Empress Vivian rose out of her chair and walked to the center of the stage . She was cool and unfl.u.s.tered compared to the other onlookers . She gave a rea.s.suring smile before she began to speak .

"All of the Performances today were beautiful, and powerful . Each child demonstrated their Prowess on this stage . For that, I thank their mothers for their diligent teachings, and the children for their efforts . That being said, there must be scores given to each child based on the people and the experts . First we will hear the score from the Arts Mage and then the Weapon's Master . After they have completed, your votes will be read as well . " Empress Vivian explained and everyone seemed curious as they turned to the Dancer .

She was beautiful, her hair silver with age and her body still just as toned as it had been when her hair glowed golden . "All of the children were interesting to watch . Unfortunately there was no clear winner . In the four categories that I judge by, they were split between two candidates .   Technically and Artistically Prince Nathaniel deserves the points, however for emotion and versatility belongs to Princess Raina . Therefore, I split the 10 points into 5s and present both children with 5 . I present Princess Drynala with 3 for her beautiful presentation, and Prince Keen with 2 for his well mannered presentation . Weapon's Master?"

Advertis.e.m.e.nt

Everyone seemed a bit excited now . Normally these two sections combined could be a tie but this time… things had worked out more strangely . Now the people's votes may carry more weight .

"Thank you, My Lady Dancer, and I concur with your findings being a bard once myself . " He agreed kindly . Then stepped to the stage . "We had a bit of an upset this time around . I have trained all three Princesses at the craft . Each performed stunningly . I had not had the pleasure of training Princess Raina, but I must say I was surprised . I would be pleased with any of these children as Knights, however this compet.i.tion decides the future of our nation and I must take more than technical skill into mind . " He pointed out calmly . Kyera smiled, well aware of what he meant . A weapon's Master must see more than just the skill but the face within the swordwielder .

"In terms of sportsmans.h.i.+p, I award 8 points to the brothers, Daniel and Nathaniel for their kindness and good natured behavior toward their opponents . To win and to lose with grace is important to one's temperament . I then must award Princess Raina with 7 points for her graceful loss, one less than the brothers because of how she handled myself and Castiel . Though she was correct, he had orders not to go too hard on her, it was not proper to address it in such a manner . " He pointed out glancing at her . Raina smiled and nodded .

"My apologies . I was unsure of how to handle such a shocking situation, thank you for your correction . " Raina replied carefully her tone grateful but her words clear . He was just as wrong as she was . He nodded at her .

"Lastly I award 8 to Keen for his encouragement of his partner . " He added and with that the sportsmans.h.i.+p was handled . Kyera and the other Princess Mothers glanced at each other, a little lost by those words . Something wasn't right .

"Now we shall move to skill, each win is awarded 10 points, a loss is awarded 1 . Keen and Nathaniel each get 10, Daniel is awarded 6 for his draw  and Princess Raina is awarded 1 . " He pointed out reminding everyone of their scores carefully .  

Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www . webnovel . com for visiting .

"That puts Keen at 20, Daniel and Nathaiel at 23 and 14, and Raina at 13 points . " The Former Emperor tallied the points and offered a proud smile to his boys .

"Thank You, sir . Now then, the last 2 parts of my judging are the most difficult . Ability and Strategy . Each challenger changed strategies mid way through the fight to see if the Royal had the skills to adapt . I must award Daniel and Nathaniel 6 points, they adapted well but were weaker in their adaptation . Keen receives 9 points, he did not adapt, because he knew he would be weaker and instead used what he was good at to overpower the opponent . Raina, unfortunately did not have a chance to show that skill, due to her voluntarily changing her partner . I must award 0 points . " This received some outraged chatter from the crowd . Sir Ritrel's jaw tightened . No one had explained that to him or he could have easily tested her .

"May I interject?" Ritrel asked Mordakai who shot him a glare .

"It will make things harder for Raina if we do . We will make our stand to the Empress Dowager the end if there is more injustice . " Mordakai ordered as the man on the stage continued .

"That brings us to Strategy . Going into every battle one must use what they know to attack, defend and use their own strengths and weaknesses against an opponent . These strategies are hard learned and often require more talent than skill . " He continued on but Ritrel and Mordakai couldn't hear him over the grinding of their teeth .