"GOSH, look at how puffy your eyes are," Neoma said worriedly while looking at Lewis' face. His eyes were puffy and his nose was red– it was very obvious that he cried. "Your siblings will tease you if they saw you now."
"Your eyes are as puffy as mine," Lewis said in a hoarse voice. "They won't tease you, but I'm sure they'll blame me for making you cry, Princess Neoma."
"You're calling me 'princess' again."
She already noticed it earlier, but only now did she get the chance to bring it up.
"I'm sorry for acting childish and rude earlier, Princess Neoma," Lewis said, bowing his head in apology. "I'm your knight, and will soon be your Guardian Knight. My priority should only be keeping you safe. I shouldn't have been swayed by my petty feelings and demanded to be given permission to call you by your first name. After all, you've already allowed me to speak casually to you when there's only the two of us. I shouldn't have been greedy."
[It's rare to see and hear Lewis talk this much. He really looks regretful when he shouldn't be.]
"Your feelings aren't petty, Lewis," Neoma said softly. "I should be the one to blame. You know that I don't care about social hierarchy, don't you? That's why I'm fine if my friends call me by my first name despite our different social ranks."
Of course, in a formal setting, her friends and allies would address her by her title like how she would do.
"But you're special, Lewis," she said, her voice almost a whisper. "You were the first person to acknowledge and treat me as a royal princess. At first, I only asked you to keep calling me 'Princess Neoma' so I wouldn't forget my identity while posing as Nero. But even if everyone has finally recognized me as the Imperial Princess now, I'd still like to be reminded of the hardships that I went through just to be where I am today through you, Lewis. After all, you've been with me since day one."
Lewis had always been by her side since the moment they met.
She didn't have to win him over because he stood by her as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world.
"I know it's unfair for me to say this after your confession, but you're still my most favorite person in the world, Lewis," Neoma said, pouring her heart and soul into every word she said. "It doesn't change even if I don't allow you to call me by my first name."
This time, Lewis took it well. He nodded subtly, his face brighter than it was earlier.
[He's really a good "son."]
Wait, that wouldn't be right anymore.
"Lewis, as you said earlier, I will no longer be an Imperial Princess once Nero ascends the throne."
She was a princess now because she was the emperor's daughter.
But once Nero ascended the throne, she would receive a new title as the new emperor's twin sister.
[I will always be a princess because I was born one, but my official title will change. The empire's law dictates that only the current emperor's children have the right to use the 'His/Her Royal Highness' royal title.]
"By that time, you'll probably need to address me as a lady or a duchess," Neoma said, laughing softly because she was reminded by the time she demanded Papa Boss to give her a new title back when their relationship was still shitty. "Anyway, when that time comes, you'll no longer be obligated to keep your promise to me. You still can't call me by my first name without a title, but I will no longer call you my "son.""
Lewis looked shocked by what she said. "Really? I've been telling you that I hate it for more than a decade now, Princess Neoma. Why did you suddenly change your mind?"
[Gosh, talkative Lewis is really savage, huh?]
"Well, you confessed your feelings," Neoma said awkwardly. "I know I was a jerk for ignoring your wishes all this time because of my selfishness, but I'll be a total garbage if I still continue treating you like a "son" after your confession. Having said that, I need time to prepare mentally to let you go as my "son." So, give me until Nero's coronation."
"I would have confessed sooner if I knew that what would make you stop calling me your son, Princess Neoma."
Wow.
Lewis really dropped a joke with a straight face, huh? If it wasn't for his joking tone, Neoma wouldn't realize that he was teasing her.
[Well, at least he's in a good mood now.]
"I'm sorry for making you cry, Lewis," Neoma said softly. "And thank you for confessing your feelings for me."
"Princess Neoma, I really don't care that you rejected me. In the first place, I never expected you to reciprocate my feelings. The fact that I'm important to you is enough," Lewis said sincerely as his golden eyes glowed beautifully. "So, from now on, I'll act spoiled with you."
"I always spoil you, though?"
"Princess Neoma, you don't depend on me when it matters," he complained lightly, sulking. "That's why I'm going to depend on you this time. I'm going to bother you so you'd realize that I can't live without you."
Huh?
[What's this? Did Lewis just use the uno-reverse card on me???]
"You don't have to do that, you silly boy," Neoma said while clicking her tongue. "I will live long enough to see the crows burn to death."
Lewis didn't say anything this time, but there was a mysterious glint in his golden eyes.
[Okay, why am I suddenly nervous? He's not going to use his Fox Bead anymore, is he?]
"Anyway, make sure you keep this a secret," she reminded him. "I'll tell my parents and your siblings about my lifespan later."
"Is Tteokbokki not listening to our conversation?"
She shook her head. "Trevor could be a loudmouth sometimes, so I made sure Tteokbokki and my other Spirits are sealed properly within my soul. They will only hear my voice when I summon them. Tteokbokki kicked up a fuss, but whatever."
Lewis let out a sigh. "Tteokbokki will lose it if he finds out."
Yeah.
Lewis took the news calmly (he cried, though), but Tteokbokki would definitely make a big deal out of it.
"Let's head back," Neoma said, already tired of thinking about how Tteokbokki would react to the fact that she only had five years to live. Well, her Soul Beast had the right to know because he would also die if she died. But not yet. "Mama Boss is waiting for us."
***
"DID YOU two… fight?"
Neoma smiled awkwardly at Mama Boss.
To be honest, she took a quick shower before facing her mother. She also put some ice on her puffy eyes. But it didn't do shit.
Lewis also looked the same.
[Anyway…]
The portal that they were going to use was in Papa Boss' room, so the members of the "away mission" was already gathered there: Neoma, Lewis, Dahlia, and Mama Boss.
"We already made up, Mama Boss," Neoma said. "And it was my fault. I made Lewis cry."
Lewis nodded in agreement. "Princess Neoma made me cry, Lady Roseheart."
Neoma was shookt.
[Lewis… is in his rebellious phase.]
"Is that so?" Mama Boss asked Lewis worriedly. "Did Neoma apologize to you, dear?"
Lewis nodded politely. "Yes, Lady Roseheart. Princess Neoma also promised that she'll dote on me a lot from now on."
[…]
"Oh, that's nice to hear," Mama Boss said, turning to her. "Neoma, I won't ask what happened between you and Lewis. But is everything settled now?"
Neoma smiled and nodded. "Yes, Mama Boss."
"Very well," her mother said. "How about your fight with Ruto?"
"I won, Mama Boss," she said, giving her mother a thumbs up. "And we already broke up for real this time."
Mama Boss looked shocked.
Even Dahlia, who had been quiet all this time, gasped softly.
"Neoma, I won't ask how you feel because I know you must be hurting right now," Mama Boss said, holding her hands gently. "But if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."
"Thank you, Mama Boss," Neoma said, smiling. Then she changed the topic. It was still hard for her to be reminded of her break-up with Ruto, after all. "Are Papa Boss and Nero not going to send us off?"
She would understand why Nero wasn't there.
But for Papa Boss to miss sending them off…
[Well, it's good for me.]
After all, Neoma was wearing a crop top. Her Papa Boss would surely sulk again. After all, her father never got used to her wearing modern, slightly revealing clothes.
"Your father is busy catching some… rats."
Aha.
She was hardly surprised.
"If the crows sent rats, that means what they're looking for is information," Neoma said, sighing while shaking her head. "They probably want to know what we're up to."
"We can't hide the fact that we're leaving the palace," Mama Boss said. "But we should at least hide where we are headed to."
That was exactly why Neoma's "children" and friends weren't there.
[We're being lowkey.]
"I'll cover our tracks well," Dahlia said shyly, her cute face red as if she was embarrassed. "I promise the crows won't be able to trace us. Please trust me, Lady Roseheart, Princess Neoma."
Neoma and Mama Boss both smiled at Dahlia.
"We trust you, Dahlia."
"We trust you, Miss Dahlia."
***
IT HAD been a while since Nikolai had gone on a killing spree.
He didn't expect he'd be doing it in his son's palace, though. Sadly, most of the rats turned out to be people serving Nero.
[Calyx must have planted those rats here.]
"Father, I'm not a child," Nero, who was walking behind him, complained. "I can protect myself."
Nikolai turned around to face his son.
Like him, Nero was also covered in blood.
[Of course, it's not our blood.]
To be fair, they could have killed the assailants without getting splattered by the enemies' filthy blood.
[But where's the fun in that?]
Nikolai was sad that he couldn't send off Mona and Neoma because of those darned rats.
On the other hand, he was also grateful that Mona and Neoma wouldn't see him in this state.
[Otherwise, they would have scolded me.]
"The crows will never stop until they get a hold of you, so I'm not letting you out of sight," Nikolai said firmly. "I'll assign two of my Soul Beasts with you just like I did when you were a toddler."
"I have two Soul Beasts– I don't need yours, Father."
"The more, the merrier."
His son gave him a disgusted look.
He ignored the disrespectful gaze that his son gave him. "My Paladins will return tomorrow morning. I'll ask them to stick to you."
"Father, are you keeping an eye on me because you're afraid that I'll betray you and come to Calyx's side?"
"Of course not," he said without hesitation. "You wouldn't do that."
Nero knitted his eyebrows. "And what made you say so, Father?"
"Because Neoma is already here," Nikolai said, turning his back on Nero to slash the attacker that sneaked up on him. Blood splattered on him, but he didn't mind. Bathing in the enemies' blood had never failed to keep his fighting spirit alive. "Nero, you will betray anyone in this world but your twin sister."
***
"FATHER, this is too much!"
Nero hated raising his voice, but he couldn't help it.
After taking a shower, he went back to his bedroom only to find his father using the lounging area of his room as his office. His father, just like him, was also wearing his sleepwear. But it was clear his father had no intention to sleep tonight because of work.
"Why are you yelling?" his father, who was sitting on the sofa while reading some documents, asked without even turning to him. "That's unbecoming of a Crown Prince like you."
"Are you going to keep an eye on me all night?" Nero complained. "I'm not a child. And I have my own knights."
"You should be grateful, you little rascal," his father said, raising his head just to smirk at him. "Nero, you have the strongest man in the empire as your personal guard."
***
TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY~~~ Please go to my k/o-fi page (ko-fi. com/sola_cola) and donate/buy a coffee if you can. If I reach my target amount of donations, I get to win the May Challenge. I'm still so far away from the target since only one person has donated so far. Please help~ T_T Only if you can, of course. Hehe~
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