Reincarnating into a Beautiful Woman

Chapter 28

Much to Yasna's surprise, there happened to be a gathering for young nobles the following week. Crown Prince Laith and Lady Celine were both required to attend this ceremonial gathering that was held every year. The gathering consisted of a tea ceremony in honor of the first Emperor of the Zionitte Empire and a prayer session to the gods. The event was also restricted to nobles who possessed the blood of the gods' blessings. The procession was separated by age groups since the garden itself was not as spacious as the banquet hall. Yasna was especially pleased by this coincidental plan since Zavia would not be able to attend due to the lack of royal lineage in her blood. Yasna was confident that sparks would fly once Celine and Prince Laith spent time alone. 

Lady Yasna's mental state improved immensely as she became engrossed with her plans on helping Celine. She was distracted and even forgot about her husband's greedy ambitions for the time being. Her cunning gaze swept the floor as she walked with pride and elegance once again.

Celine was oblivious to Yasna's agenda and was delighted to see the positive change in her friend's appearance and regained confidence. She smiled in relief and proceeded to enter a nicely decorated garden filled with the Empire's most symbolic flowers. An outdoor altar was centered in the middle of the courtyard. Marble statues of the gods encircled the area, while the altar was marked with inlays of the first Emperor's story. 

The gods of this time period revolved around Nour, the God who had created the earth and blessed this Empire. His brothers and sisters each specialized in certain aspects of the world like other mythologies. This religion was flawed and extremely unrealistic for Celine. There was no solid proof that the gods had gifted them with familiars, nor were there any explanations as to how the first Emperor acquired this blessing. The only indicator of the gods' existence was the supernatural familiars who still roamed around the earth. Even then, familiars had become increasingly rare during the past few generations. Celine believed that if the gods somehow existed, then they had already abandoned this world. Therefore, there was no use in praying to the gods who were slowly retracting their blessings away from the Zionitte Empire.

The Crown Prince had dictated multiple ceremonies after his return, since familiars were a symbol of hope to the people. He desperately wanted to please the gods and somehow prevent the decreasing numbers of familiars from going extinct. 

The Zionitte Empire will probably face their downfall once the familiars go extinct, Celine conjectured.

The procession was carried out in silence. Crown Prince Laith and the Second Prince Zayden stood by the altar and lit an incense as a show of respect. There were many goods surrounding the altar as a gift to the gods. Every noble received a cup of tea and drank in solitude. Many closed their eyes to pray individually until the priest finally concluded the ceremony with a final prayer. 

Afterwards, the nobles chatted leisurely amongst each other. The sound of the ruffled leaves swaying in the wind alongside the chirping birds brought forth a sense of peace to the courtyard. As Celine stood near the altar, she observed the peaceful setting and sipped her tea. She listened to the princes speak formally to one another over philosophical works of famous scholars. The contrasting appearance of the two brothers reminded Celine of the yin-yang symbol. One shined as bright as the sun, while the other belonged to the dark night. The two opposing sides standing next to each other in peace was like a cosmic duality.

Unfortunately, the tranquility became greatly disturbed by Zavia's sudden appearance. At first, the young nobles had disregarded this concubine who seamlessly blended in with the crowd. Zavia was only noticed when when she brazenly stuck to Prince Laith's side and broke the placidity between the princes.