WINTER was surprised when all of a sudden, water that came out of nowhere was suddenly poured on Jameson.

He also noticed that the blood and the wound in the corner of the Keeper's face were gone.

Wait… could it possibly be…

An illusion?

It made sense, actually. How could Julian slap Jameson when his brother didn't even reach the Keeper's waist? But he and Roarke definitely saw a hand that slapped Jameson, which made him think that what they saw was an illusion created by Julian's water technique.

Right. Dad has both ice and water Mana. I heard that one of my father's water techniques have something to do with creating powerful illusions.

"I don't want to raise my hand against somebody who follows my mother so please don't make me do that, Jameson Crawford," Julian said, his voice was still cold but he looked calmer now than a while ago. "The next time I hear you insult my father, the hand that would slap you would no longer be an illusion."

Ah, so it was really an illusion meant to threaten the foul-mouthed Keeper.

I knew it. My brother isn't the violent type. He's still scary though.

Winter's thoughts were suddenly cut-off when in the blink of an eye, Roarke and Jameson were now kneeling in front of Julian.

He was too distracted to watch the two's movements. But he could tell that Roarke just forced Jameson to kneel. After all, Roarke had his on top of Jameson's head while forcing the foul-mouthed Keeper to bow in front of his brother.

"We crossed the line, Lord Julian," Roarke said in an apologetic tone while bowing his head low (and pushing Jameson's head down even more). "We apologize for our rudeness. I will also discipline Crawford so this kind of thing won't happen again." He turned to Jameson, his different-colored eyes glowing menacingly. "Crawford, don't you have something to say to Lord Julian?"

Jameson kept silent for a while before he decided to open his mouth. "My deepest apologies, Lord Julian," he said, not uttering a single curse this time. "This won't happen again."

"Thank you for understanding," Julian said in his usual gentle voice. Oh, his brother was back to normal. "You're dismissed, Jameson and Roarke. Rest assured, Winter and I won't interfere with our parents' fight."

Roarke and Jameson both nodded respectfully.

Then, Roarke practically dragged Jameson out of the room.

"So, Jameson can talk without cursing," Winter said in amusement, breaking the silence between him and his brother. "It seems like you disciplined him well, Brother."

To be honest, he also noticed that his brother referred to the Keepers without adding 'Lord' to their names, unlike before when he was very formal with them.

Julian turned to him with an awkward smile on his face. "Did I scare you, Winter?"

"Just a little," he admitted. "But I was more surprised to know that you can create illusions. Did Dad teach you that in your previous life?"

His brother scratched his cheek as if he was shy. "Father never taught me anything in the past."

Oh.

"But I used to watch him use his water technique to punish his people without physically hurting them," his brother continued. "Father creates this amazing bubble that he calls 'Water Sphere.' Anyone entrapped in that sphere would experience Father's powerful illusions. I just kind of copied his technique."

"You didn't use a Water Sphere though."

He didn't even see or feel his brother's water Mana.

"I can't control ice and water Mana properly because my main one is the fire that I inherited from Mother," Julian explained. "So instead of making a Water Sphere, I just summoned a little amount of water and swiftly gathered them up our heads." He pointed at the ceiling and when he looked up, he noticed that it was wet. "To be more precise, instead of a sphere, I created some sort of "ceiling." That's why you and Roarke were also able to see the illusion that I made."

He looked at his brother and clapped appreciatively. "Brother, you're good."

"You can do it, too, Winter," his brother said, then he playfully ruffled his hair. "Your dominant Mana is ice. Using water would be easier for you than it was for me. And I'm sure that Father will teach you the water techniques that he mastered if you asked him to."

"Let's learn together from Dad later," he said. "Brother, are you okay? You seem out of it."

"Ah," he said, then he paused for a while before he spoke again. "Winter, are you not bothered by the memories that we saw? Even if we didn't personally meet in that lifetime, I was still the cause of your death back then."

"Brother, would you laugh at me if I say that I don't consider that lifetime as a real one?" he asked seriously. "I want to consider that as nothing but a cruel nightmare. Although it ended tragically, I'm still grateful that the Sun God showed us the things that we don't remember. At least now, we know that there's a way to safely draw the Holy Scepter inside you, Brother."

"That's right," his brother agreed. "If we look at it that way, then there's no more reason to dwell on the past. Lessons have been learned, and the same mistakes won't be repeated. Hopefully."

"And that's why I don't understand why Mom and Dad are fighting," he said, then he turned to the window where they could clearly see the black phoenix and the ice serpent fighting in the sky. "Well, I can see why Dad feels guilty for what happened to our family in the past. But I thought Mom will be more forgiving and patient towards our father. I don't understand why Mom has to be angry when Dad is already feeling down. She also doesn't need to be violent."

Based on what they saw a while ago, it was obvious that it was their mother who attacked first. And he knew in his heart that in this lifetime, his father would never hurt their mother.

"Why does Mother have to suppress her anger for Father?"

He turned to Julian. "Huh?"

"You just asked why Mother has to be angry when Dad is feeling down," his brother said sternly. "Is Father a child throwing tantrum that Mother has to pacify? I understand where Father is coming from. But how about our Mother's feelings?"

He clenched his fists because he didn't know how to respond to that. "Brother, why are you scolding me?"

"I'm not scolding you, Winter," he denied calmly. "I just want to know why it seems natural for everyone to expect Mother to be the one to suppress her feelings for Father's sake. You also said that Mother shouldn't have used violence."

He gulped and for some reason, his brother's words made him feel guilty even though he knew that Julian was only stating facts.

"In the past, as Kalel Nystrom, Father practically killed Mother," Julian continued in a sad voice. "In the previous life that the Sun God showed us, Father caused Mother great pain even if he just tried to save her. But when Mother hit Father a while ago, you already called it violence?"

Okay, that made him feel really bad about himself.

"I'm not saying that violence is right. It isn't, and it's never the solution to a problem," his brother cleared. "All I'm saying is we need to be lenient to Mother. We all know that Mother is strong– physically, mentally, and emotionally. Because of that, we almost never bother to check on her. We keep on relying on her and expect her to always be on her best condition. But once she made a mistake once by hurting Father during an argument, we already think that she's on the wrong. You know why? It's because we overestimate her. We tend to forget that despite her lineage, she's still a human who has limits."

Now he felt ashamed of himself.

Everything that Julian said was right. He didn't even notice it.

"Mother was wrong for attacking Father but let's not crucify her," Julian said with a soothing smile. "Mother is kind and patient to us. Once she realized her mistake, I'm certain that she will never do it again. Even though Mother has a bad temper and she says mean things when she's angry, she's not a violent person. She wouldn't hurt or kill people unnecessarily."

"You're right, Brother," Winter agreed, then she scratched his cheek. "Thank you for helping me understand our parents' situation better."

***

"AREN'T you going to stop them?"

"No," Luna said as a response to Lord Denver's question. Both of them were standing in front of the house while watching Tilly and Duke Nystrom fight. "It's about time that Tilly lets off some steam. She has a bad temper, but she has a ridiculously long patience for her husband. It's unhealthy to always prioritize the duke's feelings over her own."

Of course, fighting among themselves during that critical time wasn't wise.

But as Tilly's friend, she knew that the Supreme had to vent her feelings instead of bottling it up to protect her husband's feelings. Soleil Rosenberg set aside her feelings and prioritized Kalel Nystrom in the past. They all knew it didn't end well for the two.

There are no lovers in this world who don't fight.

She wouldn't justify Tilly's action when she hurt Duke Nystrom. But she understood where her friend was coming from.

"Lady Soleil Rosenberg's downfall was apparently caused by her love for Kalel Nystrom," he said. "But it's definitely not the case in this lifetime. Lady Nystrom is no longer the woman who will give up everything for love."

"That's true," she agreed with a firm nod. "But of course, I'm still hoping that the two of them makes up in the end."

"If it's Lady Nystrom and the duke, I'm sure they can fix their problem right away."

She once again nodded as agreement. "By the way, is it okay for you to leave Thaddeus Nystrom in the basement?"

Thaddeus Nystrom was the North King's son that they took captive after the battle.

"The others are standing guard. And I don't intend to stay here for long," Lord Denver said, then he turned to her with a serious look on his face. "I just wanted to check on you after I heard the commotion outside."

"I'm fine, Lord Denver," Luna assured him. Well, she appreciated his care for her. But she didn't want to focus on their personal relationship. "Please return to the basement and keep an eye on Thaddeus Nystrom."

***

"I'M GETTING tired of this," Tilly said, then she snapped her fingers. To be honest, using the Black Flame was already taking a toll on her body. She needed to find something to stabilize her Mana if she was using the Black Flame soon. The Red Flame that she used to wield didn't eat her Mana because of her brother's heart. She had to look for something akin to that for her Black Flame. For now, she needed to minimize her use of it. "Melt the ice serpent, my little black phoenix."

Even without looking up, the cry of the black phoenix was enough for her to know that her black phoenix already melted the ice serpent effortlessly.

But just when she thought that she won, Kiho summoned his staff.

Her husband quietly span the staff in his hands expertly. She recognized that move as his way of summoning the rain. Of course, it wasn't an ordinary one.

The 'Blessed Rain' poured from the sky, successfully killing the flame of her black phoenix. Her poor elemental beast cried until the black flame that gave life into ito was put out by the Blessed Rain.

"I lost," Tilly said with a bitter smile. "I thought you hate using the Blessed Rain. Are you that desperate to win against me?"

"No," Kiho said. When the staff disappeared in his hands, the Blessed Rain stopped pouring. "I didn't use the Blessed Rain to defeat you, Tilly. I use it because the Black Flame is eating your Mana, isn't it? I had to put it out the fastest way."

Ah, so he noticed.

"Stop acting like you care about me," she said with clenched hands. Thanks to her Mana, she easily dried herself from the rain. "You won so you may do whatever you want now. If you want to leave and hunt down your parents, you may do so. I will take care of the North and the Great Fire Tree."

After saying her piece, she turned his back on him and began to walk away.

Of course, she did that with a heavy heart. She could see where Kiho was coming from. She knew why her husband was feeling pessimistic. She tried to console him but he refused it. And she was too tired to reach out to the person who was pushing her away.

Was it wrong for her to choose herself this time?

"Tilly."

She stopped walking when all of a sudden, Kiho stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders tight. Like she always said, even though her husband's body was cold, his touch never failed to make her feel warm. Especially during tough times like this one.

And the Blessed Rain didn't "touch" him a while ago so he's still dry.

"I'm sorry, Tilly," Kiho said, then he buried his face against her neck. "I lost my cool for a moment."

She was relieved to hear the calmness in her husband's voice. "Have you come to your senses now?"

"Your physical attack worked he said, hugging her tighter. "But to be honest, it only hit me when you turned your back on me and started to walk away. Before I knew it, I'm already chasing you. It only goes to show that I'm being stupid. That I can't leave you. And most of all, you will always be more important than my pride."

"Did I really hurt your ego, Kiho?"

"I realized that my ego has been fragile from the beginning, so it wasn't your fault that I was hurt," he admitted. "When my memories as Nystrom and Kalel returned to me, the customs that I was taught as a god and as a royalty confused me. I'm the only son of the Moon God himself, and I was brought up as a royalty as well. I guess you can already tell how I was raised."

She nodded slowly. "Yes. This is a patriarchal society and men are taught that are superior to women. To be honest, that's still the case in the world where I came from. But you probably already know that I lived in a world where I learned my value as a woman."

"Yes, I know."

"Kiho, we're a team," she said gently. "Protecting our family isn't a competition."

"Yes, I realize it now," he said in a remorseful voice. "I really am sorry, Tilly. This is the last time that I will blame myself for the things I can no longer change. I will stop feeling sorry for myself from now on."

"I'm glad to hear that," she said, relieved that Kiho was back to normal now. "But you still hurt my feelings so I'm not sleeping with you for the meantime."

"Huh?"

"I'll sleep in our children's room," Tilly said teasingly. "Both of us need to reflect on our shameful actions anyway."

"It sucks but you're right," Kiho said, then he paused for a while before he asked. "May I kiss you, Tilly?"

The answer is always 'yes.'

***

AINSWORTH's message was very important but even so, he couldn't gather the courage to interrupt the Supreme and the Black Serpent.

Why are they even making out in the middle of the yard anyway?

Still, he knew better than interrupting the two's moment.

Should I just roar or something?

***

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