?"???"


    A sh of amusement appeared on Leon''s crystal blue eyes.


    He looked at Eli with great interest, inspecting even the slight movement she would do.


    His keen senses didn''t fail to detect the rosy tint of sweet red blooming on her cheeks.


    ''Is she trying to thank me?''


    A pleasing sense of happiness sprouted from his diaphragm, gradually spreading out in his chest, up until the corner of his mouth, letting it curve with a smile.


    "Meat. I love meat the most. Whatever dish it is, I''d love it, as long as it has meat, (and as long as it is cooked by you)."


    He said with a calm tone, however thest phrase was only securely said in his mind, lest he would scare Eli away.


    "Uh, alright. Meat it is… I''ll prepare it for dinnerter." Eli, who was still feeling conscious, shy replied.


    Sneakily peering into Leon''s face, Eli tried to determine if he felt something strange from her sudden question. When she saw that Leon remained unfazed with his signature cold expressionless face, she heaved a sigh of relief.


    "I''ll look forward to dinner then!" Leon said with calm tone, unbeknownst to Eli, he had long noticed her sneaky look in his peripheral vision. "See youter!"


    "Umm, take care! Tell me if anything is wrong." Eli finally let Leon go to his duties.


    --


    The designated day for the temple visit attracted a lot of spectators.


    But this was already expected.


    A visitation of the Emperor and the other members of the Imperial Family is a grand affair!


    Even the temple cannot take this lightly.


    The temple does not restrict people of all status in going to the main ce of worship. However the inner premises of the temple are restricted and one has to obtain prior approval before going in.


    This was the same for the members of the Imperial Family, they could freely enter the temple, but if they wished to enter the more sacred ces or meet the high priest, they must go through the process first.


    The Emperor, his spouses and sons were all dressed modestly, since a temple is not a ce to unt riches, but to be in the presence of The Creator.


    They boarded in an open carriage that was ted with gold over the white painted carriage frames, where the Seirende Empire''s insignia was conspicuously printed.


    The Emperor rode on his own carriage, while the Empress, First and Second Queens, rode with their sons. Onto each side of the carriage were their personal escorts, four knights guarding each carriage.


    If Eli was able to witness this, she would feel nostalgic as she once watched a live telecast of a royal wedding from another country during her younger years.


    "Hail the Seirende Imperial Family! Glorious and Victorious!" The people eximed as they saw the carriage pass by.


    They happily threw some scented flower petals as they passed on the road. The Emperor and the rest also wore smiles and waved as they looked at people with kindness, of course, except for Leon who had an expressionless face.


    Nevertheless, it was really a rare sight for people to see.


    The onlookers, especially themon people and middlemen, seldom had a chance to see the members of the Imperial Family.


    Only when there was a grand event happening would they have a chance to see them appear on the tform of the grand square.


    Soon the parade of carriages reached the temple''s premises. The Imperial Family silently entered the ce of worship.


    The temple''s ce of worship was a great white hall. Each of its columns have engravings of the scriptures passed down in Prasinos. At the end of the columns were sculptures of cherubims and angel-like creatures.


    People were always in awe when they scrutinize and realize that these engravings were manually carved. With such a height, how could the scultpor manage to do that?!


    As they entered the hall, they were weed with the smell of incense that would make one be reminded that this was a holy ce and not some other ce one lounge casually.


    The interior of the hall was spacious and massive, the height of the ceiling might even be as tall as a four story building. Therge spacious hall was brightly lit with a long array of clerestory windows.


    Just like every ce of worship, there was a center aisle that was decorated with white flowers on each row of seats.


    The Imperial family orderly marched to the front row and silently waited for the time of worship to start. Soon enough, the ceremonial bells rang and the High priest and the clergymen marched in a solemn manner.


    After reading the Scriptures and singing hymns of worship and praise to the Creator, the High Priest proceeded his exhortation and ended the mass with benediction.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "May the Creator bless you and keep you!


    May He delight in your works and be gracious to you!


    Peace be with you and with this Empire!"


    As soon as he uttered the benediction, a light shower of sparkles rained down the entire hall. Every attendees felt rxed and at peace, as if all of their worries had been washed away by the sparkles of light.


    "Truly, the high priest''s blessing is such a great treasure!!" The people attending eximed in praises.


    It was actually seldom for them to witness this level of blessing, as the high priest does not usually preside on a normal day. Only on special events such as this!


    Although the other priest really does have the power to manifest blessings, it would not be as obviously visible as this one, with the sparkling lights around.


    As such, everyone felt thankful that they were determined enough to join the Imperial family in the mass.


    Now everyone felt rxed and blessed, they started to exit the hall one by one. They knew that the Imperial Family would still need to be admitted in the inner premises of the temple, so they could no longer see anything further.


    Queen Teh didn''t rx and still kept vignt.


    From the time of the assembly, to the end of the mass, she didn''t let Empress Carolina get near her within a three meter radius.


    She observed that the Empress didn''t really mind. As if she was not really nning something today.


    But Queen Teh didn''t let her guard down, she received a warning from Eli. No matter how ridiculous it may seem, she didn''t dare to brush it aside. She must not let Empress Carolina do something today!


    Moreover, didn''t Empress Carolina still looked as if she was innocent when she nted a curse in to her hands that almost affected Eli and Little Han?


    On the side, Empress Carolina and Kazimir had a mocking look on their faces.


    If there were no people around, they would certainly gloat on how paranoid Queen Teh looked like right now.


    ''So what if you stay vignt? You are no match for me!''


    Empress Carolina said in her heart as she looked at Queen Teh. In her eyes Teh was like a clown, trying to fight against her pitiful fate.


    ''Even if you do your best to avoid my touch, do you think you would be saved from my curses? Hah! Too foolish! You only know how to seduce Valentin! Hah! Spiteful!"


    "Greetings, Sun of the Empire! I am here to escort you to the lounge while you wait for the high priest!" A clergyman wearing a pure white temple gown with a serene and calm expression greeted the Emperor and the rest.


    "We''ll trouble you!" Emperor Valentin thanked the clergyman and discreetly followed.


    They passed through the a narrow hallway and arrived in a lobby where there were two artifacts guarding a massive door.


    "Before we enter the inner temple, we have to perform cleansing." The clergy man waved towards the first artifact. It was a deep hollow basin and on top of it was a hovering pitcher.


    He led everyone to line up on the first artifact and said in a clear audible voice, "First, hold out your hands and let it be washed by the holy water."


    He held the handle of the floating pitcher and soon water flowed from it, "The water is freely floating, ready to wash your hands clean, as a sign of willingness to be cleansed."


    Soon Emperor Valentin stepped and did as instructed, followed by the others. On the side there were temple servants holding a warm towel to dry their hands.


    After everyone was finished, the clergyman walked onto the other end of the massive door, where the second artifact was located.


    It was a set of twenty four little bronze bells attached into a brass handle. "Next is to ring the bells of righteousness, as a sign to celebrate the cleansing you have just received."


    Empress Carolina''s eyes shed with excitement, the perfect time came!!!


    How could she, as one who had served the temple for a year, not know of this mundane ceremony? She had long known of this one and specifically waited at this moment to strike.


    ''So what if I can''t touch you? You will be touching the same things I touch?''


    ''So how could you think you could guard against me, huh, Teh?''


    Her eyes shined with a vicious light as a concealed smile appeared on her face.


    ''Now this time, Teh, let me see in my own eyes how you will fall from grace!''