230 Abandoned Spirit Guardian (1/2)
Nia was amused when she saw Captain Dustin Ainsworth outside her room.
She didn't expect that Aku would let House Ainsworth live after the Golden Tiger betrayed him for the Supreme.
Maybe Aku thought he couldn't lose any more people after he already lost Duke Nystrom.
”I'm no longer a princess, Captain Ainsworth,” Nia reminded the captain. ”You can just call me 'Lady Moonchester.'”
”I apologize but I can't do that, Your Royal Highness,” Captain Ainsworth said, then he bowed to her. ”His Majesty still considers you as his consort.”
”That's a pity,” she said, then changed the topic. ”Captain, do you mind waiting for a little bit? I need to prepare before we leave the temple.”
”Of course, Your Royal Highness,” the captain said. ”I will wait for you at the entrance of the temple.”
”Thank you, Captain.”
Captain Ainsworth just bowed and waited for her to return to her room before he left.
”Lucina, how long are you going to lay down there?” Nia asked the woman who was still lying on the bed. ”We need to go back to the Royal Capital. I can't leave until you return inside my heart.”
She met Lucina when she was in a pathetic state after the Supreme cut her off in her life. Since Lucina was a good ”shield” because of her flame, she agreed to be her new host.
To be honest, she didn't remember much from her previous lives, except the one that she had in a modern world. But unlike Lady Nystrom and the others, it was her choice to forget the awful memories that she didn't want to remember.
Anyway…
She treated Lucina as a secret weapon that she would only summon if needed. Most of the time, the abandoned spirit guardian only stayed inside her heart. She didn't mind because that made it easy for her to control her.
It also helped that when she was reborn as Nia Moonchester, Lucina had lost her memories as a spirit guardian of the Supreme. Lucina thought that she was just a mere Fire Mage who betrayed the Red Phoenix by serving a Moonchester.
”Nia, my memories have returned.”
Ah, what a shame. The thought of Lucina losing her past memories just crossed her mind. And now, the spirit guardian was saying that she had retrieved her memories.
”I'm actually the spirit guardian of the Supreme,” Lucina said, then she got up and faced her when she sat on the edge of the bed. ”She abandoned me after I chased what I couldn't have.”
”I don't want to hear your story,” she said bluntly. ”I purposely erased the memories of my earlier life to preserve the memories of my life in the modern world. I only kept what I think is important for me to survive in this world.”
She wasn't born a powerful god like the Supreme or the Black Serpent.
”So even if you ask me about your past, I can't answer it,” she continued. ”The only thing I know is you've been played by Aku and the Red Phoenix in the past.”
Anger crossed the spirit guardian's eyes. ”Yes, that they did.”
”If you want to have your revenge, then return inside my heart,” Nia told the woman. ”You need to conserve your energy, Lucina.”
”I know,” Lucina said in a whisper. ”I need to live and take back my son from the Supreme.”
***
”CHOOSE between Duke Nystrom and my duty as a Bookkeeper?”
”Yes,” Tilly said. ”Duke Sherwood, don't you think that there's conflict of interest in your stand as Kiho's servants and your role as a Sherwood? Even Aku Moonchester recognizes your importance as a Bookkeeper. If it wasn't for that, he would have killed you a long time ago.”
Duke Sherwood smiled brightly at her. It looked so fake though, just like his personality. ”Are you trying to get rid of me, Lady Nystrom? Have you forgotten that I made a pledge to you and your son when I devoted myself to Duke Nystrom?”
”My memories as the Supreme have returned,” she announced coldly. ”Now I remember that a Bookkeper's ”pledge of loyalty” can never be valid.”
The duke's fake smile finally vanished.
”Now I understood why it was so easy for you to pledge your loyalty,” she said while shaking her head. ”You know that it won't kill you because the spell doesn't recognize a pledge from a Bookkeeper. After all, you are humans who don't have the freedom to choose sides. The only ”side” that you can ever stand on is the truth.”
Aku Moonchester probably knew that, too.
After all, the emperor still let Duke Sherwood live even after the duke ”pledged” his loyalty to Kiho.
”Ah, my secret is busted,” Duke Sherwood said with an unapologetic smile. ”I didn't mean to trick His Grace, my lady. Our whole clan has always been fascinated with the Black Serpent. I just wanted a chance to be of use to him.”
Well, she was glad that Duke Sherwood helped Kiho for the past five years. He was sketchy, yes. But she was grateful that he also saved Louisa and David. His obsession with Kiho had become a good fortune for their side.
”You have served your purpose, Duke Sherwood,” she told him. ”You protected Kiho and our household. Most of all, you created the law that I asked you to. As a token of gratitude, I will make you the most successful Bookkeeper among the Sherwoods.”
He gave her another fake smile. ”Are you getting rid of me, my lady?”
”Yes,” she said, then she sipped her tea.
”You've become more cold-hearted,” the duke complained. ”I'm a little hurt.”
”Duke Sherwood, do you know what a divine civil war is?”
The duke's ears seemed to perk up upon hearing it. ”Of course,” he said, not bothering to mask his excitement. ”The first Sherwood to be recognized as a Bookkeeper had witnessed the divine civil war led by the Supreme Fire Mage and the Black Serpent against the Moonchesters. But it wasn't recorded in the official history of the empire because it was a war that only gods were involved. My ancestor died recording that moment.”
Ah, yes.
Soleil Rosenberg and Kalel Nystrom led that divine civil war. But because of the Moonchesters' manipulation, they were able to control Kalel Nystrom and turn him on her.
That was when she lost her life back then.
History won't repeat itself this time.
”There's another divine civil war coming up,” she told the duke. ”It's going to happen outside the Royal Capital. And humans won't be involved except for Aku Moonchester.”
The duke stifled his laugh. ”So, you don't consider His Majesty a god?”
”Well, he thinks he's a god but technically, he's just a mere human favored by the Moon God,” she said bluntly. ”To be honest, he's as rotten as the gods I know. But since it's his life's goal to be a god, I will do everything to take that dream away from him. Although I will never understand why he's desperate to be one. Gods ain't shit.”
”My lady, you and your husband are technically gods, too.”
”Yes, and it's a shame. No offense to any religion but after meeting some messed up gods, the way I see them has changed,” she confessed. ”To me, they're nothing but rotten humans with divine powers. The name that they hold as 'god' is nothing but a fancy job title.” She paused for a while but she continued. ”I believe my family and I owe it to the human race to get rid of the gods who don't deserve their title.”
The duke laughed, his eyes beaming with excitement. ”Are you saying that you'll give me the once in a lifetime chance of witnessing the next divine civil war?”
”I'll give a front row seat.”
”This is so interesting,” he said with a frenzied look on his face. Argh, the duke's obsession with history was reeking. ”I can't believe gods really fight among themselves.”