Chapter 420 The First Night as Husband and Wife
The last time an enthronement ceremony had been held, Zara had interrupted it before she could see the entire thing.
This time, she finally experienced the full version herself.
Most of it consisted of elaborate rituals that seemed mysterious for the sake of being mysterious.
The Holy Sovereign and Holy Consort did have one special rite, however.
At the end of the ceremony, once their marriage was formally recognized, each of them drew a drop of blood from the other. The High Priest used a special technique to crystallize the two drops into tiny blood-red gems.
They exchanged the gems, which were then fastened around their wrists.
Zara did not mind. She shook her wrist and studied the bead, finding it rather interesting.
Then Lucian looked up and heard her thoughts.
[Holy shit, that's incredible! A single drop of blood can be turned into a gemstone? If I master this technology, I could become the richest person in the world overnight!]
Lucian fell silent.
Could she not aspire to anything beyond money?
She was already the Holy Consort. Couldn't she at least scheme for something more important from the Holy Sovereign?
He let out a helpless sigh.
The broadcast had ended, so he rose and took Zara's hand.
"Come on."
Zara instinctively closed her eyes. Still acting like an emotionless prop, she pulled out the notarized inheritance documents.
"Lucian, sign these first."
Lucian was beginning to feel genuinely annoyed. "The ceremony isn't over yet."
"It is over," Zara insisted.
"What about tonight?"
Zara's eyes flew open. "Tonight? What's happening tonight?"
A faint smile touched Lucian's lips. "What do you think? Are you telling me we were engaged before, but never actually slept together?"
The High Priest coughed sharply.
Could they show a little restraint? He was still standing right there.
Zara finally realized what Lucian meant.
She looked almost horrified. "That's not the point! The point is that you need to sign these first."
"I'll sign them after tonight."
With that, Lucian turned and headed into the palace.
Zara called after him, "Tonight becomes tomorrow night, tomorrow night becomes the night after that, and before you know it, years have gone by!"
For once, the High Priest could not resist asking, "Sign what?"
Zara waved the papers in her hand. "A private little game between husband and wife. None of your business!"
Then she gathered up her skirt and hurried after Lucian.
The High Priest fell silent.
His expression grew complicated.
He had no idea whether Lord Valerius had received the news that Zara was now the Holy Consort.
After all, traveling through the passage could take more than ten days.
By the time Valerius learned that the two of them were married, it would already be far too late to do anything about it.
******
Zara kept chasing Lucian for his signature, but he claimed he was busy and told her they would discuss it that night.
That night?
What the hell did he plan to do that night?
Zara was not completely innocent. She might never have experienced it herself, but she knew perfectly well what newlyweds usually did on their wedding night.
There was absolutely no chance she would agree.
Their marriage was fake. She had no intention of making any part of it real.
So when night came, Zara ignored whatever ridiculous wedding-night customs the Holy Sovereign and Holy Consort were supposed to observe. Instead, she sat with Aurelion and Pyrelion in her arms, discussing the meaning of life.
She had been in the Divine World for quite a while but still had not seen Dino. She wondered whether she would be able to bring him back to Earth when she left.
Aurelion looked positively eager for gossip. "What are human newlyweds supposed to do on their wedding night again?"
Pyrelion was genuinely innocent. "Don't they just go to sleep?"
"You don't know anything," Aurelion said. "On their wedding night, humans are supposed to consu..."
"Consummate my ass," Zara cut in.
Aurelion fell silent.
Zara twisted him sharply. "You're a dragon. What kind of garbage were you looking at online while you were on Earth?"
Aurelion raised his neck indignantly. "How is that my fault? Your websites kept throwing all kinds of questionable content at me. Your internet moderation is terrible! I saw everything I wasn't supposed to see, along with everything I was."
Zara fell silent.
She strongly suspected he was making a dirty joke, and she had evidence.
She placed the notarized inheritance papers somewhere Lucian could not possibly miss them.
"No. When Lucian comes back, I'm making him sign these. Then I'll ask whether he has any final wishes. As long as they're reasonable, I'll try to fulfill them." She sighed heavily.
"What if his final wish is to have a child with you?" Aurelion asked.
Zara glared at him. "Do you ever stop talking? You're like a broken loudspeaker."
Aurelion fell silent again.
When it was almost time, Zara tossed both dragons into the sitting room and went to take a shower.
The servants had prepared silk pajamas for her, though thankfully the design was perfectly modest.
She changed and had just stepped out when she heard movement outside. She immediately darted back to the bed and lay down.
At that moment, Pyrelion was attempting to reason with Aurelion.
"It's their first night as a married couple. Shouldn't we leave?"
"Why?" Aurelion replied. "They're not going to make a baby. I want to see how Zara plans to kill Lucian."
Zara fell silent.