Chapter 5

◎Broken Engagement (Part 1)◎

Gani's blog is quite controversial in terms of both its timing and the content of the photos, and it's also rich in implications.

She danced with her fiancé on the eve of the Third Prince and Lan Ye's wedding.

In the photo, Gani and the Third Prince Ouse appear very close and intimate in terms of posture, gaze, and atmosphere. Their foreheads are touching, their bodies are pressed together, and their eyes are filled with affection. If one did not know their identities and backgrounds, anyone looking at this photo would think they were a couple deeply in love.

Gani already had a high profile, and the Third Prince's wedding was even more highly anticipated, so when she posted this on Weibo the day before the Third Prince's wedding, the entire Star Network was in an uproar.

"Uh, is Jia Ni not even pretending anymore? Posting a photo of herself dancing with the Third Prince on the eve of his wedding to Lan Ye..."

"Don't forget that Gani's surname is Subec. Do you really think he's just a retired pretty face? Apart from the royal family and the other three great families of the four regions, he doesn't need to worry about anyone. Do you really think Lan Ye can compete with him? That's laughable."

"Yes, Jia Ni has never regarded Lan Ye as a competitor, whether in career or in relationships. After all, these are things that Jia Ni can obtain with a wave of her hand."

"I'm saying, don't you guys have warped values? Even if Jia Ni was born into a noble, wealthy, and powerful family, it doesn't change the fact that he knowingly became a mistress and shamelessly flaunted it."

"Exactly. Don't forget that most people are just ordinary folks like Lan Ye. Lan Ye is more famous and richer than most people, yet he is still looked down upon like this. To those who sympathize with Jia Ni, I hope your marriage partners are targeted by someone with even more power, who will steal your partner and flaunt it in public, riding all over you."

"Neither Lan Ye nor Jia Ni are good people, but Jia Ni's actions this time are just incredibly hypocritical. She's not even pretending anymore, she just doesn't care about Lan Ye or the public's opinions at all. It's typical arrogance of someone in a position of power. She must have been holding back when she was pretending to be gentle and humble before."

"Heh, you're all talking about Jia Ni and Lan Ye, but the Third Prince has disappeared. Shouldn't he be the worst one? If his attitude hadn't been so ambiguous, would Jia Ni have jumped up in anger?"

"I second that. I think the Third Prince is the real culprit; he's both scum and despicable, always wanting more than he has. I have a feeling something bad will happen at tomorrow's wedding..."

"No way, it feels like the whole universe is watching tomorrow's wedding. For the sake of the Silver Glow Empire and the royal family's reputation, they won't let anything go wrong at the wedding... oh well."

...

No matter how heated the online debate became, the three people at the center of the controversy did not come out to offer any explanation.

It seems that Gani just casually posted a daily photo, since his daily life blog after retiring from the entertainment industry is basically about balls, auctions and art exhibitions.

Although the Third Prince has a Weibo account, it is clearly managed by a professional news team. Not only is the frequency of his posts low, but every post is an official announcement. His Weibo is full of announcements about the financial disclosures of his charitable foundation, sponsorships of sports leagues or art collection exhibitions, and various press releases about his overseas visits.

The Third Prince's latest Weibo post was two weeks ago, announcing the time and location of his wedding. Although the number of comments on this post was staggering, and the growth rate was exploding, the official account did not reply to a single one.

But the most unusual one was Lan Ye.

Lan Ye has never kept a low profile since his debut two years ago. Before announcing his marriage to the Third Prince, he was already a top-tier celebrity with an astonishingly high level of attention.

He posts several times a day on Weibo, mostly about promoting his dramas and attending events, and showcasing his extravagant lifestyle. After the news of his marriage to the Third Prince was announced, instead of showing any sign of modesty, he became even more high-profile and ostentatious: showing off the various gifts the Third Prince gave him, especially those with the royal logo, his wedding ring, his wedding attire, and the various palaces, manors, and castles he visited and lived in…

However, ever since Gani posted a selfie of her hand wearing the Third Prince's seal ring, and the media turned the "Chronicles of Percy" press conference into a gossip session about the three of them, Lan Ye has disappeared. Not only can he not be found in real life, but he has also not posted any new Weibo posts.

"At first I thought it was because Lan Ye was going to marry into the royal family, so she was forced to keep a low profile, but now the more I think about it, the more something seems off..."

"Yes, judging from the star ratings of other royal and noble circles, the noble circles in the capital are quite lively, and the Third Prince hasn't kept a low profile either. However, during this period, it seems that people in those noble circles are all attending balls and salons at Hoffmann Palace. Given Lan Ye's high-profile personality, unless something happens, he certainly won't miss the balls and salons, and his star ratings have already skyrocketed."

"Do you know whose Hoffmann Palace is? Hoffmann Palace belongs to the Subec family, and it's considered Gani's private residence. With the Third Prince's wedding just around the corner, even if it's just a warm-up, the place in the capital planet that should be hosting the ball and salon is the Third Prince's Glade Palace. Think about it carefully."

"I checked the blogs of the nobility in the capital star and found that the Third Prince didn't just attend the ball at Hoffmann Palace yesterday. He's been going to Hoffmann Palace frequently lately, and there are also projections of photos of the two dancing on other people's blogs, but they weren't taken at the same time, and each projection was more ambiguous than the last. But Lan Ye wasn't seen in any of the photos or projections posted on those people's blogs!"

"I'm a little worried about Lan Ye's personal safety..."

"We'll know the answer if Lan Ye shows up at the wedding tomorrow."

...

The wedding took place as scheduled.

The already highly anticipated wedding became even more closely watched due to various rumors and gossip before the wedding, with the eyes of the entire universe focused on the royal palace of the capital star of the Silver Glow Empire—Vinoren Palace.

The wedding was attended by prominent officials and dignitaries of the Silvershine Empire, as well as envoys from countries that were on friendly terms with the Silvershine Empire.

These people were all there for the Silver Glow Empire's royal family; their focus and concern were on the empire's third prince. Lan Ye, who should have been another protagonist in the wedding, seemed insignificant in their eyes. So much so that before the wedding, they didn't bother with the pretense of socializing with this most popular celebrity in the entertainment industry, the future third prince's consort.

On the StarNet, the Third Prince's wedding was broadcast live via the official royal account. Even before the broadcast began, trillions of people were already waiting in the live stream room.

In an era dominated by robots, nobles, in order to demonstrate their prestige and uniqueness, increasingly revere human labor and retro styles.

One after another, ornate and retro carriages stopped at the entrance to the palace square avenue paved with red carpet. After alighting from the carriages, nobles dressed in handcrafted custom-made gowns waved to the crowds outside the palace fence before walking along the red carpet toward the palace gates.

The live broadcast room also showed the wedding proceedings in real time, and thoughtfully labeled the guests' identities and names above their heads.

However, two magnificent carriages did not stop at the entrance to the red carpet, but were allowed to pass directly by the guards and entered the palace with their occupants.

The live stream also labeled the two carriages as: Prince Ossa Gamondon and his fiancée Lan Ye.

"Something feels off..."

"They're getting married soon, but Lan Ye's label is 'future princess consort.' Although we're trying to be accurate, it's still quite strange. Besides, normally a prince would be granted the title of Prince after marriage, or even earlier, but Ou Sai is still just a prince."

"What's strange isn't the label, but that they came from two different locations, which means they didn't live together before."

"The key point is, shouldn't everyone be moving into Viñolens Palace to prepare the day before the wedding? It's strange that they're preparing in two different places the day before the wedding."

“What’s so strange about it? Didn’t the Third Prince attend a ball at Hoffmann’s Palace the day before and dance intimately with Gani? Gani even posted it online.”

...

Once all the guests had arrived, the wedding ceremony officially began.

The Emperor and Empress, who had been absent from the public eye for a long time, finally made an appearance at the wedding. Since Crown Prince Regas' disappearance, the current Emperor Leo VI has made significantly fewer public appearances, typically only once every three or four months. The Empress, on the other hand, had not appeared at all; the official royal explanation was that she had fallen ill from excessive grief and had been recuperating for the past two years. Although the Empress did appear this time, she did not even smile. Despite wearing makeup, her complexion was still noticeably poor, and she appeared thin, indeed showing signs of recovering from a prolonged illness.

Ossa, dressed in princely robes and wearing a gold-trimmed sash, was handsome and upright. Although he wore a smile, it was restrained and subtle, revealing no genuine joy.

Lan Ye was dressed in a custom-made white suit, his smile seemingly a little shy. However, the audience, accustomed to his flamboyant style, was clearly unaccustomed to this expression. Viewers in the live stream chat commented that it looked awkward.

The wedding ceremony was held at the Temple of All Rites. This palace is only open to the royal family for major ceremonies, and the last time it was open was two years ago, aside from this wedding. Two years ago, Prince Regas's fleet encountered a black hole and exploded; some starships went missing, but some wreckage was found. The collective funeral for the crew of the starships whose wreckage was found was arranged at the Temple of All Rites.

The wedding ceremony was officiated by Prince Mordecai Gamondon, the uncle of the current Emperor Leo VI, and a highly respected elder of the royal family.

Prince Morde, holding the Oath Codex in his hand, solemnly asked Ose, "Do you take this man beside you to be your husband? To love him, to be faithful to him, and to never have feelings for anyone else, regardless of his status, to respect his family as your own, and to fulfill your duties as his partner until death do you part?"

Osei still wore a smile on his face, tinged with tenderness, but his eyelids were half-closed, concealing the emotions within. He remained silent for a long while.

This silence silenced the already not-so-quiet hall. But this silence wasn't a deathly stillness; rather, it was a temporary quiet, like boiling steam being forced down by a lid. The livestream room, which had been crammed with 3D bullet comments, also quieted down, and the number of comments visibly decreased.

Everyone is waiting for the answer.

"I'm sorry," Ose said, opening his eyes again. "I can't let him be sad."

A note from the author:

Osei: I'm not pretending anymore.

Lan Ye: I'm still doing my best to perform, even though I'm just playing along with your act.