In the evening, Thomas Hillberg received a very short document with information about Michael Grayson, but all he found out was that he suddenly appeared after the Emperor Emeritus was poisoned ad tutored the new Emperor (former Eight Prince) for over three months. The last time he was seen was the day the Emperor Emeritus abdicated. He wasn't even on the coronation of the Prince Regent.
Reading the document, which was in reality just a single paper, Thomas was enraged. He sat in a chair and stared at the paper for a long while before deciding. "I'm going to see the new Emperor!" he announced and left with a few of his servants, the rest of the remaining stationed around the inn where he was supposed to meet with "Michael Grayson" again.
Michelle was sitting on a couch, smiling lazily, with Cold Flame curled up on her lap, sleeping as she kept petting his head. She knew that she didn't need to do much for her plan to be finished.
Suddenly, Cold Flame woke up and flew up, flapping his wings as white fire formed on his feathers.
Seeing how he was acting, Michelle smiled and stood up. "Our guests are here..." she turned her head to look at the nine-year-old boy sitting on the throne.
The young Emperor was surprised. He didn't expect Michelle to be right when she told him by noon that uninvited guests would come in the evening. Before he could even say something, the door to the room opened and Thomas could be seen. At first, he had a malicious and hateful grin, but when his gaze landed on Michelle's smiling face, he froze.
"Hi, Thomas!" Michelle's voice was cold as she kept smiling, Cold Flame circling under the roof where he couldn't be seen. "Did you decide and come to find me? That's so kind of you, but I don't have your children with me now." Michelle tilted her head, acting like she was genuinely sad. "And it seems..." she smiled coldly. "You don't have the small knife with you."
Thomas grit his teeth in suppressed rage as he stared at Michelle. She was clearly carefree, disregarding him. His plan was to capture the Emperor and use him in exchange for his children, but Michelle saw through him and came to the palace before he could. "Oh, my friend, we just came to give our gifts to the newly ascended Emperor," he smiled, but his eyes were dark and filled with rage as he reached into his sleeve and took out a box. Michelle wondered how he fit it in there.
She walked over to him and took the box. She opened the box in the direction of Thomas, so if something jumped out, it would go at him, but to her surprise, nothing happened. She opened the box and saw a sword and a letter. Her eyes narrowed as she took out the letter and unfolded it. As she read it, her cold smile spread. The sword was originally for Joseph Hillberg as a birthday gift, but Thomas gave it up to keep his honor. Michelle crushed the letter in her hand and closed the box, bringing it to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, a gift for you."
The Emperor took out the sword from the box and his eyes shone in excitement. He wasn't aware of the fight between Michelle and Thomas, so he was happy to receive a gift.
"We shall be taking our leave now..." Thomas and his servants bowed before leaving.
"Don't forget to meet me tomorrow!" Michelle's voice carried behind them as she went to sit back down on the couch. She was planning to stay the night in the Imperial Palace, so Thomas couldn't have any funny ideas.
In the morning, Michelle stationed Mare and Snow in the Imperial Palace next to the Emperor and threw the Hillberg siblings over her shoulders. Using Shadow Spirit Steps, she snuck into the inn before sunrise and threw the two on the ground next to her chair.
As Thomas entered, he was relieved to see his children still alive, but it worried him that they were still unconscious. "Did you decide?" Michelle crossed her legs as she stared at him with a smile.
Looking at his unconscious children, Thomas gritted his teeth and nodded. "I've decided." He reached into his sleeve and took out the small knife from beaten bones.
Michelle narrowed her eyes as she watched Thomas bring the small knife to his chest with trembling hands. Then he raised his hands and just when it looked like he was about to stab himself, he lunged at Michelle and tried to stab her.
But she just scoffed and kicked him in his chest, sending him flying. With his strength being restricted to the same level as the strongest person born in the lower realm, Michelle could easily overpower him with her skills from her past life. "Thomas..." Michelle acted aggrieved. "You've hurt my feelings..." she said with her eyes narrowed.
Receiving a kick into his chest, Thomas was shocked by how powerful it was. The speed and strength could only belong to someone high in rank in the heavenly realm, as only they were less affected by the power restriction between realms. "Why is a heavenly realm bastard picking on me?!" Thomas shouted. "How did I offend you?!"
Michelle just smiled coldly, walked over to him and grabbed the wrist of his hand in which he was holding the small knife. "I'm taking revenge for my mother..." she hissed coldly before forcing his hand to his chest. "Want your children to live?" she asked coldly as she let go.
Thomas looked at his children as Michelle walked over to Eleanor and grabbed her by her neck, squeezing hard enough to leave a bruise. "So?" Michelle smiled. "Your cultivation or your children's lives? Which do you cherish more?"
Seeing his only daughter being lifted high up in the air and strangled as she was unconscious, Thomas' eyes filled up with years before he stabbed the small knife into his chest. Instantly, he shook as he felt something inside of him break, and his spirit energy started seeping out of his body, into the surrounding air. When he pulled the knife out of his chest, the wound was gone, but the knife was dripping with his blood.
Michelle threw Eleanor to the side and walked over to Thomas, taking the small knife from him. "I can't leave this with you, can I?" she chuckled as she walked towards the window. "Oh, right..." She smiled. "I forgot to tell you something!" She put her leg on the window frame as she spoke: "I crippled and poisoned your children. They will soon die. Your sacrifice was pointless." She grinned as she leapt out of the window and used Shadow Spirit Steps to disappear.
Thomas stared out the window in disbelief and despair. His whole body was shaken by pain from having his dantian shattered and spirit veins cut off, and Michelle dared to tell him that it was pointless? That his children would still die? The shock was too much for a villain like him who never knew failure or defeat, so he ended up fainting.
After leaving the Hillberg children with their father, Michelle went to the Imperial Palace, expecting to see ruckus. And indeed. Thomas' subordinates were trying to capture the Emperor. Michelle clapped her hands and Cold Flame flew from behind her to burn, if one might say, them all with his freezing fire.
Michelle smiled as she saw the subordinates all turn into ice sculptures before Mare took on her full snake form and shattered them with her huge tail. "I never knew a White Vermilion Bird and a Venom Jade Serpent could work together like this..." she chuckled as she walked towards them.
"Michelle!" Cold Flame flew over to Michelle happily and nested on her shoulder.
"Teacher..." the young Emperor looked at Michelle from behind his throne where he was hiding from Thomas' subordinates.
Michelle smiled a bit and walked over to him. She then spoke apologetically: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. They went after you because of me. I'll be more careful in the future, so I don't cause trouble like this."
"No!" the Emperor shook his head. "Teacher, instead, train me to be stronger, so I can protect myself!" he said with determination.
Seeing how he was acting, Michelle smiled. "Your Majesty, I've already taught you everything I know. If you want to learn more, ask your Prince Regent. He will be happy to teach you. Maybe you will even find out that you can cultivate." It wasn't that Michelle didn't want to teach the Emperor her skills, but they were too complicated and dangerous for his nine-year-old body to execute.
"Yes, teacher! I'll ask him!" the Emperor answered excitedly. But then, his smile fell, and he spoke again: "But I didn't see him lately... What if he left?"
Michelle smiled a bit and patted the Emperor's head. "Don't worry. He didn't leave. He just had something urgent to take care of. He will be back soon. Maybe even tomorrow." After that, Michelle talked with the Emperor for a while longer before leaving. She went to check if Thomas left the lower realm. She found out that he didn't, but he was preparing to, so she hid herself in the shadows and watched him until the moment he left so he wouldn't try anything.
And he tried. He left behind a few of his subordinates to kill the Emperor, but Michelle killed them the moment Thomas left the lower realm.