A TALE OF FIRE AND ICE

The War Has Finally Begun

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Irene giggled when Winter burped after she breastfed him. "Our baby is full, huh?" she said lovingly while fixing her top. She wore a dress with buttons so that it would be easier for her to undo it when she needed to feed her son. I want to breastfeed Winter until he's big enough before I switch to formula milk.

Winter smiled, then he reached for her face and touched her cheek.

She felt like it was his own way of thanking her for feeding him.

"You're welcome, my little cinnamon roll," she said.

After a few moments of playing with her son, Winter let out a big yawn. Seeing his little mouth form a big 'O' made her giggle.

"My precious baby is sleepy after getting full," she said between giggles. "Mommy will sing you a lullaby."

She gently and carefully laid Winter on the bed, then she laid on her side. Like she promised, she sang her son a lullaby while lightly tapping Winter's tummy. Just a few moments later and the "little rascal" was already sleeping peacefully.

Aww, Winter is so cute.

She became teary-eyed while watching Winter sleep beside her.

To be honest, she couldn't remember if she sang her son a lullaby or even breastfed him in her past life.

But she was grateful that she could do those things now.

I'll be a good mother to you this time, Winter.

"Honey?"

She looked up to see Lisa enter their room.

"I've knocked but when I didn't get a response, I got worried and opened the door," Lisa explained while walking towards the bed. Then, he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. After that, he leaned down again to kiss Winter on the top of his head before he sat beside her. "I asked our knights to escort Viscount Severn back to his mansion."

"Thank you, hon."

"I also received a message from Captain Denver," he said. "He informed us that he came home safely. The captain also said that he has informed his family about his father's passing. He'll be declared as the new marquis soon."

She let out a deep sigh. "I still can't believe that we lost Father and Lord Denver at the same time. This is a huge loss to the empire."

After all, House Prescott and House Denver were both old families.

"This is my fault, Irene."

She turned to Lisa and her heart broke when she saw heavy guilt on his face. "How is this your fault, hon?"

"If Father and Lord Denver didn't go to the North to investigate my origin, they wouldn't have been killed," he said in an anguished voice.

"Hon, please don't say that," she said, then she sat up and faced him properly. "None of this is your fault, Lisa." She gently cupped his face between her hands. "The only people we should blame for the death of Father and Lord Denver are the alleged descendants of the Black Serpent."

He still looked devastated. "I don't know why but I still feel guilty."

For some reason, she understood what Lisa felt. She also felt guilty and she couldn't explain why. But she knew that she had to be strong for her family so she tried her best to shrug it off.

"Hon, don't blame yourself," she said more firmly. "I'm sure that Father and Lord Denver wouldn't blame you as well."

"Are you not mad at me, Irene?" he asked in a scared voice. "Are you not secretly blaming me for Father's death?"

"Of course not," she said without missing a beat. "Did I make you feel that I'm blaming your for that?"

He shook his head, frustration written all over his face. "I just don't want you to hate me. That's the only thing I'm scared of."

"Blaming you for Father's death didn't even cross my mind, Lisa," she said gently. "I can never hate you."

This time, he looked relieved. "Really?"

"Really," she said, then she pulled his face closer and kissed him on the lips. "Don't blame yourself, okay?"

Lisa nodded like an obedient child. "Okay. Thank you, Irene."

She just smiled at that.

"Did you feed the little rascal?" he asked gently while tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Yes," she said excitedly. "He fell asleep after getting full. You should have seen our baby yawn. His little mouth looked so cute!"

"Uh-huh," he said, his eyes lingering on her chest area. " Irene, I'm getting hungry." He looked up at her with a heated gaze. "Feed me, too."

She laughed at what he said. "What?"

He smirked sexily. Then, he grabbed her breast and ran his thumb over her nipple. "I want milk, too."

She gasped, her eyes widening in shock at his lewd remark. Well, she liked it. But she couldn't believe that Lisa just talked dirty to her! Gosh, she had completely corrupted her husband by now, huh? " Lisa, Winter is here."

"He's asleep," he playfully said, then he leaned down and put her nipple in his mouth.

She covered her mouth when she moaned.

Even though she was dressed, she could still feel his tongue licking her nipple through the fabric of her dress. Gosh, that was so stimulating!

She was starting to get in the mood when suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.

Distracted, she gently pushed Lisa who instantly pulled away from her. He was always like that. Whenever she said or did something to make him stop, he would stop no matter how sexually frustrated he was.

"Behave," she scolded him, then she placed her hand on the wet part of her dress, thanks to Lisa's saliva. She made her temperature rise until her clothes were dry again. Yep, I can use my Mana as an instant dryer.

"Okay, honey," Lisa said while helping her fix her clothes.

"Thank you," she said when she looked presentable again. Then, she turned to the door. "Come in."

A few moments later, the door opened and Luna enter their chamber.

"Duke and Duchess Nystrom, I apologize for disturbing your free time but something urgent happened," Luna, who held a silver tray with a letter, informed them formally. "We received a letter from His Majesty."

"Just like what we expected," Irene said, then she looked at Winter who was sleeping beside her peacefully. "The war has begun."

***

Irene sat on the chair while reading the letter from Emperor Taeyeon. Lisa, on the other hand, sat on the arm rest of her chair as he read the letter, too. Luna was also in the room. The witch sat on the edge of the bed while watching over the sleeping Winter.

Right now, aside from Lisa, she could only trust her son with Luna.

She let the servants of their house serve Winter as well, but only within their supervision. It wouldn't hurt to be that careful. And the people of their mansion understood that.

"His Majesty knows that we put Winter in an incubator," Irene said after reading the letter. "But it seems like he's not aware that our baby is already out of it."

Which was a good thing.

According to the letter, His Majesty wanted Winter to have his Purification once their son was out of the incubator.

"How dare His Majesty decide for the Purification of our son?" she said in a pissed voice.

But to be honest, it wasn't uncommon for the emperor to decide the Purification date of the children of the empire. It was a part of his authority as the emperor.

Still, that didn't mean she didn't have the right to be pissed.

"The royal family has too much power over the people of the empire," she said while crumbling the letter in her hands. "I want to put them in place."

"Honey, please calm down," Lisa told her gently. Then, he started to massage her shoulders. "We already expected that this would happen."

She looked at Winter's face and that instantly calmed her down. After that, she let out a deep sigh. "Yes, we already expected that His Majesty would want Winter to have his Purification as soon as he was born," she said. Then, she looked up at Lisa. "Let's also make our move."

They didn't stay idle for the past months.

Irene and Lisa, along with Luna, Captain Denver, and Saint Forrester, had come up with several plans to counter the moves that they predicted from the emperor's side.

The only difference was it happened earlier because of Winter's premature birth.

Still, she was grateful that they had already made counter attacks.

"I'll inform Saint Forrester that we're ready to make our first move," Lisa said, then he looked at her with a concerned look on his face. "But how about visiting Father's mansion, Irene?"

"We'll still do it," Irene said. "In fact, we can use that opportunity to gain the public's sympathy."

***

"YOUR MAJESTY!"

Taeyeon covered his mouth when he yawned while leaning against his office chair. It was almost noon now but he was still sleepy. After getting back from the temple, he was forced to work on his paper work before it created a mountain on his table. "What are you being so loud for, Sir Gregory?"

Sir Gregory, who stood before his table, bowed. "I apologize, Your Majesty," he said. "But we received a big news just now."

"What is it?"

"Lord Prescott and Lord Denver were allegedly murdered in the North."

He yawned again. "Ah."

"Your Majesty, did you hear what I just said?" the old knight asked in frustration. "Lord Prescott and Lord Denver, heads of two of the oldest families in our empire, had been murdered. If they were killed by people from another nation or kingdom, then this could lead to a war. The North is a part of the empire but there are rumors that a part of it has been claimed by "strange people.""

"Uh-huh."

"You don't sound surprised or interested, Your Majesty..." Sir Gregory said, then he trailed off. After pausing for a few seconds, he gasped. "Your Majesty, do you have something to do with the death of Lord Prescott and Lord Denver?"

Taeyeon smiled brightly at the old night. "What do you think, Sir Gregory?"