After the rain cleared, the morning light was soft and gentle.
Bathed in the rosy dawn that had just pried open the night’s curtain at the horizon, several groups of servants emerged from Clément Castle, which faced east.
They moved in orderly fashion, winding magical glowing roses around the talking stone statues at the palace gates.
Cleaning magic had already swept the streets spotless.
Even the most inconspicuous fountain in the Duchess’s Garden, adorned by decoration magic, now proudly and precisely radiated its colorful luster.
Unknown droplets hung from the branches of emerald trees, reflecting the crowds standing on both sides of the road, separated by the Saint Knight Order.
Yet the people couldn’t help but tiptoe and peer out curiously.
Gryphons occasionally let out high-pitched trills.
“Praise be to the Love Goddess’s arrow feathers!”
“In the name of the Love Goddess, I call forth the passion sleeping within the wedding rings of the newlyweds…”
A priest clutched a cross necklace, whispering blessings as a devoted Goddess’s Follower.
All of this was a sincere welcome to the soon-to-arrive Princess Amidina.
***
Inside the castle.
“Duke, the wandering poor plead for leftover food from the banquet, so their children won’t go hungry as the young master’s wedding approaches…”
“Approved.”
“Duke, a group of adventurers requests entry to the wedding in exchange for Blessed Scrolls filled with prayers: May the Goddess of Plenty bless Young Master Lin Nuo with a heart of gold. May he always be kind, humble, honest, strong, and just. May he show mercy to the weak and discern right from wrong…”
“Approved.”
“Duke, a young and beautiful Mage claims she fainted last night in a house on the edge of the castle forest. Perhaps a Knights of Clemence rescued her. She wishes to come and express her gratitude, and also offer her congratulations…”
“No problem, approved. All approved!”
Kuxiu Clemence, the stern and seldom-smiling Duke of the Clemence Family, seemed much more approachable these days.
The castle, usually forbidding to outsiders, had recently shown greater leniency even to the poor.
Other noble girls, who had once been terrified that Young Master Lin Nuo would glance their way only to be dragged into a dark room by two big men for unspeakable treatment, no longer felt the initial anxiety they had upon arrival.
“Wow, Young Master Lin Nuo really is that handsome!”
“Unbelievable. Is that ‘bad boy’ actually… reading a book?”
“Of course! Considering the appearance of his fiancée, if he didn’t do something to calm down first, anyone who saw her would faint from shock at first sight!”
Just as Princess Amidina’s carriage arrived, the girls catching a glimpse of her half-profile through the fluttering curtain eagerly discussed that breathtaking flash.
Several were also distracted by the thing perched on Lin Nuo’s shoulder.
“What a fat bird! Is that bird on the banquet menu too?”
“Chirp chirp!”
“Hey, it understands human speech!”
Lin Nuo, the center of all the chatter, paid no mind to the gossip.
Because—
He was pondering a dilemma that had plagued him for years:
Can one really learn anything useful from a dirty book?
His own experience last night, where words learned from that very book had diffused a crisis with embarrassment-inducing phrases, had already answered that question.
“There’s truly gold hidden in those filthy pages…”
But, that wasn’t the main point!
God knew how he, who had sworn to keep away from Feng Aotian and her women, ended up on his very first meeting with Feng Aotian and Amidina shoved into the same bed with them…
Never had his life started with such an outrageously impossible beginning!
Lin Nuo gloomily thumped his head against the book.
He clearly remembered the moment before parting ways last night when he told Amidina to absolutely not mention anything that had happened tonight.
The mix of two parts confusion, two parts shock, and six parts anger in Amidina’s eyes!
The little girl holding Amidina hand looked just as stunned, immediately asking him, “Shouldn’t this be said by my sister?”
Without waiting for Lin Nuo to answer, the little Loli covered her mouth with her hands, revealing an even more shocked look, “Is it really my sister who forced a male slave like you to hum and ha?”
Lin Nuo had to admit, seeing Amidina summon a water dragon and almost drown his little water buffalo, then struggling to find words in front of her sister, was oddly satisfying.
Perhaps being stared down like that by another female lead brought some hidden delight.
But how was he supposed to handle the “original storyline” first encounter with Amidina with dignity and propriety?
Appeal to her feelings and reason?
Use power and interest?
Wield the big stick and show true feelings?
“Bang!”
Lin Nuo thumped his head on the book again.
‘You’re such a lowlife, Lin Nuo—how could you even think of such a thing? No way will it ever happen again in this lifetime!’
“Look… wow!”
“The Princess… even a girl like me thinks she looks so fragrant!”
The noisy chatter around him quieted for a moment, as if everyone had witnessed something exquisitely beautiful and suddenly fell silent.
Lin Nuo put down his book and looked up.
He saw Pulley Kostes warmly leading a stunning figure into the garden for a walk.
Just that elegant silhouette caused the always focused servants of the estate to pause repeatedly.
The stately, graceful fitted gown showed every curve of her figure, her swan-like neck delicate and soft.
Her skin, under the sunlight, looked even fairer than snow, making the blooming roses around her seem dull by comparison.
Sometimes she listened intently, sometimes she bent slightly in response.
A violet-petal-shaped hairpin adorned her flawless half-profile, softening her features.
Every movement revealed a natural liveliness beneath the surface.
Cold and serene, unadorned by makeup, utterly natural.
The moment Amidina appeared, Xiafuya, who had been staring at Lin Nuo, was completely captivated by that face—so breathtaking that calling it “national beauty” felt cliché.
Glancing at Amidina’s heavily padded and voluminous outfit, Xiafuya smirked.
Though she had only a vague memory of last night’s events, it seemed to remind her of someone lying on top of her for a long time, and even in sleep getting a sharp slap on the butt…
Her gaze flickered back and forth between Lin Nuo and Amidina, quickly furrowing her brows into a wave pattern, as if struggling to decide who the real culprit was.
Sensing a certain gaze, Amidina, who was chatting with Lady Pulley, suddenly turned her head in a particular direction.
Her icy, snow-lotus-like beauty lifted slightly, those captivating peach blossom eyes precisely fixing on a blond boy in the crowd.
Her flawless face, adorned by willow-leaf brows and cherry lips, was displayed to all before she swiftly turned away, pretending not to see anything.
“She looked at me!”
“The Princess just looked right at me!”
“My pants moved! Ah, I’m so embarrassed I can’t face anyone. If she looks again, I’m afraid I’ll secretly make a move on Young Master Lin Nuo’s woman!”
Lin Nuo: “…”
No.
Is that really so exaggerated?
Also, can a maid at least speak with some logic?
Without any hardware, what makes your pants move?
Soon Lin Nuo did feel his pants move inexplicably, but of course, it wasn’t because of hardware.
Looking down, he saw a petite girl clutching raspberry mille-feuille, caramel pudding, and wheat bread to her chest so full it nearly bumped into people.
After colliding with someone, the little girl had to straighten up forcefully just to peer over the high stack of food in front of her and see who she had bumped into.
When her shining apricot eyes met his, they curved just like last night when she threatened him, though her mouth was full of candied fruit, making her speech muffled and unclear:
“Hehe~ Still remember my big pot!”
“…”
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