[A few minutes earlier…]

AS SOON as Forrester stepped foot in the temple, he felt an ominous presence that could only belong to one person.

Could it be…?

He ran towards the direction of the aura that he felt.

Much to his surprise, it led him to the room where Princess Nia was supposed to be sleeping. On his way to the chamber, he crossed paths with Howard– the High Priest.

"Your Holiness, you've returned," Howard said in surprise. "Would you like to have tea with me?"

"Maybe some other time," Forrester said with urgency in his voice. "I have business with Her Royal Highness."

The High Priest looked shocked. "Her Royal Highness is still asleep, Your Holiness."

He smiled sweetly at him. "Howard, do you seriously think that you can lie to me?"

Howard looked helpless. In the end, he bowed his head in surrender. "I apologize, Your Holiness."

"Don't worry– I won't kill the princess," he assured the High Priest when he went past him. "I'm not like the Moonchesters whose only solution to a problem is to kill."

Well, at least he was trying not to be like the Moonchesters.

Hate towards the royal family was embedded in every fiber of his being. But he refused to blindly follow what his blood dictated. He had always known that his fate was to become the empire's saint. Still, he wanted to control the aspects of his life that he could.

His thoughts were cut-off when he finally reached the room at the end of the hallway.

Without even bothering to knock, he entered the chamber.

"Greetings, Your Holiness," Princess Nia, who was standing in front of the bed as if she was already expecting him, greeted him with a disapproving look on her pretty face. Judging by the night gown the princess was wearing, it was obvious that she really intended to pretend to be still unconscious. "I know that the temple is your home. But entering a guest's room without even knocking is still rude."

"I didn't invite you in my home so I consider you as a trespasser," Forrester said bluntly. "It looks like the church has favored the royal family while I was in deep slumber, huh?"

"Doesn't the church exist to serve the royal family?"

"We have a problem, Your Royal Highness," he said. "It looks like His Majesty intends to cut our ties soon. What should I do then?"

The princess looked genuinely shocked by that. "His Majesty intends to severe our ties with the church?"

"That seems to be the case."

Her Royal Highness laughed softly but in a mocking way. Only the princess could sound eloquent while being rude. Her gaze was also full of contempt. "If my brother doesn't find you useful anymore, he probably intends to kill you and replace you with another saint that he could control. What a shame, Your Holiness. You just woke up but soon, the emperor will put you in a permanent slumber."

He chuckled at what he heard from the princess.

The children of the moon hadn't changed at all. All they talk about was death. Darkness doesn't equal evilness, but the Moonchesters make it look like so.

Compared to that…

"The children of the moon and the children of the sun are really opposites," he commented in amusement. "I recently met a daughter of the sun. She has a nasty temper but she didn't talk about death. But even if she did, I'm certain that it would be for the greater good."

"I think I know who you are referring to," the princess said coldly. "Don't compare me to a person like that."

He raised an eyebrow at that.

Her Royal Highness doesn't know…?

He was pretty sure that the princess and the emperor knew that Duchess Nystrom had the heart of the Red Phoenix.

But Her Royal Highness still underestimates Lady Nystrom…

He didn't know about the emperor, but it was obvious that the princess wasn't aware of what it truly meant to be the Supreme.

Your Majesty, are you trying to protect the princess by keeping her in the dark?

He had met Her Royal Highness as a child before he fell in a slumber.

Back then, he didn't see or feel anything special about the princess except for the fact that she was a Moonchester.

But now, it seemed like she literally had a change of heart.

"Your Royal Highness, let me see your heart for a second," he asked as nicely as he could.

Anger crossed Princess Nia's face. She tried to attack him but it was put on vain when his Holy Vines sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around her body. Her Royal Highness gasped in pain when the thorns dug deep into her skin.

He raised his hand and waved it.

As a result, the princess was sent flying until her back hit the wall. As soon as she did, four big thorns dug themselves in Her Royal Highness's hands and feet– pinning her against the wall while profusely bleeding.

The princess made incoherent sounds from the pain.

He walked towards her but stopped when he was near her when his nose got itchy. Then, he covered his mouth with his hands when he sneezed. "You're triggering my allergy to the Moonchesters."

As a response to his statement, Princess Nia Moonchester coughed blood. "Damn you," she said while giving him a sharp glare. "How dare a mere saint do this to me?! If my brother finds out about this, he'll kill you."

"Oh, then shall we tell His Majesty that you're already awake?" he asked with a smirk. "I thought you told Howard to keep this a secret?"

As expected, the spoiled princess didn't have a retort for that.

"You're not the one I need, Your Royal Highness," he said, then he put a hand on the top of her head. "Good night, the spoiled one."

Princess Nia looked like she wanted to fight back but of course, she couldn't do that in her weakened state. A few moments later, she finally fell asleep.

For someone in her state, she's still pretty strong.

As expected, he couldn't underestimate the Moonchesters.

Anyway…

Forrester stabbed the princess's chest and literally ripped her heart out. Now, he had the warm black diamond in his hand. Unfortunately, the black heart was already in a deep slumber. It must have suffered an injury lately because its heartbeat was so weak.

"After so many years, you're still useless," he said while looking at the black diamond. "Though I don't think you have my Holy Scepter." He smirked bitterly. "You stole my Holy Scepter only for it to be stolen from you?"

If the black heart no longer has his Holy Scepter, he could only think of one person who would have wanted it for himself.

It was definitely Aku, but that sketchy emperor couldn't have touched his Holy Scepter. And His Majesty seemed like he really didn't know where the Holy Scepter was. Also, if the emperor had it, he would have already used it to heal his beloved Princess Nia. But he didn't.

Then, this could only mean one thing.

Aku Moonchester asked another person to steal the Holy Scepter.

"The Black Serpent definitely hid my Holy Scepter," Forrester whispered to himself. "But his memories are still sealed so he can't possibly remember where he hid it." He tilted his head at one side while thinking. "Should I awaken the Black Serpent a little bit, hmm?"

All of a sudden, Duchess Nystrom's face entered his mind.

His will to awaken the Black Serpent disappeared right away.

No, I can't be that selfish, he told himself. I may not live up to the people's expectations for a saint but that doesn't mean I should stoop down to the Moonchesters' level.

His Holy Scepter was important but it was his fault that it was stolen from him.

I shouldn't f*ck up the duchess's life for the mistake that I made.

Most of all, it was an unwritten rule for everyone who knew the truth that the Supreme and the Black Serpent shouldn't awaken at the same time.

If that happened, the empire would definitely get destroyed by either ice or fire– or both.

So even if there were at least two sides fighting right now, they would inevitably have to work together to make sure that the Supreme and the Black Supreme wouldn't retrieve their memories simultaneously. Or else, it would be the end for everyone. What use would fighting be if they all died from the Supreme and the Black Serpent's wrath anyway?

It won't be easy, he said to himself, then he looked at the black diamond in his hand. You're not supposed to exist in this era.

He tried to break the black diamond but it only got hot enough to burn even a saint like him.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any other choice but to return the black diamond in Princess Nia's chest.

After that, he turned back the time.

His Holy Vines vanished and Princess Nia's wounds healed immediately while she was unconscious, then her body floated and plopped gently on the bed. When the princess wakes up, she wouldn't remember a thing.

Then, he was out of the chamber as if he hadn't been there.

Of course, turning back the time consumed a huge amount of Mana. Which he shouldn't have really done considering the fact that he just woke up from his deep slumber. And that his real power was sealed.

Still, he had to do what he did.

Forrester leaned against the wall for support. "I need to find my Holy Scepter soon," he whispered to himself. "I need to somehow get close to the Black Serpent."

***

"THE SAINT?" Tilly asked nervously, then she swallowed hard. "Does it really have to be His Holiness? I mean, I know that training under the saint is inevitable. But that doesn't mean he should join my short vacation with my family."

"What's wrong, Tilly?" Kiho asked worriedly. ��Is the saint mean to you?"

"Don't worry about it, hon," she assured him. "I can deal with His Holiness. I'm just afraid that our short vacation might turn into a mess because of our… banters."

"I won't let him bully you, honey," her husband assured her, then he turned to Luna. "But does it really have to be the saint, Miss Luna? I don't think the saint has the freedom to leave the temple as he pleases. And he just woke up. I'm sure that he has a lot of work to do."

"It has to be the saint," Luna said. "He's the only person who's capable of protecting the duchess in my place." The witch turned to her. "Lady Nystrom, I know that it's my responsibility to stay by your side until you safely give birth to your son. But right now, I need to stay in the Royal Capital. Aside from looking after Flint, I need to do something important."

She was suddenly reminded that it was her who asked Luna to be her doctor even though the witch came to the Royal Capital for a different reason.

I can't be selfish and monopolize her.

They would only be at Oakes for a few days anyway. Plus, as long as Kiho was with her, she knew that she'd be safe.

"I understand," she said. "Would you be okay alone, Miss Luna?"

"I won't be alone," the witch assured her. "I'll force Captain Denver to work with me."

She laughed at that.

"Miss Luna, how will we convince the saint to join our short vacation?" Kiho asked curiously. "Should we meet up with His Holiness?"

"I'll take care of it," Luna said. "I'll sneak in the temple later."

Tilly was amazed by that. I know I've said this before but we're really lucky to have Miss Luna by our side.

***

"LUNA, are you staying behind to look for the White Snake?" Sentinel confronted the witch when they were alone in the room with the unconscious Flint. The duke and duchess of Oakes already left to go home since it was already late. He didn't return to Duchess Nystrom's heart yet because he had a feeling that he shouldn't yet. He'd just go home later. As long as both of them were in the Royal Capital, he could maintain his human form. "Is that why you're not going to join the Nystroms' short vacation?"

"Uh-huh," Luna said while preparing for a teleportation spell by lighting a special pink candle. "I have a feeling that we should catch that White Snake as soon as possible. So while I'm here, you take care of the duchess in my place. Also, make sure that the Black Serpent won't awaken."

"Leave them to me," he said. "Are you sure that you're going to be okay?"

"We can trust Captain Denver," she said. "And I want to keep an eye on the baby as well."

"Yeah, the baby is really strange," he agreed. "His flame and Mana are different from average Fire Mages."

"I'll look into the baby's background while I'm here," Luna said, her body now starting to vanish. "See you later, Sentinel. Look after Flint while I'm gone."

"Okay," Sentinel said while waving his hand at the witch. "Take care, Luna."

***

TILLY let out a soft gasp when Kiho's hand slid under her dress and caressed her inner thigh. "Hon," she said in surprise. "We're still in the carriage."

Kiho smiled playfully at her. "Let's do it here, Tilly."

Her eyes widened in shock.

Right now, they were inside the carriage on their way home.

To be precise, she was straddling her husband as they made out when his hands started to wander on her body boldly. They had made out in the carriage several times. But this was the first time that he became that needy.

And to hear Kiho say that he wanted to do it in the carriage?

Kinky!

She leaked a bit at that.

"You know I'm loud," she said with a pout. "I don't mind doing it here but I don't want the coachman to know."

"I'll take care of that," he said confidently.

Then, a few moments later, the inside of the carriage was started to be covered with thin ice. Despite that, they could still breathe properly. And since her body was naturally warm, she didn't feel that cold.

"Now the carriage is soundproof," Kiho said with a naughty smile. Then, his fingers started to play with the ribbon attached to her blouse. "Can I take this off, Tilly?"

"Bad boy," Tilly playfully scolded Kiho. "You're such a bad boy now, Kiho."

And yes, she wanted to do it with him in the carriage.

***

FORRESTER could see it all.

Currently, he was sitting on the windowsill of the tower's attic while looking at the sunset.

But aside from the beautiful orangey sky, he could also see several white strings that were invisible to the eye of ordinary people. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that thanks to these strings, he was the only one who had the burden of knowing the truth.

Both the past and the present.

We are all finally gathered in the same place again, Forrester said to himself. The history, unfortunately, is repeating itself.

Sadly, it seemed like he was the only one who remembered everything clearly.

His thoughts were cut-off when he felt another presence behind him.

"To what do I owe this visit?" Forrester asked, then he turned inside the room to find a witch with pink eyes standing before him. "Ah, pink eyes. You must be from the Colorless Coven."

And she wasn't an ordinary witch at that.

He could see an invisible string attached to the woman's wrist. That could only mean that she was also a part of the past that created the present that they have now. To simply put, this witch would also play a huge role in the future that he was trying to change.

It looks like the whole "cast" has already assembled while I was asleep, huh?

"I'm the last of my kind," the witch said, then she bowed politely. "My name is Luna of the Colorless Coven, Your Holiness."

"Alright, Luna of the Colorless Coven," he said. "You may now raise your head and state your reason for seeking me out."

The witch raised her head and looked at him straight in the eye. "Your Holiness, I'm here to confirm if what my mother told me about the saints of the Moonchester Empire is true."

"Interesting," he said in an amused tone. "What did your mother said about the saints of the empire, Luna?"

Luna's eyes glistened with curiosity. "My mother used to tell me that the sky god sends his children on earth to become the empire's saint," she said with a smile. "Your Holiness, are you a son of the sky god who was sent here to punish the Moonchesters?"

It was a forgotten knowledge that only a few clans knew.

He didn't know that one of them was the Colorless Coven when the royal family wasn't even aware of the identities of the previous saints.

"I already like you," Forrester said with a smile. "Would you like to have some tea with me, Luna?"

***

NOTE: Hi. I wrote a short story in Kiho's POV titled 'KIHO'S DILEMMA.' It's about the night that he met the "lady with the crab mallet." You can read it on my Ko-fi account: ko-fi.com/sola_cola

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