Catching a glimpse of his wide and scared eyes, I patted his little head and said, "No. That's a good dragon, he's a friend of papa."

He turned to look at the float before slightly leaning forward. "It's papa's friend?"

"Yes," I said. "No one and nothing here will hurt Riku because they are all papa's friends."

He nodded but didn't leave my lap, his arms were still clutching one of mine tightly. Seeing that he was still afraid, I ran my fingers through his long hair and hummed the nursery song that I always sang to them to sleep.

"Mama, I love you," he said out of nowhere, making my heart melt.

"Mama also loves Ri-tan," I whispered.

My throat all of a sudden felt tight. As much as I love my own twins and I don't mean to compare, Riku still remains the sweetest amongst our children. Maybe it's because of how much we bonded on their first months, but the twins are both showing early signs of independence and self-confidence. Riku, on the other hand, can be very unsure and afraid sometimes. He needs constant rea.s.surance and more tender loving care.

Based on what little child psychology I learnt in university, a child's insecurities and self-doubts may develop from inadequate care during the earliest years of their lives. Because of this, my biggest regret is not being able to become a huge part of Kaname's firstborn's infancy that much. I was too busy with the twins I left most of the watching over him to his wet nurse…

"Riku-nii! Riku-nii!" Miyako called her big brother. "Come, join us!"

"You can see the floats here better, big brother!" Touya chimed in. He and his sister were perched on each of Kaname's hips.

"No, thank you. I'll stay here with mama," although he was shaking his head, there was a smile of contentment on his lips.

"Come here, son," Kaname beckoned for him to come with his head. "You can ride on papa's shoulders."

"You're missing out on a lot of things by just sitting there," Mami added.

Riku looked at me, unsure whether to accept their invitation. I nodded my head to tell him that it's alright. Slowly, he disentangled himself from me and walked to where everyone was. When he noticed that I remained seated on my chair, he ran back to where I was to pull me with him.

"You come, too, mama!"

"Hai, hai," I laughed while letting him guide me.

The twins wiggled out of their father's arms to cling to my and Mami's sides while Kaname placed Riku on his shoulders.

"I'm so happy for all of us," Mami said out loud, her free hand on her protruding belly. "I honestly could not ask for more."

"Me, too," I echoed while placing an arm around Kaname's waist. "I'm very happy."

Who would have thought that things would turn out this way? Yes, I was still a concubine but that is only in paper. The three of us know what we're really like behind closed doors and that's all that matters. Kaname was about to reply when…

"Papa, who's that woman waving at me?" Riku asked.

"Where?" Kaname looked to where he was pointing and frowned. "I don't see anyone."

"That woman in yellow," the little boy said. "She was smiling and waving at me."

My eyes searched the crowd for a woman in yellow but couldn't single out one person as there were plenty of people wearing that color.

"There she is, papa!" Riku pointed at the largest das.h.i.+ float. "She's being pulled by a man in black."

I squinted my eyes and tried to locate the two people he mentioned.

"Iursan?" Mami stretched her neck as her eyes followed someone in the crowd. "No, it can't be. He said he won't be coming here for the festival."

Looking at the direction she was looking at, I froze when I saw a woman in yellow with a man in black. They both looked like they were being escorted out of the crowd by six men. Their backs looked awfully familiar…

I couldn't stop the gasp that escaped from my mouth when my brain realized who those familiar people were. But… Could it be? No, that's impossible! She's in a remote island and he wouldn't dare cross Kaname again after having a taste of what it's like to be exiled!

"Are you alright, my love?"

"Anata, I think I saw Ayaka and Nagahito in the crowd," I whispered in a shaky voice.

Almost immediately, his mood changed. His eyes frosted over and his jaw tightened. While trying to control himself, he gently put little Riku down and went to talk to his men. Being the head of the palace guards, Shouta was in the pavilion with us. During the past three years, he watched the castle with hawk eyes and the ruthlessness of a lion. I watched as Kaname spoke with him in hushed tones. Because my husband's reaction from my words left me feeling anxious, I decided to read their lips to have an idea about what they were talking about.

"Sweep the entire estate," Kaname ordered his cousin. "Lady Hinata thinks she saw that woman and the kotais.h.i.+ together in the crowd."

Shouta's eyes narrowed and his lips formed into a disapproving frown. "Everyone from the second and third cl.u.s.ters, go and execute the tenka bito's command. Communicate with the cl.u.s.ters stationed on the castle grounds. I want an excellent job, anyone who lags behind will be removed from their posts. Cl.u.s.ter one, tighten the security around the pavilion!"

"I want a clean and thorough check. I don't care if you have to look at each and every face in the crowd," Kaname added.

Ever since the shogun's b.l.o.o.d.y display of power years ago, I have not seen that chilling yet familiar evil look on his face. Realizing that my eyes must not have been playing tricks on me and that something I didn't know must have happened prior to this incident, I hurriedly pulled Mami and the children back to the safety of the pavilion's center.

"What's going on?" Mami asked as she sat down on her chair. "Is there something wrong?"

"It's almost noon and the sun is s.h.i.+ning at its brightest, it's not good to expose ourselves to that," I answered absentmindedly, my eyes still on my husband and his cousin.

"What do you want us to do if we find them, my lord?" Shouta asked with a grim expression.

"Kill that woman immediately but leave that b.a.s.t.a.r.d to me. I'd like to know what he is trying to achieve by challenging me before I decide how to teach him a lesson."