Mommy Villainess

AH, THEY hate me.

Kalel could feel it in his bones that Soleil's Keepers hated him.

A while ago, while he and his wife were in the middle of embracing each other tight, those children suddenly appeared while calling Soleil. And when they saw him, the Keepers glared at him. The kids also didn't bother to hide their hate towards him.

"Wong, you don't have to guard outside our tent," Soleil said to the leader of the Keepers, the one who seemed to hate him the most. "My husband and I need to talk."

"Master, can we really trust him?" 'Wong' asked while glaring at him. He seemed to be the group's spokesperson because the other Keepers behind him were quiet. "He might have been sent by Auro Moonchester."

Kalel clenched his hands but he couldn't blame the child for thinking that way. Thus, he did his best to stay calm and respond like the adult that he was. "I already cut my ties with Auro," he said firmly. "I no longer consider him as my brother."

His wife turned to him with a gentle smile on her face.

He loved her smile but he was sad when he realized that Soleil really lost weight. Now he hated himself even more for leaving her. Especially when she needed him the most.

I will make it up to you, Soleil.

"I understand, Master," Wong said. Then, he gave him one last warning look before he turned to Soleil. The kid's face softened up while talking to his 'master.' "If he does anything funny, don't hesitate to call us."

He wanted to comment on that but he just lightly bit his tongue.

They are Soleil's precious Keepers.

"I'll do that," Soleil said to Wong with a soft smile on her face. "Thank you, Wong."

Wong nodded, then he politely bowed to Soleil before he finally left the tent.

"They are so protective of you, Soleil."

His wife turned to him with a smile. "Those children were born from my brother's love and flame."

"Ah, it makes sense why they seem to hate me."

"They saw how miserable I was because you left me," she reminded him softly. "You can't blame them for hating you, Lord Kalel."

He nodded as an acknowledgment of his worthlessness.

Soleil smiled sympathetically at him, then she held his hand and pulled him to the sofa inside the tent. When she sat, she pulled him with her until he was sitting next to her. "Kalel, where have you been for the past few weeks?"

He turned to his wife and watched her beautiful face while thinking.

To be honest, before he went to meet Soleil, he was summoned by Luna who, for some reason, had gone into hiding. The Moon Priestess was currently using an old temple as her hideout. She didn't even show her face to him.

Anyway…

He talked to Luna and told him about his plan. He also told the Moon Priestess about his plan to keep everything from Soleil a secret. But Luna told him that he shouldn't keep secrets from his wife especially if it concerned her.

"Soleil, I'm currently working with Winchell," he said. "I know that he hasn't told you yet but it was the two of us who found the women that Auro experimented on."

His wife flinched. "So, you were the 'servant' that my brother talked about?"

"It seems so," he said with a sigh. "He keeps on asking me to do things for him ever since we began working together."

She smiled and touched his face. "Thank you for protecting the survivors, my lord."

His heart ached when he saw that genuine smile.

How can you forgive me so easily, Soleil?

"You're the sunshine of my life, Soleil."

His wife smiled and blushed. "Really?"

He nodded. "You bring color to my life, Soleil. I don't know how to live without you now."

Her smile grew wider. "If I'm your sunshine, then you're my gray cloud."

"That sounds a little gloomy but I guess it suits me."

She laughed softly before she explained. "You're my gray cloud because you're the only person in my life who didn't spoil me. You showed me the reality of life. Thanks to you, I didn't stay as the ignorant little girl that I was in the past."

"How can you turn something negative into a positive thing?"

She smiled and shrugged, which was an adorable gesture of hers. "Is there anything else that you'd like to report to me?"

He fell silent while thinking.

To be honest, he didn't really want to tell Soleil about her plan. But after seeing how much trust his wife had for him, he changed his mind.

"Soleil, Auro offered me a deal."

Soleil's eyes widened in shock. "What kind of deal?"

Kalel took a deep breath before he responded. "Auro wants me to give your heart to him, Soleil."

***

SOLEIL sighed after hearing the offer that Auro made to Kalel, and how Kalel planned to pretend to 'accept' it. "So, you're saying that you'll be working with Luna?"

Kalel nodded slowly. "I will pretend to accept Auro's deal and give your heart to him. But before he gets a hold of your heart, Luna will 'steal' it from me using the Holy Scepter. After that, Luna will heal you. My goal is to find the reason why Auro wants your heart."

She nodded slowly as if she was absorbing everything that he was telling her. "So, you're saying that you have to rip my heart out?"

At first, she was a little hurt to know that Kalel planned to rip her hearty out even if it was only to gain Auro Moonchester's trust.

But now that she was about to declare war on the young emperor, she realized that she had to make sacrifices. Most of all, she knew that it was a hard decision for her husband as well. She could see it in his eyes.

He bowed to her. "I'm sorry, Soleil. I know that it will hurt so I will understand if you don't agree with my plan–"

"Let's do it."

He raised her head and met her now glowing eyes. "It's going to hurt, Soleil."

She smiled and pinched his cheek. "I'm sure you'll do it painlessly."

"Soleil…"

She held her hand and squeezed it. "Lord Kalel, I will declare war on Auro Moonchester. I will lead my people to a war that they didn't wish for. I don't mind sacrificing myself for their sake. Moreover, you won't let me die, right?"

"I won't," Kalel promised her, then he hugged her tight. "I won't let Auro get what he wants from you, Soleil."

Soleil smiled and nodded. "We will win this fight, Lord Kalel."

***

SOLEIL smiled while looking up at Auro Moonchester who was standing in the middle of a makeshift stage in the plaza.

Today was the first day of the week-long celebration of the empire's founding.

Thus, the young emperor came out of his palace to celebrate with the commoners. For that reason, she decided to give Auro Moonchester a present.

And now, her present drained the color on his face.

"Did you like my present, Your Majesty?" Soleil asked while pointing at the huge sphere of water floating above her. "This is my gift to the poor people of this empire."

Inside the huge sphere of water, a recorded video from a spirit stone was currently playing.

In that video, the survivors from Auro Moonchester's experiment were talking about what they went through. Of course, the women's faces were blurred. Some of the babies that were born in the shelter were also shown in the video.

The babies were half human-half Crades.

Of course, everyone who witnessed the horrible scenes was in chaos right now.

The royal knights tried to arrest her and break the sphere, but to no avail.

After all, she was surrounded by her Keepers and the sphere was protected by Solaris' protective spell.

"How dare you fabricate evidence to condemn me for a crime that I didn't commit?" Auro Moonchester snarled at her. "Lady Soleil of the Fire Mage clan, are you declaring a war on the empire?"

"I'm declaring a war on you, Auro Moonchester," Soleil declared bravely. "An evil person like you doesn't deserve to lead the empire."

***

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