"YOUR heart ached when you saw my face?" Kiho asked in a worried voice. "Did I do something that upset you, Tilly?"

Tilly looked up at him and shook her head. "No. My heart just ached from happiness upon seeing you again, Kiho."

He was relieved to hear that. The one thing he feared most in the world was being hated by the only woman he loved. He didn't know if he could live a life without his Tilly. "I'm happy, too. Are you sure you're not hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "In fact, I feel better than ever."

Still, that didn't stop him from checking her out for any physical injury. Her Mana was stable now and it was back to its usual "weak" state. But he noticed one change about his wife. "Tilly, I think your hair has gotten a little darker than usual. It looks almost black now."

"Really?"

He nodded before he explained. "Your hair has always been the richest possible brown shade that I've ever seen in my life. But now, the shade falls at the intersection of brown and black color."

"Does the new shade of my hair look good on me?"

"You look more beautiful, Tilly."

She smiled and pulled his nape for a kiss but stopped when they heard Sentinel's loud "cough."

"Control yourselves," Sentinel warned them. "We have a baby here, you know?"

"Kiho, put me down," his wife said. "I have something I need to confirm."

He nodded, then he gently and carefully put Tilly down. He didn't let go of her until he was sure that his wife had the strength to stand on her own. As soon as he took his hands off her, she ran towards Sentinel who was holding the baby.

Ah, I'm glad to see that she's as energetic as usual.

His thoughts were cut-off when he realized that Julian, Flint's baby younger, was looking at him straight in the eye. Okay, that gave him chills. Why was the baby looking at him like he knew something that he didn't?

But as soon as Tilly came towards Julian, the baby tore his gaze away from him to act all cutesy to his wife. Julian giggled like an innocent baby that he was supposed to be.

His brows furrowed. That baby is–

"You're strange, Julian," Tilly said the words that he had in mind. "You can't be a normal baby!"

Kiho felt so proud of his wife's perceptiveness. Ah, my Tilly and I think alike.

***

TILLY held Julian's soft and tiny hands while looking straight in the baby's eye. "You're strange, Julian," she declared. "You can't be a normal baby!"

Julian, for a baby, looked offended by what she said.

"I mean that in a good way," she said. "Being different is not a bad thing."

The baby giggled as if he understood the meaning behind her words.

Yep, he's not a normal baby.

"Thank you for showing me Flint's situation," she told him sincerely.

She was really convinced that the one who broke the first barrier of her heart was Julian. After all, she saw Flint's bloody image when Julian put a finger on her chest. She remembered that the first time the baby did that to her, her heart almost awakened.

"I'll try to figure out what you are later," she said while slowly letting go of his tiny hands. "I'll check on Flint first." When Julian just smiled at her, she turned to Sentinel. "Sentinel, babysit Julian for a little longer. We'll be back as soon as we can."

Sentinel bowed to her which was a little bit surprising. "As you wish, Lady Nystrom."

Why is he suddenly being so polite?

Anyway, she didn't have time for that for now.

Tilly turned to Kiho and extended her hand to him. "Kiho, can you find where Captain Denver is? I have a feeling that he is where Flint is."

"I don't know what's going on but yes, I can trace Captain Denver's Mana to find where he is," Kiho said, then he took her hand. "Tilly, we need to talk after this."

***

"ARE YOU going to lock me up here forever, Captain Denver?"

Mikhail Denver wanted to punch the daylights out of Count Huxley but he refrained from doing so. Thankfully, there were prison bars between him and the count. Yes, after arresting Count Huxley for attempted murder, he threw him in the cell in the basement of the tower. He also called the royal palace to ask for royal knights to arrest the count.

If he wasn't protecting anyone, he would have just killed Count Huxley by his hands.

But as a noble and the captain of Red Phoenix Knights, he couldn't be too reckless.

Aside from the secret that he wanted to protect, Count Huxley was also a higher-noble that he couldn't simply kill. Especially considering the fact that House Huxley was one of Her Royal Highness's closest aides.

"I will request for a noble trial," Mikhail Denver said in the calmest voice he could muster. "I will make sure that you get the heaviest punishment possible for attempting to kill my disciple, Lord Huxley."

"Do what you must, captain," Count Huxley said with a smirk. "But I can't promise that I'd keep my mouth shut about your real identity once the trial begins." His smirk eventually turned into a hiss. "And during the trial, I will also bring up the fact that you killed Lady Alisa Hayward. Can you see it now, Captain Denver? I have the upperhand here."

"Do you have evidence?"

"What?"

"Do you have evidence that I killed Lady Hayward?" he asked the count with a poker faced. "Can you also prove that we are Fire Mages?"

The count smirked. "You'll find it out whether I have evidence or not during the trial, captain."

"See you at the court then," he said coldly. "Until the royal knights arrive to arrest you, you'll stay in this cell. If you're really confident about your claim against me and my people, you better not try to escape. Not that you could."

Count Huxley just closed his eyes and waved his hand as if he was shooing him away.

Mikhail Denver rolled his eyes before turning his back on the captain.

The cell the count was in was made specifically for people with strong Mana like him. As long as he was inside that cell, Count Huxley was as good as a commoner who wasn't born with Mana. But even if the count managed to escape, he would be surrounded by the Fire Wielders scattered in every part of the tower right now.

But he'd be honest. Even if they had physically restrained Count Huxley, he was still afraid of what he could do once the trial began.

If only I could manipulate Lord Huxley's memories…

He tried to do that earlier but unfortunately, Count Huxley had a strong resistance to mind manipulation.

"Captain Denver!"

Mikhail Denver was surprised to see Duchess Nystrom and her husband as soon as he came out of the basement. "Your Grace."

To be honest, he was really delighted to see the duchess.

He was very sure that the flaming red feather that he saw a while ago was from the Supreme. Of course, the order to find and save Flint came from her as well. As a Fire Mage and the master of the Fire Wielder Guild, he was very proud to serve her.

And he noticed a strange glow in Duchess Nystrom now.

He had this strong urge to bow and kneel in front of her but he controlled himself because there were other Fire Wielders around him. Aside from Flint, only House Morgan was aware of the duchess's real identity.

But it seems like my fellow Fire Mages can now feel the strange aura around Duchess Nystrom.

He said that because he caught his people stealing curious glances at the duchess. It wasn't like they didn't know who Duchess Nystrom was. He swore that those gazes meant that they could feel something special from the Supreme now.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that every sing Fire Mage in the tower right now was unconsciously aware that Duchess Nystrom was the Supreme.

Her Grace is seriously glowing right now.

And was her hair darker than before?

"Captain Denver, where's Flint?" Lady Nystrom asked in a worried voice, then she lightly touched his arm as if it was reflex. "Please tell me that you saved him in time.

Mikhail Denver was about to answer but then, he noticed Duke Nystrom's icy glare at his arm where the duchess's hand was resting. He didn't need to be a mind reader to know that the duke wanted to cut his arm off.

Your Grace, it was your wife who touched me first and it would be rude to swat her hand away. Right?

Luckily, Lady Nystrom realized that she was still touching his arm. "Oh, sorry," she said while pulling her hand away from his arm. Then, without even looking at the duke, the duchess nudged her husband's side as if she knew that he was terrorizing him with his cold eyes. "Behave."

Duke Nystrom returned to being pokerfaced.

And it was a huge relief.

My arm is safe now.

"Flint is being treated by Miss Luna in one of the operation rooms in the upper floor, Duchess Nystrom," Mikhail Denver answered politely. "Count Huxley, one of Her Royal Highness's cohorts, was behind the attack. He threatened me and said that he'd reveal that the Fire Wielders are actually Fire Mages in the noble trial."

Anger crossed Duchess Nystrom's eyes. "Bring me to Count Huxley," she said in a commanding voice that he was very pleased to hear. "I know how to shut him up."

***

"DON'T you dare tell His Majesty that I'm already awake," Nia warned Howard. "I want you to keep this between the two of us. Is that clear, Howard?"

Howard hanged his head low before her. "As you wish, Your Royal Highness."

"Leave," she said in a tired voice. "I want to be alone."

The High Priest just bowed, then left the room quietly.

As soon as she was alone in the chamber, she took a deep breath and clutched her chest tightly. She felt tired, as if her Mana had been depleted while she was asleep. But most of all, the memory of being burned alive by the flame of the Red Phoenix still lingered in her memory.

In her skin.

When anger started to rise up in her chest, her heart literally leapt out of her chest. She groaned painfully, then glared at the floating black diamond in front of her face. Now she knew why she felt so exhausted aside from the fact that she had been bedridden for a long time.

"How dare you come out without my permission?" Nia asked her heart angrily. "Just what did you do while I was asleep?"

***

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