WHEN SHE woke up, the people around her called her by two different names.

The guy with a different-colored eyes and his loud-mouthed partner called her "Lady Soleil Rosenberg, the "Supreme Fire Mage."

However, the two caring ladies (a witch and a nanny) called her "Duchess Tilly Nystrom."

And the baby in her arms simply called her "mommy."

I have a son…

She was still confused but for some reason, she easily trusted these people.

So right now, instead of panicking, she simply sat on the bed while the witch sat on right side. The nanny was on her left side while picking up the tray from the night table.

On the other hand, the two men that often visited her was guarding outside.

She didn't know where exactly she was but the room she was in was big and luxurious.

"Lady Nystrom, happy birthday," the nanny called 'Isabelle' said with teary-eyes. The young woman was holding a tray with a round vanilla cake on it. "Thank you for surviving."

The baby in her arms smiled and touched her face. "Happy birthday, Mommy."

She should be surprised that her alleged son could talk to her in her mind. But she just accepted it calmly.

"Thank you," she said to the nanny and the baby. Then, before she knew it, she was already showering the baby with little kisses on his face. She did it as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world. "Oh. I guess you're really my baby."

Her son giggled happily.

"If I have a son, does it mean I have a husband, too?" she asked curiously. But when the nanny and the witch suddenly fell silent, she became anxious. "Am I a single mother?"

"No, my lady," the witch, called 'Luna' if she remembered it correctly, said hesitantly. Then, she handed over a locket with a picture inside. "I don't know if you'll believe me but the man in the photo is your husband. His name is Duke Kiho Nystrom."

She took one look at the photo and when she saw her "husband," her heart skipped a beat.

If my husband is Duke Kiho Nystrom, then I must be "Duchess Tilly Nystrom."

To be honest, she was confused at first if she'd identify herself as "Lady Soleil Rosenberg" or "Duchess Tilly Nystrom." But now, she had a made a decision.

"I believe you, Luna," Tilly said while her gaze was still locked on the handsome man in the photo. "That face is exactly my type so he's definitely my husband."

***

"DUKE NYSTROM, today is a special day," David, the head butler, informed him. "Let me leave the present that we prepared for you here."

Kiho just raised a brow at the old man. He wanted to ask what the "special occasion" was but he got lazy to speak or to move from the bed where he was sitting on. After all, he just woke up without remembering anything about himself except for the fact that he was "Duke Kiho Nystrom."

And apparently, his wife left him with their son.

The servants kept talking about it.

"Have a nice day, my lord," David said, then he bowed politely before he left the room.

When he was alone, he got up and walked towards the tea table where David left a round strawberry cake and a snowflake-shaped ice locket. He didn't like sweet things that much so he just grabbed the locket and opened it.

In the left side of the locket, a photo of him and a beautiful woman with purple eyes was attached. It looked like a wedding picture.

Ah, she must be my wife.

In the right side of the locket was another photo of them. But this time, his wife had a tiny baby in her arms. The toddler had golden eyes just like him.

Our son.

It was weird but he didn't feel any pain or anger considering that his wife allegedly left him and took their son with her.

Is it because I don't have my memories?

That could be it.

He was about to close the locket when all of a sudden, she heard a voice coming from his wife's image.

"Kiho Nystrom, if you have awakened, then you have probably forgotten about me."

His brows furrowed. What a strong spell…

"Listen to me carefully, Kiho," the lovely voice of his wife said. "You have to believe everything I say because I'm your wife and I'm pretty. You should never doubt your pretty wife, understood?"

Before he knew it, he was already smiling.

"My wife is feisty," Kiho whispered to himself. "And really pretty."

[END OF VOLUME 1]

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[VOLUME 2 SNEAK PEEK]

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hi! This is sola_cola. I just have a few things to say before I share the previews with you.

First of all, the scenes that I wrote below aren't canon (legit) yet. I just picked some of my favorite scenes from my rough drafts for season 2. Rough drafts can still be changed anytime. I'm sharing it with you so you'll know what to look forward to. Happy reading! J

***

"TILLY, Lord Winter escaped and he stole the ship to descend to the Royal Capital!"

"I know," Tilly told Luna while she was packing her things. "And as Winter's mommy, it's my obligation to follow my son, right?"

Luna's eyes widened in shock. "You and Winter planned this," she said in disbelief. "You're going to look for Duke Nystrom, aren't you?"

***

"LOUISA, do you have a problem with me?"

Louisa held her head high. "I don't have a problem with you, Lady Morganna."

"Then, why aren't you following my order?" Lady Morganna asked with a "sweet" smile. "Didn't I tell you to remove all the portraits of the former Duchess Nystrom in the mansion?"

"First of all, Lady Tilly Nystrom is still the duchess, Lady Morganna," Louisa said firmly. "Second, you do not have the authority to order me around. You're nothing but Lord Julian's nanny– I mean, teacher."

That earned the head maid a slap from the lady.

"How dare a mere maid speak to me that way?" Lady Morganna asked, fuming. "I will be the new duchess of House Nystrom soon."

Louisa smiled mockingly. "How can you marry a man who doesn't even spare you a glance, Lady Morganna?"

***

"DID you live well for the past five years, you thief?" Winter asked Julian with a smirk. "How can you live comfortable after stealing my place?"

"Winter, it's not like that," Julian said desperately. "I was only forced to take your place because His Majesty needs an heir. He made me pretend as–"

"That's not what I saw a while ago, Julian," he said coldly. "You and that wench seemed to be enjoying the place that belongs to me and my mommy."

"Winter, you can say anything to me but please spare Lady Morganna."

He smirked bitterly at that. "You've been with my father for the past five years. Tell me, Julian. Did he love you like you're his own son?"

Julian's face turned red in embarrassment.

"Do you want to know who my dad will choose between you and me?" he challenged the "fake son." "I will help you."

"Winter– no!"

It was too late for him to stop him.

Winter stomped his right foot on the ground. Then, a large ice spear appeared and flew towards Julian's direction.

Julian melted the huge ice spear with her bright red flame.

He ran towards the flame until his body was engulfed in it.

Julian gasped in shock. "Winter, what are you–"

"Dad!" Winter cried and this time, he wasn't really acting. Even though his dominant Mana was ice, he still had affinity with fire. That was why he was wondering why Julian's flame was burning him. Wow, this is what Mommy calls as "instant karma."

���Winter!"

He was relieved when his daddy came and hugged him tight until the fire burning his body was put out.

"Winter, are you okay?" his father, Duke Nystrom, asked worriedly. He held his shoulders and checked on him from head to toe. He looked heartbroken when he saw burnt marks all over his body. Then, the worried look on his face was replaced with anger when he turned to Julian. "Why did you attack Winter, Julian? He's younger than you!"

Julian flinched and lowered his head in a mix of shame and fear. "I'm sorry, Father."

"We will talk later, Julian," the duke said, then he turned to him again. The worried look on his face was back. "I'll call a doctor for you, Winter."

Winter just nodded, then he raised his arms.

His dad smiled and carried him. When he wrapped his arms around his father's neck, he pulled him closer to his body as if he was savoring the moment. "Little rascal, you're heavy now."

Winter just smiled, then he turned to Julian to give the fake a smirk. Then, he mouthed to Julian: "This is my place."

***

TILLY gasped when she hit the cold wall behind her.

Then, the handsome duke in front of her planted his hands on the wall on either side of her head. Gosh, his body was as cold as the wall.

But his gaze was so intense she felt her whole body burn.

Not literally, of course.

"Who are you?" Tilly asked even though she already knew the answer. "Do I know you?"

"You should," the duke said in his sexy, husky voice that made her feel things. "I'm your husband, my lady."

"Oh, alright."

His brows furrowed in confusion. "I'm thankful that you believe me but you're scaring me. You don't believe all the men who claim to be your husband, do you?"

"You're the only man who claimed to be my husband, duh."

"And you easily believed me?"

"Your face…" Tilly said, then she cupped his immaculately handsome face between her hands. "Gosh, I think I'm obsessed with your face."

"Good," Duke Nystrom said. "Now, can I kiss you?"

[END OF PREVIEW]

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AUTHOR'S NOTE (2):

Hi! It's sola_cola again. Thank you for reading the preview for Volume 2. The scenes that I put here aren't canon, okay? They can still change. After all, drafts are just guide. J

Are you satisfied with Volume 1?

To be honest, I have a few regrets:

1. Nia and Lucina's characters are still very raw. I wasn't able to showcase their roles properly because their stories are tied to one another. I can't reveal Nia's story without revealing Lucina's so I'm painfully aware that their characters weren't really fleshed out. I'm sad about that because I don't want you to think that Nia and Lucina are just another b*tchy villainesses.

But don't worry. On the second volume, I will take my time to reintroduce Nia and Lucina to you. They aren't villainesses just because the story needs some b*tches. We will dive into their characters soon. Their back story is actually one of my faves.

2. In my draft, there's a short arc revolving around Lord Maverick Prescott and Lady Marianne Prescott (Tilly's parents). I had to cut it out because I thought the mini-arc wasn't really important during the Oakes Arc. But you'll meet them again. After all, Lady Marianne Prescott was involved with the Keepers and I will show you how it happened. In volume 2, we will slowly unravel Tilly/Soleil's origin.

3. Isabelle and Blake's romance disappeared. Haha. I really like their dynamics in my drafts. Sadly, the Black Serpent Knights didn't get much role because of the continuous problems that Tilly and Kiho faced. I guess it's my style as a writer. I rarely write fillers because I want to keep the story going. I hope the pace isn't too fast for you though.

***

Anyway, I'm excited for Volume 2 because:

1. Winter is a ~child~ now and not a baby. I swear Winter is more of a villain than Julian (not that Julian is a bad character).

2. You'll get to meet the rest of the Keepers, and the people of Sola Island (I'm an island now, hehe).

3. I can't stress this enough but TILLY AND KIHO'S ROMANCE VERSION 2.0!!!

***

In Volume 1, Tilly and Kiho easily fell in love with each other.

This time, we'll see them chasing each other not because of misunderstandings, but because of their "flirting game." And, uh, their interactions wouldn't be as wholesome as before. Since Tilly and Kiho are really adults now, I think we will have more ~hot~ scenes. ;)

But on a serious note, we will also see Tilly and Kiho act like parents. As you can already tell, Winter and Julian aren't getting along well. It's one of the major conflicts that they have to overcome. I think it's normal for any family to have issues so don't worry too much.

That's all. Please continue supporting me. Thank you~

Are you excited for Volume 2?

[PS: Did you notice this?]

Pride- Kalel Nystrom

Greed- Emperor Aku

Wrath- Soleil Rosenberg

Envy- Princess Nia

Lust- Lucina Morganna

Gluttony- Ainsworth

Sloth- Saint Forrester

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NOTE: Please buy my privilege chapters if you can. 1 coin= 2 chapters. 50 coins= 5 chapters. I hope you find my story worth your coins. :'(

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

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