An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

Brian’s face displayed confusion and embarrassment as Alicia stirred awake. Although her regaining consciousness surprised him, the bruise on his ego stung him even more.

The way Dustin and Grace eyed him only made him feel more like a fool. Now that Alicia was awake, everything he had done before seemed like a farce, and he had never felt so humiliated.

At that moment, his hatred toward Dustin and Grace reached its peak.

“Alicia, how are you feeling? Do you feel any discomfort?” Aurora asked, leaning in with concern.

“My head’s throbbing…” Alicia grimaced and massaged her temples. Then, she asked, “Why am I here? What happened?”

She felt disoriented. Her mind was shrouded in fog, and she had no memory of what had happened, which left her utterly bewildered.

“You were poisoned and in critical condition. Faith and Dr. Rhys came to your aid just in time, or you might not have made it,” Aurora recounted the harrowing experience.

Upon hearing that, Alicia’s gaze shifted to Grace, and she was surprised to see her. “Faith, what brings you here?”

“I heard about your illness and brought a skilled doctor with me. Luckily, we arrived just in time. Otherwise, who knows what might have happened.” Grace smiled faintly.

thoughtful of you.” Alicia returned the smile before turning her attention to Dustin. “So, you’re Dr. Rhys? Thank you for saving my life. If you ever need anything,

need to thank me. I acted

between Dr. Rhys and

Just lie down and get

apart. I need to get up and move around,” Alicia insisted with a faint smile as she rose from the

and her

it easy,” Aurora said as she supported

closing her eyes briefly and

passed, she opened her eyes with a smile. “Just stood up too fast and felt light-headed. Nothing

honest with you. The poison affecting you isn’t ordinary. It’s

skilled mystic artist. While I might be able to save you once, doing it again could be dangerous. To protect yourself, we must locate this person and either

you recently offended anyone? Or perhaps had any past conflicts with someone?” Grace asked

and pondered before shaking

Combat Tournament at Sacred Wrym Summit, so I decided to join in for fun. I’ve been sightseeing along the way and didn’t cause any

strange,” Grace remarked. She turned to Dustin, who nodded

were exchanged, they both understood each other’s thoughts. If it wasn’t revenge, it was likely

intended to use Alicia’s death to incite a war between the Mystic Arts Order and the Celestial Alliance. Thereby,

Alicia suddenly exclaimed

a strangely dressed person approached me and asked for directions. I caught a whiff

at the time. But shortly after, I