"I UNDERSTAND if you want to sacrifice yourself for the young lord, Lady Nystrom," Sentinel said with a scowl. "But I can't allow you to sacrifice for the Black Serpent."

"I'm not asking for your permission, Sentinel," Tilly said with a laugh. "Also, I'd appreciate it if you stop comparing Kiho with the Black Serpent. Even though they're the same person, I'd still like to believe that my Kiho is different from the Supreme's Nystrom."

"My lady…"

"Don't worry too much, Sentinel," she assured him. "I have no intention of dying."

"Facing the emperor alone is equal to suicide, my lady."

"The emperor won't stop chasing me anyway," she reasoned. "I'd rather face him in my awakened state than face him in my current weak state. Don't you agree, Sentinel?"

The spirit guardian didn't answer but she could see it in his eyes that he agreed with her.

"Do you know how I can awaken on my own?" she asked. "Being angry works but it kind of makes me lose myself. This time, I want to awaken because of my own will and not because of wrath."

"Only Lord Wixx could unseal your memories safely, Lady Nystrom," Sentinel said. "But as far as I know, you can undo the seal on your own by uttering the secret code that you came up with, my lady. I don't think you remember the code though."

A code, huh?

"I'll figure it out," Tilly said. "Sentinel, how can I make Kiho sleep later?"

***

"WINTER, your mommy is really working hard right now."

"I know, Dad," Winter said while shaking his tiny head. To be honest, he was trying his best not to fall asleep. But his father was standing beside the window of their room while rocking him in his arms. They were waiting for someone but at this rate, he might fall asleep even before their guest arrived. "And I don't even know what's going on."

He just knew that they were in danger.

But there was nothing new with that. Even in his first life, they had been hunted down by different forces who wanted their family's power. Too bad they fell into the trap before.

It won't happen this time, I swear.

"I love your mommy's bravery and wits. Still, I'm worried about her. Sometimes, she can be reckless. I can't stop her though," his father continued. Then, in a whisper, he added: "Your mom is so sexy when she's scheming on something."

Winter raised his tiny hand and lightly slapped his father's cheek. Stop being a cringe, Dad.

Well, maybe it was rude of him to "slap" his dad. But his father's thoughts were inappropriate! He already knew that his dad was crazy in love with his mom. That was a good thing, but his dad didn't have to show his affection to his mom every freaking minute.

"Sorry, little rascal," his father said, his cheeks red from embarrassment. "That was too much, wasn't it?"

He eagerly nodded his tiny head.

"I love your mommy very much," his dad continued, then he rubbed his nose against his tiny one. "I love her too much that I even consider you a rival."

He just rolled his eyes at that.

"We'll be moving to a far away land, Winter," his father said in a serious tone this time. "If we have a choice, I wouldn't want to raise you in a different place. I can't say this to your mommy but I have a weird attachment to the Royal Capital even though I wasn't born here."

He suddenly felt sympathetic towards his father.

To be honest, he didn't find out anything about his dad's origin in his past life. Unfortunately, after he discovered the truth about his mother, he was killed. The only thing that he found strange back then was the fact that His Majesty was fond of his father. And that his dad was oddly loyal to the emperor despite everything.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Winter said, then he gently patted his father's cheek. "I will take care of you this time."

His father smiled, then he got serious when he turned to the window. He also noticed that his dad pulled him closer to his body. If he was being that overprotective, that only meant that their guest had arrived. "Winter, I'll introduce you to Captain Sherwood," he said, then he looked at him. "He'll be our ally for now but don't trust him completely, okay?"

***

LUNA clicked her tongue when she found herself still inside the premise of the temple.

She managed to escape the prayer room with Saint Forrester but unfortunately, someone put a strong barrier around the temple. Breaking the barrier in the prayer room and forcing their way out had already consumed half of her energy.

The barrier around the temple didn't seem like something she could break easily.

How can we escape from here?

Luckily, they seemed to be far from the prayer room.

Right now, they were in a garden with a pavilion in the middle. She wasn't sure where exactly they were. All she knew was it wouldn't be easy to get out of there because there were two of them. If she was alone, she just needed to crack the barrier a bit and she'd be able to escape. But of course, she couldn't leave the temple alone.

She turned to Saint Forrester who was now in his "child" form. This time, he didn't change his appearance on purpose. He reverted to his child form because his Mana was almost depleted. But thanks to that, she was able to carry him easier.

"Your Holiness, please hang in there," Luna whispered. "I'll find a way out."

"You're not going anywhere, witch."

She looked up to see the Golden Tiger standing on the pavilion's roof.

"Go," Saint Forrester said. Then, much to her shock, he leapt from her arms and stood protectively in front of her. "They can't catch you, Luna. Now that the dumb emperor knows your value, he will do anything to capture you."

"I can't leave you alone, Your Holiness," she insisted. "I came here to save you!"

"And I appreciate it," he said, then he turned to her with a weak smile. "I'll die without regrets as long as my life won't end at the hands of the dumb emperor."

"But Your Holiness–"

She stopped midway when they heard the loud growl of the Golden Tiger.

The next thing she knew, the Beast God was already coming at them.

"Go!" Saint Forrester said, then he turned his back on her while his body was starting to return to its adult size. She could tell that the saint was using the remaining divine power in him. "Take care of the Nystroms for me, Luna," he said softly. "Don't let the history between the Supreme and the Black Serpent to repeat itself."

She accepted the fact that only one of them could escape the temple alive with a heavy heart. Her gaze became blurry as her body started to fade in a pinkish light– and it was the light that was currently trying to crack the barrier for her to escape.

When the Golden Tiger transformed into its beast form, she saw the "air of death" around Saint Forrester.

The saint's life ends here.

As soon as Luna broke the barrier, she closed her eyes tight. "I'm so sorry, Your Holiness," she whispered while her body was starting to disappear. "I will protect the Nystroms no matter what happens."

***

TODAY, Tilly planted the seeds that she hoped would help them in the future.

In her office, she gathered Louisa (the head maid), David (the head butler), Amilo (Kiho's trusted jeweler), Isabelle, Blake, and even Captain Sherwood.

She discussed to everyone in the room the plan that she already decided with Kiho a while ago. Her husband couldn't join the meeting because he was looking after Winter who fell asleep in his arms while Captain Sherwood was pledging his loyalty to them.

Yep, she and Winter already accepted the captain's pledge.

"If something unfortunate befalls on me and Kiho, I want you to continue the task that I entrusted you with," Tilly said as she wrapped up their meeting. She didn't have the time to explain further because her family needed to leave now. "Document every single thing that will happen as soon as we leave."

For safety purposes, the only people that they would bring with them to Mount Sola were Isabelle and Luna.

Amilo would stay in the Royal Capital and she put him in-charge of making sure that the cameras and videos that she left with her allies would work. Also, she gave the jeweler the blueprint of the "CCTV" that she wanted him to develop in secret.

On the other hand, the Black Serpent Knights, led by Blake, would leave the Royal Capital and secretly follow Captain Denver to the North. It wasn't wise to travel with a huge group but they had to do that for now. She also didn't want to leave the servants of House Prescott and House Nystrom, but she had no choice.

To make sure that the emperor wouldn't kill them, she left a little "curse" that His Majesty would find out once he tried to hurt her servants.

Now, they were ready to leave.

"We will continue protecting House Prescott and House Nystrom even if we were far-away," she promised. "Do you trust me?"

"We trust you, my lady," everyone said with a bow.

She smiled sadly. "I trust you all as well," she said. "Everyone may leave now except for Captain Sherwood."

Louisa, David, Amilo, Isabelle, and Blake all bowed to her before they left the room.

As soon as the doors closed, she faced the captain.

"Captain Sherwood, I'm leaving Kiho and Winter in your capable hands."

Captain Sherwood looked shocked by her declaration. "What do you mean by that, Lady Nystrom?"

"I have to stay behind and kill His Majesty," Tilly said seriously. "I want you to bring Kiho and Winter to Mount Sola whatever happens, Captain Sherwood."

***

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