As the big day has finally arrived, everyone is getting even more dressed up than they did the night before to attend the main event. Not too long ago, the roadways were adorned with marigold and white chrysanthemums; today, they are covered with purple and white tulips. In the other event, the Temple also comes to give blessings to the 'couple' during their engagement ceremony. In other words, the Cardinal, Eryx, also join the tradition, walking beside the Pope.
"It is indeed luxurious, just for an engagement ceremony. What a waste," Eryx thought, following the Pope along.
On a day as bright as this, when the clear autumn sky lets warm sunlight shine, people cannot help but smile. Following the Pope's recommendation, the Emperor selected a favourable day. Some applaud the Imperial Family for their prompt actions and express sympathy for what transpired with the late Empress due to the scandal.
The Duchess of Light takes a seat after letting the other nobles to their respective chairs. Orchestra bands sit on the other side, letting musicals run through their ears to enjoy while waiting for the important guests. Then, the Imperial carriage comes, as the Pope remains on the stage with the Cardinal.
The nobles, followed by the audience, rise to their feet to greet the Emperor, who is in attendance today for the engagement ceremony.
"Greetings to the sun of the Empire, Emperor Atticus Aelius Angelos," the man walks, who is then greeted by everyone along the walk and shakes his hand all the way.
He then takes his place a bit in front of Natalie. Not even notice the blonde woman behind him, who organise everything. He never even said thank you to her. Not that Natalie wants to for that. The ceremony starts with the orchestra enchanting people again with the melodious music.
Then, the star couple walks down the aisle for their engagement ceremony. While others walk through the area, some people toss red roses over them. Despite this, Natalie looks at Medea's face for a brief period at that precise moment. The dress she tried on earlier in the day was absolutely stunning. Yet, something about her expression does not hint at the slightest bit of joy.
"We will make you smile soon."
Duchess Smith unconsciously clenches her fist, looking at the love of her life is not happy at all at the occasion. Then, she turns her head over to the father and son, who coerces a grown-up woman into a marriage against her will. It is also a political move when they want to limit the power from the House of Valimos from growing too much under the absolute Imperial power.
The amethyst eyes then suddenly end up with the ruby eyes. They stare at each other for a while until a thought comes to Medea's mind.
"Why is she looks so sad?"
Ares wears his biggest smile that day. Finally, after a while, Medea is his. Then, they arrive at the stage, where everyone looks at them with much contentment, except for a few people.
"On this day of glory, people are destined to meet their significant other regardless of the obstacles they face. The same as the partner we are going to honour today. May the Guardian of Angelos bless upon this engagement," Her Holiness said, as Eryx eyes the 'couple' with an uneasy feeling.
That's when he notices the blonde woman who sits tight on her seat, watching the ceremony with an expressionless face. He watches around her and also catches that Marquess Hector and Natalie's aide aren't there.
"What a rare occurrence."
The couple then turns around as the Pope has given her blessings on their engagement ceremony as a custom in Angelos Empire. Some give cheer and happiness to them, making the blonde woman smirk internally at the words. Medea plays well enough with their acting, but Natalie isn't going to allow that to happen. She will not let the woman drown in misery in front of her eyes again.
For the first time, Natalie wants to be selfish at this moment. She waves a motion by snapping her fingers, stopping the time except for Medea. Duchess Valimos, who stares with sorrow in her eyes, suddenly snaps out of her laser focus when she notices people don't even move an inch.
Her smile vanishes into thin air as she looks around at the people.
"Aurora," she mumbles under her breath.
That's when she hears the heels click on the ground when the golden hair melts through under the sunlight. Her ruby eyes slightly darken when she meets the amethyst eyes, packed with fiery. The Duchess of Light couldn't help her heart to stop it, wanting to converse with Medea.
"I know your priority is power right now and not love. I will be happy whenever you are, but if you show that face, faking it with no hint of happiness, I will burn the whole Empire to make you feel happy. So be cheerful, my lady. I will show you a trick I learned from you," the ruby eyes flashed with some hint of evilness in her mind, kissing Medea's hand.
"And yeah, my apologies in advance for defying you. Let me be selfish for this time," she lets out a soft smile that is only for Medea.
Before Medea could even react, the time was going again as usual, where people started to become before again. The Pope comes to express her gratitude for it when suddenly the stage burns in a fire, which spreads through the curtain and rapidly to the red carpet. In a second, the accessories burn down at the scene, where Natalie comes to the rescue, yelling at the Imperial Knights to take the Emperor.
"Knights! Protect His Majesty!" she yells, leaving the old man at the Imperial Knights.
All of them react fastly at the time, wasting no time taking steps or running away from the engagement event. Then, finally, the Duchess of Light runs toward the couple, who have already stepped away from the stage. Eryx guides them and goes into action, as his earlier hunch is correct.
That moment clicks in Medea's mind.
"What the hell are you doing, Aurora!"
In her acting mode, Natalie goes to Ares' side, guiding Medea and him to another secure place. Her hand unconsciously touch Medea's waist at the moment, not wanting to hurt her in any way while the other puts on Ares' back.
"Stay here. I will take care of all of it," Natalie said in a hurry, wiping her right hand, which just touched Ares subconsciously against her thigh.
"No, I--" Ares is about to object, but the Duchess of Light is fierce in a fire.
"No! What if it's an attack on the Imperial Family? We can't risk it with Your Highness and Lady Medea here!"
"Knights, prepare the hose for the water to wipe out the fire! The other guide the Imperial Family at an instant!" she yells again as she goes there while running in heels.
"Yes, my Lady!" they go into a formation, where some go to the fire, preparing the hose, while the other stay on guard with the Imperial.
Out of the corner of her eyes, a kid shrieks in fear while everyone else leaves him behind. In an emergency situation, the only thing people can think of is to save themselves as a reflex. Behind her, the burned wood is about to fall off. If that fall on the kid--
"No, no, no," she repeats in her mind as her body moves instinctively to run to the kid and save him in time before the wood fall on them.
"Are you alright?" the ruby eyes look at the kid who is cowering in fear, hugging her legs. He seems small like that.
"Hey, it's alright. You are safe with me," she said, trying to calm the kids.
Her thought echoes the night when she and Medea are at Harren's house, where the woman calms her with that word.
"You are safe with me."
"I have to save the others now. Why don't you wait with the lady over there?" the Duchess of Light signals at the other knight to take him away to a safe place.
Fire is quickly extinguished thanks to the rapid response of the Imperial Knights, who bring the hoses to the scene. The only things on fire are the stage and the red carpet, so cleaning it up won't take long. It's a relief that the situation doesn't worsen and spreads to the chairs. Some applaud the blonde's quick thinking. Little did they know they were thanking the person who caused all this.
People sighed with relief and embraced one another.
There's a booming noise overhead that keeps sounding like a thunderstorm. Then, as a mysterious voice rings out, sending shivers down people's spines, they look up and duck their heads for safety.
"Listen to the Angelos Empire. I've been watching the Empire for a long time because the ancestors begged us to. If someone marries the Crown Prince, however, a curse will fall upon the land of Angelos, causing drought until the people drink their own blood to quench their thirst. No one should defy this order, regardless of whether they are the Empire's sun.
If someone dares to defy us, the fire will be the first and final warning of the curse. Behold, the Angelos, the holiest and mightiest among you, will be the dirtiest, stained with the black ink of greed and corruption," the voice abruptly fades away, followed by the sound of a thunderstorm.
Eryx looks at the sky as he thinks, "Someone orchestrated this. I can see the trace of magic in the air and not the deity."
The red-haired man turns toward the certain blonde, who is nowhere to be found. But then, he finds her to escort the Imperial Families to the carriage, evacuating them immediately. That's something stirs among the people again when they suddenly speak loudly among themselves.
"Is the Guardian Deity mad at us for making this engagement ceremony?" a man asks as people shuffle in uncomfortableness.
It does make sense that way for the people. The proof is all there.
"The fire is our last warning. Don't you see the fire suddenly start at the stage? No man can do that other than the Guardian Deity!" another man answered.
Julius goes there to check on the one who stirs it up, but they are hiding expertly. Some people swarming around them, making it harder to detect which one it is. People push around each other, raising the anger level among each other.
Like a moth drawn to a flame, society started to think, "Cease this engagement ceremony! The curse will fall upon the Angelos Empire at this state."
It doesn't take long enough to spread the seed of doubt among the people about it. Duchess Smith only has to add fuel to the fire of distrust as she rejoices internally at the following claims.
"Your Majesty! Please, cancel the engagement between the Crown Prince and Duchess Medea."
"Yes, Your Majesty! The Guardian Deity has spoken!" the people of Angelos Empire started to make a chant for it, as Emperor Atticus watched people begin to voice their opinion.
The Duchess of Light immediately evacuates them from harm as she says, "There is nothing to worry about here, Your Majesty. I'll manage the situation with the Imperial Knights. However, you must evacuate the area immediately to avoid harm."
Little did she knows that the amethyst eyes staring at her too hard from the side.
The blonde woman gives a respectful bow to the three before closing the carriage door and allowing the driver to take them to the Imperial Palace. Then she gives the order for the Imperial Knights to lead the nobles and people away.
The circus is all over the place. As the Pope was powerless to stop the curse from spreading, rumours began circulating about it. It was inevitable as word of the Pope's corruption spread like wildfire. In this event, Natalie will destroy any foothold that Ares and the Pope have, resulting in a shift in public opinion about them.
"Guardian Deity doesn't want us to trust with Her Holiness now."
"Isn't the one who chooses the date today, Her Holiness?"
"Will the Cardinal succeed her after this?"
She also plans to use it to manipulate the Emperor into cancelling the engagement immediately. But, of course, the Emperor will have no choice but to oblige soon. Natalie is being merciless on them at this one. An eye for an eye.
"You shouldn't use your absolute Imperial power too soon."
As the one who handles the matter, she stays there as the sun is about to set. She stands in one place, watching the ashes flying around in the sky. The woman hums happily over one song she used to love from her favourite artist.
Don't blame me
Love made me crazy
If it doesn't, you ain't doing it right
Lord save me
My drug is my baby
I'll be using it for the rest of my life
Two men approach her, bringing glasses and a bottle of champagne. Hector and Apollo are the unexpected duos and people who conspire with the blonde woman. They are smiling at each other for their successful plan.
Then, they have a glass of champagne, watching the massacre they create and the sun fade away, consumed by the darkness of night.
"What a good day to create a history," she smiles, cheering the champagne glass with them.
She had a marvelous time, ruining everything.