[A few minutes before arriving at the Nystrom's mansion…]

"I'M GOING to teach the Black Serpent how to use his water attribute."

To say that Luna was surprised by the saint's declaration would be an understatement. The carriage that they were using was almost at the Nystrom's estate now. And yet, Saint Forrester still had something shocking to say. "Your Holiness, I don't even know that the duke has water attribute."

"Doesn't it only make sense for an ice user to manipulate water as well?" Saint Forrester asked in a bored tone. "Why are you so surprised?"

"Well, I've never seen the duke control water before," she countered. "He just freezes everything and anyone to death."

"And that's reckless," he said. "Solely relying on sheer power instead of technique is stupid. He would have died a long time ago if he was an ordinary person. But since the duke is a god himself, he was able to survive that long by simply using ice."

"But mastering a new attribute takes time, doesn't it?"

"It's not a new attribute," the saint denied while shaking his head. "The Black Serpent has always been a dual attribute user. But his ability to control water was sealed in the past."

"Was it the emperor?"

"I believe so," he said. "The Black Serpent's dominant attribute used to be water. Having the ability to control ice was just a bonus. But the emperor deemed the Black Serpent's ability to control water was far more dangerous than having the ability to freeze things. Do you know why?"

"I can try guessing," she said before she shared her opinion. "All humans are made of several elements and one of those is water. If the Black Serpent can control water, then killing a person from the inside would be easy. Unless the enemy is as strong as he is though."

"Yes, that's right," the saint said. "In the past, I've only seen the Black Serpent use his water ability once. And he didn't even use water– he used the puddle of blood of both his allies and enemies to fight."

Imagining that scene gave her shivers down her spine.

"If Duke Nystrom can do that in this era, that would be cool," she said. "Can you unseal his water attribute in the short period that you have, Your Holiness?"

Saint Forrester smirked haughtily. "I'll make the duke learn to control his water attribute again whether he likes it or not the fastest way I know."

For some reason, Luna felt nervous for the duke and duchess. Good luck, Duke and Duchess of Oakes.

***

"WELCOME to the Vermillion Tower, Miss Luna."

"That's the first time I heard the tower's proper name," Luna commented on Captain Denver's "welcome speech."" "Thank you for the warm welcome."

It was literally a warm welcome because the area where the tower stood was warm regardless of the season. Come to think of it, it was a miracle that the Fire Wielders managed to deceive the royal family for this long when the "Fire Wielders" fire element was this open.

Well, there are genuine Fire Wielders so the royal family might have been complacent that they really successfully banished the Fire Mages from the empire.

"People just usually refer to the Vermillion as "the tower" because they find the name too mushy," Captain Denver explained with a grin while they were walking side-by-side towards the tower's entrance. "Anyway, did Duke and Duchess Nystrom already left for their vacation?"

"Uh-huh," she said. "But they gave us the permission to contact them whenever I need to. So if you have a message for them, feel free to contact them."

"I'll remember that. Thanks for the heads-up," the captain said. "Anyway, thank you for staying behind to look after Flint. He's still unconscious but since you're here now, I know that he's going to be fine."

"Thank you for the trust, Captain Denver," she said politely. "How was the case with Lord Huxley?"

"His Majesty is supposed to give his verdict today whether a noble trial should be opened or not," he said seriously. "I have a feeling that His Majesty is prolonging this while thinking of a way to get Lord Huxley out of this mess."

"I'm sure that you won't let the count escape."

"I won't," he said firmly. "And I can't disappoint Duchess Nystrom. It was her order to eliminate Lord Huxley before the trial begins."

It saddened her that Lady Nystrom had to decide to order her people to kill.

But she knew that the duchess needed that for her growth. Now that she accepted her role as the new Supreme, all the lives of the Fire Mages in the tower were in her hands.

"If I can help you with something, please don't hesitate to tell me, Captain Denver," she told him. "I'm not just here for Flint. I also came here to protect the tower with you."

Captain Denver just smiled at her offer, then he snapped his fingers as if he remembered something. "Oh, what was your other request again?"

"I'd like to see Flint's baby brother," Luna said without hesitation. Now that she had an idea about who the child was, she wanted to see if she could take a peek in his memory. "And if possible, I want to meet Julian with just the two of us."

***

"TILLY, should we kick the saint out of here?"

Tilly laughed heartily at Kiho's serious question.

They just arrived at her father's mansion in Oakes and they were now in their room while unpacking their stuff. Well, to be precise, Kiho was the only one doing the unpacking because he wanted her to rest. So right now, she was taking off her heavy clothes to change into a lighter dress. In that part of the empire, the weather was still sunny.

They won't call Oakes as the "land of warmth" for nothing.

Anyway, when they arrived at the mansion, Saint Forrester left to sneak in and look for a room that he could use.

Well, there were plenty of rooms to choose from her father's huge mansion. And she knew that the saint could take care of himself without getting caught. Heck, he could even "erase" the room he was using from everyone's memory to hide himself.

She would just check on the saint later after their schedule with her father today.

"I also thought that the saint's last "rule" is unfair," Tilly admitted while stepping out of her heavy dress. But she was still properly dressed because under that heavy clothing, she was still wearing a second layer of clothes: a plain and thin white dress. "But he said that we have to sleep in separate rooms because the training menu that he prepared required us to do so."

"I don't believe it," Kiho said with a scowl. "He's just bullying us."

She laughed at Kiho's adorable side but abruptly stopped when she saw herself in the full-length mirror. When she noticed the change in her body, she gasped aloud.

All of a sudden, her husband was already standing beside her.

"What's wrong, Tilly?" Kiho asked worriedly, his cold hand already on the small of her back while he was looking at her from head to toe as if he was checking for any injury. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No," she said, then she placed her hands on her tummy. "I just noticed that I have a baby bump now."

Come to think of it, she was already in her fourth month of pregnancy.

Time flies so fast, huh?

"Oh," he said with a hint of relief in his voice. "Yeah, I can see a bump in your stomach now."

When she looked up at his face to see his reaction, she smiled. "You look so proud, Kiho. Do you know that?"

"I am," Kiho said with a proud smile while still looking at her baby bump with warm gaze. "I made that."

She laughed at his teasing.

He looked up at her face with a very soft expression on his face. "I still can't believe that we made another life, Tilly." He gently cupped her face in his hands. "And you're carrying our baby in your womb. I know that pregnancy isn't easy so thank you for working hard. You're really, really amazing, honey."

She didn't know if it was her hormones but she suddenly got emotional.

The first time she met Kiho, he was stoic and reserved.

But ever since they got engaged, she had seen different emotions play on his handsome face. And he was more talkative now compared before. That made her feel closer to him.

"Thank you, Kiho," she said softly. "I won't get tired of saying thank you for taking care of me and Winter."

Kiho smiled, then the warmth in his eyes was suddenly replaced with burning passion. "One day, Tilly," he promised her. "I'll master the water technique in one day."

Tilly laughed at her husband's determination, but she nodded in agreement. "Yes, let's master our attributes in one day, Kiho."

***

LUNA carefully placed her hand on top of Julian's head.

Right now, she was alone with the baby in his room. To be precise, she was standing in front of the crib where the baby sat while looking at her with round, innocent eyes.

He still can't talk, huh?

Well, it didn't matter.

All she had to do was look inside his memory to confirm if Saint Forrester was right.

"No."

She gasped and jumped backwards when Julian suddenly spoke. But the small and gentle voice didn't come out of his mouth.

He's talking in my mind!

Julian smiled brightly before he spoke in her mind again. "The Supreme is not my mother."

Luna gasped aloud. "That can't be…"

***

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