188: From the Love of the Red Phoenix

From the Love of the Red Phoenix

"SUPREME, I heard what happened last night," Solaris said in an apologetic tone. "I am terribly sorry about how Wong behaved towards you and the young lord." He bowed his head to her. "In behalf of the Keepers, please accept my deepest apologies."

Tilly was a little overwhelmed to see Solaris, the ruler of Solarium, bow his head to her. "Please raise your head, Solaris."

Thank goodness there were only the two of them in the shrine of the Red Phoenix right now. Well, only people with the Rosenberg blood were allowed in the shrine. There was a separate prayer room for the Red Phoenix where everyone could enter.

"It's alright," she said when Solaris raised his head. "I'm not mad at Wong. But I hope that if he has a problem with me, he doesn't lash out on Winter again. I'll understand if he's angry at me for the mistakes I did when I was still Soleil Rosenberg. But I will never forgive him if he hurts my son because of his hatred for me. Please let Wong know that, Solaris."

She wanted to say those things to Wong herself but the guy had been avoiding her since their last encounter.

"Supreme, Wong doesn't hate you," Solaris said carefully as they faced the flame in the cauldron. It was placed in front of the statue of the Red Phoenix. "None of the Keepers is capable of hating you."

She pouted at that. "Maybe Wong is the exception."

The Fire Archmage laughed softly, then he turned to her. "Supreme, do you remember what I told you about the origin of the Keepers?"

A few years ago, she asked Solaris where the Keepers came from.

"You told me that the Keepers, except for you, were born out of Wixx's love for me," she said.

Solaris was an exception because he was a direct descendant of Wixx. To be precise, his great grandfather was the first born son of the Red Phoenix. The direct descendants of the Red Phoenix had long lives after all.

"That's right," Solaris said. "Keepers aren't humans or spirits. They were born from the flame of the Red Phoenix. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that their only purpose is to serve you, Supreme. They love you as much as Lord Wixx does." He turned to her with a gentle smile. "We all do, Lady Rosenberg."

Okay, she blushed at that.

Even though Solaris was her brother's grandson, she still saw the man as her nephew. It was kind of awkward to have this kind of interaction with him. But she was grateful for the love that he had showed her and Winter for the past years.

"Wong isn't an exception," Solaris continued in his gentle voice. "It just happens that Wong is the representation of Lord Wixx's anger for the Black Serpent. For that reason, he's naturally hostile to Lord Winter who resembles his father so much."

Hearing that her little cinnamon roll resembled her estranged husband made her happy.

I can't wait to meet Duke Nystrom.

"I know that it's not an excuse, but please be more patient with Wong, Supreme," Solaris asked him with a smile. "I will talk to him sternly so that he'll never try to lay a hand on the young lord again."

Tilly smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Solaris."

***

"HEY, DO you f*cking want the Supreme to f*cking hate us?"

Wong gave a cold glance at Jameson who was hiding behind Roarke.

He went to the Light Tower that oversees the main gate of the Main Capital to avoid accidentally meeting the Supreme and his fellow Keepers. But he forgot that his colleagues could find him because all the Keepers were connected to one another.

"If you're just going to scold me, leave," Wong said to his colleagues coldly. "I'm already reflecting on my mistake."

"Shouldn't you apologize to the Supreme and the young lord first?" Roarke asked with a raised brow. "I'm pretty sure that Lord Solaris is bowing his head to Lady Rosenberg now to apologize in behalf of us. Aren't you ashamed?��

Of course, he was.

It had already been five years since Lady Rosenberg and the young lord arrived at Solarium. He could control his anger with Lord Winter when he was still a helpless baby. But when the young lord started to grow up, he realized that he only didn't resemble the Black Serpent.

Lord Winter also inherited that f*cker's ice Mana.

Every time he looked at the child's golden eyes, he was reminded of the Black Serpent. And that never failed to make him lose his cool.

But still, he knew that it wasn't an excuse to hurt a child.

Nothing could justify that kind of cruelty.

Wong let out a deep sigh. "I will apologize to Lady Rosenberg, Lord Winter, and Lord Solaris later."

"That's f*cking right," Jameson said, still hiding behind Roarke. "If you want to be f*cking hated by the Supreme, don't f*cking drag us with you."

When he glared at Jameson, he ducked to hide behind Roarke even more.

"Why do you hate Lord Winter anyway?" Roarke asked curiously. "I mean, I know that he resembles the Black Serpent– especially with his golden eyes. But the child is innocent, Wong."

"And Lord Winter is f*cking strong," Jameson added proudly. "I wish his dominant Mana is fire, but I have to f*cking recognize that the young lord has a f*cking good control of his power. Also, he's f*cking cute. And how can you f*cking hate someone that has half of our Supreme?"

Wong didn't hate the young lord.

It's just that…

"Wong is jealous."

Wong turned to where the voice came from.

Much to his annoyance, he found Kelsi sitting on the railing of the tower. Damn the woman and her stealthy movements. He bet even Jameson and Roarke didn't notice her presence until she spoke.

"Jealous?" Jameson and Roarke asked Kelsi at the same time.

Kelsi nodded. And she looked proud of herself. "You may not believe this but Wong is the one who actually loves the Supreme the most. He's practically Lord Wixx's clone, you know?"

"What gibberish are you sprouting, Kelsi?" Wong snapped at the woman.

"You don't hate the young lord," Kelsi said, then she looked at him straight in the eye. "You're just jealous because even though the Supreme has returned to us, she's still paying more attention to the tiny human who resembles the Black Serpent than us."

"Ohh," Jameson and Roarke said while nodding their heads.

Wong glared at the woman. "Stop."

"I'm not yet done," Kelsi said in an annoying playful tone. "Do you know why you act hostile towards the Supreme even if you love her just like the rest of us?"

"I'm not hostile towards the Supreme," Wong insisted. "I just don't spoil her like the rest of you do. I'm actually jealous of how easily you've forgotten that the Supreme abandoned us in the past for the Black Serpent."

Kelsi clicked her tongue while shaking her head. "This is why Lord Wixx created a woman among the Keepers." She put her hands over her chest in a dramatic way. "I'm the only one among us who understands the heart of the Supreme."

"Shut up," Wong snarled. He was about to snap at the three when all of a sudden, the ground shook. They all turned to the direction of the temple where they felt the Supreme's exploding Mana. She was angry– and the whole island could feel it. "Lady Rosenberg…"

***

"DUKE Nystrom, shall we drink tonight?"

"No," Kiho rejected Duke Sherwood bluntly, then he walked past him. But of course, his fellow duke just walked beside him. "What are you doing here, Duke Sherwood?"

Duke Sherwood was already waiting for him at the entrance of his mansion when he arrived.

He always shows up unannounced.

Duke Sherwood had been working with him for the past five years. But of course, they worked together in secret. But even though his fellow duke had showed him videos that proved he was an ally, he still couldn't trust him completely.

But since they had a beneficial partnership, he endured his "clinginess."

His thoughts were only cut-off when he realized something.

Strange… the servants aren't here.

Whenever he would come home, the servants led by Louisa and David would always stand in the entrance to greet him.

Even Julian isn't here.

"Duke Nystrom, I'm glad that you're back."

Kiho raised a brow when he saw Lady Huxley running down the staircase. As far as he knew, Julian didn't have an etiquette class today. He personally lessened the child's classes per day so he'd have time to train him.

I should remind Lady Huxley that she can't freely visit my house without a valid reason.

"My lord, something terrible happened during your absence," Lady Huxley said after she bowed to him as a greeting. When she looked up at his face, he saw that the woman was on the verge of crying. "Julian was poisoned!"

His eyes widened in shock. "Poisoned? What's his condition now?"

"Julian is fine now. Thankfully, I arrived just in time to see him wriggling in pain," Lady Huxley said. "I gave Julian first-aid while waiting for the doctor. I also called the guards to arrest the culprits."

"Culprits?" he asked with furrowed brows. "Who poisoned Julian?"

"Louisa and David."

Okay, that shocked him even more.

There was no way Louisa and David would do that to Julian. Even though the two knew that the child wasn't his real son, they still treated Julian with care.

"Why did you have them arrested without asking me?" he asked Lady Huxley in a cold voice that made her flinch. "How dare you give orders in my place, Lady Huxley? Who do you think you are to do so?"

Lady Huxley looked surprised by his anger. "I-I just want to help, Lord Nystrom."

"Lady Huxley, just because you're Julian's etiquette teacher doesn't give you the right to act like you're the madam of House Nystrom," he snapped at her. He knew that he was being rude but he couldn't calm down knowing that his people were in danger. "Know your place."

"M-My lord…"

"Where are they?" he snarled. "Where did the guards bring Louisa and David?"

Lady Huxley flinched again and this time, she couldn't even say anything.

"Duke Nystrom, calm down," Duke Sherwood said, then he put a hand on his shoulder. His grip was hard, so Kiho was forced to turn to him. He saw the warning look that Duke Sherwood gave him. "I know that it's annoying when our servants act like they're the master of the house. I understand that. But Lady Huxley may have been just worried because Julian was harmed. Let the guards handle the case about your head maid and head butler." He squeezed his shoulder tight before he let go of it. "We should check on Julian first, Duke Nystrom."

He understood what Duke Sherwood did.

The other duke was reminding him that he shouldn't let Lady Huxley notice that he was working with Louisa and David.

That means His Majesty has somehow found out that the two weren't brainwashed.

"Just don't do it again, Lady Huxley," Kiho said, then he walked past her to go up the staircase.

"You did well saving Julian, Lady Huxley," Duke Sherwood said to the woman before he caught up with him.

When they reached the second floor where Lady Huxley couldn't see or hear them, he turned around to face Duke Sherwood. The hallway was empty. It looked like the rest of the servants had also gone missing.

"I need to save Louisa and David," Kiho told the other duke. "The emperor will surely kill them… if he hasn't already."

"I'm pretty certain that Louisa and David are still alive," Captain Sherwood said casually. "I think His Majesty is using them as bait. If you look for them with the intention of saving them, they will realize that you haven't really returned to their side."

"But if I don't go, they will die!"

"Don't waste the five years that you endured, Duke Nystrom," he said firmly. "If His Majesty realized that you snapped out of his control a long time ago, he might do something more drastic to make sure that you'll never remember Lady Nystrom this time. Do you want that to happen?"

He shook his head. "But my people…"

Now he felt guilty.

He should have been more careful. His constant "rejection" of His Majesty's requests probably gave him the idea that some of his servants were helping him retrieve his old memories.

He shouldn't have been complacent and left them unprotected.

If only he had more people he could trust.

No, that's just an excuse, Kiho scolded himself. You should try harder to protect your people if you want to reunite with your family the soonest.

"Duke Nystrom, do you trust me?"

"No."

Duke Sherwood laughed. "Shame," he said playfully, then he tapped his shoulder. "If I bring back Louisa and David safely to you, will you finally have a drink with me?"

"Sure," Kiho said without missing a beat. "But if you don't, you're banned from entering my estate again."

***

"MOMMY!"

TILLY was surprised when Winter (followed by Solenn) entered the shrine without knocking. The two kids were even running.

"Winter, Solenn, please don't run here," Tilly scolded the children lightly. "That's rude."

Her son didn't listen to her. Instead, he ran faster and when he reached her, he hugged her tight by the waist.

"Mommy, bad news!" Winter said and when he looked up at her, she was surprised to see the fear in his eyes. He also looked like he was on the verge of crying. Plus, she didn't miss the panic on his face. "I heard from Uncle Braxton and Uncle Maddox that Daddy is getting married soon!"

Okay, that shocked her.

"Solenn," Solaris called his daughter in a stern voice. "Did the twins really say that to Lord Winter? Or perhaps, you spied on your uncles again?"

"Well, I was just trying to see why Lady Rosenberg's new invention was considered a failure so I used one of her flying spy cameras," Solenn said with a pout. "The spy camera just happened to catch the twins talking about that…"

So it was true.

Kiho Nystrom is really getting married soon?

"Mommy, there's even worse news than that!" Winter, now crying out of frustration, said. "I heard Daddy is going to marry a woman named Lucina Morganna!"

Tilly flinched when she felt a painful thump against her chest upon hearing that name.

"Lucina Morganna…"

 Hearing the woman's name ringing in her mind seemed like to crack a portion of her memory that had been sealed away.

After all, unfamiliar memories started playing in her head.

All the images that she saw had a woman with an almost-black hair in it.

She clutched her head tight when the memories of her past life slowly and painfully returned to her without warning. It was overwhelming and she felt like her skull was breaking into two. Before she knew it, she was already on her knees while screaming in agony.

It hurts… it hurts so much!

She could barely hear the people around her calling her name with concern.

Plus, she noticed that the ground was shaking hard as her Mana exploded in the room. It was something out of her control. Whenever she felt like her life was in danger, her Mana would have a mind of its own to protect her.

So right now, her whole body was surrounded by a "bubble" that would burn anyone that touched it to ashes. That was why no one could come near her at the moment.1

Yes, not even her son.

Please end this…

It looked like someone heard her prayer.

But the final image that she saw completely broke her.

It was the painful memory of Lucina Morganna laughing at her after she was beheaded in her first life.

In my first life…?

Ah, yes.

Now she remembered who she was in this lifetime without the help of the pictures and the videos that she used to watch every single night.

"Lucina Morganna," Tilly whispered to herself, tears rolling down her eyes. But it wasn't because of pain or fear. She was crying because of frustration. How could she call herself powerful when she couldn't even kill one b*tch? "For once, you're pretty useful."

***

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