"SHOULD WE stop them, Sentinel?" Luna asked nervously. "Is it going to be a problem if Lady Nystrom finds out that Duke Nystrom is the Black Serpent?"

"Yes," Sentinel said. "The only people who are not supposed to know the truth are the duke and the duchess. Not now, at least. If they suddenly retrieved the memories of their past when the two of them aren't ready yet, they might lose their sanity. Worse, they might start going after each other's throat. That's why they can't awaken at the same time."

Right now, they were watching Lady Nystrom and Captain Sherwood from the balcony of the second floor. Normal humans wouldn't be able to hear the two's conversation from where they stood. But because they had extraordinary senses, they could hear them just fine.

Most of all, they could hide their presence so the two wouldn't notice them from their spot even if they didn't use a spell that would turn them invisible.

"If Captain Sherwood starts talking, we have to interrupt him," the spirit guardian said. "If we become too late to stop him from talking, then we must erase Lady Nystrom's memories."

"I can stop time for a few seconds," she offered. "You can erase Lady Nystrom's memory and kick out Captain Sherwood. But I'm hoping that we wouldn't have to do that to her."

"As guardians of the Red Phoenix and the Black Serpent, it's our duty to stop them from knowing the truth until the time is right," Sentinel said seriously. "But to be honest, we can't do this on our own."

"Yes. We only know how to stop the heart from awakening," Luna said with a hint of worry in her voice. "But what would we do if the Black Serpent was suddenly awakened by something that we didn't see coming?"

***

"LADY NYSTROM, are you ready to know the real identity of the man you married?"

Tilly would admit that she suddenly felt nervous, like Captain Sherwood's "revelation" would turn out to be something ominous. But still, she decided to go for it. "Yes, I'm ready. I want to know who Kiho really is."

"Duke Nystrom is an amazing guy," Captain Sherwood said. "You're lucky to have been married to a man who was willing to turn his back on His Majesty just to protect his family."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "I already know that."

"And that's the only fact that you should know about the duke," the captain said cheerily. "Trust me, Lady Nystrom. You should be grateful that your relationship with Duke Nystrom is very smooth-sailing. Do you want to ruin that?"

"You're only making me more curious, Captain Sherwood."

"Don't be hasty, Lady Nystrom," he warned her lightly. "Someday, everything will fall into its right place. All you have to do is be patient."

She looked at him long and hard.

Ah, he doesn't really have any intention to tell me what he knows about Kiho's identity.

"Then, let me ask one last question," she said. When the captain nodded, she continued. "Is the "treasure" you mentioned would keep you loyal to Kiho once the war starts?"

He looked surprised by her question. But in the end, he nodded as a response. "I know that you wouldn't easily accept me as an ally. But even if the duke pushes me away, I will still stick to him no matter what happens. I'll even point my gun at His Majesty for him."

She raised a brow at that. After hearing the words the captain said, realization suddenly hit her. "I know that what I'm about to say may sound like I'm invalidating your feelings so let me apologize in advance. But Captain Sherwood, I don't think what you feel for Kiho is love."

"What do you think it is then?"

"Obsession," she answered flatly. "I don't think you see Kiho as a person. You only see him as whatever it is that you're obsessed with."

He smirked at that. "Lady Nystrom, I can't differentiate love from obsession. They mean the same thing in my book. Do you consider me as a rival now?"

"No," she said honestly. "But it has nothing to do with your sexual preference. I am simply not threatened because Kiho makes me feel secured about our relationship. However…"

He raised a brow at her. "However…?"

"If your obsession puts Kiho's life in danger, I'll destroy you," she warned him. "I have an experience being a villainess, you know? I wouldn't hesitate to bring back my inner villainous character for anyone who would put my family at risk."

He laughed softly. "Ah, I'm scared."

"You should be," she said in a menacing voice, the heat of her body rising slowly.

The captain's smile suddenly vanished. And then, he jumped away from her as if he was suddenly threatened by her aura. The usual happy disposition on his face was replaced by a somber one. "Okay, I get it now. You weren't joking when you said you could be a villainess."

Tilly just smiled, satisfied that the captain received her warning well. "Have a safe trip, Captain Sherwood."

"How eloquent, Lady Nystrom. Smiling so charmingly as if you didn't threaten to burn me alive a while ago," Captain Sherwood said with a soft laugh. "Now I know why Duke Nystrom is crazy about you."

***

"DID CAPTAIN Sherwood upset you, honey?"

Tilly smiled and shook her head at Kiho's question. Then, she wrapped her arm around his waist. "But he didn't give me the answer that I want."

Kiho kissed her on the forehead. "What did you ask him?"

"If the "treasure" he mentioned was your identity," she said. "I mean, that's the only reason I could believe as to why he's sticking to you like glue."

"If he doesn't want to tell us, then let's not force him," her husband said gently. "I don't want to owe him anything. And Father is helping us find my root anyway."

She nodded in agreement. "I hate to say this but it seems like Captain Sherwood was serious about his vow of loyalty to you, Kiho."

"I don't care about that."

"Is it because he hurt me under Her Royal Highness's order?"

"That's a huge part of my reason why I don't want to accept him as an ally," he said. "But there's one more reason why I don't want Captain Sherwood on our side."

"What is it, hon?"

"He only talks about his loyalty to me," Kiho said. "That means he doesn't care about you or our son."

"Oh."

"I don't want an ally that only cares about my well-being," he continued. "What I need are people who care about everyone I want to protect. Of course, my top priority will always be you and our Winter."

She smiled at his sweetness. But also, she suddenly felt scared. "Kiho, our relationship has been smooth-sailing from the very beginning. I know that I should be grateful. But the fact that we don't fight often scares me."

"We don't fight because when we have a problem, we talk about it right away," he said. "Is having a good relationship a bad thing, honey?"

Hmm… he has a point.

Back in her second life, she barely talked to the man that she married. See? She couldn't even call him "husband."

To her, Kiho was the only husband she had.

And she was grateful for that.

"I'm just probably overthinking," Tilly said, then she looked up at him. "Thank you for being a patient husband, Kiho."

"No, I should be the one thanking you for being a good wife to me," Kiho said, then he gently put a hand on her tummy. "We should always help each other become the best versions of ourselves for our son."

And she wholeheartedly agreed with that.

***

"MASTER, where are you going?"

"I'm worried about Lady Nystrom," Mikhail Denver said while putting his mask on. "I'm just going to check on her quickly."

"In the temple?" Flint asked curiously. "How are you going to enter the temple without being seen?"

"The Fire Mages who used to serve the temple made a secret passage to the Red Phoenix's prayer room," he explained. "I'll use that passage to enter the temple."

"Can I come along?"

"No," he said, then he put his hand on top of the child's head. "Stay here, Flint."

Currently, they were staying in an inn near the temple. He rented the whole top floor to make sure that no one would see them there. So far, they had "taken care" of all the suspicious people lurking around.

Thankfully, no one as strong as Lady Hayward had appeared again.

But the silence is kind of making me feel nervous for some reason.

To get rid of that nervousness, he needed to move his body. Thus, he decided to check on Lady Nystrom. He thought that his uneasiness might be connected to the heart's current state.

"Okay, I'll stay here, Master," Flint said. "Be careful not to get caught. Big Sister Tilly's husband is petty but scary."

Mikhail Denver laughed at that. "Yes, I'll be careful of Duke Nystrom."

***

KIHO, are you sure you'll be okay here?"

Kiho nodded at Tilly's question. "I'm not allowed to help you with your task as the Beast Priestess. But I'm grateful that the High Priest gave me the permission to stay in your room."

After what happened to Tilly, he couldn't leave his wife alone in the temple.

He talked to the High Priest and asked for permission to stay in Tilly's chamber for the whole day to make sure that she'd be safe. Thus, His Eminence allowed him to use his wife's chamber. He couldn't freely roam though.

He also couldn't stay for the night but he planned to stay outside and patrol the area later.

"I brought some books about managing a business," Tilly said. "If you get bored, you may read my books."

"Okay," he said. "Don't worry about me, honey."

Tilly had to leave when a priestess fetched her.

He walked his wife to the door. Actually, he wanted to give her a goodbye kiss but she widened her eyes at him as if warning him not to do it in front of a priestess.

I'll just kiss her later.

And more. Definitely more. They never stopped at just a kiss anyway.

Kiho Nystrom, control your thoughts, he scolded himself. You're in a temple.

To distract himself, he just borrowed the books Tilly mentioned a while ago. One was sitting on the night table. He picked it up but when he turned around, his hip bump into the table causing him to drop the book on the floor.

Damn.

He bent down to pick up the book…

… and then something strange happened.

He thought he saw a white snake come out from under the bed. It was gone as soon as it appeared. But he felt a sting in his hand.

Strange.

He felt like he was bitten by a snake but there was no bite mark on his skin.

And all of a sudden, his body became paralyzed. He wanted to fight it because he thought he was under attack. But unfortunately, his consciousness started to fade fast.

No, Kiho said to himself. Tilly…

***

WHY DO I get the urge to punch this statue?

Tilly didn't know but her chest tightened while looking at the statue of the Black Serpent.

Right now, she was in the prayer room for the Black Serpent and she was supposed to offer a prayer along with the other priestesses. She would also offer a prayer to the Red Phoenix, the Blue Dragon, and the Golden Tiger later.

The prayer room dedicated to the Black Serpent was the nearest to her chamber so they went there first.

You're making my heart ache, Tilly scolded the statue of the Black Serpent. But why?

***

WHEN KIHO opened his eyes, his reflection on the water greeted him.

And that very thing was f*cked up.

He knew that the person looking back at him was himself– his face remained the same. But he looked very different from usual.

His hair was deep brown with red hues. But right now, he had long silver hair that reached his waist. His golden eyes were also gone and they were replaced by red orbs instead. He had a fair complexion but not as white as what he had now.

Silver hair.

Red eyes.

Skin as pale as the moon.

A sudden realization made his skin crawl.

"Oh, fuck," Kiho whispered to himself. "Why the hell do I resemble His Majesty?"

***

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***

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