The surprise continued.
The First Prince escorted her perfectly, as if to protect her, and climbed the steps of the cathedral.
Maybe it's because they have already had a grand wedding in the Holy Nation.
Standing by the Princess's side, the First Prince looked surprisingly natural, like an ordinary man who cared for his wife.
'Isn't the person over there not the First Prince, but a devil wearing His Highness's mask?'
When the First Prince made eye contact with the Princess and smiled at her again, the people couldn't help but rub their eyes again.
It was not ridicule, but the appearance of the First Prince, who was not dangerously laid down to live, was unfamiliar.
Meanwhile, the First Prince and his wife walked on the red carpet that stretched out toward the altar.
The pipe organ started playing belatedly. Soon, an old-fashioned melody played.
"Your Highness, the First Prince. Your Highness, the Princess."
"I congratulate you."
As they got closer, the high-ranking nobles of Katzen stood up one after another.
The only people who could stand in this position were the Emperor and his wives, who had a higher status than the First Prince.
However, since the Emperor was not present in the cathedral today, the privilege was enjoyed only by the Empresses.
"..."
His father's blatant attitude by not attending the coronation ceremony following the wedding made Cesare's eyes turn cold when he saw the empty throne.
At the end of the altar were waiting for them with holy oil and vows.
"Servant of God, Norman sees His Highness the First Prince and His Royal Highness the Princess."
The old man who greets them with a low whisper is Norman, the High Priest who will be celebrating the coronation today.
He was originally a member of the Holy Kingdom, but after a long stay in the Katzen Empire branch of the old church, he became closer to the Katzen Imperial Familly th an to the Holy Kingdom.
Norman's eyes swept over Medea silently.
He recalled an urgent message sent by the Pope not long ago.
'This woman.... A real Saintess.'
His wrinkled mouth was folded into a straight line.
"Besides, help the Saintess with all your heart? Your Holiness is now old and seems to be losing his senses."
He saw him being swayed by the blue eyes of the Princess of Valdina.
Above the bridge of the noble High Priest's nose, a slight discomfort spread to wrinkles.
He had no intention of serving this young woman as a Saintess unless he saw the evidence with his own eyes.
Meanwhile, the ritual began.
Medea and Cesare knelt under the altar, recited the vows, and lit the Imperial candlesticks.
"You two put your hands on the seat of the oath."
Finally, the hands of the two overlapped on the stone tablet with the imperial coat of arms.
This stone tablet, which is said to have been engraved with the eternal oath that the first Emperor made to the Empress at the time of the founding of the empire.
It was revered as the first imperial enemy in the history of Katzen and the origin of all the Imperial lineages.
"I offer this blood and this breath to You, Almighty."
After taking his oath to the gods and the empire, Norman the High Priest poured the oil on their overlapping hands.
On the stone tablets bearing the name of the desolate enemy, clear oil smeared like ink and golden flames rose.
Cesare Dwysler Katzen.
Medea Casey de Katzen.
Next to Cesare, which was positioned under the names of the dense Katzen royal family, Medea's name was engraved.
Medea stared blankly. His green eyes sank as if he were wandering into the distance.
'I used to want this so much.'
Old memories were superimposed on the golden flame of the slab.
The days when she was by Jason's side, holding her children, and struggling to put down roots in Katzen.
The attachment and hunger that were never satisfied.
Perhaps it was because of the realization that she was not an official companion of her husband.
At that moment, Medea felt the strength of her hand and looked up.
A clear, golden eye was staring at her.
"..."
Cesare brushed the back of Medea's hand with his thumb.
The silence was warm.
It felt like he was comforting her lonely past, like a floating plant wandering aimlessly.
Medea closed her eyes as if she were getting feverish.
He carefully inserted his fingers between the firm hands that tightly wrapped the backs of his hands.
Medea's slender little finger looped around Cesare's hard ring finger, holding it tightly.
With an unconscious movement that she didn't even notice.
The interlocking fingertips calmed the anxiety that was rising in her heart and quieted her mind.
Meanwhile, the attendees who were watching the uninterrupted flow of water raised their eyebrows.
'How can they be so perfect?'
They were distracted by the unusual appearance of the First Prince, and they realize d it a beat late.
He could not find the slightest flaw in the Princess of Valdina during her coronation.
'How could she do that...'
The kneeling posture of the oath was refined without any disturbance.
When reciting the vows, she pronounced the archaic language and rhymes correctly, which even most members of the royal family find difficult.
Moreover, the fingertips of lighting the sacred bronze tower were natural, as if she had been Katzen by birth.
Someone pouted her lips at the sight of the Princess, who looked like a textbook of living etiquette.
"Hmph, how much did she prepare? It's next to His Royal Highness the 1st Prince! How desperately did she learn to lose the overflowing place in the fountain?"
But everyone knew.
Katzen's court etiquette is not something you can learn overnight.
This is because it was famous for its thorough and complicated manners as well as its arrogance as a great power.
The noble wives, who were looking forward to the clumsy appearance of Princess Valdina hurriedly opened the fan to hide their embarrassment.
"..."
The Empress looked at Medea on the altar with cold eyes.
"I thought she was formidable from the other day."
Every step exceeds expectations.
Her eyes went cold.
"The Empress West. I don't want to let that Valdina stick her nose in my country."
Although she was only her husband, Perdiccas Il, and Empress North at least agreed about the Princess.
This is because Empress North also did not intend to lose any influence to the new Princess of Valdina.
'I don't know if it's kneeling.'
She needed to break that stiff neck at least once.
Even things that stretch out in a daze, once they hit a wall that is hard enough to break their necks, they will shrink their necks from now on.
Isn't that the law of world affairs that can only be understood by one's own understanding?
The North Empress's eyes met the High Priest on the altar. She lowered the tip of her chin with a cold expression.
"Medea Casey of Katzen."
Meanwhile, the joint ceremony of the First Prince and his wife was over, and the First Prince had a solo ceremony.
"Born with the blood of Valdina, but now breathe in the atmosphere of Katzen, and step into the Gentiles, but from this moment on, you will become the blood and bones of this land."
High priest Norman appointed Medea's forehead.
"By oath of God, and in the name of the Katzen Imperial Family. I officially recognize you as the companion of the First Prince Cezare Dwysler Katzen and officially the Crown Prince."
A thin Coronet crown rested over Medea's head.
It was lighter than the Empress's, but its brilliant glitter was enough to show its authority as the Princess.
Medea slowly turned toward the crowd.
A breathless gasp came from somewhere.
"Princess, now pay tribute."
When Norman's words fell, the priests came out with silver trays full of bouquets.
"On this seat of succession, where the First Princess took the oath, pay tribute to the gods and this empire by offering Your Highness."
Norman picked the largest and most blooming bouquet from the silver tray and handed it to Medea.
Each petal was spotless, and it was a fresh bouquet with a fragrant floral fragrance just by holding it in your hand.
"..."
Medea stopped reaching for the bouquet and looked at the High Priest.
Then she turned her head once again.
The altar where she and Cesare stood was in front of everyone in the cathedral.
"How so, Your Highness?"
At Norman's urging, Medea's green eyes sparkled with a light that did not know what she was thinking.
'He's playing a funny prank.'
Medea gently smoothed the tip of the bouquet with her fingertips.
It would have been a great glory compared to her previous life when she couldn't even climb the imperial enemy, but no glory is safe.
The bouquet of flowers handed to her by the High Priest was mixed with white anemones.
If it were someone else, she would have accepted it without thinking.
If only the white anemone had been a stranger who did not know the meaning of Katzen's history
'The white anemone was used to mourn the usurped lineage.'
It was a flower that the Crown Prince left behind before he died in the middle of the founding of Katzen. Because of its symbolism, it was treated as taboo in Imperial ceremonies
But if she put this flower on the throne.
"The Emperor will go on a rampage. He's deliberately criticizing my legitimacy."
Perdiccas II, who overthrew the previous King and threw out his nephew to sit on the throne, would never be able to overlook it.
'Who is it? The Empress is extremely obedient to the Emperor, so he will not touch such a reverse scale...'
Then, naturally, Empress West is left with no hesitation in stabbing her husband's most painful place.
'I haven't even entered the imperial palace yet. Empress North, you have not changed.'
The coronation ceremony had not even been completed, but the checks had already begun.
She was a thorough Princess who did not leave any room for any enemy.
The corners of Medea's lips rose faintly.
"You are trying to break my neck from the beginning so that the First Emperor will not gain the upper hand."
The Princess who bought the Emperor's hatred would not have the power of the empire in her hands.
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