TILLY couldn't look at Saint Forrester straight in the eye.

After her "quick" love-making with Kiho, they took a bath together as fast as possible. After they got dressed, they met up with the saint in his room.

Please don't ask questions, Your Holiness.

"You both failed at the task I gave you," Saint Forrester said in a calm tone. "Duke and Duchess Nystrom."

Oh.

She was surprised that the saint called them by their proper title this time.

Not "little Supreme" or "little Snake."

She also noticed that the saint was speaking politely to them now.

Is he sick?

"We still have time before dinner," the saint continued. "Should we start all over again?"

Tilly and Kiho looked at each other, then they both nodded before they turned to the saint and spoke at the same time. "Yes, Your Holiness."

Wow, look at their good rapport.

Just soulmate things.

"Lady Nystrom, just do what I told you to do until you succeed," His Holiness said. When he snapped his fingers, Sentinel appeared beside him. "Sentinel will look over your progress while I give another test to the duke."

"Okay, Your Holiness," Tilly said, then she turned to her husband. "Good luck on the test, Kiho. Fighting."

Kiho gave him a small smile, then he put a hand on the top of her head. "You, too, honey. But don't push yourself, okay?"

She smiled and nodded. "Okay."

Much to her shock, her husband "fixed" the high collar of her shirt. She deliberately chose that shirt to hide the love bites on her neck.

What are you doing, Kiho?!

The mischievous look on his face told him he was doing it on purpose.

He's teasing me in front of other people!

"Go away," she said between giggles. "Stop teasing me, hon."

Kiho just gave her a lazy, sexy smile as a response.

But their flirting was cut abruptly when the saint cleared his throat loudly.

"Rule number 1," Saint Forrester said with a glare. "No flirting in front of me, remember?"

Kiho let go of her collar and returned to having a poker face. "Yes, Your Holiness."

Tilly stifled a laugh. "We apologize for our overflowing love for each other, Saint Forrester."

***

KIHO was surprised when Saint Forrester brought him in the bathroom. He expected the saint to send him to the same place where he sent him to before. "Are we not doing the same activity that you asked me to do before?"

"That one was too dangerous," Saint Forrester said, then he turned to him. "This time, I want you to get in the tub and fill it with water. To make it clearer, I want you to produce water out of thin air– just like how you produce ice."

He didn't like the sound of that. "Are you trying to make it easier for me because I suck?"

"No," the saint denied. "I should have started with this activity. But I got pissed by your arrogance so I gave you the hardest task to teach you a lesson."

"Oh."

"We don't much have time," His Holiness said. "I heard that Lord Prescott is staying in the annex because he doesn't want to interrupt your time with your wife. But I'm certain that he'll call you for dinner. So we must finish this activity before your father-in-law comes here."

"Alright," he agreed. "I'll make sure to succeed this time."

"Haste makes waste, Your Grace," Saint Forrester reminded him. "But since it's you, I want to see what you're really made of."

"I won't disappoint you this time, Your Holiness," Kiho said, then he hopped in the bath tub and sat there. He wished Tilly was there with him but right now, he had to focus on his mission. Let's get this done and over with so I can take a bath with my lovely wife again.

***

MIKHAIL Denver was surprised when a blue lizard suddenly appeared on his office table. "Captain Sherwood?"

Out of all the captains of the Four Orders, only Captain Sherwood owned a blue lizard that he also often used to send important messages. Yes, it wasn't an ordinary reptile. But this was the first time the captain used his blue lizard to communicate with him.

He didn't want to admit this but he suddenly felt nervous.

"Captain Denver," said Captain Sherwood's voice from the blue lizard. "Is it safe to talk right now?"

He looked around to make sure that he had locked the door of his office. The windows were opened but the tower was protected with a powerful spell that Miss Luna created. The witch would know if someone or something was spying on them.

Ah, I just realized that I already trust Miss Luna too much.

Still, the fact that Captain Sherwood was able to break the barrier to send the blue lizard to him was praise-worthy.

Well, he wouldn't be a captain if he wasn't that strong.

"I'm alone in my office right now," Mikhail Denver said. "What is it, Captain Sherwood?"

"His Majesty is making a move before dawn breaks," Captain Sherwood said. "I planted a spy in Sir Gregory's squad. According to my servant, Sir Gregory and his squad will "abduct" Lord Huxley and make it look like that the count died to avoid the noble trial."

He hissed angrily at what he heard. "His Majesty is supporting Lord Huxley, huh?"

"Well, duh. Lord Huxley is a part of Her Royal Highness's collection," the other captain reminded him. "Of course, His Majesty will protect his beloved's loyal follower."

He already expected that Lord Huxley's camp would make a move to save him.

But he didn't expect them to move this soon.

The date for the noble trial hasn't been decided yet because for obvious reasons, the palace was prolonging it. He wouldn't be surprised if he found out that it was the emperor's order to delay the verdict.

It's not like I expected those people to respect the law and follow due-process.

"I don't know why you're telling me this but I guess I should thank you, Captain Sherwood," he said carefully.

The information that the other captain gave was valuable.

But that didn't mean he would trust him easily.

"I'm only doing this because I heard that Duke Nystrom is attached to the child that Lord Huxley attacked," Captain Sherwood said. "I don't need your gratitude, Captain Denver. But I'd appreciate it if you put in a good word for me with the duke."

Now he understood why Duke Nystrom felt awkward around Captain Sherwood.

"I will let Duke Nystrom know that you shared a valuable piece of information with me regarding Lord Huxley's case," he said. "Thank you, Captain Sherwood."

The captain of the Blue Dragon Knights just laughed before he cut off the line.

Then, the blue lizard disappeared without leaving a trace.

After that, he heard a knock on the door. When he let the person in, Miss Luna entered his office.

"Is everything alright, Captain Denver?" Miss Luna asked, her face and voice indifferent as usual. "I felt a strong aura that broke the barrier I created. It didn't feel hostile so I let it in. But I want to make sure that you're okay."

"I'm fine, Miss Luna. Thank you for worrying about me," he said, then he stood up and ushered the witch to the lounge area of his office.

He called a servant to prepare refreshments for them.

A few moments later, two maids came in and served tea and snacks. After that, he asked them to leave. He knew that Miss Luna wouldn't visit his office without a reason.

"How is Flint's condition, Miss Luna?" he asked politely. "Is he still not conscious?"

"Lord Huxley almost destroyed all of Flint's vital organs," Miss Luna explained. "Since Flint is still a child, it's taking me a long time to heal him. After all, I have to be extra careful. But fortunately, his life is no longer in danger."

"That's good to hear," he said, relieved. "Thank you so much for everything you're doing for us, Miss Luna."

"It's nothing, Captain Denver. I just want to help the Nystroms as much as I could," she said. "Ah, right. Before Lady Nystrom left for Oakes, she wanted to talk to you about something. But she asked me to give you a heads-up."

"What is it?"

"The duke and the duchess are planning to adopt Flint and Julian."

His eyes almost popped out of his head. "As their children?"

It was unusual for high-ranking nobles to adopt children, especially if they were already having their own.

"Not as their children," the witch denied. "They want to adopt the children as Duke Nystrom's younger brothers."

"Oh," he said, still surprised. "Are they doing that to protect the children?��

She nodded, then sipped her tea before she spoke again. "The duke and the duchess have gotten attached to those kids."

"You don't look happy with their decision," he commented when he noticed the witch's furrowed brows.

"I'm just thinking about something else," she said. "Anyway, you have the children's custody, Captain Denver. Lady Nystrom wants me to tell you to please consider her request."

"I will," he promised. "Thank you for telling me, Miss Luna."

She just nodded before she changed the topic. "May I know what the strange aura that I felt a while ago, Captain Denver?"

"It was Captain Sherwood's messenger," he answered, then he sipped his tea before he continued. "The captain informed me that Sir Gregory's squad will "abduct" Lord Huxley before dawn breaks. They will probably hide the count to avoid the noble trial."

The witch scowled at that. "Where's the count again?"

"He's under house arrest right now," he explained. "But we are supposed to meet at the emperor's palace tomorrow to wait for the verdict regarding the noble trial that I requested. It seems like they will "abduct" the count while he's being escorted to the palace."

"Will you personally stop that from happening, Captain Denver?"

"I'm the only one in the tower who can fight Sir Gregory and his squad while protecting my identity," he said. "And as the leader, it's my duty to do this."

"Do you need my help?"

He shook his head. "Thank you for the offer but I don't want you to get hurt, Miss Luna."

The witch scoffed. "Are you looking down on me, captain? I'm not a frail lady."

"That, I know," he said with a smile. "But you're my guest, Miss Luna. So please let me protect you."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you flirting with me?"

"Can I?"

"No," Miss Luna said bluntly. "You're too young for me, Captain Denver." Before he could react to that, the witch already stood up. "Thank you for the refreshments. I'm going back to check on Flint. Just call me if you need me, sir."

And just like that, the witch left him without even giving him the chance to talk.

"Wow," Mikhail Denver whispered to himself, then he sipped his tea. "Did I just get rejected even before I get serious?"

***

WHEN TILLY opened her eyes, she found herself in a dark room while being surrounded by floating red feathers.

They're pretty.

She tried to touch the one in front of her but much to her shock, it flew away from her.

"Hey," Tilly complained, a bit offended. "Why did you avoid me like I have an infectious disease?"

Of course, the feather that got away didn't answer.

But she didn't give up. She tried to run after the feathers that she could reach. Unfortunately, all of it avoided her. When she got tired, she rested for a while and leaned against the wall.

And that was when she noticed a tiny glowing red feather in front of her face.

"Oh, you like me," she said with a smile, relieved that at least one of the feathers didn't avoid them. "Do you want to be friends?" she asked, then she extended her hand to it. "Come here, little one."

But as soon as she held the soft feather in her hand, it changed its shape…

… until she was holding a familiar stuff that she wouldn't mistaken for anything else.

Tilly's eyes almost popped out from shock. "A crab mallet?!"

***

NOTE: Hello, everyone. I'm now done with my privilege set. But because I rewrote and change some things, the arc got longer than expected and before I knew it, I already wrote 6 (actually, almost 7 chapters) instead of 5 as promised. But I don't want my privilege set to be expensive so I decided to post an update today to keep it at 5 chapters only.

I'll be posting my privilege set tomorrow.

Get ready to meet Lord Winter Nystrom.

:>