“Rain!”
“It’s raining!”
After more than three months of drought, people had already given up on this year’s crop harvest. Now it was no longer about farming, but about survival.
Humans cannot survive without drinking water. Already, people were moving near lakes.
So when they heard that the imperial family was holding a rain prayer ceremony, some thought it was a futile act, while others criticized it as an evasion to avoid spending time and money on irrigation canal construction.
But it really rained.
And just one day after the rain prayer ceremony began!
“Look up there, above the clouds!”
The hazy sky was filled with large dark clouds pouring rain. And above those dark clouds, something shining could be seen.
It was a large divine dragon receiving the light of the sun.
“It’s the divine dragon!”
Someone shouted.
The dragon’s form cast upon the clouds was indiscernible to human eyes, appearing only as a shadow, but everyone knew there was only one being above the clouds that could bring rain – the empire’s guardian dragon.
“It’s really bringing us rain……”
The divine dragon was just a symbol of the empire. It was only supposed to guard the dragon’s nest to prevent monsters from coming from the north. The divine dragon had never directly helped the human world before.
Just its existence alone was enough to prevent other ethnic groups from coveting the empire’s land, and monsters from invading, so they were satisfied with that.
But now the divine dragon went beyond just guarding its nest, bringing rain to relieve the drought. What moved it must have been this rain prayer ceremony.
“The imperial family’s prayers are being answered.”
“Because it’s the imperial family’s guardian dragon.”
People who didn’t know that even the Emperor was in awe of the divine dragon misunderstood that this rain was given by the dragon in response to the Emperor’s request.
Since ordinary citizens cannot enter the imperial palace, there was no one to correct this misunderstanding.
“But His Majesty the Emperor didn’t perform the rain ceremony, did he?”
“Instead, when the princess prayed, it was answered.”
“Which princess?”
“Her name is… Princess Litania?”
[This is the timeline separator]When Princess Litania prayed, it rained. Everyone who attended the rain ceremony knew this.
Because of her status as a neglected, mistreated princess, people who had been deliberately ignoring her began to talk about Litania.
The Crown Prince tried to silence the servants, and Princess Herna even threatened to expel anyone who mentioned Litania’s name from the palace, but there was no way to stop the rumors spreading from mouth to mouth.
People soon learned that it was not the Emperor or Crown Prince who had made it rain at the ceremony, but Litania, who was called the fake princess.
“Divine Dragon Orbis has answered Princess Litania’s prayer, Your Majesty.”
“This is unprecedented, Your Majesty. You must not let this opportunity pass.”
Prince Vapor had merely spoken a thought that suddenly occurred to him, but the Emperor’s approval of it was because of Litania.
Divine Dragon Orbis had a deep interest in Litania. It was a strange obsession that had continued since her birth.
To hide the fact that a lady-in-waiting had become pregnant with the Emperor’s child while the Empress was absent, the Emperor tried to beat and drive out that maid. It was Divine Dragon Orbis who appeared to stop it.
Unable to go against the divine dragon’s request, the Emperor had no choice but to let the child be born in the palace, and adopted the newborn child as his daughter, granting her the status of princess.
After that, Orbis neither sought out Litania nor visited the Emperor, but Litania was always a concern in the Emperor’s mind.
Not because she was his daughter, but because he couldn’t understand why the divine dragon had specifically pointed her out for protection.
After the divine dragon stopped visiting the palace, the Emperor too forgot about Litania’s existence. It was even more so because she lived like an empty doll.
When complaints occasionally arose about her not attending any imperial events despite her status as a princess, thoughts of slowly driving her out or killing her would surface.
But what if the divine dragon came looking for Litania later? What if Litania was gone or couldn’t be found? The divine dragon might trample the empire, saying its suggestion had been ignored.
As long as there was even a slight possibility, the Emperor could not lay hands on Litania.
In the year this unwanted princess came of age, the divine dragon visited the Emperor again.
Seeing the divine dragon’s interest in Litania, the Emperor thought that perhaps the divine dragon wanted her as a woman and that’s why it had asked for her protection.
But for some reason, even after proposing to Litania and being rejected, the divine dragon did not forcibly take her as a bride, but silently circled around her.
The Emperor found this extremely strange and unsettling.
“You must send Princess Litania to Divine Dragon Orbis.”
“If the divine dragon grants Princess Litania’s requests, all the problems the empire is facing will be solved.”
The story of the divine dragon proposing to the princess became a topic of conversation for a while, but it didn’t last long.
This is because dragons are beings that cannot be understood by human thinking, so it’s not unusual for a dragon to occasionally behave strangely.
To a dragon, a human’s life is incomparably short, so it’s entirely possible for them to marry on a whim, like buying a toy out of simple curiosity.
Most people only thought that far.
But bringing rain is different.
This was very different from a dragon simply showing interest in humans and trying to possess them.
Instances of a dragon granting human requests are extremely rare.
Especially without offering sacrifices or even making a contract, there was virtually no precedent for a dragon to go out of its way to do a favor.
“The divine dragon… seems to like that child, that’s for certain.”
The Emperor had allowed the rain ceremony to confirm the divine dragon’s strange obsession with Litania.
If it was simply a case of amusement turning into interest in a particular human over the long years, there would be no reason to go out of the way to bring rain.
Even if they don’t listen, no human can defy a dragon anyway.
But if they accept that human’s request and don’t hesitate to use their power…
“We might be able to use the divine dragon’s power for the empire.”
“That’s exactly it, Your Majesty!”
Divine Dragon Orbis said he had no intention of taking Litania.
‘He called it love, didn’t he?’
It’s truly absurd for a monster that isn’t even human to imitate human behavior.
Dragons are more capricious than humans think. If this lukewarm relationship continues and their interest cools, it would be like losing a valuable card.
“The divine dragon has already proposed to that child.”
The divine dragon wanted to play at love, but didn’t say he didn’t want to marry.
He just won’t take her himself, but if the imperial family sends Litania, he probably won’t refuse.
Perhaps he’ll grant wishes since he got what he wanted quickly.
If we can use Litania to utilize even a tiny bit of the divine dragon’s power for the empire, there’s nothing better than that.
Even if not, the imperial family loses nothing by marrying off one unwanted princess.
If Orbis quickly loses interest in Litania, he’ll simply not grant her requests or even kill her.
“The ministers have a point. We should send that child to the divine dragon.”
[This is the timeline separator]Waking up to find the world turned upside down should be enough to happen once. There’s nothing more surprising than opening your eyes and seeing an unfamiliar ceiling for the first time.
Litania certainly thought so.
Until she heard the shocking news from the Emperor.
“Marriage? Me? With Orbis?”
How did this happen? I clearly refused.
He said he’d be my friend, but is he pressuring the Emperor to force a marriage?
The first thing that came to Litania’s mind was suspicion towards Orbis.
“Didn’t the divine dragon hear Princess Litania’s prayer and bring rain? What greater joy could there be than your hearts being in sync?”
Certainly, it was surprising when rain fell right after praying. It was even more surprising to see the dragon’s shadow reflected above the clouds.
But surprises should end after once, or at most twice, to feel like a miracle.
If it happens three times, doesn’t it feel too contrived?
“It could just be… a coincidence.”
“Are you… trying to refuse?”
The head servant’s eyes sharpened.
Feeling like the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped by 5 degrees, Litania shrunk her shoulders.
‘Not Orbis… but the Emperor ordered this?’
The thought briefly crossed her mind that if she refused to marry Orbis, she might incur the Emperor’s wrath and die without anyone knowing.
They say human fate is predetermined, and even if you deviate from the set path, you’ll somehow end up at the initial outcome.
This was proven by an ancient myth where a father tried to kill his newborn son to avoid a prophecy that the son would kill him in the future, but because of this, the abandoned son came back for revenge and took his father’s life.
In reality it might be different, but if the world she was inhabiting was a romance fantasy novel, this law of fate was likely to come in an extremely forceful way under the name of plausibility.
‘Is there no way to escape? Is this going to follow the original route at super-speed?’
Litania felt darkness closing in before her eyes.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
