The capital's gate began to close again as Apolo headed towards his destination, and the onlookers who had stayed to watch the reception dispersed. It was quite late now, so Apolo intended to spend the night in the carriage and head to the Ministry of Magic in the morning with the aim of becoming an imperial wizard.
The reason Apolo had to sleep in the carriage was that his family, maintaining their isolationist policy, didn't own any mansion in the capital or any other major city. However, once he became a wizard for the empire, it would grant him a residence. So, the young man wasn't overly concerned about it. Besides, he could have stayed at the house of a noble family friendly to his own, but he wasn't in the mood for all the greetings he would have to exchange if he did that.
While Mateo looked for a good place to park the carriage without drawing too much attention, Apolo was gazing out of the window, observing the capital. As far as he could see, the capital wasn't as bustling as the Ring City. There were few carriages moving about, and people weren't strolling the streets or its surroundings. Quickly, Apolo noticed there were no shops around; instead, the areas around the bluish streets were occupied by residences.
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These residences weren't tightly packed like in the Ring City; each house had a considerable green space separating them. Virtually all the houses were multi-story mansions, though now and then Apolo could catch sight of some less common structures seen in ordinary towns, like mansions that resembled castles or tall towers that looked more like fortresses than traditional houses.
The decorations of each mansion were unique and unrepeatable, but they all shared a similarity: how much effort they put into their gardens. The gardens were filled with exotic flowers, and many people could be seen working in them. Some gardens even had colorful animals that Apolo had never seen in his life. The young noble could even spot a mansion surrounded by a turquoise lake that had somehow been built to embellish the estate.
After a not-so-long journey, Orrin found a street that seemed quiet enough to park the carriages and wait for the day to end normally. Apolo, on the other hand, was already trying to fall asleep by this point. However, his nerves and excitement seemed too great to sleep, so he relentlessly opened his eyes again to read the document written by one of his ancestors. The young man knew that tomorrow would be the big day. Tomorrow, Apolo would have to execute everything in this document flawlessly to obtain the security he so deeply craved.