"SUPREME, I am here to apologize for dragging Lord Winter into the mess I started," Solenn, who sat on the sofa from across her, said with her head hanged low. "Please forgive me. I'll be careful from now on."

Tilly was happy that Solenn came to her house to apologize.

She was also glad that the Keeper who escorted the little princess was Jameson. Out of all the Keepers, Jameson was the most gullible.

Er, I mean, easily convinced.

Anyway…

Right now, they were in the tea room of her house. On the other hand, Winter was in his room while discreetly packing his things. She just hoped that Isabelle wouldn't get her son busted. After all, the young maid had the eyes of a hawk when it comes to Winter's business.

Thank goodness Luna isn't home yet.

"Raise your head, Solenn," Tilly said. When the little princess met her gaze, she smiled at him. "Princess, do you still want to leave Solarium and go to the Royal Capital?"

The little princess looked surprised by her question.

Even Jameson suddenly looked anxious. "Supreme, what kind of question is that?"

She had noticed this a while ago but it really amazed her how Jameson could change the way he spoke when he was talking to her.

He doesn't curse when he's talking to me.

"Jameson Crawford, I have a job for you," she said seriously while looking at the Keeper. "This job will require you to disobey Solaris and the trust of your fellow Keepers. But I assure you that this isn't for naught. I decided to proceed with this because this is the only way to show Solaris and the Keepers that we don't have time to waste deciding whether I'm right or not."

She didn't want to by-pass or disrespect Solaris in any way. But she knew that if she waited for his decision, it would be too late. She had been more than prepared to return to the Royal Capital, so she wanted to strike while the iron was hot.

I believe that you don't wait for the perfect timing– you create it.

"You're free to decline the job that I'll offer," she continued while looking at Jameson straight in the eye. "You're also free to snitch. I won't get mad at you."

Jameson gulped hard before he asked: "May I know the job description, Supreme?"

"I want you to bring Winter and Solenn safely to the Royal Capital," she said firmly that made Solenn and Jameson gasp in surprise. After talking to the Keeper, she turned to the little princess. "But only if you still want to go to the Royal Capital even if it means disobeying your father, Solenn."

"I'll go, Supreme," Solenn said excitedly. "I want to show my father that he can't lock me up here in Solarium forever."

She smiled and nodded. "But that's not the only reason why I want you to go to the Royal Capital, Solenn. The truth is I have a job for you. I tried to convince Solaris before that I need to bring you with me but he refused."

She'd admit that she felt bad because she felt like she was betraying Solaris.

But Solenn wasn't a child anymore. And that was why she wanted the princess to decide for herself.

"I know that you're physically a child, Solenn," she continued. "But your soul isn't. So I thought you can decide for yourself now. That's why I'm asking you now, Princess. Do you want to work with me despite the risks? Even if Solaris ends up hating both of us?"

Solenn suddenly got emotional. For a feisty kid to be that vulnerable in front of her was a little overwhelming. "Supreme, you're the first person in my long life to ask for my permission as an adult," she said in a cracked voice. "My soul is tied in Solarium so no matter how many times I die, I just get reborn as Solenn Rosenberg again and again. "Still, Father and everyone around me continue to treat me like a weak child."

"It's because you're precious to your father, Solenn," she said gently. "To be honest, as a parent, I sympathize with Solaris. I know that I'm wrong to send another parent's child to a war. But right now, I'm talking to you as the Supreme. I decided to send you and Winter to the Royal Capital because I believe that the two of you will be a strong support to me."

Of course, she wanted Winter to reunite with his father as soon as possible.

But she wouldn't risk their carefully-laid plan just for that selfish reason.

She decided to send Winter and Solenn to the Royal Capital because as the future leaders of the Fire Mages, they needed to see what kind of enemies were they facing right now.

"Kiho, my husband, used to tell me before that there are no children in a war," she continued. "While I believe that he is right, I also think that that kind of practice has to stop. I don't want to create more "children warriors." That's why we have to end this war now. I'm hoping that you and Winter will be the last children warriors of our kind."

Technically, Solenn and Winter weren't really children.

But that didn't mean they had good childhood. She didn't want more children to be forced to be mature because of a war.

That's why I can't wait any longer, Solaris.

"I understand, Supreme," Solenn said with a bow. "I will follow your order."

"Thank you, Princess," she said, then she turned to Jameson. "What's your decision, Jameson Crawford? Are you going to take the job or not?"

"The Keepers don't have the ability to refuse you, Supreme. And I personally agree with your plan. I've seen how much you worked hard for the past five years so I know that you're more than prepared to face the Moonchesters now," Jameson said, then he took a deep breath. "When and how shall we escape, Supreme?"

"You'll use Mount Sola, the ship," Tilly said with a bright smile. "And you'll be leaving the island tonight."

***

LUNA let out a deep sigh.

After a few hours of talking to Solaris about her relationship with Wixx, only now she could finally breathe normally again.

Wow.

Since she needed time to calm down, she decided to stay in the tea room even after Solaris left for work.

Although she was alone now, her mind kept coming back to their conversation…

"You were supposed to marry Lord Wixx but in the end, he decided to call off your wedding for your protection," Solaris told her a while ago. "When the war between the Children of the Sun and the Children of the Moon began, he thought that marrying a Moon Priestess like you wouldn't do you any good. To be honest, Lord Wixx asked our clan to protect you. But we failed to do so. While we're glad that you were reborn again, we are too ashamed to face you."

"You didn't have to be ashamed, Lord Solaris," Luna said. "I mean, you're the real family of Lord Wixx. It's not your obligation to protect your ancestor's lover.���

"Before Lord Wixx ascended the heaven as the Red Phoenix, he was forced to leave an heir just like the Blue Dragon and the Golden Tiger," the Fire Archmage explained. "The Rosenbergs chose a Sun Priestess for our lord because only Sun Priestesses can give birth to powerful Fire Mages. Lady Cyra Amelia was chosen to be the mother of Fire Mages. But she wasn't married to Lord Wixx. They just conceived a child for the Rosenbergs' clan to continue."

She already knew about that since that was the only way for the Beast Gods to have descendants.

But now that she knew she was involved with the Red Phoenix, she didn't know what to feel.

"You met Lord Wixx when he descended back to earth after Lady Soleil Rosenberg was crowned as the Supreme Fire Mage," Solaris continued. "I don't know what exactly happened but before the war began, I heard that Lord Wixx almost gave up his divinity for you. After all, once a god decides to marry a human, he will lose his divine power."

Luna didn't need to remember her past life to know why Lord Wixx decided to call off their wedding. She was pretty certain it wasn't just to protect her. If that happened before the war that was led by Lady Soleil Rosenberg and Lord Kalel Nystrom, she could tell why the Red Phoenix chose not to marry her.

If he lost his divine power, he wouldn't have been able to protect Lady Rosenberg then.

But she wasn't mad. She knew that it was hard for Lord Wixx, too. And as a god, he had people to protect.

She genuinely understood that.

"Good job, Luna," she whispered to herself. "Thank you for not hating Lord Wixx and Lady Rosenberg back then."

Her thoughts were cut-off when the ground suddenly shook hard.

She immediately stood up and ran to the balcony to see what was happening. Much to her shock, she saw the flaring light of Mount Sola– the flying ship. She could see it from that distance because the ship was too big and it was kept on top of the tallest mountain in the island.

But I'm pretty sure no one is scheduled to use Mount Sola tonight.

Luna gasped when she felt that the flame used to fuel the giant flying ship seemed to be coming from Solenn. And if her hunch was right, the princess might be with Winter. "Lord Winter is running away!"

***

WINTER wouldn't say this aloud but he was amazed when Solenn used her flame to fuel Mount Sola.

The reason why only the Keepers could use the flying ship was because of the required amount of Mana needed to fly it. Ordinary Fire Mages wouldn't be able to make it float. The fact that Solenn managed to make Mount Sola fly effortlessly was a statement of how pure and how powerful her Mana was.

Even Jameson Crawford looked surprised.

"Lady Solenn, that's f*cking epic," Jameson said with a grin. "I don't even f*cking need to add my fire to make sure that our flight will be f*cking stable. Yours is f*cking enough already."

Solenn just smirked arrogantly, then she turned to him. "Aren't you glad that the Supreme asked me to accompany you, Winter?"

Winter just rolled his eyes at her. "If you annoy me, I'll kick you out of this ship," he warned her. But his voice didn't sound threatening because he was in a good mood. Instead of letting Solenn ruin his mood, he just walked away from her and looked at the dark sky from the glass window. Dad, I'm coming to save you from that wench.

***

"AH, THEY escaped," Tilly said in a monotonous voice while looking up at the dark sky where Mount Sola already disappeared. She went to the ship's dock on the top of Mount Lumina to "chase after" the children with Wong, Solaris, and several guards. "We're late."

Wong glared at her.

She just smirked at him.

"Lady Rosenberg, you let the children escape, didn't you?" Solaris asked strictly. "Jameson Crawford won't accompany Solenn and Lord Winter without your direct order."

"It's not important right now," she said vaguely, completely avoiding the subject. "Now that Mount Sola is gone, there are only two flying ships that we can use. Unfortunately, both ships are only two-seaters. That means we can't send a big party to save my brother."

And the Keepers couldn't leave the island all at once. At least two must remain to keep it literally afloat. After all, the Keepers' flame was the reason why Solarium was floating.

Anyway…

She turned to Wong. "Am I wrong, Wong?"

Now, do your job.

Wong let out a frustrated sigh before he turned to Solaris. "Lord Solaris, I think it will be wiser if you send me to save Lord Wixx instead of the Supreme."

Good boy.

"The Supreme needs to follow Lord Winter and Lady Solenn as soon as possible. While saving Lord Wixx is important, I believe that protecting the future leaders of our clan should be prioritized as well," Wong continued in a robotic tone. Well, it was probably because she prepared that "script" for him. "I'm enough to rescue the Red Phoenix. But to put you at ease, I can bring Kelsi with me. After all, she's a good healer and a master of making portals. Roarke and the twin shall stay in the island for your protection."

Gosh, that sounded so convincing even though she was the one who wrote that "script."

I'm such a genius.

"It looks like I can't say 'no' at this point," Solaris said while shaking his head. Then, he turned to her. "May I speak with you in private, Lady Rosenberg."

"'Lady Nystrom,'" Tilly corrected the Fire Archmage with a smile. "I'd like to be addressed as 'Lady Tilly Nystrom' from now on, Solaris."

Goodbye, Soleil Rosenberg.

***

"THE AUDACITY of that fanboy to order us around."

Mikhail Denver laughed at little Flint's complaint.

Ah, he's not so little anymore.

Flint was already fifteen years old now. Yes, he was still young. But compared to what he looked like five years ago, one could say that he was really a grown-up now.

"Under Lady Nystrom's order, we are required to work with Duke Sherwood," Mikhail Denver reminded the child. "And it's not like we're saving his ass. We're here to save the loyal servants of House Nystrom."

The first few years of living in the North with the Golden Tiger, the saint, and the Black Serpent Knights were hard.

But thanks to the instructions left by Lady Nystrom to each one of them, they were able to get back on their feet eventually. When his group finally settled in a safe place in the North, they later created a communication link with Duke Sherwood.

He didn't want to trust the duke at first. But he remembered that he made a vow with Lady Nystrom. And so far, Duke Sherwood had never disappointed them.

A few days ago, he received a message from the duke. According to that letter, it seemed like His Majesty was already doubting whether Duke Kiho Nystrom had retrieved his memories or not. To act as Duke Nystrom's backup in case he was busted, Duke Sherwood asked them to secretly return to the Royal Capital.

And he was glad that he followed his order.

A while ago, he received another message from Duke Sherwood. This time, the duke said that the head maid and head butler of House Nystrom were arrested. Fortunately, Duke Sherwood's spies managed to locate where the loyal servants were brought to.

So now, he and Flint was in the back of a carriage on the way to an infamous forest.

"Miss Louisa and Mr. David took good care of me and Julian during our short stay in House Nystrom before," Flint said in a soft voice. "I really want to save them. I'm just pissed that Duke Sherwood seems to be bossing us around."

He laughed at the child's sentiment. "Don't think about the duke," he said. "Just remember that we're not only here to follow his orders."

The child's eyes sparkled after hearing that. "You're right, Brother Mikhail," he said while nodding his head. "We're here to save Brother Rival and my brother Julian."

Thanks to Duke Sherwood's information, they found out that His Majesty used Julian as a replacement for Winter. To be honest, they still didn't know if that was the reason why Julian was abducted five years ago. But they didn't care about their reason anymore.

We will take back everything that was taken away from us five years ago.

He also couldn't wait to be reunited with Lady Nystrom and Miss Luna. After all, he had a lot of things that he needed to report to the duchess.

Starting with his father and Lord Prescott's death, of course.

"I'm thankful that you brought me with you, Brother Mikhail," Flint said seriously. "I can't wait to "pay" Lord Huxley back for what he did to me five years ago."

"I'm also glad that I decided to bring you instead of the lazy saint, too," he said with a smirk. "Who would have thought that the one the emperor asked to take care of Louisa and David is Lord Eugene Huxley?"

"Brother Mikhail, please let me deal with the count alone," Flint said seriously. "I'm confident that I can take him on this time."

If Flint asked him that five years ago, he would have rejected his request.

But the child worked hard for the past years. Well, actually, all of them (except the lazy saint) worked really hard under the Golden Tiger's harsh training. It was hellish but the result of their training under a Beast God was worth it.

I can't wait to show you how much we got stronger, Supreme.

"Alright," Mikhail Denver said. "Lord Huxley is all yours, Flint."

***

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