“Thank you, Father…”
In a voice filled with strange relief, she expressed her gratitude and went to sleep. Kael was taken aback.
At first, he just thought that Vitaria pitied Lavinia and took her side, but seeing her trembling body and how she went to sleep as he comforted her, Kael felt like there was more to it than just pity.
And it wasn’t just him,
“She is acting strangely…”
Imperia commented as she stared at her sister. Since the two were born on the same day, she was closer to Vitaria compared to the others, even if the difference was somewhat negligible.
“Indeed. It was almost as if… she was not talking about that girl but… someone else.”
Igni observed, narrowing his eyes as he stared at his baby sister sleeping in her father’s arms. Even Cirri, who would usually not leave a chance to shoot a jab at Vitaria, observed silently.
“Who could she possibly be talking about?”
Kael questioned.
The words ‘you put her in a position where she could now lose again’ scared him.
“Herself.”
Igni answered, and Kael’s heart shuddered.
“Herself?”
He questioned, still denying the possibility.
“She is only a child.”
“It might not truly be her.”
Igni replied, confusing Kael even further. He stared at his firstborn, confused.
“Father, I do not know much about the Celestial Fox. What I do know, however, is that all of us have inherited some sort of knowledge—knowledge that is not truly ours.”
Kael nodded at those words,
Dragon Knowledge and Fox Knowledge, he knew about it.
“The one she was talking about might not be truly herself, but it could be related to that… knowledge.”
Igni answered, and this time, Kael turned silent.
He stared at his Fox, and seeing her sleeping so early, he knew she was exhausted. She had indeed worked a lot today.
Imperia was different; she only told him what Xix’rah told her. But Vitaria didn’t have an army helping her—she had to do everything on her own. It would be more surprising if she wasn’t exhausted.
Kael thought about it for a moment and decided to let her sleep. He himself decided to skip his training and just spend time with his children while Vitaria slept in his arms.
As for Vitaria’s strange reaction—for now, since he didn’t know enough, he decided not to think about it.
‘Do not betray her, Father.
Please.’
These were the words Vitaria used, and if she was indeed talking about herself here, then he had nothing to worry about.
Never in his life will he ever betray or hurt his children, no matter what they become in the future.
With that thought settling in his mind, Kael smiled lightly. He very gently patted his daughter’s body as he stood up and walked towards the rest of his children.
Igni and the others understood what he was thinking and smiled. They wanted to skip the training today too.
For the next 2 hours, the father and children continued to talk about random topics. Then, Imperia decided it was time for them to sleep.
Obviously, no one went against Mother’s instructions.
Time passed. In the morning, Kael and Cirri woke up and entered the Tempest Sanctum. They failed again, but they were getting closer and closer.
After the Trial, Kael returned to his Sanctuary and spent some more time with his children until,
“Father.”
Imperia called out.
“She is awake.”
Kael nodded. As he was about to walk out of the Sanctuary, Vitaria jumped into his arms, wanting to follow him. Kael didn’t say anything either. He would have called her out eventually—after all, he still needed her to escape the district.
“Who ar—”
Lavinia, who had just woken up, jerked as she saw a man coming out of a strange portal right in front of her. Soon, however, she returned to her senses and nodded at Kael.
Kael nodded back.
“I hope you had a good rest.”
He spoke with a light smile on his face.
“Yes.”
Lavinia nodded again.
Just as Vitaria mentioned, she seemed uncertain. On one side, she wanted to talk, but on the other, she wanted to remain silent and keep distant.
Vitaria just stared at her with her purple eyes shining profoundly. The expression on her face was unreadable. Her tail, however, had coiled around Kael’s arm as much as it could, to which Kael just started patting her, telling her that he was, is, and will always be there for her.
Lavinia noticed this interaction but didn’t say anything.
Silence fell over the room—silence Kael had to deal with.
“We should leave soon. Zarak has already informed the King about your escape, so a search party might be on its way.”
“How do you know this…?”
Lavinia questioned, a little wary.
“I have my ways.”
Kael smiled mysteriously.
Lavinia frowned at that. However, she knew she couldn’t force him to tell her his secrets; they weren’t that close.
She was still uncertain of everything happening around her, but for now, she concluded that she had no other choice but to trust this man, so she nodded.
“Are you prepared to leave?”
Kael asked.
“Should we… really move during the day?”
Lavinia questioned back.
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine.
You can trust me.”
“…Alright.”
Lavinia nodded.
“Let’s take a bath first. We do not know when we will get the opportunity again.”
Kael spoke. Lavinia nodded and walked towards the bathroom. Standing near the bathroom door, she stared at Kael, as if asking if he wanted to use it first.
Kael shook his head.
“You go first.”
Lavinia nodded and walked in.
After the two were done bathing, they had breakfast. Once again, Kael became the food tester—the princess wouldn’t eat anything he didn’t eat, so he took the first bite out of every dish served. Vitaria ate with them while the rest of Kael’s children ate inside the Sanctuary.
Once they were done, the two wore their cloaks and checked out of the inn room.
‘Father, there are three of Zarak’s people around you. Continue walking; Vitaria will take care of them.’
Kael nodded.
Vitaria got to work as well.
‘Father, do not go there. There is a Sixth Stage Tamer spy there. Vitaria won’t be able to control him. Take a left.’
Imperia instructed, and he took a left, just like his daughter told him to. Lavinia frowned, wondering why he suddenly changed direction, but for now, she followed him in silence.
The two continued to walk. Their pace wasn’t particularly fast since Lavinia was a Mage, but even then, in just 4 hours, they were out of the Crimson Bazaar District—completely out of Zarak’s sphere of influence.
Yes, the Princess and the Hero had finally escaped.