CHAPTER 72: TURNING POINT

It was a bright and sunny day in Mavir Port City and as such, people were obliged to go wild. They were even more energetic than last night which surprised Dhein because of how much partying they did.

Surfing, beach volleyball, barbeques and mini concerts, they did it all. Especially with Hemmethian technology, they were able to make the party as loud and bright as possible.

However, Dhein couldn’t participate in this beach party. He instead had to prepare for his wedding tomorrow.

He and Neral currently stood in a room up in the giant tree. In front of them was an extravagant, pure white suit with sprinkles of glittery silver powder running down the lapel. The shirt was also white but a little bit on the caramel side of the color spectrum. It was flashy, elegant and brought a subtle display of the wearer’s power.

On the chest pocket was a piece of fiery red fold where a rose could be put into.

"Princess Shina will be wearing a long, crimson gown that fades into a white silk flowing train," Neral informed.

"It will be a perfect match, don’t you think?"

Dhein nodded.

"It works from an aesthetic standpoint. But is this color scheme really fit for a wedding?" he asked.

He almost jumped in shock when a blonde girl in a ponytail with glasses appeared behind him.

"The untrained eye might ask those questions, Master Dheinyrus," Wammy blurted.

"But I designed these clothes the way I did for a very specific reason — you see, the red flame that is Princess Shina Venilon, and the heavenly lord that controls that flame, that is none other than you — together, the two of you symbolize the evolution of our empire. It combines the artistic culture of her cultural heritage from Tianmin and ours!"

She kept yapping in the background but Dhein no longer paid attention. He turned to his mother once again and spoke.

"I forgot to give the scriptures to our priests last night but I handed the papers to Zarria. Is that already handled? Church services will begin tomorrow, so they need to see it by tonight."

Neral cupped her chin with her fingers.

"She was with me the whole time, so you should probably meet with them yourself," Neral replied.

Then, a devious smirk crossed her face.

"But I’m sure whatever you were doing last night was worth troubling our priests for."

He threw Neral a glance.

"I simply forgot about it."

Dhein grunted when his mother poked his stomach with her finger.

"You sneaky brat, I saw you and the princess leaving the party together."

Upon hearing that, the memories came rushing back in his mind. All the heavenly sensations he felt got rekindled in that moment.

When he felt his cheeks heat up, he immediately looked away.

Neral nudged him by the arm while raising an eyebrow.

"So it’s secured then? My first grandchild will have an imperial bloodline! You can thank me for that, by the way. Without me taking all the attention for myself, you wouldn’t have been able to hi—"

"Nothing happened, okay?!"

She let out a loud laugh.

"Oh, who are you fooling?"

Dhein sighed and then responded.

"Leave me alone."

He hurriedly left the room and walked through the wooden path on the branches. Refreshing breeze immediately met his face.

Shrugging off unnecessary thoughts, he focused on the task at hand.

’I need to find Zarria,’ he muttered.

And so, he began to walk towards the lift down to the beach.

He thought Zarria was also at the beach party, but as he made a turn in one of the hanging bridges, he saw a familiar flowing black hair. Zarria was talking to someone he couldn’t see behind a plank wall.

Intrigued, he walked up to them.

As he drew closer, he was able to recognize the owner of the voice Zarria was talking to. He immediately concealed his footsteps and hid behind a corner upon hearing their words.

He began to listen to their conversation.

"It was quite obvious, too," Zarria said.

"Dhein read your emotions clearly from the start, there was no misunderstanding."

Fiorelle let out a sigh.

"I know that," she responded.

"Please don’t worry, Zarria. I will not cause any trouble at any point during the wedding. Having feelings for Dhein was a mistake on my part, but I’ll try to distance myself."

His eyes opened wide.

Before he could process it, Zarria already spoke.

"That’s reassuring to hear, Lady Wixorn. It’s very common for girls to go down the same path as you did, but as the heir to the Theocheirós Clan, he has a duty to fulfill."

After that, there was silence. He heard footsteps which he assumed to be Fiorelle’s, walking away.

When Zarria turned around and saw Dhein, she didn’t look surprised.

"I have sent the scriptures for tomorrow’s service, brother," she stated.

Hiding the fact that he was baffled about her conversation with Fiorelle just now, Dhein just nodded.

"I came searching for you to ask about that. But well done."

Zarria opened her mouth to speak.

"I also dealt with Fiorelle. You were just being considerate and didn’t want to embarrass her, that’s why you didn’t confront her about it, right?"

Dhein blinked a couple of times, searching himself for words to say.

He heard it loud and clear: Fiorelle had feelings for him. Zarria knew this for some reason and confronted her, possibly because she thought it might affect the wedding.

It was an absolute shock.

Nonetheless, he nodded.

"That’s right. Thank you for doing it in my stead, though I hope you used kind enough words."

***

The day had passed like a moment. Dhein and company had prepared the flow of the event tomorrow to the best of their ability, making sure everything went smoothly. The venue was ready as well.

When evening came, Axerion Theocheirós also already arrived. A mix of nervousness and excitement filled Dhein’s heart, knowing that tomorrow, Shina will become his wife.

He almost wasn’t able to get any sleep. But as always, the next day came.

And so did the day that he was to be married.