NIKOLAI observed as Abigail Barlowe, the Royal Archmage, heal the severely injured members of the Twelve Golden Families.
[Yes, they'll be fine.]
Count Sean Dankworth wasn't hurt, but he was already asleep again– on the dirty floor. Hence, Marquis Lawford Gibson was busy waking the count.
[Those two haven't changed at all.]
"Your Majesty, the Black Hawk Knights are already stationed both outside of the courthouse and around the plaza," Rufus Quinzel reported to him. "I will personally escort Your Majesty and the entire Royal Family."
Right.
His Paladins were still scattered because of the tasks that Neoma gave them.
[I lent Neoma my power over my Paladins, after all.]
Anyway, he let the people know earlier that he would come out and personally greet them with his family. But they couldn't come out of the courtroom right away because there were still some things that they needed to do first.
"Alright," Nikolai said, nodding. "We'll come out in a while."
Mona was still busy talking with Glenn's family, while Nero and Neoma were still fighting– uh, discussing something important.
"Duke Hawthorne, I will the courtroom to you then," Nikolai said, turning to the young duke. "Keep an eye on Marquis Lennox and the members of the Noble Faction. Make sure that they won't do anything stupid."
Duke Jasper Hawthorne, who was holding a duck in his arms and standing beside Gin, nodded politely. "As you command, Your Majesty."
He was aware that Duke Hawthorne didn't like him as an emperor.
But there was only one reason why the young duke was being obedient to him.
[It's definitely because of Neoma.]
Nikolai could already picture how the political feud between Nero and Neoma would unfold if the two decided to fight for the throne.
[Nero has the support of the old nobles because he's a male heir, while Neoma has the support of the youngest generation. I also have a feeling that Neoma will become more popular with the public.]
His thought process was interrupted when, all of a sudden, he felt Mona's Mana drop.
Nikolai immediately turned to see Mona almost collapsing.
[Mona!]
***
"LADY ROSEHEART, we shall retire for today. Can we bring Empress Juliet's body with us?"
Mona smiled and nodded at Queen Brigitte's request. "Of course, Your Majesty."
According to the queen, it was Monik's request for the Griffiths to take care of Juliet's body.
[Dahlia used her ability earlier and put Juliet inside a semi-transparent tank to keep the body safe.]
Monik no longer had memories of her past life, but the priestess must have felt her connection to the former empress' vessel.
"Thank you, Lady Roseheart," Queen Brigitte said. "And thank you for letting Miss Dahlia escort us."
"We're only doing the right thing, Your Majesty," Mona said, smiling. Then she turned to Dahlia. "To be honest, we are also grateful to Miss Dahlia. She doesn't have to do this, but she's gracious enough to accept our request."
Queen Brigitte nodded in agreement. "You've been taking good care of us from the beginning, Miss Dahlia. Thank you very much."
Dahlia's face turned red as if she was embarrassed. "It's nothing, Queen Brigitte, Lady Mona. I actually feel attached to Princess Monik, Prince Skylus, and Prince Claude. Hence, I never felt that protecting them is a job."
Even so, Mona was still grateful.
Nikolai's Paladins weren't at the Royal Capital yet.
On the other hand, it wouldn't be right to borrow Neoma and Nero's knights.
They couldn't trust the remaining royal knights yet after serving Calyx and the fake Juliet for so long.
Hence, she thought Dahlia was the best person to escort the Griffiths.
[The Griffiths don't really need an escort since Glenn is more than capable of protecting his family, but it won't hurt to add someone to their security detail.]
Glenn and Queen Brigitte actually brought their own security detail.
But the royal knights from the Hazelden Kingdom were stuck in the Imperial Palace when the fake saint tried to stop Glenn and the queen from leaving their room earlier.
[I would reward Miss Dahlia handsomely later.]
Mona remembered that she was supposed to go to Dahlia's territory before to investigate the 'Blood Ocean.' But she failed to fulfill her end of the deal because she was forced to leave the empire five years ago.
[I should honor my promise to Miss Dahlia, even if I'm five years late.]
"Lady Mona, may I introduce my children to you formally?" Glenn asked excitedly. "Actually, the kids want to introduce themselves to you, my lady."
Monik, Skylus, and Claude were actually looking up at Mona with sparkling eyes.
[Aww… they're so cute!]
Mona couldn't help but chuckle at how cute the babies were. "Of course, Your Majesty," she said, addressing Glenn formally. "That would be lovely."
Glenn smiled widely, then he turned to his children and nodded at them encouragingly.
"Greetings, Lady Roseheart!" Monik greeted her cheerfully. "I'm Monik Griffiths– the First Princess of the Hazelden Kingdom!"
Mona became emotional after hearing Monik's cheerful introduction.
[She's safe and happy in her new life. I'm glad for you, Juliet.]
"I'm Skylus Griffiths– the First Prince of the Hazelden Kingdom," Skylus said in a calm voice, smiling warmly at her. "And I'm the new saint of the Astello Temple, Lady Roseheart."
[That's right, baby. Claim it. You are the one and only new saint of the Moon God.]
"M-My name is Claude Griffiths. I'm the Second Prince of the Hazelden Kingdom," Claude said shyly. "I-I love my older sister, older brother, and baby sibling, Lady Roseheart."
Mona smiled and nodded. "I'm sure your siblings love you, too, Prince Claude."
"Of course!" Monik and Skylus said energetically at the same time, both hugging Claude. "We love you, Claude!"
Glenn's eyes were suddenly brimming with tears.
[Ah, Nikolai's former 'Mad Dog' has now become a crybaby after being a father.]
"Lady Roseheart, this is our baby sibling," Monik said, gently and carefully touching Queen Brigitte's baby bump. "We can't wait for our baby sibling to be born!"
Mona smiled…
… but that smile quickly disappeared.
Even without looking at the mirror, she could already tell that her icy blue eyes were glowing.
After all, unfamiliar images suddenly flooded her mind.
[A vision?]
She was surprised because this was the first time she had seen a vision after a long while. In fact, she honestly thought she already lost her ability to see a glimpse of the future.
"Lady Mona!"
She only realized that she was falling when Glenn tried to catch her.
But it wasn't needed.
Mona's back hit a familiar strong and warm chest. Even without looking over her shoulder, she could already tell who caught her from behind. "I'm fine, Nikolai."
"What happened?" Nikolai asked worriedly while helping her stand properly. "Are you hurt, Mona?"
"No, I'm not hurt," Mona said while shaking her head. Then her gaze fell on Queen Brigitte's baby bump. "I just saw a vision."
A silence ensued.
Since Mona was looking at the queen's baby bump, everyone could probably tell that the vision she saw was related to the unborn child.
"Lady Roseheart, may I know what you saw?" Queen Brigitte asked worriedly while wrapping her arms around her baby bump. "Is it related to my baby?"
Skylus and Monik, who could also see visions, looked confused.
[The two probably never saw anything related to their unborn sibling.]
Only the innocent Claude looked clueless.
[I shouldn't talk about the vision in front of the children.]
Mona then turned to Dahlia.
Fortunately, the Black Witch was quick to catch on.
"Princess Monik, Prince Skylus, Prince Claude, let's play," Dahlia said cheerfully. "I'll show you Lapiz' new trick." The Black Witch then turned to the king and queen. "Will that be alright, Your Majesties?"
With Glenn and Queen Brigitte's permission, Dahlia took the children with her.
"The baby is safe, and will be safely born," Mona said carefully, looking at Queen Brigitte intently. "However, I'm afraid you can't give birth to the child in Hazelden, Your Majesty."
Of course, Queen Brigitte looked confused. "Why can't I give birth to my child in our kingdom, Your Majesty?"
"The blood of Extons that run in the child's veins is too thick," Mona said, turning to Glenn this time. "Glenn– I mean, Your Majesty. The child must be delivered in your family's estate."
Glenn, who realized what it meant, clenched his jaw and shut his eyes tightly.
Nikolai could only give his friend a sympathizing pat on the shoulder.
***
"HEY, do I look pretty?" Neoma asked while tugging the sleeve of Nero's suit. "No, I asked the wrong question since I'm always pretty. What I mean to ask is whether I look haggard or not. So, do I?"
Nero frowned. "Why are you asking me? I'm not the only person here."
Mama Boss and Papa Boss were walking in front of them (with Duke Rufus Quinzel and a few Black Hawk Knights serving as their escort knights).
Their parents could hear them talking, of course.
But Mama Boss and Papa Boss didn't turn to them as if their parents didn't want to interrupt their sibling bonding time.
[At least, Nero isn't hostile to us now.]
Sadly, it wasn't because her twin brother was warming up to them.
It was more of Nero acting like a Crown Prince who refused to let go of his power. Since Calyx and the fake Empress Dowager were already kicked out, Nero had to solidify his position as the successor by sticking to Papa Boss.
[Now that the fake Empress Dowager was gone, Papa Boss will get reinstated as the emperor.]
Marquis Lennox and the Noble Faction wouldn't be able to reject it after getting deceived by Calyx and the fake Empress Dowager. In fact, even Duke Quinzel and the others on their side were in the same boat.
[This royal scandal is a disgrace to the empire, for real.]
"Why don't you ask our parents?"
"I'm always pretty and fresh in our parents' eyes even when I'm not, so I can't trust their judgment," she argued. "I need your honest opinion."
The usual Nero would say that she was perfect.
But the current Nero, who was trying his damned best to hate her, would probably give her some honest-to-good feedback.
"Come on, Nero."
"You look pretty… arrogant," Nero said, avoiding her gaze as if he was shy. "There's no way a person with a haughty look like you would look haggard."
Neoma grinned, satisfied by Nero's answer. "Thanks."
Nero looked at her with an irritated look on his face. "Be honest with me. You only heard the "pretty" part, didn't you?"
She just shrugged.
"Manage your expressions, children," Papa Boss said when they were near the exit. "We owe the public an apology."
"Are we seriously going to apologize publicly?" Nero asked hesitantly. "We can just put all the blame on the fake Empress Dowager and the cult behind her."
"You're quick to change gears, huh?" Neoma commented. She didn't mean it in a bad way, of course. Well, maybe just a little. "I thought you were super attached to Calyx and the fake Empress Dowager."
"That was until I found out Calyx wasn't my brother, and the Empress Dowager was a fake," Nero said indifferently. "Calyx has strong political backing as Empress Juliet's son, so I needed to stick to them. But since they turned out to be fakes, I have no use for them anymore."
Pretty cold, but befitting for someone like Nero to say.
[He's a de Moonasterio, alright.]
Neoma didn't want to talk about politics with Nero anymore, so she simply ignored her twin brother and turned to her "children."
Of course, both she and Nero had their own security details.
Sanford Devon, Raku, Lucien Attewell, Alucard Dionisio, and Melvin Lucchesi were walking behind the Crown Prince.
On the other hand, only Lewis, Jeno, Xion, and Juri were walking behind Neoma.
"Where are Paige and Greko?" Neoma asked curiously. "Did they check on Trevor?"
To be honest, she was worried about the demon boy.
Trevor was coughing up blood earlier.
There was no way Greko and Paige wouldn't check on the demon boy after seeing him cough up blood.
Hence, she thought it was the reason why Greko and Paige weren't there at the moment.
"That's right, Princess Neoma," Juri answered politely. "Paige and Greko are with Trevor right now."
"Did you see Trevor's condition?"
"It looks bad, Princess Neoma," Juri said, and there was a hint of worry in her voice. "That's the first time I saw someone cough up so much blood."
"The color of his blood didn't look normal either, Princess Neoma," Jeno added. "It was almost black."
"Yeah, I saw it, too," Xion agreed. "Trevor almost looks like a corpse… ah, I shouldn't have said that. I apologize, Princess Neoma."
Her heart almost dropped to the floor after hearing that.
Lewis sighed when he probably saw how worried she was at the moment. "Princess Neoma, don't worry too much. Evil people like Trevor don't die easily."
She knew that her "son" was just trying to comfort her.
However, Neoma could neither smile nor agree with Lewis because she was too worried about the demon boy.
[Trevor, I'll kill you if you die on me.]
***
NOTE: Hi! I joined a challenge in ko-fi. If I achieve my target amount, I'll get a chance to win a prize. I just posted a 4-PANEL COMIC featuring Neoma and Papa Boss on my ko-fi account (ko-fi.com/sola_cola or simply g00gle ko-fi sola_cola). Check it out~
Please donate if you can. You can consider this as your birthday present for my 30th birthday soon. I hope to complete the challenge by May 11th. If I achieve my target amount (hopefully on my target date), I'll release five chapters of RS.
Thank you. <3
***
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