No previous day
After dinner, the Venhorst family said goodbye, and John went to bed early, with that somewhat satisfied smile, thinking about the visit he would make to the city of Novo Redondo the next day.
Meanwhile, Fernando and Catarina were in the room, involved in a conversation that was pure fire — a heat different from that of battle, full of desire and complicity.
Catarina, nestled against Fernando's broad chest, spoke in a soft voice, almost a whisper that made the air seem denser. Her fingers drew slow circles on his arm.
— Honey, is John going to visit Novo Redondo alone tomorrow? — I asked , looking straight into his eyes, as if searching for a silent promise.
Fernando conveyed, kissed her forehead with a tenderness that seemed to hold even the darkest secrets, and replied, his voice shared with confidence:
— You don't need to worry. I've already sent Ceto to observe them in secret.
Catarina's body instantly relaxed, as if his simple touch erased all her worries. Fernando then pulled her closer, his gaze dropping to the curve of her neck. Their eyes met, and desire crackled like sparks in gasoline.
Lips intertwined urgently, tongues dancing silently, as if to a song that only they could hear. But suddenly, Fernando stopped, as if a shadow had passed through the light of the moment.
— What's wrong? Why did you stop? — Catarina said, her tone tinged with frustration, her eyes wide.
Fernando, now only in his pants, took his time looking and was a little late, but his voice came back, firm and urgent:
— Someone broke into the castle... He's heading to Junior's room.
Silence fell in the room. Catarina sat up quickly, taking control , while her hands already summoned a robe that covered her silhouette with the fashion of a queen ready for war.
Fernando added, more worried than he wanted to show:
—Venhorst Castle is protected by powerful magic circles and arrays— detecting heat, movement, elements, and even spiritual energy fluctuations. Only someone very strong or very intelligent could enter without setting off any alarms.
He ran his hand over his face, staring at the window as if searching for an answer in the starry sky.
—If someone came in like this, it can only be one of three things: a legendary-level being, a master of magic arrays, or someone who has absolute control over the castle's defenses.
Catarina closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and opened them with a determined expression, ready for whatever was to come.
A yellow light shone brightly in the hallway leading to John's room. Suddenly, Fernando appeared there, standing firm, his eyes fixed on the hooded figure trying to force open the door.
Without hesitation, Fernando closed his hand into a firm fist and uttered a word of command, almost a suggestion transferred with power:
— Graviton .
The space around him distorted, and the gravity at that point jumped from 9.8 to 16.11 Niltons per kilogram. The hooded figure was sucked in almost instantly, as if an invisible magnet was pulling him into Fernando's clenched fist.
In a fluid movement, a sword appeared in Fernando's hand. He prepared a powerful blow, ready to unleash all his strength, while the hooded figure, resisting gravity, raised his hand — and a sword also appeared there, illuminated by a yellow light that formed a sharp beam and flew straight towards Fernando.
— Graviton . — Fernando repeated, bending gravity into a wave that collided with the beam of light, scattering it.
With a controlled sigh, he loosened his grip and sheathed his sword. Everything had happened in the blink of an eye. Fernando stopped his attack not out of fear, but because he recognized the familiar aura emanating from that figure.
In the next second, Catarina appeared with calm determination. She reached out, and her staff appeared, glowing with water elements gathered in the gem. Without needing to chant an incantation, she cast a spell:
—Ice prison.
A crystal clear torrent rushed towards the hooded figure.
But Fernando acted quickly. He waved his hand, summoning a gravitational sphere that swallowed the freezing torrent. The crushing pressure of gravity reduced the ice to nothing.
Catarina widened her eyes, confused, staring at Fernando. Why would he be protecting that intruder?
The rapid exchange of power, which lasted less than three seconds, raised no alarms in Venhorst Castle . The hooded figure had activated a magical isolation circle in the corridor, while the castle walls absorbed any remnants of the attacks.
The figure then lowered his hood, revealing a young, handsome, and familiar face.
— Felicia? — Fernando murmured, surprise written all over his face.
Catarina was also stunned. The woman before them was not unfamiliar.
— Brother, sister-in-law, I'm back. — Felícia declared, with a smile that carried secrets and promises.
Felicia spoke with a warm, almost provocative smile, while a vein began to pulsate on Fernando's forehead. Irritated, he crossed his arms and blurted out, his voice full of dissatisfaction: — Sister, what are you doing here?
With the smile still on her lips, Felícia slowly advanced towards Fernando, who tried to retreat, but was surprised by a tight hug. — Brother , I heard that I am now an aunt, I came to meet my dear nephew.
Fernando grimaced as if he had been abandoned by God, his heavy eyes bearing the weight of his parents' losses. He could already foresee the damage that Felícia would bring to their lives. "Why did you sneak into the castle? And what the hell were you doing trying to break into our son's room?" Catarina interrupted, frowning, her voice full of suspicion.
It wasn't jealousy of the beauty or the hug, but the idea of an aunt sneaking into her nephew's room in the middle of the night? That didn't make sense.
Felicia pouted teasingly: "Why should I tell you ? As far as I know, this castle belongs to me."
The vein in Fernando's forehead looked like it was about to explode. Before Catarina could react, he pulled away from the hug, his eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and disbelief. "Your castle? Since when? Who sold me this crap for the third time? Hm , hm ... And now you show up saying it's yours?"
Felicia straightened up, serious and firm: "As far as I remember, I didn't sell anything. You only rented the castle, you didn't steal from me."
Catarina was left speechless, in disbelief at her sister-in-law's audacity. It wasn't the first sale, she had witnessed the second and third, but Felícia had the nerve to call it a lease.
Already in the dining room, Fernando, now with his shirt on, looked at Felícia with a serious expression and asked: — Why did you come here without warning? What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?
Felicia yawned lazily, stretching her arms as if she were just waking up from a nap, and replied with a hint of contempt: — I told you, I'm here for my nephew.
— And why didn't you tell us you were coming? — Fernando asked, his voice full of suspicion as his eyes never left Felícia's.
She shrugged, smiling with an air of false innocence. "I wanted to surprise you, that's why I didn't tell you beforehand."
Fernando raised an eyebrow, knowing full well that there was something hidden there. Being her sister, he avoided pressing too much—she would tell him when she thought it was convenient, if she thought it was necessary.
— It's too late to sleep. We'll talk more calmly tomorrow — he decreed, trying to end the tension.
Felicia didn't leave so easily. She stopped at the door, with a look that was half mischievous, half sincere, and asked: "Brother, are you still mad at me? It's been so long…"
Fernando remained impassive, he only replied dryly: "Let's go to sleep."
She, not wanting to let it go, almost whispered: — If you still want to get revenge, I'll help you.
Fernando cut her off firmly: "That's enough. That's enough. Catarina , let's go."
Felicia nodded, her smile now more relaxed:— Have a good night, sister.
They left, leaving Felicia alone in the room. She sighed, looked at the ceiling for a moment, and chose a random guest room in the castle to finally rest.
The next morning, Fernando and Catarina were in the dining room, enjoying a simple but hearty breakfast: bread with cheese, fresh fruit and milk. A maid served silently, attentively.
— The junior? — Fernando asked, with the informality that only he had the courage to use inside the castle.
The maid replied respectfully: "The young lord just left with Alex."
Fernando nodded, expanding his mental sonar to cover an area a thousand kilometers around. He saw John and Alex in a carriage moving away quickly. He retracted the sonar and called softly, "Ceto."
Footsteps echoed through the room, firm and determined. An old man entered, bowing respectfully. "My lord , did you call me?" he asked in a hoarse voice, weighed down by age.
Fernando nodded, without taking his eyes off the imposing figure. "Ceto, John and Alex are going to the city of Novo Redondo. I want you to protect them in secret."
Ceto bowed, ready to leave, when a soft but firm voice stopped him.—Wait.
Everyone turned to the source of the voice. A woman emerged from the hallway, her presence dominating the room. Pink, full lips, an aquiline nose perfectly aligned with a slender face, black eyes that shone with intensity, and an impeccable ponytail pulling her black hair. She wore knee-high red boots, tight leather pants that outlined every curve of her body, and a tight shirt that covered light armor, protecting her chest and heart — all exuding a dangerous and irresistible aura.
Ceto widened his eyes in surprise, and bowed down with a title.—Miss Red Dragon.
Felicia gave Ceto a carefree look, walked over to the table, picked up a piece of bread with cheese and took a bite. With her mouth full, she greeted him casually: — Good morning.
Everyone responded in unison, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. No gesture of disapproval for her informal table manners.
Felicia then looked at Ceto and asked, defiantly: — Old man, are you still alive?
Ceto smiled, the weight of years reflected in his eyes, but the firmness in his voice. "Miss, this bag of bones still yearns for battle."
Fernando interrupted the exchange to regain control . — Sure , you can go now.
The old man was about to leave when Felícia spoke in a firm voice, cutting through the atmosphere: — I'm going.
All eyes converged on her, tense and attentive.
Fernando did not hesitate to take a stand: — No, you definitely cannot go.
— Why? — Felicia asked, arching her eyebrow in defiance.
Fernando crossed his arms, his gaze fixed on her, full of warning. "I don't want a disaster to befall my son, now that you've offered yourself."
He wasn't joking. That woman's bad luck was almost an entity. Greedy as a dragon, Felicia had the uncanny ability to turn even the smallest chance into a catastrophe. She once volunteered to protect a prince from a neighboring kingdom. She went to the bathroom for a moment after eating too much and came back to find only a corpse. She nearly caused a war between the kingdoms with that blunder.
Felicia crossed her arms and replied, with that smug smile that only she had: "I'm stronger than that old man. I'll do a better job."
— I just want to see what my nephew will do when no one is watching — Fernando replied, his voice full of skepticism.
The sister kept talking, making excuse after excuse. Fernando was starting to feel dizzy from listening so much, but he gave in after two minutes — John and Alex were almost out of his sonar range.
"All right, you can go," he said finally, his gaze stern. "But listen to me: if he comes back and a hair is missing…"
An almost palpable pressure descended on Felicia, like an invisible fist squeezing her chest. Fernando continued, firm as a rock: "I'm going to forget that you're my sister."
Felicia smiled, confident and defiant. "Okay, I'll bring it back in one piece."
Before Fernando could change his mind, her figure disappeared from the room in the blink of an eye. He remained there, suspicious, hoping that luck would not deal that old treacherous blow.
Catarina, who had been silent the whole time, finally broke the silence, her voice worried: — Will John be okay?
Fernando nodded slowly, but inside his heart sank, fearing that his nephew would fall victim to the bad luck of the aunt he barely knew.
Felicia flew beneath the carriage, the speed so slow that she preferred to simply walk. It took them two hours to reach the city of Novo Redondo, but she could have arrived in minutes if she used her flying ark — she preferred not to draw attention.
When she entered the city with Alex and John, she realized that her nephew was a real spendthrift. Who would pay to enter their own city? Felícia thought it was absurd to pay anything in her own town — anyone who knows her knows that she doesn't accept that even in other cities, let alone her own.
Felicia spent the whole day following John and Alex. Little by little, she began to regret having come, because her nephew only looked around, wandering around the square, as if he were on a walk with no destination in mind.
When Felicia...
Felicia, who volunteered with the idea of having fun watching John abuse his title of young lord, soon realized that she had forgotten a basic detail: John was still a child of only seven years old. No chasing after maidens or parties, just a little boy who looked more like a peasant lost in the city for the first time.
The day dragged on, and Felícia, bored, could barely control herself from revealing herself several times — she just wanted it all to end soon.
That's when Iza, a mischievous girl, knocked John down and stole his bag. Finally, something interesting was happening. Felicia was excited, but soon she felt something strange in the storage ring she was wearing.
Suddenly, a ruby the size of a baseball appeared in his hand, flashing with a holy white light.
She had a bad premonition.
An invisible thread of her sonar attached itself to the boy's body, transforming into a mark—a mark undetectable to anyone other than a higher being, and which would allow Felicia to locate and sense John's presence at any time.
John, of course, didn't notice anything.
— This boy is so annoying that nothing will happen if I leave for a while — Felicia muttered, flying at high speed.
In a few minutes, I was outside the limits of Novo Redondo.
The ruby in his hand flew out, shattering in the air. Its fragments glowed, intertwining lights that formed a complex teleportation matrix.
From the matrix emerged three figures—human men, each dressed in their respective garments.
The first, dressed in white robes, was a Protestant priest of the Church of the Goddess. The second, wrapped in a black cloak that covered his entire body, emanated a dark aura — a priest of the Church of Darkness. The third wore a green cloak with hoods, his austere figure was that of a druid, a priest of the Druid Church.
For three priests of such divergent communion to be together without hostility, there could only be one reason powerful enough to unite them.
They looked around, surprised at their surroundings.
— We crossed half a kingdom, we are in the north, in the Venhorst territory — explained the white priest.
"That will be a problem," the black priest exclaimed, his voice thick with tension.
— Miss Red Dragon, you are very cunning — said the white priest, with a frown on his face.— Miss Red Dragon , how about giving back what each one rightfully deserves? That way we avoid something... totally exciting," said the druid, with a mischievous smile. "I refuse," replied Felicia, with a serious look. "Everything I took belongs to me and only me. I will not share the fruits of my efforts." "Miss Red Dragon , think carefully," insisted the white priest. "I have already made my decision. I will not give in." "Then there is no alternative but to fight," declared the black priest, abandoning his intention of murder.
The air grew heavy, the atmosphere charged with tension. Everyone was serious. The white priest weighed the pros and cons, sighed and said: — We are in Venhorst territory . If we start the fight here, Fernando will surely come. If Miss Red Dragon and Fernando join forces, it will be the end for us.
The druid asked: "So what shall we do? I cannot allow the treasures to be taken by this wicked woman."
Felicia, inwardly beaming, kept her expression impassive. Of the three, the white priest and the druid were average beings at the peak, the black priest was a superior being—just like Felicia.