A Thorn-Filled Road Ahead

TILLY woke up in a hospital.

As soon as she remembered everything that happened, she immediately placed her hands on her tummy. She let her wrath take over and endanger Winter in the process. If something bad happened to her baby boy, she would never forgive herself.

"The baby is fine."

Tilly turned to the owner of the voice and was disappointed to see Captain Denver instead of Kiho. But the news he said was a huge relief to her. "Are you sure, Captain Denver?" She gently placed her hands on her tummy. "Is my baby really safe?"

"Yes. The doctor who checked on you a while ago confirmed it," Captain Denver said. "You can ask her later if you have other questions."

She nodded. "Where's Kiho, Captain Denver? Is he still at the castle?"

"What do you think?" the captain asked. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "The replica of the Red Phoenix wrecked havoc at the castle. Of course, it's the captains' job to stop it."

She gasped when she realized that. This was embarrassing to admit but she had been too consumed by anger a while ago that she almost forgot everything. "Please tell me the phoenix didn't hurt my husband."

"Your husband successfully sealed the replica," he said. "The captains received an order from His Majesty. Captain Sherwood left the castle with the emperor. Captain Ainsworth and I were supposed to take over while the emperor specifically asked us to make sure that Captain Kiho would take a rest."

That made her worry. "I-Is he injured?"

Captain Denver shook his head. "Captain Kiho isn't injured. But apparently, his Mana depleted when he sealed the replica with his ice."

Okay, that made her feel guilty. "This is my fault. I let my anger take over. No matter how much I wanted to kill the bitch, I should have been more careful."

"It can't be helped since you weren't taught how to control the phoenix," the captain said. "But you're amazing to actually control a mere replica even if it has a piece of your heart."

She gave him a dubious look. "Captain Denver, we have a lot of things we should talk about. You're a Fire Mage, right? And you know a lot about me."

"We can talk later," he said firmly. "Lady Prescott, this is not the good time to talk about that yet. After the replica went berserk, an investigation will soon follow to trace whoever or whatever caused it to attack the princess."

She swallowed in fear. "A-Are they going to find out that it was me?"

"No," he assured her confidently. "I've manipulated the coachman's memory so he wouldn't remember that you were ambushed earlier."

"You knew I was ambushed?"

"I had a feeling when I saw Captain Sherwood and I noticed that he didn't have his shadow," he explained. "One of the methods to seize the phoenix is to make your heart stop for a moment. I knew he'd target you so I rushed to find you. But I was still late."

"Wait," she said with a knotted forehead. "Are you saying that you knew the people who are after my heart?"

"We know that Her Royal Highness wants your heart," he confirmed. "We're also aware that Captain Sherwood and Lahara are working for her. We're suspicious of the High Priest as well but we don't have evidence against him yet."

She was shocked to hear that.

If Captain Denver and his people knew that she was being targeted, then where were they during her first life?

"I don't understand," she said, shaking her now aching head. "I feel like my head is about to explode."

"Like I said, I'll tell you everything you want and need to know later," he said. "For now, we'll erase all the traces that will lead the attack to you. Don't worry, Lady Prescott. We will protect you."

"Who are you with, Captain Denver?"

"The other Fire Mages, of course."

She gasped aloud. "You're not the only one…?"

He nodded seriously. "A lot of us survived the purge, Lady Prescott."

"How can you hide from the royal family all these years?"

"My family can seal a Fire Mage's Mana so it wouldn't get detected by any spell or device. Not even the mages of the White Tower can tell if a person is a Fire Mage or not once we have sealed their power," he explained. "We've been doing that for many years now. Unfortunately, we can't seal the special Mana that surrounds your heart. The only thing we could do for you was to force your heart to "sleep." So even though the princess found out that your heart is a heart of a Fire Mage, she didn't rip it out of you as soon as you were born."

She couldn't react because she was still absorbing everything. If Captain Denver's family made her heart "sleep" when she was born, then they must have been watching her since then. How come she didn't remember them being involved with her in her past life?

"Lady Prescott, let me put your heart to sleep again," Captain Denver said. "We don't want the enemies to find out that you have awakened."

"Captain Denver, what happened to Princess Nia?" she asked. She heard him when he said he wanted to make her heart sleep again. But she wanted to know about Princess Nia's state first. Now that she had calmed down, her conscience finally kicked in. God, she didn't kill a person, did she? "I-Is the princess still alive?"

"Her Royal Highness is still alive," Captain Denver said. "If she wasn't, the emperor would have gone berserk by now."

That was true.

She didn't want to admit this but she was relieved to know that Princess Nia was still alive.

"Lady Prescott, did you have a change of heart?" Captain Denver asked him. "Don't you want to kill your enemy anymore?"

"It's not like that," she denied. "I just realized that death is the easiest way out for the princess. I want her to suffer her entire life instead of having an easy death."

Yes, that was what her heart was saying right now.

Princess Nia made her previous life miserable before she killed her. This time, she wanted to make the princess suffer as much as she did.

"I'll start by making sure that despite everything, Princess Nia would still end up marrying Emperor Aku," she said firmly. "I want them to be bound to each other forever."

The captain smiled as if he was proud of her. "We will follow you, Supreme."

That made her head ache again. "Please don't call me "Supreme" yet. I still need to hear everything yet before it sinks in."

"Once the investigation is over, I'll make a secret appointment with you."

"And Kiho," she said that obviously shocked the captain. "Yes, I want to be honest with my husband."

"Lady Prescott, Captain Kiho vowed his loyalty to the throne."

"But he vowed his heart to me," she insisted. "I know that Kiho will never betray me. Plus, I don't intend to be the empire's enemy."

His forehead knotted in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"If I really am the Supreme, then I'll uncover the truth behind the Fire Mages' "betrayal,"" she said. "I have to find a way for the royal family and the Fire Mages to restore what they lost in the past. I know that it won't be easy. But I'd rather give it a try than live a life hiding from them and Kiho. I don't want to live in constant fear of being executed just because of my blood, Captain Denver."

He let out a frustrated sigh. "What will you do if Captain Kiho betrays you? Lady Prescott, I'll have to let you know that the lives of the remaining Fire Mages are in your hands now."

"Kiho will not betray me," she insisted. "I'll take responsibility, Captain Denver. If you don't want to get Kiho involved, then you better erase my memories now."

"My grandfather used to say that the Supreme Fire Mage had a stubborn heart. It seems like you inherited it," Captain Denver said while shaking his head. "Fine. I'll trust your decision, Lady Prescott."

"Thank you, Captain Denver," Tilly said. "Now, please make my heart "sleep" again."

"I need to place my hand on your chest," he said carefully. "Please don't think that I'm sexually harassing you."

Gosh, thank goodness Kiho wasn't there.

"Make it quick, please," she requested.

"Alright," Captain Denver said. Then, he gently put his palm on her left chest– on the area where her heart was. In fairness, his palm was barely touching her and she didn't feel like she was being harassed. To simply say, the captain was very professional. "Sleep tight, Lady Prescott."

Tilly felt a strange warmth from Captain Denver's hand going through her body. Then, she felt sleepy.

[I hope Kiho is here when I wake up.]

***

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