The Empror's Trap

The night of the full moon.

This day was also known in Camelot as the "Autumn Moon Festival," a very ancient celebration. Folk tales said that the moon on this night would determine whether the next year would bring good weather and abundant harvests. So every year during the Autumn Festival, besides admiring the moon, people would hang all kinds of autumn lanterns.

The autumn lanterns came in many designs—landscapes, figures—but the most common were the portraits of Camelot's sages, depicting those revered by the empire throughout history. Apart from the lantern displays, there was another important event: the Moon Ceremony.

This ceremony was led by the Camelot royal family, and local communities had their own versions and scales of the ritual. Among them, Camelot's royal Moon Ceremony was the most grand and spectacular.

The Moon Ceremony involved worshipping the bright moon. All Celestial Masters in the Celestial Master's Mansion had to wear masks and attend. As the youngest disciples sang the Moon Ceremony Hymn, they performed rituals honoring heaven, earth, the sun, and the moon, praying for peace across the land.

As for Pluvia...

"Your Majesty, if you can't hold it up, you can ask them to give you a lighter one..." Kenji looked at Pluvia struggling to hold the censer, feeling a bit sorry for her.

Not that there was any other reason—it was simply that seeing a girl hold such a heavy bronze censer for such a long time was a little pitiful.

"No need," Pluvia said.

Sweat beaded on her cheek, then trickled down her neck and disappeared beneath her collar, hiding from view.

In this Moon Ceremony, the emperor's role was actually quite exhausting. By custom, after opening the altar with a ritual, the second part was the Moon Ceremony Hymn, which lasted around seven minutes.

During this, the emperor had to hold the bronze censer with both hands. Inside it burned a stick of incense. First, she would offer blessings to the moon, then as the hymn played, under the guidance of the oldest Celestial Master, she would bow and worship heaven, earth, and the eight directions.

She had to hold the censer without setting it down for at least ten minutes in total. The steadier the censer was held, the more stable the empire's fortunes were said to be.

The problem was the censer was not small. Made of thick bronze, it was quite heavy. Holding it for ten minutes was torturous.

Many past emperors, due to health or weakness, had two ministers or princes assist, holding the censer from both sides. Some too weak didn't even have to lift it properly — just pretending was enough.

But Pluvia couldn't do that.

Though she was female and theoretically didn't have to hold it alone (especially since holding a bronze censer like that for ten minutes was hard for someone like her, not very strong physically), this was her first formal Moon Ceremony since ascending the throne. To be seen as careless or halfhearted in the very first one wasn't good for her at all.

In theory, this was a hurdle she had to pass, but in practice... Pluvia wasn't a warrior. Holding the censer for ten minutes was too harsh. She was already shaking after less than three minutes.

"Your Majesty, why didn't you practice in advance?" Kenji asked.

Holding the censer for ten minutes was tough, but if she had trained ahead, it wouldn't be so bad. Actually, she had potential—the last time during that attack, the strength she showed holding onto herself was impressive.

"I don't have time. You can't expect me to hold something while working," Pluvia rolled her eyes at him.

"Hmm... theoretically, if Your Majesty's willpower is strong enough, ten minutes is doable. But with your muscle strength, I doubt you'll be able to hold a pen tomorrow," Kenji said honestly.

"What do you mean by that?" Pluvia gritted her teeth.

Her gritting wasn't just to reject his remark; mostly, it was because she was close to giving up.

She was already struggling, and it wasn't even six minutes in.

Seeing her grit her teeth, Kenji leaned forward and gently pinched the soft flesh near her armpit on her arm.

"Eyaah~"

Pluvia couldn't help making a noise—it made one feel all tingly inside. Kenji quickly glanced around nervously. Fortunately, everyone else was focused on preparing the ceremony and hadn't noticed.

"Your Majesty, please don't make strange sounds."

Pluvia glared at him and put the censer down. "Then why are you disturbing me!?"

"Is it that your muscles feel sore there? One pinch and your arm went soft?" Kenji smiled.

"Yes. So?"

"If you keep forcing it, I think tomorrow your arms won't work at all," Kenji said, drawing from his own experience.

"...So what if my arms don't work tomorrow? I don't care. I'm risking it all."

Hah, that stubborn mouth.

Kenji rolled his eyes silently but stepped closer. "Well, if you insist on this, I won't say more. But please don't blame me afterward."

Pluvia waved her hand, signaling she didn't care.

Of course, her carefree gesture made Kenji want to laugh behind her back.

Stubborn, huh? Fine, I'll be curious to see what you look like after ten minutes of this.

It wasn't that Kenji didn't want to help. There were many ways to reduce the effort in this ritual. The simplest was a small levitation magic to make the censer float slightly. It didn't have to be fully floating—just a little spiritual energy to lighten the load would make it much easier for Pluvia.

But this was magic. If anyone knowledgeable spotted that she was holding the censer using magic, it would cause a big problem.

So there was no choice. Pluvia had to hold it herself.

As the opening chant ended, Pluvia recovered well after some massage and relaxation from the Celestial Masters. She carefully adjusted her attire and walked toward the brightly lit moon altar.

She accepted the censer from a nearby master. The incense on it was lit, and she lifted the censer to offer blessings to the moon.

The blessings basically asked heaven, earth, and the moon to grant Camelot good weather and continuous prosperity.

Then, the Celestial Masters threw ritual wine into the air. The disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion began reciting the Moon Ceremony Hymn accompanied by the chime of bells:

"Symbols opening altar call the lunar fair,

Joyous country crowned by heavens' care.

Nations bow in misty air,

Worship heaven and earth, the sacred layers…"

Kenji found it hard to describe the feeling.

The bells sounded clearly as thousands of disciples chanted the ancient ritual song that Camelot had performed without fail for a thousand years. The altar was brightly lit, bathed in the glowing lanterns, and overhead shone the equally bright moon. It was as though two moons graced the sky.

Around the altar, soldiers stood solemnly holding ceremonial weapons. Before the people of Camelot, they displayed the ancient empire's strength.

It was beautiful, majestic.

Of course, provided the seemingly calm emperor's arms didn't tremble slightly—Kenji, standing nearby as a minister, noticed that small detail quickly.

See? That's what happens when you're so stubborn.