188 From the Love of the Red Phoenix (1/2)
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.
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.”