WINTER was supposed to confront his father that morning but much to his disappointment, his father went out during dawn. According to the servants, his father was summoned by His Majesty that early.

And then, during lunch time, a terrible incident happened.

His father arrived at the mansion with his stepmother in his arms. He noticed right away that his stepmother was heavily injured. Thus, the commotion from the servants who greeted his parents in the main entrance of the mansion.

"What happened, Father?" Winter asked worriedly while cheking if his father was hurt too. Thankfully, he looked fine to him. "Were you attacked?"

"I wasn't hurt," his father said, then he turned to his stepmother. "Lucina was on her way to my office to bring me lunch when her carriage was attacked."

He heard a collective gasp from the servants.

"Who would do such thing to Mother?" he asked curiously. Even after his birth mother divorced his father, his father still remained as Duke Kiho Prescott. Most of all, everyone in the empire knew that the emperor cherished their family as if it was his own. "Is it someone from the rebel group? Or the Noble Faction, perhaps?"

His father didn't respond.

"The assailants were caught, Winter," his stepmother said with a sad smile. "They said they were ordered by Lady Prescott to kill me."

Again, the servants all gasped in surprise.

On the other hand, he turned to his father for confirmation.

"The assailants pointed Tilly as the mastermind," his father confirmed. "But we're still investigating the case."

"How's Mother?" Winter asked worriedly. "Father, can I visit Mother?"

Just before his father could open his mouth, his stepmother beat him to it.

"Winter, I'm sorry but I don't think you should visit Lady Prescott now," his stepmother said while giving him an apologetic smile. "It's not right for the future crown prince to be involved in this mess so please stay here for the meantime, hmm?"

"Your mother is right, Winter," his father said sternly. "And thus, I forbid you from visiting Tilly for now."

Winter clenched his fists but he didn't dare to oppose his father in front of their servants. "I understand, Father."

***

"YOUNG MASTER, are you alright?"

Winter didn't mean to but he gave Captain Sherwood a cold glance when he turned to him. "I'm fine," he snarled at him. "Why are you asking such a useless question?"

Since Captain Sherwood was naturally a carefree person, it seemed like he didn't mind that he lashed out on him. Instead, he smiled and ruffled his hair. "I will ask the servants to prepare tea for us. We should take a break first, Young Master."

After saying that, the captain left him in the training ground to call the servants.

This time, they were just in the spacious courtyard of Captain Sherwood's estate. Since their training session always ended up getting too brutal, he forbade his servants to stand-by or watch for them to avoid getting accidentally hurt.

My head hurts.

Since nobody was watching him anyway, he laid on the ground to look at the orange-y sky due to sunset.

I want to freeze the sky.

He seemed to be eternally pissed for the past few months.

After all, the attack against his stepmother had never stopped ever since the first one. Worse, every single assailant had pointed out that his birth mother was the mastermind. He didn't know if it was fortunate or not but his birth mother managed to avoid getting punished because of lack of evidence.

But Mother's reputation has been severely damaged. She has also become the laughingstock of the high society.

He heard that his birth mother hadn't gone out of her room for the whole month. Unfortunately, his father still didn't want him to visit the Prescott mansion. He also couldn't discreetly go anywhere else aside from his scheduled appointments because Captain Sherwood was keeping an eye on him like a hawk.

Mother…

"Young Master."

He got up when he heard an unfamiliar voice. When he looked up, he was greeted by a man with a haircolor the same as the orange-y sky above them. Also, he looked grumpier than him. "Captain Denver, you're here?"

"I made an appointment with you through Captain Sherwoord but apparently, that idiot forgot to relay my message to you," Captain Denver said bluntly. He was probably the only man aside from his father who could call Captain Sherwood an "idiot" without batting an eye. "Thus, I forced him to give a portion of your time today. But of course, only if you allow me, Young Master."

"I didn't know that you talk this much, Captain Denver," he said, then he stood up. "What do you need from me?"

"Your training session with the Blue Dragon Knights will be ending in two weeks," the captain of the Red Phoenix Knights said. "The Golden Tiger Knights were supposed to take you in next. But I asked Captain Ainsworth if we could switch schedules. He said he'd only agree if I have your permission to change the schedule."

"So, you want to take me in after my training session ends with the Blue Dragon Knights?"

"Precisely, Young Master."

He raised a brow at that. "Why though?"

"Because your original schedule with us happens to be on the start of winter," Captain Denver said in a firm, cold voice. "We, the Fire Wielders, hate winter."

For some reason, he flinched at the captain's words.

Why did it sound like he's saying that they hate me instead of the season?

"Alright, let's do that," he said coldly. "I want to know why the Fire Wielders hate winter."

"Very well, young master," the captain said. "Now, I shall take my leave."

He was about to say something when all of a sudden, he felt a throb in his head. He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose as a result.

"Young Master, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just headache," he said curtly. "You may leave now, Captain Denver."

"Young Master…"

"What?"

"Get rid of the Moonflowers in your mansion."

He turned to the captain suspiciously. "What do you mean by that? And how did you know that there are Moonflowers in our estate?"

"Your stepmother often visits the royal princess's palace even though Her Royal Highness isn't there," the captain explained. "During the times I saw her leave the palace, I notice that she'd always have Moonflowers in her arms. I guess His Majesty gave her permission to get those flowers from the royal princess's garden."

"And so?"

"Your source of headaches must come from the Moonflowers," Captain Denver said. "Young Master, be careful." Before he could even demand him to explain, the captain already bowed to him. "Thank you for the time, Young Master."

And just like that, the captain of the Red Phoenix Knights already left.

"Captain Denver already left?"

He turned around to face Captain Sherwood who just returned. There was a line of servants following behind him. "Uh-huh."

"What a shame. I asked the servants to bring extra teacup for him," Captain Sherwood said with a smile. But for some reason, his eyes looked sharp at the moment. "Young Master, what did Captain Denver say to you?"

"He wants to take me in as a student earlier than scheduled," Winter said. He felt like he didn't have to tell Captain Sherwood about the Moonflowers that Captain Denver warned him about so he didn't. Most of all, he didn't like that Captain Sherwood sounded like he was interrogating a criminal. "That's all that I talked about with Captain Denver."

***

THAT NIGHT, Winter froze all the Moonflowers in his room.

He thought that simply throwing them away would be too obvious. So instead of doing that, he simply covered the Moonflowers with an unnoticeable thin layer of ice. It was enough to also "freeze" the fragrance coming from the flowers.

Let's see if it makes a difference regarding my constant headache. If it doesn't change a thing, I'll kill Captain Denver.

But if his headaches disappear…

I should talk to Father about this soon.

He couldn't find the right timing to talk to his Father in secret. His father was often in the emperor's palace for work. And whenever he was at home, his stepmother would always cling to his father like an ornament.

Worst of all, he too was a very busy gentleman despite his young age.

"Winter?"

He put up his guard when his stepmother entered his chamber.

It wasn't anything strange by that time anymore. Ever since his father married her many months ago, his stepmother would visit his room every night to ask about his day.

Come to think of it, I don't remember what we talked about during those times…

"I heard Captain Denver visited you during your training session with Captain Sherwood," his stepmother said with a smile, then she sat on the chair beside his bed. That chair had never left its spot ever since his stepmother began paying him a visit every night. "May I know what Captain Denver talked to you about?"

To be honest, he felt pissed because he felt like a criminal under probation. Captain Sherwood also asked the same question. He suddenly felt like they were keeping an eye on him instead of looking out for him.

But he remembered that he never felt this way before.

"Captain Denver just asked me if it was alright with me to be taken by his squad earlier than scheduled," Winter said to avoid suspicions. "I told him that I don't mind."

"Is that really all that he talked to you about, Winter?"

Well, he was lying but he made sure that it wouldn't show in his eyes. Thankfully, he could imitate his father's stoic face if he wanted to. "Yes, Mother."

His stepmother remained silent while looking at him intently for a while before she smiled. "I understand. I believe in you, Winter," she said. "However, I'd like it if you keep your distance from Captain Denver."

Now that made him feel more suspicious.

Captain Denver wasn't just the captain of the Red Phoenix Knights. He was also the heir apparent of Marquis Denver. Most of all, he was the master of all the Fire Wielders in the empire. Although House Denver was in a neutral stance when it comes to politics, most people knew that their family was full of dignity.

"Why do I have to do that, Mother?" he asked in his usual uninterested voice even though he was really curious about that matter. "Is Captain Denver an enemy? Or is it because he didn't choose between the Royal and Noble Faction?"

"Let's just say that the poor captain has been seduced by Lady Prescott."

He clenched his fists hard. "Seduced by my birth mother?"

"Lady Prescott is under surveillance for her numerous attempt to kill me," his stepmother said. "To collect evidence against her, His Majesty sent his people to keep an eye on Lady Prescott. Apparently, Captain Denver was caught secretly visiting your birth mother several times. We believe that the captain is conniving with Lady Prescott to bring me down."

He wanted to argue that his birth mother wasn't that kind of person.

But for some reason, his instinct told him to keep quiet. And so, he endured it and just wished that his face remained as blank as possible.

"That's why I have a request for you, my dear Winter."

He swallowed the lump in his throat before he answered. "Anything, Mother."

"Disown your birth mother, son," his stepmother said with a smile, then she cupped his face between her hands. "Disown Lady Prescott so she'd completely lose her social ranking."

Winter wanted to snarl at his stepmother for saying such thing. But when the fragrance of Moonflowers coming from her hands hit his nose, he felt the will to fight against her. "I will follow your order, Mother."

***

FOR THE first time in a while, Winter woke up with a clear head.

My headache is gone.

He got up and turned to the Moonflowers in the vase on top of his bedside table. Even though it was already morning, the thin layer of ice that he covered the flowers with didn't melt. He was knocked out by the fragrance of the Moonflowers coming from his stepmother's hands last night though.

But since the Moonflowers in his room were frozen, it didn't affect him that much in his sleep.

"My stepmother has been using those flowers to brainwash me all this time…" Winter said under his breath while clutching the bedsheets in his hands tight. "Now I understand why my birth mother told me before to get rid of the Moonflowers in the mansion."

***

NOTE: *kneels down in apology* Hi! First of all, I'd like to apologize. I said before that MV will end around 200-250 chapters. But here's the 250th chapter and the final arc hasn't begun yet.

This may sound like an excuse but my calculation failed me because I changed the word count for each chapter that I post. I don't know if you noticed but in the earlier part of the story, I write super long chapters. Each one is around 2,500-3,000 words (and thus, they were expensive). But my friend advised me to shorten it and make it less expensive for the readers.

Thus, I began writing chapters that are only around 1,600-2,000 words. Sometimes, a chapter will reach 2,500 words.

Since the chapters got shorter than before, the story got "longer" than expected.

I'm sorry. But thank you for still sticking to MV. Now I don't want to give an estimation on how long MV will last. There are only a few mini-arcs left before the final arc begins though. Thank you for being patient!

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PS: You may send gifts if you can. Thank you~

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