[Full draft complete. Rewriting and reposting an old abandoned story. I'll start once it reaches 300 collections; if it doesn't, I'll wait until my previous book is finished.]
Sylvia was the envy of every woman in the Emerald Empire: noble birth, flawless beauty, and the perfect crown prince as her fiance.
Everyone thought she was the happiest woman in the empire.
But lately, Sylvia had been troubled, because she didn't love her fiance at all. The one she loved was the lofty Pope, her teacher.
Sylvia fell in love with him at first sight. When her childhood friend, the crown prince, complained that he didn't want to become the Pope's student, she thoughtfully suggested, "Then let me take your place and become his student."
Sylvia became his student just as she had hoped, stayed by his side, and confessed her love to him countless times.
Each time, he would reject her helplessly. "You're still just a child. You're confusing admiration with romantic love... You don't truly love me."
**
Sylvia ran away from her wedding. During the engagement ceremony, she left the crown prince behind, said, "I'm sorry," and fled.
Everyone was searching for the runaway princess. Outside the city, in a church, she stood before him, drenched from head to toe. "You knew I would come back, and you knew I had nowhere else to go... Stop dressing things up in pretty, self-righteous words. I saw you smile. You were clearly hoping I'd do this."
Older man, both are each other's first love
Theme: True love lasts forever
