Tohara wants to keep Nike with her at any cost. But when she learns how Nike and Livi feel about each other, she goes of her own accord to see her granddaughter off joyfully. Nike and Livi return to the Sun Kingdom having formally acknowledged their feelings for each other. And so their new life together truly begins...
Nike's busy life as wife of the Sun King is interrupted by an urgent message from the Principality of Rain. Nike's grandmother, Tohara, has collapsed, and she wants to see her granddaughter. Livi notices Nike's concern for her grandmother, and decides to journey with her to the Principality of Rain.
In the Sun Kingdom, it is customary that a marriage in the royal family must earn the approval of the Ministry of the Priesthood. The Ministry rejects Nike, however, and demands that she perform the potentially fatal "Rite of Illumination." Livi is worried for Nike's safety, but Nike decides to perform the rite to see herself accepted.
The fourth sovereign daughter of the Principality of Rain, Nike, has been betrothed to the Sun King, Livius I. After a long journey, she arrives in his Sun Kingdom, only to be shocked by its prosperity. She decides to wander the kingdom herself to see what it's like, when two men appear before her...