235 Secret of the North (1/2)
”Watch your mouth, Jameson,” Luna scolded the Keeper. Thank goodness she, Jameson, and Roarke were alone in the tearoom. Saint Forrester and the Golden Tiger were using their Mana to hide the village. Mikhail Denver was entertaining Winter and Julian in the next room. On the other hand, Blake, the Black Serpent Knights, and the Red Phoenix Knights/Fire Mages of the tower were patrolling the area. Ah, Flint had already returned but for some reason, he was hiding from Julian. ”Lord Julian is the real son of the Supreme and the Black Serpent.”
”I understand how you feel, Crawford,” Roarke said. ”I was hesitant to accept the second child, too. But I've seen how the Supreme and the Black Serpent love Lord Julian. If you show hostility towards the young lord, they will not like it.”
Jameson groaned in complaint. ”Argh. I f*cking know that. But Sinclair, you were barely a f*cking child back then so we're different from you. After all, you didn't participate when we f*cking hunted down Lord Julian and his f*cking clan in the past.”
She blinked several times when she heard that.
Well, she already knew that the Red Phoenix hunted down Julian and his clan back then because Tilly told her. She was a little taken aback that the Keepers were able to hide it from the Supreme for the past five years. But come to think of it, despite their extreme love for Tilly, they were still born from Wixx's flame.
The Keepers also ”inherited” the Red Phoenix's over protectiveness. That was probably the reason why they were able to keep the secret about Julian for that long.
”Why though?” Luna asked, making Roarke and Jameson turn to her. ”Why did you hunt down Lord Julian and his clan back then? Tilly didn't ask because she thought your hatred for the second child came from the conflict between the Red Phoenix and the Black Serpent. But come to think of it, I don't think that alone would push Lord Wixx to hunt down his nephew.”
Roarke's face lit up for some reason. ”Lady Luna, as expected. You really know Lord Wixx so well.”
She blushed at that. ”Shut up. Just answer my question.”
”Lord Wixx never f*cking specified to us why he f*cking hunted down the second child,” Jameson said, then he snapped his fingers. ”Although I can f*cking remember that he said something about destroying a f*cking weapon.”
She was about to ask what Jameson meant by that when she heard a knock on the door.
Then, a few moments later, Lord Mikhail Denver entered the room with a mug of hot chocolate in his hand. And a bright smile on his face, if she may add.
”Sorry to interrupt your conversation,” Lord Denver said, then he turned to her. ”I brought hot chocolate for you, Miss Luna.”
”Thank you, Lord Denver,” she said, then she accepted the mug. ”What are the young lords doing?”
”Where's our f*cking hot chocolate?” Jameson complained. ”You know that we're also here, Denver.”
Lord Denver just smiled at the Keeper. ”You can get your own drink, Crawford. Why don't you go to the kitchen and have some while it's still hot?”
”He's kicking us out,” Roarke said, then he turned to Jameson. ”Well, it's fine with me. We need to contact Wong anyway. I think Lord Wixx has already met the Supreme. Let's contact them and inform the Supreme that we've met up as well.”
”Alright. I f*cking miss the Supreme anyway,” Jameson said as the two Keepers started to leave the room. ”Let's f*cking go.”
And so, she was alone with Mikhail Denver now.
”Do you have something to say to me, Lord Denver?” Luna asked, then she sat down on the sofa and asked the lord to join her in the lounging area.
”Am I still a ”lord?”” Mikhail Denver asked when he sat on the sofa from across her. ”I left the Royal Capital with my best knights and the top Fire Mages of my tower. My family insisted to stay and face the consequence of our choice. May I know what happened to them?”
”Aku Moonchester couldn't punish them for being Fire Mages since he didn't reveal about your real identity,” she explained to him. ”But he locked them up for your ”sin.” Leaving your position and ”stealing” the Red Phoenix Knights were considered treason. Your family was locked up for being your accomplice. While all your wealth and properties were seized by the royal family. Your tower is nothing more than a huge decoration now.”
He fell silent for a while before he spoke again. ”I'm glad that my family is still alive. I will help them get out soon.”
”That's the plan,” she consoled him. ”Tilly intends to free them as soon as she can.”
He smiled and nodded. ”I know that I can trust the Supreme. My whole family does. That's the reason why decided to stay. They wanted to let His Majesty know that there are still people waiting for the Supreme.”
She just smiled and sipped her hot chocolate carefully.
Tilly had a lot of loyal followers that would gladly give up their life for her. The Supreme was really a sunshine loved by many people.
”Miss Luna?”
”Hmm?”
”I'm thirty years old now. Do you still think I'm too young for a human?” he asked with a bright smile. ”To be precise, do you still see me as a child?”
She almost choked on her drink. Too bad she wasn't dense not to know what those questions meant. God, she almost forgot about his ”confession” a few years ago.
”I just want you to know that my feelings didn't waver for the past five years, Miss Luna,” Mikhail Denver said with a smile. Even though he still looked as carefree as he did before, she could see the seriousness in his eyes. ”To meet you again is one of the reasons why I was motivated to survive during the past years.” He bowed respectfully to her. ”Thank you for returning safely, Miss Luna.”
Luna, as old as she was, still blushed at Mikhail Denver's sincere confession.
***
”OH, YOU'RE still alive.”
Wong woke up with a headache. It didn't help that the first thing that he saw when he opened his eyes was Kelsi's face. And the woman was smirking at her. Worse, he realized that he was knocked out because he was still lying on the ground. ”Where's the Black Serpent?” he asked as he got up. Then, he pinched the bridge of his nose. ”That damned reptile…”
”You lost, fair and square,” Kelsi, who was squatting beside him, said bluntly. ”All the Black Serpent had to use was a drop of his blood.”
He didn't comment on that because what else could he say?
Well, he had never won against the Black Serpent in the past. This hurt his pride to admit but he was aware that Kalel Nystrom had never fought him for real before because of the Supreme. And yet, he still didn't manage to win even one fight.
He also had to say that this time, the Black Serpent used a cruel technique on him.
”The Black Serpent's illusion has gotten stronger,” Wong admitted in a low voice. ”I really thought that he gouged my eyes out. It was terrifying.”
”And that was what you tried to do on Lord Winter before.”
The reminded hurt him but there was no way to deny it. ”I am ashamed that I've tried to hurt Lord Winter that way before. I mean, I've regretted that thoughtless and calloused act long before. But this was the first time that I truly felt the heaviness of what I tried to do to a child,” he said. ”I deserved that punishment from the Black Serpent.”
”I never hated the Black Serpent, you know?” she said randomly. ”I was the one created to be the Supreme's emotional support. And even though the Red Phoenix wouldn't admit it, I know that I was also created from the part of him that actually cared for the Black Serpent.”
”And your point is…?”
”You should stop hating the Black Serpent now, Wong,” Kelsi said with a smile. ”He's different from Kalel Nystrom. I believe that this time, he will choose the Supreme over anyone or anything else in this world.”
Wong averted his gaze from Kelsi. ”I don't know about that, Kelsi.”
***
”SHOULD I beat him up?” Tilly asked while looking at Wixx who just slept on her after he dropped a ”bomb.” Yes, her annoying brother suddenly passed out a while ago. She got worried for a second but after she heard him snore, she realized that he was just sleeping. Although she knew that the Red Phoenix might have been exhausted from flying to get where she was, she still wanted to beat the daylights out of him. ���You should have told me about Julian and the Holy Scepter first, stupid brother.”
She was quite confused about what Wixx implied a while ago.