78 "Brothers" (1/2)
TILLY stared at Luna with admiration.
She's really beautiful.
Luna looked very elegant in her full-length dress with sheer mesh overlay, intricate black embroidered and embellished detailing, and frills across the bodice and sleeves.
She almost got insecure of the witch's dress.
Thankfully, Tilly loved her black and midnight blue gradient ombre chiffon dress.
”I mean no harm to Lady Nystrom and her baby,” Lady Hayward told Luna in a calm voice, like a noble lady that she was. Gosh, her angelic face and peach-colored high neck corset dress made her look even lovelier. But still, looks could always be deceiving. ”Please release me from your restraining magic, lady doctor.”
Luna ignored Lady Hayward and turned to her instead. Then, the witch held her shoulder lightly. ”Are you okay, Lady Nystrom?”
Tilly didn't know what exactly happened but when Luna touched her shoulder, she calmed down and was able to breathe properly again. And most of all, her body felt light all of a sudden. ”I'm okay, Miss Luna. I just feel a little tired,” she said. Then, she turned to Lady Hayward who looked confused for some reason. ”Please undo the restraining magic you put of Lady Hayward. She's an important acquaintance of Her Royal Highness.”
The witch politely bowed to her. ”As you wish, Your Grace.”
With just a snap of Luna's fingers, Lady Hayward suddenly was able to move.
Tilly stood up because it was rude not to when she had guests in the parlor room. She would have done that earlier had she not been frozen in her seat a while ago. ”Lady Hayward, I'd like to introduce you to Miss Luna– my personal doctor.” She turned to Luna with a knowing smile. ”Miss Luna, this is Lady Hayward. She's also a doctor like you.”
Lady Hayward and Luna exchanged polite greetings.
”Lady Hayward, I apologize if you feel offended,” Tilly said after the introductions. ”My doctor is new to the Royal Capital so she's not familiar with the nobles here yet. And Miss Luna is probably just worried about me because my pregnancy is sensitive. I hope you understand.”
”Of course, Your Grace,” Lady Hayward said with a smile. Then, she politely bowed to her. ”I apologize if my appearance startled you. I know this will sound like an excuse but I came here assuming that Her Royal Highness has already told you about me. Again, my deepest apologies for my behavior tonight.”
Tilly smiled at her. ”It's alright, Lady Hayward.”
”Now that your doctor is here, I will excuse myself,” Lady Hayward said politely. Then, she bowed to her before turning to Luna. ”I'm glad that Her Grace has a reliable doctor like you, Miss Luna.”
Luna just smiled politely.
After that, Lady Hayward finally left the room.
Gosh, that was intense.
”Miss Luna–” Tilly gasped when Luna suddenly flicked her forehead with her fingers. ”What was that for?”
”You almost revealed your powers to that cunning lady,” Luna scolded her. ”I know that you want to protect your baby. But will you please be more careful?”
She bit her lower lip but she couldn't counter the witch. ”I'm sorry. I panicked when I was frozen in fear. And I couldn't move.”
”That cunning doctor was trying to put a curse on you,” the witch explained and her revelation made her gasp. But Luna remained pokerfaced as she continued explaining what happened to her. ”It wasn't a deadly kind of curse. But if she succeeded, you would have been physically weak the whole duration of your pregnancy. I don't know what her plan is but she probably wanted you to rely on her while you were pregnant.”
She got goosebumps.
In her past life, she remembered that she was ”sick” her entire pregnancy. But she thought it was normal because according to her father then, her mother went through that as well.
”What would they accomplish by doing that?” Tilly asked in confusion. ”Do they want me to be stuck in my room to restraint my movements?”
Luna flicked her forehead again. ”Don't think about that yet, Lady Nystrom. The emperor will be here any minute. You can't show that kind of face to him. He's good at reading people so you should act as natural as possible.”
Her forehead knotted in confusion. ”You seem like you know what's going on between us and the royal family, Miss Luna. Moreover, how did you get here?”
”I have my ways to find you,” the witch said. ”And it's easy for me to infiltrate a palace with weak barrier. You know how strong I am, don't you?”
She nodded as confirmation. ”Aren't you going to ask me how I got to know about you?”
”I am, but that can wait,” she said. ”You can relax for the whole evening. No one and no spell can touch you on my watch.”
That was very reassuring to hear.
She still didn't understand how Luna seemed to know everything. But she already decided to trust her. Plus, she believed that the power of the witch could protect her and Winter.
”We'll talk about important matters after this party,” Luna told her. Then, she put her hands on her shoulders. ”Breathe, Lady Nystrom,” she said to her softly. ”I've got your back.”
Tilly got emotional. She was so relieved to have another ally that she could trust. But also at the same time, she felt guilty because of what she did to Luna in her past life. ”Thank you, Miss Luna– I mean it.”
And I'll make it up to you in this lifetime.
***
TILLY was surprised when she woke up after she felt a cold hand on her forehead.
Eh? I fell asleep?
”Honey, you're up?”
Tilly blinked a few times while looking at Kiho's worried face. Then, a few moments later, she realized that she was still in the parlor room. She was sitting on the sofa while leaning against Kiho's solid and literally cool body. ”Gosh,” she said in admiration. Then, she cupped his face between her hands and kissed her on the lips. ”Why are you so handsome, Kiho?”
Kiho smiled and caressed her face with the back of his hand. ”Maybe I have this certain kind of glow because you make me feel loved every single day?”
She smiled and was about to kiss him again when she heard a barfing sound. When she looked at the direction of where it came from, she blushed when she saw Luna. The witch was just sitting across them while eating a slice of strawberry shortcake.
And Luna looked disgusted.
”Please don't make me throw up,” Luna said with a frown. ”I hate married couple who shamelessly flirt in front of single people. God, I never so felt lonely in my life until now.”
Tilly just giggled at that. ”Sorry. We can't just help it.”
”I'm going to head out for a minute,” Luna said, then she stood up with her plate of cake. ”I'll just call you when His Majesty arrives.”
”Thank you, Miss Luna,” Kiho said sincerely.
The witch just waved her hand before she went out of the parlor room.
”What happened?” Tilly asked curiously. ”Why do you seem like you have softened up to Miss Luna already?”
”When I came to fetch you, I saw that Miss Luna was sincerely protecting you,” Kiho explained. ”I want to be kind to everyone who's kind to you.”
She smiled and gently pinched his cheek. ”Thank you, hon.”
He shifted his head to kiss the palm of her hand. ”His Majesty is about to arrive. But if you still feel tired, you can stay here. Everyone knows you're pregnant so they'll understand.”