"WINTER, my little cinnamon roll," Tilly said when Winter finally picked up her call. "How's my baby?"

Right now, she secretly went to her old room in House Prescott to spend the night there.

Unlike House Nystrom, the security in her father's old mansion was lax. Fortunately, despite her absence for so long, the mansion was still very kept-well. She had a feeling that Kiho took good care of her father's house as well.

She wasn't worried that she'd get caught because she overwhelmed the entire room with her own Mana. That meant ordinary people would temporarily forget about the existence of her chamber as long as she was there.

It was a technique that Wong taught her.

"I'm fine."

She was glad that she was already sitting on the edge of the bed when she heard the familiar husky (and sexy) voice from the other end of the line. If she had been standing, her knees would have buckled already.

Kiho…

"How about you, my lovely wife?"

She felt a lump in her throat when she confirmed that it was indeed her Kiho.

Of course, she was relieved to know that Winter had found his father. Still, she had to put her guard up around her husband. Although she trusted Kiho, she couldn't say the same for the being that could take over Kiho's body anytime.

"Greetings, Lord Nystrom," Tilly greeted her baby-honey in the most formal and distant voice that she could muster at the moment. She hated to treat her husband this way, but as the Supreme Fire Mage, she couldn't mess up this time. Never again would she make the same mistake that Soleil Rosenberg committed in the past. "This is Winter's mother. May I know where my son is?"

I'm so sorry, hon.

Her husband fell silent.

He must have been shocked.

Well, she was shocked as well. As far as she knew, Kiho's memories were erased. She wasn't sure if he had followed her instructions or he was just doing his job as a duke. But either way, she was glad that he still considered her as his wife.

"Winter is sleeping peacefully beside me," Kiho said in his usual monotone voice. He must have been matching her pace. Maybe he realized that acting so familiarly with her from the get-go had made her feel uncomfortable. "He's safe and sound."

"That's a relief," she said. If Winter was with Kiho now, then Jameson and Solenn may have already gone to the North. "Are you in the Royal Capital?"

"We're in the sea of Atlenta."

Ah, Atlenta.

It was the port town where she and Kiho met for the first time in that current timeline. She felt nostalgic to hear that.

I'm happy that Winter reunited with Kiho in the same where we first met.

"Our little rascal doesn't want me to ask questions so I don't know how he found me," her husband continued. "Still, I want to assure you that I will protect our son."

"Are you going to bring him back to the Royal Capital with you?"

"Of course. I don't want to be separated from our son again," he said. "But to make sure that no one else will see him, I've asked Amilo to stay in our mansion for the time being. They'll be using the annex building and I'll limit the servants' access to it."

"That sounds sensible," she said in approval while nodding her head.

Also, she was relieved to hear that Kiho was being that careful.

That meant that even though his memories were erased, he still believed in her. It sounded like he followed her instructions after all.

"Lord Nystrom, I haven't retrieved my memories yet but I learned everything I need to know from the people who took care of Winter and I for the past five years," she lied. It hurt her to lie to her husband but she had to. She wouldn't risk ruining their carefully crafted plan for her personal feelings. "I heard that the head maid and head butler of House Nystrom are trust-worthy. Can you let them look after Winter while my son is in your care?"

She had faith in Louisa and David. She knew that they would take care of Winter. To be honest, she kind of felt bad that she didn't include the Leni and Lani in her plan. But she thought too much "spies" in the mansion would have been too risky.

"Forgive me, Duchess Nystrom," Kiho said in a voice filled with guilt.

Yes, she noticed that he called her formally but she knew he did that because she addressed him by his title a while ago. He had always been good at following her pace and she loved that about him. But that wasn't important right now.

"Why are you apologizing, Lord Nystrom?" she asked nervously. "What happened to Louisa and David?"

"His Majesty suspected that they weren't brainwashed so he had them arrested," he said in a devastated voice.

She took a deep breath to control her anger. "Are they dead?"

"No," her husband answered right away. "Duke Sherwood promised me that he will save them. I haven't gotten a word from the duke yet but I decided to trust him."

Okay, that was a huge relief. "Duke Sherwood will betray everyone but you so I'm certain that he'd keep his promise. He's your sasaeng fan #1 after all."

"Pardon?"

"It means an obsessive fan," she explained briefly, then she changed the topic. "How did Aku Moonchester find out that Louisa and David weren't brainwashed?"

"Louisa had an argument with Lady Huxley."

Ah, that Lucina Morganna b*tch, huh?

"Lady Huxley wanted to throw away your portraits in the mansion and Louisa wasn't able to control her emotions. She stubbornly disobeyed Lady Huxley," he explained. "I believe that's when His Majesty realized that they weren't brainwashed."

She heard everything but only one thing stuck to her. "So, why are you letting that b*tch act like she's the new duchess of House Nystrom?"

He heard Kiho cough on the other line.

Gosh, it's not like it's the first time he heard me cuss at someone.

"Lady Huxley is Julian's etiquette teacher, Duchess Nystrom," Kiho said, emphasizing her title as if he was saying that she was still the madam of House Nystrom and not that b*tch. "I think she's the one His Majesty asked to keep an eye on me. If I suddenly push her away, His Majesty will realize that I'm not under his control."

And that would be disadvantageous for them.

If Aku Moonchester realized that Kiho was working with her despite their memories being erased, the emperor would definitely do something to control her husband in a much dangerous way. So in short, they had to pretend that Kiho was still his puppet.

"I understand," she said, then she asked: "You're not going to marry–"

"No, never," Kiho denied right away even though she hadn't finished her question yet. "My lady, you are and will always be my wife."

She bit her lower lip to stop herself from giggling. "Gosh, that gave me butterflies in my stomach?"

"Butterflies in your stomach?" he asked worriedly. "My lady, I don't think eating butterflies is healthy…"

The familiar scenario almost made her cry.

With memories or not, her Kiho will always be the oblivious Kiho that she knew and loved.

I should end it here now.

"I'm fine, Lord Nystrom," she said formally. "Please take care of Winter for now. I will come for him soon."

"When will I see you again, my lady?"

"I'm not sure," she said vaguely. "My lord, I have to hang up now. Please make sure that Winter won't get hurt in any way, okay?"

"I promise," he said firmly.

"Thank you," she said, then she paused. She had always been curious about one thing and she thought it was the right time to ask. "Lord Nystrom, I know that aside from Louisa and David, I also left videos, pictures, and documents that serve as proof about the fight that we had with the Moonchesters. But may I know why you chose to believe in me even without your memories?"

"You're pretty, my lady," he said without missing a beat. "Your beauty is the only beauty in the world that I will allow to have me conned."

She almost choked after she heard that.

Gosh, the butterflies in her stomach fluttered violently that she had to plop on the bed. Then, she rolled around while kicking her legs in the air. And finally, she buried her face in the pillow. She screamed as silently as she could while covering the earring so Kiho wouldn't hear her squeal.

"That, and because I like how clear your eyes were," Kiho continued. "Of course, I had to go over all the videos, pictures, and documents that you left as well. I didn't think they were fabricated since I didn't find any hole. Also, I don't think Louisa and David will risk their lives just to trick me."

She rolled again until she was lying on her back and staring at the ceiling. "Good call," she said. "If you didn't believe me, our plan would have failed a long time ago."

"It's because you prepared everything perfectly, my lady," he said. "Thank you. You're a genius."

She smiled at the compliment. Of course, it felt good to be praised for the things that she had worked hard for. And it was nice to hear that from Kiho of all people.

"My lady, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"I know that I called you "my wife,"" he started carefully. "But I know that you're not the type of person to trust others easily. So how did you know that I wasn't just pretending to be your husband?"

"Your voice is very sexy," she said bluntly. "It sounds like the voice of someone I'd marry in a heartbeat."

Her husband had a "coughing fit" on the other line.

When she realized what she said, her cheeks burned from embarrassment. Did she regret it? Absolutely not.

I want to see Kiho's face right now.

She could easily imagine her husband's cute blushing face.

Then, she realized that Kiho must have been more handsome and sexier now after five years. Gosh, she so wanted to see how he looked now.

Her Keepers refused to show her Kiho's recent pictures.

Gosh, I should have punished those brats for refusing to bless my eyes with Kiho's beauty.

"I'm relieved that we feel the same way, my lady," Kiho said in a bashful tone. "Although looking for Winter was already a dead giveaway, I still knew that it was you right away because of your voice. It also sounds like the voice of someone I'd marry again and again in all lifetimes."

Gosh, this was too much for her heart.

So much for pretending that she didn't remember him!

Wake up, girl.

"I'm glad that we recognized each other right away. Anyway, please take care of our Winter," Tilly said in a sad voice because she knew she had to hang-up now. "Good night, my lord."

***

THEY are so flirting!

Winter was already awake but he woke up in the middle of his parents' flirting over the phone. So he had no choice but to pretend to be asleep. But that didn't mean his poor ears would be spared from listening to his mommy and daddy.

It didn't sound like his parents had forgotten about each other despite their memories being erased. Was it possible for two people to stay in love with each other that way? God, was love that mysterious?

But most of all,,,

Argh, Mommy and Daddy are still so cringey even after five years!

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