Yura Blake’s life had been as good as lost anyway, ever since she saved that child on that day.

Saving Kian Blake was, to her, like saving a child who was about to be hit by a carriage.

Therefore, Yura was skeptical about putting Kian in danger.

“I’m fine even if I die. But I’m worried—what if something dangerous happens to little Kian?”

Sikar Blake studied Yura’s face intently, then chuckled softly. Each time fragile Yura—who lacked even the strength to protect herself—showed such courage, Sikar found her rather adorable.

“Making another reckless remark, are you? What do you mean ‘it’s fine if you die’? You won’t die, so stop worrying.”

“What… are you talking about?”

“I need to discuss this with Reidox anyway. Let’s go downstairs.”

Before Yura could even ask why, Sikar had already descended to the parlor.

He planned to abduct Veronia on the day of her execution.

Reidox had suggested launching an all-out war instead, but even mobilizing the entire ducal estate’s forces would be insufficient against the royal army.

“I will provide additional troops.”

“Then who will protect my wife and Kian?”

Reidox could not give a satisfying answer to Sikar’s question.

Originally, their plan was to assassinate the king once they found Veronia, but now, even attempting assassination was impossible.

They absolutely had to avoid all-out war, yet everything had become tangled in multiple ways.

“Then, how do we extract the princess during the execution?”

“Do you have someone named Aaron among your subordinates?”

“Yes. He’s a new knight who recently joined my private knight corps.”

“Use him. His face isn’t known, so he should be reliable.”

Reidox feigned surprise. Aaron was a recent recruit under his command, and Reidox couldn’t fully trust his abilities or value yet.

“I don’t yet trust that knight.”

“I know what kind of person he is. Use him to extract Veronia. I’ll devise the operation—you just follow my orders. If Jeremi Iker arrives before then, we might get some help from him…”

“If the execution isn’t happening tomorrow immediately, we might be able to receive assistance.”

“Make sure to maintain vigilant watch over the surroundings until then.”

“Understood, Duke.”

“And…”

Sikar coughed awkwardly once and turned his head aside.

“I won’t forget that you rushed straight to the ducal estate while I was away.”

Reidox understood Sikar was expressing gratitude indirectly because he couldn’t bring himself to say “thank you” outright.

Though his status was lower, Reidox was seven years older than Sikar and possessed a genuinely mature demeanor.

He smiled calmly.

“So I get to hear the Duke say ‘thank you’ after all.”

Sikar, who had been silently turning away, suddenly snapped and shouted.

“Who, who said thank you?! I was just giving you a compliment for doing well!”

Reidox smiled contentedly.

“Understood.”

“It’s late. Stay at the ducal estate tonight. We can’t possibly wake the twins who are sleeping soundly at this hour.”

“Thank you, Duke.”

“You probably have much to say, but it’s late—rest for now, and we’ll continue our discussion tomorrow after waking.”

After Sikar went upstairs with Yura, Andrea guided Reidox and his party to the guest rooms.

The fog enveloping the ducal estate was darker and thicker than usual today.

The next morning, I intended to summon the priest early, but it turned out unnecessary.

The moment I opened my eyes, worried about Vika Lamberst, I went to his room and found Kian crouching beside him.

Kian was healing Vika’s body with his small, still-unripe hands.

The twins stood nearby, constantly exclaiming “Wow!” and “Whoa!” as they loyally hovered around.

“Noisy! You’re keeping me from sleeping properly—I might get sicker because of you. Could you please leave, young masters?”

“I’m not a young master, so I can stay here, right?”

“Could you please leave, miss?”

“We’re worried. You must have been in a lot of pain…”

Vika let out a long sigh and shouted loudly with a face that looked like he might actually die.

“I wasn’t hurting at all until you young masters showed up—now I feel like I’m dying! Just go already!”

Then, for the first time in ages, Kian gently placed a candy in Vika’s mouth and smiled brightly.

“It’s almost done. Please bear with it a little longer.”

“Young master, I really am fine.”

“The reason you feel fine now is probably because I just finished healing you.”

Kian stepped aside pointedly, and Vika glanced down at his body, looked slightly surprised, then quickly composed himself.

“Huh. It’s improved a bit.”

Only then did Kian look at Vika with curiosity and ask,

“But how did you get these injuries?”

“No idea. I’m hungry. Just bring me some food. The young master put candy in my mouth—now I’m even hungrier.”

“Oh! Yes! I’ll tell them to bring your meal, Vika.”

Since Vika looked utterly exhausted, I ushered the children out, telling them to let Master Vika rest.

The children marveled as they touched Kian’s hands, and Kian smiled bashfully as he led them downstairs.

I felt Kian had truly grown a lot. If only time would wait for us until he matured a bit more, we might have found Veronia more easily.

Though I sighed with regret, I decided once again to trust Sikar. If anyone could do it, he could.

Today at the dining table sat our family together with Reidox’s family.

With three children around, I felt my mind growing increasingly hazy. Especially since Lucy and Luid talked so much, I lost count of how many times Sikar frowned during the meal.

I’d wager—if he were a mage, he’d probably have floated the children midair just to get them to eat quietly.

“Lucy. Luid. If you don’t want to eat in the training room, then just eat quietly.”

Lucy replied with a disinterested “Understood,” but it didn’t last long.

I’m not sure where all the food went that morning, but thanks to those children, I was able to forget my worries about Veronia, if only a little.

After the meal, Seo Yeon decided to spend time with the children. Meanwhile, I discussed future plans with Sikar and Reidox.

First, Sikar told me to master using the wand perfectly.

“Mm. Understood.”

“Also, tell Jeremi to have Roen teach Kian how to use divine power as soon as she arrives.”

“I will do so, if Lady Roen permits.”

“Drop a subtle hint to Roen that the current king, like the deposed king, enjoys gladiatorial games in his own harem. She’ll then follow your advice.”

“You mean… reveal His Highness the royal heir’s identity to Roen?”

“If you don’t reveal his identity, Roen won’t teach Kian such things. She might even depart on pilgrimage.”

“But if Lady Roen refuses, I cannot force her.”

Reidox apparently suspected Roen would likely refuse.

Sikar looked at Reidox with an exasperated glare—as if saying, “You’re talking like someone who hasn’t read the original story!”

After finishing that discussion, Sikar began formally outlining the operation to rescue Veronia.

Executions are typically held in the square, with the condemned transported there by prisoner escort carriage.

He said they must extract Veronia before she boards that carriage.

“But how do we intercept the escort carriage? When Veronia leaves the prison? Or when she’s about to board?”

Sikar, who had been explaining enthusiastically, looked frustrated and nearly slammed the table—but glanced at me and merely clenched his fist instead.

“We’ll steal the entire carriage.”

Reidox’s eyes widened in shock—and so did mine.

“The entire thing?!”

“Yes. We’ll switch the whole carriage. Prepare an identical one, and when Veronia’s escort carriage appears, we’ll take it over as is.”

“The driver will be one of the king’s royal guards—can that really be done?”

“If it were an impossible plan, I wouldn’t even call it a plan. So you—just do exactly as I instruct.”

Sikar’s plan seemed surprisingly decent, yet also quite dangerous.

But it truly seemed there was no other way.

Reidox, who had been listening silently, bit his lip.

“What if all this fails? Do you have another plan after that?”

Sikar continued with an uncomfortable expression.

“That shouldn’t happen—but if everything fails, then it’s all-out war. If we enter all-out war, you must immediately take your children and escort Yura and Kian to Mount Seol.”

Mount Seol was so unexpected that both Reidox and I stared at Sikar as if questioning his seriousness.

“Mount Seol? The living conditions there are poor. Why there…?”

“Valije’s—Kian’s biological father’s—remains are enshrined on Mount Seol.”

“I’ve heard and know that.”

“During my three-year absence, I undertook massive construction on Mount Seol. While building a place to preserve Valije’s remains, I also prepared a shelter in case of unforeseen events.”

“Unforeseen events meaning…?”

“I prepared it in case the coup fails.”

I knew Sikar was meticulous, but I never imagined he’d prepared this far ahead.

He was even more thorough than I realized.

“Did you understand me?”

“Yes. Understood.”

“If everything resolves successfully, that shelter could become our vacation villa. We must succeed in this operation so the shelter can become a villa—it’s the only way to find Veronia, and our lives depend on it.”

Sikar spoke with a casual expression, but both Reidox and I well understood how critical this was.

Reidox smiled with anticipation.

“I’d love to visit Mount Seol—not as a refuge, but as a holiday destination. I’m curious how you’ve arranged it, Duke.”

“I haven’t been there myself, so I’m curious too. If this goes well, we can visit next time. If it fails, we might never go in our lifetimes.”

Reidox tried hard to lighten the mood, but Sikar immediately poured cold water on it.

For a moment, we all sat silently—as if attending a funeral.

Then Reidox, trying to recover the atmosphere, smiled and said,

“We will definitely go next time. Let’s go together with our twins, have snowball fights, and enjoy ourselves on Mount Seol.”

Though Reidox meant it cheerfully, mentioning going with the twins clearly struck a nerve with Sikar.

“What? With the twins? Have you forgotten what your twins did to me? I will never go anywhere with those twins!”

Sikar’s overreaction nearly made me burst out laughing. I’m not sure if Reidox intended it, but thanks to him, the gloomy atmosphere brightened again—as if it had never been dark.

Like the warm sunlight streaming through the window, illuminating us.