Chapter 717 ROYAL SCANDAL (12)
THE SKY SUDDENLY turned dark.
Hence, it was inevitable for the citizens of the Great Moonasterion Empire to feel scared and take it as an ominous sign.
The people outside the courthouse, the ones left in the plaza, and even the people at home.
Almost everyone all over the empire could see what was happening inside the courtroom because of the mysterious giant screens that appeared out of nowhere. It was common for nobles to use advanced devices like those, but not for the commoners.
But the awe of the people quickly turned into shock and worry while watching what was happening inside the courtroom.
Everyone was in disbelief after Princess Neoma ordered the future Crown Princess Hanna Quinzel to bring the "old hag" to her– and the "old hag" turned out to be the Empress Dowager. After that, the royal princess ordered her people to put something in the Empress Dowager's mouth.
And it turned out to be an Arwin Pill.
Princess Neoma then consumed one, then claimed the Empress Dowager was a fake.
Despite the ridiculous claim, the Empress Dowager remained silent as if she was afraid to speak while Prince Calyx argued that the Arwin Pills might not be genuine Arwin Pills.
"The First Prince is right! How can we tell if those were real Arwin Pills?"
"Moreover, can we really trust the royal princess who just appeared out of nowhere?"
"But Emperor Nikolai and Lady Roseheart are there, and their presence practically confirmed that Princess Neoma is indeed a royal princess…"
"Her Royal Highness' identity doesn't matter here."
"Don't forget the reason for this trial in the first place! This is happening because Princess Neoma claimed that she acted as Prince Nero before!"
"That's right. This could be Emperor Nikolai's ploy to get back in power."
"I agree! Perhaps His Majesty is also trying to overthrow the Empress Dowager to make Lady Roseheart the empress once he reclaims the throne!"
"If that's the case, then why doesn't the Empress Dowager just refute Princess Neoma's claims?"
"Maybe the Empress Dowager is afraid…"
"Fool! What if Princess Neoma gave the Empress Dowager a pill that prevents the Empress Dowager from talking?"
"Ah, that's possible."
The opinion of the citizens was divided, but it was apparent that most people sided with the First Prince and the Empress Dowager.
Then, suddenly, the High Priestess of the Alethea Temple appeared.
After that, Princess Neoma claimed she would summon the Goddess of Truth.
"Is it possible to summon a god?!"
"Don't forget that Princess Neoma is also a Roseheart. The young generation doesn't remember the Rosehearts anymore, but the old generation does. You should know that the Rosehearts are the greatest Summoners in the world."
"The Rosehearts can summon both Spirits and gods!"
But, out of nowhere, a young man claiming to be the God Slayer appeared and threatened Princess Neoma.
"What is happening now?"
"Apparently, Princess Neoma doesn't have the right to summon gods!"
"I didn't even know the existence of a God Slayer until now…"
"The God Slayer isn't known here on the Western Continent, but most people from the Eastern Continent do. I'm from the East, so I've heard about the God Slayer. Apparently, he's the divine son of a powerful god."
"I don't trust Princess Neoma yet, but she's still the empire's one and only royal princess! How dare a foreigner point a weapon at Her Royal Highness?!"
"That's right! I don't care if he's the divine son of a god. The de Moonasterios are the direct descendant of Lord Yule– the Moon God! The Royal Family is the pride of the empire! They have protected us all this time!"
"Don't threaten our royal princess!"
"Leave Princess Neoma alone!"
The people cheered as Princess Neoma blocked the foreigner's arrows.
But everyone got nervous when Princess Neoma's shield began to crack while Her Royal Highness was being pushed back.
Fortunately, an unidentified man appeared and took the foreigner out.
"That must be one of Princess Neoma's people."
"The royal princess has some reliable servants, huh?"
"That's not surprising since a lot of talented individuals would kill for a chance to serve the de Moonasterios directly."
After the God Slayer or whatever he was disappeared, Princess Neoma continued with her plan to summon the Goddess of Truth.
A pink cape appeared and hugged Princess Neoma's body.
"That cape has a strange color, but isn't that an emperor's cape?"
"It even has the symbol of the Royal Family."
"It's an old design, though."
<"Answer my call, Goddess Alethea. I, Neoma Roseheart de Moonasterio, summon you to the human world in accordance with the promise you made with Primo de Moonasterio--- the First Emperor of the Great Moonasterion Empire!">
A collective gasp was heard everywhere after hearing what Princess Neoma said.
Most people only knew the Alethea Temple for its Arwin Pills that were often used to make criminals confess their crimes. But most citizens of the empire only worshipped Lord Yule, the Moon God. And they were loyal to the god they chose to serve.
Hence, the citizens of the empire weren't really interested in other gods.
Having said that, it didn't mean they wouldn't be flustered or indifferent upon the descent of a god– regardless of their beliefs.
A god was still a god, after all.
"T-There it is!"
The people looked up at the sky.
And there they saw it.
A pair of glowing red orbs was floating in the sky, looking down at the courthouse.
Everyone could instinctively tell that they were looking at a god's eyes. Divine power was something that one couldn't fake or imitate. Hence, even though it was their first time seeing a god in that form, they instantly knew what they were looking at.
"Princess Neoma really did it…"
"Our royal princess summoned a god…"
"And it's the Goddess of Truth– which means we're about to find the truth now!"
***
COUGH.
Neoma clicked her tongue after coughing up blood.
Goddammit.
[When did I get so fucking weak? Does summoning a god really put a toll on my body? Me, who prides herself on being strong and powerful, coughing up blood just after summoning a god? Gosh. I'm so embarrassed.]
"Princess Neoma."
Neoma turned to Lewis and took the handkerchief that he handed to her. "Thank you, Lewis," she said while wiping off the blood in her mouth using Lewis' handkerchief. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not dying."
[Well, not yet.]
Lewis let out a sigh. "Princess Neoma, please don't say something that will make me want to go on a killing spree."
Gosh, so vicious.
Neoma ignored Lewis' scary remark, then she looked up at the pair of red orbs looking down at her.
<"Young princess, you summoned me using the blessing that I gave the First Emperor.">
"That, I did," Neoma said, speaking politely to the goddess. It was weird to hear Goddess Alethea's voice when only her eyes were visible. Gods really had a strange way of appearing in the human world. "I guess even with Emperor Primo's help, you still cannot descend to the human world in your full form, Goddess Alethea."
<"Gods aren't allowed to descend to the human world in their real form.">
Neoma was about to get straight to the point when she heard a soft thud beside her.
She turned to her side and was a little surprised to see High Priestess Alethea kneeling on the floor with her hands clasped together as if she was praying.
[Of course, she's praying.]
<"That child is a child I treasure, young princess. I'm still appalled that you threatened to cut my connection to the person leading my temple. You may be a de Moonasterio, and you may have the First Emperor's blessing, but that doesn't give you the right to touch my people.">
"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Goddess Alethea," Neoma said defensively. "I already apologized to the High Priestess."
<"Are you not going to apologize to me, young princess?">
"I don't think I did something that warrants an apology to you, Goddess Alethea."
<"As expected, you're as arrogant as your predecessors.">
"Arrogance is something that runs through my veins, I'm afraid," Neoma said, then she quickly changed the topic. "Goddess Alethea, I'm here to offer you a deal."
<"Offer me a deal? I was under the impression you summoned me here to ask for my help.">
"If I simply asked for your help, a certain strict God Slayer would chew me out because, apparently, asking gods to be involved with human affairs directly is against the rules," she said. "But if I borrowed your power under a fair contract, then doesn't it mean you're not getting involved directly? After all, how I use the power I borrowed from you is up to my discretion. Rosehearts have the right to form contracts with gods and Spirits, and I am a Roseheart."
She had to avoid giving Ruto a reason to treat her like a criminal at all costs.
Even if that meant taking advantage of the loopholes she found in Levi's rules.
<"You're not wrong, but I don't think you can offer me something worthy for me to make a deal with you, young princess.">
"Pollution."
<"…">
Neoma smirked when the goddess suddenly fell silent. "Should we talk somewhere private, Goddess Alethea?"
<"Come here, young princess.">
***
HANNA was surprised when Neoma suddenly collapsed.
Fortunately, Lewis caught her.
[Thank goodness.]
"Tsk," Trevor clicked his tongue, and the demon boy was probably annoyed that Lewis caught Neoma first. "It seems like the goddess took Princess Neoma's soul to her domain."
"I'm worried, though," Dahlia commented. "The offer that Princess Neoma is going to make…"
The Black Witch didn't finish her sentence.
And it was the right thing to do.
After all, Calyx and the fake Empress Dowager could hear them talking.
[Their silence is bothering me, so I should keep an eye on them.]
"Princess Neoma will be fine," Hanna said, addressing Neoma formally in front of an audience. "I believe Goddess Alethea wouldn't be able to turn her offer down."
***
[IT'S A FUCKING wasteland here.]
Neoma didn't know what to expect when Goddess Alethea summoned her to her domain.
But she sure didn't expect the goddess' domain to be covered with Darkness in gas form.
It looked like the entire place used to be a beautiful field. But the trees, plants, flowers, and even the grass were all dead. The soil was dry, and so was the river. There was no living thing in there.
Well, except for the lady standing in front of her.
It was Goddess Alethea.
Brown hair, tan skin, white robe. The goddess' eyes were covered with a white lacey blindfold. She was barefoot, and it seemed like her feet were bleeding.
It was probably because Goddess Alethea was standing on Darkness.
"You can't purify it, my lady?" Neoma asked, confused. "I'm sure you at least have the power to avoid the Darkness."
"It's no use, young princess," Goddess Alethea said. "No matter how many times I purify the Darkness that invaded my domain, it just comes back. I do not have enough divine power to purify them every time. As you know, the gods gain their divine power from their believers. Unfortunately, I don't have many devotees like major gods do."
The goddess was in mid-level, and yet she couldn't purify the Darkness that invaded her domain.
[Which means most minor gods have probably perished already.]
"This is the pollution that you mentioned earlier, isn't it?" Goddess Alethea asked carefully. "Young princess, are you implying that you can purify the Darkness that's killing my domain?"
Neoma clenched her hands tight.
To be honest, she didn't want to reveal her power as a "premium air purifier." But she had no choice. She had to borrow Goddess Alethea's power 'legally' to avoid having a dispute with Ruto.
It was not like all hopes were lost, though.
"I can purify your domain, Goddess Alethea," Neoma said, unclenching her hands. "But can you keep it a secret?"
***
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