Mommy Villainess

Chapter 272: Atonement

"FOOLS," Wixx whispered to himself while watching Tilly and her family kneel in front of the North King and the ice puppets. Since his precious little sister had forbidden him from going outside the house, all he could do was stand by the window and watch their crazy antics from there. "This is the first time that I saw gods kneel in front of humans." He paused, then clicked his tongue. "No, they're not even humans. They're mere frozen corpses by now."

"Lady Nystrom and the Black Serpent have been rejecting their god status ever since time immemorial," Sentinel, who stood beside him, said dryly. "They have pride, but they also know humility unlike you, my lord."

Of course, his spirit guardian would side with his little sister.

"Why aren't you coming out when I'm around Tilly?" he asked Sentinel. "Did you wrong my sister or something?"

"You haven't gotten back your full power yet, my lord," the spirit guardian said. "I need to stay with you to make sure that you'll have enough flame store in you."

"I'm the Red Phoenix," he reminded him. "I won't run out of flame, fool."

"You don't have your heart and you gave half of your flame to Lady Nystrom," Sentinel also reminded him. "And most of all, you also gave your flame to"

"Stop," he warned him when he felt Roarke and Jameson approach them. "Return."

The spirit spirit guardian bowed to him, then he got engulfed in red flame until he disappeared.

Sentinel returned inside his body right away.

"My lord, we received an urgent news from Wong and Kelsi," Roarke said as they approached him. "They were trying to contact the Supreme but since I know she's busy, I received the call in her stead."

"Good job, son," Wixx said. "What did Wong report?"

"Wong said that he didn't get a solid proof, but he believes that Kyro's real body is in the Royal Palace."

"Wong's hunch is almost never wrong so let's trust him," he said. "Is that all?"

"My lord, Wong said that Yumi, the White Snake, has found a new host," Jameson said. It was a surprise that he didn't hear a single curse word from him, but his report seemed to be important so he didn't interrupt him. "The new host is called Stella. Apparently, she is Lady Luna's sister in this lifetime."

"Well, it's not impossible for Luna to have a sister in this lifetime."

"Wong said that the new host isn't an ordinary witch like Lady Luna," Roarke said seriously. "According to Wong, he and Kelsi believe that Stella is the reincarnation of Elaine Moonchester the sister that Aku Moonchester killed back when he was King Auro."

Wixx let out a deep sigh. "Another Moonchester to deal with, huh?"

***

"DO YOU think an apology will solve anything?"

"Of course not," Tilly responded to Garnet Nystrom's question after she and her whole family stood up. "But it's the first step, isn't it?"

Garnet Nystrom still looked angry.

But the North King also looked like he was still shaken from seeing her whole family kneel and bow to him. Even the ice puppets behind him looked shocked that it happened. The loud buzz a while ago suddenly disappeared.

I understand though. Gods are known to have huge ego. Kiho and I both have "god status." They surely didn't expect us to kneel in front of them. The kids, too.

"We also know that our apology won't bring back what you lost in the past because of our failures," Kiho added. "That's why we decided to send you off propely. The Moonchesters have taken your humanity away from you. We will bring it back to you before you leave the world."

"That's not enough," Garnet Nystrom snarled. "I didn't wait all these years just to pass on! I want to have my revenge against the Red Phoenix."

Tilly clenched her hands.

She understood why the North King was very angry at her brother. But even though she understood his pain, she still couldn't give him what he wanted.

"That is your feelings and they are valid, Garnet Nystrom," Julian said calmly, making all of them turn to him. As expected, even though their oldest child had an appearance of a child, the wisdom in his eyes couldn't be mistaken for something else. "But how about the members of your clan? I know for sure that they wanted to have their revenge against the Red Phoenix. I know because I longed for it as well in the past."

She felt gutted when she heard that from her son.

Kiho also looked like he was gutted.

Of course, it would never be easy to hear that from their oldest. Especially not after they found out what Julian went through in the past.

Our poor baby

"But you're a clan leader, Garnet Nystrom," Julian continued in a serious voice. "I know that most of them definitely wanted to get their revenge. But do they know that they will be turned into ice puppets? Did you tell them that they will live this long? That they're going to lose their humanity for the sake of having their revenge?"

Their oldest started to walk towards the North King that seemed to be frozen from where he stood.

Tilly and Kiho exchanged looks, then they nodded at each other.

They stopped Winter from following his brother. When their youngest looked up at them with questioning eyes, they just smiled at him.

Trust your brother, Winter.

"As the former head of the Nystrom clan, let me ask you a question," Julian said when he stood in front of the North King while looking up at him. "Is it worth it, Garnet Nystrom?"

Garnet Nystrom looked devastated by that question.

It seems like only Julian's words have successfully reached him.

"Let them decide now, Garnet Nystrom," Julian said firmly. "Let them choose whether to stay as ice puppets for the revenge they seek, or to finally rest in peace."

"Do it. I don't care anymore," Garnet Nystrom in a frustrated voice. "I don't need people that are too tired to move anyway."

"They have already forgotten what they're fighting for," Kiho said and in just the blink of an eye, he was already in front of Garnet Nystrom. Then, when he was certain that the North King wouldn't put up a fight, he covered his eyes with his hand. "Let me show you your son's last moments, Garnet Nystrom."

Ah, Kiho got this.

A few moments later, a blindfold made of ice appeared in front of each ice puppet. Then, the blindfolds moved on its own to cover the ice puppets's eyes. Without an order from the North King, the army remained dormant.

Kiho has started to show them their memories.

It was her turn to work.

"Winter, baby, please step back," she said to her son gently. "Mommy doesn't want to hurt you with my wings."

She needed to summon her wings to create a powerful spell for hundreds of people.

When she melted Thaddeus Nystrom's ice after he genuinely regretted the wrong things that he had done, she didn't have to use her black wings. But applying the same curse to a huge number of people would require a lot of her Mana.

After all, creating curses wasn't her forte as the Supreme.

"Mom, I'm here if you need me," Winter said, then he stepped back to give enough room for her wings to open without hitting him. "But please don't push yourself too hard."

Tilly smiled and nodded. "Thank you, my little cinnamon roll."

***

"THAT'S my man," Solenn said while watching Julian from her room. She sat on the windowsill where she had a clear view of the Nystroms facing the North King and the ice puppets below. "Julian managed to soothe Garnet Nystrom."

"Julian is the grandfather of the North King in the past," Luna, who stood beside her, said. "I guess Garnet Nystrom listened to him because he knows that Julian suffered the same fate as him and the rest of their clan."

"Uh-huh."

"So, when did Lord Julian become your man?"

"Just recently," she said, then she turned to the witch. "I don't want to become a widow so help me, Lady Luna."

Julian asked for her help regarding the matter about his intent to enter the Plane despite being a living human.

Her initial plan to burn Julian with her flame and give him a semi-permanent state of death was dangerous. In that way, her man could enter the Plane. Well, she could do that easily when she was an adult. But now that she had the body of a child, it would be too risky.

And I don't want to put Julian in a dangerous situation.

So, she asked Lady Luna if she could help her.

"You're putting me in a tight spot, Lady Solenn," Lady Luna said bluntly. "A living human entering the Plane? You must be crazy."

"Well, the Rosenbergs aren't known for being sane."

"I know," the witch agreed. "Still, we need the permission of Lord Julian's parents."

"But Julian doesn't want his parents to know"

"And I won't tolerate that," Lady Luna said, then she gently patted her head. "If you want to marry Lord Julian in the future, don't make Tilly angry. She can be a "mommy villainess" when it comes to protecting her children, you know? You wouldn't want her as an enemy."

"This is going to be tough," she complained while shaking her head. "I don't think the Supreme would allow Julian to"

She trailed-off when she felt shivers down her spine because of the aura that made its presence known all of a sudden.

It seemed like Lady Luna also felt that.

"They're here," Solenn said seriously. "They nasty siblings have finally arrived."

***

TILLY's black wings disappeared when her feathers ran out.

Every single ice puppet right now had a black feather glued to their chest right now. As soon as the ice around their heart melted due to remorse, her spell would take effect. In fact, it was already working.

Some of the ice puppets were already melting.

"Mom, I've always known this but you're truly amazing," Winter said with shining eyes. "I want to learn how to create curse, too."

"Me too, Mother," Julian said shyly. "I want to learn from you."

She smiled and was about to give her children a response when all of a sudden, they felt a presence that they wouldn't mistake for someone else.

All of a sudden, Kiho was standing protectively in front of her and their kids.

"It's nice to see you again, Kiho," Aku Moonchester greeted them cheerfully. "You too, Lady Nystrom and the young lords."

Nia Moonchester, who stood behind the emperor quietly, just looked at them with cold eyes.

"I'm glad you made it safely here," she said. They were enemies but since they made a binding vow that brought them a ceasefire, being civil to them was only good manners. "Winter, Julian, greet our esteemed guests."

Julian and Winter bowed politely. "Greetings, Your Majesty and Lady Moonchester."

Ah, right.

Nia Moonchester, despite gaining some sort of freedom, was still stripped off her title as the royal princess.

Good job, my precious little cinnamon rolls.

The sudden hostility in Aku Moonchester's aura made it clear that he didn't like how the children greeted his "beloved."

But the hostile aura disappeared when Kiho released his bloodlust directed at the emperor.

"Hey, I'm not here to fight with you. At least, not for now," Aku Moonchester said, back in his "carefree" personality. "I brought King Crabs, lobsters, and other seafood that your family seem to love." He smiled at them and if they didn't know better, they'd think he was being genuine. "Shall we have a feast tonight?"

Tilly wanted to be sarcastic but the thought of eating her favorite seafood made her stomach growl a little too loudly.

Everyone (except for the ice puppets) turned to her, making her cheeks flush from embarrassment.

Gosh, I missed eating seafood so bad!

"Your offer doesn't sound so bad, Aku Moonchester," Tilly said while trying to keep a straight face to hide her embarrassment. "The King Crabs are innocent so I will accept your offerings."

Kiho turned to her, his eyes sparkling with playfulness. Then, he mouthed her the words that she rarely heard from him these days. "Goddess of crabs."

***

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