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THE day of the Vinka exam came. To demonstrate how dearly she wished to go home, Angelina wore her own dress, not the clothes provided for her. Worries still plagued her mind. Yes, Nara had explained every stage of the exam to help formulate a countermeasure, but that said—
This test is way too easy!
The exam was essentially a formality. It had been devised with passing as the goal, and very few factors could cause one to fail. Four-year-old girls selected through divination would have little difficulty passing.
Will I be able to pull off a convincing failure?
Angelina headed towards the exam in low spirits. The venue it took place in was very warm.
“This is the first exam,” the matriarch said. “Ask the Black Tortoise for permission to continue onwards.”
The first room belonged to a representation of one of the Four Divinities. A large tortoise waited for her beyond the door. Apart from the actual divinity, Angelina had never seen a tortoise before. For this reason, she could hardly contain her excitement.
“Wow, so cute!” she cried. “Mishter Black Tortoise! You’re so big!”
Angelina ran over to the tortoise and patted his shell. In turn, he began munching on the leaves she’d brought.
“May I ride you, Mishter Tortoise?” Angelina asked, still giddy with excitement.
Silently, the tortoise stopped munching on leaves and lowered himself onto the ground. “Hop on,” the gesture suggested.
After Angelina had climbed on his back, the tortoise moseyed forward. He circled the room leisurely to provide a fun experience. Angelina couldn’t help but squeal with delight. Riding on a tortoise was an entirely different experience from riding on Ryuho.
“Polaris Princess,” the matriarch said, “you’ve passed the first exam.”
When Angelina jolted in surprise, Ryuho regarded her icily. “Weren’t you supposed to fail?” he asked.
“I wasn’t expecting such a big tortoise…” Angelina mumbled.
According to Nara, feeding the tortoise was the first exam. Angelina had considered acting so afraid of the creature that she couldn’t feed it. However, seeing such a large tortoise for the first time had filled her with excitement, and she’d forgotten to act frightened.
“But there are still more tests, so I should be okay!” Angelina declared.
Ryuho used his teeth to pull her off the tortoise’s shell and gave her a big, wet lick to disinfect her.
The next room belonged to the White Tiger. When Angelina opened the door, she found a whole clowder of gray tabbies. White tigers were rare, and raising them on Mt. Jinlong would have been impossible. As such, these gray tabbies served as substitutes.
They’re so cute…! Angelina squealed internally.
As Angelina’s heart melted, Ryuho whopped her on the rear with his tail. “Pull yourself together!” he shouted.
Again, Angelina jolted in surprise. “Eek!” she cried, holding the container of cat food over her head. “White tigers! So scary!”
“Never taken acting lessons, huh?” Ryuho quipped.
In the blink of an eye, the entire clowder had surrounded Angelina. They nuzzled against her legs, meowing for food. Cats gathered around Ryuho’s paws, perhaps wanting to share his warm fluffiness. Some of the cats even began kneading his stomach.
“Hey, cut that out!” he barked. “I’m a holy Flame Tiger, you little runts, not your mother!”
In response, the cats merely purred happily.
“I expected no less from you, Polaris Princess,” the matriarch said. “Even the White Tiger adores you.”
“N-No, I’m s-so scared,” Angelina stammered.
The matriarch laughed. “This from the girl accompanied by a Flame Tiger? What an amusing joke.”
“Yeah, good luck convincing us on that one,” Ryuho agreed.
Angelina’s shoulders slumped. “…Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Giving up, she placed the container on the ground, allowing the cats to munch on the food.
“So cute…” she mumbled with a sigh.
Seeing so many small cats was a novel sight for Angelina. When she petted one member of the clowder, the cat rolled onto its back. Of course, she rubbed its small belly. Immediately, Ryuho knocked the cat aside and shoved his head in front of Angelina.
“I’m the cute one, Lina!” he shouted, sandwiching her hand between his two front paw pads. “Stop petting these little runts!”
He then proceeded to lick her all over, huffing angrily all the while.
“Ryuho!” Angelina squealed with delight, pressing her forehead against him. “Your tongue’s so rough!”
The third room belonged to the Blue Dragon. According to Nara, normal lizards resided in this space. She hadn’t been instructed to feed the stand-ins this time. Rather, she would pass the test if one of them appeared from amidst the rocks. With this in mind, Angelina flung the door open with a loud bang. She planned to scare the lizards into remaining hidden.
“Oh, NO!” she cried out in her loudest voice. “Mishter Blue Dragon isn’t HERE!”
“Yeah, you’re right!” Ryuho barked in response.
“Polaris Princess, Holy Flame Beast,” the matriarch addressed them in a chiding manner. “If you remain quiet, the Blue Dragon will show his face.”
“Oh, I SEE!” Angelina responded in an even more booming voice. “Mishter Dragon might end up hating me because I’m SO LOUD!”
Even a single lizard showing its face could ruin everything. However, as soon as she finished speaking, the depiction of the Blue Dragon on the wall opened his eyes.
“My brethren,” he said. “Prostrate yourselves before Polaris Princess Angelina.”
As his dignified voice echoed throughout the room, droves of lizards appeared amidst the rocks and bowed to Angelina.
The matriarch then regarded her with sparkling eyes. “You never cease to amaze me, Polaris Princess!”
At the same time, Ryuho regarded her with exasperation. “So, what are we supposed to do about this?”
Angelina’s shoulders slumped. Can you not take a hint, Mister Dragon…?
The final room belonged to the Garuda, not the Vermillion Bird.
“Whatever you do, don’t pass this one, all right?” Ryuho reminded Angelina, shooting her a glance.
In answer, Angelina squared her shoulders and nodded. I’ll fail this one if it’s the last thing I do!
She and Ryuho entered the fourth room. Nara stood there with the Garuda perched quietly on her shoulder. To pass this test, one had to sing before the Garuda, feed it from their hand, and then pet it. That said, Angelina couldn’t sing. She’d spent many years in an environment where others had mocked or scolded her for doing so.
“However, when you stand before the Garuda, a song will naturally flow from your lips,” Nara had explained. “Since no one fails here, simply say you can’t pet the Garuda.”
After hearing that, Angelina worried she might start singing against her will. Thus, she came to stand before the Garuda with tentative steps. The divine avian met her eye and jerked its beak, urging her to sing. However, as Angelina kept very few songs in her heart, no melody flowed from her lips. Instead, her breath hardened into lead and clogged her throat, preventing her from even speaking.
“What’s wrong?” the matriarch asked suspiciously.
Angelina had no idea how to respond.
“Please sing for us,” the matriarch prodded.
The Garuda chirped as well, flapping its wings to urge Angelina onwards.
“I can’t sing…” Angelina finally replied.
The matriarch laughed heartily in disbelief. “That can’t be true. Now, sing for us! There’s no need to feel embarrassed!”
When Angelina’s throat remained obstructed, the matriarch glared at her in displeasure. “You’re not pretending to be unable to sing in front of the Holy Garuda, are you? That would incur divine punishment. The bridge won’t be repaired, and Kyril’s ascension ceremony will end in failure.”
The mention of Kyril caused Angelina to tremble. If she alone received the Garuda’s punishment, she wouldn’t mind, but she didn’t want to destroy her brother’s future. And so, she frantically sifted through her memories. Marfa had often sung her one particular song. Since the lyrics were in Yulan, Angelina didn’t understand their meaning, but she might have been capable of singing this one song in particular.
As Angelina took several deep breaths, everyone observed her curiously. Somehow, she pushed aside the leaden atmosphere and began to sing in a barely audible whisper. Her unsteady, quavering voice recited a line of incomprehensible words. The unfamiliar scale at which she sang perplexed the daoshi as well.
All the while, Angelina’s heart beat so hard that she feared it might burst. Her chest ached with sadness and embarrassment. Why did she struggle to do something so normal? Everyone but her could sing naturally. Though she could blame everything on her abuse, she still felt pathetic. Tears welled in her eyes, and her already trembling, nasal voice quivered even more.
Squawking, the Garuda spread its wings and covered its ears, attempting to block out all sound. “Enough already,” its entire body seemed to be expressing.
Angelina stopped singing. Was my song so horrible that even the Garuda would reject it…? she wondered. Though she hadn’t been confident in her singing, the rejection still shocked her.