OF COURSE, Tilly officially registered in the audition as soon as she heard about it.

She simply used the name 'Tilly' since most people in the empire weren't familiar with her nickname anyway. To them, she was 'Lady/Duchess Nystrom.' In short, the organizers of the event didn't recognize her when she registered as an auditionee.

Thanks to that, she was able to enter the ballroom without a problem.

Since she believed she was the star of the event, she came in fashionably late.

As luck would have it, Lucina Morganna was the one on the stage when she arrived. She watched from the backstage as Luna stand behind her while putting the pearl necklace around her neck.

And she wouldn't lie– she didn't like what she saw at the stage.

So, like a petty villainess in a movie, she made a bitchy move.

"Luna, turn off the lights at my signal," Tilly whispered to Luna who was standing beside her. Then, she turned to Roarke. "Take that b*tch off the stage as soon as the lights are off, Roarke."

Roarke bowed to her. "As you wish, Supreme."

Luna and Roarke were able to enter the ballroom as her aides. Each auditionee were allowed to bring a team of hair and makeup stylists.

Anyway…

She turned to the witch and gave her a firm nod.

Luna, knowing that it was her signal, nodded and snapped her fingers.

The lights in the entire hall were suddenly dimmed.

She felt Roarke disappear from her side. And just a few seconds later, she heard Lucina Morganna's muffled scream. Before the emperor's knights took action and ruin the whole audition, she asked Luna to bring back the lights.

When the lights returned, she wore her oversized sunglasses and started to walk in the runway like a supermodel.

Thanks to her sunglasses, she was able to watch everyone's reaction without being too obvious. But to be honest, she didn't really care about other people. Her eyes immediately searched for the only man that mattered to her.

There you are, my Kiho.

Even without his memories, it seemed like Kiho immediately recognized her.

Well, he instantly recognized my voice, too. He probably watched the videos I left to him again and again until every inch of me was buried in his mind.

Anyway, she loved how Kiho's golden eyes glowed as they followed her every moment.

Knowing that her husband aka the most handsome man in the empire (no, she doesn't take criticism regarding Kiho's hotness) was watching her boosted her confidence.

When she sat on the throne and crossed her legs, she knew she already won the audition.

She took her time taking off her sunglasses to absorb Kiho's beauty discreetly.

Gosh, the five past years have done nothing but make him look better.

Kiho, when he was twenty-two five years ago, was already very handsome back then. But now, twenty-seven year old Kiho was manlier and hotter. He was just sitting there but his sex appeal was oozing.

He screams of power and sex.

Yes, Kiho suddenly looked like the god of sex to her.

Her ovaries were screaming at her to make more babies with him.

I know my thoughts are so dirty at the moment but I miss my husband, okay? In a wholesome and lewd sense, if I may add.

To stop herself from fantasizing about her husband in broad daylight, she finally took off the sunglasses to show everyone her face.

The audience was stunned a while ago because of the sudden appearance of a beautiful stranger. But now that she had showed her face for everyone to see, the reason for their shock had changed. Most of the familiar higher nobles in the front row recognized her now.

They started to talk among themselves a little too loudly.

Okay, my comeback stage is lit.

She was about to stand up and leave the stage when Kiho did the unexpected: he walked towards her!

Oh, that made her panic.

Wasn't his memories erased? He should know better than making Aku Moonchester realize that he somehow remembered her now!

To be honest, she was contemplating whether she'd stay or run away.

But when Kiho got down on one knee while his eyes were asking for permission to touch her, she calmed down and fully understood why he had to do that despite the risks.

She understood because she missed him just as much.

When tears started to form at the corner of his eye, her chest tightened painfully. She was hurt for him. She couldn't imagine the loneliness that he had felt all these years. Yes, he had Julian by his side. But he didn't know that the child was their son.

On the other hand, she was lucky that she had Winter with her all these years. Plus, she was surrounded by people who loved her and people that she trusted with her life.

Kiho wasn't that lucky.

My poor baby has to act like a lifeless puppet.

Before she knew it, she already extended her hand to him.

Kiho gently and carefully took her hand in his. His beautiful golden eyes turned glossy as he put her hand closer to his mouth. "Welcome back, my duchess," he whispered in a voice filled with longing before he planted a chaste kiss on the back of her hand. Then, he looked up at her with warm eyes. "Thank you for returning safely, Tilly."

She almost broke down in tears.

To hear Kiho call her by her name again almost made her vulnerable.

But even though it was painful for her, she had to control herself from reciprocating the love that he was showing her.

Not now, not in front of Aku Moonchester.

Tilly smiled sweetly at Kiho, and acted like she was looking at a stranger. It was hard, but her duty as the Supreme Fire Mage motivated her to act according to their plan. "Are you, perhaps, the famed Duke Kiho Nystrom?"

The devastated look on Kiho's face broke her heart into tiny pieces.

I'm so sorry, my original little cinnamon roll.

***

LUCINA was surprised when she found herself outside the ballroom.

Everything happened so fast that she vaguely remembered being dragged away from the stage by a pair of strong and warm arms. She just blinked for a few seconds while trying to gather enough Mana to fight. But when she opened her eyes, she was already alone in the garden just across the ballroom.

It's her, Lucina said to herself in frustration. Only the Supreme can do this to me.

"What are you doing here?"

Lucina flinched when she heard an angry voice from behind her. When she turned around, she found a man with deep purple hair and different-colored eyes (pink and light blue). She didn't know who it was but strangely enough, he looked familiar. But she didn't understand why he looked aghast seeing her as if she wasn't supposed to exist there. "Who are you?"

"I didn't pay attention to you a while ago but now that I'm looking closely…" the stranger said while looking at her with a mix of disgust and detest. "You are that "Lucina Morganna?""

"What do you mean by that?" she asked curiously. "Do you know me?"

"This can't be…" the stranger said in disbelief while shaking his head. When she tried to walk towards him, he stepped back and literally burned his body. But she could tell that he was trying to hurt himself. It was a technique similar to teleportation. "You shouldn't be here, you despicable traitor."

And just like that, the stranger disappeared without a trace.

He's definitely one of the Supreme's people, Lucina said to herself. If he called her a traitor, then he must be a Fire Mage and not a Fire Wielder. But as far as she remembered, the one she betrayed was the Red Phoenix and not the Supreme. Have we met somewhere else?

***

"WHAT a spectacle," Elis commented while looking at the stage where Tilly and the Black Serpent were finally reunited. Right now, he was in the balcony of the hall while quietly enjoying the show. But he wasn't alone. "The Black Serpent doesn't seem to have retrieved his memories yet. But it's obvious that he's smitten by the Supreme once again." He turned to his company. "What should we do?"

Yumi's face was very stiff. Obviously, she wasn't happy with what was going on. If her glare could kill, Tilly must have been dead by now.

Not that I'd let her kill my Tilly.

"It seems like it's no use to simply erase my little Nystrom's memories anymore," Yumi said in a cold voice, then she turned to him. "I guess it's time to put my baby to sleep and let my darling take over for the meantime."

***

WHEN the lights turned off, Tilly immediately got up from the throne and ran away.

But of course, Kiho ran after her and he was fast. He mumbled an apology before she grabbed her by the wrist, then he pulled her with him until they entered an empty parlor room. As soon as the door behind them closed, she found herself in a difficult position.

She was now trapped between the wall and Kiho's cold body. He had his hands on either side of her head, and his intense gaze was making her knees buckle.

Gosh, why am I so whipped for his face?!

"Tilly, my mind hasn't remembered our memories yet but my heart does," Kiho said in a cracked voice. "Do you really not recognize me as your husband? Don't you feel anything while looking at me now?"

I feel everything, dummy!

It wasn't just love or yearning. Every inch of her body was also longing for him. If she could, she would jump his bones right then and there.

"I don't remember you the way that you want me to," Tilly lied with a heavy heart. "Does it matter, Your Grace?"

***

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