A prophecy had spread throughout the Bovias Empire. The sun prince would meet a human girl immune to fire, and together they would conceive an omnipotent god.
Thus, every year during the sun festival, young girls were taken as sacrifices and offered to the sun god's three sons. And because of this absurd prophecy, human female sacrifices were burned alive every year on the day of the festival.
Luciana was one of this year's sacrifices. She had never imagined that she would be forcibly made to drink a potion by her half-sister Gratzia and then be sent off to die a decent death.
After drinking the magic potion, Luciana's vocal cords were damaged, leaving her unable to speak. And her whole body felt as if it were being scorched by blazing fire. Desperate and helpless, she could only watch as her long golden hair was dyed a gorgeous red. And this was exactly what her sister Gratzia wanted, because with this red hair, they looked no different from each other.
Watching her sister Gratzia's departing figure, Luciana pleaded blankly, but it was of no use at all. In the end, she was forcibly dragged away by the maids, and became the sun prince's sacrifice in place of her vicious sister.
On the day of the sun festival, Luciana, as the sacrifice, was brought onto the altar. Looking at everything before her, the fear of being swallowed by flames instantly surged into her heart, and tears fell like rain.
The crowd clenched their fists in excitement, shouting loudly, eager to see the ritual begin. At this moment, her father, the high priest, stepped out amid the crowd's frenzied cheers.
"I hereby offer my beloved eldest daughter, Gratzia, to the son of the sun god."
His voice was low and solemn. He shed fake, cheap tears. Seeing the scene, Luciana had thought her father might feel even a trace of reluctance. She stared fixedly at the man on the stage, so she did not miss the utter coldness in his eyes, devoid of even a shred of emotion. And the man on the stage continued performing his fairness and selflessness, beginning the sacrificial ritual without the slightest hesitation.
At this moment, Luciana's heart turned completely to ashes. She desperately tried to shout with her stiff tongue.
I am Luciana, not Gratzia.
But no miracle happened. Her throat, ruined by the potion, only produced a harsh scraping sound. Soon, flames suddenly blazed up, rushing over Luciana's entire body, and from between the girl's parted lips came a silent scream.
Somebody save me.
Meanwhile, Orizio, the sun god's third son, was sitting leisurely on a cold marble bed, slowly lifting his fourth cup of wine. But he was so annoyed by his servant Gino's anxious inner monologue that he lost all interest.
"You've displeased me, Gino. Did you forget that I can read minds? Stop complaining."
Hearing this, Gino immediately begged for mercy. "Please forgive me. The sun festival is about to begin. If you miss it again, his majesty will definitely chop off my head."
"Don't worry, I can kill you before Father does. In fact, I'll let you die quickly and painlessly."
At this, Gino's eyes instantly filled with tears. I may be reborn, but it still hurts every single time.
But Orizio never attended the sun festival, because he simply hated this cruel method of sacrifice. Yet Gino, with tears in his eyes, shouted loudly, "Your highness, if you refuse the sacrifice again, his majesty will summon you, and I'll be thrown into the endless abyss. Is that what you want to see?"
Hearing Gino's pitiful pleading, Orizio immediately lost all interest in wine tasting and stood up, saying, "If this truly is Father's will, then I accept this sacrifice. Just this once. Go tell Father that this is the first time and also the last."
As a breeze swept by, a radiance began to glow across Orizio's face. In a flash, he arrived at the altar, and hearing the lovestruck voices of the human women around him, he regretfully thought that he should have waited until after the fire had ended to come.
But seeing the girl surrounded by raging flames, the man still descended from the air involuntarily and walked to her side. Staring straight at the girl's face with those eerie eyes, he said calmly, "Your name is Gratzia, is it? There must be some sacred power in you, because you still haven't been burned to death. But unfortunately, I've never had any interest in accepting this kind of sacrifice."
Hearing this, Luciana tried with all her strength to say, Bastard, I'm not Gratzia.
But still, no sound came out.
Seeing this, Orizio unusually took the girl back to the celestial palace.
When Gino found out, he was nearly driven mad with anger and shouted, "Your highness, how can you bring a human sacrifice to the celestial palace? What on earth are you thinking?"
But Orizio did not care at all and merely said calmly, "Save her. I need to confirm something."
Hearing this, Gino could not understand at all. He was so anxious he was almost crying. "Why should I waste divine power saving an insignificant human? And you privately brought back a human sacrifice. This is a serious matter. You may even be put on trial."
Hearing this, Orizio suddenly let out a cold laugh. "Put on trial?"
"That is possible," Gino said weakly. Then he suddenly remembered that no one in this world dared judge Orizio, including Orizio's father, the sun god Sol Lumen, because Orizio was the only judge in the celestial palace.
Gino immediately shut his mouth and briskly pulled open the bed curtains to examine the girl's injuries. But after only one glance, he cried out in shock, "I simply can't believe it. She's almost been burned to ashes."
Then he stretched out his short, chubby fingers and began treating her. Soon, blue light began seeping into every corner of the girl's body. Heat began to escape from between the girl's tightly closed lips. As the treatment ended, the red color of Luciana's hair faded, instantly restoring her original appearance. Her pale golden hair spread all over the bed.
At this moment, Gino, who had expended a great amount of divine power, wiped his sweat and said, "She still needs some time before regaining consciousness. Please confirm what you want to know as soon as possible, and then dispose of her before her human scent fills the entire palace."
But Orizio paid no attention to Gino's words and merely gazed thoughtfully at the blonde girl before him.
What secret was hidden within her just moments ago?
Orizio had brought the sacrificial girl who had nearly been burned to ashes back to the celestial palace. Looking at the girl before him, who had returned to her original appearance, his mind reading failed for the first time.
Just then, an unfamiliar presence appeared within the palace. Orizio's gaze instantly turned cold. Sensing the man's unusual aura, Gino hurriedly erected a black curtain around the girl, hiding her away.
Soon, an imperial envoy arrived and bowed to Orizio, saying, "I have brought the queen's gift. I heard this is your first time attending the sun festival, and she is very pleased."
Orizio smiled faintly. "You mean a gift?"
As soon as his words fell, the ground beneath the envoy's feet suddenly became scorching hot, and his whole body was instantly engulfed in blue flames. Enduring the burning pain, he panted and barely said, "I came under the queen's orders. You cannot treat me like this. This is tradition. Tradition!"
Orizio sneered. "The weather is very nice today. You wouldn't want a day like this to become your last day, would you?"
And the envoy, no longer able to endure the pain, let out a scream at that moment. "Ah! Everyone get out. Get out right now."
After saying that, he lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground with a thud. The maids screamed and fled in disarray.
At the side, Gino trembled in fear. "You really drove everyone out? The queen and the Pyros family will never let you go."
"I only want to live a life free from interference by the royal family."
"Of course," Gino fawned obsequiously. "But no matter what, now that you've attended the sun festival, you should also lose your virginity."
Before he could finish speaking, there came a smack and the chattering Gino was sent flying.
Afterward, Orizio calmly instructed the maids, "Tell me when that girl wakes up."