MIRACLE EYED Lance's curious face. She's now a hundred percent certain that Ms. Pen already told the two about her story. She felt relieved. The fight between her and Ymar was nothing. She hated his words and behavior but she could never leave him. It was just a scare to make him sensible again.

"I can't contact your father, Joaquin. Did he tell you anything?"


"You yourself can't reach him. He won't answer my call. What's the point?"

Miracle inhaled deeply. She almost paused when she noticed the change in Joaquin's scent.

He's been marked.


She stuttered, "Cong... congratulation for the successful mating, Sir Joaquin."

Joaquin beamed. The bashful smile he wore is a sight to behold. "Is it the scent?"


Miracle nodded. When she realized that Joaquin couldn't see her action, she said, "Yes! You look extremely happy too!"

"You praise him so much. Stop telling him that or else he won't stop smiling!" Lance scoffed. "This house is getting smaller everyday. I don't know where to sit anymore without being disturbed."

"Stay at the rooftop!" Michael chirped from the floor. "You will be our rooster! Squawk!"

Penelope entered the room with a graceful swish of her hips. Her face flushed with warmth. "Now that you're complaining, Lance, how about you gather some wood. We're going to use that this evening. We're running low of our stocks in here."

"What? Me!" Lance grimaced. "Do I look like I'm capable of doing that?"

Penelope sighed with regret. "You're going to hate my answer then." Miracle's eyes followed their banter with great interest.

"The guts of these mated fools." Lance stood abruptly when he saw Joaquin reaching an ornament to throw in his direction. "You guys only bullies me everyday."

"Get yourself your own mate. Buy one!" Penelope sat with Joaquin. The man held her hand gingerly in turn. He then mumbled, "Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, right?"

Miracle closed her eyes and strutted towards the door. "I'm going with you, Sir Lance!"

"Don't call me 'sir', okay? God, makes me feel so old." He rolled his eyes. Miracle struggled to keep up with his long legs. In the end, her feet twisted and she fell forward. "Ouch!"

"What? Too slow. Hurry up and don't make me wait for you!" Lance shouted. Miracle couldn't find which way did he took. She blindly move forward while limping. "Lance? Where are you?"

"Here!" His voice came from her right. She smiled. "Gotcha!"

"Just run. Dummy."

"LANCE? LANCE, where are you?" Miracle's smile froze. She couldn't find him. She couldn't hear anything from him too. She's alone in the middle of the forest. 'I should go back. I shouldn't have come for Lance.'

She decidedly move back a few steps. 'He was not nice anyway,' she consoled herself. In the end, she sniffed. 'He looks really great that I actually have a crush on him.'

Lance's image blur for a second. He perched on another branch, casting an observing eye to the little girl walking aimlessly under him. Miracle thought she had lost him. But in fact, he has been with her all along.

'This idea is quite heartless considering that she's just twelve.' He smacked his lips. 'Joaquin will scald me alive for this.'

Lance sent a wave of blue flames towards a bush behind Miracle. The plant shook noisily. She jumped. "What!"

Lance held his chin in his hand. He eyed the kid with grievance. She wasn't shocked to the point of shifting. 'What do I do now?'

Lance needed to see her rabbit form. He needs to personally witness the red flower mark on her forehead.

"Miracle?" Ymar's voice made Lance shrink back to his hiding spot. He was glad he surrounded himself with a spell that made his every move quiet. Although it can only last for a few minutes, he will make sure it's enough to seek for the truth. "Why are you here?"

"Was it you who's making the noise just now?" Miracle demanded.

The guy shook his head. "I heard you shouting Lance' name so I came here. I... why are you looking for him?"

Miracle crossed her arms. "We were tasked to cut woods for this evening. I lost him on our way."

"You lost him?" Ymar took a two steps forward to her. "I told you they cannot be trusted. They were fooling us when they told us they're going to help. The truth is, they want me to die. All of them!"

"You're just being paranoid, Ymar." Miracle sighed. "It was not them who sent our colony to death, okay? They let us eat free and look, we're going to have a new home soon!"

Ymar laughed without mirth. "You're delusional! It was Lance, right? I realized the way you look at him was always weird. When that Penelope came over to meet us halfway, you were there beside her. Acting as if you're going to help but in fact, you're just waiting for that Lance to look at you!"

"Shut—shut up!" Miracle jumped to cover his mouth. The two of them fell and roll to the ground. "He might hear you!"

Lance's eyebrows shot upwards with incredulity. 'She what the what in me?' He absentmindedly stared at the kids fighting with little to no interest. 'She got a crush on me. Wow. At least this little girl has her preference on the right track. Although Penelope might disagree on that.'

"Miracle! Wake up! He's too old for you!"

"I was just... I just think he's handsome and nothing else, okay?" Miracle attempted to fix her hair but it was tangled. "I'm a girl, and I like beautiful things! Is it so bad that I thought he looks perfect?"

"You don't have to like him, stupid!" Ymar's face had a swipe of grime on his cheeks. It made him look vigorous and childish. "When I grow up, I will be more superior than that man! More handsome than he is! What's good with him, anyway? He's awful!"

It was the first time in Lance's life that he witnessed this type of drama and he had no way of escaping through the horrors of it. He couldn't count how many times he winced. He began to feel afraid his face might stay on that expression once he did it too often.

"He's really great when you get to know him more! He's nice to Joaquin!"

"Because Joaquin is his boss!"

Lance looked down on his palm and sighed. 'When is this going to be over?'

It was when Lance had decided that he wasted his time in this unfortunate venture that a strange thing happened.

The Old Sy showed up with his teary eyes. "Kids! Kids! Help me!"

He looked even more sick than the last time that Lance had seen him.

The old man cried, "He's going to kill me! Please, save me!"

Lance's eyes narrowed. 'Now this is something.'