TILLY was finally free from Saint Forrester's "bullying."

After their breakfast, His Majesty invited the saint for tea. She knew that she was no longer needed so she politely excused herself. And then, Kiho fetched her.

Thus, right now, they were in a carriage while on their way out of the Royal Palace.

To be precise, she was sitting sideways on Kiho's lap while devouring each other's mouth, making up for lost time (in reality, they were only apart for a few hours).

And yes, they closed the windows and locked the door.

"I missed you, Tilly," Kiho whispered after the kiss. His hand remained under her skirt though, caressing her thigh with his cold fingers. And yet, his touch burned her skin. "How was your meeting with His Holiness?"

"He's a tough opponent," Tilly said, her face buried against Kiho's neck that she was showering with little kisses. Then, she looked up at him when she remembered the task that the saint had given her. "Kiho, His Holiness gave me an important task."

She could talk freely like that because their carriage was safe. Luna put a spell around it so no one could eavesdrop on them. Yes, she was really thankful to have the witch on their side.

Kiho frowned, obviously not pleased by the idea that the saint gave her a job. "What task?"

"He wants me to find his stolen Holy Scepter."

"Holy Scepter…" he said, then he flinched and pulled his hand from under her dress to cradle his head.

"What happened, hon?" she asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," he said but he looked like he was still in pain. "I just felt a sharp jab in my head."

"You're not okay," she said. "Let's ask Miss Luna to check on you later."

"I'm really fine but I don't want you to worry so I'll listen to you."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Good boy."

He was about to say something but suddenly, he paused and turned to the window on his right side. "The brat is here."

""Brat?"" she asked, then she snapped her fingers. "You mean Flint?"

He nodded. "He's with Captain Denver and they're running after our carriage."

"You should have said earlier," she scolded him lightly, then she looked in the front and spoke loudly. "Stop the carriage. Thank you."

A few seconds later, the carriage stopped.

She stepped down the carriage while being assisted by Kiho. As soon as she stepped out, she heard the familiar voice that called her.

"Big Sister!"

Tilly smiled when she saw Flint running towards her. She also noticed Captain Denver who was calmly walking behind the child. "Flint!"

To her surprise, the young boy jumped and was about to hug her.

She instinctively took a step backward because she was afraid that the child might accidentally "crush" her tummy.

But that didn't happen because Kiho caught Flint mid-air.

"You can't," Kiho warned Flint lightly, then he carefully put the boy down on the ground. "My Tilly has our baby inside her tummy."

"I know that," Flint said. "That's why I want to hug the baby."

"Then, do it carefully," her husband said.

That surprised her.

Kiho is being nice to Flint…?

Wow, her husband had matured.

And Flint looked horrified by it. "Who are you?" the child asked in disbelief. "Where's the mean and evil duke that I know?"

"Do you really want to summon my evil side, you brat?"

The young boy smirked. "Now that's the duke I know and love."

She laughed at the child's sarcasm.

Not wanting for the two to banter again, she decided to literally come between the two.

"Hi, Flint," she greeted the child, then she opened her arms. "Come here."

Flint smiled and carefully wrapped his arms around her tummy. "I missed you, Big Sister," he said cheerfully. Then, he pressed his ear against her stomach. "Hello, baby. I know that you're growing up well inside Big Sister's tummy. I hope you come out healthy. I can't wait to meet you! I'm sure you'll be good friends with my brother Julian."

She smiled and combed the child's hair with her fingers. "Thank you, Flint. Once my baby is born, I'll let him play with you and Baby Julian."

The child looked up at her and grinned. "I can't wait for that to happen, Big Sister."

She just smiled again. "What are you doing here in the palace, Flint?"

The little boy suddenly looked excited. "Big Sister, my master brought me here to register me as an official squire of the Red Phoenix Knights! We came here as soon as the ceremony ended."

"Squire?" she asked with furrowed brows. "Aren't you a little too young to be a squire?"

"In average squads, boys as young as Flint aren't accepted as squires yet," Kiho explained. "But the squads under the Four Orders are different. They accept anyone who is skilled and talented enough regardless of age or gender."

"Duke Nystrom is correct," Captain Denver said as soon as he reached them. "Flint is one of my disciples now. It only makes sense that he becomes a squire."

"Oh," she said, a little bit disheartened. Then, she looked at Flint with sympathy. "Are you going to be fine, Flint?"

"I'll be fine, Big Sister," Flint assured her. "I will protect you and your baby!"

"That's nice," Kiho said that surprised her. Then, her husband put a hand on the child's head. "I'm sure you'll grow up as a fine knight, Flint."

Flint looked surprised when Kiho called him by his name. Then, the child blushed. It looked like he was embarrassed by Kiho's sudden sincerity so he buried his face against her tummy. "Stupid duke."

Tilly giggled, but when she noticed how Kiho and Captain Denver looked at Flint with pity in their eyes, she suddenly got worried.

What's up with them?

***

"KIHO, why were you suddenly nice to Flint?" Tilly asked Kiho while they were walking in the rose garden of their house. Of course, they were holding each other's hands. "Of course, I like that you're not competing with the child anymore. But the look that you and Captain Denver gave Flint a while ago made me worry. Is something going on?"

"You're sharp, Tilly. But I guess you're still a sheltered noblewoman," Kiho said carefully. "You didn't notice the change in Flint's eyes, did you?"

Her brows furrowed in confusion, then she shook her head. "What changed in his eyes?"

"Flint has become a warrior, Tilly."

Her mind buffered for a moment.

When she finally got what her husband meant by that, she gasped.

"Kiho, are you saying that Flint already killed a person?" she asked in disbelief. "Captain Denver let a child kill? How cruel."

She felt her heart break for Flint.

"Tilly, I already told you before that there's no child in a war," he gently but firmly reminded her. "I understand why you think Captain Denver is cruel for allowing a child like Flint to kill another person. But in the point of view for people like us who had already been to war several times, he did the right thing. It is crueler to bring an inexperienced child in a war, honey. As captains, we must make sure that the knights that we're bringing to fight with us are physically, emotionally, and mentally prepared. If Flint went to a war without having killed a person yet, he would just die easily. Or maybe get traumatized enough to go insane."

She knew that Kiho was right.

But still, her heart ached.

"No children should be sent to wars," she said in a sad voice. "There shouldn't be wars in the first place…"

"You can't say that when we already waged war on the royal family, Tilly."

"I know that," she said in frustration. "That's why I want to make sure that the war we're waging on the royal family would be the last one."

"I'd like that, too," he agreed with her. "I've seen all the awful things that happen in a war. I don't want more children to experience what young warriors like me had went through."

Ah, that's right.

She was reminded that Kiho was also a young boy when he became a mercenary. No wonder her husband felt a strong sympathy towards Flint. He probably saw himself in him.

"Now I feel bad for myself," she admitted with a sad smile. "I realized that I'm indeed a sheltered noblewoman."

Kiho gently squeezed her hand as if to comfort her. "It's not your fault that you're born as a noblewoman, Tilly."

"Yes. But I've been wasting the privilege that I was born with," she admitted. "When I returned to this time, all I cared about is how I'm going to fix our family."

"Tilly…"

She stopped walking and faced her husband. "Today, His Holiness said that I've been too spoiled. And he's right. I waged war on the royal family without really thinking of the consequences."

He touched her face with his other hand. "What do you plan to do now?"

"I'll take responsibility," she declared firmly. "From now on, I'll stop acting like a spoiled noblewoman. The lives of my fellow Fire Mages are in my hands, and it's time to take my role seriously. I have so many excuses before but now, I'll stop running away from my responsibility." She placed a hand on her tummy. "I'll train and become stronger. But of course, I'll be careful for our Winter. So Kiho, stop spoiling me, okay?"

"It will be hard not to, but I'll try," he promised her.

"You have to," Tilly insisted. "Kiho, the saint told me to collect the Ancient Beasts in order to defeat the royal family. Can you help me do that?"

"Of course," Kiho said casually as if the task was easy. But knowing that he was willing to go through anything for her was very reassuring. "I'll do anything and everything for you, Tilly."

***

"THIS COMMONER child is close to Captain Denver, right?" Eugene Huxley said while looking at the paper that Captain Denver submitted to the Knighthood Office a while ago. Yeah, he stole it and brought it in his office. "Flint, huh? What a stupid name."

"What are you planning to do, Lord Huxley?" Lucina asked with a hint of frustration in her voice. "Didn't the emperor tell you to stay put for now? If you touch Captain Denver–"

"I won't attack Captain Denver until His Majesty ordered me to. I know that," Eugene Huxley cut the woman off. Then, he smirked while crumpling the paper in his hand. "But His Majesty didn't say that I couldn't touch the people around the captain, did he?"

***

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