JULIAN felt sad that he went back to their home without his parents and his younger brother.

But the fact that Flint was there made him feel better. To be honest, he had to be aggressive and chase his brother who seemed to be very adamant to avoid him.

"Brother, why are you avoiding me?" Julian asked Flint after he followed him to the pond. His brother was feeding his parents' koi fish when he arrived. Since Flint couldn't leave while he hadn't finished feeding the fish yet, he had no choice but to say. "Did I do something bad?"

Flint looked awkward around him. He couldn't even focus on him. Instead, his brother kept his gaze on the pond. "You didn't do anything wrong, Lord Julian."

Hearing his brother address him as such hurt him. "Please don't call me that way, Brother. It feels like you're so distant to me now."

"But we're not brothers," he said, then he turned to him with an uncomfortable look on his face. "You're the son of Sister Tilly and Brother Rival. That means we can't be real brothers. I don't know how you became my parents' son. But now I know that it can't be true."

He clenched his hands before he told Flint what he knew about his biological brother. "Brother Flint, your real brother was dead when your mother gave birth to him."

Flint looked shocked by his revelation.

"I suddenly appeared on the grave that your parents made for your brother," he continued with his explanation. "They probably thought that I was sent by the heaven as your brother's replacement. And thus, he adopted me without telling you that I'm not your real brother."

He could remember everything because even though he was reborn as a baby, his mind and memories as an adult remained intact.

"I'm sorry I kept it a secret from you, Brother Flint," he felt in a voice filled with guilt. "I didn't want you to abandon me. I'll admit that at first, I was just afraid to be left alone. After all, as a baby, I don't know how I'll survive. But I got attached to you eventually. I've always longed for a brother in the past so when I met you in this lifetime, I was glad and thankful. You've taken good care of me even though you were also a child back then." He bowed to his brother. "I'm sorry for using you as a means of survival, Brother Flint."

"You don't have to apologize for that, Lord Julian," Flint said. "I'm not mad at you for keeping it a secret. And you didn't use me as a means of survival. You were a baby then, and it's only natural for babies to depend on their family."

He raised his head and looked at his brother with sparkling eyes, perhaps. "Really, Brother Flint? You're not mad at me even if I didn't tell you that I'm not your real brother?"

"Yes, I'm not mad," Flint said. "It doesn't matter to me whether Mother gave birth to you or not. To me, you're still my brother."

"Then, why are you avoiding me?"

"Because you're a Nystrom now," his brother said in a sad voice. "I'm just a commoner, Lord Julian. Even though you'll always be my brother in my heart, my social standing doesn't allow me to act familiar with you. After all, I'm just a commoner."

He shook his head firmly. "Please don't say that, Brother Flint. Even if I'm a Nystrom now, you're still my brother. I don't care about our social status. I'm pretty sure that my Winter and our parents don't care about that as well. You know that, don't you?"

His brother's eyes glinted with tears. "Is it really okay if I still consider you as my younger brother, Julian?"

He smiled when his Brother Flint finally addressed him by his first name. "You will always be my brother, Brother Flint."

"Thank you," his older brother said, now sobbing. "I've missed you, you know? I was so scared when you were taken away from me in the past."

"Me too, Brother Flint," Julian said, then he walked towards his brother and hugged him. Even though he was mentally older than Flint, he really thought of him as his older brother. After all, he took good care of him since he was born in that lifetime. "I've missed you, too."

Flint sobbed, then he hugged him back and gently patted his back. "You grew up well, Julian," he whispered to him. "Thank you for coming back alive, my little brother."

***

"IT'S A good thing that Wong was able to attach a listening device to Stella aka Elaine Moonchester," Solenn said while holding the button that Wong left them. She was seated on the study's window. She chose that place because it had the best view of the estate's pond. "Although it already lost its effect, we still managed to find a clue about the Plane."

When they arrived at the Nystrom Mansion last night, Wong and Kelsi gave them the button that served as a listening device. They explained to them that Wong managed to attach the device to Stella during their confrontation. Apparently, Wong attached the button's pair on Stella's clothes. But it lost its effect because of the Royal Palace's barrier.

Since her Uncle Winchell and the rest of the Keepers already left to return to the Solarium, it was now up to her and her "team" to continue keeping an eye on Elaine Moonchester. And her team included Lord Forrester and Julian.

"We have to be prepared all the time," Lord Forrester, who was sitting seated on the sofa while reading a book. The book was in a language that she didn't understand. Although she already lived a long life, she still didn't get a chance to study the language that ancient gods used. "Once Elaine Moonchester opens the path to the Plane, we will follow her at all cost."

"Understood, Lord Forrester," Solenn said, then she looked outside the window where she could clearly see Julian and Flint. She smiled when she saw the two brothers hug. It seemed like they already made up. "Oh," she said when she realized something, then her shoulders slumped. "It looks like my Julian has to be separated from his Brother Flint again."

***

"IT SEEMS like Garnet Nystrom is hiding in that cave," Tilly said while looking at the cave in front of them. It was almost covered by thick snow, and there was literally an ice block in the entrance. Obviously, they weren't welcomed there. "Kiho," she called her husband who stood beside her, then she turned to him. "It seems like our descendants inherited your affinity with caves. Why do you like making it a hide-out?"

"Well, it's dark and it's easy to set traps inside," Kiho said seriously, then he turned to her with mirth in his eyes. "But ever since I met you in our previous life, I found another reason why I like caves."

She tilted her head at one side. Well, based on the excited look on his face, she knew that Kiho was thinking of something "bad." But she had no idea what exactly was on his mind. "What reason is it?"

"We used to make love in my cave–"

She instantly covered Kiho's mouth when she realized what he was talking about. Gosh, even though it was cold, her whole face felt hot. "Hey, do you have to say it aloud?"

His eyes sparkled in delight the same time she felt his smile on her skin.

Then, much to her shock, he licked the palm of her hand.

"You're so horny tonight, Kiho," she teased him with a soft laugh. Then, she pulled her hand away from his mouth. "Let's get our job done first, okay?"

Kiho nodded, then he became serious when he turned to the cave again. "I just have to freeze the whole cave. Right, honey?"

"Yes, hon," Tilly said seriously, then she turned to the cave just like Kiho. "We have to seal Garnet Nystrom to make sure that he won't be able to report to Aku Moonchester."

***

"I DIDN'T know that there's a place like this under the throne room."

Elaine gasped in shock when she heard the voice of Elis Ripperton. When she turned around, the Blue Dragon was indeed in the same basement as she was. "What are you doing here?"

By "here," she meant the basement under the throne room with the symbol of the Black Serpent. To simply say, it was the lair of the sleeping ancient Crades that Auro and Kalel Nystrom put to sleep in the past.

She sneaked in every now and then to feed the Crades with her blood and Mana. It was one of the ways to slowly wake them up.

And she was able to do that because Aku Moonchester hadn't returned to the palace yet.

I thought Elis Ripperton is with him…

"Don't be scared, Elaine Moonchester," Elis Ripperton said with a smile. "We are not your enemies."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. ""We?""

As soon as she asked that, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

It felt like somehow had gutted her. Then, she "threw up." But the thing that came out of her mouth was a white snake.

She shrieked in surprise and walked backwards until she fell on the ground.

"Oh, it's just me," the white snake said in a voice that sounded like a woman. Then, a few moments later, it grew bigger and transformed into the shape of a person. Finally, when it stood up, she was greeted by a beautiful lady with white hair and golden eyes. She wore a white elegant robe that was almost the same color as her pale skin. "Have you forgotten that you're now my new host?"

"A Moonchester who's afraid of a snake?" Elis Ripperton asked with a smirk. "No wonder Aku and the Black Serpent didn't acknowledge you as their sister."

She glared at the Blue Dragon. "You–"

"Like I said, we're not your enemies," he cut her off rudely. "Elaine Moonchester, it seems like you have a solid plan to bring Aku Moonchester down. At first, I thought you're just all talk because you're angry at him. But now, it seems to us that you can be of use."

"I thought we agreed to never interfere with each other's work?" she asked with a raised brow. "Why are you suddenly coming to me as if you want to form a stronger alliance?"

"My darling husband's condition isn't very good right now," the white snake woman said, then she crossed her arms over her chest. "He needs a new body to possess. But since his soul is a soul of a god, not even a strong Mana-user could become his vessel. Only one person aside from my dear son could contain Kyro's soul. Do you know who it is?"

Her brows furrowed in confusion.

She knew that 'Kyro' was the Moon God– the Black Serpent's father. But she didn't understand what the white snake was talking about.

"Oh, my," the white snake said in disappointment, then she rolled her eyes before she turned to the Blue Dragon. "Elis Ripperton, that young lady is dumb."

"She's just a bit naïve because she grew up in a small world," Elis Ripperton said, then he squatted down in front of her. He put one finger under her chin, then he roughly moved her head until she was looking up at him. "Elaine Moonchester, who do you think is the strongest human in the whole continent?"

Elaine's eyes widened in shock when realization finally dawned upon her. "Aku Moonchester," she said in disbelief. "Are you planning to sacrifice Aku Moonchester for the Moon God to have a physical body?"

"Now we're talking," the white snake, the Moon God's wife, said in amusement. "Elaine Moonchester, help us feed Aku Moonchester's body to my darling husband."

***

"HON, I thought you wanted to take a bath in the river," Tilly said while admiring the beautiful, sparkling lake in front of her. "Not that I'm complaining."

After they sealed Garnet Nystrom in his cave, Kiho somehow found a new cave thanks to the "whispers" of the snakes that came out of Garnet Nystrom's cave a while ago.

Then, her husband brought her to a cave that was a little further than the previous one. Upon entering, she was surprised to see an underground lake. The walls of the caves were covered with ice. But surprisingly, the water wasn't. It was so blue and pretty.

And it also looked clean.

"I thought we could get more privacy in here," Kiho said from behind her. Then, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "And I don't want you to get too cold."

He said that while trailing hot kisses on her neck.

Yep, there's no way I'm going to feel cold as long as he's doing that to my body.

"Hon, there's something hard poking at my hip," Tilly teased him, and she was rewarded by Kiho's rare hearty laugh. With the urge to see his smiling face, she turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. Yep, Kiho's smiling face was still the best. And yes again, there was no way she could resist that face tonight. "Let's not make Winter for too long, Kiho."

Kiho's golden eyes glowed in excitement, then he silently captured her mouth in a searing kiss.

Winter, baby, I'm sorry but I think you need to wait for us a little longer...

***

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