Therius shook his head. "My grandmother was very angry and ordered General Moria to destroy Taeshi's capital to the ground. Because I know Emma's mother and brother live there, along with ten million other Taeshi residents, I tried hard to prevent that.

I convinced my grandmother to stop her plan to destroy their capital as long as Princess Arreya surrendered, dead or alive. Then, I plan to persuade Princess Arreya to come with me to Akkadia, to make my grandmother happy.

We just need to buy time until my grandfather dies, right? I know you did a great job back there. Once the king is dead and I ascend the throne, we won't have any more problems."

Xion nodded. "Two more days. I deliberately wounded him in such a way that he wouldn't die right away. I don't want you to be suspected. If he died slowly, everyone would think his death is by natural causes."

"Right. In that case, we have two days to go to Taeshi and talk to Princess Arreya. If she is willing to come with us to Akkadia, by the time she arrives here, my grandfather must already be dead, and I will take the throne to become king."

"Good idea," said Xion. He was about to say something, but suddenly his forehead creased, and he gave Therius a probing look. "You ... how do you know that I have injured your grandfather?"

BADUMP!

Therius' heart skipped a beat when he heard this sudden question from Xion. He forgot that Xion did not know that he was a sanomancer who could know a person's health condition and heal people who were sick or injured.

Therius was supposed to kill King Cassius secretly by telemancy, but he did not do it because he had seen that his grandfather already had a serious internal injury, and he suspected that Xion was responsible for the deed.

"I ..." Therius looked lost for words. He stared at Xion for a long time until his best friend frown in surprise.

"Are you... hiding something from me?" asked Xion while narrowing his eyes. His gaze was so sharp, it pierced Therius' heart. The prince sighed and finally nodded.

"You're right. I'm keeping something from you ..." Therius said in a low voice.

Xion tilted his face and furrowed his brows. He seemed trying to guess what secret his friend had been hiding all this time.

His mind thought of several possible scenarios, none of them was good.

"Xion, I am..." Therius swallowed hard. "I am a sanomancer."

When Therius finally shared his secret, Xion held his breath. He felt suffocated as if the air around him was sucked out, and he couldn't breathe.

"Oh ..." Those were the only words that left Xion's lips. His expression turned disappointed. The Time Master then remembered various events since he and Therius arrived on earth until Emma returned from Therius' holiday home looking heartbroken and frail.

"Xion, I can explain ..." Therius said, holding his friend's shoulder. Xion reflexively avoided his friend's touch, and he stared at Therius with a disappointed expression.

"You know Haoran will become sick, but you let him be, acting like a bystander who did nothing... And for six months, you actually have the opportunity to heal him .. but you still did nothing. You let Emma cry until her tears become dry. You let her keep experiencing sorrow after sorrow until she fell ill and suffered so much.." Xion hissed, trying to hold back his anger. "You let her suffer even though you have the power to help!"

"What should I do? Haoran would still die if he didn't meet me. It's not my fault that he has a short life ..." Therius snapped emotionally. "I'm not responsible for healing other people. He's not my relative. He's not my friend either."

"But he's the one whom Emma loves ..." Xion said in a trembling voice. "You know how much his death made Emma heartbroken and miserable. But you still let him die!"

"If I help him ... then what about me? Emma will come back to him, and my heart will break. Emma loves him, she doesn't love me. You saw yesterday how she didn't care that I was forced to marry another woman?" Therius's voice sounded bitter. "If I let Haoran live, I'd lose Emma forever."

He loved Emma Stardust very much, and he had been so patient with her. But even with Haoran's death, she still had not returned his feelings. Therius was really disappointed when yesterday Emma asked him to marry Yldwyn to save their plan.

Xion understood Therius' feelings because he also had the same love for Emma. However, his conscience could not accept how Therius let Haoran die when he had the power to heal Haoran.

"If you really love someone, you just want to see them happy," said Xion hoarsely. "Even if it's not with you."

Therius was stunned at Xion's words. He looked at his friend with a sharp gaze. He found it unusual for Xion to talk like this.

The mountain hermit was very indifferent to other people's problems and never cared about things that were none of his business. But, why was he so adamant in voicing his opinion on this matter now?

"Xion, what do you mean by that ...?" Therius narrowed his eyes and looked at Xion without blinking. "Do you love her too? Is that why you want me to heal Haoran? You don't want to see Emma marrying me, so you want her to go away from me and come back to Haoran? Is that how you feel? Are you jealous because I get the girl? "

Xion stepped back subconsciously when he heard Therius' words spoken harshly. Suddenly he felt his head throbbing.

Was he that petty? Was he really jealous of Therius, who managed to get Emma because of Haoran's death, so now he was trying to make Therius feel guilty?

He searched his heart and asked that question to himself.

No.

Xion knew he was not a petty person. He loved Emma, ??but he just wanted to see her happy. Be it with Haoran or Therius.

He simply felt disappointed because his friend was very selfish and only concerned about his own happiness, not Emma's happiness.