"I ALREADY know why you're here, Duke Nystrom," Aku, who was sitting on the throne, told him. "Captain Denver was here a while ago."

Kiho remained standing still in front of the emperor.

I'm here now, Tilly.

He was currently in the throne room and this time, they weren't alone. Two of His Majesty's aide were there– Duke Alastair (gray hair and beard, dark blue eyes, medium build) and Count Dasovich (light brown hair tied in a low pony tail, chocolate brown eyes, small build). Like everyone in the palace, the two older nobles were dressed fancily.

Anyway, the presence of the advisors was exactly why the emperor called him by his title and not by his first name like he usually did.

"First of all, I offer my condolences to House Prescott and House Nystrom," His Majesty continued in a sympathetic voice. "Lord Prescott's passing is definitely a huge loss to the empire. Please extend my condolences to Lady Nystrom as well."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Kiho said with a polite bow.

But even before he could state the reason for his visit, the emperor continued speaking.

"I already gave Captain Denver the permission to travel to the North with the Red Phoenix Knights. Aside from the retrieval of the remains of Lord Prescott and Lord Denver, I also gave them the right to stay there for as long as they need to investigate," Emperor Aku said. "We will punish whoever they are who took the lives of two of the empire's pillars."

He almost raised a brow at that.

The territory in the North was owned by Father. Since I inherited the land, Captain Denver asked for our permission to step foot on our new territory. But His Majesty is talking like he owns Father's land in the North.

He had always known that the emperor was greedy. But now he realized how bad it was.

"Duke Nystrom, I hope you're not here to say that you'll join Captain Denver's troop," Emperor Aku said. "I can't allow two of the captains of the Four Orders to leave the empire at the same time."

He clenched his fists.

His Majesty was obviously reminding him that the "one year vacation" that he gave him was almost over. After all, the emperor never really accepted his resignation as the captain of the Black Serpent Knights. That was why until now, Blake's position in the official records remained as "temporary captain."

"I trust Captain Denver with the retrieval of our fathers' remains, as well as the investigation of their death, Your Majesty," Kiho said in a polite tone. "I am here for another reason."

"Oh," the emperor said, obviously curious. "Then, state your business now, Duke Nystrom."

"Last night, my wife Lady Nystrom gave birth to our son."

His Majesty didn't look surprise at all.

As expected, he already knows that Winter was born last night.

Unlike the emperor, Duke Alastair looked delightedly surprised by his news. On the other hand, Count Dasovich who was known for being reserved remained passive. But he could see the delight in the count's eyes.

Ah, Count Dasovich belongs to the Royal Faction. Of course, he'll be happy to hear that the "child of the prophecy" was now born.

"Congratulations for being a father, Duke Nystrom," Duke Alastair said. "But isn't it a little bit early than Duchess Nystrom's due date? How is the baby?"

He didn't like that the duke seemed to only care about Winter. Duke Alastair's tone was so dismissive of Tilly. But he did his best to stay calm and composed. "Lady Nystrom and our son Winter are both safe and healthy, thankfully," he said to Duke Alastair. "Thank you for asking, Duke Alastair."

Before Duke Alastair or Count Dasovich could speak, he turned to the emperor and stated what he came there for.

"Your Majesty, I'm here to report the treason of House Huxley and House Hayward," he declared.

The noisy Duke Alastair gasped aloud.

Even the quiet Count Dasovich let out a gasp.

Also, this time, Emperor Aku looked shocked by his declaration.

Your Majesty, you didn't expect this. Did you? I understand. Even I was surprised by my Tilly's elaborate plan.

"Duke Nystrom, can you hear yourself?" His Majesty asked in disbelief. "Are you seriously accusing House Huxley and House Hayward for treason? If you can't prove your claim, you'll be the one charged of treason."

"I won't come here without solid proof, Your Majesty," he said. "Last night, our mansion was attacked by people sent by House Huxley and House Hayward. We caught some of them alive and they have proof that the order came from Lord Eugene Huxley and Viscount Hayward."

"Lord Eugene Huxley is in prison while Viscount Hayward is very sick," His Majesty said coldly. "Are you sure about your claim, Duke Nystrom?"

"Lord Huxley is just in prison, he's not dead," he said firmly. "I also personally heard from his people that apparently, Lord Huxley is still being treated like a noble in his prison cell. The count even has access to a communication device connected to his family members."

Before the emperor could refute that, he continued with his claims.

"That's the same case with Viscount Hayward," Kiho said, more confident this time even though he was just bluffing.

Lying wasn't new to him after all. Back when he was still a mercenary, he used to lie a lot. His stoic face helped him because his enemies couldn't decipher his intention– all thanks to his blank look. "Even a sick person can still give orders to his people, can't they?"

To be honest, he didn't know that Viscount Hayward was sick.

House Hayward had been quiet for the past months. And the last thing that they heard about the family was when Viscount Hayward remarried. So he thought that if he just got married, then the viscount couldn't be that sick.

"What would be the reason for House Huxley and House Hayward to attack House Nystrom?" Emperor Aku asked in a cold voice. "And why are you accusing them of treason?"

"Because according to the people sent by House Huxley and House Hayward, their masters wanted my son dead," he declared.

The emperor, along with his two advisers, looked very shocked.

He decided to break the silence.

"Apparently, the prophecy that the High Priest announced was incomplete," he said firmly. "The true prophecy, according to the assailants' words, said that my son is going to bring power and success to whichever side he chooses in the future. That means it's not necessarily your side, Your Majesty."

The emperor glared at him as if he wanted to stop him from talking.

He didn't get fazed though.

"House Hayward and House Huxley are known to be both very loyal to you, Your Majesty," he continued. "They probably think that my son is going to be a threat to you if your enemies manage to convince him to switch sides in the future. And so, House Hayward and House Huxley decided that my son has to die now before he becomes your enemy, Your Majesty."

"Stop," the emperor said in what seemed like a growl. "Duke Nystrom, we will bring this matter to a noble trial. I will personally investigate this case. House Huxley and House Hayward are both old families. You can't simply accuse them of treason without showing us proof."

"I understand, Your Majesty," he said. That was also a part of the plan. "While you're investigating the matter, may I request two things that will protect both Lady Nystrom and our weak newly born son?"

It looked like His Majesty already had a bad feeling about his request, thus the hesitation on his face now.

"Pardon my interfering, Your Majesty," Count Dasovich said in a calm and polite tone. "After hearing Duke Nystrom's claims, I believe that we should grant House Nystrom all the protection that we could give them."

"I agree with Count Dasovich," Duke Alastair said with a firm nod. "The young lord of the House Nystrom is the child of the prophecy. Whether the "new" prophecy is real or not, the child is still a special existence that the gods sent to the empire. We have to protect him at all cost."

Kiho and Tilly didn't want to use Winter and the prophecy this way. But they knew they had to for the sake of their family.

I'm so sorry for dragging you to politics as soon as you were born, little rascal.

"I understand," Emperor Aku gave in, then he gave him a stern look. "What can I do to ensure the safety of your family, Duke Nystrom?"

"Your Majesty, I'm humbly asking you to grant House Nystrom the entire Black Serpent Knights as our private army," Kiho said that obviously enraged the emperor. But he wasn't done yet. "I also request that my whole family move to Oakes while the investigation is going on."

Of course, they had no intention of coming back to the Royal Capital after that.

***

YUMI laughed heartily while listening to her little Nystrom's words.

She was alone in the parlor room, and it was quite far from the throne room. But thanks to her sharp senses, she could hear the conversation happening in that chamber.

Of course, the throne room was protected by a strong ancient spell that would prevent outsiders from seeing or hearing what was happening inside. But since she had Aku's permission, she was able to eavesdrop on them.

"Show him, my little Nystrom," Yumi said, then she elegantly sipped her tea before she continued. "Remind that thief that the empire he greedily claimed is originally the lair of the Black Serpent– and that makes him nothing but a speck of dust compared to your existence."

***

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

***

[NOTE: Please ADD my story in your LIBRARY so you can be notified when I post an update. Thank you! :>]