"Your injuries are pretty grave. Don't strain yourself much and dissolve the frozen armor slowly," Giuliana Seraph, matriarch of the Seraph household, told Alice upon arriving next to her.

Giuliana released her Soultrait, coating Alice in a dense miasma of holy power. Upon using her Soultrait to heal Alice, the matriarch noticed something.

"You're not injured anymore? I was told that your wrists were nearly severed and" Giuliana's head flicked to Michael, whose wounds had also healed, an expression of understanding dawning upon her.

"I tended to our wounds," Michael affirmed the matriarch's suspicion, "But I focused on the severe injuries. Maybe, I missed out on healing some cuts."

Michael had been in a rush to heal Alice mid-battle. He was also not that proficient with Archangel's Grace, let alone Heavenly Realm. It was the first time he used a Healing-type Soul Technique. Giuliana should take a look at Alice ensuring that he didn't miss anything.

"You did a pretty good job," The matriarch commended Michael, eying him with a raised eyebrow, "I didn't expect your proficiency at controlling Archangel's Grace to have reached such a high level already. It must have been quite difficult."

Michael grinned at the words of appreciation and retrieved the Heavenly Realm Soul Technique.

"My mastery with Archangel's Grace is horrendous. Fortunately, I managed to finish customizing Maria's Soul Technique before the four Lords attempted to kidnap me," He explained, handing the tome to Giuliana, completing his mission, at last.

"You're already done? And you managed to exert the technique as well? That isimpressive," The matriarch mumbled to herself before opening the tome. She continued to tend to the minor wounds all over Alice's body as the frozen armor dispersed, and she got engrossed in reading.

Michael studied her as Giuliana read through the tome. her expressions changed dozens of times. At first, she was intrigued, and shock replaced her curiosity, only to be intrigued again about the strategy Michael had used to customize the Soul Technique.

It was the first time she saw a fully translated version of a Soul Technique, and the matriarch quickly realized how valuable the technique was.

No. It was not only the customized Soul Technique that was valuable. The most valuable was the creator of the customized Soul Technique and the speed with which he completed his job was outstanding.

Giuliana Seraph read through the tome thrice before she closed it. One eyebrow raised, she stared at Michael, not uttering a single sound.

"Soul Techniques use up Soul Power so I didn't want to create a Soul Technique for the transformation part of Maria's Soultrait. Heaven's Descent focuses on the Summoning portion in Archangel's Grace as well. Therefore, I figured that the healing domain should be enhanced. If you, or Maria, want to change Heavenly Realm I can do that, but I don't think that the Common Class Soul Technique can be improved."

Maybe that sounded a bit arrogant but Michael was certain that he created the best possible Common Soul Technique for Archangel's Grace. It might be possible to create better Elite Class Soul Techniques for Archangel's Grace, but Michael had yet to finish studying the few Elite Class Soul Techniques he'd procured from the Tekur and the traitorous Descendants. He would have to spend some time and focus on studying the technique before he could create some on his own.

Heavenly Realm was already the best he could create.

"No, no. It's fine. Heavenly Realm is great. Don't worry," Giuliana waved her hand, trying to console Michael, who chuckled lightly seeing that the matriarch of the Seraph family seemed flustered. That was truly unexpected.

Giuliana's eyes locked onto Michael. She analyzed the youthful Lord for a while.

According to the report she read about Michael, Maria's statements, and her encounters with him, Michael seemed like a loyal man. He was kind, trustworthy, and far from arrogant. His desire to support his friends was a great trait. Unfortunately, that could also be used against him.

It hadn't been all that long since Giuliana accepted Michael's request to help Frederik Kolbenheim's father. The matriarch researched the Kolbenheim family and their connection to Michael, but all she found contradicted their relationship. Their first encounter was in a shopping center where the Barbaric Couple ended up in a small scuffle with Michael. After that, they attended the Saphirelake Military Academy together.

Giuliana was not sure how their friendship developed into a bond strong enough for Michael to give away a highly valuable customized Soul Technique in exchange for Igor Kolbenheim's recuperation, but she loved this about Michael. Almost everything she read about Michael was positive. There was no particular red flag in sight. If anything, Michael was a human being overflowing with green and golden flags. Consequently, her respect for him increased.

"Do you like Maria?" She thus asked the smiling youth.

"Huh? Where did that question come from?" Alice jumped into the conversation. She yanked Michael behind her and stared daggers at Giuliana Seraph.

"Why are you butting in our conversation, Alice Zenovia? I doubt that you're in a relationship with Michael, so how about you drop the act of a possessive girlfriend?" The matriarch asked sharply, however, Alice didn't move an inch.

Michael peeked out from behind Alice, not quite understanding why the two mature women stared at each other like mortal enemies.

"I do like Maria. She is a nice girl. It's refreshing to see that the soon-to-be strongest healer of the Tritan Alliance has a good personality. She is different from most Descendants and treats everyone equally. Well, almost everyone," He responded to Giuliana, whose gaze landed on him again. The corner of her lip curled upward.

The matriarch was not exactly satisfied with the answer but it was better than nothing. They were not in a rush. Not yet, at least. Alice saw a glimmer in Giuliana's eyes and cleared her throat to pull Michael's attention toward her.

"Doesn't the same apply to Kaleb and your other friends?" She asked.

Michael thought about it for a moment before he nodded, "It's not exactly the same because I had to beat some sense into Kaleb, but Kaleb, Zeke, and Lincoln are good guys. I do like them. Frederik and Jacqueline are fun as well, though they have some trouble these days."

"But then again. I like you as well, Alice. I got to know you even before I manifested my War Rune. You helped me unconditionally and today you tried to protect me while putting yourself in danger. You might look like a cold person to others, but to me, you're a nice and caring person. Your personality is great, your strength is unrivaled among your peers, and you are drop-dead gorgeous. I'm pretty sure that everyone would agree with me if they were to see your true self!" Michael added, complimenting Alice.

He grinned vibrantly at Alice, who was too astounded to respond. She fluttered a few times and stared at Michael before her ears turned beet-red. Her lips parted but she couldn't say anything. No word escaped her lips. Alice flushed red and she subconsciously used Frozen Kingdom to cool down her rising body temperature.

Giuliana Seraph observed the two, her eyes narrowed.

'That's going to be harder than expected.'

She cleared her throat and dropped a bomb, "If you like Maria, what do you think about marrying her?"

"HUHHH?!?" The embarrassment Alice felt just a moment ago dispersed, shock and disbelief replacing it.

Michael was also stupefied. Had the matriarch of the Seraph family lost her mind?!

"What do you say? I'm pretty sure Maria likes you, and you have nothing against her either. You said that you like her. Romantic feelings can be developed as long as you and Maria grow closer. The next few years in the Saphirelake Military Academy can solve that easily. Growing closer to her will help you accumulate more of Maria's power inside you, and you might be able to strengthen the Shard of Archangel's Grace within your War Rune as well. You and Maria can live happily together while your powers grow stronger. That sounds nice, doesn't it?" Giuliana Seraph added.

"Are youserious right now?" Michael asked, still pretty sure that Giuliana Seraph was joking.

However, the seriousness and determination in the matriarch's eyes revealed the truth pretty easily. The matriarch reaffirmed his suspicion as well.

"I am dead serious."