JUNE 3RD, Tilly said to herself while watching Winter sleep peacefully on his crib. And that crib was personally made by Kiho. They had also arranged a nursery room for their son but since Winter needed intensive care, they decided to put the crib on their room. And to be honest, she didn't want to let her son out of her sight for so long. Your birthday this time is different, Winter.

In her first life, Winter was born on December 13th. He was born during the winter season so his name fitted it.

But this time, he was conceived earlier and was also born prematurely.

It's summer time now, Winter.

Come to think of it, it was almost a miracle that she was able to meet Winter again despite the huge changes in her life this time. To be honest, she wasn't even worried about the timeline. For some reason, she just knew that she would still give birth to Winter even if they conceived him earlier than they did in the past life.

I don't know why but I'm confident that we will meet whatever happens, Winter.

Her thoughts were cut-off when Winter smiled in his sleep.

She automatically smiled back at him even though her son couldn't see him anyway.

A few moments later, she heard a knock on the door. It was followed by Kiho's soft voice. Then, he opened the door as quietly as he could. And when he entered the room, he didn't even make a sound.

I almost forgot that my husband used to be an assassin.

"Our little rascal is a sleepyhead," Kiho commented affectionately when he reached the crib. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and put his chin on the top of her head. "Do babies really sleep a lot, honey?"

She sensed a hint of worry in his voice.

"It's normal for babies to sleep a lot, hon," she assured him. "Plus, Miss Luna said that Winter needs a lot of sleep for him to recover faster. She also said that we're lucky that Winter only needed the incubator for a few hours." She looked up at him. "Our Winter has a strong will to live and stay with us, Kiho."

He kissed her forehead. "And I'm grateful for that."

She turned around to face him and fix his necktie. Her husband was always dashing but this time, he was dressed in a black formal suit that noblemen often used in funerals.

It wasn't only Kiho who wore black today.

I'm wearing a black dress, too.

After they informed the servants that her father had passed away, they also changed into black clothes.

Only Winter wore white clothes right now.

"I don't want to send you to the Royal Palace alone but I know that you need to go," she said with a sigh. "I'm worried though."

"I'll be extra careful, honey," Kiho assured her, the he cupped her face between his hands. "I'll come back in one piece."

"You better do," she said with a pout. "If you don't come home before the sun sets, I'll go to the palace to fetch you.���

"Okay, honey," he said.

It was obvious that he was confident that he'd be home before she stormed to the palace.

"I don't want to leave you and our little rascal alone," he said worriedly. "I know that I can trust Miss Luna and Sentinel with your safety. But I'm still worried. If only I could fit you and Winter in my pocket…"

She smiled and gently pinched his cheek. "I will protect our Winter."

"Thank you, honey," he said. Then, his brows furrowed as if he remembered something important. "You look like you were in deep thought earlier. May I know what you were thinking a while ago, Tilly?"

"Winter's birthday has changed," she said. "In the past, he was born on December 13th."

"We were born in the same month in the past?"

Kiho was born on the 21st of December.

They celebrated his birthday a few months ago in a simple way. For his birthday, they went back to Oakes and Lord Prescott introduced them to the townspeople as the new Duke and Duchess of Oakes. They didn't have a chance to do that during their first visit because they had to go back to the Royal Capital because of what happened to Luna and Captain Denver.

After that, they had a dinner with their father.

And then, they had checked-in in the best hotel in Oakes for a sizzling night, of course.

Ahem.

Anyway, she gave Kiho a snowflake-shaped ice locket as a gift. She put their wedding photo inside the locket. In this world, having photographs was a luxury that only the rich could afford.

She nodded as confirmation. "Yes. But this time, Winter and I have the same birth months."

After all, her birthday was on the 23rd of June.

Kiho's eyes sparkled. "Oh, that's right. Your birthday is coming soon." And then suddenly, he fell gloomy. "We planned to have a dinner with Father on your birthday…"

That made her feel sad again. "I hope Captain Denver retrieves Father's body before my birthday. I want to give Father a proper burial."

"I'll follow Captain Denver to the North if I need to."

She shook her head when he said that. For some reason, she didn't want Kiho to go to the North. Maybe it was because she was traumatized since her father never returned after he went there. She was afraid that Kiho might not come back as well. "Let's just trust Captain Denver," she said. "I don't want you to leave our side, Kiho. Please don't go to the North. At least, not without me."

Understanding crossed his eyes. He probably knew that she got traumatized because of what happened to her father. "Okay, I won't go to the North."

"Thank you, hon," she said, relieved by his promise. "You need to go now, don't you?"

"Unfortunately, yes. But I promise to come home quickly," Kiho said, then he kissed her on the forehead. After that, he turned to Winter who was still asleep in the crib. Then, he leaned down and kissed their son's forehead. "Take care of your mommy while I'm out, little rascal. We'll take our first family picture when I return later." He pulled out his locket from under his shirt, then he turned to her again– showing her that he was still wearing the gift she gave him for his birthday. "Honey, can we take a family picture later?"

"Of course," Tilly said with a wide smile, then she wrapped her arms around him. "I'd love that, Kiho."

***

"WHAT DO you think, Sir Gregory?" Aku asked his old night playfully. "Do you think I'm the one who gave the order to kill Lord Prescott and Lord Denver?"

Sir Gregory paused for a while before he gave an answer. "I believe that it wasn't your direct order to kill Lord Prescott and Lord Denver, Your Majesty. But I have a feeling that you were still somehow involved in it."

He let out a deep sigh. "If I were there, I would stop them from killing Lord Prescott and Lord Denver. They had become our enemies. But still, they were lords of two of the oldest families in the empire. Their deaths would surely cause uproar."

"I'm afraid of how House Nystrom and House Denver would react, Your Majesty."

"That's something that we should really be worried about," he agreed. "But as long as they don't suspect me as the mastermind, everything will be under control."

"I'm sure that they will ask for your permission to send people to the North for investigation, Your Majesty," the old knight said. "You can't deny their request because if you, you'll receive backlash from both the Royal Faction and the Noble Faction. You haven't forgotten the old saying about the two factions, have you?"

"How can the emperor forget that?" he said, then he quoted the famous saying. ""The Royal and the Noble Faction are like oil and water. But once an enemy from the outside attacks the empire, the Royal and the Noble Faction become brothers once again.""

"Because the North is known to be an area frequently trespassed by outsiders, our people will definitely think that only foreigners will dare to kill the heads of two of the oldest families in the empire," the old knight said. "I'm certain that this incident will unite the Royal and the Noble Faction, Your Majesty. Had the situation been different, uniting the two forces to work together under the flag of the empire would be ideal. But I have a feeling that Lady Nystrom could use this situation to her advantage."

He laughed at what Sir Gregory said. "Is there a reason why you had to single out the duchess?"

"The duchess is the brain of their side, isn't she?"

"That, she is," he said with a grin. "But no matter how smart Lady Nystrom is, she'll never catch the culprit behind her father's death."

Sir Gregory obviously looked confused by his statement. "What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?"

"The culprit behind the death of Lord Prescott isn't human," Aku said with a faint smile. "And it's the very thing that Kiho could never kill."

***

KIHO was alone in the carriage, looking at the wedding photo in the beautiful locket that Tilly gave him while thinking deep.

Before he met his wife, he never thought that he'd be a duke.

But now, he wasn't just a higher noble– he was also arguably the richest nobleman in the empire. He still couldn't believe that Lord Prescott gave him another title and territory. And his father-in-law also gave his subsidiary title to Winter.

Father, thank you for everything, Kiho said to himself. I swear that I will use the abundant wealth that you gave me to protect my family.

His thoughts were cut-off when the carriage abruptly stopped. When he looked outside the window, he realized that there were already in the forest that they had to cross before they reached the Royal Palace.

When he stepped out of the carriage to check what happened, he noticed that there was another carriage ahead. Based on the flag and the crest, it was a carriage from House Hayward.

Hayward?

As far as he remembered, the lady that Captain Denver killed before came from that family.

"Your Grace, I apologize for suddenly stopping the carriage," Bert, the coachman that got into an accident when Tilly was ambushed before, said. Now that the old man had fully recovered, they hired him again to be their coachman. "Were you hurt, my lord?"

He was about to assure the coachman that he was okay, and that he was worried for the old man instead. But he suddenly stopped when he felt a strange presence. When he turned to the source of the strange aura, he found himself watching a lady step out of the carriage ahead.

When the lady turned around to face him, he immediately noticed three striking features of hers.

First, she had wavy long white hair.

Second, she had very pale skin.

And third, she had golden eyes that looked like snake eyes.

For some weird reason, he thought that the lady's eyes looked like his.

But my eyes don't look like snake eyes, okay?

Anyway, the more he looked at the woman, the harder his heart thump against his chest painfully. Not only that. He also felt frustrated before he felt like he knew the lady, but his mind couldn't remember her and it was driving him crazy.

Have we met before?

The woman looked like he was the age of the emperor. She looked like she was in her early thirties. But her strange golden eyes seemed to say that she had lived longer. Still, if that was true, how could she stay looking that young and beautiful?

The lady with white hair and golden snake eyes smiled and opened her arms to him. "Come here, child."

Kiho, much to his shock, suddenly shed tears quietly while one word kept ringing in his head: "Mother."

***

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