KIHO was pleased by the bouquet of red roses that he got from Blooms– a famous flower shop in the Royal Capital.

Today was the day that he would fetch Tilly from Duke Prescott's house and bring her to his residence. Of course, he wanted to make it special. Emperor Aku advised him to get flowers for Tilly before he picked her up.

[This is probably the only time that His Majesty's nosiness doesn't annoy me.]

Tilly was supposed to move in to his residence yesterday. But because she was sick, he decided to postpone it. And now that she had enough rest, they decided that today would be her "moving in day."

"I didn't know you were the romantic type, Captain Kiho."

Kiho's mood suddenly turned sour when he met Captain Denver as soon as he got out from Blooms. "Would it be acceptable to ignore you now that I'm not wearing my uniform?"

"Don't be rude," Captain Denver whined lightly. "We're the youngest captains of the Four Orders. We should get along, Captain Kiho."

"I refuse."

Captain Denver just shook his head in dismay before he changed the subject. "How's Lady Precott? I heard that she fainted and was brought in the hospital the day we met at Mount Elea."

"How did you know that?"

"The rumor has already spread in the empire," he said. "Apparently, a baroness from Blanca saw the two of you in Rosemary Hospital that day. She assumed that you were because Lady Prescott is already pregnant."

He almost choked in his own saliva out of surprise. "Huh?"

"I know that it isn't true," the other captain said. "If you want to clear the issue, you might have to do a public announcement. I know someone who works for a newspaper. Would you like me to introduce him to you?"

"There's no need for that," he said. "I don't really care about what other people say. And we're engaged anyway."

Of course, it would be an entirely different matter if Tilly wanted to clear the issue. He would support whatever decision she would made regarding the rumor. Captain Denver didn't need to know that though.

"Whatever floats your boat," Captain Denver said. "Oh, right. I have a question for you, Captain Kiho."

"What is it, Captain Denver?"

"I believe Lady Prescott's Mana has a fire attribute," the Red Phoenix knight said that surprised him. "I know that if she wanted to, she could be a Fire Wielder. If I recruit her to my guild, would you let her?"

"I don't have the right to decide for Lady Prescott," Kiho said stiffly. To be honest, he didn't know how to feel now that he found out that Tilly's Mana had fire attribute. But he did know that he didn't have the right to decide for her. "Even when we get married, she'd still be her own person. So I think you should ask her that question and not anyone else, Captain Denver."

"Then, let me rephrase my question," he said. "How would you feel if I recruit Lady Prescott to join the Fire Wielder Guild?"

"I wouldn't like it," Kiho said coldly and sharply. "In fact, I would hate every minute that she'd be spending with you if she joined your guild."

Captain Denver raised an eyebrow at him. "Captain Kiho, that's not healthy. You should trust your fiancée more."

"I trust Tilly," he said. "But I don't trust you, Captain Denver. I don't like the interest I see in your eyes whenever you look at her."

"Really now?"

"I know that you find Tilly amusing. Maybe it's because you're interested in her Mana," Kiho said carefully. "But if you look at my fiancée with something more than a mere interest, I'll gouge your eyes out, freeze them, and put the ice orbs as display in my office."

"Is that a threat, Captain Kiho?"

"No," he retorted. "It's a promise."

"Scary," Captain Denver said sarcastically. "Don't worry, Captain Kiho. I'm not interested in Lady Prescott as a woman."

"And you should never be," Kiho threatened. The air around them turned cold and he was pretty sure that his eyes were glowing at the moment. "If you fall for her, I'll freeze you to death even if it starts a war between our Orders."

***

"MY LADY, please take care of yourself!"

Tilly laughed softly as she hugged Isabella who had been crying all morning. "I'll be fine, Isabella. Kiho will take care of me," she assured the young maid. "And Kiho's residence is also here at the Royal Capital. We can meet up often, you know?"

"My lady, if the servants in Sir Kiho's residence bully you, just tell me," the young maid said while blowing her nose with a white handkerchief. "I'll fight them for you."

"I won't be bullied," she said with a laugh. "I can take care of myself, Isabella."

"Ah," Isabella said, then flicked her fingers as if she just remembered something important. "Lady Prescott, I heard a strange rumor when I was at the market yesterday. People were saying that you and Sir Kiho had already conceived the child in the prophecy. My lady, are you already pregnant with the captain's child?"

"I'm not yet pregnant," she said, laughing at the silly rumor. "But I plan to get pregnant as soon as possible so I hope the rumors help me conceive the baby soon."

Isabella blushed as if she was experiencing second hand embarrassment from the stuff that she was talking about. "My lady, I didn't know that you were this aggressive."

She just laughed at that.

A few moments later, the head butler informed her that Kiho had arrived. Then, he brought her to the parlor room where the duke had already welcomed the captain.

"Lady Prescott has arrived, Your Grace," the head butler announced before opening the door for her.

When Tilly entered the room, Kiho and her father stood at the same time to welcome her.

But as usual, her attention was fixed on ~her~ captain.

Kiho looked so handsome in his maroon suit. His outfit matched the peach cold-shoulder dress that she wore for today. Ah, she noticed that he brought flower again.

Tilly smiled at Kiho.

He didn��t smile but his eyes sparkled.

[It's the start of our life together, Kiho.]

***

TILLY felt emotional when she saw Kiho's mansion again.

[It's been a long time.]

Kiho's residence wasn't as huge as her father's mansion but it was big enough for a family of three. As far as she remembered, the house had fifty rooms each in the west and east wing. The rooftop had also a nice view of the whole Royal Capital. It was especially beautiful there at night because of the city lights.

And of course, just like any mansion in the empire, it has a huge garden.

In her past life, she didn't appreciate his house because she was used to the luxury that House Prescott provided her ever since she was born.

But now, she was very grateful to be back here.

"Your house is lovely, Kiho," Tilly told with a smile. "Thank you for sharing your home with me."

Kiho looked relieved by her reaction. "I'm glad you liked my house, Tilly. Please treat this like your own home."

She smiled and extended her hand to him.

The captain held her hand and squeezed it. Then, they walked hand in hand on the way to the mansion.

When they arrived at the main entrance, the servants were already there. The head maid and the head butler were in the front. Behind them were the fifty servants of Kiho's residence. They were all bowing down to them.

[Hah. I just remembered something.]

In her past life, there were "rats" in Kiho's house. If she remembered correctly, there were two or three arrogant maids who couldn't treat the captain with respect. She ignored them before but this time, she would surely kick them out.

[I won't let them disrespect my baby Kiho.]

"Welcome, Sir Kiho," the servants said in unison, heads were still hanged low. "Welcome, Lady Prescott."

Kiho squeezed her hand and when she turned to him, he gave her a small smile. "Welcome to our home, Tilly."

"Thank you," Tilly said, then she let go of his hand to wrap an arm around his waist. "I'm happy to be home with you, Kiho."

***

"WOW," Tilly said while looking around her new room. "This is lovely, baby."

The chamber had a big four-poster bed with pretty sheer curtains. It also had a lounging area, a space for a tea table for two, a balcony, and its own bathroom. The dominant color of the furniture and the decorations was a pretty shade of rose gold.

"Did you like your room?" Kiho asked nervously. He was following her like a puppy. "If you want to change something, please tell me."

"It's already perfect," she said. Then, she sat on the bed and was surprised at how soft the mattress was. "Ohh. It's soft."

"I told my people to find the softest mattress for you," the captain said while standing in front of her. "I'm glad you liked it."

She looked up at him with a playful smile. "I thought we were going to share the same room."

Like she expected, he blushed right away. "We have to hold back, baby. Doctor McMillan said we can't do it yet."

She giggled at his honesty. "Baby, have you heard the rumors? Apparently, I'm already pregnant with your child."

"I've heard about it," he said, worry written on his face. "Do you want to do something about it?"

"No," she said. "I mean, I'm going to get pregnant in the future anyway. Let the people talk. That would be good publicity since I plan to open a new business soon."

For some reason, he was looking at her like he was so proud of her. "You really know what you want, Tilly."

"Yes," Tilly agreed, then she opened her arms. "And I want a kiss right now."

"Okay," Kiho said obediently. Then, he leaned down while holding her face between his big and cool hands. "A kiss won't hurt."

***

"YOUR Royal Highness, have you heard the rumors about Lady Prescott?"

"Yes," Nia answered while putting moonflowers in the vase. She was spending her free time in her room with Lahara. "Apparently, Lady Prescott is already pregnant with Captain Kiho's child. But we know that it isn't true."

"Oh, I've heard that, too," Lahara said. "But I wasn't talking about that rumor, my princess."

She stopped with what she was doing to look at the mage-knight. Lahara was sitting on her bed while looking at her with a glint of mischievousness in her eyes. "Is there another rumor about Lady Prescott?"

"Yes, Your Royal Highness," the mage-knight answered. "It's a rumor that only a few commoners were talking about."

"What is it?"

"Apparently, a commoner living at the foot of Mount Elea saw Lady Prescott with Captain Mikhail Denver," the older woman said with a smile. "The witness claims that she saw the two in a compromising position. If I heard it right, Captain Denver was allegedly touching Lady Prescott's chest."

"Now that's interesting," Nia said with a small smile. Then, she proceeded in putting moonflowers in the vase. "Find a way to turn that rumor into a scandal, Lahara."

Lahara stood up and bowed to her. "As you wish, Your Royal Highness."

*********