NEOMA wasn't surprised by Ruto's feelings, though.
She had always known that he loved her, after all. And that wasn't the issue anyway.
[I never doubted that Ruto loves me. The question has always been "how much?"]
"Before you lost all your positive feelings for me, you said you'd choose me over the world or the greater good. If you have any plan to fall for me again, then you better make the same resolve. That's the only way to win me back," Neoma said, her heart aching while watching Ruto cry. Hence, her own tears already stopped falling. Now she was more concerned about Ruto than her own heart. "I'll touch your face, okay? Push me if you hate it."
Ruto just looked at her, his tears still rolling down his cheeks nonstop.
"It's okay to cry, but let's clean your handsome face first," Neoma said, wiping Ruto's tears, blood, and sweat off his face as carefully as possible. "Soju, a little help, please. Thank you."
As a response to her call, her hands were soon covered in a bluish light.
It was the Water Spirit's power.
Hence, right now, her hands served like a washcloth as she cleaned Ruto's face.
"Do you have a healing potion with you?" she asked. "You should drink one before you get a doctor or a Healer to treat your injuries."
Ruto suddenly grabbed her wrists, but he did it so gently that it didn't hurt.
[I was just a bit startled.]
"I'm fine now, Neoma," Ruto said weakly. "Thank you."
"Okay," she said, nodding. "Then you can let go of my wrists now."
Ruto looked surprised, but he still didn't let go of her wrists. "You're also… hurt. Let me give you some of my Mana so you'd recover faster."
"I appreciate the thought, but no thanks," she said. "I can't accept Mana from you when you need it more than I do."
"My injuries are external, but yours are internal."
She was about to argue that Ruto also received internal injuries, but she was interrupted when Aspen cleared his throat.
"With all due respect, both of you are severely injured externally and internally, Captain Ruto and Princess Neoma."
Neoma and Ruto turned to Aspen and talked at the same time. "Shut up, Aspen."
She said it lightheartedly, and she was just actually teasing the demigod because she knew what Ruto would say.
"Fine," Aspen said, acting like he was zipping out his mouth. "I'm the demigod here, but what am I compared to divine monsters like you two?"
'Divine monsters,' huh?
Neoma was impressed. "That's a new compliment."
Aspen flinched and avoided her gaze. "That wasn't exactly a compliment, Princess Neoma…"
"I get to decide that," she said stubbornly. "Divine monsters sound cool as heck, so it's a compliment."
"Uh, if you say so, Princess Neoma…"
"Hands."
Hmm???
Neoma was surprised when Lewis suddenly unsheathed his sword, then pointed the blade at Ruto's wrist.
"Princess Neoma asked you to let go."
"What a rude child," Aspen said, his eyes glowing menacingly while glaring at Lewis. "Who gave you the right to threaten our Captain Ruto?"
Neoma was about to stop Aspen and Lewis from fighting, but she realized she didn't have to.
Ruto already let go of her wrists and gave Aspen a warning look, causing the demigod to calm down and acted as if he wasn't just about to fight Lewis earlier.
[Aigoo.]
Neoma turned to Lewis, then Lewis silently put the sword back into the sheathe.
[He's also acting like he just didn't threaten to cut off Ruto's wrists.]
Aigoo.
"I'm sorry for touching you without permission, Neoma," Ruto said apologetically. "And thank you for helping me clean my face."
Neoma just nodded because she suddenly felt a shift in the air, then she stood up and turned around to greet the guest. "It's been a while, Lord Levi. Do you remember me?"
"As if the puny crows' curse would work on me."
[Yep, it's Lord Levi, alright.]
"That's Lord Levi for you," Neoma said, clapping her hands slowly in appreciation. "You're so OP. And is it just me or does my lord look more handsome than you did five years ago? Gosh, you'll pass as Ruto's older brother, my lord." She gave the God Among Gods a double thumbs up. "That's how young you look, Lord Levi."
At this point, everyone was looking at her weirdly.
Even Lewis' gaze was telling her that she was up to no good again.
Of course, even Lord Levi looked suspicious. "Are you sucking up to me or are you being sarcastic, young de Moonasterio? I know you're obsessed with attractive faces, but I also know you're not fond of me."
Neoma stopped clapping and turned serious. "I already broke up with Ruto, my lord."
"Do you want me to congratulate you for doing the right thing?"
"Gosh, look at that sass," she said, slightly annoyed. But she instantly calmed down after reminding herself that she wasn't here to fight the gods. "Lord Levi, since I did you a great favor by breaking up with your divine son, don't be shameless and give me a reward."
Lord Levi looked genuinely confused by her demand. "Why would I give you a reward for breaking up with my son?"
"You're not a man of culture, my lord," she teased the god slightly, then she crossed her arms over her chest. "Lord Levi, in Kdramas, rich moms offer their son's partner with a huge amount of money to break up with their child."
Now the god looked even more serious. "You're being serious?"
"I'm arrogant and sarcastic, but I never take dealing with gods lightly," Neoma said, then she turned to Ruto with an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry for using our break up this way, Ruto. I hope you know that I'm genuinely heartbroken. That's why I need to get compensation, at least."
"I'm not offended," Ruto said, and he looked quite amused. "I'm actually amazed since you're the first person to treat my divine father this way, Neoma."
"It's just one of my charms, Ruto," she said smugly, then she turned to Lord Levi again. "My lord, I'm serious. I want a reward."
Lord Levi looked at her with dubious eyes. "And if I agreed, what would you want as a reward?"
"Make me an exception to your strict rules."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You didn't lose your memories of me, so you know that I'm the most sought-after premium air purifier in the world," Neoma said, going straight to business. "After helping Goddess Alethea and fighting Ruto here, I can tell that most gods have noticed me again. It's only a matter of time before gods get involved in my business."
"Are you trying to tell me to turn a blind eye every time you summon a god for your own benefit?"
"Oh, as expected of the God Among Gods– my lord is quick to catch on," she said, clapping her hands again. "That's exactly what I want you to do."
"Do you know why rules are made in the first place?" Lord Levi scoffed, shaking his head. "It's to maintain the peace and order in both worlds."
"Lord Levi, please stop playing dumb," she said firmly. "You know that the peace you're talking about is ending soon."
The God Among Gods just looked as if he was threatening her.
"You can't shut me up, my lord," she said. "Both you and I know that I'm right. You let Lord Helstor, the God of Eternal Darkness, let loose for the past five years."
"I've already banned that sinner from the Upper World."
"But the damage has already been done, right?"
Of course, Levi couldn't refute her words.
"Lord Levi, I'm cleaning up after the mess that the supposedly all-powerful gods couldn't," Neoma said in a serious and slightly annoyed tone. "The least thing you could do for me is turn a blind eye whenever I drag the gods into my affairs. It's not like I'm only doing this for myself. You and Ruto are both obsessed with the "greater good," aren't you? Then consider what I do for the greater good."
"You're crossing the line, Neoma de Moonasterio."
She opened her arms to show the god the result of her fight with Ruto. "My lord, can't you see this mess? This is the result of my little sparring with Ruto. If we didn't stick to one rule, then the damage would have been worse."
"What are you trying to say this time?"
"If you send Ruto after me again for supposedly breaking your rules, I'll make sure our next fight would destroy the Upper World."
"You're too young to be threatening an old god like me, child."
"Don't call me a 'child' in an attempt to patronize me, my lord," Neoma said, her eyes now glowing red. "Do you think I enjoy helping gods? I'm in my golden years– I should be enjoying my youth and dating your divine son like a normal maiden in love. But I had to give that up for the sake of this fucking world. Ah, dammit. My lord is making me curse when I already made a resolve not to curse in front of Lewis!" She took a deep breath while fixing her bangs. "Sorry for raising my voice. I just kinda… snapped."
She wasn't a good person, but she wanted to avoid yelling at people as much as she could.
[Yelling doesn't solve anything, after all.]
"If my initial request is too much, then how about this, my lord?" Neoma said in a calmer voice this time. Then she raised three fingers. "Three times. Turn a blind eye to me for three times. After that, you may send Ruto after me."
The God Among Gods remained silent.
"Lord Levi, you know that the de Moonasterios are crazy, don't you? And I think I'm the craziest de Moonasterio born in history. Not crazy-bad like my grandfather and other ancestors that fucked up in the past, but crazy in a way that once I completely lost my mind, I'd end up burning the entire world to ashes," she said, laughing like she had lost it already. Then she stopped laughing. "So let's not make this more stressful than it already is."
She must really be insane for threatening the God Among Gods like this.
But she already snapped.
[I should seriously work on my temper…]
"Lord Levi, I don't think it's a bad deal," Ruto said, convincing his divine father. "You've seen the result of my fight with Neoma. If we fight like this every time she breaks the rules, then we might end up destroying both the human and the Upper World."
"Right? It's not like Ruto and I have infinite energies to continue fighting on this scale," Neoma added. "If we fight like this all the time, then both of us are bound to break down soon, no matter how OP we are. And admit it, Lord Levi. Ruto and I are your strongest "soldiers." We're probably the only ones who could protect this world FOR FREE. You can't afford to lose either of us, not when Lord Helstor is lurking around."
Yep, that was it.
That was the argument that softened up Levi's expression.
"Three times."
Oh?
"You can only break the rules three times, Neoma de Moonasterio," Levi said, giving in. "I expect you to stay away from my son from now on."
"Yep, I can do that, my lord. I'll stay away from Ruto from now on. However…" Neoma paused, then she turned to Ruto and looked at him straight in the eye. "It's not my responsibility if Ruto falls for me again and starts chasing me."
She honestly thought Ruto would deny it strongly.
However, Ruto just avoided her gaze.
[Are his ears red or is it just dried blood?]
And why was Ruto hugging the pastel-pink long coat that she draped over his shoulders earlier???
[Why is he acting like a shy maiden all of a sudden?]
Weirdly cute.
"I know that my son has never stopped loving you, but I also know that his duty is more important to him than what his heart says," Levi said confidently. "So you don't have to worry about that, Neoma de Moonasterio."
Neoma rolled her eyes before putting on her sunglasses again. "Lord Levi, don't make that your famous last words."
***
[AND WE'RE back.]
Neoma didn't give a fuck about her dignity as a royal princess anymore.
As soon as her feet touched the floor of the pavilion by the pond (her favorite place in the Royal Palace), she plopped to the ground.
It wasn't like she'd get a concussion since her head was sturdier than the concrete floor.
But before the back of her head could even touch the floor, Lewis (who got down on one knee) already used his hand as a cushion. Hence, she ended up lying her head on the back of Lewis' hand since he put it between her head and the floor.
"Careful," Neoma scolded Lewis. "Do you want my head to crush your hand?"
"My body is just as sturdy as yours, Princess Neoma."
"Even so–"
"Are you dying?"
Okay, she almost choked on her saliva. But she was a good actress. Hence, she quickly put on an innocent face. She also didn't avoid Lewis' piercing gaze. "If you're talking about what I said earlier, then you misunderstood. Trevor just wanted to put his remaining Mana to good use so he offered to extend my lifespan. He just wants me to live a longer life–"
"Princess Neoma, how long are you going to treat me like a child?" Lewis asked, his voice full of resentment. Then his golden eyes glowed, a sign that he was emotionally unstable at the moment. He must be because Lewis wasn't a bad kid who would cut her off rudely while she was still talking. "Am I that unreliable to you that you won't tell me the important things?"
"Lewis, you know that's not true…"
She trailed off.
To be honest, she still wanted to continue playing dumb because she didn't want her "son" to worry about her.
However, her brain stopped working when Lewis cried.
Yes, her "son" cried.
Big, fat tears rolled down Lewis' cheeks nonstop.
There was no good mother in the world who would want to see their child cry, especially if they were the cause of it.
[I'm a bad "mother" for making Lewis cry.]
"Five years," Neoma said, sighing. "I only have five years to live, Lewis."
***
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