THE MOON Serpent is here.

The heavy rain and the heat in the air told Forrester that Winter Nystrom was finally born. And that also meant that the people waiting for this moment would make their move.

Just like this one.

"Where do you think you're going, Your Royal Highness?" Forrester asked the princess that he caught trying to sneak out of her chamber.

Princess Nia, despite being caught, remained calm. "Your Holiness, I know that the temple is your home and I am just a mere guest. But I hope you're not forgetting the fact that I'm still the princess and the future empress. You can't carelessly roam around my room. Especially not at this hour."

He smirked at that.

Based on the black elegant dress that Her Royal Highness wore tonight, it didn't look like she was about to sleep anyway.

"You should say that to the people waiting for you outside, Princess Nia," he said, purposely calling her by her name to remind her of his position. She might be the princess, but as the saint of the empire, she couldn't easily dismiss him as a mere subject of the royal family. "I don't accept visitors at this hour– especially not if the guests in question have questionable characters. I'm afraid I have to humbly ask you to make them leave, Your Royal Highness."

The princess scowled at him.

Obviously, a spoiled brat like her wouldn't be happy to not get what she wanted.

Your Majesty, look at how rotten your beloved has become because you've spoiled her too much.

"Your Holiness, I don't want to fight you," Princess Nia said in a menacing voice, her dangerous Mana leaking out as a threat. "Just so you know, I'm already fully recovered. I can kill you right here, right now and I'm sure my brother will still cover up for me."

He laughed at her childish threat. "I love how you claim to be disgusted by His Majesty, only to bring him up whenever you're in a tight spot. It makes me wonder if you really hate the emperor or you just don't want to accept the fact that you can't literally live without him?"

The princess sent a dark ball of energy at him.

He just slapped it like a fly but the poor innocent wall that was hit by the energy ball cracked because of the impact.

Oh, damn.

He would definitely never hear the end of it from Howard.

"That was just a warning, Your Holiness," Princess Nia said. "The next time I attack, I'll make sure you'd be half-dead."

"Scary," he said sarcastically. "Without my Holy Scepter and with my divine powers sealed, I am no match for you, Your Royal Highness."

The princess smiled triumphantly.

"That's why I sent a message to His Majesty."

As expected, the princess's smile was gone in an instant. "What?"

"I sent a message to His Majesty," he repeated with a big smile this time. "I said, "Your Majesty, your beloved Her Royal Highness is finally awake and the princess is looking for you.""

Anger ruined the princess's beautiful face. "Your Holiness!"

"I didn't promise that I won't tell His Majesty that you're already awake," he reminded her. "That was Howard, not me."

He only kept quiet all this time because he thought he could keep an eye on Princess Nia if she stayed in the temple. But the sudden birth of the Moon Serpent changed everything.

Thank goodness I trusted my instinct.

When he felt the change in the weather, he already had a feeling that the Moon Serpent would be born earlier than expected. He also knew that Princess Nia would make a move to steal Lady Nystrom's heart as soon as she gave birth.

That was why he secretly sent an urgent message to the emperor.

Come and pick up your baggage, Your Majesty.

"Instead of wasting my time on me, why don't you ask your guests to leave first, Your Royal Highness?" he said, seriously this time. "If His Majesty finds them waiting for you, I'm sure that he won't be happy to know that you summoned your collection first instead of him."

Princess Nia hissed at him. But in the end, she probably realized that he was right. And so, she ran back to her chamber.

You better put your acting skills to good use and pretend that you just woke up, Princess Nia.

Well, he didn't care about the royal twins' drama. He just didn't want his temple to get destroyed if the two fought.

The last time those two fought physically, they flattened a mountain.

Anyway, after making sure that Princess Nia and his underlings wouldn't attack the Nystroms anymore, he left the area.

"Your Holiness, where are you going?"

He turned around to find Howard. The High Priest had been working for him for many decades already but still, he couldn't fully trust him. Not that he trusted a lot of people. "His Majesty is on his way. I told him that Her Royal Highness has "just" woken up."

The High Priest looked shocked. "But why did you do that, Your Holiness? Her Royal Highness asked us to keep it a secret."

"Do I look like the type of person who would listen to other people?"

"No. Definitely not," Howard said right away. "But are you heading somewhere, Your Holiness?"

"Yes. So you take care of His Majesty," Forrester said, then he turned his back on the High Priest without giving more explanation. A god's rebirth is more important than a dumb emperor's visit.

***

KIHO'S heart was torn.

He knew that Winter needed the improvised "incubator" that Miss Luna asked him to do. But at the same time, he couldn't take his eyes off of Tilly who was barely conscious. He knew for a fact that they shouldn't allow his wife to fall asleep at that moment.

Winter also wouldn't stop crying as if he was in pain.

He felt so worthless because he couldn't do anything for his wife and son.

"Honey, hang in there," Kiho said to Tilly, his voice cracked a little. His hands were busy creating an "ice cube" big enough for Winter, but his eyes focused on Tilly. He knew that he should worry about his son that was in Miss Luna's arms right now. But still… "Please be strong for us, Tilly. You can't leave us, okay? You can't… I can't live without you…"

Tilly remained still, her chest barely moving to indicate that she was still breathing.

That sight of her scared the shit out of him,

He wasn't religious but at that very moment, he prayed to the gods to not take his wife away from them. From him. He really wouldn't be able to handle it if he lost Tilly.

"Duke Nystrom, I think that's big enough for your son," Miss Luna said. "I'll put the baby inside now."

With a heavy heart, he tore his gaze away from Tilly for a moment to look at the witch and his son. "How is Winter supposed to breathe in there? And wouldn't he freeze?"

There was a towel wrapped around his son but he knew it wouldn't be enough.

"Your son's dominant Mana is ice. He'll breathe in your Mana just fine," the witch explained. "Actually, that's what he needs right now. And the young lord wouldn't freeze. Don't forget that he has Lady Nystrom's Mana as well. That means half of his Mana is fire. Just like Lady Nystrom, he wouldn't feel cold."

After saying that, Miss Luna carefully put Winter inside the ice cube that floated in the air.

Then, the witch asked him to watch over his son as she ran toward Tilly.

He held in his breath while watching his son. If Winter showed any sign that he was uncomfortable, he would immediately melt the ice.

Thankfully, and much to his relief, Winter stopped crying as soon as he was inside the cube.

In fact, his son looked more comfortable now. He also noticed that Winter's complexion suddenly looked better. It was as if his Mana was somehow "nutritious" to him.

It was a huge relief.

"Hang in there, Winter," he whispered to his son, his hands firmly placed on the ice. Now that he had calmed down, the urge to hold Winter in his arms finally kicked in. But he had to hold back for now because their baby needed to be incubated first. He was just glad that his Mana was useful. "You're a strong rascal, aren't you?"

After he was sure that Winter was going to be fine, he turned to Tilly who was now being attended by Miss Luna.

The witch currently had her hands on Tilly's chest.

He could see a pink aura coming out of Miss Luna's hands and it seemed like it was being absorbed by his wife.

"Miss Luna, how's Tilly?" he asked worriedly. "She's going to be fine, isn't she?"

"I can't tell at her current state, Your Grace," Miss Luna said honestly without tearing her gaze away from Tilly. "The last barrier in Lady Nystrom's heart is starting to crack. I'm trying to seal it back but it's not easy. For some reason, the duchess is very angry. And it's the Supreme's weakness. Wrath is literally bad for her heart."

His brows furrowed in confusion.

He was aware that Tilly had a bad temper. But he couldn't think of a reason that could make her this angry.

What did I miss while I was gone?

"Ki… ho…"

"Yes, honey?" he said right away.

He wanted to run to his wife but his feet remained glued to his spot. After all, his son also needed him. And knowing Tilly, he knew that she would get mad at him if he left their Winter alone to get to her.

That was how selfless his other half was.

"It looks like Lady Nystrom has something important to tell you, Your Grace. She has calmed down when she finally noticed your presence," Miss Luna said, then she stood up and walked toward him. "I'll watch over the young lord."

He nodded, then he turned to Winter who was now sleeping peacefully in the ice cube. "Wait here, our little rascal. I���ll just check on your mommy."

He didn't know if it was just his imagination or did Winter really gave him a small smile.

"Kiho…"

Hearing Tilly call his name again made him ran toward her.

Then, he knelt beside her and gently touched her face. Her eyes were heavily-lidded but he could tell that she was trying to focus her gaze on him.

"I'm here, Tilly," Kiho said gently. Then, she held her hand and placed it on his cheek. He was relieved to feel her lovely warmth against his cold skin. "I'm here now."

"Winter…" Tilly said weakly. "Is he… safe?"

"Yes, honey. You gave birth early, but Winter is fine," he assured her. "You did a good job, Tilly. I'm very proud of you." He kissed the palm of her hand. "Thank you for working hard to deliver our little rascal safely in the world."

She smiled, clearly relieved that their son was fine despite being born prematurely.

Tilly, despite her weak state, still asked for their son first.

For the first time in his life, for someone like him who grew up as an orphan, he finally understood what a mother's unconditional love looked like.

Just when he thought he couldn't love Tilly more than he already did, he was proven wrong once again. He just fell harder and deeper in love with her. God, he didn't know he could love someone this much until she happened in his life.

His thoughts were cut-off when he noticed that Tilly's smile faded, then tears started to form in the corner of her eyes.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly. "Where does it hurt?"

She shook her head even though there was an evident pained look on her face. "Kiho, Father is gone."

Hearing that sent a chill down his spines.

Ironically, he froze on the spot.

Did I hear it right?

"I received a call from Father," his wife continued in a cracked voice. "He said his goodbye… and then… all of a sudden, I heard a voice of a stranger…" This time, she began to sob uncontrollably. "I heard it… that unknown man… he killed Father…"

Kiho felt gutted.

He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that his father-in-law was already dead. And now, he found out that Lord Prescott was killed.

And Tilly heard everything.

No wonder his wife was angry.

He felt the same way, too.

"The killer said that he killed Father for no reason… but just to kill time…" his wife said, her voice filled with anger. He also noticed that her body was starting to burn up. "He introduced himself… as a descendant… of the Black Serpent…"

For some reason, hearing that felt like he was stabbed by a sword in the heart.

It was painful.

"I'll kill them, Kiho," Tilly promised in a eerily calm manner. But the angrier she got, the calmer she became. "I will… never… forgive them… for killing… Father…"

Before he knew it, tears were already rolling down his cheeks.

He was angry.

But he was also hurt.

Kiho felt like something in his chest was about to explode.

***

OH, GOD!

Luna considered herself as a calm person. She doesn't usually panic because almost all the time, she knows what to do. That was probably one of the the perks of having a long life.

But apparently, not this time.

She was busy attending to Lord Winter Nystrom.

But all of a sudden, the Supreme and the Black Serpent literally froze on the spot. And the reason wasn't good, it never was for a situation like that.

The crack in the barrier in Lady Nystrom's heart was starting to grow bigger. The fact that Sentinel wasn't coming out only meant that he was busy trying to prevent the barrier from breaking even more.

Hang in there, Sentinel.

The problem was Kiho Nystrom.

"Please, no," Luna whispered, her voice filled with panic. "Please don't wake up, Black Serpent."

***

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