142 Winter Nystrom's Decision

MIKHAIL Denver was shocked when the emblem of his father's orange flame suddenly appeared right in front of his face.

What is it doing here?

Lord Morgan Denver's emblem was a simple glowing orange ball that resembled the sun. To be honest, this was only the third time that he saw it in person.

The first time was when his grandfather passed away and the emblem was passed down to his father. The second time was when his father officially inherited his grandfather's title. He brought out the emblem for everyone to see as proof that he was the new head of the family.

If the emblem showed up right now even though his father was in the North with Lord Prescott, that could only mean one thing.

His father was gone and he sent his emblem to him to hail him as his successor.

"Father…" he whispered to himself in a cracked voice. "No… it can't be…"

Then, he held the emblem in his shaking hands and tried to embrace it. As expected, his body immediately absorbed the orange flame– making him feel warmer than usual. That meant that the emblem had accepted him as its new master.

And it was a clear confirmation that his father had really passed away.

Mikhail Denver fell on his knees while sobbing uncontrollably. "Father…"

***

"WAKE UP, YOUR Grace!" Luna yelled desperately. "Lady Nystrom and the young lord need you!"

Kiho flinched, an indication that he still hasn't lost himself yet.

I need to do something…

She was considering using force to knock the duke out but all of a sudden, she felt the divine presence that she couldn't have mistaken for anyone else.

A few moments later, Saint Forrester appeared in the room– just right behind Duke Nystrom.

Much to her shock, the saint suddenly grabbed the duke's chin to force him to look up at him. Then, His Holiness forced Duke Nystrom's mouth open. With his other hand, he pulled out a vial from his pocket and flipped the lid open. Then, the saint dropped the liquid in the duke's mouth.

"What is that, Your Holiness?" she asked curiously.

"My father's tears."

"Pardon?"

"As far as I know, humans call this as 'Heavenly Teardrops,'" Saint Forrester explained, then he closed the lid of the vial and let go of the duke's face. Duke Nystrom looked zoned out now. "This is more effective than any soothing tea or spell because it can calm even a raging god."

"That's a very useful tool, Your Holiness."

"Yeah, but I have to be wise when using it," he said, then he knelt beside Lady Nystrom. "After all, it's very rare for my father to cry." He gently opened the duchess's mouth a put a drop of the vial in her mouth. "It took me many, many years before I was able to fill a vial."

Lady Nystrom still looked the same– exhausted and very weak– but this time, her Mana became stable.

Oh, she has calmed down.

"Thank you for the help, Your Holiness," she said, then she turned to the young lord. The baby's complexion was better than before, and just like his parents, he seemed to have calmed down already. And much to her relief, the young lord was sleeping peacefully now. "Young lord, His Holiness will watch you over now. I will take care of Lady Nystrom first."

"Tilly…?"

She turned to Duke Nystrom and realized that the saint was right.

His Grace seems to be back to his usual self.

"Lady Nystrom is going to be fine, Your Grace," she assured the duke while walking toward him. "Duke Nystrom, please help me move Lady Nystrom to the bathroom. We need to cool down her temperature. She has calmed down but her body is still too hot."

Duke Nystrom nodded, then he carefully carried the duchess in his arms. "Hang in there, Tilly. You'll be fine," he whispered to his wife. "I'm here for you."

The duchess simply nodded– still zoned out.

She opened the bathroom's door the duke. Then, she helped him put the duchess in the tub. "Your Grace, can you fill the tub with your water? Lady Nystrom's body needs to absorb your Mana. She needs it now."

The duke nodded immediately. Then, he tapped the scale-like earring until an ice staff materialized. He started to spin it around in his hand until water filled the tub.

Lady Nystrom shivered in cold.

Duke Nystrom gently wrapped his arms around the duchess. "I'm sorry that I can't keep your warm during times like this, Tilly. Please hang in there."

Lady Nystrom nodded, then she closed her eyes.

"It's okay, Your Grace," she said when she saw panic crossed his eyes. "Let the duchess rest. Her life isn't in danger anymore."

He nodded, then he turned to her with a pained look on his face. "Miss Luna, did you hear what Tilly said about Lord Prescott?"

She slowly nodded. Yes, she heard Lady Nystrom a while ago. But she couldn't believe the latter part of the story. "It looks like the duchess received a call from Lord Prescott. We can confirm it later. Right now, we should focus on Lady Nystrom and the young lord's recovery first." She looked at him straight in the eye. "Your Grace, I know that you're being overwhelmed right now. But you're the head of the family, aren't you? You must be strong for your wife and your newly born son. I'm not saying that you should ignore the death of Lord Prescott. I just want you to lend your strength to Lady Nystrom first. Do you understand?"

It seemed like her words had knocked some sense into the duke.

"I understand, Miss Luna," Duke Nystrom said, his eyes clearer now. Then, he turned to Lady Nystrom. As soon as he did, his face softened up. "I will be strong for you and our little rascal, Tilly. So please hang in there for us, too. Okay?" He kissed the top of the duchess's head. "I love you."

Lady Nystrom, despite her weakened state, smiled softly.

Luna's heart broke while watching Duke and Duchess Nystrom display their genuine love for each other.

I hope the thing about the "descendants" of the Black Serpent isn't true.

Because if it was, hell would surely break loose this time.

***

"CONGRATULATIONS on your rebirth, Moon Serpent," Forrester said politely with his head hanged low before the Moon Serpent. "I am Asher Forrester, the favored son of the sky god. On behalf of my father, I am here to atone for the mistake that he and the other gods had done in the past."

That mistake caused the spot of the Moon Serpent in the heavens, making him a "fallen god."

"Don't call me that."

He felt a chill down his spines when he heard the young boy talk to him in his mind.

When he raised his head, he saw that the baby was now awake.

Lord Winter Nystrom's golden eyes were staring back at him, wisdom clear in his beautiful glowing orbs.

"I don't want to live as a Moon Serpent or a God Slayer," Lord Winter Nystrom said firmly. "I am just Winter Nystrom– the only son of Kiho and Tilly Nystrom."

Saint Forrester took a deep breath before he spoke. "I'm sorry but it was never your destiny to live a "normal" life, young lord."

***

LUNA stepped out of the room to take a short break, then she decided to wander around the mansion while clearing her head.

She just finished cleaning up both Lady Nystrom and the newly born young lord.

Right now, the duke and the duchess were finally spending time with their baby. They were being watched over by Saint Forrester.

I didn't see this coming.

She could usually see the major events that could change the empire's fate before it happened. But this time, she didn't see the birth of the Moon Serpent. She felt that something strange was going to happen, but she didn't expect that it would the birth of the young lord.

As far as I remember, Lady Nystrom didn't give birth prematurely in her first life.

Her thoughts were cut-off when she found Captain Denver sitting in the front porch of the mansion. He was hugging his knees close to his chest. And she noticed that his broad shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.

The sight made her nervous.

"Captain Denver?" she asked nervously. "Is everything alright?"

Captain Denver froze for a while, then he looked up at her with tears rolling down his cheeks. "Miss Luna, my father is gone," he said in a cracked voice, then he clutched his chest tight. "He passed down his emblem to me in his final moments."

And that was when she remembered that Lord Prescott went to the North with Lord Morgan Denver.

Oh, no…

Before she knew it, she was already on her knees while hugging Captain Denver.

"I'm so sorry for hugging you without your consent," Luna whispered, her heart breaking for the captain. "You can push me if you want, Captain Denver. But if you need this, feel free to hug me back."

"No," Captain Denver said, then he hugged her back tight. "Thank you for this, Miss Luna."

***

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