Chapter 102: What are you doing here in my garden?

"It has been a while," Imogen responds.

"You are all grown up now since the last time I have seen you!" Looking at the menacing eyes, Yue lets out a chuckle, "Well… I am done with the job that Vita has told me to come to do. Kyrie will wake up soon," Yue adjusts her dress.

"Ah!" Yue lifts her head, "Tell Kyrie's parents that I am sorry about the ceiling. I have been accustomed to possessing little to no essence for some time, so now that I have gained more, I cannot adjust well."

Ian looks at the huge hole that Yue opened up in the mansion, but as soon as he turns his eyes back, Yue has left the place. 

"What did she say?" Imogen walks up to Ian.

"Vita sent her to wake Kyrie, and she mentioned that his memories will come back slowly with time," Ian sighs, and he leans to the wall.

"Are you alright?"

"I will be…" murmurs Ian.

The thought that Kyrie would see him as a stranger puts a lot of pressure in his chest, "I am not used to this."

Imogen remains quiet, unsure of what to say. Seeing Imogen struggling to find words, Ian lets out a smile.

"It's not that bad… I longed for this feeling."

The thumping of footsteps closes in from the hall. Marquis and Marchioness rush in and carefully look at Kyrie, checking on him if he is well. Seeing their child sleeping peacefully, a lot of the stress has taken off their shoulders.

Marquis Rowan walks towards Ian, "What happened?"

"Vita has sent someone to wake Kyrie up, so he will wake up soon."

The Marquis nods slowly as his face darkens. He does not want to see his son in a coma for a long time again. He would not be able to handle it.

"I am sorry," Ian drops his head and shoulders.

"No, Ian," Marchioness walks towards Ian, wrapping her arms around him while putting his head on her shoulder. She pats Ian's back gently.

"I am sure you did what you could. You came back with all those cuts and bruises as well. You must have done what you could," Ian looks over to the Marquis, nodding.

He frowns in guilt. Did he do everything he could? He feels he could have done more, especially for Kyrie.

"You should not blame yourself for things you cannot control. I am just glad that both of you came back to us…" Marchioness breaks into tears again.

Her husband takes her in his embrace as she sobs. Ian feels conflicted; he wants to stay behind and protect these people.

---

The night has come, and everyone has gone their separate ways. Kyrie seems to need more time to wake up, so everyone is looking forward to tomorrow. Ian joins Imogen, who is in the garden by the fountain on her own. The moon has been generous and shines over the garden with its silver light.

Imogen lifts her head to the side and watches Ian sit next to her on the floor. She turns her head back and watches the water splash down from the fountain.

"It is okay that you stay behind, Ian," Imogen says after the scene of Ian getting comforted by Kyrie's parents comes to her mind.

"Just give me more time," Ian takes out two small bottles of spirits that he bought in the market. It has been a while since he got a taste of alcohol.

Imogen scoffs, "Ah… When you didn't get your memories back yet, I was so awkward out. You were like an underdeveloped chick that orbits around Kyrie when you get excited."

"Stop it! Don't make me think of that!"

"What? I rarely see you acting all cute!"

"Shut up and drink it," Ian hands over a bottle.

Imogen takes a sip and frowns. 

She chuckles as she puts down the bottle, "It's terrible."

"Agree," Ian puts the bottle to his side. They both go into a comfortable silence as they emerge into their own thoughts to think of the latest events that occurred. 

Even when the alcohol was terrible, both of them would take sips now and then.

"Do you know how Erebus appeared all of a sudden?" 

Ian glances at Imogen, looking at the empty spirit bottle.

"When I went to the past, I met Phanes and Erebus when they were doing their trials. I guess the black mana stone that Kyrie possessed has been tampered with by Erebus, so he must have put his sliver of consciousness inside when he had it in his possession. There was a bit of essence in the stone that I used to reattach my arm, so maybe that explains it." 

Imogen nods and takes a deep breath. She stands up and pats the dust off her pants.

"I am going back in."

Ian nods, "Okay… I will stay for a bit longer."

Ian leans his head back to look at the moon. He stares at the silver moon that reminds him of Kyrie's hair. 

'If only Kyrie could appear in front of him, maybe he will feel less stuffy and pathetic.' 

"Who are you?"

Ian quickly turns his head, and his eyes glisten. Kyrie stands next to him in his loose white pajamas. Kyrie's messy silver hair glows under the moonlight, and his amber eyes shine as if he has captured the sunset.

"What are you doing here in my garden?" Kyrie frowns, slightly alert.

Ian quickly stands up and starts walking towards Kyrie. Kyrie steps back as Ian walks closer. His eyes are locked with the deep blue eyes that are staring deeper than what Kyrie is comfortable with.

Ian stops from walking forward when he feels that Kyrie might be uncomfortable.

"My name is Ian Ethern," Ian looks down and sees that Kyrie is barefoot.

"Ethern? Like Prince E..Ahhh!" Kyrie gets startled when Ian sweeps him off his feet.

Kyrie crosses his arms on his chest as he stiffly fits into Ian's arm like an Egyptian mummy.

"Why are you barefoot?" 

"Sorry?" His heart threatens to beat out of his chest, and his body starts to quiver from the shock.

"Let me bring you back to the bedroom," Ian walks into the mansion again, holding Kyrie steadily.

"Prince Ethern… You must be a guest here… You can let me down!" 

Kyrie starts to struggle to get off Ian's arms but stops when Ian also stops walking. He timidly looks up to peek at Ian's expression. Expecting the man to be angry, Kyrie's eyes widen when, instead, he meets with soft and patient eyes.

"The floor is freezing, so bear with me, okay?" Kyrie feels Ian's deep voice vibrating in his ears, so he quietly looks back down while his blush continues to go up to his face. His mind starts to spiral out of control.

[Damn! What is happening??? Have I met my fairy godmother? Why is the prince charming doing here?!?! I thought I was supposed to be in the town of Bristol! Am I getting sold for marriage?]