“You’re definitely going to be the most dazzling presence at tonight’s banquet,”
Elise said with conviction, gazing at Roman’s reflection in the mirror.
Roman reached up and touched the hanging strands of his styled hair, his delicate face flickering between confusion and clarity.
Standing behind him, Elise didn’t notice Roman stealing a glance at her.
His gaze drifted downward—to his own back—where, due to the dress’s design, the smooth curve of his pale back and the elegant lines of his shoulder blades were faintly visible.
Hmm?…
Elise frowned and reached out, running her fingers gently over Roman’s back.
Her fingertips followed the smooth skin downward, and this time, she clearly felt the texture of something beneath the surface.
“Did those people at the auction… do anything to you?”
Her first assumption was that someone had violated protocol during Roman’s confinement, leaving scratches on his back.
“No. They captured me, but they didn’t do anything excessive,”
Roman replied.
Elise froze.
Another possibility crossed her mind.
Placing her hands on Roman’s fragrant shoulders, Elise pulled the dress down in one swift motion.
“Ah…” he gasped softly.
Of course, he wasn’t wearing any undergarments.
Elise muttered a quick “forgive me” before getting serious and beginning a full inspection.
Roman raised his arms instinctively, covering his chest in a defensive gesture.
Elise’s cool fingers glided down his spine, and the more she examined, the more shaken she became.
It was hard to see clearly with the eye alone, but following the tactile impressions beneath her fingertips, she could make out the pattern on his back—it wasn’t some random lash marks, but a composition of shapes forming a sacred seal.
This is… this is…
“You haven’t undergone an Awakening Ceremony, have you?” she asked cautiously.
“What’s that?”
Roman had heard the term before, but didn’t understand what it meant.
Elise hesitated for a moment, then said, “Let me show you.”
With that, Elise moved to stand in front of Roman.
Right before his eyes, she untied the laces on the back of her dress and gently slipped the lace shoulder straps down.
In less than three seconds, Elise had slid off her maid dress.
From Roman’s angle, he could now see her bra.
But Roman’s attention wasn’t on her bra at all—it was on the disturbing pattern etched into her back.
Though part of it was still hidden under her bra, he could see most of the mark clearly.
He wasn’t looking at the shape of her breast—but at the seal on her back.
And even calling it a shape didn’t quite fit.
The mark looked like numbers, yet also like letters, fused into something strange—an uncanny design that defied simple description.
“This is a Sacred Seal,”
Elise said, giving him the answer.
Just as she was about to fully remove her bra to show him the entire mark, she suddenly realized she was standing directly in front of the mirror.
From Roman’s perspective, if she took off the bra now, that snowy peak would be fully and clearly visible in the reflection.
Elise hesitated, suddenly uncertain.
Of course, it wasn’t that she was worried about being taken advantage of.
If she and Roman both stripped down completely, who would get the short end of the stick was still very much up for debate…
What she was worried about was this, Roman belonged to the lady of the estate.
Her behavior just now had undoubtedly crossed a line.
If Roman were to gain favor under Luo Xiya in the future, wouldn’t that make her the fool…?
“Lord Roman, you mustn’t tell anyone about this. The consequences could be very serious,”
Elise said, turning her head, the snowy peak of her breast half-hidden as she spoke.
Roman assumed she was referring to the mark on her back and nodded firmly.
Only then did Elise place her hand on the clasp behind her back.
With a light motion, the bra loosened.
Roman’s left eye widened slightly.
He furrowed his brows, refusing to look at the pale curve exposed to the side, and instead kept his eyes fixed on the mark on Elise’s back.
“This is the Sacred Seal granted to us mortals by Lady Fara,”
Elise explained calmly, covering her breast with one hand.
So… this world really does have a supernatural system.
Roman instantly seized on that realization.
“Please don’t mind what happens next. I’m only trying to explain the situation,”
Elise added as a reminder.
Roman nodded.
If even a woman like Elise wasn’t flustered, what reason did he have to feel shy?
He told himself this, still very much a stranger to the depth of this world.
“From birth, Lady Fara bestows a Sacred Seal upon certain individuals. When they reach around twelve years of age, the seal can be awakened through spiritual communion. But even as a divine gift, the Sacred Seal is cruel—it is irreversible from the moment you are born,”
Elise said.
“Can you tell what my Sacred Seal means?” Roman asked.
Living by the mercy of others felt deeply unstable.
It wasn’t that Roman didn’t trust Luo Xiya—but he couldn’t accept a life built entirely on dependency.
A mountain you lean on may crumble, a person you rely on may run.
Only strength from within is real.
The lessons of his past life hadn’t faded—they were etched permanently into his mind.
Elise looked conflicted.
Seeing a Sacred Seal on Roman had indeed shocked her.
But what stunned her wasn’t the presence of the mark itself—it was the fact that a male like Roman had one at all.
The Goddess Fara was undeniably biased toward the people of this continent.
From the earliest written history, the number of female Sacred Seal bearers had exceeded male ones by thousands—no, by countless magnitudes.
This imbalance had caused the scales of power to tilt decisively toward women.
Over time, it became deeply entrenched.
In this world, the greatest value a man held was to perform the lowest, most grueling labor—or serve as a stud for reproduction.
If he was lucky enough to have a pleasing face, he might end up as a toy passed between noblewomen.
If he wasn’t so lucky… he’d better pray he had strong stamina, or he’d likely be worked to death.
Elise looked at Roman.
He probably didn’t realize just how fortunate he was—to have been bought by the lady of the estate.
If someone else had claimed him at the auction, with that kind of beauty, who knew what unimaginable kind of “training” he would’ve been subjected to.
The overall mediocrity of men had led to something else too—even among women, a significant number were inclined toward same-sex preferences.
The more exceptional a woman was, the more likely this tendency seemed to appear.
Not long ago, there had been a rumor, that Her Holiness, the current pope of the Church of Holy Light, once had a female lover.
But as time passed and no further details surfaced, the story quietly faded from memory.
In recorded history, there had never been a man with a mid-tier Sacred Seal, let alone a high-tier one.
Elise didn’t relay all of this to Roman.
But seeing him lower his head slowly after hearing what she had explained, she couldn’t help but sigh and decided to give him some help.
As the head maid of the Lily Territory, Elise was far from uneducated—in fact, she was exceptionally well-read.
She remembered the Sacred Seal Codex of the Church of Holy Light quite clearly.
“Let me take a closer look for you,” she said, still covering her breast with one hand.
She gently turned Roman around, and only then did she let go of the hand over her breast.
She began carefully tracing the length of Roman’s back from top to bottom, her fingers serious and methodical.
A dormant Sacred Seal couldn’t be seen with the naked eye.
The only way to identify it was by touch—by feeling the flow of magic along the skin.
Sunlight spilled into the room.
Two unclothed bodies stood together in the open light.
It could have been a scene of unspeakable indecency—but the focused looks in both their eyes lent the image a strangely solemn, even eerie air.