TILLY had a soft spot for kids.

She had a maternal instinct like no other. But having said that, she still couldn't understand why the little boy in front of her now, probably aged seven or eight, gave her the creeps.

Short blonde hair. Ash gray eyes. Lazy look on his face...

Everything looked familiar.

"I don't like this boy," Tilly declared while looking down at the young boy who was sitting across from her. "You give off the big bully energy."

Kiho, who sat beside her on the sofa, stifled a laugh.

The little boy scoffed. "Well, aren't you honest?"

She gasped at the familiar tone that he used. "It can't be…" She looked at Luna who stood beside the rude child. "Miss Luna…"

Right.

Luna returned to the mansion a few minutes after she finished dressing up. When the witch came, she immediately asked the servants to bring Luna to the tea room. When she arrived there with Kiho, she was surprised to see the witch with a little boy that was dressed like a young noble from a rich family.

But this boy looks really familiar…

"What you're thinking right now is correct, Lady Nystrom," Luna, who sat beside the boy, said. Then, she respectfully used her hands to point at the child's direction. "This is His Holiness in his child form. He changed his appearance to conceal his identity."

"It wasn't just his appearance," Kiho commented while picking up his tea cup from the table in front of them. "His Holiness's divine power is also concealed. Now his holy presence is gone."

Tilly was too shocked to react on that.

"I don't need my full powers to train a brat," Saint Forrester said while munching on a cookie, then he looked at her straight in the eye. "I hope you're ready, little girl. I'm not as kind or as gentle as your husband."

"I'm ready," Tilly said bravely. "I'm not here to joke around."

The saint stopped munching on his food. "The look in your eyes changed."

"I know my responsibility now as the new Supreme," she said, then she placed her hands on her tummy. "For a safer future for my son, I'm going all-out now."

"Uh-huh," the saint said, obviously uninterested by her determination. "Good for you."

"I'll be here to remind you to take it easy, Tilly," Kiho said with a hint of worry in his voice. "I like your passion. But please don't overwork yourself."

She smiled at her husband and was about to say something when a servant came and announced Lord Prescott's arrival.

"Father is here," Tilly said excitedly. "Let's go and greet him, Kiho."

***

TO SAY that Kiho was shocked to see the huge grand carriage in front of their mansion would be an understatement.

It's probably as big as His Majesty's grand carriage.

But the thing that surprised him was the fact that the carriage was midnight blue– and it also had the Nystrom's family crest on it.

Could it be…

"Father, is that a present for our family?" Tilly asked, taking the words out of his mouth. "Did you buy a carriage for us?"

Lord Prescott– looking as dashing and as dignified as ever– coughed lightly to probably hide his embarrassment. "Consider it as a late wedding gift for me. The construction of the carriage took longer than usual. I made sure that the couch and pillows inside are made of the best materials. Also, the inside of the carriage is infused with several protective power stones so you don't have to worry about being ambushed."

Tilly looked touched by her father's thoughtfulness. "Father, thank you!" she said emotionally, then she hugged Lord Prescott. "I love the carriage so much!"

Lord Prescott didn't react but his face softened up.

Kiho smiled warmly at the scene. This is my family now.

"Enough of your clinginess, Tilly," Lord Prescott scolded his daughter lightly. "Now, go inside the carriage and check if the softness of the couch is to your liking."

Tilly pulled away from the hug and grinned at her father. "Yes, Father."

His wife smiled at him before she entered the carriage.

She didn't invite him so he remained standing by Lord Prescott's side. It seemed like Tilly also noticed that her father wanted to talk to him alone. His wife even closed the door of the carriage to probably give him privacy with his father-in-law.

"Kiho."

"Yes, Father?"

"Unfortunately, I didn't get that much information regarding the Nystrom clan," Lord Prescott said, then he turned to him. "But one of our vassal families discovered a territory covered in snow in the North. Apparently, a small village with people who were used to snow once lived there. It was an empty land now. Nobody wants it because it is not inhabitable."

"Oh."

"So I was able to purchase the land easily."

He almost choked on his own saliva. "Father, you bought a territory that's not inhabitable? Don't you think it's a waste?"

"I don't know what you mean," the lord said. "I have too much money to spare. Buying another territory won't affect my wealth even if I don't profit from that."

He wished he could say that someday.

Of course, he was confident that his current wealth could provide a luxurious life for Tilly, Winter, and their future children. Still, he couldn't afford to invest on things that he wouldn't gain any profit from.

But maybe it was time for him to seriously study business.

"Why did you buy the territory, Father?" Kiho asked to change the subject. "Does the land have any connection to the Nystroms?"

"I believe so," his father-in-law said. "After our short vacation in Oakes, I'm heading straight to the North to investigate."

"Father, you don't have to," he said worriedly. Going into an unknown and mysterious territory was dangerous. He had encountered so many barren lands in the past that turned out to be nest for ancient monsters. He knew that Lord Prescott was strong despite his age. Still, he couldn't let his father-in-law venture alone in a dangerous place. "I can do that instead since it's related to my origin. It's something that I should be doing."

"Tilly is pregnant, Kiho," Lord Prescott reminded him firmly. "I don't want you to leave my daughter alone. And I can't have you bring her to the North either. That's why I decided to go there instead. You don't have to worry about me. Morgan Denver will join me."

"Marquis Denver?"

His father-in-law nodded. "Captain Denver already told us that His Majesty already knows that they are Fire Mages. We decided that it would be best for Morgan to leave the Royal Capital for the meantime. That's why he's coming with me to the North."

"Will the two of you be alright, Father?"

Of course, he was aware that Lord Prescott and Marquis Denver would bring knights along with them. But he also knew that most often than not, the lords were stronger than the knights serving their family.

"We may be old but we're not helpless," Lord Prescott said. "Most of all, we're not going to fight in a war. We're just going to inspect a territory that I recently bought. And I'm bringing an old friend who happens to be a "Fire Wielder" to make sure that I won't freeze to death in a land covered in snow."

Ah, so that would be their excuse.

"Then, at least let us send you off when it's time for you to leave, Father."

The lord scoffed at that. "I'm not a child."

"Father…"

"Just worry about my daughter and my future grandchild," he told him. "I can take care of myself, Kiho."

He gave up when he saw that his father-in-law's decision was final. "At least, please tell Tilly about your plan, Father."

The lord let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine.���

He gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Father," he said. "And thank you for the carriage. Just like Tilly, I like it very much."

"It's not for you, Kiho," Lord Prescott said, then he turned his head away from him. Too late though. He already saw the red tint in his cheeks. "The carriage is for my daughter and my grandchild."

Kiho stifled a laugh at his father-in-law's reaction. Father is too shy.

***

TILLY was in a good mood because the couch of their new carriage was soft, spacious, and very comfortable. It was almost a sofa bed. Plus, they even had pillows.

She invited her father to ride the carriage with them but he insisted to use his own. When she remembered that Saint Forrester in his child form would join them, she didn't insist anymore. Her brain couldn't come up with an excuse as to why they were bringing an unknown "child" in their vacation.

And so, we'll hide His Holiness for the entire trip.

"I'm really grateful that Father gave us this carriage as a present," Kiho, who sat beside her, said with a small smile. Then, he put a hand on her tummy. "I want you and Winter to be comfortable the whole trip."

"I didn't expect from Father but I'm glad," Tilly said cheerfully. "But Kiho, even if Father didn't give us this carriage, I'm sure that I'll be fine the entire trip. Your carriage is also spacious and very comfy. Plus, I'm at ease as long as we're together."

He looked pleased with that.

Then, her husband touched her face and leaned down to kiss her…

… but stopped when Saint Forrester, who sat across from them, spoke.

"Rule #1: No flirting in my presence."

She rolled her eyes before she turned to the saint. "Your Holiness–"

"Rule #2: Duchess Tilly Nystrom isn't allowed to talk back at me until she masters the fire technique that I'm going to teach her or else, I'll go home," Saint Forrester said coldly while he opened the lid of the tin can that contained drinking water.

She acted like she was zipping her mouth.

"Rule #3…" the saint trailed off.

Then, much to her shock, he splashed water on Kiho like a rich mother-in-law bullying her poor daughter-in-law in a cliché Korean drama.

She gasped in surprise. "Hey!"

Oh, she was suddenly reminded of her husband's fast reflex.

Kiho was able to turn the water into ice before it even reached him. Still, he looked pissed. And rightfully so. "Your Holiness, did your mental age regress when you took the form of a child?"

Okay, that almost made her laugh.

Gosh, my Kiho can be so savage sometimes.

"How can you control ice when you can't control water yet?" the saint asked Kiho with furrowed brows. "You should have bended the water instead of turning it into ice."

Kiho's furrowed brows made it obvious that he was confused. "My attribute is ice, not water."

��And who said you can only have one attribute?"

Her husband didn't have a retort to the saint's snarky question. In fact, Kiho looked confused as if it was the first time he realized that he could have more than one attribute. "It was already uncommon for a commoner like me to have a powerful Mana. I never thought that I'm allowed to have more than one attribute."

"Regardless of your origin, there isn't a law in the empire that forbids its citizens to have more than one attribute," the saint said. Then, he pointed a small and slender finger at Kiho. "Rule #3: Duke Kiho Nystrom should master the water attribute and until he succeeds, he's not allowed to use his ice."

Tilly exchanged a confused look with her husband.

"Until the two of you succeeds in mastering the techniques that I'm going to teach you…" Saint Forrester said, then trailed-off while looking back and forth between her and Kiho. When they both turned to the saint, he smiled sweetly at them before he continued. "You're not allowed to sleep in the same room, my dear Duke and Duchess of Oakes."

"What?!" Tilly and Kiho complained in unison.

***

Frequently asked question: How many chapters do you have for Mommy Villainess?

My answer: Around 200-250 chapters, probably. Mommy Villainess is already finished in my outline/rough draft. I didn't start writing MV until I was done with the "big scenes" (plot, plot twist, climax, ending).

Mommy Villainess has two timelines--- SoleilxKalel's era and TillyxKiho's era. Both are already done in my draft and I don't intend to change how the story flows. The only things that I can adjust/change are the "fillers." Fillers are those scenes that won't directly affect the story. Like Kiho and Tilly's endless flirting, hot (read: bed) scenes, the Nystrom family's bonding time, and perhaps the birth of a second couple. But the main story is already set.

In fact, I'm already half-way in Winter's story (just the outline for now). I only stopped because I'm not sure if you'd be interested in his own story. And yeah, my day job is kind of killing me these days.

Anyway, the revelation about Julian's identity is pretty anticlimactic, right? Sorry about that. :D I just hate dragging the things without a valid reason. Plus, the revelation isn't that important in my book since I know you'll figure it out sooner or later. The thing I'm being careful about is the execution of the story behind SoleilxKalel. I'm already crying as I imagine how hard it's going to be for me once I'm about to connect the past and the present to tell you the whole story. Please pray for my brain cells.

+I know most of you are getting frustrated about Lucina Morganna's real identity. I'm not dragging it, I swear. It's just that Lucina Morganna's story isn't essential to the current arc yet.

Also, rest assured. Kiho's feelings for Tilly will never waver whatever Lucina Morganna plans to do. So let's watch her fail miserably, everyone~

Thank you for reading this part!

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

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