Chapter 15: The Ceremony Begin

The grand hall was already filled with people when the Pei family finally arrived.

Lumi walked quietly behind her family as they made their way through the enormous entrance. The moment the doors opened, she could see the long rows of seats arranged on both sides of the hall, while the center had been left completely clear for the Fated Bonding Ceremony.

Crystal lights hung high above them, illuminating the entire hall with a soft glow. At the far end stood the ceremonial platform, decorated with the insignia of the Sentinel Association and the Caesar family.

Lumi’s steps slowly came to a stop. She had never been inside a place like this before.

There were so many people.

Guides dressed in elegant formal clothes, Sentinels wearing their family insignias, important members of the Association, and representatives from several powerful families had already gathered. Even without anyone introducing them, Lumi could tell that most of the people here were important.

Her fingers unconsciously curled around the fabric of her dress.

She suddenly felt very out of place.

Beside her, Celestine looked completely different.

Or perhaps, more accurately, she looked confident.

She stood straight with her chin slightly raised, appearing completely comfortable among the crowd gathered inside the grand hall. Unlike Lumi, who kept her gaze lowered and her hands nervously clasped together, Celestine seemed as though she had been born to stand in a place like this.

"You... stay here..." Esther said quietly.

Her gaze shifted toward the other side of the hall, where Evan and his family had just appeared in the distance.

Lumi followed her gaze.

The Caesar family had arrived.

Lumi remained standing exactly where Esther had told her to stay.

She watched as the rest of the Pei family walked toward the Caesar family, with Felix leading the way and Celestine following closely beside him.

But Lumi’s eyes never left Evan.

Even from this distance, she could recognize him immediately.

He was dressed formally for the ceremony, his brownish hair neatly styled, while his tall figure stood out among the people around him. His expression remained as cold and unreadable as the first time she had seen him, but there was something different about him today.

Lumi quietly watched him.

Then suddenly, Evan frowned.

It was only a slight change in his expression, but Lumi noticed it immediately.

His brows drew together as his gaze shifted toward something beside him, and the faint displeasure on his face quickly became more obvious.

’He’s angry?’

Lumi blinked.

She couldn’t hear what was being said from where she stood, but judging from Evan’s expression, something had clearly upset him.

Her fingers slowly tightened around the fabric of her dress.

’What happened?’

As if driven by instinct, her legs started moving toward him. The closer she got, the clearer the words became.

"I clearly told you... no press, no cameras!"

The woman standing beside the man Lumi believed to be the Head of the Caesar family immediately lowered her head.

"I just..." She bit her lip, looking nervous under Evan’s cold gaze. "I believed this was good news, so I brought... not the press, but just a few influencers to tell all your fans about your ceremony..."

Evan let out an irritated exhale before looking up, as though he was trying to hold back the anger rising inside him.

"I’ll tell them to leave—"

"Let them be."

The man beside him spoke calmly, but his words carried enough authority to make everyone around them fall silent.

The people who had been looking anxious because of Evan’s anger suddenly relaxed slightly, while the woman beside him quietly lowered her head in relief.

Evan’s expression, however, remained cold as he raised his gaze.

But Lumi, who was standing a few metres away from him, suddenly stopped moving when his eyes locked onto her.

He tilted his head slightly as he scanned her from head to toe. Then, his gaze shifted to the side, as if he were searching for someone else.

And just as if it were on cue, Felix approached them.

"Master Caesar... Young Master Caesar..." Felix greeted them with a smile as he held out his hand for a handshake.

But his hand remained hanging in the air. Neither Luke nor Evan made any move to shake it.

"Ah..." Felix quickly pulled his hand back, forcing the smile to remain on his face despite the humiliation. He turned slightly toward Lumi and gestured toward her.

"This is my daughter, Lumi... the one who is Fated to be Master Caesar’s Guide..."

He continued speaking as though nothing had happened, despite the embarrassment he was feeling.

Luke’s eyes immediately scanned Celestine from head to toe.

"I never agreed to this..."

His expression darkened before he turned around and walked away, followed by the woman who had been standing beside him.

Lumi’s eyes followed them, only to notice another woman walking a few steps behind. She timidly followed the man they had called Master Caesar, her head slightly lowered as she quietly kept up with him.

Lumi blinked.

"A maid?"

"You’re dressed quite pretty today..."

Lumi’s head snapped back when she heard Evan’s voice.

He was looking at Celestine, eyeing her up and down just as he had done to Lumi a few minutes ago.

Celestine smiled softly, "Thank you..."

Evan didn’t say anything else. He simply turned away and gestured for her to follow him. "Come."

Celestine quickly followed him toward the ceremonial platform.

Lumi remained where she was, watching them walk farther away from her.

The platform stood at the center of the grand hall, slightly elevated above the floor and surrounded by the ceremonial decorations prepared for the Fated Bonding Ceremony.

Once Evan and Celestine stepped onto the platform, several event staff immediately rushed forward.

One of them carried a carefully prepared bouquet of mixed flowers and handed it to Celestine with both hands.

"Miss Pei, this is for you."

Celestine accepted the bouquet, her smile growing as she looked down at the flowers.

Lumi quietly watched from below.

She remembered hearing about this tradition before.

During a Fated Bonding Ceremony, the Guide was given a bouquet of mixed flowers as a symbol of the different qualities a Guide was expected to bring to their Sentinel. The flowers represented guidance, stability, and the bond that would be formed between the two of them.

It was supposed to be a small but meaningful part of the ceremony.

And today, Celestine was the one holding it.

Lumi’s fingers slowly curled against the fabric of her dress.

She wasn’t sure why, but seeing that bouquet in Celestine’s hands made something inside her ache.

The ceremony was about to begin.

The event planner quickly stepped away from the platform after making sure everything was in place, while the guests slowly settled into their seats. The lights around the ceremonial platform dimmed slightly, drawing everyone’s attention toward Evan and Celestine.

The officiant stepped forward and raised his hand.

"Today, we gather here to witness the Fated Bonding between—"

Before he could continue, Evan suddenly reached up and tugged at his collar. His fingers remained there for a moment, pulling it slightly away from his neck as he took a slow breath.

Celestine glanced at him. "Young Master Caesar... are you all right?"

Evan didn’t answer immediately. His expression remained calm, but his brows were slightly drawn together.

Something suddenly felt wrong.

The Sentinel power inside his body began swirling violently, moving through his veins as if it were trying to break free from its restraints.

Evan’s fingers tightened around his collar as he took another slow breath, trying to suppress the sudden surge.

He turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping across the grand hall as he tried to figure out where the disturbance was coming from.

’Why now?’

There shouldn’t have been anything that could trigger the imbalance of his Sentinel power here.

He was in the middle of the city, surrounded by the most heavily guarded area of the Empire. There was no reason for an Anomaly Outbreak to happen here, especially during a ceremony attended by so many important people.

Evan narrowed his eyes.

He was certain there was no Anomaly nearby.

So then...

What was causing his power to react like this?