Chapter 143 - North Korean rabbit

Chapter 143

The ceremony itself was exceedingly solemn.

The first ripe ears of wheat and barley from the plains were bound together by two celebrants and placed upon the altar.

Arpad offered a sacrifice he had personally hunted in the forest within the plains during that brief time we were apart this afternoon.

‘To have caught such a large deer in that short time…’

It was a massive stag, nearly two meters tall, with antlers as large as a crown.

While four priests of the Sky God carried the offering on a large wooden tray, Arpad lifted it alone with ease.

Beside him, I received wine into a silver chalice, poured by an elderly priestess of the Earth Mother.

“This is wine made from last year’s first harvest at the temple, carefully aged.”

This was the ceremonial wine.

“Now, the two of you must drink the wine in turn, and pour what remains onto the altar.”

The moment the wrinkled hand of the old priestess who had explained the ritual order withdrew.

I poured the wine onto the altar.

“…!”

I could see the priests visibly flustered.

Among them, the most shocked and agitated was the Earth Mother priestess who had poured the wine.

“H-how could you commit such sacrilege?!”

I replied calmly.

“Sacrilege? It would be more disrespectful for us to taste it first, so I offered it to the gods.”

“…!”

I glared at the flustered old priestess of the Earth Mother before me and spoke.

Even Archbishop Bio, standing far away.

‘With Evangeline and the Archbishop present, what makes you think I’d recklessly put this to my lips? Me, and especially Arpad…!’

The old priestess of the Earth Mother cast a glance at Arpad, as if asking for help.

“Your Imperial Highness the Crown Prince! This is a long-standing tradition. For Her Highness the Crown Princess to arbitrarily break it, Your Highness must reprimand…!”

Then Arpad furrowed his brow and spoke coldly.

“Who dares to reprimand my wife?”

“Pardon? W-well… Your Highness, as her husband and the Crown Prince…!”

Arpad thundered.

“How dare I reprimand my Crown Princess!”

“Your Highness!”

“Just as the Sky God and the Earth Mother are equal spouses, so too are my wife and I. If, as you say, I can reprimand my wife, then the priests of the Earth Mother must also be subject to supervision by the priests of the Sky God.”

“H-how can you say such a thing?!”

The priests of the Earth Mother were visibly shaken.

The priests of the Sky God seemed conflicted, torn between two minds.

Either increase their influence over the Earth Mother’s priests, as Arpad’s words suggested.

Or find fault with my actions.

I had no intention of standing by while they chose one side for their own gain.

I approached the old priestess holding the wine bottle and snatched the entire bottle from her.

Then, holding it, I approached the inner part of the altar, where the statue of Artanus was enshrined, and declared loudly.

“And I also offer wine first to Artanus, the master of these plains.”

The remaining wine in the bottle was poured entirely onto the statue of Artanus.

“…!”

‘What will you do? I’ve offered it to the god first, and to the master of the plains first.’

The old priestess cried out in shock.

“Th-this leaves no ceremonial wine for the ritual!”

I glared at her directly and commanded.

“Ani.”

“Yes, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”

Ani brought a silver chalice, holding it carefully with both hands.

The chalice had the exact same design as the one used in the ceremony.

Both the chalice and the wine were things I had prepared in advance, entrusted to Ani to bring.

‘One must take every precaution for safety.’

This was a ritual Archbishop Bio was participating in, no less.

Moreover, the Empress or Evangeline might have some scheme brewing behind the scenes.

What I was most concerned about was the ceremonial wine we had to drink directly during the ritual.

That’s why I deliberately performed the act of pouring their prepared wine onto the altar and the Artanus statue.

What we drink directly must be safe.

I took the chalice, drank a sip first, and handed it to Arpad.

“This is wine I personally brewed for today’s ceremony.”

The ceremonial wine I offered in place of the discarded wine from the Earth Mother’s temple needed greater justification.

So, I sold Artanus’s name once more.

‘What can you do? It’s wine personally brewed by me, blessed by Artanus.’

Arpad took the chalice with a bright smile.

“Artanus will be pleased.”

He also took a sip of the wine and poured the remainder onto the altar.

Perhaps because the justification was firmly established, or because Arpad had asserted his authority so strongly, the priests could no longer find fault.

Until Arpad and I completed the ritual of lighting the altar fire to burn the offerings.

With this, the greatest danger during the ritual had been averted.

I let out a small sigh of relief.

The old priestess of the Earth Mother gnashed her teeth as she looked at the wine spilled on the altar and the Artanus statue.

‘Damnable Crown Princess! Pouring out everything, even what was left in the bottle!’

The substance she had added to that wine under the Empress’s threat had become utterly meaningless.

She bowed her head deeply, her face full of humiliation, and smiled cunningly.

‘However…’

What she had prepared did not end with this.

* * *

In a secret space within the Artanua Plains temple, a woman sat quietly.

Through a narrow gap, she could see the events unfolding at the altar.

Evangeline watched, sneering at Hilia’s struggles.

‘Trying to find fault with the useless wine is pointless. Stupid Hilia.’

Because the conspiracy she and the Archbishop had prepared for tonight was not about something like wine.

Evangeline stroked her white silk hem and rose from the secret space.

The priestess robe, exquisitely embroidered with the crests of the Earth Mother, Artanus, and Despoina, unfolded elegantly.

The garment she wore now was the attire worn by female celebrants during the Harvest Festival.

In other words, the same clothes Hilia was wearing now.

Even her neatly braided-up hairstyle was made identical to Hilia’s.

Evangeline took a black gem from her bosom and fastened it in her hair.

At that moment, the gem resonated, revealing the true divine power of the sacred artifact filled with the goddess’s essence.

This artifact belonged to Morpheneia, the Goddess of Night and Dreams.

A black light swirled around Evangeline.

At its end, her faintly pink-tinted hair settled softly.

* * *

As I finished successfully swapping the ceremonial wine and sighed in relief, Arpad, beside me, made an absurdly casual remark.

“As expected, you’re too beautiful, so I’m dissatisfied.”

“What nonsense are you spouting now?”

He and I exchanged whispers.

So that the priests standing nearby could not hear.

Arpad’s passionate gaze swept over my body, wrapped in ceremonial robes.

Unknowingly, a shiver ran down my spine.

As if his gaze had a physical touch.

“Just as I said. You in ceremonial robes are far too bewitching, it’s a grievance.”

“I’ll say it again, this outfit has a very ascetic design. Yours is similar…”

My gaze naturally drifted toward Arpad’s body, enveloped in thick, white silk.

No matter how many layers of fabric concealed it, his robust physique could not be hidden.

His chest was broad and wide, while his waist was tightly cinched.

It was a body like the epitome of sculpted masculinity, as if carved by an artist.

Especially since I knew all too well how perfectly and beautifully that white skin and the muscles beneath those thick robes were woven togeth…

No, this isn’t it!

I turned my head, trying consciously to think of something else.

But unknowingly, my mouth went dry, and the feeling of my heart pounding did not subside.

Arpad seemed to have keenly noticed my momentary daze.

He whispered low.

“Does my appearance in ceremonial robes also look acceptable to you?”

Acceptable is an understatement! It’s artistic to the point of making my whole body tense…

‘Ugh! This isn’t it!’

As I tried to shake off the lecherous demon that had lodged itself in my mind, Arpad kept interfering.

“Then I’m glad. It was worth asking to have it tailored to fit my body snugly.”

“No, that kind of desire, I mean, no! Why did you do such an unnecessary thing?!”

Then, as if it were obvious, a flower-like smile bloomed across my husband’s face.

“I told you. I am continuously seducing you.”

“…….”

Even though the ceremony was nearly over, Arpad truly paid no mind to the surrounding gazes.

He pressed his lips lightly to the back of my hand and smiled provocatively and bewitchingly.

I had no choice but to acknowledge anew and surrender to resistance.

This man’s charm was far too intense, and he desired me with all his strength and heart.

Moreover, he had proven countless times that it stemmed not from lust, but from affection.

And this, paradoxically… ignited my own desire.

Arpad’s low whispering voice curled around my ear.

“Do you know how frustrated I was, having to stay apart even after hearing your confession earlier?”

I felt the same. While being attended to by the priests and listening to explanations, I moved diligently, but my soul was already captivated by one side alone.

“Tonight… I won’t hold back. If you dislike it, say you dislike it now.”

I flushed. And I nodded my head ever so slightly, so only Arpad would notice.

Because I desired him too.