23 Moonflowers (1/2)

TILLY woke up alone in the bed.

But she wasn't really surprised. Back in her previous life, she always woke up alone. That was because Kiho would always wake up early for his morning training.

[He's probably swinging his sword or something.]

She got up and washed her face first. Then, she put her robe on while walking towards the huge window.

In her second life as Matilda Yap in the modern world, she would start her morning with a coffee. Then, she would either run around the exclusive village where she lived or go to the gym to exercise. After that, she would go to the office for work.

[This world has coffee but in our empire, tea remains the number one drink.]

Also, she couldn't just run or exercise even in her father's estate. As a duke's daughter, she was a noble lady who had to uphold her dignity. The only exercise she was allowed to do was walking. That was why she would take a long walk in their garden after every meal.

[But I miss running and exercising.]

She tried to do yoga once but when Isabelle and the other maids saw the ”weird” positions she did, they made a fuss. According to them, those moves were very ”unladylike.”

[I envy you, Kiho.]

Tilly put her elbows on the windowsill while holding her face with her hands.

From her standpoint, she could clearly see Kiho in the courtyard. Like she expected, he was practicing his sword swinging. Just like what she remembered in the past, his movements were small and precise. No unnecessary moves at all.

[Look at his posture…]

Ah, she could also see Damian, Whitton, and Blake running around the courtyard but she could barely pay attention to the three.

How could she see other men when Kiho was so gorgeous it was almost blinding?

[Yeah, I wanted to punch my past life for ignoring a man like Kiho.]

The captain wasn't a 'snack,' he was the whole f*cking course meal.

[Kiho is so sexy.]

The captain seemed to notice her ~lustful~ gaze because he stopped swinging his sword to turn to her direction.

Tilly smiled and waved at Kiho.

Kiho put his sword back in the holster.

Then, he suddenly disappeared.

[Wait, what?]

A few blinks later, Kiho suddenly appeared before her. He was squatting on the windowsill while holding onto the frame. And his face was only a breath away from hers.

[So handsome.]

”Good morning, baby,” Kiho greeted her in his low, husky voice. ”Did you sleep well?”

Tilly couldn't help but hold his face in her hands. ”Crazy. How can someone be this good-looking? You're prettier than me, Kiho.”

”That's not true,” he said. ”You're the most beautiful to me, Tilly.”

She smiled and rewarded him with a light kiss on the lips. ”It's a good morning, indeed.”

The captain swiftly jumped off from the windowsill. Then, he stood in front of her to give her a proper kiss. You know, the deep and long kind that made her moan into his mouth.

”Ah,” Kiho said when he broke the kiss. But his arms remained around her shoulders. ”Is it okay with you if we leave after breakfast?”

She nodded, her arms still wrapped around his waist, too. ”Yes. You need to report to His Majesty as soon as we return to the Royal Capital, right?”

He just nodded as confirmation. ”Tilly, should you move into my residence once we return?”

”I'd love to,” she said. ”I'll pack my things as soon as I get home.”

His face immediately lit up. ”That would be nice.”

”Kiho, is there a space in your residence that I can use to exercise?” she asked, giving him the cutest puppy dog eyes that she could muster at the moment. ”And is it possible to have my alone time when I'm doing my work out? I don't want your servants to disturb me.”

She couldn't have those things back at her father's estate. Her maids wouldn't even leave her for a second. She understood that they were only doing their jobs. But still, it was very suffocating for her.

It was okay during her first life. But when she experienced life in the modern world, she started to crave for freedom in this world.

”I can arrange that,” Kiho said. ”If it's only an hour or two, then I suppose it's okay to have your alone time. I'll make sure you're safe in my residence.”

”Thank you, baby.”

”I'm surprised to know that you like exercise,” he said. ”Do you want to join my morning routine? I usually run a few laps around the estate.”

She blinked in surprise by his offer. ”Really? You're not going to ask me why I need to work out?”

”People usually work out to keep their bodies healthy, right?” he asked, obviously confused by her question. ”Do you have other reasons for doing so?”

Well, to be honest, she had another agenda aside from health benefits.

She needed her body to be flexible enough for sex.

[Yes, sex.]

In her previous life, even though she didn't love Kiho, she enjoyed making love with him. He was just so good in bed. But her past self wasn't as physically fit as she was in her second life. She would always had body pain because of… uh, the ”activities” she did with her husband while in the sheets.

”Tilly, are you okay?” Kiho asked in a worried voice. Then, he placed a hand on her cheek. ”Your face is red and warm.” His eyes widened in worry. ”Are you feverish?”

”No,” Tilly denied. ”I'm just hungry.”

[Hungry for you, baby.]

***

”KIHO, you spent a fortune on these, didn't you?” Tilly asked while gazing down at the beautiful dresses and jewelries on her bed. Those were the souvenirs from Pillas Islands that Kiho got for her. The materials of the clothes were obviously high-quality, and so were the jewelries. ”Isn't this a bit too excessive?” she asked, then she turned to him.

”Not at all,” Kiho said. His face looked stoic but she could clearly see that he was worried about her reaction. ”Did you not like my presents, Tilly?”

”Oh, I liked them,” she said with a smile. ”Thank you, Kiho.”

He looked relieved. ”You're welcome.”

Currently, they were in her room in her father's mansion.

When they arrived there, Kiho brought out all the gifts he had for her. It was in another carriage so she didn't see the presents until he brought it out. She asked her servants to bring everything to her room so here they were now.

”I need to go,” Kiho said. ”Just call me when you're ready to move in. I'll free my schedule tomorrow so I can go and pick you up.”

”Okay,” she said, then gasped when she remembered something. ”Kiho, I'm sorry but can we change our schedule? I'll move in to your house the day after tomorrow. Is that okay?”

”It's fine with me,” he said. ”Do you have work tomorrow?”

”I want to visit the child that I bumped into the plaza,” she said. ”I wasn't able to properly say goodbye to him so I want to see him again.”

Once she arrived at Kiho's mansion, she'd be busy with her bridal lessons and she wouldn't have time to go out.

She didn't know why but there was something about Flint that she was curious about. It didn't look like he was lying to her. The child had eyes as clear as Kiho's. That meant those were the eyes of a person who couldn't and wouldn't lie.

[I want to hear the boy's stories about Fire Mages.]

She also didn't know why she was so drawn to the Fire Mages despite Kiho's warning.

[I don't want Kiho to worry so I won't tell him about it.]

”Do you want me to accompany you?” Kiho asked. ”Mount Elea is quite far from the Royal Capital.”

”You have work,” she reminded him. ”And you're the Black Serpents' captain. You have to work hard and earn a lot for our family, okay?”

”I understand,” he said. He seemed pleased by what she just said. ”I'll earn a lot to spoil you.”

She giggled at that. ”You can't take that back, Kiho.”

”I won't,” he assured her. ”I'll ask Blake to accompany you tomorrow. Is that okay?”

She nodded as a response. ”Kiho, you should really go. Don't make His Majesty wait.”