The ladies who were mocking Eli could not help but grit their teeth and look at the couple with great envy.
Just earlier, they were still having a blast mocking Eli's background only to be slapped by the reality of Alicia's words and the Emperor's announcement.
The noblemen of the New Rising Faction were also signaling each other in the eyes. It seems that they have something in their minds as they look like they were in panic.
Oblivious to the subtle tension in the crowd, Queen Tehila and Emperor Valentin were smiling brightly, Kazimir, Antoine, and the rest of the family also looked satisfied with the couple.
"Tomorrow, the Third Prince and Lady Eli will be having their engagement ceremony hosted by the High Priest himself. I hope that everyone will also be there to witness the betrothal of the two, to become blessed by the heavens!"
"A betrothal in the Temple? With the High Priest blessing their engagement?!"
"Oh, my heavens! The Third Prince really loves the lady!!!"
"Ah! I envy the Lady! To have someone willing to convince the High Priest to bless their engagement! What could be more romantic than that!"
"I know! I just hope my future beloved would be this nice too!"
The ladies in the room who were secretly supporting the tandem between Eli and Leon suddenly became vocal in their words.
In fact, there were a number of young noblemen and women who looked up to the pairing, however, because of the strong opposition of most of the noble families, they decided to hide their intent to support the two.
Now that it was all in the open, they could not help but exclaim happily like fan girls.
In the Empire, when a couple is engaged, it would be enough for them to have their arrangement announced in an event like this. Even the members of the Imperial Family were also like this.
However, for men who would want to express their love and affection to their betrothed, they would be coming to the Temple to convince the heavens to bless their marriage.
Why is it romantic?
It was because the man must show to the heavens how much he wanted his beloved and their upcoming marriage to be blessed.
During those times, the man would stay in the Temple, praying, fasting, and serving the Temple until the heavens would light up the Altar of Matrimony.
If the Altar of Matrimony lit up, it means that the heavens permitted the man to take the hand of the woman in marriage to become bound together as a couple and that they will witness their union until the end of their lives.
No one knows how many days or nights or months will it takes, no one, not even the Emperor nor the High Priest could influence the duration of their sacrifice and the permission of the heavens.
There were many men who attempted to try to light up the altar before asking for their beloved's hand in marriage however, most of them gave up in the end.
They just opted to go straight with the engagement and hoped that in another way, the heavens could bless them somehow.
Now knowing that Leon had been permitted to hold his engagement ceremony in the Temple, it meant that he has done the sacrifice until he convinced the heavens, and had eventually managed to light up the Altar of Matrimony.
In the Empire, the one who was able to do this tradition was the late Emperor Idelfonso with his one and only Empress. Emperor Valentin had been planning to do that for Queen Tehila however, the thing with the Vesala happened.
"Best wishes to the His Highness Third Prince and Lady Eli!"
"Best wishes!"
Emperor Valentin looked at everyone with an ecstatic expression. He waved his hands at the Maestro and gestured for the banquet to start.
The first one to join the dance floor was of course the birthday celebrant, Queen Tehila with Emperor Valentin.
After that, it was Eli and Leon's turn along with the rest of the Imperial Family pairs.
While they were on the dance floor, Leon did not take his gaze off Eli's sight.
Waltzing through the beat of the romantic music, Leon caressed Eli's right hand and commented, "Your hand is cold…"
"I am surprised and nervous… I did not expect all of this to happen…" Eli's face remained calm, however her dark obsidian eyes were the only evidence of her real emotions at the moment.
"I apologize for not telling you in advance… Actually, this isn't what I wanted…" Leon looked at her with an apologetic smile.
He was telling the truth, he had planned for something even more romantic than this. But the circumstances pushed them to become a side event of his Mother's birthday party.
Even if he had already announced to the Empire that he would only marry Eli, his heart still feels aggrieved that he had not given her the best engagement arrangement he has in mind.
"Why the long face? Even if you proposed to me quietly in the cottage, I would still accept your proposal. Leon, other things do not matter." Eli smiled as she responded to ease Leon's worried expression.
The reason for this sudden engagement happened a few days ago when Emperor Valentin received a proposal for Leon.
–
Days before the birthday banquet…
The High Priest suddenly requested a visit to the Emperor.
Sitting in the Emperor's luxurious lounge, Emperor Valentin welcomed High Priest Enoch with great care and reverence.
"Your Eminence, what brings you here so suddenly? Is there anything that happened?" Emperor Valentin looked at the elderly High Priest who had come to the palace in a flash.
"I came here because I have received two letters from the Main Temple. One letter seems to be addressed to you, the Emperor of Seirende Empire." High Priest Enoch dived straight into the topic and handed over the letter with a golden seal pattern.
Emperor Valentin carefully received the letter and opened it in High Priest Enoch's presence.
There was a long silence in the room as Emperor Valentin read the letter. Slowly, as he read through the contents, Emperor Valentin trembled in complex emotions.
"This… this!!!"
"What does it say?" High Priest Enoch, did not hide his intention to know the contents of the letter, for he had already seen what happened in the main Temple due to his clairvoyance ability.
Asking the Emperor was just his form of convincing himself that what he saw in the vision is true. Because he could not believe what he saw there.
"T-the main Temple is proposing to Leon… They wanted to arrange a marriage between him and the newly found Paladin."
High Priest Enoch's eyes darkened. "What is the Main Temple up to? How can they conclude such a thing?"
Emperor Valentin also trembled as he responded,
"Paladin? Isn't the Paladin my future daughter-in-law, Eli? How come they were claiming that they have found the identity of the Paladin and even force an engagement with my son?"
High Priest Enoch could only frown and shake his head, "I am also as confused as you are. This is the first time that the Temple did this thing And even if I tried to use my powers once again to find out what was happening in the main Temple… it feels like something has been blocking me from seeing."
"..." Emperor Valentin could only clench his hands and think deeper. "I can always reject this proposal, however… they were claiming that the engagement with the 'Paladin' is the will of the heavens…"
Emperor Valentin clenched his fist, it seems like his son was also about to go through the same struggle he went through before, being unable to marry their beloved that easily.
"This decision is not yours to take, young Valentin. We need to ask your son." High Priest Enoch knew what was on Valentin's mind and so he reminded him of his role and let him calm down.
Immediately summoning Leon to the lounge the two elders explained the situation for Leon to decide on.
Upon hearing the details, Leon's demeanor looked cold as he looked at the two and commented, "It seems like we can not fully trust the Main Temple for the secrets we have regarding Eli's identity… If they became this careless, how are they going to prove that they were still hearing from the heavens?"
"That's what I thought… However, going against the Main Temple will not be an easy task." High Priest Enoch felt heartbroken and ashamed upon hearing Leon's judgment towards the Main Temple.
However, he could not refute his evaluation, for they know the truth, Eli is the Paladin.
For the Main Temple to suddenly claim a random person as Paladin without even asking for an oracle, how could he still justify that they were hearing from the heavens?
Leon on the other hand remained calm as he asked, "When will they wait for the answer?"
Emperor Valentin replied, "Five days from now, the day of your Mother's birthday celebration."
"Alright…" Leon suddenly stood up and looked at his Father. "Father, I want to ask for your help in telling Eli that I will be confined in the Temple for a while…"
"Confined? You mean!!!" Emperor Valentin and High Priest Enoch exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, there's no better way to fight the Main Temple's claims than presenting heaven's proof! The Altar of Matrimony!"
