"LASTLY, on behalf of the Imperial Family, I'd like to apologize to everyone who will be greatly affected by the war," Neoma said solemnly. "The Imperial Family will take responsibility by finishing this war as quickly as possible to lessen the damage. In order to do that, we need your cooperation. The Imperial Family needs your help. Please lend us your strength, everyone."
After saying that, she bowed her head properly.
It was unusual for a member of the Imperial Family to apologize and plead with their people, but to hell with that.
[Without our people, this empire wouldn't exist in the first place.]
"Thank you for listening to my speech, everyone," Neoma said when she raised her head. "Now, I hope you find a little comfort in my words. An arrogant person like me with skills to back it up doesn't drop empty promises. But actions speak louder than words in a time like this, so please wait a little bit. I'll show you great results soon."
She smiled her best smile at the camera while waving her hands, hoping that she appeared friendly and reliable.
[Thank goodness my eyes didn't turn red.]
"This has been Neoma Roseheart de Moonasterio, your one and only Imperial Princess, the Visual Goddess, the hope of the empire, and the executioner who will fuck up the villains," Neoma said cheerfully. "See you later for my next broadcast. Stay safe, everyone!"
Oops.
The vlogger in her slipped out, but whatever.
[My dignity as the Imperial Princess has officially left a long time ago anyway.]
"You did well, Princess Neoma," Paige complimented her after the communication device was disconnected. Then the Light Mage turned to the portable stone tab in her hand. It was shaped like a modern smartphone. After all, it was Trevor's design. "According to the data that we collected, your broadcast was seen by 90% of all the countries and kingdoms officially recognized by the world. But as Your Imperial Highness instructed, I recorded the entire broadcast. It will take a bit of time before we get to distribute it to the public and other races."
Although the broadcast was watched by the world leaders, they weren't sure if those world leaders would share the video with their constituents.
Hence, Neoma decided to distribute the recorded version of her broadcast.
[Everyone deserves to know the truth.]
"Good job, Paige," Neoma said while stretching her long arms. "Is Trevor still locked up in his lab?"
Paige nodded politely. "Yes, Princess Neoma. Trevor hasn't left his room yet ever since you handed him the vial that you received from Lord Yule."
Neoma entrusted the examination of the vial to Trevor.
Well, she wanted to do it herself. But Paige and the demon boy strongly opposed it.
["My Moon Princess, you're just going to take a bite of the poison, aren't you?"]
That was what Trevor said.
["No can do, Princess Neoma. Please leave it to me and Trevor. We promise to be careful and stop the examination if it gets too dangerous."]
And that was Paige's promise.
Hence, Neoma had no choice but to leave the vial to Trevor and Paige.
[Though I feel bad because I feel like I'm dumping my responsibility on them.]
Neoma's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock on the door.
"Eomma, may I come in?"
"Of course, baby," Neoma said to Greko. "Come in."
The door opened and Greko entered the conference room with a pout.
"Eomma, I'm not a baby," Greko complained lightly. "I'm already fifteen years old."
Neoma laughed softly. "That's a baby."
Paige nodded in agreement. "Yes, a baby, indeed."
Greko juist pouted again.
Neoma burst out laughing at her baby's cute reaction. But she didn't want her youngest to cry, so she immediately changed the topic. "How's Xion?"
"Xion hyung's condition is stable now, eomma. Jeno hyung and Juri noona dropped by, so I asked them to guard hyung in the meantime," Greko explained while pulling out a vial from his sling bag. "Eomma, I made some Mana potion for you. It's more special than a normal Mana potion."
Neoma smiled because of how excited and proud Greko looked. "Oh, really? How is it different from ordinary Mana potions?"
"Aurora taught me how to use the Moonflower," Greko gushed excitedly. Aurora was the Spirit that had been taking care of Greko all this time. "I just had to mix the Moonflower with my fairy dust."
The 'Moonflower' was a flower exclusive to the Imperial Family.
But Neoma gave Greko permission to use it for his experiments.
"As a result, the Mana potion I made has properties that could boost your divine power as well," Greko said excitedly. "It's perfect for you, eomma."
"Thank you, baby," Neoma said. "Can we send Nero and Papa Boss some of your new Mana potions, too?"
"Of course, eomma."
As expected, her youngest was really the best.
[I'm sure Greko will be at the top of the medicine field soon. Plus, his expertise will be needed soon.]
"Greko."
"Yes, eomma?"
"Many people will get hurt during the war," Neoma said in a serious voice. "Since you're half human-half fairy, you know how to treat humans and non-humans. You also have Aurora by your side. Can I rely on you to be everyone's Support when the war finally happens?"
It was a heavy thing to ask from a child.
Neoma didn't want to Greko to be involved in the war. But in every fight, a healer would always be the most important member of the party. Moreover, she knew that their youngest wasn't the type of person to do nothing when there were injured people everywhere.
"Of course, eomma. I'll save as many people as I could," Greko said determinedly. "However, eomma and our family will always be my top priority."
Aww.
"Very well, Greko," Neoma said, ruffling Greko's hair affectionately. "Just do your job and our whole family will protect you."
***
NIKOLAI didn't like Neoma's speech.
Well, his daughter did a good job of assuring their people that they would win the war.
However, he didn't like how it sounded like Neoma was already willing to sacrifice her own life just to win.
[I need to talk to my little rogue.]
"Love?"
Nikolai's thoughts were interrupted when Mona put a hand on top of his. "Yes, love?"
The two of them were back in their office.
Queen Brigitte of Hazelden and her child had already arrived.
But after the queen controlled the monster that Duke Exton brought, the queen fainted from exhaustion.
Nikolai asked the Griffiths to take a rest first.
[Because if I didn't, I'm sure Glenn would have cried. Ever since that punk got married and had his own family, he has become a crybaby like Rufus.]
Nikolai realized that he was surrounded by men who cried easily.
"Are you thinking about what Neoma said during her broadcast?" Mona asked worriedly. "To be honest with you, I didn't like how Neoma doesn't seem to care that she only has three years left to live."
He was relieved to know that his wife also had the same worry.
"It seems to me that Neoma is thinking of sacrificing her life if she has to since she "only" has three years left anyway," Nikolai said. "It's inevitable for our children to be on the frontline once the war begins, and that's what makes me worry even more."
The Imperial Family had already officially demanded each noble household to send one of their children to join the war.
It would be hypocritical of the Imperial Family if they hid their children.
Hence, Nero and Neoma would be fighting on the front line.
[Usually, the successor to the throne isn't sent to the battlefield. However, this time, it's inevitable since Nero is destined to destroy one of the Calamities.]
For a father like Nikolai, it was heartbreaking to send his young children to war.
"We should keep an eye on Neoma," Mona suggested. "If it looks like she's about to sacrifice herself, we have to remove her from the battlefield right away."
Nikolai nodded in agreement. "I'll talk to Lewis later. That boy doesn't listen to me even though I'm the emperor. But if it's about saving Neoma, I'm sure he'll listen this time."
"Wise decision, my love," his wife said. "Lewis is glued to Neoma's side, and I'm sure that will be the case on the battlefield. Lewis is the perfect person for the job if we want to remove Neoma from the front line."
Right?
However, aside from that, something else was bothering him.
"The God of Death keeps avoiding me," Nikolai complained, then he sighed. "I wanted to grill him for information on how to expand Neoma's lifespan. But he keeps disappearing. And every time I get a hold of him, he regresses back to a child."
Mona was about to say something, but she stopped when she felt a sudden shift in the air. "Oh. We have a visitor."
It was Ruto.
The young man stepped out of the portal that opened in the middle of the room.
[This punk keeps on breaking the barrier in the Imperial Palace to come in every time he wants to.]
How arrogant.
Usually, Nikolai would have been displeased to see Ruto– the thief who stole his daughter's heart.
However, not this time.
"You're just the person I wanted to see, Ruston Solfrid Stroganoff," Nikolai said, still seated. Even Mona didn't move from her seat. They didn't have to since they were the emperor and the empress. "You revived Neoma in the first timeline, didn't you? Tell me how you did it."
The fact that Mona didn't say anything only meant his wife was curious as well.
"You might want to kill me after you hear the truth, Your Majesty," Ruto said calmly. "Your Majesty can't kill me right now."
"Don't worry about it, you punk," Nikolai said, scoffing. "Whether I hear the truth or not about the other timeline, my desire to kill you will remain unchanged. However, I won't act on it since we're in the middle of a war. Not yet, at least."
"That's a relief then," Ruto said, then he paused for a moment before he opened his mouth. "Your Majesty. Saint Dominic Zavaroni. Lord Manu. The Sun Priestess. And even Prince Nero."
Nikolai knitted his eyebrows. "Why did you bring them up?"
"I sacrificed all of you to revive Princess Neoma, Your Majesty," Ruto said indifferently. "You, Saint Zavaroni, Lord Manu, and Sienna. I extracted all of your divine power– and I drained every single drop until you all died. I didn't extract Prince Nero's divine power because I already had enough of it, but I did extract something else from the Crown Prince."
"His Roseheart Blood?" Mona asked, the anger in her voice was evident. But it was also clear that she was holding back. "Did you extract Nero's Roseheart Blood back then?"
"That's right, Your Majesty," Ruto confirmed while nodding. "Losing his Roseheart Blood didn't immediately kill Prince Nero. However, he failed to stop the Third Calamity even with Dahlia's help because he lost his Roseheart Blood. I didn't know he would need it at the time. But I guess even if I did, I would still extract his Roseheart Blood to revive Neoma."
Haaah.
Nikolai already had a feeling that the first timeline was filled with cruel deaths, but he still wasn't ready to hear all of that.
Ruto, that punk…
[He killed the Moon God's representatives for Neoma, and even the Sun Priestess who was supposed to be his close friend.]
"Did the Nikolai of the first timeline know that you were killing him for Neoma?" Nikolai asked carefully. He may appear calm outside, but he was actually nervous. "Did he resent you for it?"
He knew that the Nikolai of the first timeline didn't love Neoma.
Hence, he was surprised by Ruto's response.
"You knew, Your Majesty," Ruto said in a careful voice. "The emperor of the first timeline voluntarily gave up his life in order to revive Neoma."
Nikolai, needless to say, was surprised to hear that. "Did I… did I love Neoma back then?"
***
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