Chapter 348 - THE POWERLESS KING

"LET ME correct myself," Nikolai said with a scoff. "I should have said the powerless King of the Soul Beasts."

Manu, the Moon Priest and the King of the Soul Beasts, scoffed and plopped on the sofa, even if he didn't invite him to take a seat. "Are you still bitter about what happened when you and Mona Roseheart tried to free the Soul Beasts in the past?" he asked, then he smirked at him. "Well, it's not like I don't understand. After all, it's a shame that Juliet died because of that incident."

He clenched his hands and glared at the Moon Priest. "Don't you dare call Juliet by her name so casually."

"What about it?" the Moon Priest asked, then he shrugged. "I call you Little Niko, do I not?"

"Don't call me with that stupid nickname," he snarled. "Your naming sense is as awful as Yule's."

Manu was the one who gave the Soul Beasts their awful names.

This foolish man gave the Four Holy Guardians, his Soul Beasts, the following awful names: North (the Black Tortoise), East (the Azure Dragon), West (the White Tiger), and South (the flaming Vermillion Bird).

"I think your daughter's naming sense is worse than mine and Lord Yule's," Manu said with a soft laugh. "She calls Crimson by a weird name."

He didn't comment on that.

After all, it was true that Neoma gave her Soul Beast a weird name.

"Speaking of her Soul Beast, I'm here to take it away with me," Manu said. "I'm going to raise it."

"Why would you raise my daughter's Soul Beast?"

"We met the Sun Priestess earlier."

He knitted his eyebrows. "What is an East person doing in the West Continent? Moreover, an important figure like the Sun Priestess must report to the empire if they step foot in here."

"She didn't appear in her human form," the Moon Priest explained. "Your daughter picked a fight with her, so she appeared in her Familiar's form."

"Neoma picked a fight with the Sun Priestess?"

"Yeah," Manu said while nodding. "Your daughter is a true-blooded de Moonasterio."

"I know Neoma has a nasty temper, but how did she encounter the Sun Priestess if the Sun Priestess's physical body isn't in the West Continent?"

"Your daughter tried to free a man trapped in a block of ice, but the Sun Priestess stopped her from doing so."

A man trapped in a block of ice?

Neoma went out of the palace without telling him the reason why she had to leave. But he had a feeling that she went out to seek Gavin Quinzel. Could it be…?

"Was it Gavin Quinzel?"

"Right, that's the name of the former commander of the White Lion Knights," the Moon Priest confirmed. "He's trapped in a block of ice, but I don't know why the Sun Priestess is trying to protect him."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Who trapped Gavin Quinzel in that ice?"

"I don't know," the Moon Priest said. "But I'm pretty sure a person who could cover their tracks from the eyes of the gods and their representatives did it."

"But the Sun Priestess is involved."

"That means she knows what happened," Manu said casually. "But it's not important right now. I'm here to talk about your daughter's Soul Beast."

"What about Neoma's Soul Beast?"

"Mona Roseheart is also trapped in the ice made by her former Ice Guardian," the Moon Priest said. "It's the type of ice that only an adult Fire Dragon could melt by using Fire Breath. But a Soul Beast grows with their host, and that means it will take at least nine more years before your daughter's dragons became an adult."

He clenched his hands tight when he heard that. "Then it will take nine more years before we could save Mona?"

"That's correct," the Moon Priest said. "But if I raise her Soul Beast, I would only need three years to turn it into an adult."

"Is something like that possible?"

"Yes, because it's me," Manu said confidently. "And you don't know it yet, do you? You don't know that the soul in your daughter's Soul Beast doesn't belong to a dead Roseheart– but to a sealed god."

His eyes opened wide. "A god?"

"The soul sealed in your daughter's Soul Beast is the soul of the God of Wrath."

"But why is a god's soul sealed in Neoma's Soul Beast?" he asked, confused. "This is the first time I'm hearing this."

"It wasn't too long ago when your daughter awakened Crimson, the God of Wrath," the Moon Priest explained. "You know, your daughter is weird. She easily accepts things we consider a big deal, as if everything's natural for her."

He also noticed that.

[Is it because this is already Neoma's third life?]

"Why did you put a god's soul in my daughter's Soul Beast?"

Unlike Neoma, he was interested to know about his daughter's Soul Beast.

"During the time the male Rosehearts were rebelling against the de Moonasterios, they summoned the God of Wrath to destroy the Royal Family," the Moon Priest explained. "But the male Rosehearts failed because they couldn't tame the god they summoned. Lord Yule had no choice but to step in, so he sent me to tame the God of Wrath, but…"

"But what?"

"I accidentally killed it."

He let out a sigh while shaking his head. "How do you "accidentally" kill a god?"

The Moon Priest just shrugged. "Anyway, the soul of the God of Wrath refused to rest even after its death. So, I just sealed it inside the last Fire Dragon of this world to shut it up. Then the Nature decided to give it to your daughter as her Soul Beast."

"Hah!" He let out a frustrated sigh. "You make it sound simple. I really hate you and Yule for the atrocities you did to the male Rosehearts in the past."

"Well, it's all in the past."

He just rolled his eyes at the Moon Priest. "Ask for Neoma's permission, not mine," he said. "It's her Soul Beast, so she gets to decide whether or not she'd let you raise it."

"Okay," Manu said, then he yawned again. "I'm sleepy, Little Niko."

"Don't call me that," Nikolai said, annoyed. "I'll ask my servants to prepare a room for you in my palace– so don't hang around my daughter without my permission."

***

NEOMA was annoyed as soon as she woke up.

She didn't like that recently, she would often wake up in bed after getting knocked out. It made her feel weak and pathetic. She wanted to mope more, but when she saw Lewis and Trevor's bruised faces, concern replaced her irritation.

"Did you fight again?" Neoma asked in a tired voice. "What is it this time?"

Lewis pointed to Trevor. "Useless dog. Princess injured."

Ah, her son was talking like that again.

[Lewis must really be pissed.]

"How dare you call your future father a "dog?"" Trevor complained while glaring at Lewis. "And I admit I failed to protect your mother. But I'm not completely useless."

She let out a sigh when the two began their little staring (glaring) contest.

"Stop fighting," she said, then she stood up. "I need to talk to Papa Boss. Lewis, call Stephanie. I'll get changed first, so get out of my room."

Lewis nodded at her request. "I will call Miss Stephanie," he said, talking normally again. "You," he said, then he put Trevor in a chokehold. "Out."

Trevor groaned as a complaint. "You're so harsh on your father, Lewis."

"I'm not your son, Trevor."

Neoma could only sigh and shake her head. "Why do Lewis and Trevor always fight?" she wondered to herself, then she tilted her head to one side. "Is it because of me?"

If so, then she must be a sinful woman.

***

NEOMA blinked while looking at the ridiculously handsome man who blocked her way while she was walking in the hallway leading to Paige Avery's room. She heard from the servants that her Papa Boss went to Paige Avery after hearing that the mage was already awake. It was also the reason she was there.

But while she and Lewis were walking in the hallway, a man turned up. But since she didn't feel threatened, she asked her son to stay put.

"Who are you?" Neoma asked bluntly. "Why do you look like a de Moonasterio?"

Well, the man's long hair was silver and not white, and his eyes were blue (like diamonds) and not ash gray. But his divine power…

[Wait, his divine power is familiar!]

"It's me," the man said, and he had the same voice as the black jaguar she met earlier. "I'm Manu, the Moon Priest, and this is my human form."

She gasped softly. "Oh. You're handsome."

"Thanks."

"Anyway, I know we have to talk about Tteokbokki, but I need to see my father first," she said, then she walked past him. "If you want, you can follow me."

The Moon Priest walked alongside her. "You know, based on our rankings, you're supposed to walk behind me. We're not on the same level for you to walk alongside someone like me."

"Ah, it's missing again," she said lazily. "Lewis, can you see it?"

"No, Your Royal Highness," Lewis, who already knew how to respond to her sarcastic remarks, said promptly. "I can't see the damn you give to what the so-called Moon Priest said."

The Moon Priest's jaw dropped open.

"You heard my son," she said as she opened the door. "I don't give a damn."

After saying that, she turned her back on Manu and entered the room…

… only to be shocked when she saw Paige Avery slap her Papa Boss hard on the cheek.

"Nicholas de Moonasterio," Paige Avery, who was standing in front of the stunned Emperor Nikolai, said angrily. "I will never forgive you!"

Oh.

Neoma gasped softly. [Paige Avery thinks Papa Boss is my grandfather…]

***

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