Snow Empress also tilted her head slightly upward, her cool, beautiful profile flickering in and out of view amid the flashes of fireworks.
The same brilliant reflections flowed through her eyes, yet more often than not, her gaze would unconsciously and quietly settle upon the profile of the person beside her.
Lu Jun sat quietly, bracing himself against the grass with his hands behind him as he looked up at the sky.
The fireworks' radiance flickered in his calm eyes, yet stirred little emotion within them.
To be honest, no matter how beautiful fireworks were, to him they were merely fleeting displays of light. After seeing enough of them, they were nothing special.
He had come out today less because he was interested himself and more to accompany the two women beside him.
Their lives had been far too long, colored primarily by the eternal wind, snow, and solitude of the Extreme North.
The brief liveliness and splendor of a human city, so full of worldly warmth, might be a novel and precious experience for them.
Seeing them wear such focused expressions of appreciation, even with a trace of childlike wonder, made the outing worthwhile.
Beneath the thunder and glow of another magnificent burst of fireworks, Snow Empress's gaze lingered on Lu Jun's profile for a long time without moving away.
Deep within her heart, an unfamiliar emotion that left her at a loss stirred and surged like an undercurrent trapped beneath a glacier.
She deeply disliked this state.
This stifling feeling of no longer being fully in control of her own mind, as though something were crashing about inside her chest, trying to break free from its shell only to be forcibly suppressed, even carried a hint of indescribable grievance.
She was the ruler of the Extreme North, Snow