713 ROYAL SCANDAL (8)
[WE MADE it in time.]
Paige was glad that the stampede was stopped before it caused more people to get hurt.
Fortunately, no one died.
[It’s all thanks to Greko’s healing ability.]
Moreover, she also had to commend the royal guards who quickly moved and helped stop the stampede from getting worse. It was followed by the arrival of Healers and doctors.
Half an hour later, the situation had been contained.
[But the people who helped the most, aside from our group, were Emperor Nikolai and Lady Roseheart.]
Lady Mona Roseheart lifted almost half of the crowd stuck in the stampede, then safely put those people on the huge platform made of clouds (courtesy of Jeno). Then Emperor Nikolai brought those who could still walk to the courthouse.
Hence, when the palace people arrived, they easily contained the situation.
.....
Now there were several tents all over the plaza. Many Healers, doctors, and even Healing Sages had come. Even so, there were still so many victims that needed medical attention. Paige wanted to continue helping them, but…
[I’m sorry, we have a job to do.]
Paige and her “siblings” still had to perform their original task: to install large screens that would serve as a projector. Of course, the screens would ‘broadcast’ (a word she learned from Princess Neoma) the ‘live feed’ from inside the courtroom.
[The ‘livefeed’ will come from Lady Hanna who’s secretly recording the happenings inside the courtroom.]
“Paige, the screens are installed properly,” Jeno reported to her. “Xion and I will guard the screens properly so that the crow bastards won’t be able to destroy them, just in case the crows are still lurking around. What should we do next?”
“Should we head to the courthouse?” Juri asked while pointing at herself and Greko. “Princess Neoma and Lewis aren’t alone, but we should still be there as support. Are you going to where Dion and the Holy Knights are, Paige?”
Paige nodded in response to Juri’s question. “Dion is currently taking care of the Holy Knights who have been turned into children. He’s with Hendrik Benedict, but Princess Neoma wants me to protect them in her stead.”
But she knew that Princess Neoma was also doing that so she’d be reunited with Dion.
[Princess Neoma is really considerate of her people.]
“Then you should hurry,” Juri said, then she turned to Greko. “Are you done with your job, our little doctor?”
Greko smiled his famous refreshing smile that could heal even the most wounded heart. “Yes, noona. The Healers sent by the palace are doing a good job.”
Aww.
They were all healed by Greko’s smile and innocence.
“You should activate the screens and go ahead, Paige,” Xion urged her. “Do it while the people around us are still busy.”
Paige nodded, then she summoned her White Parasol.
After grabbing her weapon, she hit the barely visible turquoise gem embedded in the pavement. Then the other turquoise gems began lighting up one by one until the two giant floating screens activated.
[Princess Neoma would often call those screens a ‘television’ or ‘projector.’]
The static sound caught the attention of everyone near the giant screens.
Soon, almost everyone was already looking up at the flickering light on the screens before the image became clear.
“Eomma!”
It was Greko who screamed, and the scene that greeted them as soon as the broadcast began was indeed shocking.
Princess Neoma fell to the floor, and it didn’t look like an act.
It was real.
The paleness of Princess Neoma’s face, the pain in her eyes… everything looked genuine.
[Our Princess Neoma is in pain…!]
“Forget guarding the screens,” Paige said in an urgent voice. “All of us are heading to the courthouse– now!”
[I’m sorry, Dion, but please wait for a bit more for me…]
***
DAHLIA didn’t want to, but she was forced to hug Trevor’s arm to stop him from going berserk.
[He’s too strong…!]
They had just returned to the Royal Capital when they were greeted by giant screens that showed Princess Neoma collapsing to the floor– while in obvious pain.
Of course, seeing that almost made Trevor go insane.
But if the demon boy lost it now, the already injured people in the plaza below them– as the two of them were floating above; riding Lapiz to the courthouse in invisible mode– then the innocent citizens would get hurt.
“Lord Trevor, I know it’s hard, but please hold back your anger!” Dahlia yelled. She didn’t like raising her voice, but she had to because it looked like Trevor could neither see nor hear anything at the moment because he was angry. “Princess Neoma will be fine! Emperor Nikolai and Lady Mona are there! They won’t let something bad happen to Princess Neoma!”
“Miss Dahlia, let go,” Trevor warned her lightly. “I’m not myself at the moment, and I don’t want to accidentally cut off your hand.”
“Don’t worry about that, Lord Trevor– you can’t even if you tried.”
She wasn’t being arrogant– she just merely stated a fact.
Of course, Trevor was really powerful. But she was not that weak to allow the demon to cut off her hand “accidentally.” She had a reputation to protect as the last Black Witch in the world.
“I thought you were meek, but it turns out you have a backbone,” Trevor said, looking down at her hand on his arm. “I’m calm now, Miss Dahlia. Thank you for snapping me back to reality by being savage.”
Dahlia immediately let go of Trevor’s arm, a little surprised to hear him talking the way Princess Neoma would. “I’m glad you’re back to normal, Lord Trevor.”
“Well, it’s thanks to you being calm.”
She chuckled at his response. “Then I’m glad that I look calm on the outside.”
“Hmm?”
“Princess Neoma isn’t the type of person who’d fall to the ground easily– especially not in front of her loved ones. She’s the type to hide her pain,” Dahlia said worriedly. “The fact that she dropped like that only means she was caught off guard.”
Trevor clenched his jaws, his eyes glowing menacingly. “Let’s hurry before I totally lose it.”
***
<“YOU PIECE OF SHIT! How dare you hurt our Princess Neoma?! Just wait! Once I get my hands on you, I’ll break your fucking kneecaps before end worthless life!”>
Jasper had to literally hold back Duckie, in his duck form, from attacking Prince Calyx.
As soon as they entered the courtroom, the first thing that they saw was Princess Neoma falling to the floor. And she looked like she was in pain.
Of course, Jasper was flustered.
He also wanted to kill Prince Calyx.
But he couldn’t let Duckie attack the fake First Prince in front of all those people. Moreover, he knew that the entire scene was being broadcasted live.
[Ah, the words I learn from Princess Neoma…]
“You’re lucky normal people can’t understand your words in that form,” Gin, in his human form, said while covering Duckie’s beak with his hand. “Shut up, duck. Cursing the fake prince will only put Princess Neoma in jeopardy.”
“Gin is right, Duckie,” Jasper said while hugging Duckie tighter because even though the duck already shut his mouth, he was still trying to wriggle out of his grasp. “I understand what you’re feeling, trust me. But the best way to help Princess Neoma is to do our job well.”
“You calm down, too,” Gin said, flicking Jasper’s forehead. “Princess Neoma will be fine.”
“I know,” Jasper said, sighing. “That’s why I’m holding back.”
***
GLENN was torn between consoling his crying children and stopping Brigitte from pulling out a gun.
Monik and Skylus suddenly cried when Princess Neoma collapsed. Then Claude, who saw his older sister and older cry, also burst out crying even though Claude obviously didn’t know why his older siblings were crying.
[I’m worried and confused, too. Of course, I know that they’re worried about Princess Neoma. But Skylus and Monik don’t cry easily…]
He wanted to ask his children, but they were surrounded by other nobles.
Glenn was just comforted by the fact that Lord Manu remained calm.
“Daddy,” Skylus called him between sobs, clinging to his sleeve. “Daddy, a grandfather doesn’t abandon his granddaughter, right?”
Uh, he didn’t know how to answer that.
[Skylus, my son, your own grandfather… was disowned by his own son.]
Skylus looked betrayed by his lack of reaction. “It can’t be, Daddy. Lord Yule can’t abandon Neoma noona. I don’t want to serve a god who abandons Neoma noona…”
Glenn felt a chill down his spine.
Even Brigitte and Lord Manu who were listening looked shocked by what Skylus said.
.....
[Lord Yule is abandoning Princess Neoma?!]
***
SLAP.
To say Nero was surprised when Hanna slapped him across the cheek would be an understatement.
He was wondering why his lovely fiancée suddenly covered the entire second floor with her Shadow Veil. And now he got the answer: to slap him without anyone noticing. Everyone was focused on Neoma who fell to the floor anyway.
“Ah, is that it?” Nero asked indifferently, touching the cheek that Hanna slapped. He didn’t want to admit this, but it stung. “Did you slap me because of Neoma?”
“I don’t condone violence, but your violence deserves to be answered with violence,” Hanna said coldly, her green eyes glowing menacingly. “If something bad happens to Neoma, forget about marrying me. I’ll make sure the Quinzels will never let you ascend to the throne.”
“Is that a threat?”
“A promise, if you may– so look forward to it.”
Nero frowned after realizing that Hanna was serious.
The threat worked, of course.
[It was hard for the public to accept me as the Crown Prince when Calyx exists. After all, Calyx is the son of the empress, while I’m the son of a Roseheart that most nobles in power hate. If the Quinzels didn’t have my back, then I may have lost my position to Calyx.]
“Lady Hanna, don’t you think you’re being disrespectful to the Crown Prince right in front of your mother-in-law?”
It was the Empress Dowager.
Nero’s knights were pushed out when Hanna created the Shadow Veil, but not the Empress Dowager who had the power to block the shadows.
Hanna turned to the Empress Dowager with a smile on her face, the Shadow Veil slowly vanishing into thin air. “With all due respect, my mother-in-law is sitting in the front row, Your Majesty. And I’m sure Lady Mona would understand me.”
After saying her piece, Hanna returned to her seat calmly as if she didn’t slap Nero and disrespected the Empress Dowager.
[Hanna has changed, huh?]
His meek and obedient fiancée was gone.
“It seems like Lady Hanna is upset,” the Empress Dowager said. “Are you alright, Nero?”
“I’m fine, Your Majesty,” Nero said, addressing the Empress Dowager formally now that they didn’t have an audience. He only enjoyed calling the Empress Dowager ‘Imperial Mother’ in front of his parents because he liked seeing them in pain. “I’ll come down and support Calyx.”
***
MONA almost lost her mind when she saw Neoma collapse while in pain.
But she immediately got a hold of herself when Nikolai and Lewis both stood up, obviously with the intention to kill Calyx.
[One of us has to stay sane.]
She grabbed each of Nikolai and Lewis’ arms with her hands.
It wasn’t easy to stop two men on the verge of losing their minds by simply grabbing them. Hence, she had to use force. If Nikolai and Lewis were both average Mana users, she would have already broken their arms.
But Nikolai and Lewis were both fine.
[At least, they stopped.]
And Mona had a reason to stop Nikolai and Lewis.
“Father, Mother, you shouldn’t be too obvious that you favor Neoma over me.”
Yes, it was Nero.
Her son appeared in front of them, blocking their way, as if he knew they would move to attack Calyx as soon as Neoma fell to the floor.
“Nero, what are you talking about?” Nikolai asked, frowning. “Don’t make it sound like we’re being unfair to you by protecting your twin sister.”
“Neoma isn’t in danger,” Nero said. “We’re just following proper procedures here, Father.”
“Nero is correct, Father,” Calyx, who was obviously listening to the conversation, explained then. “The shackles are meant to separate Princess Neoma’s Soul Beast from her soul. Unfortunately, it’s a painful process. I understand why you’re worried, but it’s something Princess Neoma has to go through as the accused. It won’t kill her, so please calm down.”
If the item didn’t come from the crows, then maybe she would be a bit at ease.
But that wasn’t the case.
“You look like you can’t trust us, Mother,” Nero said in a mocking tone while giving Mona a look full of hurt. “Do you think I’ll kill your favorite daughter in front of all these people?”
Mona’s chest tightened from the pain.
It was obvious that Nero resented her the most.
[This Nero is so different from the Nero who cried for me in the past. It’s clear that he hates me right now. I don’t know how to deal with him without hurting him further…]
“Nero, watch how you speak to your mother,” Nikolai scolded their son. “I don’t have the patience of a saint.”
“I know, Father,” Nero said, looking at Nikolai coldly. “I also know that you love Mother more than you love your children.”
Mona could only bite her bottom lip.
[This Nero is full of resentment…]
She couldn’t blame her son, hence she didn’t know how to handle the situation.
“You should be aware of one more thing, Prince Nero,” Lewis said in a low yet angry voice. “It’s not just your parents who favor Princess Neoma over you. I don’t care if you’re the Crown Prince, or if Princess Neoma treasures you as her twin brother. If something bad happens to my princess, you and that crow bastard are dead.”
Nero’s eyes turned glowing red while glaring at Lewis.
Mona was a little taken aback.
[This is the first time I heard Lewis talk so much.]
“Please stop threatening each other,” Calyx said cheerfully. “Look, Princess Neoma is already standing.”
Mona turned to her daughter and, much to her relief, Neoma was indeed standing already.
But her relief was short-lived.
[Neoma looks so pale I won’t be surprised if she faints again…]
***
[IT FUCKING hurts.]
Neoma was standing, but every inch of her body hurt like her.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
[Tteokbokki and Grandpa Kingston are sealed.]
She couldn’t connect to her Soul Beast and Elemental Guardian anymore. Clearly, the two had been cut off from her.
[All because of these damned shackles.]
But that wasn’t the strange part.
She could feel a needle-like object flowing through her veins. Hence, her insides felt like they were being pricked by hundreds of needles. She couldn’t do anything about it since Tteokbokki was usually in charge of getting rid of foreign objects in her body.
[They got me good this time.]
“Are you alright, Princess Neoma?” Calyx asked in a fake concerned voice. “Shall we continue?”
SNAP.
That was the sound of Neoma’s sanity snapping.
It was similar to her Lunacy coming back, forcing her to make ridiculous choices that she may or may not regret later.
But fuck it all.
[I’m done playing the good girl that I’m not.]
“Before we continue, let’s change the person in charge,” Neoma said, confusing Calyx. But she ignored the crow bastard as she looked up at the second floor of the courtroom. “Hanna, drag the old hag down.”
She heard a collective gasp from the audience because there was only one “old hag” in the second floor.
Hanna stood up and smiled. “As you command, Princess Neoma.”
“Hanna!” Nero yelled angrily. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
Neoma scoffed at her twin brother’s outburst. “Following me, duh.”
Hanna jumped off the second floor, a huge shadow of a snake wrapping itself around the fake Empress Juliet.
The Empress Dowager didn’t fight back and just let Hanna bring her in front of Neoma.
“Are you sure about this, Princess Neoma?” the fake Empress Juliet asked while standing in front of her. “You’ll regret this.”
“Stop this absurdity!” Marquis Vincent Lennox yelled. “Princess Neoma!”
“Oh, shut up,” Neoma said, annoyed. “Lewis!”
She didn’t have to say anything else.
Lewis immediately moved to stop Marquis Lennox and the other members of the Twelve Golden Families who were obviously on the fake Empress Dowager’s side.
[My “son” is enough for them.]
Duke Rufus Quinzel was there, too.
Neoma ignored the chaos because she finally felt the presence of the people she was waiting for. “Trevor, Dahlia!”
The two that she called appeared out of thin air, standing on either side of the fake Empress Juliet.
“What are you trying to do now, Princess Neoma?” Calyx asked while approaching her. “Have you truly lost your mind?”
Neoma ignored the crow bastard.
Hanna stopped Calyx in her place anyway.
“Do it,” Neoma said to Trevor and Dahlia. “Now.”
“As you wish, my Moon Princess.”
Trevor then grabbed the fake Empress Juliet’s face and forced her to open her mouth.
Then Dahlia quickly put a pill inside the Empress Dowager’s mouth while Trevor was using force to keep the fake Empress Juliet in place.
Of course, that didn’t mean the Empress Dowager would simply swallow it.
“Swallow it,” Trevor growled lowly, putting a hand on the fake Empress Juliet’s chest. “You old hag.”
A small amount of force came out of Trevor’s hand.
Then Dahlia put a hand on the fake Empress Juliet’s back.
And, just like that, the Empress Dowager was forced to swallow the pill.
“Don’t worry. It’s not poison,” Neoma said while combing her fingers through her bangs that were messed up when she fell earlier. “It’s called ‘Anwir Pill.'”
Everyone in the courtroom at the moment was aware of what an Anwir Pill was.
Hence, the loud collective gasp and murmuring.
“How dare you make my Imperial Mother take a pill meant for criminals to confess their crimes!” Calyx yelled angrily. “There’s no need for trial anymore! You’re guilty of treason, Princess Neoma!”
“I told you– I’m changing the person in charge of the trial,” Neoma said, approaching Trevor and extending her hand to him. “Give it to me.”
Trevor sighed before putting a piece of Anwir Pill on her palm.
Neoma then took the pill.
Dahlia gasped softly. “Princess Neoma…”
Even Calyx was dumbfounded.
“The Anwir Pills are the equivalent of a truth serum. If you take an Anwir Pill, you’d die if you lie,” Neoma said casually. “That’s why I’m going to use this opportunity to let everyone know that the Empress Juliet you see is nothing but a fake.”
It wasn’t just a collective gasp this time.
Everyone was thrown into an uproar when Neoma remained standing after accusing the Empress Dowager of being a fake.
“Princess Neoma is still alive after her claim…”
“Does it mean Her Royal Highness is telling the truth?”
“The Empress Dowager is a fake…?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Princess Neoma,” Calyx growled at her. “Do you think we’ll believe you just because you claim that the pill you took is an Anwir Pill?”
“Then I’ll prove it to you.”
“What?”
“I’ll show everyone here that the pills the fake Empress Dowager and I took were authentic Anwir Pills,” she said, smirking while hiding the fact that she was dying inside from pain.
The needle-like object roaming inside her body seemed to have found its target already.
[Why is it in my stomach…?]
“How?” Calyx asked, distracting Neoma. “How will you prove it?”
Neoma laughed like a villainess. “Calyx, shall we drag the gods in our little political strife?”
***
<“AS THE God Slayer, your duty this time is to eliminate Neoma de Moonasterio if she crossed the line.”>
Ruto was wondering why he was summoned by Lord Levi, his divine father.
Hence, instead of going to the courtroom as planned, he had to make a detour and go to the ‘Nameless Temple’ in the Royal Capital.
It was a temple for every god in existence.
Hence, he was able to communicate with his divine father more effectively.
“Can I do that, my lord?” Ruto asked indifferently. “Isn’t Princess Neoma loved by Lord Yule, the Moon God himself?”
Lord Levi took a moment before responding.
<“Yule isn’t in the position to worry about his descendants, my son.”>
***
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