Grizel and Rex went out of the rest chamber hand in hand with the paired-look attire like the Prince and the Princess in fairytales, a stunningly beautiful couple like the living sculptures made by the hand of God.
The servants who greet them in the hallway bow down while blushing, fascinated by the warm smile of the angelic little girl and the gentle expression of the dignified Prince.
This is what happened when a couple of devils shamelessly pretend to be holy beings.
"I knew it, the Saintess is a perfect match for our kind-hearted Prince!"
One of the servants murmured, after greeting those evils in disguise.
"Saintess?"
Her friend repeated in a low voice, she was one of the servants in charge of the rest chamber, she doesn't know the drama happened in the party hall yet.
"Miss Belial almost sacrifices herself to heal His Highness who was hurt due to his mana outbreak"
One of the servants added, seems like the rumors were twisted as they thought Rex is having a mana outbreak, a rare circumstance of those who have a huge amount of mana when they lost control of it, the disturbance in mana core will cause damage to the body and ended up with internal injuries just like Rex's condition before.
Though the truth is as simple as Rex just hurting himself, this exaggerated version is not bad at all for the drama Queen since more people will admire her nonexistent heroic deed.
"Is it what you are aiming for your social standing?"
Rex asked whispering to Grizel, with the title of the Saintess, she will start to gain power and influence for herself neither because she is his fiancee nor the daughter of the highest noble, and the Temple can't do anything to harm her directly.
"Not yet, but the fire will start with a spark"
Grizel hides her smirk, even though her plan was done earlier than expected because of the ruckus made by Rex, everything is covered perfectly with her play of drama, not everyone will call her a saintess with this single good deed, and Grizel understood it perfectly as she planned to perform a bigger show where no one can deny her beautiful heart anymore, but it's not the time yet, there's a lot of preparation to be made before the appearance of the fake Messiah to the nation.
Still, thanks to Rex hurting himself, she could take advantage of the situation and inflict the image of the Saintess on herself as the beginning of her social debut.
Hearing her vague answer, the unfortunate Prince just furrowed his brow without knowing that he had been used yet again as they approached the stairs down to the hall since the rest parlor was placed upstairs, descending like a perfect couple, Rex and Grizel make everyone see the image of the future Emperor gently escorting his Empress.
"Son..."
Emperor Drake chirped beckoning his son to come to where he is, all the nobles are standing right in front of him, seemingly ready to hear an important announcement.
"Greetings, Your Majesty"
Rex and Grizel curtsied to the smiling Emperor seem like they come at the perfect time, right before the announcement.
"How do you feel, Miss Belial?"
"I am perfectly fine, thanks to Your Majesty for letting me use the rest parlor"
Grizel bows gracefully once again to show her gratitude, the young nobles couldn't help but blush as the strands of her tucked radiant silver hair behind her ear softly flopped across her reddish cheek.
Gyuuut!
Rex gently pulled her closer as he holds her waist tightly, showing the pests that she has a partner already and mercilessly chopping their blooming hopes.
"Ahem, I think we shouldn't delay the announcement of the great news any longer"
The Emperor said gaining the attention of the nobles for the second time, he could barely speak as he holds his laughter seeing his protective son towards his soon-to-be official fiance.
Before he proceeded with the engagement news, Emperor Drake beckons Dion who was stood in the back holding a tray covered by a piece of fabric embroidered with the Azure emblem, there were 4 jewelry boxes on it, the very same ones that were prepared by Grizel as promotional materials.
The nobles are confused with the contents of the boxes since no one has any idea what kind of thing is inside.
"The first great news is The Azure Empire in collaboration with the Fortuna merchant guild successfully create a revolutionary magic item..."
The nobles were astonished at the sudden news since no one ever heard the name of the Fortuna merchant guild before, and now the Emperor himself is acting like their mascot promoting their creation, they started to wonder what is that so-called revolutionary magic item which makes the Emperor stoop this low by announcing it by himself rather than the representative of Fortuna merchant guild.
"A long-distance communication magic item"
Gasped!
All of the nobles gasped loudly, especially the traitors, they are the Emperor's trusted men yet never heard of this kind of collaboration between the Empire and that no-name merchant guild.
Somehow they feel betrayed while they are the ones who sell the Empire to the Westerners.
The silence hall now filled with murmurs and greed, this world-changing item will certainly cause an uproar in the market and the economic development of Azure, this nation will soar once again, they might become greater than those Westerners, even the Raven Empire which is the most advanced in magic items is still failed to make the prototype, let alone the finished product.
Little did they know this is only the beginning of the huge change of the Empire.
The bewildered guests have a ton of questions about this shocking news and this unknown merchant guild, if they can find a way to pull this mysterious merchant to their side, they will have the power to rival even the Emperor, but the greedy bastards immediately shut their mouths when Emperor Drake speaks once again.
"In the name of the Azure Emperor, I and Fortuna merchant guild signed a long term contract, in exchange for their cooperation, Azure Empire will provide the best protection for their identities, any issues related to the unauthorized investigation towards the Fortuna merchant guild will be deemed as treason towards this nation"
His words were firm and a little bit menacing at the end of the line but enough to silence the hungry nobles who want to take advantage of the Fortuna merchant guild, for a mere merchant, their backup is too big, precisely it's the whole nation.
But it's not like they are at a disadvantage of that signed contract, the Emperor declared that the empire will protect their identities means that the Fortuna merchant guild will only work with this nation as long as they are safe.
The aristocrats started to think, rather than greedily pulling that merchant into their side and turned the whole nation into the enemy, isn't it better to help the imperial family securing those money makers to stay in this empire, they will be able to gain benefits indirectly by the growth of the nation.
Except for the anxious traitors, all the loyal aristocrats began to see the prospect of the long-term contract signed by the Emperor, which was an incredibly wise decision for both the sake of the empire and personal gain, even though they are wondering who's the genius behind the Fortuna merchant guild and the one who proposed the alliance with this Empire, they feel grateful for this good news as they give the rounds of applause when the Emperor continues the announcement.
"The official launch of the Fortuna pendant will be held soon, but..."
"As a token of gratitude for their loyalty, I want to reward these exclusive Fortuna pendants earlier to each head of the Duchy"
Drake said with a smile, he doesn't know why Grizel insists on giving these traitors the pendant earlier, but she might have a plan about it.
Erasing their anxious and grim expression, 2 men step upfront, it was Judas and the other traitor who was feeling betrayed a moment ago but soon back to their prideful manner when their name was called by the Emperor as the loyal nobles to collect the rewards, their proud faces are the proof they have no idea these monitoring items are the rewards of their loyalty, they wouldn't know that exclusive pendants are like the dog's collar chained by Grizel.
There were a total of 4 boxes, originally it was for each of the North, South, East, and West duchy. But there are only 2 Dukes who attend this party, The Duke of the Southern region Judas, and the Duke of the Northern which is the other traitor.
Out of the 4 pendants, there are 2 left as the Eastern Archduke of Belial refused to come to the party, and the Duke of the Western is the head of the Rebels in the west region.
"One of these pendants will be sent to the Archduke Belial and the other one is..."
Emperor Drake recalled the instructions given by Grizel when she gave those pendants, she must be aware of the fact that the Western Duke is the head of the rebels since everyone in this nation know about that, but still, she provided 4 boxes means she has another purpose.
"Father, I need to lure someone out using this pendant as the bait therefore please give the remaining box to the Goldway under the pretext of partnership"
"Baron Goldway, this pendant is for you"
When Drake said his name, a lot of protests can be heard within the crowds, it wasn't a mere magic item, this is a revolutionary one that can be used to spark an economic war, yet the Emperor is giving away this precious item to the lowest rank noble, of course, jealousy couldn't be avoided.
Though the greedy Baron wants to jump on and take the pendant right away not caring for the reason why he was chosen, he couldn't do that, he needs to remain calm.
"Your Majesty, this is the highest honor for me to achieve, but I don't think I have met the qualification to receive such a grand reward"
The baron answered in frustration, the pendant was right before his eyes but he can't grasp onto it, if his merchant guild could make a copy of this item and mass-produced it, by selling it earlier than the Fortuna merchant, there will be a huge gap in profits, he has a professional craftsmen team in the guild, this shouldn't be a problem, the main problem is how to get this pendant by himself since borrowing it from his fellow traitors will never an option as they are all stingy bastards.
"You don't have to worry about that, Fortuna merchant guild is looking for a partner in providing the raw materials, they want to establish a partnership with your guild"
Drake explained with a fake smile, he did exactly like what was instructed by Grizel. Hearing the reasonable explanation, the wide greedy smile appears on the face of the rounded Baron.
"In that case, I will gladly receive their token of partnership"
After giving all the precious rewards to the traitors without any suspicion, it's finally the time to announce the most important thing tonight, Rex smiled widely couldn't hide his excitement because he and his father had prepared a special engagement gift for Grizel.
"Finally yet importantly, the joyous news for all the Empire..."
Drake taps the shoulders of both Rex and Grizel giving his blessing for his only son and his future wife.
"Hereby I announced the engagement between my son, Abigor Ãedán Rex Von Royale Azure, the Crown Prince, and Lagertha Grizel Von Belial, the eldest daughter of Von Belial Family"
The rounds of applause filled the air, it was louder than expected, seems like Grizel's performance today was not in vain since a lot of nobles started to give their blessing to this engagement.
Grizel peeked at the audience wanted to enjoy Lily's face, but sadly she couldn't see her expression as the heroine was being dragged outside of the hall by her mother before ruining everything again.
"To celebrate this happy occasion, I will present the Imperial most precious treasure for both the Prince and his Princess"
Hearing it, Grizel furrowed her eyebrows, confused with Rex's playful smirk, something doesn't feel right, but soon her questions vanished as she looks at the Emperor.
Her eyes widened when the Emperor shows her the engagement gift, not only Grizel, all of the guests, even the servants, and the guards dropped their jaws, except for Rex and the Emperor, no one utters a single word as they become speechless.
"The Heirloom of Azure"
It was a beautiful pair of wedding rings, the sky-like blue diamond shines around the glamorous dark color of mana stone, these pair of rings are the symbol of the Emperor and the Empress of Azure, the mysterious ancient magic rings passed down for generations in the Royal Family and only given at the Coronation ceremony.
Rex and Grizel are not even married yet, let alone become the Emperor and Empress.
This gift is ridiculous.
There's a special treat of these wedding rings that everyone in this nation knows, even foreigners.
This ancient heirloom can only be used once for each generation since using it requires a blood contract.
In other words, as long as the Emperor is Rex, there will be no other woman who can be his Empress except for Grizel, she will be his one and only wife until the last breath of his.
Even if Grizel died without giving birth to the Royal descendants and Rex needs to take another woman, that woman will never be the Empress and will have no authority, this gift is like declaring to the whole nation that Grizel's position as the future Empress is irreplaceable and whatever schemes that try to get rid of her will never succeed, she will be Rex's Empress no matter what happened.
Even in the novel, Rex only gave Lily this ring at the very end of the story after struggling with life and no one knows what happened after the novel ended hanging like that.
But...
That's not why Grizel's widened her eyes in surprise, there is a hidden part that is only known for the Imperial family, unknown for others but not in front of Grizel's gleaming golden eyes as she uses her appraisal skill.
"Grizel..."
Rex called in a faint voice as he looks at Grizel's trembling shoulders, it might be a shock but sooner or later this heirloom will be hers anyway, he just skipped a few steps.
He thought that she was angry since he didn't consult with her first, but then got startled by a chuckle.
"Pfft..."
Grizel's face is red as she is struggling to keep her laughter in check, this abrupt development of their relationship is amusing, too entertaining.
"You want to share past and future with me? Pfft..."
She whispered to the bewildered Prince still holding her laughter, this secret about the heirloom is only known for the Royal Family, yet she said it while laughing.
"Ha! I can't believe it, you even know the truth behind the Azure heirloom"
Rex snorted, its kind of frustrating when he wants to surprise his fiancee yet got surprised instead.
This heirloom might be a curse but it didn't harm the owner, instead, it protects the Royal Family from vicious women who marry them with ulterior motives as they share their minds there will be no more secret between Emperor and the Empress.
There were several cases when the Empresses got banished from the palace as soon as they were given this ring, occasionally, a few of them were assassinated by the Emperor discreetly because their malicious intent couldn't be hidden anymore from the Emperors.
Unlike Grizel who knows the truth behind the heirloom, those vicious women don't have any idea about the effects of this beautiful ring and stupidly accept it like stepping on a prepared trap, but Grizel can easily refuse it since she knows it was a curse.
"Are you going to refuse this cursed heirloom?"
He asked in concern for being rejected if she knew the truth, Rex thought that sharing past and future is not the main problem here, the important thing is that everyone knows that Grizel is his only woman and no one will ever replace her, little did he knows that sharing past and future will change his life forever.
The Prince doesn't know what kind of disastrous past his fiancee has.
"I said I will be the Empress..."
Grizel replied calmly, she finally regained her composure, if it is a necessary aspect to attain what she wants, sharing her life with Rex is not a bad thing, moreover, he is not as dumb as what was described in the novel, they can be the true partner in crime, unlike the current situation where she is continuously taking advantage of him, they will be in perfect sync with the equal footing, she doesn't have any complaints about spending the rest of her life with him.
But that's only if he could survive her true nature.
"...And I believe in your ability to remain sane"
Grizel said tapping his shoulder and look at him with a meaningful gaze as if giving him the courage to overcome the difficulty ahead.
"Huh?"
"You will see hell"
She warned him, but rather than anxiety, the tip of Rex's lips curled upward as a devilish smile appears on his attractive face, he answered back in confidence.
"And you will see love"
To be continued...
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Author's Corner:
The previous chapter was too short as the amount of the words is below my average writing length, and this chapter is too long because it has a double word count than usual.
I think I need to date with 'consistent' to know it better.
_( :â ã )__( :â ã )_
Btw, thank you so much for the 200k reads, I can't believe the story I made on a whim due to the boredom of quarantine would reach such a huge number of reads, seems like a miracle did exist.
Anyway, look at that number of comments, I'm so proud of The Readers council.
You guys are awesome!!!
â¡(*'âï½*)人(*'âï½*)â¡
Also, thanks to AuroraCastillo21 who suggested the official couple name for Rex and Grizel, I was too excited that I edited the cover of the wedding invitation template using the name lmao...
( â¸â¸â¸â¼Ì´Ìâ¡â¼Ì´Ìâ¸â¸â¸)
And my excitement won't die down that I ended up filling up my gallery with stuff yet again.
Since it doesn't match Rezel's evil characters, these cuties will only be my personal satisfactory collection. Hohoho~
°Ê(*'ê³'*)É°
I don't know that I am such a doting Author towards my characters but my phone's lock screen looks awesome tho...
(˶â¾á· â»Ì« â¾á· ˵)