🦋M.o.m.m.y V.i.l.l.a.i.n.e.s.s🦋

Chapter 98

"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.

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."