Valerian collected a few things that Misericordia used. He wanted to have something to remember his grandmother. Valerie was also helping him, and the two found a broken rosary.

Valerie asked, ’What are these beads for?’

Valerian checked the beads. Both were using hand signs as magic was forbidden in this place. The young man said, ’This is a living rosary. When it is connected with a strong, it represents life, and when it comes undone, it means that the person who put a spell on it has passed away.’

Valerie frowned and replied, ’Such a sad thing to hold.’

The young man smiled a bit and patted her head gently. The two finished wrapping up a bundle and came out of the room. The one who was probably hurt the most was the young nun who served beside Misericordia.

Valerian looked at her and then at Valerie beside him. He sighed and walked over to her. The young lady was sitting outside on a lawn, and her face was buried in her knees. The young man patted her shoulder lightly. She raised her head, and her face was smeared with tears.

The young man knelt and used his hand signs, "I did not spend much time with her, but she was my grandmother. You spend all your time with her; she took you for her grandchild, right? This makes us siblings. I cannot ease your pain, but you are not alone, okay?"

That said, the young man patted her head gently, and the young nun finally could not help but throw herself in his arms and bawl her heart out. Valerian could not help but pat her head as she let go of her order.

After a few minutes, when Nun Gaia calmed down, she said, "I do not believe in mercy anymore, big brother. What should I do?"

Valerian broke the embrace and said, ’Your belief is not hurt or shaken. It is you who is hurt. If you do not wish to stay here, you can go to some other place, and many people in the world need help, like the ones on the Eastern continent. What you learned from her lives inside you. As long as you carry on doing what you believe in and what you learned. She will live on.’

The young nun was confused. After a few minutes, she asked, "What you say is true?"

Valerian nodded with a smile on his face. Gaia calmed down and talked about little things she knew about Misericordia. Valerian chuckled when he heard them. To think that the Saintess of an order could be this clumsy. But thinking over it, these things about her were why the order of mercy loved her.

The people talked with each other, and the temple set up the election for the new Saintess. The higher-ups of the temple voted for Solaris to take the position. In the past, she organized and dealt with things in the southern continent.

Valerian invited her to the meeting at Titan Peak, and the lady agreed. Afterward, Gaia came to Solaris and expressed wanting to leave the Haven.

Solaris nodded and told her that she would assign her a suitable duty in some time.

...

Fortuna bought Valerian, Fragrantia, and Valerie to the gates of the Lumen Imperial City. The prince asked, ’Why are we not getting inside?’

Fortuna returned to her human form while Fragrantia said, "That is because you have yet to face the people. The city of Lumen is not like what it was before.

In the past five years, the way of trade and culture of the outer circle has changed, and the people live a comfortable life. They all thank you for this. Azula just told me that they all are out on the streets and the roads decorating the city to welcome the Silver Prince."

Valerian sighed and nodded. Valerie thought of something and asked, "Can I ride a pony with him?"

Fragrantia smiled and said, "Yes, you can."

The girl clapped her hands in excitement. Fortuna could not help but poke Valerie’s nose and asked, "How come you are more excited about riding a pony than a dragon?"

The little girl stuck out her tongue, and Fortuna said, "I will return to the dragon kingdom. I need to set up a few things in motion. Val, I will meet you back at the Titan Peak."

The young man nodded, and the lady flew away after a hug. Fragrantia asked confusedly, "Val, why did you invite Solaris and Fortuna to Titan Peak?"

The young man replied, ’I will tell you once we reach the palace. Something bad is heading our way.’

Fragrantia was surprised, but she did not say anything more. This was not the place or the time to discuss something like this. As they were talking, a military escort arrived. The guards all jumped off their mounts and greeted the three people.

Valerian found out earlier that Fragrantia and Libra adopted Valerie. The guards had bought a white flame horse for Valerian and a carriage for the princess and the Empress.

However, Valerie sat before Valerian as the two people rode the horse. Fragrantia sat in the carriage with a smile on her face. The carriage was an open one, and Valerian rode beside her.

Valerie suddenly giggled and said, "Maa, you know, when we met, Big Brother used to take me around on a horse like this."

Fragrantia smiled, and the two women chatted as the convoy moved forward. They were about to enter the city from the eastern gate in no time. The guard captain said, "Your Highness, welcome home."

Valerian smiled, but when he crossed the threshold of the city gates. He could not help but stop breathing for a while. Fragrantia smiled and said, "After they heard that you were missing after defeating Tyrant, the entire city was so gloomy for the coming months. It was as if a plague had settled upon us."

Valerian looked around and found all the streets to be filled with people. Wherever he looked, people were cheering and smiling at him. He could hear them cheering and whistling randomly.

However, they suddenly fell silent and spoke together, "Welcome home, Your Highness!"

Valerian shivered, and his hair stood up on its end. The young man did not expect something like this to happen, and his heart surged. Valerie smiled and wiped a tear from the corner of her eyes. The convoy moved through the streets slowly.

The citizens all blessed Valerian with a variety of blessings. The young man turned to look at Fragrantia and asked, ’Do you have any news about Morgana?’

The Empress nodded and said, "She is still the same, waiting for you and planning so that her power is unaffected. At least that is what she says, and even Vali knows how she is, no?"

Valerie nodded and said, "Hard mouth and soft heart."

Valerian chuckled when he saw the pouting expression on the young girl’s face. The citizens saw this, and they all cheered louder. Valerian shook his head, waved at the people, and bowed his head occasionally.

The journey would not have taken more than ten minutes today and lasted an entire day. The people also came close to offering food. Valerian did not expect the people to prepare things he liked, such as the lily jam bun.

Valerian was very grateful to the people. He accepted all that they gave him. The sky was dark when they reached the palace gates, but the masses were still on the streets. The entire city was lit up as if some festival was on. The young man looked around and smiled.

He jumped off the horse and gave the reins to Vali. Valerian jumped high in the sky, and the wings of mana appeared behind his back. The citizens were in awe, their prince was not of royal blood, but he was the best they could have asked for.

Valerian flew higher and began to channel mana from his body to the outside world. The entire sky was filled with sparkles. Soon it formed a sentence, ’Thank you, everyone. It is good to be home.’

The crowd cheered, and Valerian changed the sentence, ’Please go home and take rest. You all have been standing over for such a long time. It is not good. Look after yourself.’

The crowd agreed, and Valerian descended from the sky. He hopped back on the horse and waved one last time before he entered the palace, and the doors were closed.

...

After bathing, the entire family gathered in the dining room. They all shared the food that Valerian received from people today. Then Libra, Azula, and Fragrantia came to the Emperor’s study. The young man told them what he had learned in the world of bloomkin, and another wave of distress was triggered.

However, Valerian consoled them that the meeting of the magicals and human dignitaries was only being held for this purpose. His words made the people calm down a bit, and Valerian said, "I shall go and find the allies from the past and have them all come to attend the meeting."