Vol 3. Chapter 73: A Tranquil Dawn
As the morning sunlight swept into the city, Skyvault, the capital of the Snow Night Empire, awakened from its slumber. On this day, the city welcomed its most important occasion in several hundred years—the deliberately chosen date of the new emperor's coronation ceremony.
According to the traditions of the Snow Night Empire, although the ruler could already be called emperor before the coronation, he did not yet possess the full authority of an emperor.
The coronation ceremony could also be regarded as an ancient and sacred ritual.
Once the coronation ceremony concluded, the emperor would receive the blessings of all the ancestral spirits and become a true powerhouse capable of protecting the empire.
Therefore, every coronation ceremony was one of the most important events in the Snow Night Empire.
However, unlike previous coronations, the scale of this ceremony seemed to have exceeded everyone's imagination, and its popularity could even be described as unprecedented.
Perhaps this was because the one ascending the throne was the man of prophecy, the Child of Destiny, and the national hero who had defeated a Demon King-class existence and saved the empire—
Xue Tianao-Valedin.
At this moment,
almost every citizen in Skyvault firmly believed that the ascension of this new emperor would lead the Snow Night Empire back to its former golden age.
In the people's eyes, their new emperor, Xue Tianao, was powerful and handsome, gentle yet resolute, filled with wisdom yet incomparably humble. He was a wise ruler rarely seen even once in a thousand years.
Therefore, Xue Tianao's popularity within Skyvault had reached an almost unbelievable level.
After all,
this was the stronghold he had painstakingly cultivated for many years.
The moment sunlight drove away the darkness, the entire city erupted with excitement. The people spontaneously poured into the streets and began holding all sorts of lively celebrations.
Whether they were elderly, children, or people normally overwhelmed with work, everyone began wholeheartedly enjoying this historic day.
Laughter, jubilant cheers, and stirring music resounded throughout every street and alley.
The people of Skyvault looked expectantly toward the peak where the imperial palace stood, cheering excitedly as they awaited the arrival of the coronation ceremony.
Even though it was still early morning, the city was already extraordinarily lively.
Likewise, everyone hoped they would be fortunate enough to personally catch a glimpse of their valiant and magnificent idol during the ceremony.
Fervent worship gradually appeared in the people's eyes...
...
...
--
As the atmosphere throughout Skyvault boiled with excitement and countless citizens began singing joyfully to welcome the day of the coronation, those cheerful songs unsurprisingly drifted into the Lingxing Residence, the residence where the members of the Asumos Church were staying.
The songs awakened the breathtakingly beautiful silver-haired girl who had been sprawled across her bed, sleeping soundly for quite some time.
Then,
the girl, whose beauty rivaled that of a goddess, rubbed her sleepy eyes, stretched lazily, and slowly climbed out of bed.
A short while later, after receiving the silver-haired girl's permission, a group of Asumos Church maids entered her bedroom in an orderly fashion and began helping the girl wash, bathe, and change her clothes...
all in preparation for the grand ceremony that was about to begin.
Inside the bathtub, the silver-haired girl—our Miss Mengxi—slowly opened her eyes.
While enjoying the maids' service, she thoughtfully gazed in the direction of Skyvault's imperial palace.
Then, the corners of the girl's lips unconsciously curled into an amused smile~
Last night,
Mengxi had gotten a good night's sleep for the first time in quite a while.
On one hand, she had previously replenished herself quite thoroughly with power from Sister Yumo, so she temporarily hadn't experienced any withdrawal symptoms last night~
On the other hand,
and more importantly, Sister Bai—Miss White Yama—had brought her some rather wonderful news last night, allowing Mengxi to sleep peacefully without a care in the world.
—'Miss Yu of the Black Rose Family has left the imperial palace.'—
Yesterday, before hearing this news, Miss Mengxi had spent practically every moment inside the Lingxing Residence pouting, her pale-purple gemstone eyes filled with displeasure.
Whenever she thought about how Sister Yumo had actually gone to the imperial palace alone, Mengxi became unbearably anxious.
She was afraid Yumo might expose her identity, afraid Xue Tianao might steal Sister Yumo away from her, and also somewhat resentful that Sister Yumo hadn't listened to her and had gone to meet that Xue Tianao anyway...
If it hadn't been for Archbishop Nick's restrictions, Mengxi would have felt like charging straight into the imperial palace last night, finding Yumo, beating Xue Tianao half to death, and then tying Sister Yumo up and dragging her back home.
Fortunately, after Mengxi had spent a long time worrying, White Yama brought back news that made her extremely happy—
Sister Yumo had already left the imperial palace.
The moment she heard this, Mengxi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
And after learning from their informant exactly when Sister Yumo had left the palace and what expression she had been wearing at the time, the enormous weight in Mengxi's heart completely shattered.
This news
not only allowed Miss Mengxi to enjoy a wonderful dream last night, but also caused the Mengxi currently bathing to unconsciously reveal a sweet smile.
Combined with her breathtakingly beautiful face, that sugary smile made the maids attending to her momentarily freeze when they saw it, as though their souls had briefly been stolen away.
'Thank goodness. Sister Yumo wasn't stolen away~'
Besides,
Sister Yumo's expression when she left the palace apparently looked rather gloomy~
Although Mengxi didn't know exactly what had happened,
still,
Sister Yumo had such a good temperament, yet she had actually gotten that angry?
It seemed Xue Tianao really had gone and royally screwed himself over~
'Hmph, serves you right~'
Miss Mengxi muttered smugly to herself.
Then, the silver-haired girl revealed an expectant look.
If Sister Yumo was unhappy, Mengxi could just go comfort her, then take the opportunity to kick Xue Tianao while he was down a few more times and make absolutely sure he would never recover!
However,
if she truly wanted to eliminate any possibility whatsoever of Xue Tianao successfully pursuing Sister Yumo...
she would still need to find some way to make that guy disappear completely...
For a moment, a dangerous thought slowly emerged in Miss Mengxi's mind.
...
...
And so, while pondering how she should deal with Xue Tianao, Miss Mengxi continued allowing the maids to attend to her.
After finishing her bath and removing all the remaining moisture from her body,
Miss Mengxi pinned up her beautiful silver-white hair and put on the platinum-white robe reserved specifically for a Saintess Candidate.
Mengxi already possessed an intensely sacred aura, and with this outfit added on top of it, she practically transformed into an inviolable divine messenger. A holy and pure aura surrounded the girl.
After changing her clothes,
Miss Mengxi ignored the attempts of the surrounding maids to stop her and left her bedroom on her own.
Forget it.
She wouldn't think about all that for now.
'It's time to go find Sister Yumo~'
——
Not far away, atop the roof of the Xingling Residence,
Miss White Yama, now dressed in her exclusive silver-white knight armor, curiously looked down after hearing the calls of several maids.
Seeing the silver-haired girl acting entirely on her own, choosing not to travel with the Church's group and instead heading toward the Snow Night Imperial Palace by herself,
White Yama helplessly put a hand to her forehead.
"Mengxi, you girl..."
How could White Yama possibly not know what Mengxi was thinking?
Mengxi hadn't wanted to depart together with Nick and his son Felik in the first place, so her leaving early wasn't exactly unexpected.
Judging from that cheerful expression on Mengxi's face, she was probably going to see that Miss Yu, right?
After all, ever since spending a night with the Black Rose Family, Mengxi had constantly been thinking about that beautiful black-haired girl.
However,
as White Yama watched this scene, she unconsciously frowned, her azure eyes filling with solemnity.
?!
Hadn't Mengxi been constantly thinking about that little girl from the Duke Family just a while ago?
She had even been so anxious and distressed after that little girl disappeared?
But now?
How many days had it even been?!
And our Mengxi's thoughts had already been completely stolen away by that black-haired girl?!
Although White Yama had to admit that the young lady of the Black Rose Family possessed beauty so extraordinary that it was rarely seen in the world, wasn't Mengxi switching affections just a little too quickly?!
...
Wait?
Could that girl...
have the makings of a heartbreaker?!
At this thought, White Yama immediately revealed a conflicted expression and began wondering whether she should have a proper talk with Mengxi about this.
White Yama was delighted that Mengxi liked girls. That way, she'd have someone like herself around~
But being fickle was absolutely no good!
Although...
if it was that black-haired girl, perhaps she really was a better match for Mengxi...
And moreover, if two beautiful girls of that caliber were to press against each other with 'negative distance' between them, just like those books described...
Imagining that tantalizing scene, White Yama couldn't help revealing an incredibly lecherous expression.
'Hehehe~ Ehehehehehe~'
However, just as White Yama began grinning foolishly to herself, an Asumos Church knight suddenly leaped onto the rooftop and respectfully addressed her:
"Lady Apostle, it's time to depart. Xue Tianao's coronation ceremony is about to begin."
Hearing this, White Yama hurriedly suppressed the foolish grin on her face and assumed a serious expression.
"...I know... I'm coming."