A TALE OF FIRE AND ICE

A Purpose, An Oath

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"TRAITOR..."

Mikhail Denver already expected to hear from Lady Hayward as soon as he took his mask off. "I don't want to hear that from a member of Her Royal Highness's infamous collection."

"We're different from you," Lady Hayward hissed. "Serving the princess is akin to protecting the empire!"

"Miss me with the b*llshit, Lady Hayward," he said emotionlessly. Now that he already revealed himself to the enemy, there was no use pretending that he didn't know her. "We both know that Her Royal Highness is doing stuff that wouldn't benefit the empire in any way. And one of those selfish agendas of her is stealing the heart for her own good."

Lady Hayward glared at him but she didn't have a retort.

Well, maybe it was hard for her to talk now.

As of this moment, Lady Hayward was being burned alive with his flame. But she remained calm because she couldn't feel any pain. If she did, she would have been screaming and crying by now.

He used his mind control on the lady to make her forget the feeling of physical pain. After all, he promised her a painless death. As a gentleman, he didn't want to take his words back.

"You don't understand Her Royal Highness," Lady Hayward said in a soft voice. "She just wants to be free and change her destiny. Is being selfish really a bad thing?"

"Being selfish is a part of human nature," he admitted. "But when your selfishness drives you to hurt innocent people just to get what you want, then you're nothing but a trash who deserves to be burnt to death."

"It's the first Supreme Fire Mage's fault why Her Royal Highness is tied to His Majesty for the rest of her life!" she said angrily. "What right does the Supreme have to return and make the princess suffer again?! Does she really have to make the princess miserable even in this lifetime?!"

"I don't know the history between the first Supreme Fire Mage and Her Royal Highness," he said indifferently while putting on a new pair of armbands. "But I know that killing off an entire clan without a valid reason is wrong. What did the Fire Mages do wrong for the royal family to make them as our history's villain?"

"The Fire Mages are traitors. Always have been and always will be," she said with a snarl. "I can't believe that the Denvers are Fire Mages. How did you manage to fool the royal family all this time?"

"I have no intention of sharing our clan's secret with an enemy," Mikhail told her coldly. Then, he bowed to her as a final sign of respect. The woman was an enemy, but taking someone else's life was still something he could never be proud of. "Goodbye, Lady Hayward."

"I'm cursing you, Captain Denver. I'm cursing you to fail to save the life of the one you loved the most in the future," Lady Hayward said bitterly. "My fiancé will certainly avenge me– remember that."

After saying her last words, Lady Hayward turned into ashes.

"Master!"

Mikhail was relieved to see Flint alive. It pained him to see the bruises and the cuts in that child's small body. But still, he was happy and proud that he was able to survive his first real fight. The ashes on the ground were proof that Flint was able to burn his enemy to death. "Thank you for surviving, Flint."

Flint took his mask off. Then, he looked up at him with furrowed brows. "Master, you don't look like you're happy with my triumph. The enemy was huge and had high Mana. But he was slow and not so smart. Still, he wasn't an easy enemy. You should be congratulating me, you know? Please be proud of me."