[THIS type of Darkness is not that hard to purify.]
But wow.
It was probably because Neoma's purifying ability reached its peak after her enlightenment as the agent of the Goddess of Light.
[My OP-ness is starting to scare me…]
"Princess Neoma– eek!"
The commoner who tried to approach Neoma suddenly shrieked when Lewis stopped him by pushing his scabbard against the poor man's throat.
Lewis didn't even draw his sword and yet, it was enough to intimidate the commoner.
"You, deaf?" Lewis asked, his golden eyes glowing menacingly. "Imperial Princess. Ordered shut up."
The poor man immediately covered his mouth with his hands in fear.
[Gosh, Lewis and his bad habit of speaking incoherently to people he doesn't like.]
Fortunately, despite Lewis' confusing words, the poor man understood that he needed to shut his mouth.
"As I said earlier, I know what's going on," Neoma said calmly, gently patting Lewis on the shoulder. It was okay since it wasn't skin-to-skin contact. "Guys, you probably think the world is already coming to an end. But I assure you, you're wrong."
Lewis pulled his scabbard away from the commoner's throat, then he stepped back to allow Neoma to face the candidates properly.
[Good boy.]
"The world cannot end without my permission," Neoma said confidently. "Anyone who says otherwise can fuck off."
Trevor laughed again.
But, this time, the demon boy wasn't the only person who laughed. It seemed like more and more candidates were getting used to her foul mouth.
[Papa Boss, I'm sorry I failed to keep up appearances as the Imperial Princess…]
Neoma set those thoughts aside first, then she faced her next victims– er, targets. "I'll save you. But whether you'd trust me or the person who put that awful thing in your hearts, you be the judge of that. Let me appeal, though."
To be honest, she knew she didn't have to 'appeal.'
But she wanted to help the poor dudes relax a bit because they looked so stressed out at the moment.
[Let's calm them down first.]
"You shouldn't trust anyone in this world, not even your family or friends. Keep in my mind that even I, the Imperial Princess, could end up stabbing you in the back," Neoma said, then she crossed her arms over her chest. "But wouldn't getting betrayed by a crazy beautiful woman like me sound better than getting betrayed by a bunch of crazy dudes that follow a shady god?"
The commoner looked dumbfounded at first.
Until a certain someone yelled his simp-ness.
"You could betray me all you want, my Moon Princess! I'd rather die at your beautiful hands than die at the hands of some random filthy things!"
[Oh, Trevor… you simp.]
Lewis clicked his tongue. "Princess Neoma, we should seriously consider disqualifying that noisy candidate. He's very loud and distracting and obnoxious."
[And you sound like a whining puppy, my son.]
"My boy, Lewis, jealousy doesn't look good on you~"
Lewis glared at Trevor.
Pfft.
[These boys are funny.]
Neoma clapped her hands together and, in an instant, Trevor and Lewis both shut their mouths and returned to their poker-face expressions.
[Good.]
"Okay, let's get back to business," Neoma said, then she turned to the men in front of her. "So, have you made a decision? Don't say anything. If you want my help, just nod. If not, then you may leave the palace now. As promised, you won't face any consequences."
One of them immediately ran away.
Neoma just had to tilt her head a bit– a signal for Jeno to follow the one who escaped.
[If he failed his mission, the bastards who sent him here would definitely kill him.]
Hence, she sent one of her "children" to save that person.
As for the remaining ones…
They kneeled in front of Neoma.
[I hate it when people do this.]
Hence, Neoma also got down on one knee to meet their eye level. Then she smiled at the men who looked flustered as to why the Imperial Princess was kneeling with them. "Don't worry– I'm full of myself, but I get shit done. You can't be arrogant and incompetent, after all."
***
"FATHER, please don't be too hard on yourself," Hanna consoled her father. "Just because you're the commander of the Public Order doesn't mean you're capable of saving every single person in the Royal Capital. Even the Royal Family can't save everyone every time."
In fact, at that very moment, there must be people out there who were begging for help.
Hanna had long accepted the fact that she couldn't save everyone in order to be kinder to herself.
However, her father had a bigger heart than she did.
After her father's emergency meeting with the emperor, her father looked like he was about to punch himself at any time.
"It's not Father's fault that the kids from the slums have gone missing," Hanna said, holding her father's hands. "We only have Helstor and the cult to blame. So, let's catch them and make them pay for their crimes, Father."
"Hanna, when did you become this mature?" Father asked, squeezing her hands. "I can't believe you're now consoling your father and not the other way around. Please stop growing so fast, sweetheart."
"Father, I'm already a grown lady. I'm engaged to be married, remember?"
"No," her father whined cutely. "You're still my baby."
Hanna laughed and hugged her father. "Let's work hard today, too, Father."
"Yes, sweetheart," her father said while patting her back gently. "Once you have free time, let's have dinner– you, me, and your mother."
***
AFTER HANNA was done consoling her father, she immediately headed to Nero's bedroom.
As expected, Sanford Devon and Raku were guarding by the door.
Hanna smiled at Nero's knights. "Am I allowed to visit the Crown Prince?"
Raku nodded politely.
"Of course, Princess Hanna," Sanford Devon answered cheerfully. "His Majesty just wants to let Your Highness know not to let Prince Nero out even if the Crown Prince throws a tantrum."
She smiled and nodded. "Alright, I understand."
Sanford smiled back before he cleared his throat. "Your Imperial Highness, Princess Hanna is here."
"Let my fiancée in."
Only then did Sanford Devon and Raku open the doors for her.
Hanna expected to find Nero on the bed.
But, much to her pleasant surprise, the Crown Prince was busy reading the documents in his hands while sitting comfortably on the sofa.
Melvin, who was sitting on the accent chair, stood up and bowed towards her. "Princess Hanna."
"Hello, Sir Melvin," Hanna greeted the (poor and overworked) aide while reaching for the hand that Nero extended to her. "May I know what you're working on?"
"War," Nero said as he placed a kiss on the back of her hand. "Father told me he'd only lift my probation once I know what 'war' means. Hence, I'm writing a report about the cons and pros of the war I mentioned."
Hanna had to hold back her laughter as she sat next to Nero.
[He's always getting into trouble for the funniest reasons.]
"Prince Nero, how many times do I have to tell you that is not what His Majesty wants you to use your big brain on?" Melvin asked, obviously frustrated as he sat down on the chair. "His Majesty is just trying to teach Your Imperial Highness a lesson."
Nero raised an eyebrow at Melvin as if the aide had said something ridiculous. "What lesson? I'm already well-educated."
Melvin looked like he was about to cry, but he pounded his chest with a fist as he talked back to Nero. "His Majesty is trying to teach Your Imperial Highness that you couldn't simply declare war just because you wanted to stop Her Imperial Highness' search for a husband!"
Nero scoffed. "I just have to convince Father that this war is needed. Or wait until my coronation. By then, I wouldn't need Father's approval anymore."
Melvin took a deep breath, then he looked at Hanna with begging eyes.
[Ah, I get it.]
"Sir Melvin, please take a break first," Hanna said, smiling. "I'll talk to Nero."
Melvin immediately stood up and bowed his head towards her. "Thank you, Princess Hanna! Goodbye, Prince Nero!"
And, just like that, the secretary bolted out of the room in a hurry.
"You're spoiling Melvin," Nero said, snaking an arm around her waist. "Do you also think I'm crazy for wanting a war during this peaceful time?"
Hanna laughed softly. "The peace that we enjoy ended when Helstor decided to spread Darkness in the skies of the empire, Nero."
The blobs of Darkness didn't disappear even after Nero and Neoma survived the Kiss of Death trap that Helstor had set up for the royal twins.
Clearly, those blobs of Darkness weren't harmless.
[The problem is we don't know exactly how those blobs of Darkness affect the empire.]
"I agree with you, Nero– we need to declare war against Helstor."
Nero looked at her with sparkling eyes. "I knew you'd get me, Hanna."
"We need Neoma to declare it in order to get the emperor's approval, Nero."
"Neoma hates war."
"Then we just need to give her a little push," Hanna said, smiling slyly as she caressed Nero's face with the back of her hand. "Neoma hates MEANINGLESS wars, but she wouldn't say 'no' to a war with a purpose."
Nero raised an eyebrow while rubbing the sides of her waist up and down. "Let's hear your plan, Hanna."
***
IT WAS a beautiful sight.
The candidates who witnessed Princess Neoma purify the Darkness that suddenly came out of the three gentlemen was beautiful.
Her Imperial Princess trapped herself and the three gentlemen inside the dome-shaped barrier that she created earlier. The three gentlemen insisted on kneeling while Princess Neoma was forced to stand up because her knights looked like they were about to pull her up.
Most of the candidates agreed with the Imperial Princess' sentiments: Princess Neoma didn't have to kneel with those gentlemen.
The Imperial Princess claimed she was arrogant.
Well, the way she spoke was rude and vulgar.
However, everyone could see that Princess Neoma was actually a nice person.
The nicest de Moonasterio in recent history, to be precise.
[Is she… an angel?]
That was what most of the candidates thought.
Princess Neoma was just standing there, her palms emitting pretty bluish lights that were probably purifying the gentlemen.
Most were confused about what the Imperial Princess was purifying.
They heard Princess Neoma mention 'Helstor and the cult,' but only a few got the right meaning.
Most were just mesmerized.
But there was one thing that all candidates agreed to.
[Princess Neoma is so damned beautiful and cool.]
***
"REMEMBER this, my people: the opposite of Darkness is not Light," Neoma said as she was done with the purification. The light emitting from her hands was just bluff, of course. She purified the men using the air from her lungs circulating around the Dome. But the others didn't need to know that. "The opposite of Darkness is me– Neoma Roseheart de Moonasterio."
The three men looked relieved by what she said…
… and then they collapsed.
The royal knights stationed around to assist Neoma and her personal knights arrived. Then the royal knights took away the three gentlemen.
Neoma subtly signaled Juri to follow them.
[We have to make sure those men wouldn't be killed, too.]
"I'm sure most of you are confused by all the talks about Darkness and Lord Helstor," Neoma said while removing her gloves. "And I'm sure most of you are only here to confirm whether what you see up there is truly Darkness or not."
The looks of most men in front of her confirmed her thoughts.
"Before I announce the result of the First Round, I believe it's only right that I address the issue first," Neoma said, pausing for a moment to hand the dirty gloves to Lewis. "The little black blobs that most of you could see are actually blobs of Darkness created by Lord Helstor, the God of Eternal Darkness, himself."
"Princess Neoma sounds like you're stating a fact."
It was a logical remark from one of the candidates.
"Yeah, I would know since Lord Helstor personall paid us a visit," Neoma said confidently. "Those blobs of Darkness almost killed the Crown Prince. However, even after we saved my twin brother's life, the Darkness didn't disappear."
She clapped her hands.
Geoffrey Kinsley, followed by several palace staff, arrived with piles of documents in their arms.
"We prepared a detailed report for everyone present here since each one of you represents a country or a kingdom here on the Western Continent. The report is written in different main languages used in the empire, and we also attached all the evidence we have of Lord Helstor's recent attack," Neoma explained solemnly. "An official report is also being sent to your kingdoms and nations right at this very moment. We also sent the same report to the tribes and races that didn't participate in the Selection."
Soon, the candidates became busy reading the documents given to them.
Except for Neoma's allies…
… and a new candidate who stepped forward.
Neoma wasn't surprised when Lewis immediately stood in front of her protectively.
"I can't see the shit that I'm supposed to see in the sky."
Pfft.
Neoma seemed to have found her kindred-spirit, huh?
The man who cursed unapologetically in front of her was a man with dark brown hair tied in a manbun, amber eyes, and tanned skin. He wore a simple white shirt that emphasized his wide expanse of chest, a pair of pants that looked a little loose on him, and dirty black boots.
[He looks rough.]
It wasn't just because of the man's scars on his face and neck.
[He just really has that rough dude vibes.]
Not to mention, the man was probably 6'6."
[He's taller than Ruto… wait, let's not think about Ruto.]
"I know I'll be sent home later, but I don't want to go home without testing if you're really physically strong, princess."
Lewis growled at the man. "Manners."
"I left them in my mother's belly," the man said, grinning. Then he tilted his head to one side to look at Neoma. "Princess, I pride myself in having a very sturdy body. People from my tribe call me a mountain. Hence, I have a request."
"What is it?"
"Punch me with all you've got, Princess," the man said excitedly, his eyes gleaming as if he couldn't wait to fight her. "If I withstand your punch without fainting or dying, would you give me a chance to move to the next round?"
"Yeah, no," Neoma said, grinning back at the man. "Dude, you're gonna die if I punched you with all my might."
***
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