"YOU'RE going to Solarium alone?"

Soleil nodded at Kalel's question. "Solenn told me that it's better to have Lady Cyra Amelia by my side during my pregnancy."

​​

"The former Sun Priestess?" Kalel asked, amused. "Winchell's wife?"

"My brother and Lady Cyra weren't married," she explained to her husband. "Since my brother is a Beast God, he would have lost his divinity had she married Lady Cyra. Moreover, they didn't love each other. They only had Solaris out of duty."

"Ah," he said, then he paused. "I think your brother likes Luna though."

She laughed softly as she nodded. "Yes. It's quite obvious. Even though the elders of our clan were against Luna staying at Solarium, my brother protected her." She noticed that her husband suddenly looked worried. "Is there something wrong, Lord Kalel?"

"Luna is a Moon Priestess," he said hesitantly. "As far as I remember, it's quite difficult for a Moon Priestess to find a partner because of the certain rules that they must obey. I don't know exactly what those rules are."

"Oh."

"But Luna and Winchell are both adults," her husband said, then he touched her cheek. "Let's not worry about them too much. And you're pregnant. I don't want you to be stressed about other people's business."

She smiled, touched by Kalel's concern.

He's so different from how he acted in the past.

She was glad that it seemed like Kalel had been getting closer and more attached to her. Was it because the "poison" that she had been taking was working on him? Could she assume that the poison inside Kalel's body was now being cleansed?

If that's the case, I hope that Kalel chooses to believe me over his brother.

After all, now that she was pregnant with the Moon Serpent, she was pretty sure that Auro Moonchester and his cronies would begin to attack her.

"What are you thinking, Soleil?"

"Nothing, Lord Kalel," she said while shaking her head. "We should go now."

Her husband would return to the Royal Capital because Auro Moonchester summoned him again. Apparently, the king would finally give her Holy Bracelet back.

On the other hand, she would secretly leave the North and visit Solarium.

She wanted to personally fetch Lady Cyra Amelia.

"Take care, Soleil," Kalel said. She was glad that her husband trusted her enough to let her leave their territory alone. He probably knew that she would be able to move quickly if she didn't have a guard to worry about. "I know that you're very strong, but please be careful," he said, then he kissed her forehead. "Please send me a message every hour."

Soleil smiled and nodded. "I will, Lord Kalel."

***

"AURO MOONCHESTER, do you know what I recently discovered?"

Auro smiled at Yumi. "Since you look happy, I bet it's something that will benefit me as well."

He didn't have work today since he was expecting Kalel later.

So he had the time to entertain the White Snake. Right now, they were having tea in his room. Since Yumi was using another person's body, he had to hide her to avoid having a scandal.

After all, the nobles around him were already pressuring him to get married.

"My darling already found the Great Fire Tree," Yumi said cheerfully, then she sipped her tea before she continued. "And guess what? The Spirit of the Great Tree has a "daughter.""

He sipped his tea while wondering how that piece of news would benefit them. "I understand why it's important that Lord Kyro finally found the Great Fire Tree. After all, it can answer almost all the questions regarding the history of our continent– including the pieces of information about the gods that created this world," he said. "But why do you sound like the fact that the Great Fire Tree has a "daughter" is the best thing from that?"

"You fool," the White Snake said, then she laughed. "Do you think the Spirit of the Great Fire Tree would answer the questions that we asked him? If it's that easy, then Kyro would have already gotten what he needed from that old tree."

"Ah," he said. "So, do you plan to use the Spirit's "daughter" to make him talk?"

"That's your job, Auro Moonchester."

His brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"According to Kyro, the Spirit's "daughter" is a naïve little girl," the White Snake said. "Well, of course, she isn't young. She's probably as old as you if we combined your previous lives. But apparently, that girl is naïve and innocent. It's probably because she was born and raised in the Eternal Garden with limited interaction with other beings."

He could already see where the conversation was heading.

But he shut his mouth and listened to Yumi.

After all, he didn't mind what Kyro and the White Snake planned to make him do. As long as he achieved his goals, his personal feelings didn't matter.

"Kyro said that this girl is craving for human interaction," Yumi said, then she put down the teacup on the table. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

He smiled and nodded. "How do I meet this "naïve" little girl?"

"I'm glad that you're sharp," she said, then she sipped her tea again. "Kyro already arranged everything for you. All you need to do is show up and act as a gallant knight. Since you're sharp, you'll definitely understand what Kyro wants you to do."

"What's her name?" Auro asked, then he sipped his tea. "What's the name of the girl that I need to seduce to get close to the Spirit of the Great Fire Tree?"

"Nia," Yumi said with a satisfied smile on her face. "That's the name of the girl that we want you to make your queen."

***

SOLEIL knew that she was being followed.

Right now, she was riding on a horse in the deep part of the forest. Since she didn't want their people to see her leave their territory, she had to take that path. She didn't expect that she'd be followed right away.

Does this mean Auro Moonchester already knows that I'm pregnant?

If the young king was already informed by her pregnancy, then she could now finally believe that a powerful god collaborated with a greedy human.

Blast them all.

"Soleil, it's me."

She stopped the horse in its tracks when she heard the familiar voice that echoed in the forest. Then, she looked up and looked for the owner of the voice.

"Elis?"

Yes, it was Elis Ripperton.

She was surprised that she didn't recognize his Mana. The one that she felt a while ago was different from the Blue Dragon's aura. She thought she was being followed by an assassin because of the thick bloodlust that she felt!

Is he going to kill me?

"I thought you already ascended back to heavens," Soleil said, wary. "Show yourself, Elis."

Much to her surprise, her horse was carried by a sudden yet strong gust of wind.

Afraid that the violent wind would throw her on the ground or something, she summoned her wings and flew away from the horse. Since her Black Flame was sealed by Winchell, she was back to using her brother's Red Flame.

She was distracted when the horse was suddenly sent flying until it hit a tree. The poor horse let out a cry before dying.

That broke her heart.

"Elis Ripperton!"

Much to her shock, the damned Blue Dragon suddenly appeared right in front of her.

Since Elis Ripperton had a great command of the wind, he could "fly" without the help of wings unlike her.

But she didn't have time to think about that.

After all, she was shocked by what the blasted Blue Dragon did to her without her noticing it right away.

"I've missed you, Soleil," Elis Ripperton said with a smirk on his face. Then, he twisted the dagger that he stabbed in your stomach a while ago. It was a shock to her because her body shouldn't have been pierced by any blade after she covered it with her flame. "I heard that you were already pregnant," he said, pushing the knife even deeper. "I wonder if the thing inside your womb is already strong enough to endure this?"

She hated to admit this but the blade of Elis Ripperton's dagger seemed to have been laced with poison.

After all, her body suddenly went numb.

She was probably paralyzed.

My baby…

She grabbed the blade of the dagger, cutting both of her hands deeply. Thus, the pain and the blood. But she didn't care about that. She pulled the blade out of her body even if it meant that the blood would only spurt out more.

Please be safe, my little Moon Serpent.

"Soleil, you really are crazy," Elis Ripperton told her. "But that's what I love about you."

She hissed at him, then she summoned her flame to burn the Blue Dragon alive.

But much to her surprise, her flame didn't come out.

Worse, the flame that covered her body began to get wiped out by the wind around her, and so were her wings.

I'm going to fall!

"The blade that I just used to stab you is the kind of blade that absorbs one's Mana," Elis Ripperton said with a smirk while looking down at her literally. After all, she began to fall as her flaming wings finally vanished. "Don't worry, Soleil. I will catch you."

She didn't have the time to curse at him.

All she could think about was how to save herself so her baby wouldn't die with her.

While covering her bleeding stomach with her hands, she closed her eyes.

Lucina, come out, she ordered her Spirit Guardian in her mind. Unseal the Black Flame.

Much to her shock, she was met with silence.

Lucina?

Why was Lucina not answering her call? Was she sealed or something because of the strange dagger that Elis Ripperton used?

No…

She could only close her eyes while anticipating her fall, praying that her physically strong body would save her and her baby.

But to be honest, she knew that Elis Ripperton wouldn't let her fall.

Thus, she wasn't surprised when she felt someone break her fall before she hit the ground. But she was surprised when she noticed that the person's body temperature that caught her was as warm as hers.

"Master?"

She immediately opened her eyes when she heard an unfamiliar voice.

Glowing moss green eyes were glowing. Dark green curly, short hair. Body covered with black clothing from head to toe.

I don't know this man.

But for some reason, he felt warm and familiar to her.

"I will introduce myself properly later," the stranger said politely, then he carefully put her down and assisted her until she could stand on her own. "I will eliminate the enemy first."

Soleil could only blink, her mind was still a clutter after the near-death experience that she had. "Are you saying that you can fight the Blue Dragon?"

***

SOLEIL couldn't believe it but the stranger was able to fight with Elis Ripperton equally.

Unfortunately, she wasn't able to watch the fight longer because the two disappeared. She noticed that the stranger had pushed the Blue Dragon away from her location by sending hundreds of strong fireballs at Elis Ripperton.

The stranger probably doesn't want me to get harmed by the fight.

She already took shelter inside a cave that she found.

While she was there, she ripped the hem of her skirt and used it to tie around her stomach to stop the bleeding. But she knew that it wasn't enough. She needed to go to a doctor. After all, there was a precious life in her womb now.

I can't lose consciousness, she reminded herself when darkness began pulling her. I have to get out of here…

"Master, I apologize but the Blue Dragon managed to escape."

She raised her head, surprised that the stranger came back in one piece after fighting Elis Ripperton. He had cuts all over his body. But considering who his enemy was, she could tell that he fought well.

"Who are you?" she asked in a weak voice. "Why do you keep calling me 'master?' Since you can use a flame, you must be a Fire Mage."

The stranger got down on one knee and bowed to her. "Lady Soleil Rosenberg, my name is Wong– the first Keeper that Lord Winchell created to protect you."

She gasped when she remembered the "egg" that her brother showed her before.

But did he say "first?"

She gulped, hesitant to ask the question in her head but she still did. "There are other 'Keepers' like you?"

"Yes, Master," Wong said, then he raised her head. "They haven't hatched yet though."

'Hatched.'

She almost laughed at the word that Wong used.

But now that she had relaxed, her body began to succumb to fatigue.

"Wong, make sure that my baby is alright," Soleil said as her consciousness began to fade. "And call my husband for me…"

***

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