AFTER the First Round ended, the candidates for the Selection were invited inside the People's Palace.
To be precise, the candidates were ushered to the dining hall with the capacity to entertain four hundred to five hundred guests. The People's Palace was named like that because it was supposed to be open to the public.
Anyway, while the candidates were having a feast for lunch, Neoma and her "children" were busy checking the 'artworks' that the candidates submitted.
Papa Boss and Mama Boss already returned to their offices, and so did Nero and Hanna. After all, her parents still had work to do as the emperor and the empress. That applied to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess as well.
But it was okay.
Lewis, Juri, Jeno, Xion, Paige, Greko, and Dahlia were enough to check the artwork with her. The eight of them were currently inside the royal bedroom that Neoma would use until the Selection was over.
"Wow," Neoma said while staring at the last artwork in her pile. "The Mermaid Prince is a talented artist."
Yep, the Merfolk Clan sent their youngest prince.
'Prince Reevo Hali.'
She took a peek at the Mermaid Prince earlier, and she must say that his ombre shoulder-length hair combined with his pretty green eyes stood out. Plus, his face was really pretty.
[He's the 'flower boy' type.]
"Prince Reevo looks a little faint-hearted, though," Juri commented. "I think he'll struggle in the next round."
"That's his charm, though," Neoma said cheerfully. "His face makes anyone feel the urge to protect him."
But she also had a feeling that Reevo would struggle in the next round.
[Merfolks are known to have a soft spot for animals, even if they are considered beasts by normal standards.]
Oh, well.
"Princess Neoma, you have to see this," Paige said in an urgent voice. "This is the artwork that Young Master Shane Carter submitted."
[Ah, the gender-bender 'young master.']
Neoma turned to the paper that Paige was handing over to her, then she immediately grabbed it.
The drawing had blobs of Darkness in the sky.
But what caught her attention was the drawing under the sky.
It looked like a church. But instead of Yule's symbol, the door and the windows of the church were covered in blobs of Darkness.
There was even a line written below.
["The God of Eternal Darkness has returned to save his devotees from getting swallowed by the Second Absolute Darkness."]
'Second Absolute Darkness?'
That line gave her shivers.
[Helstor, that bastard…]
However, the next lines that she read didn't stop giving her goosebumps. It almost looked like an essay.
["Your Imperial Highness, most of the children of the slums who could see the 'blobs of Darkness' in the sky have gone missing. My brother could see the same thing that I don't see, and he kept telling me that it would be the end of the world soon. A strange priest had visited our house once, and he was trying to recruit my brother to come to him. It sounded like a cult to me, so I chased the priest away. However, just last night, my brother ran away from home. If you help me find my brother, I will tell Your Imperial Highness everything that Marquis Spencer asked me to do in order to ruin the Selection."]
She wasn't surprised that Marquis Spencer sent his household's representative to ruin the Selection because they had already expected that to happen.
However, the thing that concerned her was the missing children of the slums.
Of course, she had already anticipated that the first people who would suffer if a war broke out were the poor.
Hence, she already sent Skylus and Manu to check on the slums.
Yep, the future Saint and the Moon Priest were currently in the slums– but they probably didn't know about the existence of the so-called Church of the Eternal Darkness.
[Skylus can't see everything, especially if Helstor covers his traces with Darkness.]
"Xion," Neoma said out loud, her heart beating fast against her chest because of how worried she was about Skylus and Manu. "Send someone to the slums now!"
"It will be faster if I went there myself, Princess Neoma. Moreover, I can track Prince Skylus and Lord Manu," Xion said calmly. "Please give me your orders."
Ah, right.
Xion was the quickest among them, and he could hide himself well.
Her son's calm response almost made her feel better.
[I shouldn't be hasty.]
"Go to the slums and escort Skylus and Lord Manu back to the palace, Xion," Neoma said in a calm voice. "If you meet the weird priest that Young Master Shane mentioned in her letter, do not engage in a fight. Your priority is to come back home safely."
Lord Manu could purify Darkness and create portals, so sending Xion alone should be fine.
Xion stood up and bowed his head towards her. "I'll go ahead then, Princess Neoma."
And, in just the blink of an eye, Xion disappeared in the dark quietly.
Neoma then turned to Dahlia. "Go to the emperor's palace and the Crown Prince's palace. Inform them about what happened."
Mama Boss had set up her office next to Papa Boss.
Hanna also did the same in Nero's office.
Hence, Dahlia only needed to go to two palaces in order to inform the emperor, the empress, the Crown Prince, and the Crown Princess about the urgent issue.
"Tell Hanna to summon Duke Quinzel in secret, too," Neoma added. "Duke Quinzel is in charge of the Public Order. Hence he has to know the horrible thing happening to the slums while we're busy here."
Dahlia stood up and nodded politely. "As you command, Princess Neoma."
"Thank you."
After Dahlia left, Neoma then faced Juri.
"Bring Young Master Shane here," Neoma ordered Juri. "Make it as natural as possible when you pulled 'him' out of the dining hall, Juri."
Juri nodded politely. "Consider it done, Princess Neoma."
And, just like that, Juri also left the room.
"Eomma, please drink this," Greko said, handing a teacup to her. "I personally brewed this tea for you."
Neoma smiled and nodded. "Thank you, baby."
"Eomma, I'm no longer a baby."
"You are~"
"Princess Neoma, should we take a break since we're already done checking the artwork?" Lewis asked politely. "You can't miss your lunch with the excuse of being busy."
She wanted to say that she wasn't hungry.
But she was pretty sure that her "children" wouldn't eat if she didn't.
"Okay," Neoma said, nodding. "Let's have lunch first."
Jeno stood up right away. "I'll bring the food, Princess Neoma."
"Thank you, Jeno."
Now that the urgent matters had been taken care of for now, Neoma finally felt like she could breathe again.
But there was still a pang in her heart.
[The children of the slums have gone missing…]
Neoma was late, and she hated herself for that.
***
SKYLUS had been visiting the slums for the past few days in order to spread Lord Yule's words.
It was Neoma noona who suggested that he should visit the slums first.
["When danger lurks around the empire, the first ones to be affected negatively would be the poor. Even if a war breaks out at this very moment, most of the nobles would be safe and warm in the comfort of their own homes. However, the poor don't have that privilege. Hence, we must protect them first."]
Skylus agreed with what Neoma noona said.
But he also knew that bringing food and water to the places that he visited wouldn't be enough. However, he thought it was better than doing nothing.
"We're too late."
Skylus heard what Lord Manu said, and his heart broke as he looked around the empty place.
It seemed like it used to be a village.
A poor one, but it was definitely a village where people used to live.
"There are traces of Darkness everywhere," Skylus said, his eyes glowing. The naked eyes couldn't see the mark of Darkness left in every corner of that place– but he could. "The people here…"
He couldn't finish his sentence because he already burst out crying.
Lord Manu carried him in his arms and gently rubbed his back.
"They were s-sacrificed, Lord Manu," Skylus said, crying as he buried his face against Lord Manu's neck. "I f-failed to save those people…"
"It's not your fault, Prince Skylus," Lord Manu comforted him. "And you can't expect to save everyone, every time."
He knew that the Moon Priest was correct.
However, it was something that was difficult for him to accept.
[I'm the new saint– I'm supposed to protect everyone.]
If only he was born with his divine power complete…
"Everything is your fault, Skylus."
Huh?
Skylus immediately raised his head– then he saw a familiar child that he had been looking for all this time. "Brother Dustin?"
It was the 'other' saint…
… and Dustin came with an army of "priests" clad in black.
"Prince Skylus, just stick to me," Lord Manu said in a serious tone. "Whatever happens, don't let go."
***
SHARON, who was acting like she was her twin brother, gasped softly when the staff accidentally bumped into her– pouring wine on her clothes as a result.
"I apologize, Young Master," the staff said, bowing his head towards her.
"I-It's alright," Sharon said, flustered because it had been a while since a staff talked politely to her. "I'll just go to the restroom and clean the stain."
It was a bummer since the food was great, but it was embarrassing to stay there with a stain on her clothes when everyone around her looked exceptional.
"Then allow me to escort you to the parlor room, Young Master," the staff said, pointing his hands to the exit. "This way, please."
Sharon meekly followed the staff, too scared to meet anyone's gaze.
But, to be honest, no one was actually paying attention to her. After all, everyone was busy talking about how great the food and the wine were.
[It's just me being self-conscious.]
Sharon thought she could finally breathe when she stepped out of the grand dining hall.
However, she spoke too soon.
A beautiful lady dressed in a knight's uniform greeted her.
Sharon, who was once a noble who had attended a few social gatherings in the past, immediately recognized the lady.
[This is Lady Juri Wisteria…]
"Young Master Shane, follow me," Lady Juri Wisteria said. She was smiling, but her pretty eyes looked called. "Her Imperial Highness is waiting for you."
Sharon gulped hard.
[Finally, it's time to meet Princess Neoma up close.]
***
NEOMA, who was sitting on the chair with her (creamy and shapely) legs crossed, was a bit startled when 'Young Master Shane' suddenly kneeled before her.
[I didn't ask them to kneel…]
"Princess Neoma, I can't tell you anything unless you help me," 'Young Master Shane' pleaded, their forehead touched the floor as they bowed desperately. "If I speak a word about the truth, the bomb inside me will explode!"
[What…?]
Lewis, who was obviously annoyed, immediately drew his sword and pointed it at the young master's nape. "How dare you grovel before the Imperial Princess with a bomb inside your body?"
"Calm down, Lewis," Neoma said, sighing. "Marquis Spencer… I should have let Nero kill that bastard."
***
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