A TALE OF FIRE AND ICE

Endearment

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Let's continue

***

THE sizzling moment between Irene and Lisa was cut when her stupid stomach growled loudly. As soon as the captain heard that, he pulled away from the kiss and looked at her with a worried look on his handsome face.

She was relieved that Lisa didn't make her feel like she should be embarrassed by the sound her stomach made. Most men in this world think that ladies don't fart, after all.

"Let's eat first," Lisa said.

"No," Irene said while shaking her head stubbornly. "I want more kisses."

He held her shoulders and moved his face away from his when she tried to kiss him again. "I'm not sure if I can stop if we do something more than this."

"I want you to do more."

"I want to do more, too. But not at the expense of your health so we'll eat first," he insisted. Then, he placed a hand on her cheek while gently brushing his thumb over her swollen lips. "Don't push yourself, Irene. You just recovered from your fever."

Damn it.

She didn't expect that her little lie would result in this.

But she had to give up for now. She didn't want to look desperate in front of Lisa. Plus, this time, she wanted to conceive Winter with love.

"Okay, I understand," she said. "We should head to the castle then."

"The emperor's castle in his island?"

"There's only castle in this island, my silly captain," she said between giggles. But she understood why Lisa had to ask. "His Majesty wanted you to rest first before you go back to the Royal Capital. And so, the emperor ordered us to spend the night in his castle. The servants there are expecting us."

For some reason, his face suddenly went red. "W-We're going to spend the night together? Does Duke Prescott know about this?"

She nodded while explaining. "It was an order from His Majesty so my father had no choice but to give his consent."

That was how loyal her father was to the royal family even though he was a noble.

The majority of the Royal Faction consisted of people related to the royal family. While the Noble Faction who wanted to destroy the monarchy was supported by higher nobles who had always hated the Moonchesters.

"Are you okay with that?" Lisa said voice laced with concern. "If you're not comfortable with that set-up, I'll send you home. I'll talk to His Majesty so don't be scared."

"I want to spend the night with you, Lisa."

He didn't smile but his eyes glowed in a beautiful golden light. Someone was happy, huh? "Okay, let's go to the castle."

She just smiled at him, then linked her arm with his as she gently pulls him out of the room. "How was your mission, Captain?"

"It was a success," he answered. "Irene, how's your health?"

"I'm good," she assured him. "I just fainted because of high fever. But the royal doctor took care of me so I recovered fast."

"Fainting is a serious matter, Irene. Please don't make it sound like it's not a big deal by saying you "just" fainted," he lightly scolded her. But she let it slide because she knew he was just concerned about her. "Let's be more careful next time, okay?"


She smiled and hugged his arm. "Okay."

"Oh," he said as if he remembered something. "Did Blake escort you here?"

"Of course," she said. "Lisa, please don't scold him too much for not being by my side when I fainted." Lisa was a strict captain and he seemed to be protective of her in this lifetime. She had a feeling that he would scold Blake later so she wanted to appease him a little. She didn't want Blake to be punished like Damian for failing to protect her. "Before I went to the palace, I sent Sir Blake on a mission."

She told Lisa about the minor "accident," then her encounter with Flint (the young boy who spread rumors about the return of Fire Mages) and Sir Ainsworth. She also talked about how she suddenly felt "feverish" when she arrived at the princess's residence. And that she couldn't just go home without greeting Princess Nia first so she had to "hide" her sickness, probably resulting in her fainting.

She didn't want to lie to Lisa but she couldn't tell him that she didn't really get sick.

"Captain Ainsworth?" Lisa asked with a scowl. "You shared a ride with the captain of the Golden Tiger Knights?"

She rolled her eyes discreetly.

[Oh, men.]

She talked about a lot of things but the only thing that seemed to stick to Lisa was the fact that she met Sir Ainsworth. Was he jealous? That was both cute and petty.

"The only reason I didn't reject Sir Ainsworth's offer was that I was running late from my scheduled meeting with Her Royal Highness," Irene explained. "Do you not trust me?"

"I trust you," he said almost immediately. "I'm just worried. We had a dispute with Sir Belington, a knight from Captain Ainsworth's squad. He didn't bully you, did he?"

Ah, so he was worried about that.

"He didn't bully me," she said. "I'm relieved. I thought you were jealous."

"Who said I wasn't?"

Her eyes widened in shock. She looked up at him to confirm if he was telling the truth. And yep, someone was really jealous. "Oh."

"Don't worry, I know that I have nothing to be jealous of Captain Ainsworth," Lisa assured her. "I guess it's just a normal reaction to feel a little jealous when the lady I like was alone with another man."

She blinked in surprise. And giddiness. "You like me?"

"Yes, I like you," the captain confirmed, his cheeks tainted with a nice shade of pink. "I thought I was being obvious."

"Why do you like me?" she asked curiously. "Is it because I have a crab mallet?"

"Hmm I guess it's part of the reason," Lisa said, then he put a hand on the top of her head. "But Irene, I won't get attracted to a woman just because of a crab mallet."

Oh.

She wanted to ask what exactly made him like her but his stomach growled loudly this time. He blinked in surprise as if he just realized that he was hungry.

Then, she remembered that Emperor Taeyeon told her that Lisa would definitely go straight to the Royal Capital without resting just to meet her. She just smiled politely at His Majesty, not really believing that the captain would do that. Now she owed the emperor an apology.

"Let's hurry," Irene said while walking faster, pulling Lisa along with her. "What would you like for dinner, Captain?"

"You."

Her dirty mind thought of lewd stuff naturally. "You want to eat me, Lisa?"

"No, not that. I'm asking what you want to eat," the captain explained, cheeks red in embarrassment. Then, he paused for a while before he spoke again. "I mean, I'd like to do that later but I want to feed you first."

Now it was her turn to blush. She couldn't decide if Lisa was innocent or not. Sometimes he acted cluelessly. But there were times that he could be as naughty as she was.

[Or maybe he learns fast.]

"Lisa, you've grown," Irene said jokingly while patting the captain's arm gently. "I'm proud of you."

"I don't understand what you're saying but if you're happy, then I won't ask anymore," Lisa said. Then, he gently removed her arm linked with his to hold her hand. "May I?"

When Irene nodded, Lisa entwined their fingers together.

***

THE CASTLE in the Lunar Island was like any other castles that Irene had seen in the modern world. It wasn't as huge as the royal palace but it was big enough for a royal family.

[And it's a castle on the cliff so the view from there is breathtaking.]

When they arrived at the castle, they were greeted by the servants headed by Malou (the head maid in her 50s) and Alejandro (the head butler in his 60s).

Then, they have ushered in a parlor room to have tea. When Malou asked if they had any preference for dinner, Lisa said that he'd ask his men to bring the main protein. Blake was the one who brought the sea creatures from the ship.

After that, the captain asked the head chef to cook it for them. While waiting for the food, they spent time catching up while having tea and some light snacks. Blake, on the other hand, went back to the ship and would spend the night there with Damian and Whitton.

She tried to invite Blake to stay in the castle because Malou said that their companions would also be treated as guests. But the vice-captain politely refused so she didn't insist anymore.

Anyway, a few hours later, they were on the rooftop where their dinner was prepared.

[It was also Lisa's idea.]

"Captain, I didn't know that you have a romantic bone in you," Irene said, impressed by the spread of seafood on the long table. The table was facing the sea and aside from that, they also had a scenic view of the starry night sky. But the thing she liked most was the floating huge crystal balls around. They served as lights so they could see properly. "This is so nice."

"Did you like it?" Lisa asked while looking at her with an expectant look on his face. "I thought it would be nice to have dinner here instead of the dining hall."

She smiled at him and placed a hand on his cheek. "I like it," she said. Then, she tiptoed to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Lisa."

He looked happy yet surprised. "Was that a reward?"

"Hmm?"

"The kiss," he said. "If I do nice things for you, will you reward me with a kiss?"

She giggled at his innocence. He obviously didn't know how dating works. But it wasn't like she was experienced in that department as well. Maybe she was reborn in this world to learn with Lisa. "Captain, we can kiss each other as long as we have consent. Is that okay with you?"

Lisa nodded eagerly. "I'm giving you the consent to kiss me anytime you want, Irene."

She laughed softly, then lightly pinched his cheek. "You can also kiss me as long as I give you consent. But when I say stop, you should stop right away. Of course, I'll also do the same."

"I understand."

"Thank you, Captain," she said. Lisa was always respectful to her in her past life and she was glad to know that even though a lot of things already changed in this lifetime, he was still as chivalrous as she remembered. "Let's eat."

Lisa nodded and ushered her to the table.

She already noticed that the seafood that the captain brought was huge. But now that she was seated facing the spread, she realized that these sea creatures were not normal in size. Even the prawns seemed to be bigger than her hands.

"Lisa, look at this lobster's claw," Irene said in amazement while touching the lobster's claw. Then, she leaned down to try and compare the size with her head. "Wow. It's bigger than my head, isn't it?"

"It is," he said. "And your face is small anyway."

"My face is small?"

He nodded. "And very cute."

She laughed softly at his compliment. She was used to be praised as someone "beautiful" because she had a mature charm. Cute would be girls like Isabella, not her. But it made her giddy to know that Lisa finds her cute. "Lisa, call me 'baby.'"

'Baby' was a common endearment between couples in the modern world. She always wanted to hear her lover call her that way. But unfortunately, she never got into a serious relationship during her second life. That was why she got into an arranged marriage instead.

"'Baby?'" Lisa asked in confusion. "Is it okay if I call a grown woman 'baby?'"

"Just call me that when there's only the two of us," she said. "And if it's okay with you, I want to call you 'baby' as well. It will be our secret endearment."

His face suddenly lit up. "We're going to have our own endearment?"

"Do you hate it?"

Lisa shook his head. Then, he gently placed a hand on her cheek. "Baby."

Irene smiled widely. "Yes, baby?"

***

Irene was surprised when she saw Lisa in the room where the maids ushered her after her bath. Just like her, the captain had just finished taking a bath. While she was wearing a nightgown, Lisa was wearing a silk nightshirt and pants.

And they both looked shocked to find each other in the same room.

Just like that, the maids bid them goodnight and closed the doors.

"Lisa, is this also the room the maids told you to use?" Lisa asked in bewilderment. "Does this mean we have to sleep on the same bed?"

"Uh, yeah?" Lisa said, then he scowled. "Emperor Taeyeon definitely planned this as a prank."

"DO you not want to sleep in the same room as me?" Irene asked Lisa. "If you're not comfortable, I can ask the maids to find me another room to use."

"No, I want to stay with you here," Lisa said, his cheeks turning pink. "It's me who's worried that you might not be comfortable with this."

"Oh," she said, then she sat on the bed. The mattress wasn't as soft as what she had back at home but it was comfortable enough. "I'm fine with this. We haven't seen each other for a few days so I'm glad that the emperor arranged this room for us."

He looked at her as if he was trying to read her mind. But in the end, it seemed like he gave up. "You're always calm and composed. I like that about you."

"It's because my mental age is old," she said playfully. "You're technically allowed to call me "grandmother," you know."

"No, you're not my grandma," he said straightforwardly. "You're my baby."

She instantly regretted bragging about her mental age." Because right now, she wanted to squeal like a teenager (that she was in this world). Lisa could really make her feel things that she didn't feel in the past.

[Wait, I don't really remember my moments with Lisa and Winter.]

The memories that clung to her ever since she woke up in that world again were the memories of her sins. How did she treat her husband and son before she fell into madness because of her greed for power?

[And I can't really remember why I was so thirsty for power back then.]

If her doubts about Princess Tiffany were correct, could it be possible that she was controlled by someone else in the past?

[I was young and gullible then so it was highly possible."

"Irene?" Kiho asked in a worried tone. "Are you okay?"

"Lisa, can I ask you stuff about the royal family?"

"It depends on what you want to know," he said cautiously. "There are things that I can't say even to you."

"I understand that," she said. Then, she crawled to the bed, sat on the mattress with a pillow on her back, then leaned against the headboard. After that, she patted the space next to her. "Come here, baby. Let's talk."

He seemed pleased by that. "Okay, baby."

A few moments later, Lisa was already sitting beside her. There was also a pillow on his back. And they were sharing the blanket.

"Lisa, have you served Her Royal Highness as a guard before?" she asked curiously. "You used to work in the royal palace, didn't you?"

"Yes," he said. "But I worked for His Majesty, not for Her Royal Highness. The knight that was assigned to the princess until last year was Captain Sherwood of the Blue Dragon Knights."

"Huh?" she asked in confusion. In her past life, she didn't care about other people so she couldn't remember who the princess's personal knight was. Gosh, why we're the only things clear in her memories were her evil schemes in the past? "Oh, right. This morning, I saw the emperor with Captain Sherwood. Did the princess change her personal knight?"


"I'll tell you because it's an open secret in the palace anyway," he said with mild hesitation. "His Majesty wasn't too happy to see that Her Royal Highness and Captain Sherwood had developed a close relationship. Before the emperor officially proposed to the princess, he "promoted" Captain Sherwood as his personal knight."

"What happened to Sir Gregory, the emperor's knight ever since he was a crown prince?"

"He retired."

"Did the emperor ask him to retire?"

"I don't know."

[His Majesty definitely did.]

Everyone in the empire knew that their great emperor was crazily in love with Princess.

"So, who is now the princess's knight?" she asked. "I didn't see anyone else with her aside from Catalina."

His forehead knotted in confusion. "Oh, you didn't know? I thought you'd know because according to the emperor, you're good friends with the princess."

She fell silent.

[Why can't I remember the stuff about Princess  when we were supposed to be "good friends" in my past life?]

"I apologize," Lisa said. "Just because you're good friends doesn't mean you should know everything about the princess."

She just smiled at him. "It's okay, Lisa."

"The princess's new "knight" is actually one of the Great Mages of the White Tower," the captain said. "She's called Lahara."

She gasped in surprise. "Isn't Lahara the rumored "immortal beauty" who was a strong candidate to be the next Grand Mage?" Her forehead knotted in confusion. "Wait. Are mages even allowed to be a knight?"

"Miss Lahara quit her position in the White Tower," he said. "Apparently, she took her training with the Blue Dragon Knights. Because of her strong ability as a mage, she easily graduated from being a squire. And as soon as Lahara became a full-fledged knight, Emperor Taeyeon appointed her as Princess Tiffany's new personal knight. It all happened last year."

[Just last year?]

She couldn't remember most of the things that happened in her past life before she married Lisa. Why did it feel like the only memories that remained in her mind were the ones she had after giving birth to Winter?

[There are several gaps in my memory. I remember my childhood. But the things that took place since I met Lisa were blurry.]

She tried hard to remember her 'missing' memories but all she got was a sharp pain in the head.

"Aww" she groaned while holding her head.

"Irene, what's wrong?" Lisa asked in a worried tone. "Headache?"

She nodded. "My head suddenly hurts"

"Wait here," he said. "I'll call a doctor."

"No," she whined. Then, she gently pushed Lisa until he was lying on the bed. After that, she laid beside him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She also used his solid chest as a pillow. "Is this okay, Lisa?"

"Yes," he said right away. "I like this position."

She smiled at his honesty.

[Lisa really smells good. And he's warm. I wonder what was wrong with me in the past to be a b*tch to him?]

"Lisa, may I hold you as well?"

"Yes," she said with a smile. [I really like how Lisa asks for my consent.]

She had said this many times already but despite their estranged relationship in the past, the captain had never been disrespectful to her. He even tried to appeal to His Majesty to exile her instead of giving her a death sentence. Because according to Lisa in the past, no matter what happened, she was still the woman who gave birth to Winter.

[But did I do something good for Lisa to help me in my last moments? But I remember the look of relief on his face when I was about to be beheaded]

Could she still trust her memories?

Her thoughts were suddenly cut off when Lisa's arms wrapped around her. She liked how she melted into his body when she pulled her closer to him.

"You fell silent," Lisa said, a hint of worry evident in his voice. "What are you thinking, baby?"

She couldn't help but smile when another battalion of butterflies rammed against her tummy once again. The captain was really making her feel giddy when she wasn't supposed to feel that way anymore because of her mental age. "Lisa?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you know what Princess's power is?" she asked cautiously. "I know that the Moonchesters are born with powerful Mana. I've also heard how strong Emperor Taeyeon was on the battlefields. Apparently, His Majesty alone is worth thousands of elite knights."

"That's true," he confirmed. "The emperor can invade a small country on his own if he wanted to."

[No wonder His Majesty ascended the throne when he was only eighteen.]

"How about Her Royal Highness?" she asked as careful as she could. "Even though I'm quite close to the princess, I have no idea about her power. I know that she has strong Mana. But I want to know what exactly her ability is."

He paused for a while before he spoke in a hesitant voice. "Irene, if you asked that to other people, you could be accused of treason. You sound like you're looking for Her Royal Highness's weakness."

"I know that," she admitted. "But I wouldn't ask those questions to just anyone. I asked you because I know that you're not going to treat me like a threat to the royal family."

"But may I know why you're interested in the princess's power?"

[Because Princess  might turn out to be a threat to our family, baby.]

"For politics," she lied. "The social circle is the ladies' "battlefield," you know?"

"I think His Majesty said that once."

"I'm a duke's daughter so even if I don't want to, I have to form a good relationship with the other ladies," she continued. "House Prescott has always been a part of the Royal Faction so naturally, I've become a part of the princess's faction. I just want to make sure that I chose to take the right side."

"I apologize but I'm not a noble so I fail to see the connection," he said in a confused tone. "How will knowing the princess's power help you decide if you took the right side?"

"Well, a war within the Royal Faction and the Noble Faction might break out anytime," she lied again. "I just want to know if I'd be safe by the princess's side."

She knew that she was speaking gibberish. But she was starting to get sleepy so she couldn't think straight anymore.

"You don't need the princess for that," Lisa said. "I'll always protect you, Irene."

She smiled at his promise. Then, she looked up at him to find him looking at her with gentle eyes. "It's my turn to protect you, Lisa."

"Hmm?"

"I'm not going to ask anymore," she said. She had to give up because Lisa was a knight who pledged loyalty to the royal family. Of course, that included protecting the Moonchesters' secret. "You can't tell me about the princess's power, right?"

He nodded. "I think it's better if you don't know it. If you know too much about the royal family, they will treat you like a threat."

"I understand."

"I'm sorry, Irene."

She shook her head. "You don't have to apologize, Lisa. Thank you for worrying about me. Let's just sleep."

"Okay," Lisa said. Then, he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "Good night, baby."

She smiled and closed her eyes, then hugged him tightly. "Good night, baby."

But as soon as Irene hid her face against Lisa's chest, she opened her eyes. And even though she couldn't see her reflection, she knew that she had a somber look on her face right now.

[How do I fight Princess  if I don't know anything about her?]

***

Tiffany was gazing down at the garden of moonflowers while she was standing on the balcony of her chamber.

The more moonlight the moonflowers absorbed, the more their effect lasted.

"It seems like Lady Prescott has changed," Tiffany said. "She doesn't seem to be as gullible as she had been when she was younger."

"Stubborn people are hard to control," Lahara said while sitting on the balcony, swaying her feet back and forth like a child. The most striking feature she had was her curly caramel-colored hair and orange eyes. "But Matilda Prescott is just a child. She couldn't possibly resist the moonflowers' effect for so long, Your Royal Highness." The mage-turned-knight looked at her with a playful smile on her face. "Why are you worried?"

"Lady Prescott's surprisingly close relationship with Captain Lisa is a variable I cannot ignore, Lahara."

"Do you want me to kill him, Princess ?"

"Don't be too arrogant," she scolded her. "highness once told me that Captain Lisa is worth a hundred thousand elite knights. And that if the captain wished to, he could invade several small countries on his own. Even if you're a mage, you can't easily kill Captain. Especially not when you just lost a huge portion of your Mana when you left the White Tower."

"Is he that strong?" Lahara asked curiously. "I've been locked up in the White Tower for far too long that I didn't know any outstanding knight of this generation, except for Captain Noel Sherwood."

"Captain Lisa is strong," Tiffany said with a faint smile. "So strong that I want to add him to my little collection."

***