Getting off of the carriage, I follow my parents through the castle towards the royal family’s ceremony hall.

The knights standing outside the entrance salute us as we walk through, and I hear the muffled voice of someone announcing our arrival to the present people.

I remember some monarchies having a noble etiquette where the order of entering is from lower-ranked nobles to higher-ranked ones.

It makes it so that the higher the rank of the person arriving, the more people are present to salute them, or it was to not let high-ranking nobles wait for others.

This country’s etiquette doesn’t state that this must be done, but the protagonists of an Appraisal Ceremony must enter after all the guests do.

The main purpose of the ceremony is to estimate their worth after all, they are watched by the present people like monkeys in the zoo.

Because conversations aren’t allowed on such occasions out of politeness, I followed my parents’ steps and silently awaited the arrival of the fourth prince and second princess.

A few minutes later, the announcer relayed the arrival of the ceremony’s main characters as two children came walking through the entrance.

The fourth prince, a boy with short dark-blue hair and blue eyes, with an average height and plain body. There’s nothing special about him except for his expression that spoke of his extreme nervousness even as he tries his best to seem calm and dignified.

The second princess, a girl with below-waist cyan-colored hair and blue eyes, with a petite body shape and pale complexion. Different from the fourth prince, her expression seemed as if she was annoyed by something disturbing her good times. She didn’t even care about the guests; Her eyes never left the fourth prince.

Ohhh boy, these two look like they are troublesome to deal with...

Why is the fourth prince this nervous, though? I believe royals train their children for such occasions from childhood, just like how my parents did with me. Even I, who has memories of an ordinary past life didn’t really give a fuck about the people present in my ceremony.

Perhaps...No, I’ll wait until I see the Appraisal results first then judge, the greater the hope the greater the disappointment.

They took slow steps all the way to the podium on which the pedestal holding the Appraisal stone rested, then they knelt down to the king standing behind it.

After which the monarch of this kingdom, their father announced the start of the ceremony.

He then started a speech about some annoying stuff which can be summarized as greetings for the nobles and some disguised threats about starting power struggles or something after the results of the ceremony.

His words were too complicated for children to comprehend, but every single adult noble in the hall could figure out his true meaning if they weren’t stupid. I mean, even I understood the context of what he said.

From the looks of it though, the fourth prince standing right in front of him was too nervous to hear it and even if he did, I doubt he’d understand the hidden meaning.

The second princess though, clearly understood, but she still seemed to not care about anything but the fourth prince standing beside her.

Soo, a naïve idiot and a bro-con...? Such a peculiar combination.

“Now, Schlain Zagan Analeit. You may rise.”

“Yes, sir.”

Who calls their father sir...? There’s certainly something wrong with this guy.

Although royal families are strict, it isn’t to the point where the children treat their parents like soldiers and superiors in the army.

“Let the Appraisal begin.”

The fourth prince is the first to go, but is he really okay...? His hands are shaking.

His hand finally settles on the stone, and a sizeable number of words show up on the projector magic tool.

Damn, this guy is loaded! He has most of the stat skills along with a relatively high number of magic-related ones. There are even some combat skills in there!

What caught my attention the most though, was that the same [n%I = W] skill as mine is right there at the bottom of the list, along with the stupidly high amount of skill points.

I don’t see any corrupted text, which means that he’s not marked, but nonetheless, he should be a reincarnation, what a lucky encounter.

Next up was the second princess, Suelecia’s turn.

Her results were as good as the fourth prince, but she had neither skill points nor unknown or corrupted skills, meaning that she was a native.

The nobles standing around have been discussing the results loudly for a while now, even the king’s attempts to calm them down got no results.

Although his skill points aren’t as high as mine, the fourth prince’s results show a much higher number of skills than my own.

In fact, I’ve gained a lot of skills without using skill points since I activated my soul mark. Even if they were mostly mental skills like Concentration and Parallel Thinking, they make using and learning magic tremendously easier.

I’ve even found some unexpected applications for them in daily life, especially while eavesdropping on political conversations and during lessons with my tutors. Having that extended time while thinking about something is magical.

Back to the ceremony, I see the protagonists leaving through another door behind the king while the nobles’ discussions are still going on unabated.

Unlike the others though, my parents didn’t let out a sound except for an exclamation when seeing the results.

However, this silence is promptly broken, as my mother leans down a bit and whispers some words to me.

“A small reception is planned after this ceremony, Karnatia dear. During it, you are to greet the prince and princess, do try to befriend them if you can, and be on your best attitude.”

“I understand, mother dearest.”

Although it sounds like she wants to use me for some political reason, this notion couldn’t be more incorrect.

Despite my parents being very active in the political field, both of them are people who value family above all, so it’s impossible for them to force me into connecting with someone due to political motives.

As for the true reason, it’s probably because they feel that I’m way too absorbed in learning most of the time resulting in me having no friends of my age, plus considering that the prince and the princess are both geniuses as shown by their Appraisal Results, they want me to have some friends with similar status, nothing more.

They are a truly rare example of great parents among the nobility.

 

An hour later,

I follow my parents into the venue where the reception is going to be held.

The area inside seems to be split into two sections, one for adults and the other for children, while the royal family is sitting in the far back of the venue.

Soo, this is for the adults to discuss and the children to mingle together, huh?

... It’s boring.

Maybe children in such eras are more mature than our modern era, but I’ve become way more mature and knowledgeable after my Appraisal ceremony.

I can read everyone’s minute expressions and guess their true intentions way too easily, and the present children are either stupid like they should be at their age or too smart and approach with unkind intentions.

Picking a hidden corner behind a table with food placed on top of it, I sit down on the prepared chairs.

The king will leave a period of time for the nobles to discuss their political troubles and his children’s appraisal results, then it’ll turn into something similar to a meet and greet event with us children greeting the fourth prince and the second princess.

I’m still thinking about how to approach the fourth prince... Both of us being reincarnated isn’t enough of a reason for me to trust him; It’s been years since we last met and I don’t even know his real identity.

Such a large amount of time is enough to change a person’s personality even back on earth.

Time waits for no one though, as I’m soon called by my father to greet the royal family.

A couple of nobles have already beat us to it while others are still taking a wait-and-see attitude, so I won’t have to go through the awkward situation of being first or last.

Going up, I see the royal family members up close for the first time.

They all have that signature blue hair except for the king whose hair has become gray due to age.

Holding my skirt, I give a lady’s curtsy while greeting them, although my eyes focus on the fourth prince by the end.

“It is a sincere pleasure to meet you. I am the eldest daughter of Duke Anabald, Karnatia Seri Anabald.”

Our eyes meet and he pauses for a while to think about his words, he probably doesn’t have Thought Acceleration, huh.

That skill is a must for any qualified noble, y’know? Maybe he’s being kept out of the loop.

“How do you do? I am Schlain Zagan Analeit. Yoroshiku.”

My eyes widen at his words. What the hell?! You just revealed yourself right away?!

Does he have some plan, or is he just an idiot...??

“Father. May I speak with this young lady for a moment?”

“Hmm?”

You’re bringing in the king as well? All right, it’s confirmed, this guy is a naïve idiot.

Recalling my previous life’s classmates, I quickly think of a person who matches this description.

Although a person’s personality will change with time, my memories can still be used as a reference.

A person’s name pops up in my mind right away, but I hold back my guess and wait for his next move.

“Must I not?”

“Cough. Very well, but do not be long. You are to come back after a short while.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you very much.”

These are the last words I hear before I find myself being pulled away by the fourth prince and feel a seething glare whose owner feels as if they wanted me dead by yesterday.

Yeahhh... this glare can only belong to the bro-con second princess, huh?

I do not know what you’re planning to do, Schlain Zagan Analeit, but it better offset the troubles you just got me into.