KALE KINGDOM was a new kingdom on the continent.

It hasn't even been twenty years since the kingdom was established. It used to be a part of an empire. But when the empire fell, one man rose and started picking-up what was left of the fallen territory. Apparently, that man was chosen by the Moon God himself to rule a new kingdom.

Thus, Aleo Moonchester became the king of the Kale Kingdom.

He and his group of friends were apparently blessed by the Moon God with powers that made them stand above ordinary humans. That was when the gift called 'Mana' became well-known in the empire. But only the royals and the nobles had that kind of power. For that reason, the nobles only married and reproduced within themselves.

But from time to time, a Mana-user would be born into an ordinary family. But despite that, they would be treated differently from Mana-users with royal or noble blood.

After all, that bastard of a king wanted to stand above his own people as if he was a god.

As if his kingdom was the only place in the continent that could use Mana.

As if King Aleo Moonchester's reign was absolute.

Needless to say, Soleil Rosenberg hated the man even though this was just their first meeting.

"Rosenberg clan? Of course, I've heard of it," King Aleo, seated on his throne arrogantly, said while looking down at her and her aid. Obviously, the king was unimpressed by their visit. He probably only welcomed their envoy when he heard that they brought rare gifts for the kingdom. "People call you 'Fire Mages.' Am I correct?"

"You're correct, Your Majesty," Soleil said politely and with a smile even if she didn't want to. "We are called Fire Mages and we live in a small nation called Solarium in the east part of the continent."

Right now, Soleil was in the presence of King Aleo Moonchester in his throne room.

A gallant-looking young knight stood behind him and nobody else. But she was certain that the other knights were just next door.

Anyway, she didn't feel intimidated even though she was in the king's territory. Aside from the fact that Mola stood behind her, she came in the palace as a visitor. But of course, if the king tried to do something funny, she wouldn't hesitate to fight back.

Even if it meant going to war against the Kale Kingdom.

But I hope we don't get there.

Anyway, although she didn't like the arrogant King Aleo, she had to admit that he was quite good-looking. He wasn't also that old yet. As far as she knew, he was only in his early forties. No wonder he still looked fit to be sitting on that throne.

But the king's conventionally attractive look was his only saving grace.

Rumor has it that His Majesty is a good swordmaster, but his Mana is quite average.

"I've also heard of your nation," the king said, still unimpressed. "Apparently, your nation is known as the 'Land Where the Sun was Born.'" He smirked, obviously in a taunting manner. "What should I do? Kale Kingdom is known as the 'Land Where the Moon was Born.'"

That was a complete lie.

Kale Kingdom wasn't called that way. The king was just obviously messing with her because he didn't want to appear inferior to their little nation.

But since she needed something from the king, she had to put up with his arrogance.

"I heard that Kale Kingdom is a kingdom loved by the Moon God himself," she said with a smile. "It's an honor to be here, Your Majesty."

The king looked satisfied by her praise. "You said your name is Soleil, isn't it? And you're the only daughter of your nation's ruler?"

"That, I am, Your Majesty."

"I can't believe that your parents let their only child travel alone."

"I am not alone, Your Majesty."

He scoffed at that. "A female aid isn't much of a protection, young lady."

She just smiled politely even though she was seething inside. Mola was strong and she didn't need to prove that to an arrogant king. After all, they didn't care about his opinion anyway.

"So, to what do we owe this visit?" King Aleo asked. "I was surprised when I received a letter from your nation. I'm quite interested in what you've come for to offer to me."

He really said "to me" instead of "to our kingdom," huh?

It seemed like the rumor about the king's greed was also true.

"May I go straight to the point, Your Majesty?"

"Of course, young lady."

"I'm here to see the first prince," she declared, obviously shocking the king. "I'm here for Prince Kalel Moonchester."

The king now looked serious as he gave her a cold stare. "I'm afraid I can't grant your request, young lady. The first prince is ill. Although it pains me to say this, my oldest son's disease is infectious. Thus, he's now allowed to receive guests. I hope for your kind understanding."

He said all of that in a stiff way as if it was a spiel that he memorized to say in situations such as that one.

But she already expected that from the king, and so she came prepared.

"Your Majesty, winter is already approaching," she said, obviously confusing the king. "I heard that the cold could get really bad in your kingdom. Apparently, even nobles have a hard time keeping their homes warm and safe from the harsh weather."

The king raised a brow at her. "I thought you'd get straight to the point, young lady?"

She smiled and nodded. "Your Majesty, may I implore you to allow my aid to use her Mana to bring out the presents that we bought for you?"

The knight reacted negatively, just like she expected because it was considered a sin to use Mana or a weapon in the presence of the king. "How dare you ask that to His Majesty?"

"Hush," the king told the knight who quickly shut his mouth. "I'm giving you the permission to use your Mana in my presence."

She bowed politely at him. "My utmost gratitude, Your Majesty," she said, then she turned to Mola. "Put them out, Mola."

Mola bowed to her. "As you wish, my lady."

After that, her aid pulled out a handkerchief from the breast pocket of her blouse. Then, she dropped it on the floor. As soon as Mola did that, the handkerchief turned into a huge picnic blanket.

And on top of the blanket laid ten huge treasure boxes.

Each box had its lid open because it couldn't contain the red, shining spirit stones inside. The spirit stones resembled the gem called ruby. But of course, the ones they brought were infused with Mana that not even a king like Aleo Moonchester could easily get a hold of.

The king knew that, thus the sudden spark of interest in his red eyes.

"Your Majesty, I'd like to present to you these spirit stones called Vulcan," she explained to the king who looked thrilled now. "One Vulcan is enough to keep a palace warm. No matter how cold the winter turns out to be this year, you'd get warm by using our spirit stone."

"Interesting," the king said. "There are stones sold in the market with a similar effect. But you're saying that I only need one of your spirit stones to keep my palace warm?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said. "Our nation has only begun to open its gate to trading. Currently, one Vulcan costs one hundred gold coins. The bigger ones cost a diamond."

The king looked shocked by the price. "One spirit stone costs that much?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said confidently. "But as a token of gratitude for your warm welcome, we present all of these to you as a humble present."

It wasn't a humble present and the king knew that.

To be honest, revealing Solarium's precious stones to the greedy king was a huge risk. She and her people knew that there was a chance that King Aleo might invade their nation to get their riches. But they were prepared for it.

Moreover, she was prepared to risk it all for the lonely prince.

"You only need to see the first prince, don't you?" King Aleo asked, a greedy smiled plastered on his face. "Would visiting his room suffice, young lady?"

Soleil smiled and bowed her head to the king. "I'm much obliged to you, Your Majesty."

***

THE KING said his knights would take her to the first prince's "room."

But much to Soleil's disgust, the "room" was nothing but a mere prison cell. From the outside, he could see a stale bed, a sink, and a small bathroom. There was a window, but it had bars in it.

Moreover, she could feel a strong and powerful spell in the room that was probably keeping the lonely prince from escaping.

How dare they do this to the first prince?

And why did you let them treat you this way, Nystrom?

The corner of the room was so dark that she could barely see anything. But she could feel the first prince's intense gaze coming from that side. Moreover, as soon as they arrived, the cell got colder as if he was silently warning her to stay away from him.

As if I'd do that.

"Young lady, you may just look at the first prince from here," one of the knights who escorted her and Mola said. "The first prince is untamed so I advise you to be cautious."

"I understand," Soleil said, then she turned to the two knights behind her. "You may leave now. I'd like to talk to the first prince in private."

The two knights looked hesitant.

"I apologize but His Majesty ordered as to stay with you, young lady," the other knight said.

She just smiled at them, then she turned to Mola. "Where are our manners? Mola, give our good sirs here some rare presents from our nation."

Mola nodded and bowed politely at her, then she turned to the two knights while opening two pouches filled with gold coins and rare gemstones. "Would you like to give me a tour around the Thorne Palace? I assure you that my lady wouldn't take long talking to the first prince."

The two knights looked at each other as if they were communicating with their eyes. And then, they turned to her and nodded.

"Please don't take too long, young lady," the first knight who talked to her said.

"My lady, we'll give your aid a quick tour around the Thorne Palace," the other knight said, then he turned to Mola. "Shall we go, Miss?"

Mola just nodded, then she turned to her with pleading eyes.

She couldn't help but laugh at her aid's pleading look. "I will just talk to him, Mola."

The aid didn't look convinced, but she bowed and left with the knights quietly.

And now, she was finally alone with the lonely prince.

"Kalel Moonchester, you don't belong here," Soleil said, then she grabbed the cold bars of the prison cell. Without much difficulty, she as able to melt the gate in just a few minutes. After that, she entered the room. "Please excuse my intrusion."

She was met with a loud, hissing sound.

"Oh, right," she said casually, then she turned to the dark corner of the room. She opened one hand and created a ball of red flame on top of her palm. Thanks to the light coming from her flame, she could now clearly see her lonely prince. "There you are."

The first prince was sitting in the corner while hugging his legs close to his chest.

When he raised his head to meet her gaze, Kalel Moonchester's red eyes glowed dangerously.

Red eyes?

That surprised her.

The Nystrom that she met in her first life had beautiful golden eyes.

But he still looked very handsome though. And she was relieved that he wore clean and neat clothes. She would have waged a war right there and right then if she saw the poor god wearing rag for clothes.

"Lord Nystrom, do you remember me?" she asked with a smile, then she squatted down carefully to not startle him. His cold gaze followed her, so she made sure that she wouldn't make any extra movement. She knew that one funny move from her and he'd attack like a feral beast. "It's me– Soleil Rosenberg."

Her name didn't change because her brother, the Red Phoenix, talked to the Sun Priestess of their clan and ordered them to name her 'Soleil' again.

She didn't mind since she was reborn with her past memories.

At least, she wouldn't be confused if she had the same name as her past self.

"Do you not remember me?" she asked again. "I won't leave you alone if you don't answer, Lord Nystrom."

"I'm not 'Nystrom,'" Kalel Moonchester growled lowly. "And I don't know you."

He was obviously lying.

Gods and children "favored" by them would never lose their memories during reincarnation, unless the Plane had a heavy reason for doing so.

As far as she knew, Nystrom was reincarnated as a human because it was his wish.

That meant he wasn't punished, so he should have the memories of his first life intact.

"You're so cold, Nystrom," she said in an exaggerated hurt voice. "How could you forget about me after you left me and our children in our past life, huh?"

"We never got married, let alone have kids…" Kalel trailed-off when he realized that she got him. "Go away, Soleil."

She just smiled at his threat. Well, she was happy that he still remembered her so his threat didn't work. "I'm not leaving without you, Lord Kalel," she said. She didn't want to call him 'Nystrom' because he made it clear earlier that he didn't want to be addressed by his previous name. "I need you."

"What do you need from me?"

"The other three Ancient Beasts have returned to earth," she said seriously. She wanted to be playful when talking to Kalel but she knew that it wasn't the right time to do so. After all, she had another reason for saving him. Yes, even if he obviously didn't want to be saved by her. "Our Sun Priestess asked me to gather the four Ancient Beasts, and that includes you. Moreover, the place where the Red Phoenix, the Blue Dragon, and the Golden Tiger were sealed away was a dangerous territory for me to go to alone."

He scoffed at that. "You are strong."

"Thanks, but I still need you," she insisted. "As I said, I was tasked to gather the Four Ancient Beasts."

"I can't leave the kingdom," he said. "Especially not when my brother hasn't returned from the expedition yet."

He must be talking about Auro Moonchester, the second prince and the heir apparent to the throne. While traveling, she heard that the second prince was sent to war to prove himself as someone who deserved to be the crown prince.

She also heard that if Auro Moonchester won the war and returned safely, he would be officially recognized as the crown prince of the Kale Kingdom.

"But I heard that the second prince just got sent into a war against a kingdom far away from here," she said worriedly. "It might take years before he returns, Lord Kalel. I need you to help me now to keep the peace---"

"I don't care," he said with a hiss. "I'll wait for my brother."

"No can do."

"I'm not asking for your permission."

"Then, tell me what I can do to convince you to help me," she said, desperate. "As long as it's within my power, I will grant it."

"Are you sure about that?"

She nodded firmly although she was quite nervous. But still, she decided to trust him. She knew that he wouldn't ask something outrageous.

Right?

Kalel Moonchester, who probably sensed her hestitation, smirked bitterly. "If I asked you to burn down this tower, would you do it?"

Soleil didn't have to respond verbally– she just simply created a strong fire ball that was enough to burn down the whole palace. Judging by Kalel's shocked expression, she knew that he felt how powerful the flame in her hand was– and that she wasn't kidding when she said she'd do anything to bring him with her. "I'm willing to go on a war against this damned kingdom for you, Lord Kalel."

***

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