Red Silk City was abuzz with rumors, gasps, and wide-eyed recounts.
"He brewed a pink cloud pill!"
"I swear on my grandfather's grave, I saw it! The flames were white-gold, and the alchemy cauldron spun like it was alive!"
"But the real jaw-dropper? He said it was a Pill of Possession!"
The streets around City Hall remained crowded even after the event had ended. Onlookers replayed the spectacle again and again—how Phillip, with his robe casually tucked at the waist, stood before the city's alchemy furnace as if it were a kitchen hearth.
How the clouds turned pink. How Manuka Lan stood still, dazed, her cheeks flushed when he offered her the pill in front of hundreds.
But the nobility didn't see it as a romantic moment.
They saw it as scandal.
Especially the Lan Family.
