a debut. I guess they had it lucky. All eyes were going to be on me.

  From our vantage point, we could see the king, queen, and four of their children. Princess Catherine was among them. I hadn’t formally met the others as they were all boys, and only one was older than her.

  The king called the first boy, and he went out and bowed. The king called his name to establish him as a new noble. The entire process took only a few moments, and he walked down the stairs towards the gala hall. I couldn’t see past that.

  A girl was called next. What struck me about her was her name. “Brunhilde Fluss.” That meant she was an heir to Lady Evelyn’s hometown. Interesting. The process repeated, and she went down the stairs, and so did the final boy, which meant, as much as I wasn’t ready for it. It was my turn.

  “And now, the last debuting noble. Julia Breeze!” the king called.

  Breeze? Oh! Was that what the bleese thing on my adventurer card was? I can’t believe I read it wrong! I took a few steps to stand next to the king. My stomach had been practicing its knots for the past two months, and today was yet still a moment I wasn’t ready for with how deeply it twisted.

  The room was mostly quiet, with what felt like three hundred people staring at me. The only murmurs I could hear were from people asking who the Breeze family was or similar things. Ugh. I wanted to puke, but held back my stomach for dear life. I could not afford to mess up now.

  I did the best curtsy I could.

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  The king then walked in front of me. “Julia Breeze shall now receive the title of Duchess, but more than that, she marks a change in our history! As we are no longer a maidenless nation. Julia is our first maiden. Chosen by the God of Wind, Luft himself! We have our Maiden of Wind!”

  The crowd erupted in what felt like nothing more than noise to me. I couldn’t make out any words. However, I could see some faces. Lady Evelyn, for example, and the Malatise girls. The knight commander and the goblin were actually up with the royals. Alyss and William were both given the night off and told to get to bed early because we would be leaving early tomorrow.

  Alexandra raised her hand in the crowd and used glow—a light green glow over her index finger. Right, Lady Evelyn explained that the glow was used to silently convey messages at noble events. Oh, wait, green. Was she saying that she approved of me? Some of the children nearby copied her, and a green glow rose from them as well.

  Parts of the crowd took notice, and the noise got quieter for a moment. A green light came from next to me as I realized the goblin was also using glow. She had walked up the stage to stand beside me. A few more points began to appear. Elise Malatise and Lady Evelyn are among them.

  Princess Catherine added her light and gave me a nod. I realized now that I hadn’t responded to their expression. So I raised my right hand and used glow as well. At this point, with about twenty percent of the crowd doing a green glow, the effect was notable as even the white walls began to give off a green sheen.

  The number reached about thirty-five percent and held there for a bit. Noticeably, the king never raised his hand. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. But he did raise a golden staff he had been holding, and all the glows began to vanish.

  “Very good! I am proud to see this level of support. So, as you are all aware. A maiden’s pilgrimage is very important. For our Maiden of Wind, her current path is to begin her marriage pilgrimage. To aid her, I am issuing a royal decree. All unwed men of age must accept a proposal from her. Each of you is to ensure your domain complies. Once she is married, she will attend the royal academy. At that point, you may seek an audience with her on your own. Before then, you are only to communicate with her upon her request. You shall send all other concerns to me. But enough of that. Beloved Maiden of Wind. You may address the crowd now.”

  I felt dizzy. I had never spoken in front of so many people before, let alone to them. Lady Evelyn had drilled into me the basics of a speech, though. All I really had to do was repeat it. This was it, the last hurdle, and then the debut would continue without me. The king understood I wasn’t ready to begin formal socializing with this many people. So the intent was to use my pilgrimage as an excuse to leave in a hurry.

  “I am ever so pleased to meet all of you. As a servant of Luft, I shall serve this country and not only protect it, but I shall help raise it to an even higher level of glory! I am ever so excited to see you at the Royal Academy or hear from you through letters. To the glory of Anlage! May it shine forever more, and brighter than ever!”

  I think I got it all correct. I raised my hand and did a fiery orange glow this time. This was Anlage’s color. So if green meant they were supporting me, then this was me signaling my support in return. Almost instantly, every hand was raised, and the shine of all the glows was headache-inducing. The king smiled, raised his staff once again to stop our glows, and then signaled for me to leave.

  I let out a sigh as I almost collapsed once I was out of view. My knees were shaking, but I think that counts as a success. Lady Evelyn escorted me to my room; she was smiling but didn’t say a word. I was thankful for that; it took all my nerve to walk elegantly, especially with the eyes of anyone nearby on me. Once in my room, I dashed to the chamberpot and puked.

  “Looks like you made it,” she said, casting Zureinigen to clean up my mess.

  I noticed the maids weren’t in the room—another thing to be thankful for, and undoubtedly something she did. “You have my thanks. I don’t think I can handle something like that again anytime soon.”

  “Fortunately for you, things should be mildly easier for at least a little bit. You have earned a rest. Enjoy it,” she said as she began helping me change into my night clothes.

  The time didn’t matter. I fell asleep quickly and, for the first time in a while, with a sense of calm. Easier, even if only for a little bit. It was something to dream about.