"TSK." Nero couldn't help but click his tongue at Ruto. "It's annoying to see the face of the thief who dared to lay his hand on my precious twin sister."
"Yes, I'm the thief who dared to lay his hand on the precious Imperial Princess," Ruto said calmly. "To what do I owe the honor of getting a visit from the His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince in our humble abode?"
Tsk.
The Stroganoff Mansion wasn't, by any means, 'humble.' It was almost as big and as elegant as the Quinzel Mansion.
And, yes, he personally visited the annoying chef at his mansion.
The servants of House Stroganoff were very surprised when they saw him– especially since he was alone.
Technically, he wasn't alone.
William opened a portal for him so he could reach House Stroganoff fast. But the Grand Spirit didn't like dealing with humans, so William disappeared as soon as they arrived there.
"Did you know that Neoma lost her mind and almost gouged her eyes out?"
Ruto, who was about to sip his tea, visibly froze on the spot. "Excuse me?"
"I hate repeating myself."
"Is Princess Neoma okay?"
"Do you think I'd waste my time here if my precious twin sister is in grave danger?"
To be honest, he didn't want to be here either.
But he needed a reason to leave.
[I can't stand seeing Neoma bleeding. If I lost my mind to Lunacy, then I'll only bring more trouble to the family.]
Hence, he decided to step out in order to calm himself down.
"That child Greko or whatever his name is healed Neoma's eyes."
Ruto looked relieved by what he said.
"I thought you know everything that happens in the empire despite being a foreigner?" Nero mocked the guy, raising an eyebrow. "I also remember that you know almost everything about my precious Neoma."
"Princess Neoma is 'precious' to you now?"
"Always has been, and always will be," Nero said, then he sipped the tea that was served to him earlier. "I don't need to spell it out for you, do I?"
"Your Imperial Highness has retrieved your memories of Princess Neoma."
"Correct," he confirmed. "Anyway, Neoma woke up hungry. She likes the food you make the best, so drag your feet to the palace and cook for my precious twin sister."
"Your Imperial Highness could have just sent someone over to summon me," Ruto said, obviously suspicious. "I don't believe Your Imperial Highness personally came dropped by just to ask me to cook for Princess Neoma."
He scoffed. "You're the person who's going to make food for Neoma. Do you think I'd take it lightly? Of course not. If you mess up her food in any way, you're dead."
"I have my pride as a chef, Prince Nero– I would never mess with Princess Neoma's food or anyone else's for that matter."
"Ah, I thought you have already forgotten your roots as Chef Stroganoff," Nero said, smirking. "After all, you applied for the Selection as Ruto Solfrid– the successor of House Solfrid and the nephew of the most powerful kingdom on the Eastern Continent."
"Did Your Imperial Highness personally check the backgrounds of the candidates for the Selection?"
He scoffed, offended. "Do you think the Imperial Crown Prince have time to do a background check on pests like you? It's Melvin's job to screen the candidates. I just so happen to see that you and Duke Hawthorne are the top two candidates to win the Selection."
Ruto squinted his eyes. "Duke Hawthorne topped the list with me…?"
Wow, the arrogance.
"Did you think you were going to top the list ALONE?"
Ruto shrugged casually. "It's not down I'm looking down on Duke Hawthorne. I just thought my royal blood would help raise my value higher than the other candidates. That's why I registered myself as a Solfrid instead of a Stroganoff."
Oho?
[This is the perfect opportunity to crush this punk who dared to have a relationship with Neoma.]
"Have you forgotten that the Selection is to look for Neoma's future husband?" Nero said, chuckling. "The number one criteria would be the FACE, of course. It just so happens that Duke Hawthorne's face is more attractive than yours, Ruto Solfrid."
"…"
Ruto couldn't say anything back.
[It seems like I've hit a nerve.]
Nero was satisfied with his job well done. He was about to leave when Ruto opened his mouth to speak.
"If face is the number one criteria, then I'm glad."
"Wow. Are you confident despite having an average face?"
To be fair, Ruto's face wasn't average by normal standards.
But if Rubin Drayton was in the mix, then Ruto's face would automatically get demoted to average.
[I don't want to say this, but Rubin Drayton's face is really out of this world.]
"I'm confident not because I think my face is great, but because Neoma said my face is her favorite as it gives her the tranquility that she needs," Ruto said, addressing Neoma casually with an annoying "gentle" smile on his face. "At the end of the day, it's still Neoma who's going to choose her husband and not you or your secretary, Prince Nero."
[This bastard…!]
Nero was seriously contemplating throwing his gloves at Ruto's face when the door to the tearoom suddenly burst open.
Then a familiar nagging followed.
"I apologize for interrupting your conversation, Prince Nero and Lord Ruto," Melvin said in a voice that was almost crying. Then he knelt and hugged Nero's leg. "Prince Nero, do you know how much His Imperial Majesty scolded me for letting you leave the palace alone when I didn't even know you went out?! How hard is it for you to tell me in advance if you're out to spread menace to the world?! I'm the one who's going to clean up after your mess anyway, so please, please, please don't keep me in the dark!"
Ah, this bastard secretary of his was really good at "subtly" insulting him.
"Stop overreacting," Nero said, patting Melvin's head. He actually wanted to smack his secretary's head, but he didn't want to give him a reason to resign. "How did you even know I'm here? Did you put a tracking device on me?"
"I don't need to do that, my prince," Melvin said, raising his head to look at him with a smug look on his face. "You have a one-track mind, Prince Nero. When Empress Mona said you went out saying you'll bring Princess Neoma's favorite chef to the palace, I knew you'd look for Lord Ruto. Fortunately, the candidates for the Selection were required to note where they would be staying in the capital, so I knew Lord Ruto would be at home."
[And he's wondering why I wouldn't let him resign…]
Melvin could be dumb sometimes.ραпdαs `n?ν?| сom
"Let's go home, Prince Nero," Melvin said while wiping the tears off his face with his hands. "I brought the royal carriage for you, but we could take the shortcut to avoid the eyes of the citizens since I also brought Lucien with me."
"Alright, let's go home," Nero said, then he turned to Ruto with cold eyes. "See you at the Selection, Lord Ruto." He addressed the pest properly to put a distance between them. "The list of the successful candidates for the Selection would be released three days from now, but I guess you already know you passed even if I didn't come here to inform you."
***
"PRINCESS NEOMA, here's the list of the successful candidates for the Selection."
"Thank you, Dahlia," Neoma said, smiling at her secretary. "Good work."
She had been stuck in her room for two days already because she was 'grounded.'
For the first day of her 'confinement,' she couldn't really do anything because her eyes were blindfolded.
Of course, it was a special blindfold that helped her eyes recover quickly.
During that time, she asked Lewis to bring Dahlia to her.
She then asked if the Black Witch wanted to be her secretary, and so here they were now.
"The list would be released tomorrow morning, Princess Neoma," Dahlia, who sat on the chair next to her bed, said. "Then the Selection would begin the day after."
Oh, good.
Fortunately, Neoma's blindfold was already removed by Greko this morning. Hence, she could now clearly read the list of successful candidates for the Selection. And then she burst out laughing after seeing familiar names on the list.
Ruto Solfrid.
Jasper Hawthorne.
Trevor Kesser.
But there were also two names that made her frown instantly.
Rubin Drayton.
Noah Solfrid.
"What is a relic from the past doing here?" Neoma asked, clicking his tongue. "I thought we put an age requirement to the criteria, so how did Noah Solfrid pass the screening? That fugly bastard is as old as the ancient gods. Even if you combined all my previous lives together, I would still be a baby compared to that pervert."
"According to Sir Melvin, Candidate Noah Solfrid's physical age is twenty-five years old. His good looks and background as a Solfrid were also good enough for him to pass the initial screening," Dahlia explained, then she gave her a look full of worry. "Should I ask Sir Melvin to remove Candidate Noah Solfrid from the list?"
She considered it for a moment, then she shook her head. "Tell them to proceed with this."
[Trevor and Jasper oppa would be there. They could just get rid of the Ancient Devil is that fugly old bastard starts to act funny.]
The thing that bothered her more was Ruto.
[Did he apply as a candidate for the sake of his duty? Or is it because he fell in love with me all over again?]
Her big brain knew it was probably the former.
But her 'delulu' heart wanted to believe the latter.
And, for some reason, Neoma suddenly remembered the hot kiss that she shared with Ruto.
[Dammit, that was sooo good.]
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock on the door before it burst open.
Then Nero entered the room, followed by Lewis who was pushing a food cart.
[Ah, it's time for lunch.]
Neoma was aware that the food she had been eating for the past two days were all cooked by Ruto.
But Ruto hadn't visited her yet.
[It's okay, I feel his concern in the warm and delicious meals he makes for me anyway.]
Dahlia stood up and bowed her head politely towards Nero. "Greetings to the Lesser Moon of the Great Moonasterion Empire."
"You may do away with the formalities, Miss Dahlia," Nero said indifferently, and he didn't even look at the Black Witch. "Can you leave the room for a moment? I need to speak to my sister in private."
Neoma waved her hand to Dahlia. "See you later, Dahlia."
Dahlia just smiled and bowed politely before leaving the room quietly.
[Whew.]
Neoma was glad that Nero was treating Dahlia like how he would treat the other servants.
[I mean, it's pretty rude and he acts snobbish around Dahlia. But it's better than acting obsessed with her when he already has THE Hanna Quinzel for a fiancée.]
Speaking of Hanna…
[It seems like Hanna is avoiding me lately. She comes to visit me with Mama Boss, but she never comes to my room alone as if she doesn't want to talk to me in private.]
"Neoma, let me feed you."
"Why?" Neoma asked, surprised. "I can use my hands, you know?"
Lewis, who was silently putting out the 'breakfast tray,' looked at Nero with a disgusted look on his face.
[Uhm, Lewis, Nero is still the Crown Prince so let's control our expressions, okay?]
"It's your punishment for still working even after being grounded," Nero said, smiling 'sweetly' at her. "So, let your big brother feed you, okay?"
Argh, goosebumps.
Neoma almost died from cringe.
[The siscon is truly back…]
***
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