Chapter 338 - The Offering
Chapter 338 - The Offering
Anne can't stop smiling while thinking about her wedding ceremony. She always thought about it and what her husband would be like. Now, she feels that there would never be anyone better than Lucien for her.
The other girls are also very excited about the ceremony, especially the demi-human ones.
"So, you know how the ceremony works, right?" Laure asks Lucien while she is also very excited about that.
Lucien nods. "Yes, as I said, I read some books about the Alliance and the clans, but that is someone else's interpretation of the subject. I would like to know your point of view about the ceremony."
Laure can't help but smile as Lucien makes her opinion more and more important. And of course, she likes him more and more for respecting her and Clovis that much.
She starts to explain. "This is simple, but to do it the best way possible requires a lot of work, and it is also dangerous for people without good combat skills. Many couples often ask for help from family members. However, it is right for people to do it on their own to show all their love and dedication they have for their partners."
As soon as Laure finishes speaking, she points to a small scar near her left eye. It does not reduce her charm in any way but rather makes Clovis love her even more.
"A red eagle almost took my eye out, but I took a big feather from her for our offering to the nature spirit. And she blessed us with a perfect marriage." Laure explains while Anne makes a proud expression and Clovis a loving one.
Then she looks at Clovis and smiles. "But my husband had even more work, didn't you, dear?"
Clovis lifts his shirt and shows a large scar on the right rib area. It took a few months to heal and allow him to walk again. Also, he can still feel the pain nowadays, but he doesn't complain because he really thinks he was blessed by the nature spirit with a perfect wife of all and a perfect marriage.
Anne also looks at her father with a proud expression, while Laure speaks in a loving tone. "Clovis was very bold and took a tooth from an a.d.u.l.t black panther. Even experienced warriors have already died trying that, but Clovis used his clever mind to set a trap, and alone, he pulled out the scary creature's tooth."
"The nature spirit protected me that day, or I couldn't have done it," Clovis speaks humbly despite the fact that he made an act almost impossible for a simple farmer.
Lucien signals positively to him. "Really brave. What happened to the creature afterward?"
Clovis replies. "I released it. The purpose of the offering is to show respect for our partner and the nature spirit, so we shouldn't kill the creatures and just get proof of our effort without causing any major harm to them."
Laure goes on to explain. "Yes, both the groom and the bride must achieve three symbols of their love for each other and respect for the nature spirit."
"For women, the first symbol must be a flower. The rarer the flower, the more effort she will have to make to get it and thus demonstrate more dedication to their marriage."
"Also, the color of the flower represents what kind of wife she wants to be: The lighter the flower, the more delicate and kind the wife wants to be. She will depend on her husband for everything, and in return, she will always be beautiful and silent beside him. She will always be ready to be loved by him and will accept all his orders."
Laure doesn't seem very excited when talking about wives who choose a light-colored flower. Well, Lucien and his wives also don't like that kind of wife who looks very 'passive.' But he understands that some women don't have very active personalities, and that doesn't make a person bad or good.
She continues to explain. "If the bride chooses a darker-colored flower, it means that she wants to be a wife who will always be on the side of her husband on an equal footing. She will fight to defend him if necessary, but she will also have an active voice in their relationship."
Most of Lucien's wives quickly identify with that type of wife. Despite obeying Lucien when he asks, they are always giving their opinion on important matters and fighting alongside him.
Laure also prefers that personality type and smiles at Clovis. "I chose a red-apple rose because I don't want to be a very dominant wife in the relationship, but I also want to help my husband and not depend on him unilaterally."
She looks at Anne and Lucien's other wives. "I don't believe that any man wants to marry a woman who chooses a totally white or black flower, but that is about the choices of each one. You must choose the color of your flower by balancing your intentions."
"Mm." The girls nod while thinking about the color they want her flowers to be. Most of them want a balanced it with a color to show that they are 'obedient wives' but also warriors who want to be beside Lucien in every situation.
Even Kara, without being a demi-human, is interested in doing that ceremony and having a flower with a color slightly lighter than darker because she doesn't want to be a combatant and just take care of their house. Maybe some shade of pink is the color she's looking for.
So Laure makes a concerned expression. "After choosing the flower of your preference, comes the dangerous part for many, but you are powerful women and will not have as much difficulty as I had."
She explains to the girls. "You should take a feather from a bird. If the bird is very simple and small, it will demonstrate that you are not willing to make big sacrifices for the sake of the relationship with your husband, so the most dedicated wives look for the rarest and biggest birds possible, which results in many of them getting hurt in the process. Remember not to kill the bird or cause irreversible injuries."
The girls start to think about what birds they will be looking for, and Cassidy can't resist making a joke with Aria. "What about harpy feather?"
The other girls, including Aria and Ella, laugh, but they are also curious about that.
Laure makes a thoughtful expression as she looks at the pair of mother and daughter harpies. "Harpies are rare even here in the Alliance. They nest in remote places and in small groups, so I've never seen a harpy wedding ceremony."
So she speaks to Aria in a very respectful tone. "But my mom told me stories about that. If something is wrong, please correct me, Aria."
Aria nods in agreement, and Laure begins to tell what her mother told her. "Harpies also make an offering to the nature spirit very similar to ours, but both the groom and the bride use their favorite feather for this part, thus making an offering that has great meaning for the couple and also pleases the nature spirit."
"Every harpy has a favorite feather. That is like our most significant secret, and to give a precious part of our body to make the offering, we are showing our love for our partner." Aria complete.
The girls make expressions of admiration at Aria and Ella while Lucien looks at them with a loving smile.
So Laure continues the explanation. "However, that is only valid for harpies. If you are not a harpy but have a harpy friend and wants to take a feather from her effortlessly, that will not be good as it will demonstrate that you do not want to make any effort for the future relationship with your husband."
The girls understand the situation, and in fact, they were just curious about that subject and did not think to ask Aria and Ella for feathers as that would be disrespectful to their sister. But Aria and Ella certainly will use their favorite feathers to demonstrate their love for Lucien.
Laure wastes no time and begins to explain the last step to the brides. "Finally, you must choose the seed of a tree. This can be any tree you want, but ideally, it should be a tree that you like or have special meaning for you."
She smiles at Clovis. "Clovis and I chose both apple tree because it was the tree that brought us together."
While the girls think about the tree, Laure focuses on Lucien. "Now, the bride and groom must do similar things. However, instead of looking for a flower with a specific color, the groom must find a stone, the most beautiful possible."
Lucien listens carefully while Laure continues to explain. "Most people seek that stone through the forest, but those who want to please their wives seek it in the bottom of the sea, diving as deep as possible to show their strength and determination."
He nods before looking at her with a thoughtful expression. "Oh, I also read something about the Lake of Tears in a book..."
Clovis laughs while taps Lucien on the shoulder. "The Lake of Tears? Bold and brave... as a dedicated husband must be!"
Laure shakes her head. "The Lake of Tears is a very deep lake in the center of Alliance territory. In fact, nobody has ever reached the bottom of it because of the Ghost Lady. She kills men who try to steal her precious stones to impress their brides."
"But there is no way to be sure that the Ghost Lady exists as no one has ever seen her. Perhaps those who died there were just too bold and dove beyond their capabilities." Anne comments.
"So, what about the bodies that were never found?" Laure asks. But then she smiles at Lucien. "Anyway, even if there is a monster in that lake, you are the Handsome Devil, Queen Eve's brother, so I don't think that has any chance against you, right?"
Lucien's wives quickly agree while fully trusting him. However, he definitely does not like to underestimate any creature and enemies, especially unknown ones.
Although there should be no powerful creatures in an inferior world, who can really know the secrets that any world has?
Lucien's group has already encountered angels and a crystal mine in this world, in addition to Rose's mother is a vampire and himself, along with his sister, having come from another world.
Laure continues to explain the ceremony. "In addition to the stones, in your case, one for each bride, you must get the tooth of a dangerous beast. The rarer and more dangerous the beast, the more satisfied your bride and the nature spirit will be."
"But remember, you mustn't kill the beast. The real challenge is to get the tooth without hurting it, and of course, not dying in the process." Laure speaks.
Then she pauses to look at Oya. "In the whole story of the Alliance, the most feared and respected beast by all was the Moon Tigers. Many tried to get their teeth but never succeeded it."
Oya has become more and more intelligent with the help of the mix of demonic energies and understands the situation. She smiles at Lucien and points to one of her big fangs as she speaks jokingly. "Do you want to try to get one of these?"
"Is it a challenge?" Lucien asks in a fake stern tone. But he continues to smile just like Oya.
"Yea-" Oya speaks slowly, but before finishing the word, Lucien jumped on her and started kissing and tickling her body, making mama tigress laugh like a happy child, also leaving little Ko and the other girls jealous.
Laure also finds Lucien and Oya's loving and playful scene funny. She finishes explaining the ceremony just by citing the last part. "To conclude, the groom must also choose the seed of a tree, which, when combined with the bride's one, will be planted together with the other parts of the offering and becomes a great tree."
Then she looks at Lucien's various wives. All of them, even those humans who have already done a ceremony in Portgreen, want to do the incredible nature spirit ceremony.
"In your case, many great trees..." Laure comments while a doubt appears in her mind. She looks at Elsie, who also has a thoughtful and expectant expression on her face.
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