"Praise the lord! We get to see the princess in the flesh?"
"She looks even better in person; those painters didn't do a good job capturing her beauty!"
"I wonder if I can have her autograph?"
A series of enraptured murmurs broke out in the crowd as the turquoise-haired princess walked out from behind the curtains.
Princess Lilianna confidently strode onto the stage and bowed lightly to the headmaster before turning to face the crowd of students.
"Hello everyone, I hope you're having a wonderful day today."
Hearing his childhood friend's voice after 5 long years gave Arvell a pang of nostalgia.
'Her voice sounds so much more… mature now. She sounds nothing alike, but at the sa ti sowhat the sa.' Arvell reminisced.
'Her voice was the only thing that changed… But you look nothing like your past self.' Lykos pointed out.
'I'm no longer the weak kid I was before I t you. I've grown up.'
'And so has she.'
Lily had grown to around 161 cm tall, with long turquoise hair reaching her ribs and matching turquoise eyes.
She was pretty slim but also quite fit. Mainly from all the training, she received as a mber of the royal family.
However, her face… Now that Arvell had managed to get a better look at her, he was sure that Lily was arguably the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, and that's saying a lot.
Especially considering he was sitting right next to Lydia and Reyna, both beauties capable of charming the hearts of almost any man they choose.
Her features were aligned so perfectly as if lovingly sculpted by a god.
Furthermore, her soft smile… That alone was enough to pull the crowd into her spell.
"Today, we begin a new chapter of our lives… A brand new page in which we will grow and learn together, striving to beco the best version of ourselves.
I'm sure many of you are not acquainted, but we will spend the next four years together, so I hope we can all be friends!"
'That over-optimistic part of her hasn't changed, I see…' Arvell smiled softly.
While the two had drastic changes in their respective appearances, at the very least, his childhood friend didn't seem to have changed much on the inside.
And that's what counts.
Everyone knew that everyone becoming friends was almost impossible, but seeing the princess's glowing smile made them think…
Was it actually possible?
Seeing the hope in the eyes of those watching her, Princess Lillianna felt a bubble of happiness form in her chest.
"I know we had a rough start this year, but even so… I want all of us to make the best out of our years together. So let's live our lives to the fullest!
All of us are the next generation of Elantrya, and we will need to work together to ensure the prosperity of our country. While our country still feels the aftereffects of that dreadful war, we learned a valuable lesson.
When we all work together, no one can beat us!
So I implore all of you here today… please cast aside your differences and work together.
It does not matter how you look or how talented you are. What matters is your heart and your willingness to put in the effort. If you are not strong enough on your own, let your friends help you.
Nobody is perfect, and we are all flawed.
However, working together can overco those flaws and elevate our country to new heights!"
Hearing her passionate speech, the audience erupted into raucous applause.
The ssage of 'As we work together, we're unbeatable' is stuck in their hearts.
Everyone knew just how brutal the recent war was. So many people here lost siblings, friends, parents, and other loved ones in the fires of war.
Knowing that they have to carry on the legacy of their deceased loved ones filled them with a sombre feeling of power.
Moreover, she wasn't wrong.
Elantrya wasn't beaten by Vispia during the war, but while the opposite was also true, everyone was more hooked on the fact that they didn't lose.
Many in the audience still watched her introduction with snickers plastered on their lips or neutral expressions.
Even Arvell's expression changed from a smile into a more neutral bearing.
'It doesn't matter how talented you are? That's the worst lie I've ever heard. I would never be stepping foot in this academy if that was true. Instead, I would attend the Divine Spear Academy in Vispia as a prince… Hell, I'd even be the one giving the orientation speech. But… the hard work part is quite accurate.'
Arvell knew his forr fiance was only trying to stoke patriotism in the students' hearts, but he couldn't agree with her words.
They went against Arvell's entire worldview.
The surrounding nobles seed to have similar thoughts as they watched the princess with silent ridicule.
"Talent didn't matter? How co the academy separates us based on our talent and caste? That's a whole load of bull. Hard work is aningless if you don't have talent. It's nothing more than a waste of ti."
"I understand she's the princess, but there should be limits to ignorance."
"Being considered the sa as a re commoner disgusts . As the princess, she should think more about her words before she says them."
"Shh… not too loud. We could get in big trouble for disrespecting royalty even if you are right."
Princess Lillianna seed utterly oblivious to their actions; if she knew, she acted like she couldn't see them.
She bowed once before walking off the stage, giving the podium back to the headmaster.
Professor Westfield adjusted his glasses before nodding in the princess's direction.
"Thank you very much for that motivational speech, your highness. From here on, I'm going to just go over so general information you'll need to know before starting your year. I'll do my best to try to not bore you all to sleep, but I can't give any guarantees."
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