Chapter 59 - GOOD NIGHT, NERO

"SO, that's the Death's Scythe, huh?" Emperor Nikolai commented while looking at the scythe (small version) in Neoma's hand. "It's quite adorable."

Neoma laughed at her Papa's sarcasm. "It just shrunk, Papa," she said while pointing at Skewer that she just put in the center of the long table. She didn't call him 'Papa Boss' because they were in the conference room with Trevor, Duke Quinzel, Sir Glenn, and Saint Zavaroni. "Skewer used to be really huge and scary."

The gentlemen room in the room looked confused.

"The Moon Princess renamed the Death's Scythe 'Skewer,'" Trevor said while shaking his head. "She's also forcing the Death Scythe to turn into pink."

She lowkey glared at the talking damned book. Snitch.

Trevor just raised a brow at her, complete with his annoying smirk.

Gosh, she didn't know why but even though the demon was in his child form now, she still could see his a.d.u.l.t (and devilishly s.e.xy) form.

I need help.

"Gentlemen, as you can see, Princess Neoma has the Devil's power under her control," Emperor Nikolai said smugly. "There's nothing to worry about."

Why did her Papa Boss sound so smug when she was doing all the hard work and not him?

Tsk, tsk. If I were still in the modern world, I would have been no different from an overworked corporate slave. Capitalism is indeed the root of all evil.

"See? I told you that Her Royal Highness is a strong little girl," Duke Quinzel said proudly. "I believe that the royal princess gaining the Devil's power is advantageous to us. We should be thankful that it fell into good hands."

Her ears perked up at the duke's compliment. She couldn't help but smile brightly at him. In her first life, Duke Quinzel had been a great father figure to her. She didn't care anymore if he only did that to atone for his older brother's sin against her father. The important thing was he treated her like his own daughter. "Thank you, Your Grace."

The duke smiled warmly at her.

Now that I'm looking closely, he really resembls my daddy. It didn't register to me during my second life that they looked alike because Duke Quinzel has golden eyes.

"I can see that Her Royal Highness can control the Devil's power for now," Count Sprouse said in a voice that obviously doubted her and her awesomeness. "But what will happen if the Devil's power started to get out of control?"

Someone is playing the devil's advocate, huh?

Well, too bad for the count because she was no pushover.

"Aren't you supposed to be "proper" a.d.u.l.ts since every single person here is a higher noble?" she asked sarcastically.

All the men (plus a talking demon book) turned to her at the same time.

Emperor Nikolai, Sir Glenn, and Saint Zavaroni who were both used to her sassiness didn't appear surprised anymore. But Duke Quinzel and Count Sprouse sure looked stunned.

"I know that I'm too awesome, too smart, and too pretty for a five year old baby girl," she continued. "But you can't expect me to do anything and everything on my own, right? Because if that's the case, then I might as well run the empire myself."

Emperor Nikolai and Saint Zavaroni just sipped their tea– the two were obviously very used to her sharp tongue by now.

Sir Glenn and Duke Quinzel both stifled a laugh.

Trevor smirked while looking at her as if he found her amusing.

And finally, Count Sprouse's face turned red in embarrassment.

I'm gonna end this man's whole career.

"Count Sprouse, I appreciate that you have high expectations of me as the royal prince's proxy," she said with a sweet smile while sprouting b*llshit. "But I'm afraid but at this tender age, I still have to depend on a.d.u.l.ts like you."

She could clearly see that Count Sprouse didn't approve of her as Nero's replacement. But guess what?

I don't give a f*ck.

"Your concern is valid though," she continued roasting the count. "Being entangled with the Devil is risky. But don't worry because I swear on my Papa's name that I will do everything I can to keep my new powers at bay." She stopped acting "cute" and turned cold all of a sudden. "Though if I fail to do so, I expect you to help me without having to kill me. Because if the only solution that you have in mind is to kill me, then shame on you."

After her long "speech," she sipped her honey lace tea.

Count Sprouse immediately stood up and bowed his head to her. "My deepest apologies for my insolence, Your Royal Highness."

She tried her best to stifle her laughter.

The enemy has been slain.

"It's fine, Lord Sprouse," Neoma said as she put her tea cup down on the table. "I'm a super cool princess so I don't hold grudges. Thank you acknowledging your mistake. If my words offended you, I apologize."

She couldn't be too sassy around other people or else, she'd be a despicable child.

I can only have that consistent attitude on Papa Boss.

***

"YOUR MAJESTY, Princess Neoma is really your daughter."

Nikolai raised an eyebrow at what Kyle said.

Right now, they were back in Yule Palace.

Trevor and Saint Zavaroni was in the prayer room in his palace with Duke Quinzel acting as the saint's knight. Since Saint Zavaroni's "visit" was a secret, they couldn't let anyone else see him in his palace.

On the other hand, he asked Glenn and the foxy boy to escort Nero and Neoma to the royal parlor room. And that was the reason why only Kyle accompanied him now.

"Did the royal princess shock you?" Nikolai asked with a smug. "She's too strange even for a de Moonasterio child, isn't she?"

"Well, since the de Moonasterio children are blessed with maturity and intelligence of an a.d.u.l.t, I didn't think that Her Royal Highness is that strange at first," Kyle admitted. "But after what I witnessed a while ago, I'm convinced that Princess Neoma is really different. She talks like a real a.d.u.l.t."

He smirked at that. "She owned you, Kyle," he said. "You embarrassed House Sprouse."

The aide rolled his eyes at him. "The royal princess clearly inherited her sass from you, Your Majesty."

"She also got the Princess Royal's dirty mouth," he added smugly. "You should be thankful that she didn't cuss at you a while ago."

"Your Majesty?"

"What?"

"You look proud of the royal princess."

He scoffed at that. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Thankfully, Kyle didn't have the chance to pursue the topic any longer when they arrived at the prayer room.

After the count announced his arrival, they entered the chamber. They found Trevor, Saint Zavaroni, and Duke Quinzel around the cauldron with bluish flame. He could tell that the "flame" was made from the saint's divine Mana.

His Holiness has already finished the preparations for the binding vow spell.

After the three greeted him, they went straight to business.

"I will now commence the ritual for the binding vow," Saint Zavaroni said. "Your Majesty, Trevor, the binding vow won't take effect if one of the party is coerced from taking this oath. Please declare your willingness to take the vow first."

"I, Nikolai de Moonasterio, the current emperor of Moonasterion Empire, declare my willingness to take the binding vow with Trevor, the Devil's Grimoire," Nikolai said. Then, he cut his finger with his nail and let his blood drop in the bluish flame.

"I, Trevor, the Devil's Grimoire, declare my willingness to take the binding vow with Nikolai de Moonasterio, the current emperor of Moonasterion Empire," Trevor said, then he also cut his own finger and let his blood drop in the bluish flame.

"I, Dominic Zavaroni, the current saint of Astello Temple, will oversee the ritual," Saint Zavaroni said, then he put his blood in the flame as well. "Now, let's begin the exchange of vows."

***

NERO, along with Neoma, Emperor Nikolai, and Trevor were now in what the Devil Grimoire called as the "hellhole."

It was just a plain room with a weird throne in the middle.

"Prince Nero, I already made a binding vow with the Grimoire," Emperor Nikolai said. "If something bad happens to you under his care, he will be automatically burn into ashes."

"I don't have any plan of dying soon so I'll take care of you while you're in slumber," Trevor said, then he smiled "brightly" at him. "Brother-in-law."

The emperor raised a brow but didn't comment on that.

Nero ignored Trevor's provocation and looked up at the emperor. "Your Majesty, once I wake up fully-recovered, the binding vow will lose its effect, right?"

His father nodded. "Of course."

"Good," he said, then he turned to Trevor with his own "bright" smile. "I want to kill you by my own hands so don't die on me until I wake up, "brother-in-law.""

"Brother, stop talking about killing others," Neoma complained while tugging at the hem of his jacket. "Don't waste your time on Trevor. He's just a troll."

He turned to his precious little sister. Even though he didn't really understand what she just said, he smiled at her anyway. "I'm sorry that you had to hear that, Neoma." He faced her and held her hands tight. "I'm going to "sleep" for now. I will miss you."

He wanted to keep his farewell short because it wasn't like he would never see Neoma again.

Also, he had already done all the things he needed to do to ensure that his precious little sister would be safe until he awakened. He didn't like that he had to rely on Lewis for Neoma's protection. But that was better than trusting Emperor Nikolai.

At least, the foxy boy cared about his sister than their own father.

"Take care of yourself while I'm gone, Neoma," Nero said with a smile. When he noticed that his precious little sister was about to cry, he let go of her hands to hug her tight. Then, he gently patted her back. "I will be back," he promised her. He was more determined to return after he saw how lonely Neoma looked now that he was about to enter a long slumber. Although he hated seeing her sad, he had to admit that he was glad his absence had that kind of effect on her. "I will be back for you, my precious Neoma."

Neoma sobbed and nodded her head. "I'll wait for your return, Brother Nero."

***

"YOU'RE really a good actress, Moon Princess."

"Shut up," Neoma said while admiring her a.d.u.l.t self in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy from crying a while ago but she still looked pretty. "Gosh, I'm not even wearing makeup."

She purposely changed the topic because she didn't want to admit to herself that she cried.

Well, her relationship with Nero was now very different from what they had in the past. She would admit that she had grown fond of him. But she was still in-denial because she didn't want to get hurt again. After all, she was afraid to end up like how she died in her first life.

She still couldn't forget about the past even though her life was completely different now.

Yeah, it's the trauma.

Anyway…

Right now, she was in the "hellhole" with Trevor who sat on the armrest of the weird throne.

On the other hand, Nero was "sleeping" inside the black cube that sat on the throne like it was a treasure or something. She and Emperor Nikolai were there when Trevor put Nero into sleep. Then, the demon used his power to put her twin brother inside the black cube.

Her Papa Boss left her with Trevor when the demon said he had something to tell her. It seemed like the emperor was confident that Trevor wouldn��t harm her because of the binding vow that he made with him.

That or he just really didn't care about her.

Anyway…

"Why do I transform into my a.d.u.l.t form when we're alone in your territory?" she asked curiously, then she turned around to face Trevor.

Of course, he was also in his (s.e.xy) a.d.u.l.t form now.

Gosh, she would never get over at how many ear piercings he had in that body.

"I understand how frustrating it is to be trapped inside a child's body so I'm giving you a little freedom even if it's just for a short while," he said. "And I want to be generous to my fiancée."

She just rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempt to flirt with her. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Take care of Kuro for me," he said, then he throw something at her.

Thank goodness she caught it or else, she would have cursed the hell out of Trevor.

Anyway, when she opened her hand, she scowled when she realized that it was a keychain with two sharp fangs.

"Are these your baby teeth or something?" she asked.

Trevor laughed loudly. "That's literally the key to summon Kuro. If you're in danger, just scratch the fangs in any surface and he will appear."

"Oh, that's nice."

"Kuro is like a son to me and since we're getting married in the future, he's now your adopted son," he said with a smirk.

"I will take care of Kuro but I won't do it for you," she said firmly. "Also, I already rejected your marriage proposal."

"I won't pursue you for now since I'll be stuck here for eight more years," he said. "And since I'll be extending my stay in this hellhole, I don't need a contract yet to be able to return to the human world. But once your dear brother is saved, I'll propose to you once again."

"`Kay," she said casually. "I'll just say no again."

He just shrugged. "I'll accept your "no" for now."

"As you should."

Trevor just gave her his trademark (s.e.xy) lazy smile. "See you later, my Moon Princess."

Neoma, hoping that her cheeks weren't flushed at that moment, rolled her eyes at the demon. "I won't wait for you, Trevor."

***

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