After Ulmer assured her that things would become clear after a few days, Ayana raised his hand and pressed it against her cheek.Her eyes turned wet. Ulmer saw that and pointed at the sky, where the moon was still visible because it was still three at night.“Can you hear me, Moon? Can you hear me, stars? Can you hear my heart?” Ulmer said. “If you can, then please shine a bit more and make my wife smile a little.”“She’s a little baby, so don’t leave her alone, or you’ll be scolded at by everyone,” Ayana replied as though speaking in the moon’s stead.“Next time, ask the moon, stars, and the wind where I am,” Ulmer said, “and they will tell you.”Cold wind blew past their faces and tickled them. The stars twinkled in the sky, and a faint smile bloomed on the moon’s lips.“If they won’t tell me, then what?” Ayana quickly asked.“If they won’t answer you, then that’s their loss,” Ulmer said. “After all, they’d be losing a soft-hearted friend whose smile can brighten anyone's mood.” He
Later that morning.The news spread all around the empire that the emperor had defeated the dragon. Though he couldn’t bring the head of the dragon back, he did bring one of its horns, and a few of its scales to display them to the public. Even if he hadn’t brought these items, no one would have doubted the emperor’s words.After all, the emperor had built himself such a reputation over the years, having put his life on the line for the sake of the empire many times.On top of that, the injuries that the emperor suffered during his fight were also proof enough as to how intense the battle could have been. No one doubted for a second that the emperor might be lying.Emperor Dylan never said he defeated the dragon. He only told them, “The dragon of doom is no more.”And people understood it however they wanted. They believed that the emperor managed to defeat it somehow. Though it was beyond what they were expecting, they didn’t doubt him.Drake, the former high knight, kneeled and bowe
At Dracarius’ mansion in the capital city.“I can’t believe that the Knight Beater was the one who stole the national treasures,” Dracarius was saying, “but it makes sense now. He’s so strong. He must have been the one who stole those items and then disappeared just like how he vanished after the dragon showed up.”“It’s even more hard to believe that he killed Alveron before escaping,” Nirvan blurted. “There’s no way he could have defeated Sir Alveron by fighting fairly. He must have made a sneak attack.”“Losing Alveron surely is a big loss for us,” Dracarius sighed. “But there’s no point worrying about what if he was still alive. Since he’s dead, we need to think about filling his spot. I want someone who’s on our side to be Princess Brianna’s personal knight. She’s going to become the empress sooner or later, so having our man close to her will benefit us immensely. We don’t have to personally visit her every time we want to know what she’s up to. Her knight will keep us updated w
At Ayana’s house.It was so silent and peaceful right now. Dustin and Robin were sitting together, with the latter combing Suki’s hair.Kale was drawing in his book, but when Ulmer went to him, he hid it. After Ulmer requested him by touching his chin, Kale eventually showed him.They were the drawings of their house, with their whole family together, or with everyone doing their own things in the house. The faces weren’t accurate, but the drawings were cute enough to make Ulmer smile.“Good work. I’ll treat you with something good for drawing these pretty pictures,” Ulmer told him.Kale smiled and gave him a little hug.Ulmer had never seen such a soft, delicate boy before, which made him want to protect the boy all the more. He gently rubbed Kale’s hair, making the boy feel more comfortable around him.Ulmer then went over to Ayana who was cleaning the garden, where the lightning had struck. Ulmer kept watching her from a few feet away.“Instead of looking, can’t you give me a hand?
At the Foster family’s mansion.By the time the knights arrived there to capture the entire family, Mirianne and her mother had already escaped somewhere with Rever guarding them.Only Edward and Zebron were left in the mansion.Because Zebron was there, Drake had to personally come to capture Edward.“This is just a procedure, Zebron,” Drake said. “You know that he will come back soon if he’s proven innocent. So please don’t make this complicated. If you fight us now, you will be stripped off your title, and you will be considered a criminal. Even if Lord Edward proves himself to be innocent later on, your crime will still not be pardoned. Meaning… you will lose your knighthood forever if you raise your sword against us now.”Zebron gritted his teeth and grabbed the hilt of his sword.“Don’t do it,” Edward told him.“But, Lord… This whole thing feels ominous,” Zebron said. “I think some people are conspiring to get you to rot in jail.”“No matter what the people may plot,” Edward sai
Mirianne didn’t want to go to her grandfather’s house, so she ran away before they could get to the destination.Rever, bound by his duty to take Mirianne’s mother to safety, had to keep heading toward the destination. After all, she didn’t want Rever to go look for Mirianne, saying that she’d learn from her mistakes.However, when they reached her father’s house, he greeted her well but then the officers that were hiding came over quickly and arrested her.Mirianne’s mother was utterly stunned. Her daughter’s words kept playing in her mind. She looked at her dad in shock. “How could you do this to me?”“You’re no longer part of the family after you got married,” he replied indifferently. “If you and your family are proven innocent, I will be among the first to come and greet you.”“If I’m no longer part of the family, then why would you come to greet me?” she spat toward him, and then she was quickly taken away.Rever, on the other hand, couldn’t fight the officers because it would m
Nirvan came to meet Brianna in the corridor and kneeled before her and put his sword on the floor.A knight doing this only meant one thing.Brianna stared at him for a while before saying, “Pick it up.”Nirvan picked it up.“Did Dracarius send you?” she asked.“I don’t think I can fill Sir Alveron’s shoes, but my lord Dracarius believes so,” Nirvan said. “If you are not satisfied with me being around, I will return back to him.”“I’ll keep you around for a few days,” Brianna said. “After that, I’ll decide.”“Thank you for giving me this chance,” Nirvan still kept his head lowered. “I will do my best to not disappoint you, Your Highness.”Brianna walked past him. “Let’s go. We have lots of work to do.”At the central prison in the capital city.Hessia and Felix were standing at the entrance, demanding to be allowed inside so they could talk to Oscar.“How could you not even let us talk to him?” Hessia growled at the warden of the prison, Urea, a woman who was at level 87 and was known
In the outside world.Almost 400 kilometers away from where Ulmer’s home used to be, Ulmer’s clone just arrived at his uncle’s house.It was Sunday, so everyone was at home. A twenty-year-old girl was washing the car with a crying face because her dad was forcing her to do it, as she was getting more and more lazy lately. Ulmer recognized her. She was Ruth, the girl with an extra canine tooth, as far as Ulmer remembered her.She saw Ulmer coming, but then completely ignored him and continued washing the car.“How are you doing, Ruth?” he asked her, carrying two bags on his shoulders. He even put on a simple smile for her.“Why are you here?” she said, without even looking at him. “We all thought you ran away from home after that incident. You didn’t even tell us when you came here the last time. Daddy is really angry at you for not even telling him.”“He and my dad hate each other, though,” Ulmer said.“But they’re still brothers!” Ruth snapped at him. “He would have at least seen him