"GREETINGS, Your Majesties," Mona greeted the Merfolk King and Queen politely. "I am Mona Roseheart, Neoma's mother."
The rumors about the merfolks being one of the most beautiful races in the human world were true.
[No wonder there are reports of humans losing their minds at the sight of a merfolk.]
The king, a merman, introduced himself as Lagun Hali. He was a man who looked like he was in his early fifties, and yet he still looked good and fit for his age.
Mona couldn't help but notice the king's body since all mermen around were topless.
[I'm glad Nikolai wasn't here with us.]
Anyway, the queen, a mermaid, introduced herself as Cordelia Hali. The queen looked like she was the same age as the king. And god, the mermaid queen aged like fine wine.
[I want to age gracefully like the mermaid queen.]
"You're a person who doesn't need to introduce herself, Lady Roseheart," Queen Cordelia said politely. Her beautiful face remained stern, but her voice and manner of speaking were both polite and calm, befitting of someone of her status. "Every child of Nature knows who you are."
Ah, right.
The merfolks were also children of Nature.
"We wish to give you a warmer welcome, but we're quite flustered about what is happening," King Lagun said carefully while stealing glances from Neoma's direction. "Is there a reason why Princess Neoma has to keep herself hidden along with the bubble of Impure Mana?"
As expected, the king and queen were offended.
Even Maan couldn't defend Neoma.
[It's understandable, though.]
But the other merfolks around them looked more nervous than offended. They were probably wondering what Neoma was doing to the bubble of Impure Mana that was about to explode.
It couldn't be helped since the merfolks were in the middle of evacuating when their group arrived. In fact, the king and queen were outside the palace because they were about to cast another layer of shield in order to contain the Impure Mana on the verge of bursting.
"I'm afraid it's a necessary step to hide my daughter while she's purifying the Impure Mana inside the bubble," Mona explained in a calm yet firm voice. "My daughter's ability is something that greedy beings covet."
It was enough explanation, and she didn't elaborate.
The royal family seemed to understand the situation right away.
Mona didn't offer an apology.
She was aware that Neoma's action caused uneasiness to the merfolks. However, her daughter wasn't obligated to show everyone how she worked. It wasn't even written in the contract.
[Neoma, despite being a princess, easily hands out apologies because of her upbringing as 'Kim Neoma.' Although I believe humility is a good virtue, the situation has already changed the moment she was recognized as the Imperial Princess.]
Mona wasn't saying that Neoma shouldn't apologize anymore.
[An apology must be given if it has to be. However, this isn't the case where we need to apologize for our actions that would benefit the merfolks in the end. Neoma has to exercise her privilege as the Imperial Princess from time to time.]
"If that's the case, then we understand," the king said, looking once again in Neoma's direction with a profound look on his face. "For centuries, no one has succeeded in purifying Impure Mana. The fact that the Great Moonasterion Empire's Imperial Princess was born with the ability to do so will surely shock the world."
Mona clenched her hands in silence.
[And the world will even get more shocked if they find out that the key to Neoma's ability is her breath. My daughter did a good job using her blood for now. But it's only a matter of time before everyone finds out that the air in her lungs is special.]
Once that fact spread, then the gods would realize that Neoma could be the next Aether.
[We should delay it as long as we can.]
"The Great Moonsterion Empire is truly blessed by the Moon Good."
Mona smiled bitterly at what the merman said.
She was about to leave a sarcastic remark, but someone else beat her to it.
"It's a blessing for the empire, but a curse for the young princess," Queen Cordelia said, frowning. But there was a look of pity in the queen's eyes as she turned to Mona. "It must be hard to protect a daughter as special as yours, Lady Roseheart. You did a good job hiding her existence all this time."
Ah, it was the sympathy of a mother to another mother.
"My daughter survived mostly on her own. I haven't done much for her as a mother," Mona admitted with a bitter smile on her face. "But I intend to make it up to Neoma for the rest of my life."
***
FOR REFERENCE, the weight of the bubble that contained the Impure Mana that Neoma needed to purify was probably around three thousand pounds.
The size looked smaller than its weight, but it didn't make it less dangerous.
[If this amount of Impure Mana contaminates the sea, many merfolks will die along with more than half of the marine life in this kingdom.]
Obviously, a small cut on her palm wouldn't be enough to purify it.
Hence, when a portion of the Impure Mana was finally cleansed, she stepped up her game.
[Soju, once again, I trust you.]
Before Neoma pushed her hand into the hole created by a crack on the barrier, she had to get out of the bubble that Dahlia created for her. But she didn't drown or get crushed by the water pressure because of Soju's protection.
Her Water Spirit covered her entire body with his power. It allowed her to breathe underwater.
No, scratch that.
It actually gave her a body similar to a mermaid's.
[Except for the tail and scales, of course.]
<"Don't worry, Princess Neoma. I got your back. As long as we're underwater, I'm your strongest Spirit~">
And she believed that with all her heart.
<"Princess Neoma, don't worry about a thing. No one except our group could see you at the moment.">
It was Trevor's voice ringing in her head.
[Thank you.]
Neoma then punched the barrier.
Of course, the long cracks completely collapsed after she punched it. But she didn't let the Impure Mana leak out. As soon as the barrier was broken, she created a Dome big enough to contain the Impure Mana before it could contaminate the water.
This time, she was inside the Dome filled with the air from her lungs.
And, as expected, she slowly yet surely ran out of breath.
[Haaah.]
"I think I have at least thirty minutes to clean up this shit before my lungs collapsed," Neoma joked to herself. "Let's just hope I don't faint this time."
That, of course, ended up as wishful thinking.
***
"I'M seriously craving sushi."
That was Neoma's first thought as soon as she opened her eyes and saw little colorful fish swimming around her.
She was lying on a comfortable bed in a room that seemed to be pulled out from The L*ttle Mermaid movie. Of course, she knew why she was there. She definitely fainted after successfully purifying Impure Mana with her breath.
Ah, she also noticed that she was alone in the room.
But she didn't have the energy to think about anything serious at the moment. That was how drained she felt right now.
[The mighty Neoma Roseheart de Moonasterio is lowbatt.]
"Wow, salmon," Neoma said, almost grabbing the salmon that hovered above her. "Will it still be considered sashimi if I put it in my mouth and eat it raw???"
"Hey, have mercy on the poor fish."
Huh?
She turned to her side and was surprised to see Tteokbokki, in his human form, sitting on the chair next to the bed.
Fuck.
Were her senses numbed that she didn't notice her Soul Beast next to her?
"Why did you come out?" Neoma asked, getting up. Thankfully, she didn't feel any pain after her abrupt movement. "I didn't summon you."
She practically sealed Tteokbokki in order to prevent him from hearing about her condition.
"I summoned myself out!"
Okay, that was ridiculous.
[I'm not surprised, though. Tteokbokki is a silly boy, after all.]
"You fainted, so the barrier that you made to seal me weakened," Tteokbokki said, glaring at her. "Hey, thug princess. Locking me up against my will is violence! Are you living up to your name as the 'thug princess,' huh? Why are you bullying me this way?!"
Argh.
"You're probably the only Soul Beast who yells at their master," Neoma complained lightly. "If Nero was your master, he would have killed you already for raising your voice at him."
"If Prince Nero was my master, I would have unalive myself already."
Pfft.
It was funny because Tteokbokki also learned how to speak meme like Trevor.
"Seriously, you're acting suspicious, thug princess," Tteokbokki said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You only summon my flame, not me. Worse, you even block my senses. It's as if you don't want me around. You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"
Gosh, this quick-witted bastard.
"I just don't need you these days," she said, playing dumb. "You hate working anyway."
Tteokbokki scoffed at her. "You can't fool me, thug princess. I have a big brain, too."
"Tsk."
"Ah, look at her clicking her tongue. Someone is guilty."
She snapped her fingers, irritated. "Shut up and go home."
And, just like that, Tteokbokki's body began to turn translucent. "Even if you send me back, don't think that you've gotten rid of me already, thug princess," he warned her while glaring at him. "I'll come back and find out your secret!"
Neoma just rolled her eyes, pretending that she didn't care. "Whatever~"
Tteokbokki just glared at her until he disappeared and returned to her soul.
Whew.
That was nerve-wracking.
[I almost got caught.]
To be fair, Neoma knew that Tteokbokki deserved to know the truth about her lifespan. After all, her Soul Beast would die with her. Even so…
[I need more time for my mental preparation.]
"Neoma, baby, are you awake?"
Oh, it was Mama Boss.
Neoma smiled when her mother entered the room.
When the door opened, she noticed that Lewis was outside guarding the door. Her "son" looked worried about her, but let out a sigh of relief when he saw that she was already awake.
Neoma mouthed the words 'I'm fine' to Lewis who nodded politely in response.
Now she wondered where Trevor and Dahlia had gone to, especially the demon boy.
[Trevor should still be resting.]
"I'm fine now, Mama Boss," Neoma said energetically. "Mama Boss, I see that you and Lewis can breathe just fine even without the bubble that Dahlia made for us."
"Queen Cordelia gave us a pill that temporarily gave us the abilities of a merfolk," her mother explained, then she sat down on the chair that Tteokboki vacated earlier. "Your Soul Beast appeared when you fainted after cleaning the Impure Mana inside the bubble. He brought you back to us. Where did he go?"
"Tteokbokki seems tired, so I sent him back, Mama Boss," she lied with a straight face, then she quickly changed the subject. "Where are Trevor and Dahlia?"
"Trevor looked tired, so I told him to rest. He's in the room next door," her mother said. "Dahlia and Maan are having a video conference with Hanna in the conference room. The ladies are waiting for you, Neoma."
She knitted her eyebrows curiously. "Hanna? Did Hanna contact us, Mama Boss?"
"It seems like Hanna has something important to tell you, so she reached out to Dahlia. The two have a private communication device connected to each other," Mama Boss explained, then she touched Neoma's cheek with the back of her hand. "Are you really fine now, baby?"
"I'm really fine, Mama Boss. I got enough rest already," Neoma said, smiling as she assured her mother that she was totally fine and healthy. "Shall we join the ladies' conference meeting?"
***
<"I'LL TELL you about it later, Neoma.">
Huh?
Neoma raised an eyebrow after Hanna changed her mind.
Right now, she could see her cousin's face in the hand mirror. It was the communication device that Hanna and Dahlia used to talk.
[I'm glad my past sister-in-law and my future sister-in-law are getting along well.]
"I asked everyone to leave the conference room for a moment because I thought you have something important to tell me," Neoma said carefully. "Isn't that the main reason why you reached out to Dahlia?"
<"That's true, but I realized that THIS is more important,"> Hanna said in an excited voice. It was obvious that the Quinzel Princess' big brain was working very hard at the moment. <"Dahlia introduced me to Princess Maan earlier, and Princess Maan told me about the contract you two made.">
"Okay. What about it?"
<"You succeeded in cleansing Impure Mana, didn't you?">
"Hanna, we can't reveal that to the world yet," she warned Hanna whose eyes were sparkling at the moment. "I know it's only a matter of time before my god-like abilities get exposed. But I'd like to buy as much time as possible."
<"We don't have to announce how exactly you saved the merfolks. Let's just highlight that you SAVED them, and so the merfolks' royal family pledged their allegiance with you.">
"You're making me nervous, girl. What are you planning?"
<"A hero's welcome!"> Hanna said, her face beaming. <"Neoma, let's dominate them all with your victorious return– the Imperial Family, the common people, and the high society.">
Neoma laughed awkwardly. "Hanna, your enthusiasm scares me a bit…"
***
PFFT.
Nero thought he had seen all the dirty things he could while observing the nobles under his reign.
He was aware of how filthy most of the nobles were.
In fact, decent nobles like Duke Rufus Quinzel were rarer than the dirty ones.
He thought he could stomach it since he was bound to rule the nobility once he ascended the throne.
But he might be wrong.
"You're older than my father, Marquis Spencer," Nero said to the marquis who dared to block his way as soon as he entered the Royal Moon Academy premise. "And yet you're asking me for my twin sister's hand in marriage."
"Prince Nero, I'm not asking for Princess Neoma's hand in marriage for free," Marquis Russell said calmly. "I have an offer Your Royal Highness won't be able to resist."
That sounded interesting.
He already had it all, so what else could a mere marquis offer him?
Nero smiled at Marquis Spencer. "Let's hear it then."
***
[MY EMPLOYER… has that crazy look in his eyes again.]
Melvin almost felt bad for Marquis Spencer when he saw the frenzied look in Prince Nero's eyes. But the dumb marquis was too dense to notice it. His lordship probably thought he was coaxing the Crown Prince successfully.
[Should I feel bad for the marquis?]
But he quickly reminded himself that the marquis was a predator aiming for the young Imperial Princess. Granted that Princess Neoma was already of legal age, it was still disgusting that Marquis Spencer– who was older than the emperor– proposed to Her Royal Highness.
Melvin could only shake his head.
[The marquis deserves whatever Prince Nero will do to him soon.]
He was the type to condone violence as long as it only applied to evil people, especially those perverts who would prey on children.
"Hey, you."
Melvin, who was behind the knights that followed Prince Nero closely, stopped walking and turned around. "Sandie?"
Right, he almost forgot that his childhood friend was attending the academy at the moment.
Sandie, as domineering as ever, pointed a thumb behind her. "Let's talk, crybaby."
***
NOTE: Yey, just 3 more days before my birthday~ I posted a new 4-panel comic on my ko-fi page featuring Neoma, Nero, Trevor, and Ruto. Check it out (k/o-fi.com/sola_cola) and pretty please help me win the May Challenge by donating/buying coffee if you can. Thank you~
***
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