Chapter 340: Chapter 279: Heat

The coronation of a Holy Monarch has always been a grand affair.

The streets would empty as people from every clan gathered to offer congratulations and sing holy hymns.

According to tradition, the Old Saint Monarch, Uune Reaver, should have personally crowned Minos. However, everyone was aware of the Old Saint Monarch’s current physical condition, which left him unable to attend.

Minos took Sang Luo’s hand, and they stood together in the magnificent, open-air grand hall, accepting the adulation of the countless people below.

He personally placed the Holy Crown in her hands.

The crowd grew even more excited, breaking into a clamor when they saw that the Holy Queen was in attendance—she who so rarely appeared in public that she hadn’t even been present at her own bonding ceremony.

The rumors of discord between the Holy Monarch and Holy Queen were instantly dispelled.

This was the perfect scene everyone had longed to witness.

Amidst a chorus of countless voices that seemed to purify the very soul, petals rained down from the sky. Sang Luo glanced up. The nineteen Holy Envoys had transformed into their Angel forms and were joyfully circling the air, scattering petals from their baskets. The scene was so beautiful and dreamlike that she couldn’t help but smile. Two faint dimples appeared at the corners of her lips, revealing a hint of sweet charm.

“Please, Holy Queen, crown me with your own hands.” Minos gazed deeply at her, his clear, gentle eyes never leaving her face as a smile played on his lips.

Everything around them fell silent, as if the world had narrowed to just the two of them. Sang Luo gazed at the young, handsome man before her. He wore a magnificent, floor-length golden coronation robe. With his soft, pale gold hair and breathtakingly perfect face, he outshone all creation, his beauty almost too much for a mortal to behold.

A faint, sacred brilliance seemed to emanate from him, yet for her, he lowered his proud head.

Amidst the sacred chanting, Sang Luo crowned him with her own hands.

Then, Minos wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his embrace.

He lowered his head, his lips brushing against her ear. His soft, slow breaths washed over the side of her neck and her earlobe in warm wisps, like a teasing feather that sent a tingling numbness through her.

In a voice only she could hear, he said gently,

“Wait for me tonight.”

’Some people could make your legs go weak just by speaking.’

Sang Luo could hear her own heart pounding, threatening to beat right out of her chest. ’My face must be red,’ she thought. It was a shame she couldn’t see it. She had just raised a hand to touch her cheek when Minos caught it with his own long, elegant one.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

His lips were cool against her burning cheek.

His kisses trailed downward, finally landing on her lips.

Sang Luo had expected a simple, light peck. She never imagined that during such a grand ceremony, in front of all their guests, he would pull her into a deep, passionate kiss.

Noah, who was flying about scattering petals, saw this and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He forgot to even flap his wings, instantly turning to stone in midair! ’Is this the same cold, emotionless Minos I know?’

’He’s clearly got this handled. What was the point of asking me for pointers?’

THUD—

Something came crashing down. Sang Luo didn’t get a good look, but she caught a glimpse of a large white bird in her periphery. She didn’t think anything of it.

There were more rituals after the coronation, like the Archbishop and the Holy Envoys chanting long, tedious hymns for the Holy Monarch. Sang Luo had little interest. She returned to her chambers in a daze. Touching her face, she could still feel the lingering, shy warmth.

Minos didn’t return until after nightfall.

He was still in his coronation robes, a clear sign that he had rushed back the moment the ceremony ended.

Before Sang Luo could even speak, he pulled her into his arms and began peppering her with small kisses.

The man’s breaths were more ragged than they had been during the day, his body was hotter, and his voice held a barely concealed rasp.

“Luoluo, you are my Holy Queen…”

He pressed her down onto the bed, kissing her for a long time in a deep, unrestrained embrace.

Sang Luo sensed that something wasn’t quite right with Minos.

She pushed lightly against his chest, gasping for breath. “You… you couldn’t be…”

Sang Luo had heard from Anano that the Saint Heir’s mating season was approaching, but she didn’t know the exact day.

’It couldn’t be… tonight, could it?!’

Minos hummed a low assent. The corners of his eyes were flushed red, and in the flickering candlelight, he had lost his usual coolly gentle indifference. In its place was a different kind of allure…

Sang Luo stared, her eyes wide, and couldn’t stop herself from swallowing hard.

Minos tilted her chin up. His gaze drifted down, sweeping over her tense body as if considering where to begin. “The coronation was supposed to be a few months from now,” he said, “but my mating season arrived. We had to rush the ceremony and hold it today.”

His once-immaculate coronation robe from the daytime was now in disarray.

Sang Luo watched as a faint, alluring blush slowly spread across his face, ears, and neck.

Sang Luo said softly, “I’d like to take a bath first.”

“Alright.”

Minos gave her a kiss on the lips, then carried her to the bathing chamber and sat her on the edge of the pool.

He slowly undressed her, his eyes following his every move. His gaze was nothing like its usual cool gentleness; now it was filled with a powerful… possessiveness.

As his hand reached for the last layer of her clothing, Sang Luo suddenly grabbed his wrist. She looked at his body, still tightly bundled in his formal robes, and said with a pout, “You’re getting in with me.”

Minos’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. With great effort, he tore his gaze away from her. He nodded and began to remove his own clothes.

Layer after layer…

The floor-length outer robe adorned with jewels and tassels, the fitted inner robe… the excessively ornate and magnificent vestments looked divinely beautiful, but they were also a real pain to remove. Sang Luo grew impatient. She took the initiative, hooking her fingers around his sash and giving it a tug—only for it to not budge an inch!

She had no choice but to lean in closer, slowly and seriously trying to figure out the sash. One second, two seconds, three seconds passed… and it was still fastened.

With her focused gaze upon him, her warm breath washing over him, and the constant friction of her arms against the fabric, he began to stir.

Minos could bear it no longer. He flipped her over, pressing her down as one hand cradled the back of her head, pulling her into a searing kiss. With his other hand, he guided her small one, and in a few deft movements, the sash was undone.

Sang Luo was left breathless.

He swept her up into his arms and stepped into the pool, the swirling steam veiling the intimate scene.

They were both bare, skin against skin, able to feel everything.

Perhaps the water was a bit cool, or perhaps the air in the chamber was simply scorching. Sang Luo’s face was flushed and burning, tinged with an alluring shyness. Minos’s hands scooped up water, gently stroking it over her body, washing every inch of her clean.

Sang Luo bit her lip. Soon, she couldn’t take it anymore and collapsed limply against him, letting him wash and tend to her as he pleased.

They bathed for almost two hours before they were finished.

Minos used a clean, soft towel to dry her hair and body before carrying her back to the bedchamber and placing her on the bed.

Taking advantage of her last shred of lucidity, Sang Luo asked in a delicate voice, “We haven’t had the Warmth Wine.”

Minos took out the Warmth Wine, took a drink, and then lowered his head to feed it to her from his own lips.

They finished the entire cup that way.

Sang Luo wrapped her arms around the man’s shoulders and took the initiative to kiss his lips.

“Come, then. I’m ready…”

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