The group sat around a fire at the base of the destroyed hill, which was lined with rubble from the ruined castle. A fairy flitted around, inspecting the damage. She turned towards the forest, which was scarred with sizeable craters visible even in the dead of night. Flying back to the group, she angrily started to punch them individually.

  “Why did you destroy everything? This will take years to rebuild!”

  “Bme the undead, not us,” Adeline said, pushing the small fairy away.

  “I am sorry, it was out of our control,” Melora comforted the fairy, letting out a puff of air.

  “It will cost a lot to rebuild the castle; this will be a logistical nightmare,” Constantine sighed, staring into the fire.

  “Why would you rebuild?” Adeline questioned.

  “Adeline, we don’t have a castle. Where do you expect people to live?” Melora stared at Adeline with a puzzled expression.

  “What I mean is, why build another castle when you can just take the empire’s pace?”

  Everyone turned to Adeline, who was sinking her teeth into a bear's leg. They couldn't tell if she was serious or simply joking. She tore off some meat and handed it to the fairy, who was now perched on her shoulder.

  “Are you serious?”

  “As the Queen of Arbegon, I am suggesting we both attack the empire. Once we win, you will take over the empire, and everyone is happy.”

  “As the new Queen of Credoa, that sounds very pleasing, but it will be hard to put into action. The empire, by now, should have the full support of the surrounding kingdoms. That is more than a million soldiers, plus whatever abomination they are creating.”

  “That’s why we need to attack the surrounding kingdoms first. Once they start to suffer losses, they should pull out or die with them.”

  Constantine raised his hand as Melora nodded. “My name is Constantine, and I ran the information and logistic parts of Credoa. It is a pleasure to meet you, Queen Adeline. What you are proposing may be pusible, but we ck manpower.”

  “Only a handful of you were able to hold out against an army of undead. What you need isn’t numbers but quality.”

  “I agree with Queen Adeline,” Arthur, who was seated near Melora, spoke. Adeline turned towards him and scanned his face. He looked somewhat simir to the man back in Arbegon.

  “Credoan strength lies in the quality of our knights rather than the numbers. You could give a farmer a sword, but that doesn’t make them a soldier.”

  “We did sadly lose a lot of good knights during the attacks, but the nobles should amass the remaining knights.” Adeline took a moment to honor the fallen knights with two minutes of silence.

  “I think we can pull it off and finally achieve peace. Constantine, was that your name?” Adeline turned towards the frail-looking man who looked extremely young.

  “Yes, that’s my name.”

  “You should head back to Credoa and speak to a man called Tymon and start drawing up our war pns. The birds should take you there, I hope.”

  Constantine stared at the rge birds, which were now sleeping, then towards Melora and the rest of the generals.

  “Is there a problem?”

  “No, not really. I should be fine.” Constantine forced a smile towards Melora. He made his way to the giant bird which let out a small roar, he reluctantly climbed then suddenly flew into the night sky. Of let out a small chuckle.

  The group quietly ate as Scales and Alfred could be seen in the distance, having their own share in private as their rge bodies coiled around each other. Arthur stared at Melora and Adeline, who had moved closer to each other over time.

  “If you don’t mind, Queen Adeline, how does one become an angel-human hybrid?”

  “Do you want a piece of the world tree?”

  Arthur was slightly taken aback by how direct Adeline was as everybody turned towards him, including Of.

  “In all honesty, yes. I was very cking this time around. I have already reached my limits, but I wish to be stronger for our Queen.”

  “I have limited say in that matter. The one who decides is the world tree, I am afraid.”

  “I see. Thank you for answering.”

  “What is your name again?”

  “I am Arthur, one of the generals.”

  “You look very simir to a man who came to Arbegon; he seemed to be a highly skilled wizard.”

  “Yes, that is my brother Stefan.”

  “Oh, that makes sense.”

  Adeline resumed eating, then turned to Melora. “So, what happened to your father?”

  “We did a ritual, and then he exploded. But I also found out my mother was in fact murdered, and that he was not even my father.”

  “Do you know how she was murdered?” Adeline stopped eating as she turned to Melora.

  “I don’t know how. She used to be fine, then one day she just fell and never got up.” Melora remembered the vivid memories of her mother suddenly becoming bedridden. Her health deteriorated rapidly, with the family doctor unable to pinpoint the cause. Then one day, she was called by her mother, who uttered her st words as she passed away.

  “She was most likely poisoned,” Adeline concluded.

  “The doctor said there were no signs of poisoning; her core was intact, and so were other bodily functions.”

  “Is the doctor still around?”

  “No, he left the pace some years after her death. I tracked him down, but all I found was his dead body in some alley,” Arthur spoke in a low voice as Melora turned towards him.

  “Have you been investigating her death?” Melora eyed Arthur, who averted his gaze.

  “I have been looking at it from the day she colpsed, but the trail leads to the eastern continent, then it goes cold,” Arthur expined. Melora stared at the fire as it suddenly turned purple, releasing an intense heat. Adeline put down her food and wordlessly held her.

  “How can you conclusively say she was poisoned?” Varie spoke as the mood became more serious.

  “That is how I would have done it: poison her in small doses, enough for her not to notice, and over time it breaks her body until she gives out and dies,” Adeline expined.

  “How would they have delivered the poison?” Louie chimed in.

  “She enjoyed her tea breaks; someone could have easily delivered it that way,” Arthur answered. Adeline stared at him as her intuition told her something more was going on between them.

  “The question would be why someone wanted her dead,” Adeline spoke as Melora clutched her hand. She turned towards Melora, who was quiet.

  “We will talk about this ter. It is te; how about everyone sets up tents and heads to sleep?” Adeline spoke as the group dispersed, leaving the two behind.

  Melora silently rested her head on Adeline’s shoulder as she stared into the purple fire. Adeline did not know how to react; she was not good at comforting others.

  “I am sorry for talking about your mother. I shouldn’t have been so insensitive.”

  “Adeline, you’re fine. It is just that after such a long time, I still feel her loss. Everyone does.”

  “If you don’t mind, I would like to know more about her.”

  Melora let out a chuckle as she snuggled against her. Adeline’s body tensed up as her face flushed red; she could feel her soft breasts brushing against her arm.

  “She was a kind woman; Mother always smiled. Unlike the Stormvilles before her, she did not wield the sword; instead, she wielded hope.”

  “She sounds like a great person. Why did she marry that guy then?”

  “It was an arranged marriage to satisfy the noble factions. Credoa needs to be unified; that is one of my responsibilities. They tied her up and put her in a cage, but her smile and warmth did not waver.”

  “I think she was happy because she always had someone around to support and love her.”

  “Are you talking about my actual father?”

  “Yes, did you ever find out who it was?”

  “No, I never looked into it.”

  “Do you want to know?”

  “I am unsure; I haven’t come to terms with a lot of things. You could say I am running from my problems.” Melora let out a small ugh.

  “We are all running from something.” Adeline stared into the purple fmes as she contempted.

  “But I am always running towards you.” Melora’s grip became firm as she sank her head into Adeline’s sturdy arms. She took in her familiar scent of blood; this would not appeal to a normal person, but to Melora, it was comforting. Adeline had never been in a romantic retionship with anyone before; most sane people would avoid her. So this was uncharted territory for her.

  “I uhhh…” Adeline stumbled on her words as her heart started to beat faster.

  “Your heart is beating as hard as mine,” Melora let out a small chuckle.

  “I didn’t know you saw me this way,” Adeline spoke with a dry voice.

  “Neither did I, but I always find myself longing for you. I have missed you dearly.” Melora raised her body and reached towards Adeline’s face as the two stared at each other. Adeline stared into her deep brown eyes, then quickly turned away.

  “What’s wrong, Adeline?” Melora tried to reach out towards her but was stopped by Adeline. Her heart sank as she tried to understand what was happening.

  “Did I come on too hard? Was it something I said?”

  “No, Melora, I just don’t know if I deserve this.” Melora got up from her seat, then kneeled in front of her. She pced both of her hands over hers; after some time, Adeline finally faced her.

  “Tell me your story, please. Let me help you as you have helped me.” Adeline lightly shook her head as she held back the flooding memories.

  “I am not a good person, Melora.”

  “I will be the judge of that; just let me in.” Melora gripped her hands as the two shared a brief gnce.

  “Where do I even begin? I am not even from this pce.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I am from a pce called Earth. I died there, then the goddess brought me here.” Melora thought Adeline was joking, but her serious face told her otherwise. Melora remained quiet as Adeline continued.

  “I was born an orphan, had to fight for everything, and that changed me. I became a brat who hurt others to get what I wanted, and over time I simply did it because I enjoyed the thrill. I was the lowest filth, and I deserved to die. Such a person does not deserve happiness. I don’t deserve you.” Adeline spoke with a heavy heart.

  “I won’t tell you whether you are right or wrong; that is something for you to decide. But what I do know is that my feelings towards you will never change.”

  Adeline stared at Melora with an affectionate gaze. She reached out to her as she parted her golden hair. Melora rubbed her cheeks against her hand; everything just seemed right. Adeline pulled Melora towards her as the two shared a passionate kiss under the moonlight. They held each other tightly as they released their frustrations.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but your tent is ready,” Varie spoke as the two turned to her. She quietly pointed to the side as the two rushed off.