“You can’t spit on a smiling face, that’s why!”
As he consoled himself, the thought of the Shayna Festival came to mind.
“Ah, right. Kashar, do you know about the Shayna Flame Ceremony? I heard it’s like a festival, and the princes want to go.”
“Oh, that. I know well.”
His murmurlike reply sounded cold.
“Good, we have to participate anyway.”
“Was it a mustattend event?”
“There’s a gathering where all the royals attend during the Flame Ceremony. This year it’ll be at the second temple.”
It was an event where awakened royals over the age of 15 gathered to receive the blessing of the Flame.
“Come to think of it, in the original work too.”
Mikael could not attend the gathering because he had not awakened.
But he met Elysium while he was wandering around the temple, still regretful.
“So, this was the gathering.”
It was an event for next year, but it suddenly seemed fascinating.
“Then Kashar, you can’t come with us?”
“I’ll just make a brief appearance. It’s fine.”
He lowered his head as if he didn’t want to waste more time.
“That’s a relief then. The princes are really looking forward to it. It’s our first time going out together.”
It seemed like a good opportunity to spend time together.
Kashar spouted nonsense, seeing me clap my hands.
“Children need a mom and dad.”
“Don’t say that, it’ll mess up the family tree!”
He raised his voice and his eyes swirled.
His smile felt different than usual, subtly dissonant.
“What’s wrong?”
“….Nothing.”
Kashar lowered his head.
His red eyes captured me. His face was getting closer.
“No, actually, I want to kiss you.”
What if the children see us?
The kiss exchanged under the tower was tinged with tension.
(This is a time separator.)
The Aletmang territory, where the second temple was located, was busy preparing for the Flame Ceremony.
The colors white and gold, symbolizing the Goddess, along with blue, filled the territory, and the festive atmosphere that had started the day before had reached its peak.
Soon after, the carriage carrying us arrived in front of the white temple.
“In the original work, it felt very conservative.”
Elysium nagged more than a motherinlaw about what was not allowed and what was unclean.
“The role of the Holy Woman isn’t just for anyone.”
As I was thinking about various things, Louis and Evan admired the white temple.
“Wow, it’s huge!”
“…..This is the temple of the Goddess.”
The two little ones were very excited for their first outing since arriving at the estate.
“The door of the Flame will open soon.”
The Door of the Flame was where the Goddess’s fire was stored and was divided among five major temples.
“We can go play after making a wish!”
Louis recalled the festival he had seen while riding the carriage.
We followed Kashar to our preassigned seats.
The door of the Flame behind the temple was shaped like a giant dome centered around the door.
“I didn’t know we had to buy tickets.”
To sit closest to the Flame, you had to make a lump sum donation for five years.
Well, it would be too much for everyone to view it from the same spot with so many people.
“It was expensive, but Kashar paid.”
A lover’s money is precious after all.
But it felt somewhat easier since the children were happy.
“Ah, it’s starting.”
Soon, all the lights around us went out and a high priest ascended the stage.
After the prolonged blessing words, finally, a giant golden door opened.
“So that’s the Flame of the Goddess.”
The revealed Flame looked momentarily like a human silhouette.
But it was really a flame.
Tens, or maybe hundreds, of colors blazed as the Light of the Goddess.
Soon, the Flame flared up as if to bless everyone, then burst like fireworks.
It was the highlight of the Flame viewing, ‘the touch of the Goddess’.
“Woah[Dash]!”
“Blessings from the Goddess of Light!”
Cheers erupted from the people as smaller flames flickered everywhere.
The Flame particles that briefly appeared like dust soon returned to their original form.
“It feels like I just watched a fireworks show.”
On the way out, I tightened my grip on the children’s hands to not lose them in the crowd.
There were about five hours left until the royal gathering, so we had plenty of time.
“What wish did you make?”
“It’s a secret!”
As Louis and I were flirting, Kashar came to a stop.
“What’s going on?”
Two men stood in front of Kashar.
‘Who are they?’
Their ceremonial robes intricately adorned with gold embroidery looked anything but ordinary.
The one leading with orange hair bowed formally.
“Greetings, Duke Vladis.”
The man who met my gaze gently blinked his purple eyes.
“I am High Priest Ferberov, in charge of the first temple.”
A High Priest with a face not even past thirty.
As I involuntarily looked surprised, Kashar asked,
“What is it?”
“The royal assembly has been rescheduled. You must move immediately.”
Ferberov delivered the Emperor’s decree.
Kashar’s eyebrows narrowed.
Whether the sudden change was true, the highranking official escorting him looked quite frantic.
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.”
