"I have a small request, Emperor Alexander," Aurelian said as he stepped towards him.
"Say it, Aurelian. I can hardly refuse you any requests after what you've done." Alexander smiled as he ruffled his hair. By now it was obvious who Alaric Dane was.
"I kept my promise, the prophecy - I crushed the Dragon's neck and spine. Allow me to honour Seviras with a proper burial. Had I met him in a different world, I would have been his friend." Aurelian's request shocked everyone, but they also understood him. Seviras was doing what he needed for his Empire, and when they saw their first conversation, they understood that Aurelian and Seviras respected each other a lot. The Emperor nodded with a smile; honouring your enemy was not a bad thing. It only showed that your morals were strong, that you recognised the qualities of things, regardless of the circumstances.
"Proceed then. Let us not make the Empire wait. Daughter, you go change in the back with your mother! From today forward, you are Aurelia Salerios da Mograine. A wedding date will be set soon...as for you, Aurelian, proceed as usual, everyone." The Emperor said as he gave his orders and went to change as well. The army had to be welcomed, the people of the Empire had to be made aware, and the Holy City had been reclaimed. Aurelian has come!
The sky was covered by a massive shadow - it was the Silver Roc; it had returned! It was a creature of myth, and it was a guardian of the Holy City. It landed on the peak of Aure and spread its wings. Silver Gryphons arrived as well, nesting around the mountain! Everything now was complete, as the millions of soldiers outside cheered.
Quite a few pairs of hands grabbed Aurelian as they began tearing the scraps off him. His mother, father, Ahri, Luther, Dain, Severin, Duke Garcia, Marquis Belisarius, Duchess Rose, Uncle Thomas, Albert and Aunt Marianne - all of them laughing as they stripped away the ruined armour and rags.
It was tradition: the Aurelian must be dressed for the ceremony only by those who shaped his life. Those who raised him, trained him, supported him, and bled with him. And so they did, laughing as they worked.
A royal silver robe was brought forward, shimmering with life. Roc motifs glided across the fabric as if carried by wind. His silver hair was combed, ornaments placed one by one, each piece a symbol of the Holy City's rebirth. When they stepped back, Aurelian stood fully donned - the rightful ruler of Aure.
Juliet was dressed as well, in silver robes that left only her arms bare. She looked like she had stepped out of a divine painting.
Princess Juliet possessed a beauty that felt almost otherworldly. Her dark hair fell in soft, elegant waves, framing a face sculptors would spend lifetimes trying to capture. Her green eyes held a depth impossible to ignore - clear, bright, steady, like emeralds warmed by sunlight.
Aurelian felt something complicated twist inside him as they made eye contact. They had argued countless times over business, logistics, and strategy. Yet when war came, she had gone to Mograine County without hesitation. She supported his mother, stabilised his economy, and became the backbone of his logistics. If there was a woman who had earned the right to stand beside him - to rule beside him - it was her. Only her.
He took a few steps toward her and stopped. "I have become ugly and scarred. If you were forced into this marriage, feel free to back off; I will bear the consequences. My heart is genuinely yours. And if this city is ever to have an Aurelia at my side… it can only be you."
He searched her emerald eyes for hesitation - but found none.
"There is no hesitation," Juliet said, her voice steady despite the blush on her cheeks. "I don't know why I did what I did, but my heart is yours. For me, it can be only you. You're the thorn in my side that I would gladly cut myself on, if it meant I could be your partner. Nothing could stop me from marrying you; nobody could ever replace you. You, or no one else… and you're not ugly."
She didn't step back. It felt like they were back in her mansion, arguing - except now they were doing it in front of their parents, the Masters, the Archmages, and the highest powers of the Empire.
"Extend your hands then, let me make you my Aurelia", He beckoned, and she did it. The bracelets appeared in his hands, and he put them on hers. They locked themselves automatically, with a click sound. There was an immediate change, as both of their hairs waved in the air, and when the wind stopped, their faces were revealed.
Silver outlines shimmered across Juliet's forehead and traced the length of her body like living ink. They were subtle, almost invisible unless the light struck them just right - yet they carried unmistakable divinity. A wreath of silver flowers flowed around her, drifting like petals caught in a gentle current, circling her form in a quiet, sacred dance.
Aurelian bore a different mark. A single silver sigil glowed on his forehead, sharp and defined, and faint silver veins pulsed beneath his skin, running along his arms and chest like threads of moonlight. Unlike Juliet, there were no flowers around him - only the stark, radiant lines of power granted by the Goddess.
Where Juliet's blessing was soft, flowing, and alive, his was severe, commanding, and absolute. Together, they looked like two halves of the same divine mantle - the Aurelion and his Aurelia, each marked in a way that reflected their nature.
Aurelian felt complete now. He could feel it: the city, the silver veins, the flowing river. If he willed it, he could change the tides, melt it and weave it. Without Aurelia, he would never be complete, yet with her, he and the city were whole.
Two shadows flew above them, and soon two small silver Rocs landed on their shoulders. In their beak were two crowns made of Silver and Blue flowers, ones that grew only in the Holy City. Instead of branches, however, the material was entirely different, akin to the colours of the moon. Durable, royal. They both took the crowns and the birds flew away. Empress Helena came forward with a small chest, urging them to place the crowns there. Emperor Alexander would be the one to place them on their heads during the ceremony, which was now commencing.