"All right, you're the boss." With Emma speaking up for him, Silas decided to let Remy off the hook—for now. He would deal with the little troublemaker later, once Emma wasn't around to intervene. He wasn't fooled for a second; that little stunt had been deliberate. Newly transformed younglings were always mischievous and loved to cause chaos. Normally, their destructive power was limited since their abilities didn't awaken right away. But Remy had already manifested his ability—and such a powerful one at that. There was no question about it: this needed to be corrected before he destroyed the house. Silas glanced at the gaping hole in the wall of Edric's room and turned to Emma. "Emy, give me Remy and head downstairs for dinner. I'll fix Edric's room and join you in a bit." "Emma, dinner's ready." Edric had come upstairs after noticing Emma hadn't joined them yet. But when he entered the hall, his eyes fell immediately on the gaping hole in his wall."What… What happened?" he asked, bewildered. "Sorry about that, Edric," Silas said, apologetic on Remy's behalf. "Remy accidentally blew a hole in your room. Don't worry—I'll fix it right away." "Remy?" Edric blinked and turned to look at Silas' shoulder, realizing for the first time that the little fruit was nowhere in sight. His eyes widened. "Remy's awake?" "Yeah," Silas replied, holding up the half-human, half-fruit bundle he'd just retrieved from Emma's hands. "Remy, you damaged your Daddy Edric's room. Apologize to him." "I'm sorry, Daddy Edric," Remy said obediently, his eyes welling with tears as he gazed up at him. Edric's heart nearly melted at the sight. The tiny figure, no bigger than his palm, looked like a cross between a child and a collectible figurine. He was so absurdly cute that it was almost painful. "It's fine," Edric said with a laugh, waving the apology away. Carefully, he took Remy from Silas' hand and held him up for a closer look. The more he looked, the more he liked him. "You're incredible, Remy—just woke up and already awoken your ability…" He couldn't help wondering—if he ever had a hatchling of his own, would it be this adorable and gifted? … In Aurelia, Lucien had fallen into a deep coma shortly after being brought home. When word reached Amara, she rushed to his chambers without delay. Her heart sank as she took in the sight of her son lying pale and motionless on the bed. Fury flared in her chest as she turned on the guards who had escorted him home. "What happened? He was perfectly fine before—how did he end up like this?" The guards immediately dropped to their knees and recounted what had happened on the Pantheon Battlefield. "Your Majesty, Prince Lucien started coughing up blood the moment we landed on Central Planet. He forbade us to alert Ms. Emma Tibarn and ordered us not to tell her about his condition. He insisted we bring him straight home." Amara's gaze darkened with anguish and frustration. She turned to the Aurelian physician examining her son. "Well? What's wrong with him?" After finishing the examination, the doctor wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke with solemn respect. "Your Majesty, His Highness… has relapsed." The words hit her like a blow. Amara swayed on her feet, barely keeping herself upright. "How is that possible? He was cured! He hasn't had an episode in years—why would it suddenly return now?" The doctor frowned deeply. "Your Majesty, during my examination, I detected an anomaly in His Highness' ability. I suspect this relapse is linked to his advancement to Rank 11." Amara's heart clenched as she looked at her son. "What can we do now? He's already at Rank 11—can he survive this on his own?" The doctor shook his head gravely. "No medicine will help him now. He can only endure it himself." As for whether Lucien would make it or not, the doctor didn't say. With each rank, his power grew—and so did his suffering. "Your Majesty," the doctor continued, voice tense, "if His Highness loses control of his ability, the consequences will be catastrophic. With no Rank 11 therians left in Aurelia, if he loses control, the entire realm could be consumed in fire. If no one can contain him in time, even Central Planet itself could become a sea of flames." Amara's expression hardened until it was almost stone. "You're telling me to send him away in his condition? That's no different from sending him to his death." This was her proudest son. How could she possibly abandon him? "But—" The doctor had barely begun when Amara lifted her hand sharply to silence him, then turned toward the kneeling guards.