97 New Allies, New Enemies

TILLY wanted to be mature but Captain Sherwood was testing her patience.

She was very secured of Kiho's love for her and she knew very well that her husband was straight. But the way the captain was looking at Kiho made her uncomfortable.

Captain Sherwood's eyes were sparkling and it looked like he was about to drool.

Gosh, why am I being so petty?

She just sipped her tea to make herself calm down.

Right now, they were in the tea room. Kiho was sitting beside her while Captain Sherwood was sitting in front of her husband. There was a table between them and aside from tea, it was filled with different delectable snacks. Thankfully, even with only Louisa as their servant, the mansion didn't lack in food that suited a duke's home.

Captain Sherwood is also a duke like Kiho so he's considered as an esteemed guest.

"Captain Sherwood, may I know what happened to you?" Kiho asked with a hint of worry in his voice. "Was it His Majesty who hurt you?"

Captain Sherwood's face lit up. "Are you worried about me, Duke Nystrom?"

Tilly accidentally tightened her grip around the cup's holder.

Girl, don't be jealous, she reminded herself. Kiho is loyal to you, okay?

"You can say that," Kiho said. "But I'm more worried about Tilly and our son. If His Majesty already found out that you betrayed him for me, he might attack my family now."

The disappointment in the captain's face almost made her laugh.

Hah! I win!

She knew that she was being petty but she couldn't help it, okay?

"Don't worry, Your Grace," Captain Sherwood said, still smiling. "His Majesty doesn't have any intention to attack for now. From the looks of it, he already knew that I was never loyal to him. Most of all, he never liked me because of my close relationship with Her Royal Highness before. In short, my betrayal is a relief to His Majesty."

Hearing that made her doubt the captain even more.

If he can betray the royal family, he can betray anyone.

"Even if you betrayed His Majesty for me, that doesn't mean we'll accept you as an ally," Kiho said indifferently. "Captain Sherwood, I didn't tell you to betray His Majesty. And I don't believe that your "feelings" for me is the only reason why you suddenly decided to join my side."

"What do I have to do to make you trust me, Your Grace?"

"Nothing, Captain Sherwood," her husband answered. "I can never forget that you're one of the people who are after my Tilly before. I don't even know what you tried to do to hurt my wife and our child. I'm sorry but because of that, I can't trust you. And I don't want to."

"Then, I'll come clean," Captain Sherwood said firmly. "During the Hunt, I was the one who attacked Lady Nystrom while she was on her way home."

She gasped when she heard that.

I knew the shadow man back then looked familiar!

She clenched her teeth in anger.

God, that b*tchy princess really deserves to be burnt!

"You attacked my pregnant wife back then? Not only that. Our coachman almost lost his life as well," Kiho said, obviously angry. "F*ck you, Captain Sherwood."

She gasped again.

Wow, it's very rare for Kiho to curse!

"That wasn't the only thing I did," Captain Sherwood continued, unfazed by Kiho's anger. "There's a "treasure" in the royal family that I want so bad. On the other hand, His Majesty wants to know who owns the heart of the Red Phoenix. And so, we made a deal. I betrayed Her Royal Highness and told his Majesty that Lady Nystrom has the heart of the Red Phoenix to get the "treasure" that I want. I decided to switch sides because I know that His Majesty and Her Royal Highness has no use of me anymore."

"Captain Sherwood, excuse my rudeness but I want to slap you right now," Tilly said while trying to hold back her anger. "I can forgive you had you tried to hurt me when I wasn't pregnant yet. But the fact that you put my baby's life at risk is making me angry. You know that I have the heart of the Red Phoenix so you know that I can literally roast you right now, don't you?"

The captain turned to her with a smile. "I'll accept any punishment from you, my lady."

"Leave," Kiho said angrily. The table and the floor were now starting to be covered by a thin layer of ice. If glares could kill, the captain would have dropped dead by now. "Leave before I freeze you to death, Captain Sherwood."

Despite Captain Sherwood's carefree personality, the fear that crossed his eyes was evident. The captain probably felt that they seriously want to kill him so to save himself, he stood up and politely bowed to them. "I'll take my leave now, Duke and Duchess Nystrom," he said, then he looked at Kiho. "Your Grace, please remember that even if you hate me or push me away, I will always be loyal to you."

Suddenly, Tilly had an idea of what kind of "treasure" did Captain Sherwood mention a while ago.

I hope I'm right.

"Let me walk you to the door, Captain Sherwood," Tilly said firmly, then she stood up without asking for anyone's permission. "We have something to talk about."

***

"ARE YOU certain that Captain Denver is a Fire Mage?" Aku asked Count Huxley. "What evidence do you hold, Lord Huxley?"

"I don't have physical evidence, Your Majesty," Count Huxley answered in frustration. "But Alisa and I had linked our minds together in the past through an ancient spell. Before she died, she sent me the image of the last thing she saw." A mix of anger and pain crossed his eyes. "I saw Captain Denver burn my Alisa to death, Your Majesty."

"Captain Denver is a Fire Wielder," he countered because until now, he couldn't believe that Captain Denver was a Fire Mage. Because if it was true, it would only mean that the Denvers had deceived the royal family for many years! "He can use fire."

"But a Fire Wielder can't produce fire within their body," the count insisted. "I saw fire come out from Mikhail Denver's arms, Your Majesty. He wasn't using any weapon."

For the first time after a long while, Aku felt the pain and bitterness of being betrayed. "If the Denvers are Fire Mages, it only means that the Fire Wielders in their guild might also be Fire Mages that they have been protecting all this time."

"That's why I'm thinking as well, Your Majesty," Count Huxley said. "If they were able to conceal their real identity for this long, then they might be using a powerful spell or tool that can hide their real power. But to have deceived the royal family for this long…"

"They made a fool of us," he said in a low voice. "Now I know why the Denvers stood in the "neutral side" all this time."

He thought that the Denvers weren't just interested in the politics.

And as far as he remembered, his father and his grandfather used to tell him stories about how the Denvers had helped them "kill" the Fire Mages that they had caught in the past.

The Denvers probably didn't kill those Fire Mages. They definitely faked their death to gain my predecessors' trust. And they built the Fire Wielder Guild to hide and protect the Fire Mages that they have met along the way.

Oh, god.

He never felt this angry after Nia was burnt to a crisp.

"Your Majesty, please give me the order to kill Mikhail Denver," Count Huxley begged him. "He's a traitor!"

"Don't be hasty, Lord Huxley."

"What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?"

"Killing Captain Denver right away would be too light of a punishment for his grave sin against the royal family," he said coldly. "Before you kill him, I want to make him watch us kill his family and fellow Fire Mages one by one. To break him even more, I will rip Lady Nystrom's heart in front of him. I want him to feel hopeless and helpless as he watched his loved ones die without the power to save them. Only after he felt that kind of pain and misery would you be allowed to kill the captain. Do you understand my order, Lord Huxley?"

Count Huxley smirked, a glint of evilness in his eyes shining bright. "I'll do as you told me, Your Majesty."

"Good," Aku said, his mind now forming different strategies to capture all the Fire Mages at once. "It's time to end the Fire Mages once and for all– and that would only be possible once I crush Lady Nystrom's heart."

***

TILLY suddenly felt a shiver down her spines. For some reason, her heart suddenly thumped loudly against her chest. And boy, she felt cold even if Kiho wasn't near her.

"Are you okay, Lady Nystrom?" Captain Sherwood asked with a smile– a smile that never felt warm or genuine to her. It was akin to a "business smile" that she would often give her clients back in her second life. "You don't have to walk me to my carriage."

Right now, they already reached the main door of the mansion.

"I don't have any intention to walk you to your carriage, Captain Sherwood," Tilly said, then she faced the captain. "I just want to talk out of Kiho's hearing range."

"Figures," the captain said, obviously aware that she walked him to the doors for an important matter.

Kiho also knew that she had something she wanted to talk about with Captain Sherwood alone. But she knew that her husband, Luna, and Sentinel were all on stand-by. She was confident that nothing bad would happen to her even if she was "alone" with the captain.

"The "treasure" that you mentioned earlier– the treasure that forced you to betray Her Royal Highness," Tilly said carefully. "It has something to do with Kiho, right? If not, then it must be Kiho himself. You wouldn't choose my husband over the royal family if you wouldn't gain anything by taking his side. Am I wrong?"

Captain Sherwood smirked as if he was amazed by her deductions. "Lady Nystrom, are you ready to know the real identity of the man you married?"

For some reason, wind was suddenly knocked out of Tilly.

Why do I feel like I shouldn't know?

***

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