Chapter 158 - FAREWELL PRESENTS FOR THE LADIES

"YOU'RE FINALLY awake, Your Royal Highness Princess Neoma."

Neoma didn't miss the sarcasm in her Papa Boss's tone as he addressed her by her formal royal title.

But since she just woke up, she needed a minute to "reload" her big brain.

Emperor Nikolai sat on the chair beside the bed. As usual, he wore a grumpy look on his (unnecessarily) handsome face. He still wore the same set of clothes that he had when they danced because of Yule's demand. But her father still managed to look and smell refreshing.

"Good morning, Papa Boss," Neoma said when her brain finally functioned again. She could tell judging by what she was seeing in the window that it was still dawn. Nevertheless, greeting her father "good morning" was only proper. "Did you sleep well?"

"No," Emperor Nikolai said bluntly. "How can I sleep well when you snore loudly?"

She almost choked but she didn't let her shock and embarrassment show.

"A fair lady like me doesn't snore, Papa Boss," she lied smoothly. "It must be Nero."

He rolled his eyes at her. "I already summoned your maid," he said, changing the topic. "Get ready. We'll send off Nero later."

Oh, right.

It was time for Nero (and Trevor) to leave.

"Where's Nero though?" she asked when she realized that her twin brother wasn't in the room anymore.

"He went to fetch Hanna Quinzel," her father said. "I think your twin brother wants to say goodbye to the future Crown Princess privately."

'Future Crown Princess?'

She scowled at that. "Papa Boss, don't do that. Let Nero choose his own bride, and don't force Hanna to marry Nero." She was aware that Hanna was infatuated with Nero. But her cousin was still young, so her feelings might still change in the future. "Plus, isn't my twin brother a little too young to have a fiancée?"

"In the past, Crown Princes at Nero's age are already married," her father explained. "Unfortunately for your brother, he doesn't have the luxury to choose his bride– not when he hasn't been approved by the nobles as the next emperor. To strengthen his position, a political marriage is a must. Out of all the candidates to be the Crown Princess, Hanna Quinzel is the one who suits the position the best. House Quinzel is the richest noble household in the empire, and the current lord of the house, Rufus Quinzel, has sworn loyalty to me." He paused, then he raised his brow at her. "I'm sure Nero knows that. Thus, he already began building a connection with Hanna Quinzel."

Her father was implying that Nero was only getting close to Hanna for politics.

That's bullshit, of course.

"Now I know why the saying goes 'mother knows best' instead of 'father knows best,'" she said. "Papa Boss, you're wrong. Nero isn't using Hanna to gain political benefits."

"You're being naïve, Neoma."

"I will do everything I can to convince the right people to support Nero," she said firmly. "Once my twin brother returns, I'm sure that he can build his own faction without using a young maiden's heart." She tapped her chest proudly. "My brother and I can dominate the politics in this empire without using cheap tricks."

"As I said, you're being naïve," her Papa Boss said, unimpressed. "And also arrogant. Don't think that you can climb the ladder of power without using "cheap tricks," Princess Neoma."

There goes Papa Boss's sarcastic tone again.

"If being morally good works, do you think I would kill my own father just to ascend the throne?"

She wasn't able to have a retort at her father's remark.

After all, even though she was rude and a little evil, she knew when to shut up. Poking at her father's dark past would make her a sc.u.mbag.

"Being a royal means you inherited the Sins of the de Moonasterios," Emperor Nikolai said, then he stood up while fixing the mantle on his shoulder. "The means you use to get the throne won't matter because in the end, you'll still have to carry the Sins of our family on your shoulders." He turned to her with a blank look on his face. "Neoma, if you want to survive in the palace as the "Crown Prince," then you better get rid of your naivety."

"Okay," Neoma said. She knew when to accept that her father was right. But that didn't mean that she agreed with him 100%. "But Papa Boss, the only thing that I will get rid of is my naivety as Neoma de Moonasterio– not my dignity and principles as Neoma Ramsay."

***

"THESE are such pretty earrings, Nero!"

Nero was relieved to see Hanna's satisfaction when she saw the earrings that he gave her as a present. "I'm glad that you liked them," he said. "Since I asked the palace's artisans to make that in such a short notice, I had no choice but to settle for a simple design."

He asked the artisans to make a pair of diamond flower stud earrings for Neoma.

But of course, they weren't ordinary earrings. Through his father, he commissioned the Royal Mages to infuse a simple yet useful spell in the jewelry.

Anyway…

Right now, he was in the room that Hanna uses in Blanco Palace (aka Neoma's residence).

Glenn, his father's personal knight, brought him there in secret. Since it was still dawn, the servants weren't awake yet, and thus, it was easy to navigate the palace without getting caught.

"Your name means 'flowers' in Solanian language," he added. Solanian was the language that the royal family used to speak in the past. It was pretty much a dead language now. "I think it suits you."

Hanna's face turned red, then she raised her head to look at him. Then, she smiled at him sweetly. "Thank you, Nero."

"I should be the one saying 'thank you,' Hanna," he said seriously. "You've risked your life several times for me and Neoma. We owe you a lot."

"I'm just fulfilling my duty," she said with a smile. "It's the nobles' duty to protect the royal family after all."

"Neoma will be sad if she hears that."

She laughed softly. "Of course, it's not only because of my noble duty. I'm sticking to you and Neoma because we're f-friends."

He smiled, satisfied to hear that.

"Can I wear these earrings now, Nero?"

He nodded. "Do you want me to put them on you?"

Her cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink, then she nodded shyly. "Please."

While Hanna held the velvet box, he picked up one of the stud earrings and put it on her left ear carefully. "These aren't ordinary earrings, Hanna. They are actually 'Mana Absorber Device,'" he said. Then, he began putting the remaining stud on her other ear. "Once you use your Mana and it begins to put a strain on your heart, the spell in the earrings will get activated. The earrings will absorb your excess Mana to stabilize it."

Her eyes seemed to sparkle after hearing that. "That's so thoughtful of you, Nero. Thank you so much."

"It's only a temporary solution, Hanna," he reminded her gently. "So please don't use your Mana if you don't have to."

She smiled and nodded. "I will be more careful."

"You have to," he said, then he gently touched her face. "I don't want you to get hurt, Hanna."

Her face turned red again, then she lowered her gaze as if she was too shy to meet his eyes.

He was satisfied with that.

Out of all the candidates to be his future fiancée, Hanna Quinzel was the one he thinks was suited most to be his Crown Princess.

After all, Hanna was practically a princess since his father and Duke Rufus Quinzel were cousins. House Quinzel, aside from being the richest noble household in the empire, was also considered as part of the extended royal family. And the most important thing of all was the fact that the Quinzels were keeping the royal secret safe.

As long as Hanna stood by Neoma's side while his twin sister acted as the Crown Prince, the nobles around the royal family would consider her as the future Crown Princess. Thus, they wouldn't bother Neoma about talks of marriage.

Most of all, he (as the real Crown Prince) would gain more political power if Hanna stayed by his side. After all, Duke Rufus Quinzel had a lot of strong and influential followers. He would need that once he returned.

Marrying Hanna in the future is necessary. I'm lucky that she doesn't hate the idea of becoming the Crown Princess someday. But I have to make sure that her feelings for me won't change even if I will be gone for a long time.

To be honest, he didn't consider a political marriage to gain power at first. Thus, he treated Hanna, the top candidate to be the Crown Princess, coldly. But everything changed when Neoma almost died. Then, they found out about the cult that wanted his twin sister dead.

That was when he realized that he couldn't stay naïve or prideful.

He needed more power as a Crown Prince, and Hanna Quinzel could give that to him.

"Hanna?"

She raised her head to look up at him, her cheeks still rosy. "Yes?"

"Will you wait for me?"

Hanna looked surprised by his question. This time, even her ears and neck turned red. Thankfully, despite how embarrassed she looked, she still gathered the courage to nod and speak. "I will wait for you, Nero."

Nero smiled and nodded. Then, he got down on one knee and extended his hand to Hanna. When she gently held his hand, he placed a kiss on her knuckles without breaking their eye contact. "I will return for you, my pretty flower."

***

"PRINCESS NEOMA, will you miss me?"

"Nah," Neoma answered Trevor's silly question lazily. "We're not that close for me to miss you, Trevor."

"Ouch," Trevor said, acting as dramatic as ever. "I think I'm a masochist because I like it when you hurt me, my Moon Princess."

"Hey!" she complained, then she stood on her toes and covered Lewis' ears. "Don't say the M-word in front of my son! He's still an innocent child!"

They were able to mess around like that because only the three of them were in her room.

Papa Boss already went to the shrine to meet Saint Macaroni. Yes, the saint's presence was needed to open a Hellgate for Nero and Trevor.

On the other hand, Nero was escorted by Sir Glenn to Hanna's room.

Her twin brother was yet to return.

Thus, she was waiting for him in his room with Lewis and Trevor.

Thankfully, her Papa Boss allowed her to dress up as "Neoma Ramsay" to send off Nero. But she had to quickly change once everything was finished.

"Princess Neoma," Lewis said in a tired voice. "I'm not your son."

"I can't hear you," she said, then she pulled her hands away from Lewis's ears.

"I really feel bad for our son," Trevor said. But before Lewis could complain, the demon book already turned to her and changed the topic. "I have a present for you, Princess Neoma," he said, then he extended his hand to her. "Please give your hand to me."

"I'll kill you if you trick me," she said, then she held his hand.

The demon boy just laughed at her threat, then he put something in her hand and gently closed her fingers around it.

Neoma gasped when she opened her hand and saw a small "item" on her hand. It was a scythe that was only a little bigger than her index finger. In fact, it looked like a pendant instead of a weapon. But the dark energy coming from it was familiar to her. "Skewer!"

"Yes, that's your beloved Skewer," Travis said with a smirk. "Bite-sized version, that is."

***

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