TILLY ACCIDENTALLY dropped the cup that she was about to place on the table, making her gasp in the process. She was so surprised that her heartbeat suddenly went erratic. But to be honest, she had been feeling that way since a while ago.

Is it mine or Winter's heart though?

Anyway, she wasn't looking when she put the cup down and thought that she had properly placed it on the table. She didn't pay attention to it because she was checking the blueprint of her new store at Komodo. The architect just sent it to her and she was very eager to check it.

The opening of her new store had also been delayed because of what she went through recently. But she didn't want to delay it further.

And because of her haste, this was what happened: the tea cup ended up in broken pieces.

What a shame… I'm fond of that tea cup.

"Your Grace, is everything alright there?" Louisa, the head maid, asked from outside the room. Along with Leni and Lani, the three served as her ladies-in-waiting. "We heard a crashing sound."

"I dropped the tea cup," Tilly said. "Please clean it up."

"Give us a moment, Your Grace."

Now that she had calmed down, she realized that she had started to get used to be called "Your Grace." After all, the emperor had already signed Kiho's registration as a duke. That made her a duchess as well, of course.

But even though her father already passed his duke title to Kiho, it wasn't like he was no longer a higher noble. Her father had other titles aside from being a duke. To other territories, he was a marquis.

Father is that rich.

And he would still be rich even if he gave Oakes to Kiho.

Speaking of Kiho…

Her husband left home after lunch to check his squad and to buy the ingredients for their dinner later. But it had already been hours since then.

What's taking you long, hon?

Her thoughts were cut-off when she heard a knock on the door.

A few moments later, the maids entered her office with cleaning tools with them. They were cleaning up the broken pieces of the cup when David, the head butler, came to deliver a letter for her.

"Your Grace, a letter from the High Priest's temple had arrived," David informed her while holding a tray where the letter was placed carefully. "The letter has His Eminence's seal."

She suddenly got nervous even though she already knew what the letter was about.

It's definitely about the date of when I need to serve the temple as the Beast Priestess.

Gosh, why wouldn't her heart stop beating like crazy?

Tilly clutched her chest tight. For some reason, her heart had been palpitating non-stop even though she didn't have caffeine. She didn't want to admit this but she was feeling ominous right now. Please come home ASAP, Kiho.

***

UNPLEASANT.

That was the feeling Kiho had when his gaze met with the woman with the brown hair. His heart was thumping so hard against his ribcage because of the sudden rise of anger in his chest. He didn't understand why he felt that way.

When she noticed that the woman was about to talk to him, he immediately turned his back on her and walked away quietly.

Why do I feel pissed?

While he was on his way out, a young knight bumped into him. The knight just bowed to him as an apology before walking past him.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, Miss Morganna!"

That was the last thing Kiho heard before he got out of the restaurant.

"You're acting strange, Your Grace," Blake, who was walking behind him, said. "It's rare for you to be rude to a woman you just met."

"I got an unpleasant feeling from her," Kiho admitted. "I don't know why though. For some reason, every fiber of my being screamed at me to walk away." Her turned to the vice-captain. "Am I making sense?"

"To be honest, I don't understand what you're saying, Your Grace," the vice-captain answered honestly. "I didn't feel any threat from the lady. She didn't give me an unpleasant feeling. In fact, she was nice to look at because she was beautiful."

Kiho didn't comment on that because first, he didn't care about other women.

Second, he didn't really notice the brown-haired woman's face. What caught his attention was her hair and nothing else.

Finally, Tilly was the most beautiful woman in his eyes.

Always and forever.

"But I trust your sense and instinct, Your Grace. You were never wrong when it comes to judging people," Blake continued. "If you felt something off with the woman at the restaurant, then there must really be something wrong with her."

Kiho nodded in agreement. "I hope to never cross paths with her again."

***

KIHO hurried over to Tilly as soon as he heard from David that his wife called a doctor to check on her.

When he got to their chamber, he saw his wife sitting on the bed while leaning against the headboard. Her maids were standing by her side. In front of her, the doctor was already packing up his things.

"Welcome back, Your Grace," the maids greeted him when they saw him enter the room.

Tilly turned to him and smiled. "Welcome back, hon."

Kiho immediately walked towards her and sat on the edge of the bed. "Honey, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, Kiho," she assured him with a smile. "I just thought my heart was beating erratically so I called over our family doctor to check on me." She turned to the doctor and politely pointed him using her hand. "Hon, meet Dr. Silvano. He's my father's doctor."

Kiho stood up and was about to bow when he realized that he shouldn't.

A duke shouldn't bow to people lower in rank.

He didn't like it but now that he had become a part of the nobility, he should follow the rules they lived by.

"It's an honor to meet you, Your Grace," Dr. Silvano said with a bow.

He just nodded as an acknowledgement. "Doctor, how's my wife's condition?"

"Her Grace's condition is fine," the doctor assured him. "The palpitations that she felt was actually the beat of your baby's heart."

His ears perked up that. "Our baby's heart?"

"Yes, Your Grace," Dr. Silvano answered. "Unlike other babies, your child's heart is already fully-developed. That's why Her Grace could feel and hear the baby's heartbeat along with her own heartbeat. But overall, both the madam and the child are doing well."

"That's a relief," he said. "Thank you, doctor."

After that, Doctor Silvano bid them goodbye.

Then, his wife asked the maids to leave the room.

And now, he had Tilly alone to himself.

"Honey, how are you feeling?" Kiho asked when he sat beside his wife. "Are you and our baby really okay?"

"Yes," Tilly answered while nodding. "I thought my heart was palpitating. I'm glad to know that I'm just feeling our Winter's heartbeat. The way his heart is beating loud and hard against my chest, I can assure you that our baby is healthy. And OP."

His forehead knotted in confusion. ""OP?""

"Overpowered," she explained, then changed the topic. "How was your trip, hon? Did you remember to buy our dinner for tonight?"

"Of course," he said. He contemplated whether to tell his wife about the strange woman he met. But in the end, he decided not to tell her. He didn't want her to get upset or jealous. He heard that pregnant women could get really jealous. And the woman was insignificant to them anyway. "How about Father? Is he on his way?"

"Yes, Father is on his way here," she said while nodding her head.

"Tilly, shouldn't we find a new doctor for you and Winter?" he asked carefully. "I don't think Miss Luna is coming."

"She will. Let's wait for a bit longer," she said. "Trust me.��

One look at her pretty face and he knew he could never say "no" to her. "Alright."

"Thank you, hon," she said while gently pinching his cheeks. "Ah, Kiho. I received a letter from the High Priest. The date for my service as a Beast Priestess has been decided."

"When will it take place?"

"Next weekend."

"So soon," he said while shaking his head. "When a Beast Priestess serves the High Priest, she's not allowed to bring her servants or knights with her. I'm worried, Tilly. Our enemies could use this chance to hurt you."

"They won't hurt me, Kiho," she assured him, then she placed a hand on her tummy. "As long as I have Winter in my womb, they won't hurt me. We should take advantage of this, hon. While they can't touch me yet, we should use this time to investigate about your origin."

He blinked in surprise. "My origin? But I'm just an orphan and a commoner, honey. Everyone knows that."

"You're an orphan, Kiho," she reminded him carefully. "We don't know who your parents are, do we?"

"Tilly, where is this coming from?"

"I've thought about it, Kiho," she said seriously. "You were chosen by the prophecy. I don't know why I haven't realized it earlier. But only special people could change the fate of a whole empire." She placed a hand on her chest. "Kiho, I'm also a part of the prophecy and I have the heart of the Supreme. You might just be as special. And other people might already know about your real identity from the start."

Other people…?

He gasped when he realized what Tilly was trying to say.

Come to think of it, his wife was right. If he was just a commoner, he couldn't possibly be chosen to be a huge part of an important prophecy. And if he was just an ordinary orphan, someone like Emperor Aku wouldn't be interested in him.

He felt a pang in his chest.

"His Majesty…" Kiho started, his chest tightening painfully. He felt like his heart was squeezed by something hard when realization dawned upon him. "Did the emperor only take me in because he needs me and not because he cares for me?"

***

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