Kawaii princess's Arc

Chapter 67 of 74

The cracked bell still sat on the slab when the next placard turned. It read: SOUND. Kawaii Princess pressed her fingers to her throat. Nothing came. Her rival's banner snapped overhead, loud as a drum, and the crowd began to drift toward the noise. She ran to a light metal pavilion at the field's edge, its translucent panels catching the dusk. Inside, a curved horn of clear ice waited on a stand, shaped like a frozen note. She lifted it, set the narrow end to her lips, and blew. Her breath alone, no voice needed. A deep, ringing tone poured out and filled the pavilion's panels, carrying across the snow. While the note held, she hoisted her own silk banner up the pole beside the pavilion. The frozen wind caught it hard. Red and blue ribbons cracked like a second voice. The crowd turned. They saw her — silent, but standing, her colors snapping above a sound that did not need her throat. The head scout walked to the pavilion, touched the horn, and raised the crown token. Round won. Kawaii Princess lowered the horn, lungs burning. The ice had cracked along one ridge. She had answered without her voice — but the horn would not survive another breath, and the next placard was already turning.