"HONEY, are you okay?"

"No," Tilly said honestly while she was on the floor. She just threw up even though she hadn't eaten yet. This morning, she woke up with an upset stomach. Then, she remembered that she was already in her sixth week of pregnancy. "But don't worry, hon. This is just morning sickness. Pregnant women during this time usually go through this."

"We should find a doctor for you, Tilly," Kiho said worriedly. He was kneeling beside her, still holding her hair. While she was throwing up a while ago, he stayed beside her and held her hair so it wouldn't touch the toilet bowl. "Can we not trust your family doctor?"

She shook her head. Then, she stood up. Of course, her husband assisted her. He also helped her wash her face and mouth. After she was cleaned up, he carried her back to their room.

Kiho gently laid her on the bed and sat beside her.

"Father said that the doctors that assisted my mother during her pregnancy were sent by Her Royal Highness," Tilly said. "At this point, I can't even trust the doctors that our vassal families are recommending."

"Then, should we ask Captain Denver to recommend a doctor for you?"

She blinked in surprise. "That would be nice. But are you sure about that, Kiho? I thought you don't like Captain Denver."

"I don't like him," Kiho said flatly. "But I can set aside my personal feelings for you and our baby's sake."

She giggled at his honesty. "Kiho, you know that I don't have feelings for Captain Denver, don't you? And he doesn't like me that way. He's just nice to me because I have the heart of the Supreme. So, why are you jealous of him?"

"He's a Fire Mage."

She held back her laughter. To be honest, she wanted to laugh at how cute Kiho's pout was. But she didn't want to offend him. "Yes. And…?"

Her husband blushed as if he was shy to share his true feelings.

[Aww… he's still my adorable cinnamon roll.]

"Technically speaking, Captain Denver can be more of use to you than I do," he said with a pout. "Since he's a Fire Mage, he's the one who knows how to help you control your power. He also knows the history of your lineage. Whether I like it or not, I have to admit that the captain has the right to stay by your side." His face turned dark. "But I hate it. Even though I know that you need him, I still don't want to see him beside you. Most of all, I'm afraid that there would be a day that you'd need him more than you need me."

Ah, so Kiho wasn't jealous of Captain Denver. He was just afraid that she'd need another man for her protection. Her husband was the possessive type so she understood where he was coming from.

"That's not going to happen, Kiho," she assured him softly. "You're the one I need most."

"Really?"

She nodded and touched his face. "Really."

He looked relieved and happy to hear that. "Tilly, you should stay at home. I'll do your errands instead."

To be honest, she didn't really feel good. She was a little workaholic so taking a break from work made her feel a little edgy. But for Winter's safety, she would endure. Her son would always be more important than work.

"I only have two errands for today," she told him. "First, I need to check the pre-order of my new jewelry collection."

She recently introduced the "pre-order system" to their customers. Anyone who would reserve their orders in advance would get a discount and the first dibs to the new pieces during the launch. The jewelry collection would only be available to the public after a week. And most of all, the slot for the pre-order was limited.

"That concept is new to me," Kiho said in amazement. "It's not that I doubt you, Tilly. But I'm kind of wondering how can you be sure that people would reserve items that they haven't seen yet?"

"Our family name is already a brand," she explained. "We produce the best pieces of jewelry in the empire, hon. Prescott���s Choice equals luxury. And the higher-nobles would always want to get new items first. I'm sure they'll bite the bait."

"Oh. I thought the new collection is for the nouveau riche?"

"Yes, they are the main target," she said, her smile widening. "I released the price list in advance so the nouveau riche could save up for it. The discount is for them. I'm sure they won't pass up the chance to buy what the vieux riche would. In fact, the nouveau riche would be the most eager to get a hold of our latest collection. After all, it's the new rich who loves showing off their newly-acquired wealth."

He looked amazed by her plan. "Honey, you were born to be a businesswoman."

She smiled at the compliment. "Thank you, hon."

"I'll check the pre-order of the store," he said. "What's your second errand?"

"I'm supposed to visit the charities I'm supporting," she answered. "I personally check on them to see what I need to provide for them. Especially now that winter season is coming."

"I'll do that for you," he said determinedly. "And as a future duke, it's going to be my responsibility to check on the charities that you support. I want to be involved with our people as much as possible."

She smiled proudly at him. "I'm sure that you'll do well. After all, you're a good person."

"Thank you for the trust," he said with a tint of pink on his cheeks. He wasn't used to being praised so he'd get shy every time he would compliment him. "Is that all your errands for today, honey?"

"Uh-huh. Thank you for volunteering to do them for me, hon," she said, then she snapped her fingers in the air when she remembered something. "Kiho, one of the charities I support is the Fire Wielder Guild. They have a foundation that supports commoners who entered the guild as Fire Wielders. Specifically, I'm supporting Flint and Julian. Please check if the brothers have personal needs that we can provide for them."

Hesitation crossed his face. "Tilly, would it really be wise if we continue our connection to the Fire Wielder Guild? His Majesty knows that you're a Fire Mage. I'm sure that he knows that there are people supporting you. The Denvers have been doing a good job in hiding themselves. What if the emperor connects the dots if we continued getting involved with Captain Denver?"

She shook her head. "It would be more suspicious if we suddenly avoid Captain Denver. Even after the malicious rumor between Captain Denver and I spread, I didn't avoid him because people would think that we were really guilty. That's the same with our current situation. If we suddenly cut our relationship with the captain, His Majesty would wonder why."

He nodded his head as if he was absorbing every word she said.

"But of course, we still need to be careful," she continued. "It's actually going to be hard because we need to act naturally. But at the same time, we must be cautious of what we say and do especially in public. Although I'm pretty sure that the emperor wouldn't be breathing at the back of our neck, we can't still eliminate the chance of him having someone spy on us." She smirked at the thought of the emperor waiting for her to put her guard down. "His Majesty won't catch us by surprise– not on my watch."

Kiho blinked, then he suddenly leaned down to kiss her on the lips.

"Wow, that tastes good," she said between giggles. "May I know what I did to deserve a kiss from you?"

"You're always beautiful but just now, you look sinister," he confessed. "That's… sexy."

She giggled, not expecting to hear the word "sexy" from him. "Gosh, you're making me feel giddy, hon."

And after saying that, her stomach growled loudly.

"My big baby and small baby are hungry," Kiho said softly while placing a hand on her tummy. "What do you and our Winter want for breakfast, honey?"

"Winter said he wants lobster for breakfast," Tilly said. It obviously surprised Kiho because lobster wasn't a usual choice for breakfast. But in the end, he laughed softly as if he found her cute. That reaction made her smile. [I hope these peaceful days last forever.]

***

KIHO just finished inspecting the pieces of jewelry at Precott's Choice when Captain Sherwood arrived at the store.

He was quite surprised, but he remembered that it was already lunch time. Even captains were given an hour to eat unless they were really busy. But since the Hunt just ended, their workload must not be that loaded yet.

"Fancy meeting you here, Captain Kiho," Captain Sherwood said. Then, he gently smacked his lips. "Ah, pardon my insolence. I should greet you by your new title, Your Grace."

Kiho felt shy to be referred that way.

He had lived as an orphan and a commoner all his life. Then suddenly, he became a noble. And not just a noble at that. He actually became a duke– the highest in the nobility hierarchy.

If it weren't to protect Tilly and their baby, he wouldn't have accepted the title.

"Thank you, Captain Sherwood," Kiho told him. "But it's fine to refer to me like before. Technically, I'm still a captain anyway."

"If you insist, Captain Kiho," he said. "Anyway, are you alone?"

He nodded before he answered. Like Tilly told him, they should still act as natural as possible around their suspected enemies. And Captain Sherwood was one of the people that they should be careful of. "Yes, I am alone. Tilly isn't feel good because of her morning sickness. I'm running errands for her."

"Oh, I see."

"Do you have a specific jewelry that you're looking for, Captain Sherwood?" he asked politely. "I can ask the staff to bring you to the VIP room if you want."

Prescott's Choice was a big and luxurious jewelry store after all.

It had a VIP room where the rarest and the most expensive gems were displayed. Only VIP customers were allowed inside. But still, the pieces of jewelry showcased in the "general room" were already high quality.

[And expensive. Nothing is cheap is here. No wonder only higher nobles are shopping inside.]

Well, for now.

After all, Tilly's new jewelry collection was made for the nouveau riche.

"Thank you, but I'm only here because of my mother's request," Captain Sherwood said with a soft laugh. Ah, this person was really carefree. His wind attribute really suited him. "According to my mother, Lady Prescott introduced this thing called "pre-order." My mother asked me to reserve the jewelry set that would be launched soon. She's not here in the Royal Capital at the moment so she asked me to do it for her instead."

"You're lucky, Captain Sherwood," he said. "The slot for pre-order is limited. Thankfully, there are a few slots left."

"Whew," the other captain said. "That's a relief."

He just nodded at that.

"Captain Kiho, I have a request," Captain Sherwood said. "May I shake your hand?"

He was surprised by the weird request.

[Is this a trap or something?]

"I just want to congratulate you for entering the nobility," the other captain said, then he extended his hand to him. "Welcome to the high society, Your Grace."

He accepted Captain Sherwood's hand. "Thank you, Duke Sherwood."

Captain Sherwood addressed him as a nobleman so he thought he should do the same.

He was about to pull his hand from the other captain but he suddenly squeezed his hand. Then, he noticed that Captain Sherwood's eyes had a frenzied look on them. He was looking at him like he wanted to dissect him or something.

That made his skin crawl.

"What are you two doing?"

Kiho was relieved by the newcomer's arrival because Captain Sherwood finally let go of his hand. But he wasn't too happy to see who came.

"Did I not get the memo that we have a meeting or something?" Captain Denver asked. Then, he turned to Captain Ainsworth that he came with. "Did you bring me here because you know that Captain Kiho and Captain Sherwood are here?"

"Of course not," Captain Ainsworth denied. "I only asked you to come because I don't want to go to a jewelry store alone."

"It's rare for us to gather coincidentally," Captain Sherwood said cheerfully, then turned to every captain around him. "Why don't we have lunch together as some sort of celebration?"

Kiho groaned mentally.

[Can we not?]

***

PS: You may send gifts if you can. Thank you~

***

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