Chapter 280 - I'LL PROTECT MY THRONE

"AND THAT concludes our plan called 'Operation: Kill Them With Kindness,' Papa Boss."

Nikolai sipped his tea elegantly after listening to Neoma, who was standing in front of his office desk in a formal position, lay her plan to him for the upcoming noble conference the day after tomorrow.

He may appear calm on the outside. But truth be told, he was quite nervous on the inside.

[Neoma is about to break several laws.]

He couldn't reject the plan because they were already running out of time.

High Priest Wellington and his group were scheduled to arrive at the Royal Capital tomorrow morning. Since His Excellency decided to use the normal portal leading to the capital, they were bound to be held up by people who wanted to greet the High Priest. Thus, the delay.

He offered to open the palace to the High Priest and his companions. But they politely declined. His Excellency said that they would be staying at Steora Church– the biggest church in the capital.

[Steora Church is also one of Astello Temple's "branch churches."]

Thus, it wouldn't look strange or suspicious that the High Priest chose to temporarily stay at Steora Church instead of his palace.

His main concern was the temple. He could easily shut the nobles up. But he couldn't threaten the High Priest. Although his presence wasn't as grand as Saint Zavaroni's, he was still well-loved and well-respected by the temple's followers.

Moreover, the majority of the citizens of the Moonasterion Empire were believers of Astello Temple.

[If we disrespect the High Priest, we will gain the wrath of the citizens.]

"What do you think of my plan, Papa Boss?" Neoma asked with shining eyes. "'Operation: Kill Them With Kindness' is badass, isn't it?"

Neoma was probably the only nine-year-old child who wouldn't hesitate to say 'badass' in front of her father.

But he let it slide since it wasn't important at the moment.

"Kindness, you say?" Nikolai scoffed, then he put the teacup down on the table. "You're about to commit blasphemy. Aside from that, you'd also break some laws. I'm certain that the temple and the nobles would demand that I dethrone you on the spot."

"Would you, Papa Boss?"

"Of course, I wouldn't," he said firmly. "But it wouldn't be easy to shut them up."

By "them," he obviously meant the temple, the nobles (probably even those who supported the Royal Family), and finally, the citizens of the empire.

"Just trust me, Papa Boss," his daughter said seriously. "I will protect my throne."

Neoma was still in her pajamas and yet, the image that he saw when she declared that she would protect her throne was that of a majestic princess dressed in a fancy outfit.

Yes, a princess and not a prince even though she was currently dressed as a boy.

[Was that a premonition?]

"If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have pretended that I didn't know Duke Jasper Hawthorne went to the slums to purchase the illegal items that you probably asked him to buy."

Geoffrey Kinsley was the one who informed him about the young duke's movement.

It seemed like Neoma already knew that her friends were being followed by his Paladins because the little rogue just smiled haughtily.

"Papa Boss, just sit back and relax," she told him. "I was the one who messed up so let me clean up after myself."

He let a long sigh before nodding. "Where's the demon? Is he not a part of your plan?"

"I plan to work Trevor's fingers to the bone as soon as he comes back," his daughter said with a smirk. "But for now, I sent him to the Spirit World. He'll connect me to that world and help me have a video call with Nero later."

'Video call.'

He could understand what it probably meant. But those words still sounded strange. He knew that it had something to do with Neoma's connection to Gavin Quinzel. But for now, he refrained himself from asking.

[We will have that talk after this mess has been properly cleaned up.]

"So you already know that your twin brother's body is currently at the Spirit World."

He wasn't surprised at all since he already knew by now that Trevor had a tendency to share his knowledge with Neoma for free.

"Trevor also told me that Nero is currently in his Spirit form," his daughter added.

It was something that he also just heard from the demon earlier.

"Apparently, Nero didn't want me to know because he doesn't want to talk to me. According to my dummy brother, he'd want to return ASAP if he sees me," Neoma said while shaking her head. But even though she called her twin brother "dummy," her voice was still filled with affection. "I don't understand how he came up with that bullshit. But I'm glad that Trevor told me. I'll nag him later."

"Aren't you jealous that the Spirit World opened its door for Nero and not for you?"

"No, not at all," she said without missing a heartbeat. "A world with William in it is definitely bound to be an ugly world."

He couldn't help but smirk at his daughter's response. [That's true.]

The Spirit World was beautiful to him when Mona was still there. But now that the mother of his children was gone, he couldn't see that world's beauty anymore.

"Ah, Papa Boss, I need to go," his daughter said. "But before I go, I want to remind you about Greko, the child that I took in. He's seven years old, if I remember it correctly."

He let out another sigh. "What do you plan to do with that child?"

"I will adopt him, of course. Plus, he'll be the official Healer of my crew," Neoma said seriously. "He's cute and he's also half-fairy."

Half-fairy?

He would admit that it was impressive. Moreover, fairies were known to be good healers. Someone like that deserved a spot in his daughter's troop.

Still, if it was his decision, he'd like to investigate the odd child first. But he knew that Neoma would be upset if he did that. His daughter was treating him normally even though he knew that she was still mad at him for what happened at the camp. He didn't want to upset the little rogue more than he already had.

Thus, he had no choice but to quietly accept that child named 'Greko.'

[Neoma said she'd "adopt" him, huh?]

Nikolai couldn't help but think that his daughter was building an orphanage instead of ȧssembling a troop though.

***

NERO was both nervous and excited.

When William returned with his physical body earlier, he was upset after learning that the Devil had infiltrated Trevor's lair. He was adamant about scolding the demon once he returned for failing to protect his own territory.

But when Trevor returned, he told him that Neoma wanted to talk to him via a communication device.

Of course, he was annoyed that the demon boy informed his precious twin sister that he was in his Spirit form. But because of the timing, he knew that this was the perfect time for him and Neoma to talk again.

[I need to comfort my poor little sister who's being bullied by the temple and the stupid nobles.]

He already heard everything from Trevor.

His vicious thoughts were cut off when the wall in front of him changed. Now it looked like he was staring at his reflection in the water. But the other person in the "mirror" wasn't him– it was the person who almost had the same face as him.

"Brother Nero!"

Of course, it was his lovely twin sister.

Nero couldn't help but smile when he saw Neoma's bright smile. "Neoma, I've missed you."

Even though he wasn't looking, he could hear William scoff at what he said.

On the other hand, the Spirit Queen remained quiet.

Yes, the two were in the same room as them. They wanted to make sure that Trevor wouldn't do anything funny to the Spirit World's communication line.

Ah, he kicked out Trevor earlier because he wanted to monopolize Neoma's attention.

"Neoma, how are you?"

Neoma's smile suddenly disappeared, then her eyes became teary. "Nero, I don't want to say this but I have to because I was scared," she said in a cracked voice. "Can you ask your friends over there if I did something wrong to the Spirit World?" she asked in a scared and trembling voice. "The Grand Spirit tried to kill me…"

All of a sudden, he felt an ungodly amount of rage in his ċhėst.

Nero clenched his hands. [I will destroy the Spirit World.]

***

WILLIAM snarled when he heard what the filthy bug said to Nero.

It was also obvious that she was just faking her cry. He was about to call her out when Tara, the Spirit Queen, suddenly grabbed him by the arm. When he turned to her, she firmly shook her head.

And at that moment, he felt it.

William's knees buckled when he felt Nero's rage and bloodlust directed at him. The royal prince was also looking at him with a murderous look on his face. He couldn't help but tore his gaze away from Nero.

[Shit!]

When he glared at the filthy bug at the screen, she smirked at him.

Neoma de Moonasterio did that on purpose.

William frowned at the filthy bug. [You're using Nero to destroy me, huh?]

***

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