Although the arrival of Princess Elina—the fairest flower of Venus—had been listed in the tribute registry, no one truly treated her as a mere object or commodity.
Her legendary beauty had long transcended national borders. To possess such a maiden was an achievement worthy of praise for any man.
A hero required a beauty, and a beauty belonged with a hero—a perfect pairing in the eyes of all.
To welcome this famed maiden, Onassis hosted a magnificent banquet. Wine flowed like rivers, nobles chatted and laughed with practiced ease, and eyes cast eager glances toward the entrance from time to time.
Men were naturally drawn to physical beauty—a trait beyond reproach. When faced with exceptional grace, anyone would want to steal a second glance, and Lin Yao was no exception.
Kathy maintained an air of relaxed composure on the surface, yet the occasional glance he darted toward the entrance betrayed his true intent.
Only the man sitting beside Lin Yao remained seemingly indifferent to Elina’s presence from start to finish. He focused entirely on filling Lin Yao’s plate and topping off his cup. As the court awaited the goddess’s grand entrance, several nobles couldn’t help but cast curious, lingering looks toward Lin Yao.
Priests rarely made public appearances outside of grand religious ceremonies. Yet Lin Yao sat casually right beside Cody, and the royal court treated his presence as entirely natural. The sharpest nobles knew better than to invite trouble over such a minor matter, allowing Lin Yao to remain comfortably at the table.
“Your Highness, if I drink any more, I will be truly intoxicated,” Lin Yao murmured softly, raising a hand to push the cup away.
Priests were not monks; they could consume meat and wine, engaging in any normal activity save for losing their purity. However, this young body possessed no natural tolerance for alcohol. If he kept drinking cup after cup, he would end up being carried out long before catching a single glimpse of the famed flower.
“If you are drunk, we can simply return to our bedchamber together,” Cody replied, clearly lacking interest in the proceedings. Rather than sitting here waiting for some distant beauty, he preferred returning to his quarters to hold his little priest in his arms.
He leaned in close as he spoke, his warm, wine-scented breath flushing Lin Yao’s cheeks. Yet, driven by a subtle curiosity, Lin Yao wished to stay: “Your Highness, I wish to see what the princess looks like. Are you not the least bit curious?”
“Not in the slightest,” Cody caught his hand beneath the table, turning his head with a faint smile. “I am only interested in you.”
Lin Yao lowered his head, asking no further questions. The faint, subtle trace of jealousy that had lingered in his heart seemed to vanish completely with that single touch.
He supposedly adored this man; naturally, he would worry about him being enticed by another—after all, a passion for beauty was universal.
Inside his mind, the system switched back to its usual swooning mode:
［Host, he really is so handsome and devoted!］
Lin Yao felt that his assigned system was the ultimate naive romantic. Aside from constantly pitching new arrivals, flash sales, and clearance discounts from the Star Credit Shop every day, its sole remaining function was urging him to fall in love. It paid zero attention to identity, judging people entirely by their faces—if a person was handsome, even a wild weed by the road smelled sweet; if they were ugly, even presenting a chest of gold was written off as a scheming ulterior motive.
Lin Yao corrected it for the hundred and eighth time:
［Can you pay a little attention to a person’s inner substance?］
The system grumbled back:
［If they don’t even have the looks, why bother checking their inner substance?］
Though naive, the logic sounded strangely compelling upon second thought. Lin Yao pondered:
［That actually makes sense.］
The system seized the opportunity to push its ideology, looking as though it wanted to pack Lin Yao up and marry him off this very second.
Lin Yao continued his mental inquiry:
［Then tell me, what exactly did Cody see in me?］
The system fell silent for a long moment before whispering sheepishly:
［Your inner substance, maybe?］
Lin Yao let out a cold laugh:
［If I don’t even show my face, what inner substance is he looking at?］
The system went completely quiet, its glitching little brain struggling to process the logic of the entire situation.
Meanwhile, as the rhythm of the drums and music swelled, Lin Yao turned his gaze toward the hall’s entrance.
Men favored physical beauty—a rule with few exceptions. Even men who appeared cold and detached might harbor sensory desires far exceeding those of common people.
The man beside him might be captivated by him right now, appearing endlessly devoted, yet once a finer prospect presented itself, anyone could grow weary of what they previously cherished.
Lin Yao had initially planned to step up himself—after all, he possessed a degree of confidence in his own true appearance. Yet who could have anticipated that the King of Venus would offer his daughter, sparing Lin Yao the trouble of making a direct move?
A gentle breeze blew as a troupe of dancers glided into the hall with graceful movements. They brought a wave of delicate fragrance, exposing flexible, fair waists. Glittering golden light danced across their porcelain skin with every step, casting shifting shadows that dazzled the onlookers.
And amid the troupe, a figure clad in sheer white silk stepped forward unhurriedly. Her bare feet glided over the stone floor, treading upon scattered flower petals. Her snowy skin stood out like white blossoms against crimson petals—a truly breathtaking spectacle.
The dancers were exquisite, yet the figure at the center outshone them all. Even without exaggerated movements, her exposed waist looked as though it had been meticulously carved from flawless jade—translucent and pure, as if the gentlest touch would leave a rosy mark behind.
Her slightly curling golden hair was secured at the crown with a sparkling tiara. Her ice-blue eyes shimmered with a watery clarity, looking as though a single blink might spill a tear.
The nobles who had been sharing toasts moments ago froze mid-action, holding their breath in collective awe, terrified of disturbing this peerless beauty.
“Elina greets His Majesty the King,” her voice rang out like a songbird—sweet and clear.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Yao noted several nobles swallowing hard, their gazes utterly locked. Beneath their robes, several less disciplined men had already reacted physically.
Lin Yao sneered inwardly. Looking at the beauty standing in the center of the hall, her sheer robes fluttered in the breeze, hinting at exquisite features even beneath the veil. If she didn’t happen to possess a set of buckteeth beneath that fabric, she was indisputably a matchless beauty—fully deserving of her title as the fairest flower of Venus.
Directly across from Lin Yao sat Kathy. Those emerald eyes—usually veiled in a gentle mist—now gleamed with undisguised ambition and possessiveness.
Atop the dais, the King sat frozen in place, staring for a long moment without uttering a word. No one dared interrupt his trance. Lin Yao turned to check Cody’s reaction, only to meet the prince’s eyes looking back at him—surprise flickering simultaneously in both pairs of eyes.
A warm smile melted into Cody’s gaze. Pinching Lin Yao’s earlobe gently, he whispered, “It seems my little priest possesses a remarkably high resistance to beautiful maidens.”
While the King remained silent, Cody cleared his throat and declared in a clear voice: “Remove your veil.”
That single command acted like a bucket of ice water splashed over the court, snapping everyone back to reality. Elina had been thoroughly enjoying the shock and awe her presence commanded; hearing the voice, she cast a surprised glance toward its source.
The man sitting casually at his table looked relaxed, yet emitted an absolute, imposing authority. Golden hair spilled over his shoulders, and his narrow eyes held none of the obsessive lust displayed by other men—he looked at her as though she were merely an ordinary passerby.
Driven by an inexplicable urge, she bit her lip subtly, raised her slender, jade-white fingers, and unclasped the veil beneath her ears, offering a delicate, lingering smile toward his direction.
A collective gasp echoed through the hall. Yet the man merely glanced at her briefly before turning his eyes away, as though her existence was insufficient to stir his heart in the slightest.
Elina was undeniably beautiful. Though the bards’ tales were exaggerated, applying them to her was by no means an overstatement. From her hair down to her toes, every detail of her frame seemed refined to absolute perfection. Even Lin Yao—accustomed to his own face—had to admit she was exceptionally gorgeous.
And a beautiful woman, blessed with exquisite looks and pursued by men’s longing gazes, often looked down upon common suitors. Yet when confronted with a man who treated her beauty with utter indifference, a competitive fire would inevitably ignite within her.
Cody’s attitude did not appear feigned—he was genuinely uninterested. That could be viewed as a positive sign, proving his devotion to Lin Yao. Yet it held a darker implication as well.
A man who held zero regard for world-class beauty was either physically incapable or possessed a terrifying level of self-control.
Having shared meals and quarters with him daily, Lin Yao knew full well how intense the man’s desires were. And a man capable of supreme self-control was often capable of enduring what ordinary men could not—and achieving what ordinary men could never reach. He was dangerous, but that was the reality.
It seemed his future actions demanded even greater caution and precision.
“Princess Elina truly lives up to her name as the fairest flower of Venus,” the King finally regained his composure, though his eyes never drifted from her form for a single second, begrudging even a glance to anyone else. “Your arrival today is meant for selecting a husband. Whomever you choose, I shall personally arrange the betrothal.”
Reluctance gleamed in his eyes, yet before the assembled court, he uttered the words expected of a sovereign.
Elina’s gaze swept across the men present, a flicker of disgust passing through her seemingly placid eyes. When her eyes landed on Cody, she saw him bestowing not a single glance upon her, focusing entirely on placing food into the dish of the masked priest beside him. Pursing her lips, she turned her body, walking past the disappointed gazes of the crowd to step directly before Cody, bowing gracefully: “I have long heard that Prince Cody is the God of War of Onassis.
Seeing you today, I know the rumors do not do you justice. Elina—”
Lin Yao’s eyes glinted with subtle amusement. Just as expected—the show is getting far more interesting.
Cody did not wait for her to finish, raising his voice to interrupt smoothly: “Royal Father, I believe Princess Elina has only just arrived and remains unfamiliar with many here. She ought to be granted time to make her choice carefully.”
The breathtaking beauty’s complexion paled slightly, yet the King atop the dais and the surrounding nobles visibly brightened.
The King cleared his throat, covering his mouth: “I was insensitive and overly hasty. For the sake of the Princess’s lifelong happiness, please reside within Onassis for now. There is no rush—you may take your time to choose.”
Though unwilling, Elina understood the reality of being at another’s mercy. She reattached her veil and withdrew under the longing eyes of the court.
Inside Lin Yao’s mind, the system shrieked endlessly:
［Host! She’s trying to steal your man! What a wicked woman!］
Lin Yao replied with cool sarcasm:
［Didn’t you just say she looked like your dream girl moments ago?］
System: ［??］