KIHO SOMEWHAT felt like his life was in danger as he watched the woman with snake eyes walk towards him.

But for some reason, he couldn't move.

"Don't cry, child," the strange woman told him. Then, she gently cupped his face between her hands and wiped his tears with her fingers. "Everything is eventually going to be back to normal, son."

""Son?""

He wanted to remove the woman's hands in his face but still, his body wouldn't listen to him. And those eyes that eerily resembled his…

… they were pulling him in.

"Won't you return to your mother's side now, my little Nystrom?"

Kiho wanted to say 'no' and push the woman that was giving him the creeps. But much to his frustration, he could only stand there and stare back at her golden snake eyes. What the hell is happening to me?!

***

TILLY almost dropped the bowl of chocolate ganache when she felt a painful thump against her chest.

Not only that.

She also felt a burning sensation around her wrist. To be precise, the tattoo in her wrist was getting hotter and hotter by the minute. Which was strange because she shouldn't be burnt by her own Mana.

Of course, that made her instantly nervous.

Kiho…

She didn't know why but her husband entered her mind at that very moment.

I really have a bad feeling about this.

She immediately tapped her earring that served as a communication device once. If she had to compare it to the phones back in the modern world she lived in before, she would say that tapping the earring once was similar to pressing the "speed dial 1."

Of course, her "speed dial 1" was Kiho.

Usually, her husband would pick up her call at the first ring. But the other line already rang three times and Kiho was yet to pick it up.

Now her heart was beating fast and hard against her chest.

Kiho, please pick up my call, Tilly said to herself while clutching her chest tight. And please, please be safe.

***

KIHO was distracted when he felt the earring in his left lobe vibrate.

He wore two earrings. In his right ear lobe was a scale-like earring. On the other hand, in his left ear was a plain black diamond stud that also served as a matching communication device with his wife.

Wait… Tilly is calling.

He instantly snapped out of whatever it was that dazed him.

When he came to his senses, he found himself standing behind the carriage while Bert, the coachman, was standing in front of him with a worried look on his face.

He couldn't remember what happened for Bert to give him that kind of look.

Or why did they stop at the side of the road.

"Your Grace, are you alright?" Bert asked worriedly. "You just suddenly went very still and no matter how many times I called you, you didn't respond."

Kiho blinked several times after hearing what the coachman said. "Oh, I'm fine," he said, still confused but he didn't want that to show. "Excuse me for a moment, Bert." He tapped his earring to pick up his wife's call. "My wife is calling."

Bert smiled and politely bowed to him, then he returned to his position.

As soon as the coachman disappeared from his sight, he noticed the carriage ahead moving in a moderate speed. He noticed that it had the crest of House Hayward.

"Kiho?"

Hearing his wife's voice instantly made everything around him fade into the background.

"Yes, honey?" he said. "Is everything alright?"

"I should be the one asking you that," Tilly said. "For some reason, I feel very anxious. Are you okay? Have you reached the Royal Palace?"

"We're almost there," he said.

He didn't mention that they stopped at the side of the road and he couldn't remember why. Tilly just said that she was feeling anxious. He didn't want to give her another reason to worry about him.

"Don't worry too much, honey," he comforted her. "Nothing bad will happen to me."

"Are you sure, hon?"

"Uh-huh," he said confidently so that her anxiousness would lessen a bit. "How about you, honey? Is everything alright there? Are you and Winter okay?"

"We're fine," she said, sounding a bit relieved now. "Our baby is still asleep."

"What a sleepyhead," he "complained" playfully.

He expected Tilly to say that it was normal for babies to be sleepy, just like what she does whenever he would call Winter a sleepyhead. But his wife remained silent on the other line. That meant that she was still anxious about his safety.

"Honey, I'll hang up now," he said gently. "I want to finish my job as soon as possible so I could return quickly to your side. Would that be alright?"

"Of course," she said, a little relieved. "Come home quickly, hon."

"I will," he promised. "I love you, honey. You and the little rascal."

Tilly finally let out a soft laugh. "Uh,-huh," she said. "We love you, too, Kiho."

After saying that, she hanged up.

Kiho was happy to hear Tilly say that she and Winter loved him. He also knew that his wife was in love with him. He could feel it in every fiber of his being.

But he wanted to hear Tilly say the three sweet words that to him directly.

Of course, he was aware that his wife wasn't vocal about her feelings. But was it greedy of him to hope for her to say that she loved him straight from her mouth?

This is not the right time to think about that, he scolded himself. Focus, Kiho.

Instead of getting in the carriage, he decided to walk towards Bert because he wanted to know why they stopped at the side of the road.

"Bert, why did we stop?" he asked.

"The carriage in front of us a while ago suddenly halted, Your Grace," Bert explained as if he was surprised that he didn't remember that. "But as soon as you stepped out to check what's wrong, the carriage drove off."

"Oh," he said. "Thank you."

After thanking the coachman, he went back inside the carriage.

Then, he remembered that everything that Bert said was true. He just didn't understand why he just remembered it when the coachman reminded him.

I must be tired, Kiho concluded. After all, he hadn't gotten a proper sleep yet. How could he do that when his father-in-law was killed and their mansion was attacked? He wasn't complaining though. More like he didn't have the right to. If I'm tired, Tilly is definitely more exhausted.

***

"WHAT did you say?" Aku asked in distress while having tea in the parlor room with an esteemed guest– Madam Yumi Hayward

Madam Hayward was the "young" wife of Viscount Hayward.

A few months ago, after Lady Alisa Hayward died, Viscount Hayward came to his office and demanded to be compensated for the death of his only daughter. The viscount knew that Lady Alisa worked for Nia.

The stupid old noble even had the audacity to threaten him. Apparently, he would expose Nia's "collection" to the public. To shut his trap, he gave all the viscount's demands: a huge amount of money, a new wing for his hospital, and a young wife.

Viscount Hayward wanted one of the candidates to be one of his queens.

And so, he sent Yumi to the viscount.

Let's just say that Viscount Hayward "suddenly" fell sick after marrying his new and "young" wife. So all the wealth and the new hospital that the viscount acquired from threatening me are being thoroughly enjoyed by Yumi.

"I met my little Nystrom on the way here," Yumi said while elegantly stirring the tea with a teaspoon. "I wasn't able to stop myself from calling him 'son.'"

Aku's eyes widened in surprise. "Yumi."

"Don't worry, Aku," she assured him even though he hadn't really said anything yet. "I bit my little Nystrom and the coachman who saw me before I left. They won't remember me."

Yumi, the White Snake, had the ability to manipulate the memories of the people she had bitten. Her venom could also do other things– things that could help him get Kiho to return to his side soon. That was the reason why he kept the White Snake by his side.

"Don't manipulate Kiho's memories too much, Yumi," he lightly warned her. "We don't want him to go crazy again."

"I know that," she said in a soft and sad voice. "But can you blame me, Aku? I've waited for this moment for hundreds of lonely years. I just want my little Nystrom to return to my side."

"'Nystrom' isn't Kiho's first name anymore," he reminded her. "He's using it as his family name now."

Before Kiho was reborn as Kalel Moonchester, he was known as the God Nystrom.

That was why he used 'Nystrom' as his family name when he left the Moonchesters in the past. And now, Kiho somehow ended up using it as his last name again even though he was pretty certain that he removed it from his memory.

After all, I want Kiho to reclaim his birthright as a Moonchester someday.

"I can't stomach the fact that the Daughter of the Sun is using my son's name as hers even in this lifetime," she said bitterly. She was definitely talking about Lady Tilly Nystrom. "Aku, I lent you my strength because you promised me that my little Nystrom will return to my side if I help you. I broke the rules of the spirit guardians and risked everything left of me."

"I haven't forgotten our deal, Yumi," he said, then he sipped his tea before he continued. "We'll get Kiho and his son soon. Aren't you glad that you get to live this long for you to finally meet your grandson?"

"I don't know how to feel about the child," she said. "Of course, I will love him because half of him is from my little Nystrom. But half of the child is also from the Supreme. I can never forgive that woman for what she did to me in the past– never."

He laughed because he knew what the White Snake was talking about.

In the past, the Supreme made a roasted snake out of Yumi– in front of a shocked Kalel.

"That's not funny," Yumi scolded him with a glare. "Get rid of that woman, Aku."

"I will, I will," Aku promised between fits of laughter. "We will remind that Supreme that whatever she does, blood will always be thicker than water."

***

"MISS, are you the one who's apparently spreading rumors about the false prophecy?"

Luna stopped walking in the dark alley when she realized that both of her exits were now blocked by knights. After two hours of wandering the area while spreading the fake prophecy, she noticed that she was tailed by people who were quite powerful Mana users.

Only the elite knights of the empire possessed such powers, so she lead them to a dark and empty alley to avoid the civilians from getting involved in anything that might happen. But when she noticed that the knights who followed her wore the official uniform of the Golden Tiger Knights, she was slightly relieved.

Lady Nystrom is right.

She purposely spread the rumor in the area under the Golden Tiger Knights' jurisdiction, just like the duchess's instruction.

According to Lady Nystrom, Lord Dustin Ainsworth, the heir apparent of House Ainsworth and the captain of Golden Tiger Knights, was the de facto leader of the Noble Faction. The duchess was certain that once the rumor reached Captain Ainsworth, he would reach out to her.

Lady Nystrom was hoping to bring Captain Ainsworth and the Noble Faction to their side.

"Yes, that's me," Luna said calmly. "If you're here to take me to your leader, I will come with you quietly."

"I'm sorry but we're not going anywhere, Miss," the knight who seemed to be the leader of the squad said. Then, he suddenly pulled out his sword from the holster attached to his waist before he slightly turned to his fellow knights. "Kill the woman."

***

NOTE: Sorry for the lack of update yesterday. I got busy with my job after I posted an update on my other story (Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!).

Anyway, I had a mishap in one of my sidelines (side job) this month and I almost had a meltdown. Thankfully, I was able to finish everything this morning. And then, I quit that job.

I decided to let go of one of my projects/jobs to focus on writing Mommy Villainess and Royal Secret: I'm a Princess. But don't get me wrong. I DON'T earn that much here on Webnovel (that's why I'll probably regret quitting one of my jobs later, haha) and I'm not a top author.

But I still decided to risk it (even though I need extra income for surgery fees) because I want to be more committed to what I have started here. I never leave things unfinished. It's for my peace of mind.

Sorry for the TMI (too much information). All I want to say is starting October, I will try my best to post daily. As long as the wifi or the electricity doesn't get cut off, or if there's no health or family emergency, I will post an update (or updates) everyday. Let's just pray that my back/neck pain doesn't worsen.

Hoping for your continuous support.

Thank you for everything. T_T

***

PS: You may send gifts if you can. Thank you~

***

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