Yet Silas had found one in this ruined world and crafted a ring with it.
Silas rose, leaned in, and kissed her deeply. Ivy melted into him, letting him claim her lips, because for the first time in her life, she felt that being reborn was worth all the suffering.
She had achieved something she never had the courage to dream of... being loved publicly, beautifully, and wholeheartedly.
The hall echoed with claps and cheers, and only then did Ivy remember there were others present.
Flustered, she tapped Silas's shoulder, but he didn't stop; instead, he wrapped his arms around her even more possessively, blocking her completely from the crowd.
To the soldiers who had long admired their pink-haired goddess, it felt like witnessing their hearts shatter. They had held onto tiny hopes that Ivy, being single, might someday notice them.
But watching Silas devour Ivy with kisses as though she were the very air he needed to survive made it unmistakably clear...
