TILLY'S brows furrowed when she saw Ainsworth's mouth move.

But she wasn't able to read his lips.

What is he saying?

She was irritated. But she was more frustrated that she couldn't make the Golden Tiger kneel even though it was never her goal to make him do so. Was she feeling this way because of his unclear provocations?

Just why does he want me to make him kneel anyway?

Her thoughts were just cut-off when all of a sudden, the Golden Tiger leapt at her. The next thing she knew, he was already holding her shoulders tight despite the flame that was now burning his arms. He winced, but he didn't let go.

"Are you trying to get yourself roasted?" Tilly asked in confusion. She noticed that the Golden Tiger's grip didn't hurt. But it was firm enough for her to be stuck where she stood. "And I didn't give you the permission to touch me."

"Well, you have to excuse me," Ainsworth said with a grin. But it was obvious that he was in pain. Also, his arms were starting to seriously get burnt. "Supreme, listen to me carefully. If you want to survive with your family, leave the Royal Capital while you still can."

"What–"

"Go to Mount Sola," Ainsworth said seriously, looking straight into her eyes. His reddish-brown eyes were glowing as if he wanted her to believe him so bad. "You'll find the island where you belong."

She was about to demand him to explain.

But all of a sudden, sharp ice spears pierced through his shoulders– forcing him to finally let go of his now burnt shoulders.

Kiho!

When the Golden Tiger jumped away from her, she turned around to face her husband.

She was surprised to find Kiho already standing beside her. Now that her husband was here, she felt safe. It was probably the reason why the flame around her "extinguished" on its own.

Kiho checked her out quickly, probably to see if she was injured. "Are you okay, honey?" he asked worriedly, then he fixed his glare at the Golden Tiger who now stood before them while effortlessly pulling the ice spears out of his body. "Did that wild cat hurt you?"

"I'm fine, hon," she assured him. "But I'm irritated because I wasn't able to hit him with my iron crab mallet."

Her husband smiled and patted her head gently. "I'll let you hit him as much as you want once I caught the wild cat for you, Tilly."

She smiled at that.

"Hey, stop talking as if I'm not here," Ainsworth complained. It was amazing how he could still look very intimidating even though his arms were burnt. Plus, both of his shoulders were also bleeding. Damn, what a cat. "Well, now that the stinky little snake is here, it's time for me to go."

"Kiho isn't stinky," she said, irritated. Plus, no part of his body is "little."

"And I'm not a snake," Kiho added. "Why do more and more people call me "snake" these days, huh?"

The Golden Tiger just smirked.

"Goodbye for now," Ainsworth said while his body was disappearing in a blinding golden light. "Supreme, think about what I told you."

Kiho tried to go after the Golden Tiger but he suddenly stopped when she suddenly collapsed on the ground.

Oh?

To be honest, she only realized that her knees gave up when her husband caught her in his arms. Even her hands felt weak. She even dropped the iron crab mallet that disappeared and returned to her wrist as a tattoo.

"Tilly, what's wrong?" Kiho said worriedly. Then, he carried her in his arms effortlessly. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No," she said in a tired voice. Oh, that was it. "But I'm exhausted. I think using my flame when I'm not fully-recovered yet is taking a toll on my health."

Guilt crossed his sad golden eyes. "I'm sorry I was late, honey," he said apologetically, then he kissed her forehead. "But thank you for protecting our family while I was away. I��m very proud of you."

She smiled at that. "Thank you, hon. Now I feel very refreshed. I think I can take down a wild beast at this rate."

"Yes, you can. But not now," he scolded her lightly. "You have to rest first."

"Okay." She noticed that he didn't move. He just stood her while staring at her face. That made her giggle. "Why are you just staring at me, Kiho? We need to help the servants and the guards that lost consciousness so hurry up."

"Let me admire your beauty for a minute," he said in a gentle voice. "This is the first time that I saw you tie your hair like that in a while. And damn, you look hot in your outfit."

Tilly couldn't help but laugh at his praises. Gosh, he really never failed to give butterflies to her stomach. And she needed that. Although she had a lot of things to worry about, sometimes she would still feel ugly because of the changes in her body. She was lucky that the way Kiho looked at her never changed. That helped her recover her confidence. "Thank you, hon." She touched his face. "And I mean it."

Kiho smiled, then he leaned down to kiss her on the lips.

Yes, I am loved.

***

"IT really exists," Tilly said in disbelief while looking at the empire's map on the bed. "Mount Sola is real."

Right now, she was in their room with Kiho and Winter.

The head maid and the head butler were taking care of the knights and the servants who were affected by the Golden Tiger's presence a while ago. Since Luna wasn't home yet, they called a doctor to treat the injured ones.

She sent Sentinel to act as the host in place of her and Kiho. The doctor understood that she and her husband couldn't entertain him personally because they had to look after their "weak" son. Outside the people of their mansion, everyone else thought that Winter was still in the incubator. And they preferred it that way.

Anyway…

"I've heard about Mount Sola once when I was dispatched to the East region before," Kiho said. "It's in the Redsun Desert, Tilly."

She turned to her husband to ask why he sounded worried. But she stopped when she saw how cute he was with their son.

Kiho was leaning against the headboard with a pillow on his back. Winter was lying on his stomach comfortably on top of Kiho's chest. Her husband secured their son's position with a protective hand on his tiny body.

"Aww, you two look so cute together," she said. But her brows furrowed in a mix of confusion and amusement when she noticed that Winter was silent. And his eyes... it seemed like their little cinnamon roll had been listening to her conversation with Kiho. "Our baby looks so serious for some reason. What does a newly born cinnamon roll have to think of so deeply?"

Kiho tilted his head to look at Winter's face, then his brows furrowed in confusion as well. "You're right, honey. Winter, what's wrong?" he asked. Much to their surprise, Winter moved his tiny head to look up at Kiho. "Oh. Did you understand what I said, little rascal?"

Winter seemed like he ignored Kiho when he went back to pressing his cheek against his father's chest. Then, he closed his eyes.

"Our baby slept on you," she said with a laugh.

"He's really a sleepyhead," he said, then he gently tapped Winter's back.

Now that she wasn't distracted by their son anymore, she went back to business.

"Kiho, why did you sound worried when you said that Mount Sola is in the Redsun Desert?" she asked curiously. "This is the first time that I've heard about that place."

"It's probably because you were born a lady of a high-ranking noble family."

She pouted. "What does it have to do with my background?"

He smiled and gently pinched her cheek. "Most nobles like you had lived their life without knowing about the Redsun Desert because it's a place known to be hell."

"Why is that so?"

"Apparently, the most hardcore criminals all over the empire are thrown in the Redsun Desert," he explained. "Those criminals were fed-off to the Crades of the desert."

Her eyes widened in shock. "So, you mean to say, that desert is a lair of Crades?"

"The most dangerous Crades of all," he corrected her. "The residents of the East region say that the Crades in the Royal Capital are considered "tame" compared to the Crades of the desert."

"In short, it's a dangerous place."

"Very dangerous," he said, then he raised a brow at her. "Tilly, I don't like how your eyes are sparkling right now. I mean, they are beautiful. But I know what that look means."

She blinked several times in an attempt to act innocent. "What do you mean by that, hon?"

He gently pinched her chin as if he was "punishing" her. "No," he said. "I met the Golden Tiger at the cave before."

"You did?" she asked in surprise.

He nodded before he explained. "He said weird stuff that I don't remember anymore. Except for the fact that he called me a stinky snake."

She leaned down and buried her face against his neck. Gosh, her husband smelled heavenly. She couldn't help but kiss his neck, then licked and sucked it a bit. When he groaned, obviously out of pleasure, she pulled away. "You smell divine, Kiho," she said with a playful smile.

His golden eyes glowed beautifully, letting her know that he was turned on.

He was about to lean down to catch her lips for a kiss when suddenly, Winter cried and hit his father on the chest…

… for a baby who was just born, he had heavy hands.

The smack made a loud noise, shocking both of them.

"Did you see that, Tilly?" Kiho asked in disbelief. "The little rascal just hit me. And it stings."

"Noble babies are born physically stronger than average humans," she reminded him, then she looked at Winter who already stopped crying. "Baby, why did you hit your daddy?"

Winter just yawned, then he went back to sleep.

Such a cutie.

"Our little cinnamon roll was probably startled when you suddenly moved, Kiho," she said, then she gently touched his chest on the part that their son hit. "Does it hurt?"

"If you kiss it later, maybe it won't sting anymore."

She giggled because she knew what exactly Kiho wanted later. "Alright. But just to make sure… you're not mad at Winter for hitting you, are you?"

"Of course, I'm not."

She smiled at that. "Anyway, let's just wait for Miss Luna to arrive. We'll discuss this matter with her. After all, she knows the Ancient Beasts more than we do."

"Okay," he said, then he gave her an skeptical look. "You sound like you already trust the Golden Tiger though. Tilly, I know that you're kind-hearted. But please remember that he tried to kill Miss Luna and Captain Denver. We can't trust people working for His Majesty."

She knew that Kiho was right.

And it wasn't like she had forgotten what the Golden Tiger did to Luna and Captain Denver. But their encounter a while ago seemed to change something in her.

Why do I feel like I should trust the oversized cat?

"You're right," she said despite the strange protest in her chest. "Anyway, we should prepare. Miss Luna will arrive with Julian."

After Luna spread the rumor about the fake prophecy, she volunteered to fetch Julian from the tower. The witch didn't want her or Kiho to be out in the public if they didn't need to. And so, she insisted to pick up the baby.

And yes, Luna would only be fetching Julian. Unfortunately, Flint couldn't leave the tower yet until his therapy was done.

But we're positive that he could join us next week, hopefully.

Now that Captain Denver was preparing for his journey to the North, she and Kiho decided that it would be best to keep Julian and Flint by their side.

"I'm quite excited for Winter to meet Julian," Kiho said in a gentle tone. "Our little rascal will now have a playmate."

Tilly smiled and nodded in agreement. "I bet Winter and Julian will get along well."

***

WINTER blinked several times while looking back at a baby with red hair.

A while ago, he pretended to be asleep while his parents were flirting with each other. Unfortunately, since he was a baby, he really fell asleep. When he woke up, he found himself in the crib…

… and his mother was hovering him while carrying a strange child in her arms.

His father was standing beside his mother with a protective arm around her shoulders.

He didn't like how his parents and that baby looked like a family.

Who is that brat?

"Oh, our Winter is awake," his mother said excitedly.

"Uh-huh," his father said while looking at him. "Winter, your mother and I would like you to meet Julian. From now on, he's already a part of our family. The adoption papers aren't finalized yet but it will be done soon."

Adoption papers?

Did it mean that the red-haired baby was going to be his adoptive brother?!

"Winter, this is your Big Brother Julian," his mother said with a big smile. Then, she looked at the red-haired baby with a loving gaze. "Julian, he's our little cinnamon roll. His name is Winter. Please get along well with him, okay?"

The red-haired baby smiled at his mother, then he turned to him and waved silently.

Winter hated it.

In his past life, he didn't get to spend quality time with his mother and his father. He was so looking forward to be reborn in this timeline so that they would be reunited and finally become a complete, happy family this time. And then, all of a sudden, he was going to have an adoptive "big brother?"

I don't want to share my mommy and daddy with someone else!

Winter expressed his frustration– and perhaps, anger– by crying. And since he was suddenly overwhelmed by negative emotions, he wasn't able to control the release of his Mana. The red-haired baby was the source of his displeasure…

… and before he knew it, he already produced several sharp ice daggers. The daggers floated above him, then they threw themselves at his "big brother" automatically.

"Winter, no!"

***

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