Chapter 23
"Please take me with you, anywhere is fine."
Even if I become a pile of bones, at least I will be free.
Raindrops fell on her hair, rolled down to her shoulders, and blurred into dark and light water streaks. The sound was extremely soft, even her breaths trembled slightly, and she curled up into a small ball, like a kitten that had been soaked through.
Murphyria never liked to meddle in other people's business, especially not with a troublesome mortal girl. She had been summoned here and should have ended the farce and turned to leave, but she inexplicably stopped.
Mofiria hesitated for a moment, then helped the girl up from the ground: "Did you call me here because you want something?"
Loreira then told her the whole story of how Bocapet II wanted to marry her off to a cruel and tyrannical ruler as his sixth bride.
"There are people over there on the riverbank, let's go check it out!"
Before she could even receive a reply from the dragon, the royal guards arrived even faster and more urgently, leaving Loretta with only this one straw to grasp at.
She clung tightly to Morpheus's clothes: "Please, take me away. Even if you swallow me whole, it's better than marrying a tyrant."
Morpheus sighed: "How many times do I have to tell you, I don't eat people."
She removed the black gloves that covered her fingers and said to Loreira, "It would be illegitimate for me to take you away, and besides, you are a mortal and cannot enter the Eternal Rift with me. You will be found by them sooner or later while I am not here."
"So now you have another choice: marry me, become my wife, be bound to me, and share the right to use the Eternal Gap. But you must know this."
"First, I don't want to deceive you. I am a female, and I can't give you anything like a man, including offspring. But I will try my best to live as long as possible to stay with you."
"Secondly, I am an evil dragon, a born wicked creature. Once you are bound to me, you cannot marry anyone else, nor can you fall in love with anyone else. This is a punishment that is inherent in my blood. Every dragon can only have one wife, regardless of gender."
"I've said what I needed to say, so..."
"Lorella Bocape, would you marry a dragon?"
The red-haired woman handed the girl a black glove, giving her the right to choose.
The girl thought for a few seconds, took the black gloves, and murmured, "I do."
Loretta's voice was soft and sticky, the last syllable trembling with tears. All the panic and fear she had accumulated before had turned into tears, but her heart was warm, like holding a ball of freshly burned charcoal. Even the tears that fell seemed sweet.
"Go back, go back with them."
Murphyria wiped away her tears and promised, "On the day you get married, I will personally come to fetch you and bring you home."
Lorella carefully put away the gloves left by Morpheus and obediently appeared before the royal guard from her hiding place on the riverbank. The royal guard escorted her back to the palace, and from that moment on, Lorella's wandering heart finally found its way home.
Because she said she would take her home.
Their home.
So on her wedding day, Morpheus kept his promise, hijacked the wedding carriage, and burned the cage where she was imprisoned to the ground.
He transformed into a normal human form and took Lorella to the Temple of Marriage to be bound together and register their marriage.
In the "Partner" section, it says in black and white:
Loreira Pocape
Morpheus
The match was successfully formed.
Once a marriage is recorded in history, no one, except the god of marriage, can arbitrarily alter the traces of their union.
The god of marriage is the most impartial and incorruptible; no one dares to offend him.
She protected her well.
She no longer had to be married according to her parents' wishes and the words of a matchmaker.
Marry a stranger.
After hearing the story, Li Jia's eyes welled up with tears. This was just too sweet!
A greedy, vicious, and cruel female dragon × a little princess with a troubled past.
If Li Jia were to add tags to this, it would be a whole host of labels like "arranged marriage to love," "rescuing an arranged marriage," "redemption," "a match made in heaven," and "growth."
There aren't many people reading yuri (lesbian) stories.
However, Li Jia felt...
Do it!
Let's do yuri!
Lilies are the coolest!
"So you married Morpheus willingly? Even if you knew she wasn't male, there's no question of marriage fraud?"
After hearing Lorella's description, Hera had a general idea of what was going on. The goddess of marriage was responsible for protecting women's rights, and since it was voluntary, she could not interfere with Lorella's choice.
"Your Majesty the Goddess of Marriage, I voluntarily become her wife."
As Lorella spoke these words to Hera, her brows relaxed, her eyes softened, and the light in her pupils was unwavering. She carefully and resolutely conveyed her feelings to Hera.
"Okay, I understand. I will not erase the traces of your marriage history."
The gods must listen to the people's requests and fulfill their wishes.
“Your Majesty, the Temple of Marriage will not interfere in marriages between two willing parties. However, Morpheus used methods to impersonate a man and evade the premarital examination by the temple. We did not notice this, which is already a dereliction of duty on the part of the Temple of Marriage. This marriage is unreasonable.”
Doreen, in her duty to the Temple of Marriage, had a responsibility to remind Hera.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
Upon hearing Doreen's words, the "little yellow chick" immediately became unhappy. It opened its little mouth, poked its head out from Hera's chest, and strongly expressed its opinion.
"Is there anything you'd like to say?"
Hera regained her ability to speak, and when Li Jia saw that she could speak again, she began to talk incessantly.
"How can you be like this? Didn't you decide to become partners because you like each other?"
"Love is the direction of the heart. Love knows no borders, no regions, and of course no gender. Anyone who makes you feel happy is love."
"I think it's appropriate and reasonable to like men, women, anime characters, stones, flowers, grass, etc., as they don't harm others or disrupt social order."
"The lifespan of an ordinary person is no more than 30,000 days. It's quite difficult for most people to live to the full 30,000 days and die peacefully. So living in the present is the happiest way to live. Why be so attached to loving a man or a woman?"
"Your Majesty, you are the God of Marriage. All marriages in the world are decided by you. Whether they are reasonable or not is up to you. I think same-sex love is reasonable."
The little yellow chick pecked at the goddess's golden hair that fell across her cheek, looked into her eyes and asked, "Your Majesty, if one day you fall in love with a woman, would you also feel it's unreasonable to push her away?"
Before Li Jia could react, Hera patted her head and smiled, "Unless I die, it won't happen."
"Tch, does death mean you have to push her away? Besides, you won't die." The little yellow chick rubbed against Hera's hair, feeling a little ticklish.
"Your Majesty, according to Article 137 of the Marriage Code..."
Doreen wanted to stop Hera's absurd behavior.
The technique of being interrupted by Hera.
She glanced at Doreen and said, "Li Jia is right. The God of Marriage has the right to establish marriage institutions."
“I have confirmed your feelings, but I do not yet know if your partner, that female dragon, feels the same way about you. So, Princess Loreira, let’s make a bet.”
“If I win, I will not erase the traces of our marriage. If I lose, I will take you away, and this marriage will be annulled.”
Hera whispered a few words to Lorella, and the girl nodded after hearing what Hera said, exuding complete confidence: "I'll bet you this time, I believe in her."
———
"Your Majesty, what did you bet with her on?"
The little yellow chick clumsily crawled out of her chest, perched on her shoulder, and whispered a question.
Seeing the little guy staring at her with his round eyes, Hera deliberately shushed him and said meaningfully, "It's a secret."
Li Jia often can't tell which one is the real Hera. Why does she always like to tease her? Even now that she's turned into a little yellow chick, she still "bullies" small animals.
She was supposed to be a serious and unsmiling goddess.
However, she took care of her own food, clothing, and lodging, and she could also provide some emotional support. Moreover, Li Jia discovered that Hera had a very low threshold for laughter; every time she found something unfunny, Hera found it very funny.
Moreover, she had to maintain a facade and not show it in front of them.
Li Jia was too lazy to expose her; she wouldn't stoop to the level of a childish god.
To make the performance convincing, Hera conveyed the plan to Winslow and Doreen via oracle, and the two understood each other perfectly.
Doreen conjured a rope with her bare hands. Her movements were so fast that no one could react in time. Loretta's wrists were bound by the rough rope, which tightened so much that her bones ached, and her chafed skin burned with a fiery sensation.
Her ankles were also bound in the same way, and her calves were wrapped several times, binding her tightly like a pretzel, making her unable to move. To make it more realistic, Winslow stuffed a wet cloth into Loretta's mouth so that she couldn't make any sound.
Seeing that the three of them had tied up the princess, the little yellow chick let out a sharp squawk, and Li Jia became anxious and kept chirping.
Damn it, Hera has muted her again.
No! She couldn't just stand by and watch them tie up the princess. Thinking this, Li Jia decided to jump to the ground.
Hera saw through her intention, glanced at Doreen, who immediately understood and swiftly grabbed a bracelet, tied Doreen up like a dumpling, and threw her into Hera's sleeve.
Just then, dark clouds surged outside the castle, and the dragon folded its black wings that blotted out the sky. Its well-defined membranous wings trembled slightly in the air currents, and the resulting gale tore the withered vines on the battlements with a crackling sound.
Luckily, I was careful not to damage her flowers, otherwise she would have nagged me for a long time.
The dragon transformed into human form and slowly descended to the center of the flowerbed. The golden rays of the setting sun fell on her red hair, like a flowing flame being ignited. Her brow bones were slightly raised, her eye sockets were deep, and her gray-blue eyes were like glass beads immersed in seawater, carrying a sense of aloofness that kept strangers at bay.
When Murphylia returned home, she felt something was off. In the past, whenever she heard the sound of her folding her wings, Lorella would always run and greet her with a smile.
Why isn't it here today? And she sensed an aura in the castle that didn't belong to her.
Mofilia cautiously walked into the castle, opened the door, and saw Lorella bound hand and foot, with three people standing beside her.
The oppressive aura emanating from the blonde woman in the center made the membranous wings hidden beneath her skin stir restlessly—this was the aura of a god.
"Morpheus, do you know your mistake?"
Doreen took the two swords from her back and pointed them directly at Loreira's head, her voice as cold as ice.
Her actions would have scared Li Jia, this lazy bum, half to death.
No way? This is such a small thing, and they're going to kill someone?
My God, she's raised in a society governed by the rule of law; she can't kill!
The little yellow chick struggled, but Li Jia was tied up tightly, so she could only roll violently, trying to fall out of Hera's sleeve.
While working hard, I observed what they were saying outside.
Morpheus's face darkened: "Why should I admit I'm wrong? They're the ones who're wrong, what wrong have we done?"
"You deceived Qitong, passed the premarital checkup, and disrupted the order. Do you know your mistake?" Hera's tone was flat and without any fluctuation, as if she were simply stating a fact.
"Does that mean it's right for Lorelia to marry someone she doesn't even know, someone she doesn't like at all? Your Majesty, Goddess of Marriage," Morphyria retorted unwillingly.
Only the one at the Temple of Marion can see the outcome of the coffin.
Murphyria knew why she had come.
“But deception is deception. Bocapet II presented us with a marriage contract, believing that you had deceived his daughter. He demanded that your marriage be dissolved, your marriage history be erased, and that Bocapet be given a pure and innocent princess.”
Doreen continued to handle matters strictly by the book.
"Morpheus, as long as you admit that you deceived Princess Loreira, Her Majesty Hera will help you break off your marriage contract and erase your marriage history. From now on, the two of you will have no relationship whatsoever."
Winslow analyzed rationally, "The God of Marriage won't hold you responsible, and Princess Lorela will return to the palace to remarry. Isn't that a win-win situation?"
"No longer any relationship? You make it sound so easy."
Murphyria was extremely displeased and angry: "Make her marry someone she doesn't like, someone she doesn't even know?"
Li Jia was also annoyed on behalf of Mofilia. They had inexplicably barged into someone else's home. The man had worked hard all day and came home to find out from the Civil Affairs Bureau that he had to divorce his wife. Wasn't that crazy?
As luck would have it, the demon who had been silent all along finally spoke up: "Or kill her, and the debt will be settled with her dead. If one of them dies, I can go back and report."
Li Jia felt a chill run down her spine.
Boss, you broke into someone's house, fine, but if they don't want a divorce, why did you have to kill their wife? That's outrageous!
"If I had to choose one, I would kill myself. My greatest wish is for Loretta to be free, happy, and able to do whatever she wants."
"The key to the castle is the black glove I gave you when we first met. Our home will always belong to you."
"Why did we become connected? Because on that day, what welled up before the tears was your courage."
After speaking, Murphyia smiled and looked at Lorella, whose tears flowed uncontrollably like beads from a broken string.
He quickly broke off a sharp bone from his own wing, intending to kill himself.
No sooner said than done, just as Morpheus was about to plunge the chick into his own heart, the little yellow chick darted out of Hera's sleeve, chirping as it rolled to distract everyone.
Then, with a "Duang," it rolled to Morpheus's feet.
Morpheus was jolted by the impact, lost his balance, and fell straight down, hurtling towards Li Jia.
Li Jia closed her eyes. Oh no, the mission had only just begun, and she had to restart again. Couldn't she save her progress so she could load a save file? She didn't want to start all over again.
The imagined pain did not come. Li Jia opened her eyes and a long sword with black and red intertwined was blocking her way.
The sword was encircled by shackles as fiery as lava, burning as the gaze of divine law, its divine authority unshakeable.
Bone spurs that get close to it are instantly carbonized.
The little yellow chick thought: It would definitely burn if used to roast meat.
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