A TALE OF FIRE AND ICE

Nystrom

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AS SOON as Irene woke up, she immediately tried to reach Lisa with her hand. When she didn't feel him beside her, she opened her eyes and got up right away. She felt a little bit of panic when she didn't find him on the bed. " Lisa?"

She was relieved when the door opened and Lisa entered their room.

Based on his training outfit and the wooden sword attached to his hip, she figured that he got up early to practice swinging. He always did that in the morning.

"Oh, you're awake," Lisa said, pleasantly surprised. "Good morning, honey."

"Good morning," Irene said, then she opened her arms to ask for a hug. "Come here, hon."

Lisa hugged her and she fell backward until she was lying on her back. He was on top of her, kissing her hungrily as usual. She remembered falling asleep right after she washed up last night. He must have missed their intimate moment.

"Shall we take a bath together?" Lisa whispered, then gently bit her earlobe.

"Sorry, not today," she said with a pout. "Leni and Lani are getting sad because they can't give me a bath these days. They may end up hating you if you steal their job from them."

The twin maids were very serious about her bath. They would always prepare the best bath bomb, roses, oils, etc. for her. At first, she felt awkward being given a bath after her second life. But now, she was getting used to being pampered again.

"Don't be sad," she told her husband while gently pinching his cheek. "We're having vacation next week anyway. We won't be bringing our servants so you'll have me all to yourself."

His face lit up. "Oh, that's right..." His face suddenly fell gloomy as if he remembered a bad memory. "Or not. Father is joining us, isn't he?"

Next week, they would be visiting her mother's grave. It was located in the estate of their ancestral house. And the house was in the Oakes, their family's territory. Her father would introduce her husband as the new duke there.

"Our ancestral house is huge, Lisa," she comforted him. "We will be staying at the main house while  father will be using the annex building. He'll be bringing his servants but they wouldn't be allowed at our residence. Father knows that we're newlyweds so he's being considerate of us."

"That's nice of Father," he said. "I'll visit him today."

"Did he summon you?"

He nodded, then he sat up and made her lay her head on his ŀȧp. "Father told me to meet him once I come up with a name that I want to use as the new Duke of Oakes."

"Have you thought of a name to use?"

He blushed but the sparkle in his eyes showed his pride for the name that he'd be using soon. "I want to be called as Lisa Nystrom, Irene. Does it sound good?"

"It sounds unique," she said with a smile. "I like it. It's my first time to hear that name though. Where did you get that, hon?"

"That was the alias of my master," he said in a sad voice. "He was the mercenary who raised me until I was eight. I don't remember much about him now except for the name he always told me. Ever since I can remember, my master had taught me to never forget his name."

She didn't miss the use of past tense and the sadness in his tone. "May I know what happened to your master, Lisa?"

"He was killed in a mission," he told her. "I was also almost killed by the bandits that he was supposed to take down. But luckily, His Majesty was there to save me. During that time, I didn't know that he was the crown prince."