"DON'T CRY," Nikolai warned Glenn while handing Skylus to the king. "Your son just fell asleep after Yule borrowed his body."
Glenn looked relieved by what he said, then he hugged his sleeping son tight. "Thank you for looking after my son, Your Majesty."
"Did Lord Yule already leave?" Manu asked worriedly. "What did he say?"
"Let's have a meeting first," Nikolai said, putting a hand on Glenn's shoulder. "Glenn, I need you to bring your wife and your other children to the empire. Lord Yule has a message for them."
Glenn looked worried at first, but understanding soon crossed his face as he nodded. "I understand, Your Majesty."
Nikolai turned to Nero who looked anxious at the moment. "Don't worry too much, Nero. Yule will surely return Neoma safely."
"I know that, Father," Nero said, sighing. "I'm just worried as to why Lord Yule has to kick us out if he just wanted to talk to Neoma. He just made it obvious that he has something to say to Neoma that he can't say in our presence."
Ah, his son made a point.
Nikolai also had a vague idea that Yule might give Neoma a dangerous task.
And he was pretty sure that if that was the case, then his daughter would never share that information with them.
Hence, he made a decision.
"Let's keep an eye on Neoma," Nikolai said firmly. "I don't want to put my own daughter under surveillance, but that seems to be the only way for us to know what Yule asked her to do."
Nero nodded in agreement. "I'll do it, Father."
***
"MOMMY, MOMMY, give me a name."
Argh.
Neoma felt awkward now that the God of Death's consciousness had regressed back to that of a child's.
[Just when I was asking him a super serious question…]
Did the God of Death do it on purpose to avoid answering me?
"Mommy, I don't want to be called 'Aegiya,'" the baby god said, pouting. "Please give me a name."
"I'll think about it if you do 'aegyo,'" Neoma teased the baby god. 'Aegyo' was a Korean term that meant 'acting cute.' It was cringe-y, but whatever. "Come on, Aegiya. Act cute for me."
"Act cute for Mommy?" the baby god asked, confused. Then he tilted his head to one side. "How do I do that?"
Argh!
The baby god tilting his head to one side was so fucking cute.
[Why are babies so damned cute as long as they're not crying or throwing a tantrum?]
The baby god's big and round eye was sparkling, making him look soft and innocent.
[How can someone be so adorable???]
"You almost gave me a heart attack because of your cuteness," Neoma complained light-heartedly. "Fine, you win. I'll give you a name, but I have to warn you that people say I suck at giving names. Hence, you can't complain."
The baby god nodded, smiling brightly at her. "Okay, Mommy. I'll love any name you'll give me."
Gosh.
[This adorable baby is so bad for my heart.]
To be honest, she wanted to call the baby god 'Beanie' because he looked like a tiny bean.
[It's a compliment, okay?]
However, there was a name that entered her mind for some reason.
"Vitu," Neoma said softly. "It means 'life' in the ancient language spoken by the de Moonasterios in the past."
Aegiya looked at her solemnly that Neoma thought the God of Death had returned.
However, the baby god giggled like the baby that he was supposed to be.
"I like it, Mommy," Vitu said, smiling at Neoma brightly. "Thank you for giving me a wonderful name, Mommy. Vitu is happy!"
Argh!
Neoma's heart swelled when the baby god spoke in the third person.
Usually, it was cringe-y.
She knew because she actually used to speak in the third person back when she was trying to make Nero love her to death. But Papa Boss was so mean to her during that time, so she stopped her cutesy act and started to talk normally again.
But hearing Vitu talk in the third person didn't sound bad.
"I wonder why you look lovely in my eyes," Neoma whispered while pinching Vitu's cheeks gently. "I don't usually like gods, but you seem to be an exception."
Vitu just giggled innocently.
"Neoma!"
She flinched a little when the door suddenly burst open, then Nero entered the room.
"Hi, Nero."
Her twin brother just clicked his tongue, then he ran towards her and hugged her tight.
"Are you okay?" Nero asked worriedly. "Lord Yule didn't ask you something strange, did he? Why did he kick us out?"
Ah, as expected, Nero was sharp.
[But I'm more cunning than you, my precious twin brother.]
Nero broke the hug, then he gently grabbed her shoulders and looked at her suspiciously. "Neoma, tell me the truth. What did Lord Yule ask you to do for him?"
"Lord Yule asked me to work with Ruto very closely," Neoma lied with a straight face. "He knew you and Papa Boss wouldn't like it, so he kicked you out."
Her twin brother knitted her eyebrows. "Yes, it's true that I hate Ruto with a passion. But I would understand if you needed to work with him "closely." I'm sure Father would understand, too. It's not logical for Lord Yule to kick us out just because of that."
Tsk.
[Why is this boy so sharp?]
"Ruto and I have to do some ~dangerous~ things that you and Papa Boss wouldn't like," Neoma lied again. "Stop asking, okay? I'm an adult capable of deciding for myself."
"Okay, so what is it?" Nero asked, still not letting go of the topic. "What "dangerous" thing are you and Ruto required to do?"
Aigoo, this brat.
She was considering running away when the baby god spoke.
"Mommy Neoma and Daddy Ruto need to kiss a lot!"
Neoma almost choked on her saliva. "V-Vitu…?"
[Are you trying to save me or have me killed?!]
Nero glared at the baby god. "What did you say, you tiny brat?"
"Mommy Neoma and Daddy Ruto already kissed once, but they need to kiss again!" Vitu said cheerfully, putting his fingers together as if they were kissing. "Mommy and Daddy need to kiss a lot to save the world!"
Okay, Neoma was flabbergasted.
[Really? Ruto and I have to kiss???]
"I'm telling Father," Nero said, then he quickly bolted out of the room– fuming. "I'll ask Father to ban Ruto from entering the empire!"
Neoma could only facepalm.
[Gosh, that siscon…]
***
NEOMA ONLY had three hours of rest.
She used that to take a short nap, have a long bath and doll up after, then have a quick meal.
After that, she gathered the candidates in the People Palace's wide hall. Fortunately, the injured candidates didn't suffer serious wounds. Hence, most of them were able to attend the gathering.
"As you already know, the safety of the entire world is currently being threatened by Helstor, the God of Eternal Darkness," Neoma said while standing on the balcony. Her "children" were behind her. She was the only member of the Imperial Family there at the moment because her parents and her twin brother were all busy. "In particular, those puny bastards are targeting the throne."
She didn't bother speaking nicely anymore.
After all, her "secret" of having a foul mouth was already out anyway.
"Hence, the Imperial Family decided to focus on eliminating those shitheads to keep the empire– no, the entire world safe," Neoma continued with her speech. "As a resul, I've also come to a very difficult decision of canceling the Selection. How could I, the Imperial Princess, think about getting married when the safety of our people is being threatened by some third-rate villains… ah, fuck." She grabbed the back of her neck, frustrated. "My blood pressure is rising again just thinking about those bastards."
Okay, she was being unprofessional.
But who could blame her?
[I "have" to fucking die soon, so I don't have the liberty to be nice and patient.]
Well, that was an excuse.
She had always had a shitty temper and a rotten personality, after all.
"Now that the Selection is officially canceled, I'd like to thank everyone for participating in this event," Neoma said, calmer this time. "And I would also like to apologize for the incident that happened during the Second Round. Each one of you will receive a package that conveys my heart."
Of course, the "package" was filled with expensive and useful gifts.
"Princess Neoma, what should we do if we want to fight with you?"
One of the candidates asked that question.
Then the others also followed suit.
"That's right, Your Imperial Highness. This issue doesn't only involve the empire– the entire world is in danger. We also wish to fight with you."
Surprisingly, many candidates shared the same thought.
And she was grateful for that.
[After all, most of the candidates here are either higher nobles or royalties all over the world. Their decision to fight with the empire could also be seen as their homeland's decision. I can't miss this opportunity.]
"If you wish to fight with the empire, then I won't stop you. After all, like I said earlier, the entire world is in danger," Neoma said, then she smiled at the candidates. "So, to anyone who really wants to screw over Helstor and the other bastards, come and follow me."
***
"M-MOMMY…?"
Brigitte took a deep breath, then she hugged Monik and Claude tightly.
Ever since Glenn left for the empire with Skylus, she had always slept in the same room as Monik and Claude to make sure her children were safe.
And it was a good choice.
That night was the night assassins tried to harm Brigitte and her babies.
But an unthinkable happened.
"M-Mommy, what are those t-things?" Claude asked in a shaking voice. "They s-saved us, but they look s-scary…"
"They're monsters," Monik said calmly. "The baby monsters saved us."
The "baby monsters" that Monik was talking about were monsters that took the form of baby wolves. And those baby wolves were currently eating the limbs of the assassins that tried to attack them in their sleep.
And those baby monsters appeared out of nowhere.
Brigitte was just about to grab the gun under her pillow after she saw two assassins about to stab her with a sword.
She thought that her guards would arrive, too.
But instead of the knights stationed outside the bedroom, two unusually large wolves actually appeared and attacked the assassins out of thin air.
However, Brigitte knew that someone summoned those baby monsters to protect them.
"It's your sibling," Brigitte said, touching her baby bump lightly. "Your sibling summoned the baby monsters for our protection."
***
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