That night, when everyone was asleep, Choi Han was about to go somewhere when Deruth saw him.

"Hero-nim," Deruth called.

Choi Han immediately turned to him and greeted him.

"May I take some of your time? There are things I would like to ask you," Deruth said as he turned and walked towards one of the parlors in the manor.

Choi Han quietly followed him. As soon as they entered the room, Deruth served the finest wine they had to Choi Han as he gestured to him to sit.

"I will not make this conversation longer, and I am not interested in small talk. There is something I am curious about," Deruth started.

The tension was making Choi Han nervous. He doesn't usually feel it but this time he could feel it so much he wanted to vomit.

"What is your relationship with my son?"

"I am sure you are very familiar with my relationship with him. Cale hates me."

"Is that so? I thought you were the one who hated him?"

"N-No! I mean, I didn't hate him, I never once hated him."

"Then why did you hurt him before? You beat him up almost to death, then you're telling me you didn't hate my son?"

Choi Han bit his lip, his actions were never justifiable. It scared him to think what might have happened if he accidentally killed Cale when he punched him like there's no tomorrow.

"I didn't mean that to happen. I don't know what I could do to atone to my mistake. No excuses could pardon what I did to him," Choi Han responded. I love Cale, I always have. Ever since that day, I have always adored him.

"If you want to atone to your mistakes, stay away from them. Don't disturb the peace they have now," Deruth said.

"No!" Choi Han stood. "I can't do that, and I will not do that."

"Then what do you want from him?"

Choi Han couldn't answer, not because he didn't know what to say but it was precisely because he knew what he wanted. He didn't even know whether Cale's father would accept him or not.

"I need answers, Hero-nim," Deruth sternly said. His voice was so firm that Choi Han wasn't used to it.

"I want him," Choi Han whispered.

"What? I didn't hear you."

"I want Cale. I just don't want to be a friend but rather more than that."

Deruth wasn't actually surprised. It was obvious. When it comes to his son, Choi Han is always wearing his heart on his sleeves. It was clear as day that Choi Han felt something for his son. If the event about him beating up his son didn't occur, the continent probably assumes that these two are lovers.

"You are aware that my son has children. My son has no time for this and I don't know whether he will entertain your love or not."

"Yes, I know. I know that his children will be his priority, even then I want to stay by his side. There's nothing that would make me happy but that."

"I don't want my son to suffer. I know you are aware of his reputation, your title is just a name only. You can't fully protect him from people who want to bring harm to him. I don't even know how prepared you are in building this relationship with my son."

"I know I am not trustworthy in your eyes but I am willing to do anything to make him happy."

Deruth stared at Choi Han's eyes, he was determined and he was serious about his son.

"I don't have much say about my son's relationship. What he deems important is up to him. If you want to be something to him, you have to work on your relationship with him."

"That's what I'm doing."

Consequently, Cale was sleeping. In the midst of his dreaming, he met the same goddess who told him about his children.

"Caleeeee! It's been a while!" Aite said.

"What do you want?" Cale asked.

"Are you curious about the father of your child? It was so much fun choosing him!"

"As much as I am grateful to you, I also hate you. I am not curious about him."

"Your children are not looking for him because they are kind and considerate towards you. I know you are aware who their father is, so it's time to let him in the picture."

"Oh, wait! He is already in the picture, but your issues now made you push him away again! Hahahaha!" Aite laughed at Cale.

"Cale," Aite approached the redhead as he gently patted his head. "I know your heart. You don't have to lie and admit it yourself."

Cale remained silent.

"Make sure your children will accept him as the father and as your husband, or else you will have to face greater consequences," Aite added.

"The blessing I gave you is for the both of you. It is always for the two people your fate has decided on. If one of you is not happy, there is no use in keeping these blessings," Aite continued and smiled.

"What do you mean by that?" Cale asked.

"Do you want to experience it to know?"

There, Cale jolted awake. He was sweating and his heart was beating loudly.

Am I going to lose my children if Choi Han and I don't get along? Cale asked. His hands were shaking. He was scared.

The next day, Choi Han had to go back to the Capital because of the celebration of his return. As soon as his mission finished, he immediately went to Cale's place. He didn't expect his secret would be revealed in the most unconventional way.

"Choi Han, you're back," Prince Alver said. "Where have you been? Everyone has been looking for you."

"He probably went to the love of his life," Rosalyn nonchalantly answered for Choi Han.

"What? You have a lover?" Prince Alver asked.

"I don't have such a thing," Choi Han responded.

Noticing Choi Han's demeanor, Rosalyn and Alver could deduce that something happened with his lover.

"If you are having trouble getting back with your lover, you can use your reward in subduing the dragon. Aside from the land you will be granted, you can choose someone you will marry in order to govern the land given to you," Alver said.

"You already choose the countryside where a lot of monsters appear, but that place is abundant in harvest. No Lords would want to take good care of it because it is a hassle driving the monsters off," Alver added.

"Would that person hate me even more if I make them marry me out of Royal Decree?" Choi Han asked.

"Does she hate you that much? What did you even do, Choi Han?" Alver asked in response.

Choi Han remained silent. Rosalyn felt bad about Choi Han.

"Your highness, can I talk to Choi Han alone?" Rosalyn asked.

"Sure, go ahead."

Rosalyn dragged Choi Han out of the Prince's office.

"Choi Han, what's going on? I thought you went to Young Master Cale to fix your relationship with him?" Rosalyn asked.

"I do, but he learned I am Choi Han before I could even explain myself," Choi Han responded frustratingly.

"What do you mean?"

"When we slept together, the necklace stopped working."

"Wait, you made that much progress without telling him the truth?!"

"No, not in that way. Cale was actually not mad at me, but he did because I hid the truth from him."

Then before Rosalyn could say something, Lock barged in the room holding a newspaper in his hand.

"Choi Han-hyung! Have you seen the newspaper!?" Lock frantically asked as he extended his arm to give the newspaper to him.

Rosalyn's eyes grew wider when he saw the front page.

"Oh my gosh, Choi Han!" Rosalyn exclaimed.

Surprised, Choi Han immediately read the article. The front page showed the image of Choi Han carrying a child while caressing Cale's cheeks. The child looked exactly like a combination of Choi Han and Cale, plus the two of them looked intimate and close in the picture.

"Oh no," Choi Han muttered. "How can we stop this from publication?"

"We can't, it has already spread!" Lock said.

"Choi Han, you are keeping secrets, huh?" Alver interjected. "Cale Henituse is the beloved son of the Henituse. Even if he had that reputation, his family protected him and cared for him. They will not allow you to have this relationship. And what is this child in this picture? The child looks like yours and the Young Master's son."

"I already talked to the Count and he knew of my feelings and intentions towards Cale," Choi Han responded.

"How about the Young Master?"

"He seems to hate me."

Hate you? Have you ever seen his expression on that paper? He looks like he is in love with you, Alver thought. He didn't dare share his thoughts.

Alver looked at the paper again. It was the first time he had seen this expression on the redhead. They really looked like lovers in the picture.

"We need to contact the Henituse' so we could do something about this," Alver said. "Since the child in the newspaper looked exactly the same as the both of you, it'll be better if you two will get married instead of acting like enemies."

"I know the Young Master will understand the situation, both of you got careless. I don't know what the two of you are thinking about going out in the open like that," Alver added.

"It wasn't our fault that the people here cannot mind their own business," Choi Han responded.

Later that day, Choi Han and Alver went to the Henituse Estate through a teleportation spell. Deruth's aide was already waiting for their arrival so he led them to the Count's office.

As soon as they entered, Deruth sighed at the sight of them. Cale was called to the office as well and he couldn't understand why the Crown Prince was also there.

"Greetings to the sun of the kingdom," Cale greeted.

Looking at Cale closely, he indeed became beautiful enough for the majority of the females in the kingdom to envy his looks.

"Your highness?" Cale said.

Alver cleared his throat and Choi Han rolled his eyes.

"Are you aware of this, Young Master Cale?" Alver asked as he placed the newspaper in front of him.

Cale was surprised. Not because he was caught in a scandal with the hero but with the fact that his child was also exposed. Cale knew when this happened, he was used to unnecessary attention anyway but his child is different.

"We actually have a solution for this issue, in order to protect you and your child," Alver added.

"And that is?"

Deruth already knew what it was. He was there to mediate things just in case Cale decided to flip everything over. It was about his son, he will never force his son to do something he would hate. That's why he was leaving the decision to his son.

"Marrying the hero Choi Han would be the best choice here, your child will get a lot of attention from the people and some of them especially the women who fancies Choi Han," Alver said.

Cale clucked his tongue. He didn't want to get married but he didn't want to risk his child as well.

That goddess sure is working hard pairing me with Choi Han, Cale sighed.

Meanwhile, the three children, along with Ohn and Hong, were also looking at the said newspaper.

"This is all my fault," Soleil said. "If only I didn't ask mommy to go outside the house, we wouldn't get caught up in this."

"What should we do? The Hero is very famous and I think he has a lot of enemies, what will happen if Mother is targeted by them?" Hong asked.

"Soleil, Ciel and I are still weak compared to the adults who might target our mommy," Etoile responded. "Since we are weak and young, we should formulate a plan in order to protect mommy."

"But there is an easy way to protect mommy," Ciel interjected. His siblings looked at him.

"I know you are already aware of it but we are just crossing it out because we hate to do this plan," Ciel added.

"Tsk, is there no other choice? I don't want to resort to that," Soleil said.

"I know, I hate it as well. But mommy might be considering it since he is also thinking about us," Ciel responded. "He might think that's the best course of action."

"I see, you have a point. That person is smitten towards our mommy, I certainly do not want mommy to go near that man. But if our safety is on the line, mommy might be willing to sacrifice his own freedom for us," Etoile said.

"What are you talking about?" Ohn asked.

"Since we are weak and young, the person who is a perfect candidate in protecting mommy and us is none other than the hero Choi Han," Soleil responded. "Our Raon is currently not here with us to help us, and he's the strongest among us as well."

"We really need to get stronger. Since Choi Han knew a lot of stronger people, we can take advantage of his networking to gain our strength," Etoile said.

"That's better and the safest method as we are now," Ohn responded.

"Shall we go to mommy?" Ciel asked. The other children nodded.

Soleil took the newspaper and they all went to where Cale was. Then, they saw a golden sun and the hero coming out of the Count's office.

"Choi Han," Soleil called.

Alver was surprised to see that Choi Han and Cale not only have one child but five instead.

"We need to talk to you," Ciel said.

Alver nodded to Choi Han to give him permission. The children and Choi Han went to the nearest room to talk.

"I know what you are planning, and it seems your plans are going well," Ciel said.

Ciel wasn't always the talkative one, but among the three of them, he holds the most intimidating aura a child could have.

"We hate you, Choi Han," Ciel said coldly. "We hate you because you are capable of hurting our mother."

Soleil and Etoile quietly listened and observed. Once Ciel starts moving, all they need to do is wait—the same way as what they did in their previous life.

"We hate you because you made mommy cry. We hate you because you deceived him after he opened up his heart to you," Ciel continued. We hate that mommy is looking at you so fondly. We hate the fact that you are our father.

Choi Han remained silent.

"BUT! We will push that hate aside so you could protect mommy," Ciel took a deep breath. "We are weak and young so we couldn't protect him on our own. We are aware of your strength and capability, so we know you could protect him with your life."

"I know what you are planning, I know what you have talked about with mommy inside grandpa's office, we know and we hate that idea. But for mommy's safety and for my siblings safety..." Ciel was starting to tear up. Soleil and Etoile held each of Ciel's hands.

"We will allow you to get close to him, to do what you think is the right thing to do," the three of them said in unison. "If even in the slightest you make our mommy cry or hurt him, be prepared for our retaliation. We may be weak now but we are stronger than you."

Choi Han smiled, not because he finally got permission from Cale's children but because they are the same. Cale was thinking of agreeing to marry him in order to protect his children, while Cale's children were thinking of allowing him to marry their mother so they could protect Cale.

Choi Han kneeled to their eye level and gently ruffled each of their hair.

"Thank you. I will make sure not to betray the trust you put in me," Choi Han said fondly.

"We don't trust you, just to be clear. We are closely watching you," Etoile responded.

"Make a promise!" the three said as they stuck out their pinkies. Choi Han chuckled and entwined his pinkies to the three.

"I promise that I will protect you and your mother with all my strength and life," Choi Han smiled.

"We will bite you to death if you break your promise, hmp!" Ohn and Hong said. Choi Han laughed and nodded.

After their conversation, Choi Han and Alver went back to the Capital to prepare for the celebration of their return.

That night, Cale and his children were sitting on their bed.

"Mommy, if you get married, will your love for us lessen?" Etoile asked.

"Where do you get the idea that I will marry someone?" Cale nervously laughed.

Soleil, Etoile and Ciel placed their hand on Cale's thighs.

"Mommy, we heard about it," Soleil said. "They said you will marry the hero."

Cale's smile faded, he then hugged his three children.

"I'm so sorry for not telling you. Things happened that lead me into marrying him, I am so sorry for not asking you first," Cale said. "But you don't have to worry, I will still love you the same as I do right now. My love for you won't change."

"We know, mommy. We know how much you love us, hehe," Ciel giggled then he kissed his mother's cheeks.

We know you love us so much enough to get married to the person you wanted to avoid. We know that you love us so much that you're willing to do everything to keep us safe.

"Mommy, I'm sorry I'm not strong enough to protect you," Etoile said.

"It doesn't matter. The three of you will get stronger in due time, no need to rush," Cale responded as he kissed each of their cheeks.

"Mommy will always love you, no matter what happens we will always be together," Cale said.

The three children leaned on Cale's chest and listened to his heart beat. It was a very calming sound that they always loved.

"Mommy, I love you," the three of them said as they started to fall asleep.

"I love you even more, Soleil, Etoile, Ciel," Cale responded as he tucked them in their blankets, then left forehead kisses on each of them.