A few days before Mary’s welcoming party, Kei arrived at the Holy See of the Sacred Kingdom.
Kei was guided not to the audience room but to the Pope’s reception room.
“Have you been well, Your Holiness?”
“After the wedding ceremony, not much time has passed for anything significant to happen, this lad.”
Pope Andrize Godelreim personally got up, embraced Kei once, and then sat back on the sofa.
“So, did you achieve the desired effect with my ceremony?”
“Why, did I do it because I wanted an effect? I only wished for Your Holiness to personally bless it.”
“You cunning fox. Well, then just say that. Using a priest with no blood on his hands?”
“I don’t keep a fellow who talks without knowing his place. Keeping such a fellow, poking around like a footstool, is not good at all, Your Holiness. It’s even worse to keep a guy who stabs here and there like a pest.”
Pope Andrize quickly understood that it was a story about Santiano Kip, one of the Cardinals.
Santiano was an ambitious man who coveted the position of the Pope.
When the previous Pope died, one of the Cardinals would inherit the position. Usually, the Pope designates the next Pope before dying, and to become the Pope, support from the Guardian Family of the Holy Relics was required.
Since Santiano and Kei weren’t on good terms, he was trying to use any weaknesses he could find to turn Kei to his side.
“Just tell me, and I will get rid of him, Your Holiness.”
“Santiano is a talented lad. Hundreds of patients he healed using his skills. He’s not a fundamentally bad guy. Just leave him be for now. He’s probably just getting a bit ambitious in his youth.”
Kei didn’t think so, but he didn’t argue with the Pope’s words.
The internal issues of the Holy See were not Kei’s concern, at least not at the moment.
“So, why did you summon me here…?”
“Has the suppression of the Lambs tribe concluded safely?”
“Yes, thanks to Your concern, it was concluded well.”
“Well, do people believe your lies again?”
Although surprised by Andrize’s comment, Kei didn’t show it outwardly.
“Your Holiness, as a servant of God and a guardian of the relics, I do not frequently tell lies.”
“More lies, eh? Sigh.”
“…”
“I’ve spent decades as the Pope. Do you think I wouldn’t have realized the power of the relics?”
The reason Andrize, who spent most of his days as the Pope, called Kei here was expected to be to scold him for using the Pope’s presence just to make people hold their breath during the wedding ceremony.
‘He must have been under the sphere of influence.’
Since Rishi used the Sleeve Stone during Huya-je, the Pope already expected that he was far away from the city.
He didn’t know that the influence of the Sleeve Stone reached that far.
“My two descendants and three holy knights fell asleep in an instant. I almost fell asleep too.”
“……I may have used the Sleeve Stone a bit excessively. I apologize for causing concern.”
Andrize’s eyes narrowed.
“So, it involves your wife.”
“I don’t understand why my wife is being mentioned here.”
“Kei, you’re a child who doesn’t lie in front of me. However, you’ve already lied several times about the Sleeve Stone.”
“Your Holiness, I…”
“A Relic Sorcerer enters the Holy Kingdom, undergoes a special baptism, and must become a priest. You’re not ignorant of that, right?”
Andrize’s usually gentle gaze turned stern in front of Kei. Seeing that, Kei’s mind cooled down, and his rationality returned.
A faint smile appeared on Kei’s lips.
“Your Holiness seems to have some misunderstandings. The incident involved the Lambs tribe, and my wife has nothing to do with it.”
“Keibrant Green.”
“Calling my full name won’t change anything, Your Holiness. This fact will remain unchanged even if you cut my throat.”
It meant that no matter how much torture he faced, he wouldn’t utter, “My wife is a Relic Sorcerer.”
Andrize’s gaze softened.
“How could I cut your throat? Just… try not to do anything conspicuous, Kei. I want to spend my last years quietly.”
“I assure you, Your Holiness.”
“Fine. Will you stay a while?”
“I’m still on my honeymoon.”
Andrize nodded with a generous smile.
“Alright, go then.”
“May you be at peace.”
After bowing, Kei, who turned to leave, held the reception room door, then suddenly remembered something and looked back at Andrize.
“Your Holiness, soon I may engage in a war, staking the name of the Minasaric Kingdom. Even if you hear about it, please pretend not to know.”
“This lad! After telling me to send you off quietly!”
“If you pretend not to know, it will be even quieter. Well then, truly goodbye.”
+++
The first person to arrive at Princess Mary’s welcoming party in the Minasaric Kingdom was Brittany.
‘If they treat me coldly at the door, I have something to say. Oh my, the Countess fell for a man and severed ties with me, and now she’s unrecognizable, or something like that. Oh, Iris. You’ve wanted to be the protagonist since before. Would that not happen if I were around? Or something like that.’
Throughout her time here, Brittany imagined what she would say if Rishi were to treat her coldly.
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.”
