Chapter 142

[Third Person's PoV] 

As Cid made his way towards school, Alexia wrapped her arms around his and held his hand as they walked.

"What are you doing?" Claire asked, looking at Alexia with a deadpan expression.

Alexia looked at Claire teasingly. "What does it look like? I'm holding hands with my boyfriend~" She emphasized the boyfriend part. "Since everyone knows Cid and I are a couple, no one would question why we're holding hands. After all, our relationship is out in the open," she bragged.

"Wait, is this the reason you wanted me to come with you? You could have just asked me, you know, I wouldn't have declined," Cid rolled his eyes in exasperation.

They soon arrived in front of the school and saw people looking at him, whispering to themselves.

"I heard he took down a herd of those monsters by himself."

"That's insane, how strong do you actually think he is?"

"He not only helped stop the infamous Shadow, but he also helped with the monsters. I can see why the princess is after him."

"Do you think if I ask..." 

"Mckenzie don't" 

"You sure are popular," Alexia teased.

"It comes with being good-looking, it's a curse I can't escape from unfortunately," Cid lamented.

"I see your narcissistic personality is still intact," Alexia said with a scoff.

The bell then rang, signifying the start of class, much to Cid's displeasure.

While class was starting, Cid lowered his presence to the point where people forgot he was even there. He sank into his shadow, and in his place, a shadow clone appeared.

...

Celeste stared lifelessly with a bored look, staring at the ceiling inside her crib. She knew she was supposed to be sleeping, but sleep just didn't come to her.

Then, she saw something that caused her to do a double take. From the side of her crib, Cid slowly rose up.

A large smile overcame her face as she saw him, and she couldn't help but reach out her baby hands and make clasping motions while twisting and turning.

"Bah! Bah! Bah!"

Cid smiled as he saw her. "Aww, did my wittle pwincess miss me while I was away?" he said in a baby voice as he picked her up.

As Cid lifted her, he threw her in the air before catching her and throwing her up again.

*Baby giggling*

As Cid held her in his arms and put a finger to his lips, "Don't tell mom I came to visit you, alright?"

Celeste nodded her head, her baby face gaining a serious expression, which Cid found absolutely adorable.

"Nom Nom Nom, you're just so cute I want to eat you up," he said as he made munching noises towards her cheeks.

Celeste let out loud squeals and happy giggles.

Cid then walked around the room, slightly swaying her as she rested her head on his shoulder and sucked her thumb while she slept.

His shadow clone warned him that class had ended and that Alexia was making her way towards him.

Cid softly put Celeste back in her crib, covered her with a blanket, and kissed her forehead before sinking into his shadow.

…

Cid took his shadow clone's place just in time. As soon as he did, Alexia walked through the door and made her way toward him. She took his hand and dragged him out of the class, heading towards the empty training room. As she closed the door behind her and faced Cid, he lowered his head, grabbed the back of her head, and started to kiss her.

Alexia turned bright red and lowered her head slightly. "What are you doing!?" she asked in embarrassment.

Cid tilted his head in confusion. "Kissing you? Isn't that why you dragged me out of the classroom and brought me to this empty room?"

"No!" she said, still blushing. "I wanted us to train together like we used to."

"Oh…" Cid said, a bit embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head. "I definitely got the wrong message then."

Alexia then took Cid by his tie and began to kiss him herself. "I didn't say I didn't like it," she said with a blush before returning to kiss him.

She grabbed the back of his head as they moved back, crashing a bit into the door.

After a while, they backed off each other, and Alexia began to fan herself. "Well, that was certainly exciting, wasn't it?"

She then grabbed two practice swords and tossed one to Cid. As she got into her stance, she couldn't help but smile reminiscently.

"It feels like it's been forever since we last stood like this, face to face. A lot has happened," Alexia said.

Cid chuckled. "Indeed it has," he said, running towards Alexia and clashing his sword with hers.

Cid and Alexia both had smiles on their faces as they swung their swords against each other. The sound of their clashing resounded through the room, their figures moving all around.

They continued their exchange until Cid ended it with his sword pointing towards her throat.

But Alexia didn't look disappointed as she also had her sword aimed towards his throat. "You have improved, princess."

Alexia rolled her eyes. "Please don't call me that."

Cid only chuckled. Unknown to them, they spent their entire break sparring, which ended with the bell signifying the end of their session.

...

In Mitsugoshi...

Gamma sank into her shadow and reappeared by Alpha, who was staring out the window with a distant look. Beatrix was also there, leaning against a wall with her sword by her chest.

"Alpha, we have a problem…" Gamma said.

"What is it?" Alpha asked, turning her head in confusion.

"This," Gamma said, handing her a stack of counterfeit bills. "There has been a lot of distribution of these, and people are getting weary and suspicious."

Alpha took the bills and examined them. "Search for the source of these and send someone to take them down," she instructed.

"Let me join," Beatrix said.

Alpha looked at Beatrix with a raised brow. "Why? It's a small matter that should be handled fairly easily."

"Although I agreed to join Shadow Garden, I haven't done a single thing. I have offered my services, so I feel like it's time to make my due," Beatrix explained.

Alpha put a hand on her chin as she thought about it. "What do you think, Gamma?"

Gamma pondered before nodding her head. "I don't see why not. She can supervise the team I send out since it's going to be their first mission."

Beatrix nodded in understanding. "So who's the team?"

"Come, I'll introduce you to them," Gamma said, leading Beatrix away.

Alpha returned to staring out the window pensively. She slowly raised her hand to her stomach before letting out a sigh.