"ADOPT the kids?"

Tilly nodded at Kiho's question. "Yes, adopt the kids. But not as our children."

Kiho looked confused by what she said. "Not as our children?"

"In the empire, we have a stupid law that says the first born male child automatically becomes the heir of a family," she explained. "The second male child could only become the heir if the first born is dead, sick, or has been disowned by the father. The law applies even to adopted children and son-in-laws. That's why you became Father's heir when we got married."

He nodded his head as if he was absorbing the things she said. "So if we adopt Flint and Julian, Flint will become the heir of House Nystrom."

"That's right," she confirmed. "Of course, if Flint and Julian allow us to adopt them, we'll treat them as our own. But I want Winter to be our heir apparent not because he's our biological son. I just think that being the heir to House Nystrom would only become a shackle to Flint. I don't want to give him the responsibility that he didn't ask for in the first place. After all, we're going to adopt them to protect them." She placed her hands on our tummy. "On the other hand, becoming House Nystrom's heir will be Winter's protection. In my past life, we relinquished Winter's right to be our family's heir for him to become the crown prince. Of course, I manipulated you to agree with my plan. If I didn't cry day and night while begging you to let our son become the emperor's heir, you wouldn't have given in. That and the fact that in my first life, you had a solid relationship with His Majesty."

"Oh," he said in a saddened voice.

She quickly changed the topic because she didn't want Winter to remember their tragic married life in the past. "Anyway, if Winter becomes the heir of House Nystrom as soon as he was born, His Majesty couldn't easily touch our child. Even if he's the emperor, he still needs to abide by the laws that his predecessors made in the first place."

"I understand," he said. "So, how are we going to adopt Flint and Julian?"

"Can you adopt them as your brothers?"

He blinked several times before he nodded. "I can do that."

"Really, hon?"

He nodded. "Even if you asked me to adopt them as our children, I wouldn't mind," he said. "I was an orphan all my life, Tilly. If my master didn't adopt me, I would have probably died early. His Majesty kind of did that as well when he took me under his wing. And now, in my adult life, your father technically adopted me. Even though I'm just a commoner, Father didn't mind naming me as his heir. And you didn't resent me for it." He touched her face. "Thanks to the people who adopted me, I have a good life now. That's why I don't mind doing the same for Flint and Julian."

Oh.

She just fell in love with him all over again.

"Kiho, you just made me want to have more children with you," Tilly said, teasing Kiho who instantly turned bright red. She laughed at his cute reaction and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Hon, prepare yourself as soon as we get home– I'm not letting you leave our room until I'm sore and can't walk properly."

Well, that was always the case anyway.

"Okay, honey," Kiho said like a good husband that he was. But despite him looking and sounding docile outside, there was a beast in him– a beast that takes over in bed. The heat in his gaze promised her that they would definitely make up for lost time later. "Maybe the stamina I've built all these years is meant to be used to please you."

She laughed heartily at his teasing.

Gosh, Kiho can make dirty jokes now!

***

TILLY'S chest tightened when she saw Flint lying on the bed, still unconscious.

Oh, Flint…

Right now, she was in the recovering room with Kiho, Luna, and Sentinel.

According to Luna, Celine fetched Julian when the baby fell asleep. But to make sure that no one would attack Flint's baby brother, Celine assured them that she asked a team of Fire Wielders to guard Julian's room all night.

Luna said that she also attached a protective spell on Julian. If something attacked the baby, they would know right away.

"Flint, can you hear me?" Tilly asked softly. She was sitting on the chair beside the bed while holding the child's warm hand. "Don't worry, I'll make Lord Huxley pay for this. And from now on, Kiho and I will do anything to protect you and Julian."

She felt Kiho's cold hands on her shoulders as a way to comfort her.

Ah, her husband must have felt the sadness in her voice.

"Flint, I hope you wake up soon," she continued. "Once you're awake, Kiho and I would like to know if you'll allow us to adopt you and Julian as Kiho's younger brothers."

"You're going to adopt the kids as Duke Nystrom's brothers?" Sentinel asked in surprise.

Luna already knew about her plan so the witch remained silent while reading something from the black and pink book that she held carefully in her hands.

`Must be her "witchcrafts" book.

"Yes," she answered Sentinel's question, then she turned to him. "We can't adopt them as our children because Winter needs to be the heir of House Nystrom for his protection. So Kiho and I decided to adopt Flint and Julian as his younger brothers instead. As long as the children carry our name, the enemies can't easily touch them."

"Oh, I see," Sentinel said. "Seeing as Flint seems to be a special kind, I agree with the plan."

"I'm worried about leaving Flint and Julian at this situation," she said, then she looked up at Kiho. "Hon, we're going to Oakes with Father the day after tomorrow. But I'm having second thoughts now."

"I understand your feelings, honey," Kiho said. "But I don't think we can cancel our plan. Father said that he'd show you something important, didn't he?"

Well, that was true.

Also, she was really looking forward to visiting her mother's grave again. Still, her heart couldn't be at ease knowing that a dangerous enemy was after her fellow Fire Mages now.

"I'll stay here and help Captain Denver protect the tower."

They all turned to Luna.

"Miss Luna, you are my Tilly's doctor," Kiho reminded the witch. "My wife needs you by her side all the time."

"I have that covered, Your Grace," Luna said. "I have a proxy that knows how to take care of Lady Nystrom and her baby more than I do. If that person joins you in your short vacation, no one can touch the duchess– not even the emperor himself."

"Ah," Sentinel said, then he turned to the witch. "I think I know who you are referring to, Luna. And I agree with you."

Okay, that got her curious even more.

"Why do I suddenly feel nervous?" Tilly asked with furrowed brows. "Who is this "proxy" you're talking about, Miss Luna?"

"The saint," Luna said bluntly. "Didn't Saint Forrester say that he needs to train you anyway?"

***

SAINT FORRESTER covered half of his face with his hands when he sneezed. "You're triggering my allergy to the Moonchesters."

As a response to his statement, Princess Nia Moonchester coughed blood. "Damn you," she said while giving him a sharp glare. "How dare a mere saint do this to me?!"

Right now, the princess was pinned against the wall with his Holy Vines.

The thorns of the vines nailed her hands and feet on the wall, making them bleed profusely. The more blood the vines absorb, the stronger it gets. If the princess was in her top condition, she could have easily gotten out of it.

But since Her Royal Highness just woke up from her comatose state, she was still weak.

"If my brother finds out about this, he'll kill you," Her Royal Highness threatened him.

"Oh, then shall we tell His Majesty that you're already awake?" he asked with a smirk. "I thought you told Howard to keep this a secret?"

As expected, the spoiled princess didn't have a retort for that.

"You're not the one I need, Your Royal Highness," he said, then he put a hand on the top of her head. "Good night, the spoiled one."

Princess Nia looked like she wanted to fight back but of course, she couldn't do that in her weakened state. A few moments later, she finally fell asleep.

For someone in her state, she's still pretty strong.

As expected, he couldn't underestimate the Moonchesters.

Anyway…

Forrester stabbed the princess's chest and literally ripped her heart out. Now, he had the warm black diamond in his hand. Unfortunately, the black heart was already in a deep slumber. It must have suffered an injury lately because its heartbeat was so weak.

"After so many years, you're still useless," he said while looking at the black diamond. "Though I don't think you have my Holy Scepter." He smirked bitterly. "You stole my Holy Scepter only for it to be stolen from you?"

If the black heart no longer has his Holy Scepter, he could only think of one person who would have wanted it for himself.

It was definitely Aku, but that sketchy emperor couldn't have touched his Holy Scepter. And His Majesty seemed like he really didn't know where the Holy Scepter was. Also, if the emperor had it, he would have already used it to heal his beloved Princess Nia. But he didn't.

Then, this could only mean one thing.

Aku Moonchester asked another person to steal the Holy Scepter.

"The Black Serpent definitely hid my Holy Scepter," Forrester whispered to himself. "But his memories are still sealed so he can't possibly remember where he hid it." He tilted his head at one side while thinking. "Should I awaken the Black Serpent a little bit, hmm?"

***

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