By Zephyria 
What the hell? Is he crazy? How can he have such sharp eyes? I definitely checked the mirror when I had some time earlier. My lower lip was slightly, very slightly smudged, but not enough to be noticeable. That’s why I came in without fixing it…
I quickly raised my eyes to gauge the Crown Prince’s mood. As expected, he looked subtly displeased. Something was definitely bothering him, but even he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.
Well, even if my lipstick was smudged, it could have just happened while I was talking, and Andrew wouldn’t have left pheromones on my body unless he was crazy. Carlisle hadn’t even received the Blessing yet, so he hadn’t manifested as an Alpha.
“Eung…. What’s wrong, Your Highness? You’re suddenly making such a scary face…”
I drooped the ends of my eyebrows and pretended to be dejected, wrapping my arms around his neck and gently pulling him towards me.
“Why are you suddenly angry? It’s not because of me, is it?”
I fluttered my eyelashes and smiled sweetly. Then, without waiting for an answer, I randomly pecked at the Crown Prince’s stern lips and firm jawline. The Crown Prince, who had been trying to act cold, couldn’t hold out for long and regained his previous smile.
“Yes… I must be imagining things…”
The Crown Prince muttered to himself and then pulled me into an embrace. I pretended not to hear and asked, “Huh?”
“No. It’s nothing.”
Was there any creature easier to manipulate than a man floundering in love? I skillfully hid the urge to burst into laughter and put on a bright smile. The High Priest and everyone in the chapel blessed us with one heart and sent us a great round of applause.
Adrian Pearson whispered in my ear with an uncharacteristically emotional voice that he was unbelievably happy. I nodded my head greatly and lied.
“Yes, me too.”
It was a perfect engagement ceremony without a single flaw.
No matter how grand the engagement ceremony was, we couldn’t hold a banquet in the temple. The guests left one by one for the Banquet Hall in the nearby detached palace, and I stayed behind in the Great Temple with the Crown Prince for a moment. We had to pay our respects to the temple, one of the centers of power, for opening the Great Chapel for us, even though it wasn’t a royal wedding or coronation. The Crown Prince, however, said he had urgent business to attend to and left me alone to meet with his subordinates.
“You’ve worked hard, Princess.”
“Ah. High Priest.”
As I was resting in the reception room that the temple had guided me to, the white-haired High Priest came in with a hearty laugh. I, who had been comfortably lounging on the soft sofa, quickly straightened my back and sat up straight. The High Priest waved his hand, saying that I must be tired and didn’t need to do that, but it was difficult to do that in front of the High Priest, who looked like he was old enough to be my grandparent.
“Thank you so much for today. I didn’t expect you to preside over the ceremony yourself, High Priest.”
“Isn’t this an imperial celebration that has been held after a long time? If this old body can be of help, I should do it as much as possible.”
The High Priest, stroking his beard and laughing heartily, had such a simple and kind face that anyone would open their heart to him at once. He looked more like the grandfather next door who always gave you snacks than the head of the temple.
It was my first time meeting the High Priest, who always had such a kind face, at a time other than the Day of Blessing, so I felt strangely moved. I never had a reason to come to the temple unless it was the Day of Blessing, so he only seemed like an NPC who helped with Omega manifestation.
“By the way, time flies so fast. It feels like just yesterday that Princess manifested as a Dominant Omega… And now she’s already engaged to the Crown Prince.”
The title ‘Princess’ was quite burdensome. No, it was that the Crown Prince’s affection for me was so unwavering that everyone pretended not to hear it, but strictly speaking, even though we had an engagement ceremony, I was still a ‘prospective’ Crown Princess. If someone made it public that I was being called by such a tremendous title that could only be attached to royalty and severely punished me, I wouldn’t be able to defend myself.
So, even those who were trying to curry favor with me in advance rarely used such an excessive title as Princess. Usually, those who called me that were… only the Crown Prince’s subordinates…?
“I knew this would happen. The Crown Prince showed interest right away that day.”
“Yes…?”
The High Priest smiled contentedly again as he watched me blink, wondering what he was talking about.
“What are you talking about so interestingly?”
“Your Highness!”
“You’ve arrived, Your Highness.”
I turned my head with a delighted expression at the Crown Prince’s voice, which had appeared with good timing, and the High Priest bowed deeply, almost excessively politely. The Crown Prince, who wielded power almost equivalent to the Emperor, and the High Priest, who represented the divine authority… If you asked who was higher, it was of course the Crown Prince now, but that didn’t mean that someone in the position of the High Priest would volunteer to be such a loyal subject? As if catching the question marks popping up over my head, the Crown Prince tapped my cheek and opened his mouth.
“Come to think of it, there’s one more thing I need to thank you for.”
“Yes…?”
“The day you first manifested, you rested in the High Priest’s residence, didn’t you?”
“Did I…?”
“I went to receive the High Priest’s report and smelled the remaining pheromones. I was intrigued by it and went to Count Hamilton’s mansion that day.”
There was no room for further questions. The High Priest’s report. That meant that the Crown Prince and the temple had been in cahoots from the very beginning. No… Why wasn’t this important Setting in the Setting book? I thought the Crown Prince suddenly appeared because I chose a different option, but it was connected in this way… For a moment, various thoughts sprang up simultaneously, but I puffed up my cheeks nicely and said in a kind voice.
“Wow, it’s like our relationship started here! To have our engagement ceremony in such a place is so romantic!”
“Hehe, you’re so innocent…”
Who was calling who innocent… I couldn’t help but wonder if he would still be so relaxed after receiving the divorce papers I handed him later.
“Well, now that you’re both here, I’ll present the gift that this old man has prepared. Please accept it, though it’s not much.”
No matter what I was thinking inside, we were just a loving couple on the outside. The High Priest, who had been watching us with a pleased expression, took out a small box from his arms. When the Crown Prince nodded, the High Priest opened the box.
“This is…”
“This is a bracelet made by processing the Divine object, the Verdant Crystal, which was directly made and consecrated by the Saint of several generations ago. It was made as a pair, so please wear one each. It can immediately detoxify mild poisons and greatly speed up the treatment of even strong poisons.”
The platinum bracelet with a noble, lustrous green gemstone embedded in it was clearly a precious item, even if you didn’t hear the explanation and just looked at it. The Crown Prince put on the bracelet without hesitation, picked up the remaining one, and gestured to me, moving his fingers back and forth. It meant to show me his wrist so he could put it on me.
“Uh, Your Highness… Such, such a precious thing… I, well, I’m not confident that I can take good care of it…”
I was sweating profusely. Ha, I let my guard down. What was the temple? It was a place to worship God. It meant a place to worship that unlucky Allen. So, even when I entered the temple, I was worried that Allen would do something, but he was quietly well until the end of the ceremony, and he even moved to the detached palace with the other nobles, so I unknowingly let my guard down.
Even now, I was somehow free from Allen’s influence while wearing the Ancient God’s Divine object. To wear an accessory full of divine energy again in this state? I didn’t know the exact result, but I knew the direction. It was a shortcut to ruin.
“Even if a Divine object is precious, it’s just an object. Don’t worry, I won’t blame you if you lose or break the bracelet.”
“W, wow… Really? Thank you so much…”
Thank you, thank you… But I don’t think I can wear it? Even if I do wear it, at least… I really can’t do it in this Great Temple, which is full of divine energy…?
I swallowed hard and tried to laugh somehow. Should I thank him and drag him onto the bed right away? Then I might be able to get out of this situation… I was about to jump into the Crown Prince’s arms with that thought.
“Why are you so disobedient, Noah.”
“Y, Your Highness…?”
“Give me your wrist right now.”
It was definitely the Crown Prince, the person in front of me was definitely Adrian Pearson. But something about his voice was subtly different. I was startled and slowly moved my butt back, and someone with Adrian’s body elegantly raised the corners of his lips.
“Y, you, how…!”
It would be strange if I didn’t recognize him. That was definitely Allen’s smile.
“Now, be good?”