Chapter 159 - SAFE TRIP, NERO (AND TREVOR)

TREVOR was satisfied after he saw Princess Neoma's delighted expression when he told her the main function of the bite-sized Skewer that he gave to her.

Even though his Moon Princess was still harsh to him until the end, he was still happy that he got to spend time with her. Although he realized that he had a lot of strong and capable rivals, he was still confident that he had a chance with Princess Neoma.

The problem was Prince Nero. That crazy prince was overprotective of his twin sister. Eliminating him was out of the question since he didn't want Princess Neoma to hate him.

If Lewis Crevan dies from trying the method that I taught him, then it would be good riddance for me. But killing off the young chef wouldn't be easy. If I want to get rid of him, I have to unseal my demonic power. So I'll have to do it later.

"You."

His thoughts were distracted when Emperor Nikolai called him in a threatening voice. When he turned around to face His Majesty, he was surprised to see him angry for some reason.

What did I do this time?

Actually, he hasn't done anything yet aside from performing a magic circle that would open a Hellgate to his territory.

Right now, he was with Emperor Nikolai and Saint Dominic Zavaroni in an empty shrine in Yule Palace. They chose that room to connect to his territory. In that way, if ever his place was attacked by the Devil again, he and Prince Nero would be able to use an emergency exit leading to the Royal Palace.

"Change your appearance," Emperor Nikolai ordered him in an annoyed voice. "Why did you suddenly change into a grown man?"

"I unsealed my demonic power a little bit to draw out the amount of Mana I need to open a Hellgate, Your Majesty," Trevor explained. "Is there anything wrong with my appearance?"

Since he changed into a grown man, he also changed his clothes.

Now he looked like a posh noble. The only thing that looked out of place was the Death's Scythe (aka Skewer) in his hand. Ah, he had to note that the current Death's Scythe looked different from usual.

Princess Neoma might not like the chains around the curved blade of her beloved Skewer. If that happened, he would blame it on Saint Dominic Zavaroni. After all, it was the saint who put shackles on the Death's Scythe to make sure that the former Princess Nichole de Moonasterio wouldn't be able to trespass his territory again.

"I don't like it," the emperor said regarding his appearance. "Don't approach my daughter in that appearance or else, I'll kill you."

He smirked at that. "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Princess Neoma has already seen me in this state and she loves my face–"

Oops.

He wasn't able to finish his sentence when the emperor's eyes turned glowing red. The bloodl.u.s.t that His Majesty released was enough to shut him up.

Since when did this grumpy man care about Princess Neoma?

Nevertheless, it wouldn't be wise to anger the emperor.

He raised his hands in surrender. "I will revert back to my child appearance when Princess Neoma arrives, Your Majesty."

That seemed to satisfy the emperor because his eyes returned to its original ash-gray color.

Whew.

Saint Dominic Zavaroni cleared his throat to get their attention. "Mr. Trevor, the Holy Chains that I put on the Death's Scythe is strong enough to repel even the Devil."

He raised a brow at that. "How can you be so sure about that, Your Holiness?"

"Because I know who the Devil is now," the saint said in a sad yet firm voice. "Of course, I also put into consideration the fact that the former Princess Royal is stronger than. But I'm confident that my Divine Power can repel her. After all, she was my former student. And as her former mentor, I know her weakness very well."

He didn't know the history between the saint and the former Princess Royal. But he had no choice but to trust the saint.

"I'll leave our protection to you, Your Holiness," he said. "Of course, I will also do my best to protect His Royal Highness, Prince Nero."

Because if he failed to purify the Crown Prince's curse, he would die for breaking the promise he made with the binding vow.

"The incident that happened recently shouldn't happen again," the emperor said firmly while looking at him coldly. "You haven't forgotten about the binding vow we made, have you?"

"I wouldn't forget about the thing that would kill me if I fail, Your Majesty," he assured him. "I hope you haven't forgotten your end of the bargain though. Have you done any effort to restore House Kesser, Your Majesty?"

"To restore a fallen family, I have to know first what caused their downfall," His Majesty said carefully. "The records that the royal family has about House Kesser haven't been that useful to me. Despite being an old family, House Kesser's traces have been practically erased from the history books."

He just smirked upon hearing that.

Of course, House Kesser would be erased from history.

"But I found an interesting piece of information from my grandfather's old journal," the emperor continued, his eyes suddenly turned red again. "Tell me, demon boy. Why was House Kesser labeled as the 'Contractors of Evil?'"

Trevor chuckled, amused to hear House Kesser's former title again after such a long time. "I'll tell you if you give Princess Neoma's hand in marriage, Your Majesty."

Emperor Nikolai glared at him, giving him the worst shivers of his life. "Do you want to die?"

***

"WHY ARE you giving me a ring, Nero?" Neoma asked nervously. "It's weird to receive a ring from my twin brother."

Right now, she was in her room with Nero while Lewis and Sir Glenn were waiting outside.

As far as she knew, her Papa Boss and Saint Macaroni were already at the shrine with Trevor. But she was still in her room because Nero requested to spend some private time with her because he leaves.

"It's hard to give you a piece of jewelry that won't stand out once you return acting as my substitute," Nero explained. "Piercings and earrings for males are frowned upon. A necklace could easily be snatched away from me. Moreover, you're already wearing a choker so a necklace might be too much decoration for your neck. I considered giving you a bracelet instead of a ring but I'm afraid that it might get in your way once you hold a sword. So in the end, I opted for a ring."

She just nodded considerably, then she turned to the ring inside the velvet box in her hands. To be honest, the ring didn't actually look like an expensive piece of jewelry. After all, it was just a stylish black band.

Her initials were curved at the back of the ring. But even if somebody else saw it, they wouldn't suspect a thing. After all, she and Nero shared the same initials.

"I have the same ring," Nero continued, then he raised his right hand and showed her the black ring on his pinky. "It's a pair."

"Ohh," she said. She was glad that she was supposed to wear the ring on her pinky. "You won't give me an ordinary ring, Nero. So tell me. What is this ring for?"

"That ring is actually made of Zev's ice," he said. 'Zev' was Nero's Soul Beast. "The black thing that covered the ring was made by the artisan to cover the ring's true nature. If ever your life is in danger, all you have to do is melt the ring with your flame. Once the ring melts, you'll get to borrow my ice Mana for at least half an hour." He smiled apologetically at her. "I want to lend you my Mana for longer. But since my Mana is sealed by the curse, I can only lend you that much. I hope you wouldn't be put in a situation where you have to use it though."

Aww.

She was genuinely touched that her twin brother came up with such a thoughtful present.

Now, she suddenly felt sad that she had to part ways with Nero again. This time, if nothing bad happened like last time, she wouldn't see her twin brother for five years. She didn't expect that she'd get this sad from it.

"Don't be sad, Neoma," he said, then he touched her cheek. Then, he pulled out the black ring from the box and put it on her pinky. Then, he raised his head to look at her face. "Once I return, I will never leave you again."

"Come back healthy, Nero," she said in an emotional voice. "I will protect your position so you'll have a place to come home to."

Nero smiled warmly at her, then he gently pulled her for a hug. "I'll miss you, Neoma."

"I'll miss you, too, Nero," Neoma said in a cracked voice, then she hugged him back. "We will be waiting for you."

***

NEOMA was a little taken aback when she arrived at the shrine and the place looked like a mess.

The magic circle on the floor looked pretty.

But she was distracted by the damage on the wall as if something strong hit it, then it collapsed because of the impact.

Just what in the world happened here?

Saint Dominic Zavaroni, for some reason, looked tired.

On the other hand, her eternally-grumpy Papa Boss looked more pissed than usual.

And then, we have Trevor who was sitting in the middle of the magic circle while scratching the back of his head. The demon boy looked like he was trying not to show that he was in pain.

"Should we ask what happened here?" Nero, who stood beside her, asked in an unimpressed voice. "It seems like there was a storm here or something."

"Don't ask," Emperor Nikolai said in a grumpy voice, then he turned to her twin brother. "Are you ready to leave, Nero?"

Her twin brother nodded. "Yes, Father."

She almost choked when she heard Nero call Papa Boss 'Father.' He used to call their father in a formal way. Did her twin brother change it because of their previous conversation about how they should give their father a chance to do better?"

"Nero, I'm so proud of you," she whispered to her brother.

Nero turned to her, then he smiled and squeezed her hand. Ah, right. She almost forgot that he was holding her hand. "Anything for you, Neoma."

"Aww, stop it," Trevor complained. "I'm getting jealous here, Princess Neoma."

She was about to complain but much to her surprise, the saint beat her to it.

"Mr. Trevor, please," Saint Zavaroni told the demon boy with a smile. "You want to depart in one piece, don't you?"

The demon boy acted like he was zipping his mouth.

This is such a chaotic event.

"Anyway, we shall begin opening the Hellgate," Saint Zavaroni said, then he turned to the emperor. "Your Majesty, I need your help."

Her Papa Boss just nodded.

Trevor, on the other hand, stood up and picked up Skewer. It was weird to see a child (well, Trevor was in his child form) wield a weapon twice his height. But it seemed like he had no trouble holding Skewer now when he couldn't even lift in the first time they met. "Princess Neoma, I will miss you," he declared while looking at her with his signature lazy but attractive smile. Judging by the fact that he wasn't moving from his spot, it seemed like he wasn't allowed to leave the magic circle anymore. "I will propose to you again once I return from hell."

Saint Zavaroni just sighed and shook his head.

On the other hand, her father and twin brother was triggered by the demon boy's "proposal."

"Do you really have a death wish, huh?" Nero and Emperor Nikolai asked Trevor at the same time.

Neoma couldn't help but laugh at how similar Nero and her Papa Boss looked and sounded just now. "Nero, Papa Boss, you've gotten closer, huh?"

***

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