KIHO felt proud while watching Winter crack the shell of a giant King Crab with his own crab mallet. He could clearly see that his son was used to eating seafood. It warmed his heart to know that they had the same taste in food. "Little rascal, did your mommy give that crab mallet to you?"

Winter smiled and nodded. "Yes, Daddy," he said. "I still have the crab mallet that you gave me when I was a baby."

You're still a baby.

"But I already outgrew it so I kept it in my room as a display," his son continued.

"I gave you a crab mallet?"

"Yes, Dad."

The fact that he forgot that made him feel down.

"It's okay if you don't remember it, Dad," Winter consoled him. "We only had a few weeks together before we got separated. But now that we're reunited, we can make new memories. Especially once Mom returns."

"How can you be so understanding at that age?" he asked, amused.

"Mommy always tells me that I shouldn't blame you for what happened, Dad," his son said. "According to Mommy, the only people to blame for our separation are the "nasty royal twins."" He paused for a while. "And the "useless gods" up in the sky."

He bit his lower lip to stop himself from laughing. "Your mom is a wonderful woman, isn't she?"

"She is," Winter said with full admiration. "If it's not for Mommy's quick thinking, I bet we wouldn't have gotten back on our feet right away."

He nodded in agreement. To be honest, sometimes he still couldn't believe how his wife managed to prepare everything in such a short period of time. And considering how loyal her people were, he could only conclude that the duchess was indeed amazing. "On the other hand, I've done nothing to protect our family," he said while shaking his head. "All I did for the past five years was to follow your mommy's instructions."

"Dad, it's not a competition of who contributes more to the family," his son scolded him. "The important thing is all of us are doing something to keep our family together. If you didn't trust mommy, you wouldn't have followed her instructions. And if you had let yourself become a puppet for the royal family, then Mommy's plan wouldn't have worked. Do you get what I'm saying, Dad? Everything worked out properly because we all did our job well."

"Your mother raised you well," he said proudly, then he wiped off the melted butter at the corner of his mouth with his hand. "Thank you for growing up like that, Winter. Even though we only got reunited, I'm already very proud of you."

His son smiled, his cheeks red from embarrassment. But his golden eyes were glowing. Since they had the same eyes, he could tell that the little rascal was happy.

So was he.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"What's going to happen to me now?" Winter asked seriously with a hint of fear in his voice. "I heard that Julian is pretending to be your son. Do I still have a place in your life?"

Hearing that from his son made his chest tighten painfully.

"Winter, you're my son," he said gently. "You are irreplaceable in my life."

"But you'll get in trouble if they find out that I'm with you, right?"

He opened his arms. "Come here, little rascal."

His son got off the chair and walked towards him. Then, he picked him up and put the little rascal on his lap.

"Winter, I won't let you get separated from me again," he assured his son. "I will bring you back to your rightful place. And you don't have to worry about anything." He ruffled his son's hair. "Daddy will protect you."

Winter got teary-eyed. Then, he wrapped his tiny arms around his neck. "Thank you, Daddy," he whispered in a cracked voice. "I love you."

He felt a lump in his throat. Then, he hugged his son tight, afraid that this might all be a dream again.

For the past years, he could no longer count how many days and nights had he dreamt of being reunited with his wife and son again. Every time that he would wake up from that dream, his heart would sink once the reality that he was still alone kicked in.

But now, despite Winter's cold body just like his, he felt warm because of his lovely words.

"I love you, Winter," Kiho said while hugging his son tighter. Then, he kissed the top of Winter's head. "You and your mommy."

***

AKU couldn't believe that Sir Gregory was killed in front of him in just a few seconds.

He tried to help his loyal knight but then, he realized that his entire chamber was controlled by Lady Nystrom's Mana. That meant he couldn't use his own Mana because her power was overwhelming his.

Sir Gregory, I'm sorry.

He was devastated. Sir Gregory was the most loyal and trusted knight that he ever had. He was irreplaceable and yet, he couldn't save him. Heck, he couldn't even grieve for the poor old knight because he knew that he couldn't let his guard down around Lady Nystrom.

How did she get this strong?

He could also feel the room getting unusually hot. It was as if his chamber was suddenly put on top of boiling lava. He also had a feeling that Lady Nystrom's Mana had "hidden" his room. In short, no one would come to rescue him because no one even knew that his chamber had been infiltrated.

Even Soleil Rosenberg's Mana didn't feel this overpowering.

"It looks like you really work hard to be that powerful, Lady Nystrom," Aku said with a smirk. Of course, he could fight the Supreme if he needed to. But he liked using her weakness against her. After all, no matter how many times she got reborn, she would always have a hard time controlling her emotions. "Can you really kill me this time even though you already know that my heart is the Moon Serpent's original heart?"

Lady Nystrom smirked…

… and in just the blink of an eye, she was already in front of him. Not only that. She had also stabbed him in the chest with her bare hand. And now, she was holding his still beating heart in that bare and warm hand of hers.

He coughed blood in shock.

How…

"I told you– I don't remember anything about my past," Lady Nystrom said in a cold voice. "So what if you have the Moon Serpent's heart? My son is alive now and that's all that matters to me."

Death.

That was the first thing that entered his mind as chills went down his spine. For the first time in that era, he felt like he was really going to die for real.

This isn't the Lady Rosenberg or Lady Nystrom that I know.

Just when he thought that she would really kill him, she pulled her hand out of his chest and laughed merrily.

"Your life is no longer worth taking, Aku Moonchester," Lady Nystrom said. "Plus, I know that if I killed you right now, you're beloved twin sister or your allies will somehow find a way to blame your death on the Fire Mages. I can't let you tarnish our reputation again."

"So, that's your goal, huh?" Aku said with a smirk. He covered the hole in his chest with his hand while trying to stop the bleeding and close the wound. Fortunately, the Supreme didn't damage his heart. It seemed like she just stabbed him as a warning. "Are you here to clear the allegations against the Fire Mages, Lady Nystrom?"

***

"ARE YOU here to clear the allegations against the Fire Mages, Lady Nystrom?"

Tilly knew that Aku Moonchester would get her intention right away.

If he wasn't at least that smart, he wouldn't have lived this long.

Instead of answering the evil emperor's question, she turned to the balcony where she felt a presence join them. Ordinary knights wouldn't be able to crack the barrier that she made using her Mana– not even Nia Moonchester. Only one person in the palace could do that.

"Join us, Elis Ripperton," Tilly said in a playful tone. "I didn't bring an aide so you'll do."

A gentle breeze brought Elis Ripperton beside her.

She noticed that unlike the memory of him that she had, his hair was cut short now. Plus, instead of an elegant robe, he was wearing the uniform of the captain of the Blue Dragon Knights. It was like an upgraded version of Captain Sherwood's previous uniform.

Gosh, Captain Sherwood was fired. He probably prioritized his fanboying over his captain duties. He's on the same level as Saint Forrester.

"I didn't expect to see you as soon as I returned from my mission, Lady Rosenberg," Elis Ripperton said, then he handed over a blue handkerchief to her. "Welcome back, Supreme."

"Thanks," she said, then she grabbed the hankie he offered and used it to wipe Aku Moonchester's disgusting blood off her hand. "Don't even think about stabbing me in the back again, Elis Ripperton. Just so you know, I'm not the weak version of myself that you met five years ago."

"I can tell that," the Blue Dragon said. "Your Mana feels very different now, Supreme."

And she had to thank Solaris's "Spartan training" for that.

According to the Fire Archmage, her brother Wixx's "favorite mode of killing" was melting his enemies with his lava. Solaris inherited the Red Phoenix's lava, and he trained her hard until she was able to use the same technique that not even Soleil Rosenberg had used in the past.

"If you're wondering how I became this strong, it's simple: "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,"" Tilly said, then she looked at Elis Ripperton as she dropped the handkerchief on the floor. "Elis Ripperton, make some tea for us," she said, then she turned to Aku Moonchester whose wound had finally closed. "Let's talk over a cup of tea, Your Ma-jes-ty."

***

JULIAN smiled after he finished the painting that he had been secretly working in for the past weeks.

Since his father didn't like taking pictures and he was too shy to ask for one, he decided to paint himself with his father instead. He was a painter in his past life but since he was still a little boy in this lifetime, his technique was still inadequate. He needed more practice if he wanted to be as good as he was before.

But I hope Father likes this one.

He smiled with the thought of his father praising him.

I want to hear Father say that he's proud of me.

"Julian, you're here."

Julian's smile faded when he heard his mother's voice. When he turned to her, he found her standing beside the art room's door. "What are you doing here at this hour, Lady Huxley?"

"You can call me "mother" when there's only the two of us here," his mother said, then she walked towards him. "You should still be resting since you just recovered from getting poisoned." She let out a frustrated sigh while shaking her head. "I can't believe your father still left for work after that."

"I was the one who told Father that he can leave since I'm already well," he said. And it was true. If he didn't force his father to go to Atlenta to harvest cultured pearls, he would have stayed with him. "Lady Huxley, please leave. Father will just get angry at you again if he found out that you're here."

"I can't leave my son alone when his father isn't at home," his mother insisted. "And don't worry. Kiho won't get mad at me. The rats are already gone."

His chest tightened when he remembered that Louisa and David were already gone.

I'm so sorry I wasn't able to help you…

"Do you really have to poison me for that?" he asked his mother. "And don't you feel guilty for doing that to people who served father all these years?"

His mother smiled and touched his face. "Son, don't pretend that you care for them when you didn't do anything to save them in the first place. You can always tell your father what you know but you didn't. And I know why."

His heart thumped against his chest painfully because of guilt.

"You don't want to lose your place as your father's only son, do you?" his mother asked tauntingly, then she turned to his painting. "Aww, this is a nice painting. But it would have been nicer if you painted me as well." She turned to him with a sweet smile. "Julian, do you want us to be a complete family this time, right?" Once again, she cupped his face. "If you don't want Winter to take your father away from you again, you better listen to me. We will make Kiho love you until his other son has no place to return to anymore. Do you hear me?"

"Winter is my brother…"

"He doesn't think of you as one," she said coldly. "Winter never did think of you as an equal because I was the one who gave birth to you."

He turned his gaze away from his mother.

To be honest, he wanted to think that he could get along well with Winter. But the way he treated him when they were still both babies said otherwise.

"Don't lose to Winter," his mother said, then she hugged him. "I will make sure that Winter and the former duchess can never return to House Nystrom ever again."

Julian closed his eyes tight.

I don't want to think anymore.

***

TILLY felt satisfied when Elis Ripperton poured some tea in her tea cup.

To be honest, she was a little relieved that the Blue Dragon didn't seem like he wanted to fight. It wasn't like she wasn't confident that she couldn't take him down. But she promised her people that she would stick to the plan.

And fighting Aku Moonchester plus his minions isn't a part of it.

Not yet, at least.

Anyway, like Elis Ripperton, it seemed like the emperor also realized that she didn't come there to fight.

In fact, things were going smoothly.

While the Blue Dragon was preparing some tea for them, Aku Moonchester changed his (bloody) clothes in his walk-in room. From his sleeping attire, he now wore his usual outfit as the emperor.

And now, they were having tea in the lounge of his chamber.

"So, what exactly do you want?" Aku Moonchester asked, then he sipped his tea. "If your goal isn't to kill me, then you're probably here to negotiate with me."

Tilly picked up her tea cup and smelled the aroma. It didn't have poison or other chemicals added to it. After she was sure that the tea was clean, only then did she sip it. "I'm here to prove to the whole empire that the Fire Mages are innocent. To do that, I'm demanding for your cooperation."

She and her Keepers decided that it was their main goal this time.

Simply killing the Moonchesters wouldn't make their name clean. They had to prove their innocence first, then expose that royal family's sins one by one. That was the only way they could overthrow the Moonchesters and gain the people's trust at the same time.

If they started a war without the people knowing what was really going on, it would only look like that the Fire Mages were indeed traitors. So even if they won, she was pretty sure that the people would just rebel against them to avenge the Moonchesters.

I don't want Aku Moonchester to die a hero in the eyes of his people.

Elis Ripperton, who stood behind the emperor after he served her tea, raised a brow. "Interesting. You never cared about your clan before because your top priority back then was the Black Serpent, Supreme."

Ouch.

She wanted to give a retort but she realized that the Blue Dragon was right.

Gosh, Soleil. You give our title a bad name.

Aku Moonchester nodded in agreement. "What made you think that I will let you do that, Lady Nsytrom?"

"I can fix Nia Moonchester's body."

She could also blackmail the emperor with all the videos that they had that would expose his evil doings to his citizens. But without context, it would only look like House Nystrom had betrayed the royal family.

Plus, if she told Aku Moonchester about the pieces of evidence that she had, he would just make a move to destroy them.

So for now, she'd save it for later.

"Tempting," the emperor said in a cold voice. "But do you think that's enough–"

"Let's play a game," she cut him off with a bright smile. "Aku Moonchester, I know what exactly you want besides Nia Moonchester."

Well, the information didn't come from her.

What she knew about Aku Moonchester's real goal was something that she had learned from Solaris.

Thank you, my grand-great nephew or whatever.

"Do you know what I want?" Aku Moonchester asked with a smirk. "What is it then?"

"The last key that you seek," Tilly said with a smile. "The last key for you to open the gates of heaven to become a god."

***

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