"YOUNG MASTER, is everything alright?"

Winter swung his sword with a little more force than usual. As expected, it created a strong wave that created a long and deep crack in the ground. The crack only stopped when it hit and sliced several trees in the forest surrounding his training area.

After that, he returned his sword in the sheath before he turned around to face Vice-Captain Blake, his swords master.

"Yeah, everything is fine," Winter said in his usual cold voice and blank face that he inherited from his stoic father. "Father finally decided to divorce my mother."

Blake looked shocked by his revelation.

"And Father met another woman that he said he wants to marry," he added, making his poor instructor turn pale. Blake was a loyal follower of his father, and divorce among higher nobles were frowned upon. The Vice-Captain was probably worried about his father since his place in the higher society might be affected by the divorce. "Don't worry, Blake. Father will be fine even if he divorced Mother. Although my father's wealth is relatively small compared to the wealth that Mother inherited from my grandfather, we'll be fine. Father has already established his position as the empire's pillar. The stuck-up higher nobles can't bully him anymore."

After all, his father was the most trusted knight of the emperor.

And he, the son of Duke Kiho Prescott, was the heir apparent of Emperor Aku who refused to take another empress after Princess Nia was exiled.

The princess was exiled because of my mother.

"I know that His Grace can take care of himself even after the divorced," Blake said, then he gave him a look filled of worry. "I'm worried about you, Young Master."

Oh, that was a surprise.

He thought that Blake and the Black Serpent Knights only cared about him because he was his father's only son. But it seemed like the Vice-Captain genuinely cared about him.

"I'm fine," Winter said casually, then he turned his back on Black and walked back to his residence. "My parents' problem is none of my business anyway."

***

"I'M GLAD to see that you look fine, Winter."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Winter said, then he sipped his tea. Right now, he was in the presence of Emperor Aku because he invited him for an afternoon tea in his garden. Every time he would spend time with the emperor, he would ask his guards to leave the two of them alone. "Please don't be worried about me. I've always known that my parents would divorce someday, judging by how awful their married life had been so far."

Well, that wasn't necessarily true.

He had vague, happy memories with his parents when he was still a toddler. His mother hadn't always been that crazy, and his father used to show affection to his mother. Despite everything, he knew that he was loved by his parents.

And that was why he kept wondering what went wrong with his family.

"You don't have to worry about your parents' divorce," Emperor Aku said, then he elegantly put his teacup down on the table. "Kiho's status as a higher noble won't be taken away from him since he already proved himself to be worthy of his title even without Lady Prescott. On the other hand, your mother has too much wealth that she won't be cast aside by the society even if she divorced your father. That's why your position as my heir wouldn't get affected."

He nodded in agreement. "I know that, Your Majesty. It's not like people could complain about my family background because even though my parents will be officially divorced soon, they're still a lot better than any of them. My mother is arguably the richest noblewoman in the empire. On the other hand, my father is a duke and the captain of the Black Serpent Knights.

The emperor laughed softly. "Confident, aren't we?"

He just sipped his tea.

"Well, your blood as a Prescott won't matter anymore once you start attending your official royal duties," His Majesty said. "By then, people will start to refer to you as 'His Royal Highness.' That means you'll officially become a part of the royal family."

In short, I won't be a Prescott by then.

Winter was already the heir apparent to the throne because His Majesty didn't have a son.

But he wasn't officially declared as the crown prince yet. Unlike other empires or countries, the Moonchester Empire heavily relied on the High Priest's visions when it comes to deciding the perfect date for certain big occasions such as his coronation.

According to the High Priest, he shall be hailed as the crown prince during his fifteenth birthday. And that was still three years away from now.

"Winter, that's the reason why I summoned you here," Emperor Aku continued. "I have a request."

"What is it, Your Majesty?"

"Stop your killing spree."

He froze on his spot when he heard that.

The emperor smiled at him. "I'm sorry but I had to ask my people to keep an eye on you since you're my successor. I've known for quite sometime now that you're killing people who wronged you instead of going through a proper trial."

He flinched, but he couldn't deny it.

"At first, I didn't mind because I know that those people deserved to die after they offended you," His Majesty continued. "But recently, I heard that you've begun going out at night to seek your next victims. I heard that you're targetting the scums of the society. Although it could be considered as a public service, it will still stain your reputation as the future crown prince if people find out that you're killing our citizens even if they were trash."

He bit his lower lip before he continued. "Your Majesty, are you not going to tell Father about what you found out about me?"

"Do you want me to?"

He shook his head. "Father will hate me if he finds out."

The emperor paused, and then he laughed merrily. "You're still scared of Kiho."

He didn't respond to that.

It wasn't like he was afraid of his father. It was more like he was craving for his attention but he didn't want to disappoint him. Yes, his feelings were complicated.

Just how he loved his mother but there were times that he wanted to be mad at her.

"Winter, you are higher in rank than your father," His Majesty reminded him carefully. "I'm the only person above you so don't be afraid of Kiho. Most of all, he would never hurt you. Remember that, okay?"

Winter nodded politely. "I will, Your Majesty."

Emperor Aku smiled at him. "Good," he said. "You and Kiho should just always listen to me and in return, I will protect the two of you at all cost."

***

MOTHER is strange today.

Winter visited his mother who was still staying at the mansion of House Prescott.

To be precise, he was currently in her room. He heard from his father that he already sent the divorce papers to his mother. And that was the reason for his visit.

He expected his mother to be enraged. But instead, he was greeted by his mother who was calmly preparing tea for him. He also noticed that she didn't look angry or hurt. In fact, for some reason, she looked refreshed.

"I'm glad that you visited me today, Winter," his mother said with a smile after she poured tea in his teacup. Then, she sat on the chair opposite from him. "I was feeling lonely after I read the divorce papers that your father sent me a while ago. But seeing your face now…" She paused to look at his face as if she was memorizing it, then she smiled warmly at him. He could tell right away that it was a genuine smile. "Your presence gives me strength, son."

Ah, this was the mother in his earliest memories.

"Mother, are you alright?" Winter asked worriedly. Whenever his mother was acting like a lunatic, he would feel embarrassed and upset. But of course, deep in his heart, he still loved her. And the love that he had for his mother would be stronger every time she would act like how he remembered her back when he was a toddler. "You must be upset because Father sent you the divorce papers instead of talking to you in person."

One of the biggest flaws that he noticed in his parents' marriage life was his mother and father's lack of communication.

Once his mother was angry, his father would just turn completely silent.

And once his mother was full of his father's nonchalance, she would walk away from him and leave the mansion until she calmed down.

Instead of properly fixing the problem, they would just simply ignore it and pretend that everything was fine. Then, once it happened again, the cycle would just get repeated. And thus, there were times that his mother would explode from anger and dig all the problems that they never bothered to fix.

"Your father made the right decision," his mother said in a patient voice. But although she was trying to put a brave face on, pain was still visible in her eyes. "It's best to end our marriage this way."

His mother's pitiful look squeezed his heart painfully. "Mother…"

"I don't deserve Kiho," his mother said with a sad smile on her face. "I just wish that the woman that he fell in love with would treat you well, Winter." She put a hand on top of his and squeezed it gently. "Winter, I hope she'd be a better mother to you than I was to you." When she spoke again, her voice cracked a little. "Just don't forget that I'm your mother, Winter."

Winter just kept his silence then.

***

WINTER was surprised when he saw Princess Nia and her knight-mage called Lahara when he went out of his mother's chamber.

She noticed that Lahara was holding a huge bouquet of Moonflowers.

Her Royal Highness always brings that flower to my mother.

"Greetings, Princess Nia," Winter greeted the royal princess in a short yet polite way. Princess Nia insisted that he greeted her "casually" since they were family. "Thank you for taking care of my mother."

Princess Nia smiled at him warmly. "It's nothing, Winter," she said in her gentle voice. "After all, your mother and I are very good friends."

He thought he heard Lahara stifle her laughter.

But when he turned to her, he saw that her face was as blank as usual.

Winter's brows furrowed in confusion. Did she just laugh?

***

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