"BROTHER, why do you look awkward?" Soleil asked her brother who was acting strange now that they were about to reach Solarium. Currently, they were on a carriage sitting opposite each other. Kalel, on the other hand, was seated beside him. But the Black Serpent was sleeping quietly. "Aren't you excited to see our people again after such a long time?"

"Soleil."

"Hmm?"

Winchell laughed awkwardly while scratching his cheek. "I actually forgot that I have descendants now."

"What?!"

"Well, it's been a long time since I ascended the heavens," her brother said defensively. "I forgot that before I ascended to the heavens, I left an heir."

Well, it hadn't been that long since the Beast Gods ascended the heavens.

If her calculations were correct, it happened seventy years ago. But she had to say that a lot of things had indeed changed since then. She was just glad that when she returned, the Fire Mage clan was already a strong nation.

The only thing that she could "complain" about the clan was that the members were a little bit overprotective of her. Even though they knew that she was strong enough to protect herself, they still treated her like a baby.

And she didn't want to say this but sometimes, she felt awkward whenever she would feel that they sort of worshipped her.

"That sounds lame," she said while shaking her head. "But Brother, I can't blame you. To be honest, our clan hid your son to protect him from people who wanted to destroy our clan. Apparently, only a select few know that you left an heir before you left our clan. The leaders of our family spread a rumor that unlike the Blue Dragon and the Golden Tiger's clan, you didn't need to leave a child because the gods promised that they would return me to the Rosenbergs. It might be the reason why even you erased it from your memory. Forgetting about your child is probably your own way of protecting him."

"Oh," he said while blinking several times. "I think I vaguely remember granting the Sun Priestess's wish that I forget about her and our son for their protection."

The Sun Priestess that her brother mentioned was Lady Cyra Amelia. She was the lady chosen to carry the Red Phoenix's child in her womb. In short, Lady Cyra Amelia was Winchell's partner and the mother of Solaris– her nephew.

But physically, Solaris was older than her. Thus, they shared the same position as leaders of the Fire Mage clan.

While she was the symbol of power, Solaris served as the authority.

"Solaris grew up well, Brother," she said. "His daughter, Solenn, is the new Sun Priestess. The two of them are doing a good job in helping me run our small nation."

Since Solaris had the blood of a Beast God, he stopped aging when he reached his thirties.

And Solenn, on the other hand, was a young maiden in her twenties. Solaris had her when he was already in his fifties. After all, being the leader of a clan was hard. Solaris had to put their nation as his top priority before himself.

Anyway…

Even though Solenn was physically older than her, she still treated her with utmost respect. Sometimes, the Sun Priestess would even tease her and call her "grandma."

"The Fire Mage clan is doing well, Brother," she said proudly. "Solaris and Solenn did a good job expanding our territory until it became a strong and respectable nation. Aside from training the Fire Mages to fight properly, Solaris also made our nation prosper by using the rare spirit stones found in our land. And Solenn keeps the people's faith in gods stronger than ever. I almost have nothing to do thanks to them."

Her brother scowled. "Ah, dear Soleil, why does it sound like you're telling me that our clan doesn't need me anymore?"

"That's not true, Brother," she denied while shaking her head. "The Red Phoenix is the Guardian of the Fire Mage clan. Of course, we need you."

"Really?"

"Of course," she said with a smile. "But I hope you don't treat Solaris and Solenn coldly, Brother."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're only kind to me," Soleil said in a sad smile. "I hope you extend that kindness to your family, Brother."

Winchell smiled even though it looked like he didn't take her seriously. "I understand, Soleil," he said. "I'll do everything for you."

***

"ARE YOU a Beast God?"

Elis Ripperton scowled when a "man" with blonde hair and green eyes blocked his way.

Well, the man could pass as a human. But since he wasn't an ordinary person, he could tell that the person who introduced himself as Harred wasn't a real human. He could smell human blood and flesh in his mouth.

Disgusting. The Crades are known as man-eating monsters so it looks natural whenever they eat humans. But now that they evolved to look like their "food," they look more disgusting.

"I am here for Auro Moonchester," Elis said, ignoring the nonsense coming out from the human-like Crade. As soon as he entered the palace of the fallen kingdom that Auro Moonchester just invaded, this ugly being greeted him. "I believe he's expecting me."

After all, he had been in contact with Auro Moonchester even before he descended back to earth.

To be honest, he didn't want to travel all the way to an unknown land just to meet a brat like Auro Moonchester. But since he wasn't really that thrilled to meet his descendants, he decided to make a detour and check on the brat first.

He was a little curious to see the evolution of the Crades after all.

But now that he had seen it, he realized that it wasn't worth seeing.

I'm wasting my time here.

"You didn't bring Soleil Rosenberg with you?"

"Excuse me?" he asked with a raised brow. "You don't have the right to mention Soleil's name with that filthy mouth of yours, you disgusting monster."

Harred didn't seem insulted by his words. In fact, he just laughed like a lunatic that he probably was. "Auro Moonchester told me that Soleil Rosenberg is going to be my bride."

To say that his blood boiled in anger would be an understatement.

That was never a part of the plan.

Just what is that brat planning behind my back?

"Auro Moonchester also said that Soleil Rosenberg is the chosen woman to give birth to my children," the ugly monster continued yapping. "I can't wait to see how delectable Soleil Rosenberg looks like– ahhh!"

Harred wasn't able to finish his nonsense sentence because he tore his mouth off his face using his bare hand. In short, he was able to destroy half of his face. All he had to do was use his Mana when he moved to "snatch" the monster's mouth.

Now, the human-like could do nothing but hold what left of his bleeding face.

"I told you not to mention Soleil's name," he said, his eyes glowing dangerously. "Don't even dream about touching her, you filthy bastard."

Much to his utter disgust, the face of the monster began regenerating in an inhuman speed.

Ah, they maintained that ability of theirs.

In just a few minutes, Harred's face was back to normal. He looked so angry and he was about to attack him when all of a sudden, Auro Moonchester appeared behind the human-like Crades.

Without saying a word, Auro Moonchester knocked Harred by hitting the back of his head without warning.

As soon as the human-like Crades fell on the ground unconscious, the brat knelt before him. It seemed like Auro Moonchester was aware of what angered him. After all, he didn't just kneel– he also bowed his head so low.

"Lord Ripperton, please forgive me for not welcoming you earlier," Auro Moonchester said in a serious voice. "I didn't know that you'd arrive earlier than scheduled."

"Don't be sorry about the things that I don't care about," he snarled at the brat. "Auro Moonchester, how dare you plan to ruin Soleil in such a horrific and gruesome manner, huh?"

"I fail to understand what you're angry about, my lord," the brat said. "Soleil Rosenberg is the strongest woman in the empire. I know that you're aware that I'm planning to produce children from humans and Crades. She's the perfect woman for the job–"

The fool wasn't able to finish his sentence when he grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up until their eye level matched.

"Soleil is mine," he warned the brat angrily. "If you continue with this stupid plan of yours, our deal is over and I will kill you."

Auro Moonchester looked surprised by that. "Lord Ripperton, do you have feelings for Soleil Rosenberg?"

"I'm crazy in love with her," he snarled. "So don't even think about harming her in any way, Auro Moonchester."

The brat, upon realizing how serious he was, nodded. "I understand, my lord," he said. "I apologize for my mistake."

Elis sent the brat flying with his violent wind until his back hit the wall. "You better not make the same mistake, Auro Moonchester," he said, his eyes still glowing dangerously. "I will only forgive you this once."

Auro Moonchester, despite his bleeding head, kneeled properly in front of her and bowed deeply. "Thank you for your generosity, Lord Ripperton."

***

SOLEIL smiled while watching Kalel sleep in the carriage.

They already arrived at their nation. In fact, Winchell already got off the carriage to greet their people. She had to stay though and wake the Black Serpent up. But seeing how cute he was when sleeping, she didn't have the heart to ruin his sleep.

"How cute," Soleil whispered to herself, then she couldn't help but raise her hand to try and poke his cheek with her finger. "I apologize for this, Lord Kalel."

But when she was just about to touch her face, someone grabbed her by the wrist.

When she looked up, she was surprised to see a very pale woman wearing a white, elegant robe. Her face was beautiful, and so was her long, white hair. Judging by her divine aura, she could instantly tell who the lady was.

"Don't touch my son," Yumi, the White Snake, warned her with glowing eyes. "Who are you to seduce my precious Nystrom?"

"My name is Soleil Rosenberg, Lady Yumi," Soleil said politely. After all, the lady was Kalel's mother. She was still a little confused at how the White Snake appeared out of nowhere. But at the moment, she only had one thought in her mind. "Can I have your son?"

Oops.

She didn't know that she said it out loud. And she only realized that she did when anger crossed Yumi's face. She was about to apologize when all of a sudden, Yumi disappeared and turned into a white snake.

The white snake wrapped itself around her arm and was about to bite her.

To be honest, she could just burn it to protect herself. But she didn't want to hurt Kalel's mother. So in the end, she decided to accept it as her punishment for being rude a while ago.

A snake's bite won't kill me instantly, will it?

When the white snake was in the middle of biting her, she closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

But after a few minutes, nothing happened.

And the feel of the white snake around her arm also disappeared.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Kalel holding the hissing white snake by the neck. Well, she wasn't knowledgeable about snakes so she assumed that the part below the snake's face was its neck, just like in a human's body.

"Mother, Soleil Rosenberg isn't seducing me," Kalel said bluntly. "It's the other way around."

Soleil let out a soft gasp. "Lord Kalel, are we seducing each other?"

***

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