TILLY was surprised when the door opened and Kiho entered the room. He was out of breath as if he ran to get to her.

[He definitely did.]

"Kiho," Tilly greeted her husband with a smile. She noticed that he was checking her from head to toe for any physical injury. He looked relieved when he saw that she was physically fine. "You're here."

Kiho closed the door behind him and ran towards her. He sat on the edge of the bed and hugged her tight, burying his head against her neck. She smiled and hugged him back. Ah, her husband's masculine scent and cool body made her feel like she was "home," at last.

"You're alive," Kiho whispered in relief. "Thank you for being alive, Tilly."

"I'm okay, Kiho," Tilly assured him while gently patting his back. "I heard about the attack at the castle. Are you okay? Please tell me you're not hurt."

"I'm not hurt," he assured her. Then, he pulled away from the hug to look at her and inspect her once again. "I heard you got into an accident. Any injury?"

She shook her head before she explained. "I managed to jump out of the carriage before it hit the tree. Luckily, I landed on soft grass. Plus, as a noble, I am physically stronger than average women. But I guess I was shocked so I lost consciousness."

She felt guilty that she had to lie to Kiho for now.

When she woke up earlier, Captain Denver told her the memory that he planted in the mind of the still-unconscious coachman. Her statement had to match the coachman's fake memory so she wouldn't appear suspicious.

[This is not yet the time to tell Kiho about my real identity. Once we go home, I'll tell him everything right away.]

"Tilly, you're not riding a carriage without me ever again," Kiho said as if he was horrified to hear that she jumped out of the carriage to save herself.

She giggled. He couldn't be serious, could he? "We are fine, Kiho. Don't worry too much."

[Oopsie... here comes the good news.]

As expected, her captain looked confused. ""We?""

"Me and our baby," Tilly said with her hands placed carefully on her tummy. She was nervous but her happiness and excitement were greater than it. Thus, she was able to give him the best smile that she could offer while telling her husband the good news. "Kiho, the doctor who checked on me a while ago said that I'm four weeks pregnant."

He froze, obviously shocked at the news.

She didn't expect that next thing that happened: Kiho's tears silently fell.

Seeing her husband get emotional made her feel soft as well.

She knew that Kiho was an orphan. In her past life, he told her that he didn't want their son to grow up without parents like he did. That was one of the reasons why he didn't give up on their marriage before he met another woman.

[Let's not think about her for the meantime.]

This time, she would do everything in her power to make sure that their family would be happy together for eternity.

For that, she was willing to risk exposing her identity to her husband. She knew that they would never have a peaceful life if she would keep a huge secret from him. Plus, she needed Kiho's help to make sure that Winter would be born safely in this world.

"Kiho," Tilly said in a soft voice. Then, she gently caressed his cheek and wiped his tears with her thumb. She didn't want to see him sad anymore. It hurt her heart to see him crying. That only meant that her husband had really become the most important man in her life now. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm happy," Kiho whispered, his voice cracking a little. "Tilly, thank you for making me this happy. I grew up without a family. Honestly, I thought I didn't need one. But when I met you, I knew that I could no longer go back to isolation again."

"I won't let you become lonely again," she promised him, tear-eyed now. She knew that their journey together wouldn't be easy, especially once he found out that she was a Fire Mage. Kiho would definitely get torn between her and his loyalty to the throne. But she wanted to believe that he would choose her. But right now, she wanted to make Winter their priority. "Kiho, let's help each other become the best parents for our baby."

He nodded as he held her hand that was on his face. Then, he kissed her palm before he gently pulled her hand away from his face. After that, he leaned down and wrapped his arms carefully around her waist. And with utmost care, he buried his face on her stomach. "Hi, baby. This is Kiho, your father. Are you growing well inside your mommy's womb? We are very excited to meet you, little one. Please come out as soon as possible."

"We have to wait for a little while, Kiho," she said between giggles. Then, she gently combed her fingers through his hair. "But like you, I can't also wait to see our little angel."

"If the prophecy is right, then we'd have a baby boy," he said, then he looked up at her beautiful face. "I hope he looks like you, Tilly."

"I'm sure our Winter will be beautiful because he's the fruit of our love."

""Winter?"" he asked, pleasantly surprised. "You're really okay with the name I chose for our son?"

She smiled and nodded. "Of course, hon."

"Then, let's call him Winter," Kiho agreed.

Then, he sat up and cupped her face in his hands.

She knew what he was about to do so she smiled and closed her eyes. A few heartbeats later, she felt his warm breath on her face. Then, his lips touched hers for a chaste kiss.

[Ah, he's so gentle.]

Kiho gently pressed his forehead against his. "Tilly, I'll protect you and our Winter forever."

"I trust you, Kiho," Tilly said in a warm voice. "I know that you will protect me and our baby at all cost."

[Please choose me and Winter, Kiho.]

***

AKU's heart broke when he saw Nia's terrible state. His beloved was lying on a table with a cloth to cover her severely burnt body. He brought her in the High Priest's temple, hoping that Howard's divine power would help his sister.

[Oh, Nia...]

The princess's long hair was burned and she was almost bald now. Since her clothes were turned into ashes, he saw the state of her naked body a while ago. God, her skin had been terribly burnt that no amount of his healing powers could return it to normal.

Worse, Nia was unconscious.

But he was still grateful that his most beloved was still alive.

[I don't care how you look, Nia.]

Unfortunately, his advisors and even his subjects wouldn't accept an "unattractive" empress. Even if Nia was a Moonchester, if people would find out how she looked now, they would rather have an ordinary noble for an empress than a Moonchester that looked like a burnt corpse.

[To protect Nia's position, I have to help her recover her beauty.]

"My deepest apologies, Your Majesty," Howard, the High Priest, told him with his head hanged low. "I can't heal the burn from the Red Phoenix's flame. I do not have the power to heal injuries from an Ancient Beast."

"That's not what I want to hear," Aku said, glaring at the High Priest with his glowing red eyes. "If you don't want me to murder everyone in the church, return Nia's beauty to its original state. You're a High Priest, aren't you? Why don't you pray for your god to save you from my wrath?"

The High Priest paused for a while before he continued in a hesitant voice. "Your Majesty, I know a way to help Her Royal Highness. But it requires a huge sacrifice..."

"What kind of sacrifice?"

"The blood of a dragon's descendant can rejuvenate anyone who'd drink it," the High Priest said. "But at Her Royal Highness's state, she needs a huge amount of blood to consume before she regains her beauty."

"Are you saying that we need a whole body of a dragon's descendant as supply?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

He turned to the other table where Lahara's unconscious body was lying. Like Nia, the mage also survived but in a terrible state right now. "Lahara is a descendant of the Blue Dragon. Use her blood to save Nia."

"But Your Majesty..." Howard started in a hesitant voice. "Miss Lahara is still alive. Even though she already left the White Tower, the Grand Mage and the other mages in there are still fond of her. If they find out that we'd be using her blood as supply for Her Royal Highness's recovery, they would definitely get mad. We can't underestimate the White Tower, Your Majesty. If they turn their back on us, the empire's military strength would weaken."

"If Lahara died, can you find a way to keep her blood fresh for Nia to consume?"

"We have a method to do that, Your Majesty."

"Very well," he said. Then, without even batting an eye, he used his right hand to stab Lahara's chest and rip her heart out. As soon as the mage-knight's beating heart was in his hand, he crushed it. Then, he looked at Howard who looked shocked by what he did. "Send a message to the White Tower and tell them that Lahara had been burnt to ashes by the Red Phoenix's replica. Only you and Captain Sherwood know what happened to the mage. I hope you know what will happen if the White Tower found out the truth."

Howard bowed to him. "I'll carry this secret to grave, Your Majesty."

"You better," he said while pulling out a white handkerchief using his clean hand. "Take care of Nia while I hunt the people behind this tragedy."

"Your Majesty, do you know who caused the replica to go berserk?"

"Only the Fire Mages can control the Red Phoenix– whether it's a replica or not," he said with his teeth clenched. "That only means that there are Fire Mages who are hiding in the empire. I'll wipe out every single one of them."

"You're the only one with the power and ability to eliminate the Fire Mages, Your Majesty," Howard said carefully. "But you can't do it alone, can you?"

"I'm not the only one who can kill Fire Mages, Howard," Aku said with a smile while wiping off the blood in his hand using the handkerchief. "There's a reason why I brought Kiho to the empire, you know?"

*******