'What is up with these two? Why are they staring at me like fools?'
Controlling her emotions, she ignored them, turning her attention back to the jellyfishes. She found them more interesting than the fools before her.
Being completely ignored, Rong Li and Teng Wang's faces flushed in embarrassment. What were they supposed to do now? How were they supposed to react? They pushed aside the new apprentices for her, and she pushed them away for fishes?
In all their lives, they had never been in such an awkward situation before.
"Senior brothers, I am Aarya Quime. It is nice to meet you." At this moment, a sweet and gentle voice floated from their left, giving them a way out of the embarrassing situation.
Glancing to the side, they saw the speaker was a black hair and purple eyed girl. She quietly stood a few feet away from them, her white robes outlining her slender figure. Combined with her fair complexion, she was a little beauty worth a second glance.
It was fine when she had not stepped up. But once she did, all the limelight shifted to her.
Unfortunately, even though her hair and eye color matched with that of the seated girl, the difference between the two was like heaven and earth. The little beauty was stunning, but before the mysterious girl, her good looks seemed more vulgar then attractive.
What's more, this difference was not only caught by them.
All the new apprentices and spectating second years saw the difference between the two, strange expressions on their faces as they looked at the white robed girl.
Aarya Quime was sitting peacefully on the right of Princess Qamari, doing her own scouting. As she scanned the faces of the elders and attending students, her gaze fell on the two brown hair blue eyed boys.
Like the rest of the girls gathered, her interest was instantly piqued by their handsome looks. But unlike the girls present, she did not immediately approach the two, and instead kept her calm. Guessing the group's identity as second years, she waited patiently.
She knew, as their soon-to-be guides, the men would certainly step forward to introduce themselves to the new apprentices. As such, she worked on making good first impression, suppressing the excitement in her heart.
Putting on a nonchalant and uninterested appearance, she kept her gaze fixed to the front.
However, the moment the leading males moved, they headed straight towards the oblivious Princess Qamari.
Mood souring, jealousy and envy shot through her being like a blunt knife. While she sat upright, attempting to attract the men's attention, the other was completely unaffected by the activity going on around her and still got others seeking her out.
Her fists clenched in annoyance as she debated whether to step up or wait for a while longer, and observe the situation well. Gritting her teeth, she opened her mouth to intervene. It was at this moment that she heard the princess's response to the second years.
Even as they behaved politely, taking the initiative to introduce themselves, she did not give them the slightest bit of face.
'This is my chance to step up and draw the crowds attention on myself.'
It was the perfect chance she was looking for. She would be able to smoothly introduce herself, while getting the two out of a difficult situation.
Heart wildly racing in her chest, she got up and slowly approached the two, keeping a little distance between them as a form of modesty.
As she amiably greeted in her sweetest voice, she felt the aura in the atmosphere change, and too late, realized her blunder.
In her attempt to stand out and leave a lasting impression on the senior brothers, she forgot to take in Princess Qamari's presence. Before the cold, ethereal, and otherworldly aura of the princess, her gentle façade seemed weak and fake.
Her face immediately reddened in shame and she slowly stepped back. In her heart, she wrote down her humiliation on Princess Qamari's head.
'Because of this Princess Qamari, I was shamed so publicly. I will remember this day! She will pay for my humiliation and insult with tears of blood in the future.'
Tightly clenching her fists, she made a vow of vengeance in her heart.
On the other side, Marui Osklain was delighted on seeing the pretentious Aarya Quime humiliated without anyone even lifting a hand.
'Hahaha....great! she will now be more inclined to working together to get her revenge. She will put her fake act away and start the real drama.'
The new apprentice unrestrainedly roared in laugher inside her head.
"Ahem!" Rong Li, feeling the atmosphere was a bit wrong, cleared his throat to divert the focus from the white robed girl, helping her out in exchange for getting them out of their embarrassing situation.
"We are sorry for disturbing you, junior sister. We came to introduce ourselves. We were assigned to you as your guide after the ceremony, and thought it might be more convenient to get to know you now, instead of waiting." He continued in a quiet tone, his composed voice speaking volume about his character.
"Yes, junior sister. You are new and are not familiar with the environment. We thought of making you feel at ease and comfortable after seeing you. As your guides, we would feel ill at ease if you are not comfortable." Not to be outdone, Teng Weng followed up.
The two's apologetic tone and attitude had the surrounding girls gaping in surprise.
'They are not displeased with Princess Qamari's behavior towards them?'
'They did not take offense?'
'What just happened? Why am I not able to follow what is going on?'
'Was this the power of beauty?'
The new apprentices thoughts ran along this lines as they exchanged glances with one another. They were disappointed on not being able to witness another drama. But on looking at the cold and indifferent attitude of the princess, they restrained themselves.
They did not want to be another Aarya Quime, shooting their own foot.
"We are sorry for disturbing you once again. Please enjoy the welcome ceremony. We will be standing with the rest of the second years." Rong Li bowed his head in apology before backing away.
Teng Wang looked at the girl with reluctance and heartache, unwilling to leave so soon before even finding out her name. However, since Brother Rong made the decision for them to return, he did not want to embarrass him by refusing.
'Forget it. I will leave for now. But I will definitely find out her name before the end of the day.'
Vowing to himself, Teng Wang nodded his head towards the motionless girl, before following behind Rong Li.
Seeing the two's departing backs, Princess Qamari finally relax.
They made her feel as if she was a living showpiece.
Their sudden attention unsettling her mind and heart. She did not want to associate herself with any male.
Even though they got separated on their wedding day, Princess Qamari knew that she was now married. The Crown Prince of the Amayan Empire was her husband. As long as he did not wrong or divorce her, she would remain forever loyal to him.
Even if they never met again in this life.
Because only he had a right on her love and loyalty. Only he had the right to worry and care for her.
As for other males, they had no right, and she had no interest.
"New apprentices, welcome to the Sealand Academy!" At this moment, a short elder, with green hair appeared on the platform, silencing the whispering girls.
Princess Qamari pulled herself out of her thoughts and focused on the platform, wanting to know what else the elder had to say.
"As I am sure you are all aware, the selection of apprentices was very different this year. Because the Sealand Academy selected students not once, but twice in the span of one year. This is in part, due to our Great Magician who desired to select a personal disciple!" Getting here, the elder paused in uncertainty, for a moment, before continuing.
"The personal disciples he sought are no ordinary magicians, but prospective Marikeen with the ability to heal and cure all ailments. As I am sure you all know, we have three prospective Marikeen students."
"However, there could only be one Marikeen. As we do not know how to determine Marikeen from the other magicians, this process of training and evaluation is necessary." At this, the elders standing by the side of the stadium sighed in depression.
They really had no methods to differentiate regular magician's from Marikeen, leading to their current situation. If they had a way to tell a Marikeen apart from other magicians, than they would not need to recruit three students as the Great Magician's direct disciple.
However, it was never easy to accomplish great tasks. Along with time and effort, it also took dedication and resolution.
Sighing in defeat, they focused back on the elder on stage.
"Therefore, from the three prospective Marikeen's, only one will be the Marikeen. However, the Great Magician will be training the three students equally without any bias. It will depend on the students, how much they can learn. Now, let us welcome the Great Magician of the Southern Black Sea on stage!" The elder's booming voice reverberated in the area before a thunderous applause took over.
"Great Magician!"
"Great Magician!"
"Great Magician!"
The new apprentices, along with the second years and spectating students and elders, enthusiastically welcomed the Great Magician of the Sealand Academy.
At this moment, a red haired elder in green robes slowly made his way onto the stage.. The instant he appeared, the place fell in dead silence.