A TALE OF FIRE AND ICE

Invisible Strings

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[A few minutes earlier...]

AS SOON as Forrester stepped foot in the temple, he felt an ominous presence that could only belong to one person.

Could it be...?

He ran towards the direction of the aura that he felt.

Much to his surprise, it led him to the room where Princess Tiffany was supposed to be sleeping. On his way to the chamber, he crossed paths with Howard– the High Priest.

"Your Holiness, you've returned," Howard said in surprise. "Would you like to have tea with me?"

"Maybe some other time," Forrester said with urgency in his voice. "I have business with Her Royal Highness."

The High Priest looked shocked. "Her Royal Highness is still asleep, Your Holiness."

He smiled sweetly at him. "Howard, do you seriously think that you can lie to me?"

Howard looked helpless. In the end, he bowed his head in surrender. "I apologize, Your Holiness."

"Don't worry– I won't kill the princess," he assured the High Priest when he went past him. "I'm not like the Moonchesters whose only solution to a problem is to kill."

Well, at least he was trying not to be like the Moonchesters.

Hate towards the royal family was embedded in every fiber of his being. But he refused to blindly follow what his blood dictated. He had always known that his fate was to become the empire's saint. Still, he wanted to control the aspects of his life that he could.

His thoughts were cut-off when he finally reached the room at the end of the hallway.

Without even bothering to knock, he entered the chamber.

"Greetings, Your Holiness," Princess Tiffany, who was standing in front of the bed as if she was already expecting him, greeted him with a disapproving look on her pretty face. Judging by the night gown the princess was wearing, it was obvious that she really intended to pretend to be still unconscious. "I know that the temple is your home. But entering a guest's room without even knocking is still rude."

"I didn't invite you in my home so I consider you as a trespasser," Forrester said bluntly. "It looks like the church has favored the royal family while I was in deep slumber, huh?"

"Doesn't the church exist to serve the royal family?"

"We have a problem, Your Royal Highness," he said. "It looks like His Majesty intends to cut our ties soon. What should I do then?"

The princess looked genuinely shocked by that. "His Majesty intends to severe our ties with the church?"

"That seems to be the case."

Her Royal Highness laughed softly but in a mocking way. Only the princess could sound eloquent while being rude. Her gaze was also full of contempt. "If Taeyeon doesn't find you useful anymore, he probably intends to kill you and replace you with another saint that he could control. What a shame, Your Holiness. You just woke up but soon, the emperor will put you in a permanent slumber."

The children of the moon hadn't changed at all. All they talk about was death. Darkness doesn't equal evilness, but the Moonchesters make it look like so.

Compared to that...

"The children of the moon and the children of the sun are really opposites," he commented in amusement. "I recently met a daughter of the sun. She has a nasty temper but she didn't talk about death. But even if she did, I'm certain that it would be for the greater good."

"I think I know who you are referring to," the princess said coldly. "Don't compare me to a person like that."

He raised an eyebrow at that.

Her Royal Highness doesn't know...?

He was pretty sure that the princess and the emperor knew that Duchess Nystrom had the heart of the Red Phoenix.

But Her Royal Highness still underestimates Lady Nystrom...

He didn't know about the emperor, but it was obvious that the princess wasn't aware of what it truly meant to be the Supreme.

Your Majesty, are you trying to protect the princess by keeping her in the dark?

He had met Her Royal Highness as a child before he fell in a slumber.

Back then, he didn't see or feel anything special about the princess except for the fact that she was a Moonchester.

But now, it seemed like she literally had a change of heart.

"Your Royal Highness, let me see your heart for a second," he asked as nicely as he could.

Anger crossed Princess Tiffany's face. She tried to attack him but it was put on vain when his Holy Vines sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around her body. Her Royal Highness gasped in pain when the thorns dug deep into her skin.

He raised his hand and waved it.

As a result, the princess was sent flying until her back hit the wall. As soon as she did, four big thorns dug themselves in Her Royal Highness's hands and feet– pinning her against the wall while profusely bleeding.

The princess made incoherent sounds from the pain.

He walked towards her but stopped when he was near her when his nose got itchy. Then, he covered his mouth with his hands when he sneezed. "You're triggering my allergy to the Moonchesters."

As a response to his statement, Princess Tiffany Moonchester coughed blood. "Damn you," she said while giving him a sharp glare. "How dare a mere saint do this to me?! If Taeyeon finds out about this, he'll kill you."

"Oh, then shall we tell His Majesty that you're already awake?" he asked with a smirk. "I thought you told Howard to keep this a secret?"

As expected, the spoiled princess didn't have a retort for that.

"You're not the one I need, Your Royal Highness," he said, then he put a hand on the top of her head. "Good night, the spoiled one."

Princess Tiffany looked like she wanted to fight back but of course, she couldn't do that in her weakened state. A few moments later, she finally fell asleep.

For someone in her state, she's still pretty strong.

As expected, he couldn't underestimate the Moonchesters.

Anyway...

Forrester stabbed the princess's chest and literally ripped her heart out. Now, he had the warm black diamond in his hand. Unfortunately, the black heart was already in a deep slumber. It must have suffered an injury lately because its heartbeat was so weak.

"After so many years, you're still useless," he said while looking at the black diamond. "Though I don't think you have my Holy Scepter." He smirked bitterly. "You stole my Holy Scepter only for it to be stolen from you?"

If the black heart no longer has his Holy Scepter, he could only think of one person who would have wanted it for himself.

It was definitely Taeyeon, but that sketchy emperor couldn't have touched his Holy Scepter. And His Majesty seemed like he really didn't know where the Holy Scepter was. Also, if the emperor had it, he would have already used it to heal his beloved Princess Tiffany. But he didn't.

Then, this could only mean one thing.

Taeyeon Moonchester asked another person to steal the Holy Scepter.

"The Black Serpent definitely hid my Holy Scepter," Forrester whispered to himself. "But his memories are still sealed so he can't possibly remember where he hid it." He tilted his head at one side while thinking. "Should I awaken the Black Serpent a little bit, hmm?"