TILLY was relieved to finally see with her own eyes that Louisa and David were both safe.

She couldn't help but run to them to give them a big, tight hug. Louisa and David immediately broke down into tears, just like the other servants around them. Although she wanted to cry with them, she had to hold back. It wasn't like she thought crying was a weakness. She just simply couldn't breakdown when there were still a lot of things to do.

"Thank you for coming home safely, Louisa and David," Tilly whispered to them, then she took a step backwards to properly face them. It was a relief that she didn't see any sign of resentment from the two. In fact, they looked relieved to be back home. "I'm sorry for making you go through so much in my absence."

Louisa and David both shook their head in denial, then they bowed to her.

"You don't have apologize, Your Grace," Louisa said in her usual formal but warm voice. "We're here to serve the Nystroms."

���And it's our own volition to follow your orders, my lady," David added. "It's an honor for us to serve you."

Ah, that was right.

Maybe instead of apologizing, she should express her gratitude again and again. That would probably make them feel better instead of an apology.

"Louisa, David, please take a rest for now," she said with a smile. "I will introduce you to my children later."

Louisa and David looked pleasantly surprised to hear that. Then, they smiled and bowed their heads before they excused themselves.

And now…

She turned serious when she faced Duke Sherwood who had been quiet all this time.

"Greetings, Lady Nystrom," Duke Sherwood said politely with a light bow. "I know it's late but welcome home, my lady."

Tilly smiled at the duke politely. "Would you like to have some tea, Your Grace?"

***

"DAD!" Winter complained after hearing his request. "If you're going to teach us how to kill a god, then why don't you tell us how to slay the Moon God instead?"

"Winter is right, Father," Julian added. His usually calm son looked visibly agitated right now, just like his younger brother. "Teaching us how to kill you is like saying that you know you'll be taken over by the Moon God again. Are you telling us that despite your memories being retrieved, you still can't win against your father?"

Ouch.

Kiho had to say that although Julian was composed and eloquent most of the time, he still inherited Tilly's bad temper and sharp tongue.

Julian is just good at hiding it.

"Dad, is Mommy aware that you're going to teach us how to kill you?" Winter asked in a voice that sounded like he was panicking. "She's not, is she?"

"Insolent child," Kiho scolded his son, making him sit upright. After all, it was the first time that he used that tone on Winter. He couldn't help it this time. "Do you think I will do this without consulting your mother first?"

Well, Kalel Nystrom probably would.

But he was a different person now.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Winter said in a soft voice. "I'm just… upset."

"I feel the same, Father," Julian said. "So please don't scold us. We have the right to feel this way. It's not normal for parents to ask their own children to kill them. Do you really want us to commit such crime, Father?"

He let out a deep sigh. "Alright," he gave in. "First of all, I apologize for losing my temper."

His two sons bowed to him.

"We also apologize for being rude, Father."

"We're also sorry, Dad."

He smiled at them. It seemed like despite being his lack of adequacy as a father, his children still grew up well.

It's probably because of Tilly's positive influence on them.

"Winter, Julian, let me explain properly," he said seriously. When he was certain that his children were paying proper attention this time, he continued. "It's not that I don't have the confidence to defeat my father, the Moon God. But you have to understand that you can't go to war without several backup plans. You have to consider different scenarios, and create a solution for each one of them. Of course, the most important thing is to imagine the worst-case scenario. In the upcoming battle, the worst-case scenario would be the instance that the Moon God takes over me and turn into a Black Serpent. Do you know why?"

Winter, who probably didn't have the memories of his life as the Moon Serpent, shook his head.

Julian, on the other hand, spoke solemnly. "The Black Serpent is the only Beast God who's capable of killing our mother, the Supreme Fire Mage."

Winter looked shocked by that.

"That's right," he confirmed with a strong nod. "I have the ability to kill your mother."

He hated that he could kill Tilly. But it was inevitable for him to inherit his father's "blessed rain." It was the divine water that could extinguish his wife's flame.

In the past, when Kalel Nystrom discovered that his water Mana could kill the Supreme Fire Mage, he practically sealed-off that part of him. He started to focus on using his ice Mana instead of his water Mana. That was probably the reason why as Kiho, he was born more comfortable in using his ability to control ice over his ability to control water.

"Your mother and I will do our best to prevent the worst-case scenario from happening," he continued. "But since gods are involved in this divine civil war, we can't really tell how this war is going to end." He paused for a while before he continued. "Winter, Julian, I apologize for giving you a cruel task."

His children fell silent for a while until the oldest one spoke.

"We understand, Father," Julian said in a firm voice, breaking the silence. "We will learn what you will teach us. But we have faith in you and Mother."

"Brother Julian is right, Dad," Winter said. "Please don't make us kill you."

"Of course, that's not the plan. This is just for precautionary measure," he assured his children. He knew how cruel that plan was. Even Tilly was skeptical. But in the end, they decided that if they wanted to win the war this time, they had to work together with their children. "Now, do you know what my weakness is?"

"Mommy."

"Mother."

He laughed at his children's answer. Well, they weren't really wrong. But even though Tilly was his weakness, he would never ever see his wife as a burden. It was actually the other way around– he was the burden to Tilly even in their previous lives.

I hope to change that this time.

"Brats," he said playfully to his sons. "I asked "what," not "who.""

"Can I be honest, Dad?"

"Of course, Winter."

"Then, please excuse me for what I'm about to say," Winter said. "Dad, I think your weakness in the past is your pride."

Okay, that kind of surprised him. "My pride?"

"I think because you're a god, you thought you can protect everyone on your own," Winter said bluntly. "You didn't communicate with Mommy properly."

Well, he couldn't deny that.

"You're right about that, Winter. I'm working on it this time," he admitted. "I'm sorry, I should have been more precise. By weakness, I actually meant physical weakness."

"Oh," Winter said. "Is it your heart, Dad?"

"It's not, son."

"I think it's your eyes, Father," Julian answered hesitantly later. When he nodded encouragingly, his son continued confidently. "I remember that in my past life, when Father's dead body was found, your eyes were missing."

Ah, right.

Tilly mentioned to her that after Julian death in his first life, he was reincarnated straight to that lifetime.

To be honest, he wanted to ask Julian what happened after Soleil Rosenberg died because his memories were hazy. But he and Tilly decided to wait for Wixx before they talk about that. Apparently, the Red Phoenix had a lot to explain to them.

"Julian is right. If the Supreme's weakness is her heart, then mine is my eyes.," he said. "When I turn into a Black Serpent, you should gouge my eyes out. Once you do, my eyeballs would turn into hard stones. It won't be easy– but smash them."

Of course, gouging out his eyes once he turned into a Black Serpent would be very difficult, much more to smash his eyes once it turned into stones.

But he and Tilly remembered that the Moon Serpent was also known as the 'God Slayer.' That meant it would be possible for Winter to kill him if he needed to. And now that Julian was with them, he knew that he would be a good support to his brother.

"Winter, you are the Moon Serpent," he said to his youngest child. "You swallowed the moons in the past, and you have the ability to kill gods. I believe in you." He turned to Julian. "And Julian, please support your brother. Whatever happens, I hope the two of you will work together for our family. And our family doesn't just include the four of us. It includes all the people working with and for us. You know that, don't you?"

His sons nodded with understanding in their eyes.

"Of course, Dad."

"Yes, Father."

"Thank you, boys," he said with a satisfied smile. "Anyway, I will begin training the two of you later. This time, we will focus on how you can beat me as the Black Serpent. It won't be easy to gouge my eyes but it's not impossible even at your current age. You just have to know all my weaknesses."

Both his children nodded firmly.

"We understand, Father."

"Sure, Dad."

He was glad that his kids understood why he had to do that.

"But who killed Dad in the past?" Winter asked curiously while looking at him and Julian back and forth. "Who could kill the Black Serpent?"

���It was Auro," Kiho answered. That part of his memory as Kalel Nystrom was clear. "Back then, the bracelet that controlled the Beast Gods was a powerful tool. He was able to bind us to do his bidding. And also, as far as I remember, I lost my mind when Soleil Rosenberg died. He took advantage of that and killed me when I was at my weakest."

"But why would he kill you when Mommy was already gone during that time?" Winter asked, obviously confused. "I thought he wanted you by his side, Dad."

"Not after he met the Moon God," he said. "Kyro offered Auro a deal that he wasn't able to turn down– and that is to become a god in his own right."

"Oh," Winter said. "Obviously, he didn't succeed back then."

"I don't know how his life back then ended because I passed away before he did," Julian said. "But I know for a fact that Auro Moonchester was so mad at the Red Phoenix then because Lord Wixx burned Father's body to ashes."

"Huh?" Winter asked curiously. "If Auro Moonchester didn't care about Dad, why did he get angry for what Uncle Wixx did?"

Julian gave him a knowing look. "Father, is the Moon God trying to own your physical body because he doesn't have one?"

"Oh," Winter said while nodding his head. "That makes sense."

"Yes, that's the Moon God's goal," Kiho confirmed, then he let out a deep sigh. "It's hard to believe but Kyro actually wants to be a human."

***

"I KNOW that you won't answer my questions so I won't ask, Lady Nystrom," Duke Sherwood said as he elegantly put his teacup down on the table between them. Right now, they were in the tea room in the main mansion reserved for esteemed guests. "Just please confirm this one: does the island that worships the sun really exist in the empire?"

"If you're really interested in that, then let me make you choose first," Tilly said, then she sipped her tea before she continued. She was glad that the duke brought that up. Now it would be easier for her to get rid of her husband's sasaeng fan #1. "Duke Sherwood, I want you to choose between Kiho and your duty as a Bookkeeper."

Now, let's start "firing" people that we don't need in the upcoming divine war.

***

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

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