What greeted Aizen when he stepped out of the portal was a faint green light, and then he was being hugged by his little dryad. Her body shivered when she held him tightly against her, and then her racing heart began to settle down. Aizen inhaled her aroma and planted a kiss on her head as he started caressing her back.

“I missed you…” He whispered in her ear and felt her lips curve in a smile against his neck.

Liafina was finally at ease now. She was happy, and then she reluctantly let go of him. She was still not bold enough to keep him in her arms all the time. And right now, everyone was looking at them with smiles on their faces.

She lowered her head and walked back to sit on the couch. She picked up the bowl of the frozen delicacy she had been eating, and then silently ate it. No one minded her behavior. She hadn’t greeted anyone else, but everyone knew that’s how Liafina was.

Aizen shook his head when he saw her eating her new favorite food. He was certain that she had been eating this every day, and she had been eating it more than just once a day. His eyes scanned the room and found that no one else was present here other than Liafina and the people who came with him.

“Be seated,” He told them, and then walked over to Lysaria. “Let’s go.”

Lysaria nodded to him and then led the way. She could sense where Viara was, and she knew Aizen had asked her to lead him to her. They exited the room and entered a long hallway. The Maids were walking around and working on their chores. When they saw that it was he who had exited the room, they politely bowed to him and lowered their gazes. They wanted to look at him, and never wanted to take their eyes off him, but he belonged to their Master, and they would never dare to be willing to take the risk.

“Lord Morningstar!”

“My family has come with me. They are inside.” He nodded to them and said his words before walking away with Lysaria.

He knew that they would take care of everything now. He could feel that Arianna had already sensed him, and she was tracing him. That was the same for Jalaisha. He could understand why Arianna didn’t rush to him, but he was surprised that Jalaisha hadn’t come either. But he knew that they must be busy with tomorrow’s preparations, so he didn’t mind it.

Azien glanced at Lysaria, who was walking a step ahead of him, and he saw her face concerned for Viara. She didn’t have the mind to appreciate the architecture surrounding them, and she paid no attention to whatever was happening around them or to the maids that greeted them. He didn’t say anything to her and just grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers. Her expressions finally wavered, and a sweet smile curved on her lips. Her cheeks now held a blush, but she didn’t stop walking and still concentrated to where Viara was.

The last time he had come here, Jalaisha had shown him around the Hall. He now knew every part of the Hall of the Blood Moon. And the direction Lysaria was leading him to was the section reserved for the guests. He was quite surprised when he realized that. Jalaisha had told him that Arianna seldom accepted guests inside the Hall of the Blood Moon. All the guests stayed at either the Headquarters of the Moonlight Inn or at the Prime-Branch of the Misty Chambers. The two premises were not far away from the Hall of the Blood Moon, but they were far enough to not interfere with the privacy of this great Hall.

He wondered who might have come that Arianna had allowed them to stay inside the Hall. Perhaps it was her Mother who had come here from the Devildom, but Arianna wouldn’t let her stay at the Guest Section. He shook off his thoughts and tried to sense the people ahead of him. He couldn’t sense anyone except for the maids, and then after they had walked closer, he finally sensed Viara and two other people by her side. Viara was fighting with someone, and he could sense that it was not too serious. It felt to him as if she was sparring with someone. And when he focused on the other two Auras, his heart trembled. He knew who it was. He could never forget about them.

They arrived at the Training Grounds of the Guest Section. And what greeted him was the sight of a helpless Viara sparring against a Purple Shade of Lightning. A smile crept on his face when he saw how hard Viara was trying to match the speed of Keira. He had seen Keira fight before, and he knew how fast she was. The only person he believed could match her in speed was Vienna. Viara was naïve if she believed that she could match her in speed for she had the element of Light. Yes, Light was faster than the Lightning. But the Nature of the two elements was different. Lightning was more eccentric, and it could move without hindrance in a small place. Light, on the other hand, was not that flexible. Had it been a race from one point to the other and had Viara been of equal strength to Keira, she would have won it. But when it came down to sparring in a small place, the trajectory of Lightning was unparalleled.

He sensed the air around Keira, and he frowned. He could sense the peculiarity of the air. It was behaving as if it was at Keira’s command. She was using her element of wind and caging herself in a vacuum. The vacuum enabled her to become faster than she already was. There was no wind resisting her movements. It was a sublime display of two elements, and he finally understood why those four False-Origin Elves had been helpless in front of her, and why Mervin had failed to even land a single blow on her. She was as strong as Mervin in terms of strength, but he had still failed to hold his ground against her. It was all thanks to her command over her elements, and her speed that was not to be looked down upon.

Viara tried her best to catch the Purple Shade but failed. Her opponent was too fast. And it was not because Keira was stronger than her, but because she had better control over her elements. Her opponent was suppressing her strength to her level of strength and still hadn’t faced any problems against her. It was nothing less than tormenting for Viara. She had even succeeded in making Xeina vary of her, but Keira was different. She was highly proficient in the art of battles, and it was evident that she had fought numerous battles in her life, and even faced death several times. She was toying with Viara as if she was a child trying to put up a fight.

Keira and Viara had realized his presence, and they hadn’t stopped their sparring session. Viara tried harder to put up a fight, and Keira started displaying her lightning element and its beauty. She created several sketches in the air using her element. She created birds, rabbits, and even a dragon with this wings spread in majesty. She did all that while confronting Viara. She even sent strands of lightning over to Aizen, and they tipped on his body before burning in shards of lights and shimmering away. The entire training ground was her stage now, and she looked beautiful covered in her lightning and lightened up the field. The Purple Shade was all over the place, and Viara’s Blue Shade was helpless.

Aizen shook his head and didn’t bother with their cat fight. He knew that Keira wouldn’t harm Viara. And he knew that Viara wouldn’t use the cards that could put her in danger. He slowly walked over to the girl who was sitting on the bench and looking at him with a sweet smile on her face. Her crystal blue eyes looked at him, and he got that eerie feeling of being naked before her again.

“How have you been, Lady Irina.” He smiled at her and slightly bowed.

“Lord Morningstar,” Irina stood up from her bench and bowed to him with respect. “I have been fine.”

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“What makes you come here?” He inquired and sat down on the bench. His eyes shifted to Lysaria who had been standing by his side and looking at her Master struggling against Keira.

Irina’s body trembled when she heard his question. She wanted to answer it, but she couldn’t. She apologetically lowered her head and sat by his side in silence.

He knew why they were here. His sixth sense had never betrayed him. He had always been aware of the feelings that were shrouding Keira’s heart. However, her resolve had shocked him. He hadn’t expected her to have made up her mind so soon. And her boldness to come here at Arianna’s Hall for him amused him. This princess of Zion was a silly girl.

“Irina”

“Yes?” She subconsciously asked, surprised by him calling her out by her name.

Aizen looked in her eyes. They were beautiful, and her heart-shaped face held beauty and innocence in it that warmed the hearts of people. He couldn’t help but smile at her.

“What should one do to the people who plan on harming his family?” He said his words in a whisper and used his wind element to make sure it was only her who heard his question.

Irina was baffled by his question. And her heart clenched tight. Her pretty face turned a little pale, and her crystal blue eyes wavered and shied away.

“Why do you ask me this, Lord Morningstar?” She asked.

“I don’t know. I just felt like taking your opinion on this matter.” He chuckled playfully.

“Has anyone been trying to harm you?” She asked again, almost in a whisper.

“Who knows?” Aizen sighed and then started playing with his light element in his hands. He formed a coin with it and twirled it around between his fingers. And then he formed violet strands of lightning that tossed up the coin of violet light. “There will always be people who would plan on harming the Morningstar.”

Irina was mesmerized by his display of art. It was not just the fact that he was able to use several elements, but also the fact that he had a perfect affinity with all of them. He was right, an existence like him, how could it be that there was no one planning to harm him.

“And then some people would hurt me out of their selfishness.” He said as he tossed the coin high in the air. “People, who wouldn’t want to do it, wouldn’t even realize it, would still end up standing against me.”

The coin landed in Irina’s hand, and her body trembled. The face it had landed with had the emblem of the Hand of Kosmos on it, and when she reluctantly turned over the side, she saw the fading image of Keira on it. Her eyes watched as the coin shattered apart in molecules of light, and disappeared.

“You haven’t answered my question.” Aizen reminded her as he watched Keira toy around with Viara.

Several thoughts ran through her mind, and every single one of those thoughts scared her. She had a feeling that Aizen knew about Keira’s feelings for him. She also felt like the man before she could see through the truth of the world. He could see things even she couldn’t. And if he knew about the wild thoughts in Keira’s mind, then. . . She looked up at him and saw a pale smile on his lips. His eyes were shining in Keira’s Purple Shade. Irina clenched her fist tightly. She was scared of him.

“I don’t know, Lord Aizen,” Irina said in a low voice. “I have never had to face people that had tried to harm me, personally. But I have faced people who had tried to harm my Master. She is my only Family. And yes, I had killed a few of them, and helped my Master kill the rest of them. There are still people who harbor evil thoughts towards my Master, and I will help her kill them as well.”

“I feel the same way. I will eradicate anyone who would try to harm my family.” He said and turned to look at her. He leaned in near her ear and whispered. “My Family is my weakness.”

His words were a whisper of the devil in her ears. She felt terrified of him. She didn’t know why she felt so scared of him at this moment.

“Would you kill someone you love? If they harm your family?” Irina asked, and her voice wavered.

Aizen stayed quiet at her words. Her words had made his heart uneasy. It was a question that no man in this world would have a proper answer for. He thought for a while. He made his heart suffer in pain as he imagined himself murdering his Love. And then when he thought he would fall apart, he had obtained the answer.

“Yes. I will murder my Love if it harms my Family.” His voice pierced right through Irina’s heart. “But Love makes a person weak, Irina. And I don’t think I am strong enough to stand against it.”

His last words surprised her, and she looked at him with misty eyes.

“Someone who loves me will never harm my Family.” He smiled at her. “That’s the condition to be in love with me.”

Aizen caressed her head gently and found her not resisting his attempt. He smiled in his heart and stood up from his seat. He walked to the training field, stepped closer to the two shades that were still going on with their sparring session.

“That’s enough.” His voice was low, but it reached the two girls.

Keira was the first to take off her lightning armor, and she smiled sweetly at him. He could see her face now, and his heart thumped hard when he saw the expression in her eyes. Her eyes looked at him as if he was the light of her life. And he smiled at her.

“It’s been a while, Princess Keira.”

“It’s been a while, Lord Aizen.” She replied and nodded back at him. “I heard of your recent exploits, and I must say that you are a scary man.”

“You flatter me, Princess.” Aizen chuckled at her words. “I am not as scary as you, and no, you are beautiful.” He said to her.

His words made Keira lose her composure. She didn’t know what to say to him. She knew that his words were honest, and this was the first time he had blatantly confessed his admiration for her beauty. Her heart was racing fast, but she didn’t let emotions surface of her face. It was not the right time to confess her feelings.

“Thank you, Lord Aizen. At least you are now willing to admit that I am beautiful.” She smiled at him and walked over to him.

“I never denied that, did I?” He shook his head and looked over to Viara was standing there and glaring at him. “See, you made my Empress jealous.”

Viara wanted to go over and give him a strong punch, but she controlled the urge. He was shamelessly flirting with another girl when she was still there, and she was still mad at him for keeping things from her. He didn’t even seem to care for her feelings. It seemed as if it didn’t matter to him if she was mad at him or not, and it made her sad.

“At least you remember that I am your Empress.” She said as she turned around to leave, but she found herself in the arms of her Husband.

“I missed you, my love.” He whispered in her ear and squeezed her against him.

Viara wanted to resist. She wanted to get away and let him know that she was still mad at him, but the warmth of his embrace was too peaceful. It soothed her heart, and the worries that had been engulfing her mind, faded. Her arms wrapped around him and pulled him in a tight hug.

“I am still mad at you.” She reminded him, but there was not a hint of anger in her voice. It sounded like a cute complaint of a wife who had dearly missed her husband.

Aizen planted a kiss on her head, and let her stay in his embrace for as long as she wanted to. He was in no rush.

Keira watched them hug each other with affection, and her heart tightened. The pain that had paled a little after seeing him was back, and it was stronger. She wanted to leave, but then she knew if she left, she would never be able to stand by his side again. She had a premonition, that if she survived this pain, then she will never have to worry about losing him. Her wish became her consolation, and she held on, wearing a smile on her face.

Irina stood by Keira’s side, holding her hand. The words of Aizen were still fresh in her mind. She knew what she had to do. She had to make certain that her Master wouldn’t do anything that would end up in her destroying her Love.

Viara finally separated from Aizen’s embrace and stole a sip of his lips before walking over to Lysaria and hugging her. She couldn’t understand why she felt that something was different about Lysaria. The feelings being conveyed to her through their bond were full of affection, and it wasn’t so simple. She wondered what might have happened, and then she decided to ask her.

“Do you have something to tell me?” She asked Lysaria as she separated from her and looked at her.

Lysaria lowered her head, but she felt her cheeks warm up. She wanted to tell Viara about what happened between her and Aizen, but she didn’t know how to say it. And she didn’t need to say it anymore as she heard Viara cry out in surprise.

“You did it?!” Viara’s voice was full of surprise. She couldn’t believe that her shadow had ended up breaking her resolve so early. And here she had thought that Lysaria would take forever to accept Aizen. The bashfulness of Lysaria was a sight she had never witnessed before, and she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You are going to tell me every piece of detail. Come!” She dragged Lysaria with her to the room where they were staying.

Aizen watched them leave and chuckled. These sisters really couldn’t keep anything from each other. He shook his head and turned around to Keira who was standing there with Irina. His eyes scanned her and then fixed on the dagger that was on her waist.

“What did you name it?” He asked.

“Love Crime”

Her voice made his heart tremble.