[25 years ago]
Sigh...
Orcenal Silverlane saw one of his partners, an old man with Eastern Styled clothing, shake his head sadly. "There's nothing valuable we can get here. Everything got absorbed into that baby's body."
"So we can make any elixir from it?" Orcenal asked just to be sure.
The old man shook his head again. "But we can have the horn and the meat."
Silence enveloped the site as Helena looked around her and squinted her eyes. She hugged her baby tight, afraid that they would try to attack her and sell her baby.
"It's my miscalculation. Don't be afraid, Marchioness," Orcenal said while glaring at everyone else. The man was trying to send a clear message to everyone that he wanted to protect the baby.
The troupe members turned their faces away. Well, the corrupted minds of ex-criminals and vigilantes with twisted morals might th
When Liam awoke, he realized he had done something terrible. In the darkness of the dungeon he woke up in, he tried to ask whoever was there to guard his prison cell about the most important thing."Is there anyone who got hurt because of me?"His deep and hoarse voice shocked the two Lycans guarding the cell. They immediately turned toward the dark prison room, with a pair of glowing eyes looking at them from within."Your Grace!"Both of the Lycan kneeled down instantly. It was not only because of their respect but also the suddenly changing air around them. It started to thicken again."Answer me."The Lycans gritted their jaws and braced themselves. "Some just got minor injuries, sir."Silence.The pair of lights slowly dimmed and disappeared into the darkness as they heard a low sigh."I am a
"So I did almost kill you."Harriet smiled. She asked the Lycan guards to step outside for privacy and also for their own safety. She told Liam what happened and why they couldn't imprint each other."It seemed that we are very mismatched from the start..." Harriet said.The pair of lights in the darkness brightened. "That's not true. You are... whatever you are, you will always be my mate."Hearing that, the woman smiled."Now, please don't blame yourself either, Milord," she said softly. "Instead of being stuck in this situation, I thought of a couple of ideas."The man heard her words and saw her pulling out a metal box. It was the item they had and the core of Liam's plan to capture Celine Diamond."If we can't imprint each other because I could die while you're imprinting me, then one of the solutions is to make myself can not die."
Ezekiel sat on a corridor sofa, listening to his mind connect the puzzle."If the Duchess' mother is alive... then the allegation about her murdering her was false. But..." Ezekiel massaged his glabella, "...if her brother's father was my uncle..."Ezekiel frowned hard. "Did I almost... having an incest relationship with my cousin's half-sister?""Pffft—"Ezekiel raised his head, seeing his wife snickering not far from him."Technically, it wasn't incest, though, Your Highness," Ezra said, walking closer toward him and continued, "Because her father was not your uncle."Ezekiel squinted his eyes. "Still, why can't my father give me some heads up...?"Hearing that, Ezra laughed, "Do you regret it now?"The man smiled, then shook his head. "I don't," he said. "Love is love."GASP! 
That night, Helena knew that Harriet had something in mind. Helena would never allow Harriet to leave the house if Harriet didn't become the best student. Still, it seemed that Harriet was sure she would receive the title of number one.For them, it was never a challenge of effort to be the best. It was more like a challenge of political prediction and success. Harriet knew she would be able to be the best student because she didn't have any rivals that were more academically and politically powerful than her.As Harriet won her challenge, it was only fitting for Helena to give her some leniency. But, of course, Helena would never let her daughter go out alone, and Harriet also knew she was followed.Maybe, that was her purpose...To be followed by Helena's men to the secret headquarters of the capital's beggar organization."Axias said that if he didn't meet your daughter that d
"Ehehe, peek-a-boo!""A!""Peek-a-boo!""Au!""Aww, what a cute baby..." Molly lightly pinched the round cheeks of Niamh. She placed the little baby girl on her lap and played with her to encourage her to sleep."I wonder why babies hate sleeping..." Yelan laugh-cried while stroking Baby Damian in her embrace, walking in a circle and rocking him occasionally."They kept waking up at night and disturbing everyone's sleep... Even now, they still insist on keeping their eyes open."Molly sighed tiredly too. "I wonder if they missed their Mommy and Daddy. But they're busy now. Even Her Grace was unconscious for two days..."While talking, they heard the door open, and then they saw Yesha bring tea and snacks for them, just like usual."Oh, look at us. So now we've become babysitters," he said tiredly.
Three teenagers sat with their mouths open, looking at the little wolf cub sitting on the main couch on the lap of Harriet. He sat upright with his chubby legs, ears all risen to the sky, and beaded eyes round like smooth marble.They couldn't comprehend that that man was the Liam Almandine they knew."Woof.""It's been a while, guys. How are you guys doing?"Harriet spoke softly, translating the wolf cub's low-toned bark.Molly's eyes were wide. She didn't know what to say in this situation, seeing how adorable the wolf cub was, yet how terrifying he was."We're all right, Duke," Yelan said in a low voice. She immediately swallowed hard after saying that."Woof.""That's a relief."The three saw the soft smile of Harriet and felt a little at ease. Yet, their sweat dropped down the side of their f
Seeing Harriet's awkward look, Ezra hugged her shoulders from the side. Then, she whispered, "Just do your business fast and enjoy us on our honeymoon."At the same time, Harriet saw Ezekiel turning his face elsewhere.Ezra nudged her shoulder again and made her stare at her eyes. "I know you want it, a honeymoon. I bet you're so busy thinking about having children at the start of your marriage that you have no time to enjoy yourself, right?"Harriet laughed, amused by her question. It seemed that only Ezra was keen enough about her struggle after chatting with everyone at that sleepover party. Maybe, only Ezra realized how envious Harriet was towards Miriam and Arai.She was jealous of their destined love.Ezra felt the same thing as her because she also wanted to be with someone who was not supposed to be with her."That's true. Let's enjoy ourselves after
It was a dark night at the rehabilitation camp. Everyone was huddling together to fight the cold while a young woman with a raggedy old coat was brought inside.The camp was only enough to stand against the wind that night, and everyone was given one heating stone to help warm themselves.It was the generosity of the Almandine Duchy to give criminals like them some sort of comfort. In other parts of Euclase, they would not be given this much, not even food.Even if it was harsh and cold, they had heard they should be released tomorrow. After that, they would be given manual labor job recommendations and supervised strictly by the authorities.They would also be graded each month. Then, if they were well-behaved and remorseful after their mistake, they would be released back into society.Everyone who got into the rehabilitation camp was someone who only committed a minor crime. H