NIKOLAI knew it was nothing but a replica.
But looking at Neoma's fake "corpse" inside the ice coffin was still enough to break his heart into tiny little pieces.
[My little princess…]
"It's not as pretty as Neoma because Commander Ruto was rushing me earlier," Nero, who was standing behind Nikolai, complained while looking at his twin sister's life-like ice sculpture. "If only I had more time, I would have created a prettier ice sculpture. Although, of course, it couldn't be as beautiful as Neoma."
"Nero, stop obsessing over your twin sister."
"You're asking too much from me, Father."
Nikolai rolled his eyes, then he turned to his son. "Did you send off Hanna and the others?"
The 'others' would be Commander Ruto, Lewis Crevan, and Trevor Kesser, of course.
"Yes, Father," Nero said, nodding. "Trevor used his portal to send their group to his territory. Hanna and Lewis Crevan will stay at Trevor's mansion in the Underworld while Commander Ruto and Trevor will go straight to Hell to bring back Neoma's soul."
It was unnerving to know that his precious daughter was dragged to Hell.
[My little princess is an angel, after all.]
"Where are you headed next?" Nikolai asked. "I'm going outside to show my place to the public. Like what Hanna said before she left, it's important for the Imperial Family to be present. Hopefully, it gives them some sort of relief."
To be honest, he knew that the Imperial Family's presence alone wouldn't be able to console the panic-stricken citizens.
Not when they couldn't differentiate the night from day anymore.
[The sky is starting to get darker and darker.]
"I'm headed to the Exton Estate, Father," Nero said. "The Frost Wyverns are starting to get out of control because it isn't snowing here as much as it does in Hazelden. Even Delwyn is getting weak because, apparently, the snow here is polluted."
"It's probably because of the Darkness spread in the empire."
Even Mona's Spirits had complained about the pollution in the Imperial Capital.
"I'll go there and see what I can do for the Frost Wyverns," his son said. "Will you and Mother be alright while I'm gone, Father? I'll be taking my Order with me."
"Of course. Neoma's "children" are here, so the palace is safe."
Nero nodded, a testament to how much he trusted his twin sister's people. "Don't let your guard down, Father."
"You, too, son," Nikolai said, patting Nero's shoulder. "We have to protect the empire so that Neoma will have a safe home to come back to."
***
THE HAZELDEN Queen was sick.
That was the news that greeted Nero when he arrived at the Exton Estate.
Hence, while he was walking in the hallway that led to the queen's room, his people began giving him a report.
He was supposed to head to where the Frost Wyverns were.
But Brigitte Griffiths' condition must come first.
[Neoma will be sad if she finds out that her "Aunt Brigitte" got sick after saving the empire from the reanimated corpses.]
"The severed bodies of the reanimated corpses had nothing to do with the queen's sickness. After all, the Ancient Monsters had left nothing, not even a crumb, from the reanimated corpses that they've feasted on," Alucard, the demon serving as Nero's Healing Sage, reported to him after checking the place where the Ancient Monsters were staying. "Moreover, the Exton servants did a good job cleaning up the feeding ground. Hence, the entire place is safe and clean."
"I'm not interested in the cause of the queen's sickness" Nero said indifferently. He didn't really care about the queen. He just didn't want the queen to die under her watch. "I just need you to cure her as soon as possible."
Alucard could only gulp nervously at his (ridiculous) demand.
"Prince Nero, please don't be absurd," Melvin quickly scolded him. "How can Alucard possibly treat the queen if he doesn't know the cause of her sickness? We can't take this lightly, Your Imperial Highness. The queen saved the empire, after all."
Nero just rolled his eyes, already fed up with Melvin's nagging.
"I believe the queen's sickness has something to do with Her Majesty's pregnancy," Alucard said hesitantly. "I can hear the baby in her womb, and the baby is… unstable."
"Ah, it's a shame that Empress Mona can't leave the Imperial Shrine at the moment," Melvin said, sighing worriedly. "But now that the problem with the reanimated corpses have been solved, perhaps we can just bring Queen Brigitte to the palace so that Her Imperial Majesty can check on the queen's condition?"
"Why would you ask Mother to check on the queen when I'm already here?"
Melvin gave Nero a dire stare. "That's not a funny joke, Prince Nero. I know that you're a capable person. But what do you know about pregnancy?"
"Neoma used to call me the "boy who has everything,"" Nero said confidently. He may not be as arrogant as Neoma. But he was far from humble. "And it's because I can do anything perfectly on the first try."
"Even so, the queen's life is at stake here," Melvin said, shaking his head. "Please don't do anything that may endanger the queen and the baby, Prince Nero. We can just leave the queen's safety to the expert."
Nero scoffed. "I am the expert."
"Prince Nero, please…"
"Shut up," Nero growled at Melvin. "I do what I want– and that's what it means to be the Imperial Crown Prince."
Now that his patience had run out, his secretary finally shut his mouth.
[Some peace and quiet, at last.]
Soon, they arrived at the fancy guest room where the queen was staying.
Brigitte Griffiths was currently sleeping on the bed, obviously pale and weak.
Glenn, the former Paladin and now the king of Hazelden, was sitting on the chair while holding his wife's hand.
Only the royal couple was in the room.
[It's probably to keep Her Majesty's condition a secret.]
As a royal himself, Nero knew that a member of the royal family must keep their health condition a secret most of the time.
"Greetings, Prince Nero," Glenn said weakly without standing up. But, at least, the king turned to him and bowed his head towards him politely. "I apologize for greeting you like this for I cannot move from my spot at the moment. I'm currently sharing my Mana with my wife."
Nero knitted his eyebrows in confusion. "But the queen is a Non-Mana user, isn't she?"
That was exactly the reason why Brigitte Griffiths was chosen to be the new saint's mother.
[Only women who do not possess Mana could give birth to a saint.]
"That's what exactly I don't understand, Prince Nero," Glenn said in a frustrated voice. "Even the doctors and the Healing Sages who checked on my wife couldn't explain what's happening."
[Alucard said the baby must be the cause, didn't he?]
Hmm.
He decided to trust the demon's diagnosis.
Hence, Nero approached the bed without a word…
… then he removed the thick blanket placed over the Hazelden Queen's body.
"Prince Nero!"
Both Melvin and Glenn scolded him, but he didn't care.
Nero's eyes focused on the Hazelden Queen's baby bump.
His mother had the power to see through a baby in their mother's womb.
[If I remember correctly, Mother also warned Duchess Amber Quinzel that Hanna was going to be born sickly.]
And his mother was correct.
[If that ability of Mother came from her Roseheart Blood, then there's a chance that I can use that ability, too.]
All he had to do was try, right?
"P-Prince Nero, what are you doing? Your eyes have turned red," Melvin asked nervously. "And your hair has turned pink."
"Shut up," Nero said, his eyes already caught some images while staring at the Hazelden Queen's stomach. "It's a girl, huh?"
"Ah, yes, Your Imperial Highness. Our fourth child is a princess," Glenn said, his voice a little more lively now. "How did you know, Prince Nero? Have the news about the gender of our baby reached the palace?"
"It's talking to me, Your Majesty."
"What is talking to Your Imperial Highness?"
"Your baby," Nero said, turning to Glenn with indifferent eyes. "It's hungry and craving for ice."
"Huh?"
He opened his hand, creating a small snowball on top of his palm.
And then everyone was shocked by what happened next.
Queen Brigitte, who was just sleeping a moment ago, got up abruptly and grabbed Nero's hand– and then the Hazelden Queen took the small snowball in her mouth like a hungry beast.
Glenn looked stupefied. "H-Honey, you might get a stomachache…"
Queen Brigitte ignored the king, then she looked up at Nero with glowing eyes. "More."
Hmm.
This was quite interesting.
"Is it because the queen has lived in Hazelden– the kingdom where it never stops snowing– all her life?" Nero wondered out loud, smirking as his red eyes glowed menacingly. "Your Majesties, your child isn't only a monster tamer– the baby is also an ice manipulator."
[I see a future servant in the making.]
After all, Nero was also an ice manipulator.
He was thrilled, but that wasn't the time to celebrate.
"Anyway, it seems like Queen Brigitte's sudden craving for Mana isn't only because of her baby," Nero said, looking outside the window. His instincts had been yelling at him since earlier, saying only one thing. "The Second Calamity is here."
***
"IT'S HERE, Your Imperial Majesty."
Nikolai, who was in the middle of wearing his jacket, stopped when Monik suddenly appeared out of thin air– floating in front of him, the child's pink eyes glowing. "Are you talking about the Second Calamity?"
"We're running out of time, Emperor Nikolai," Monik said, panic-stricken. "The Darkness will soon swallow up the sun and the moon!"
***
"WELCOME TO HELL, BOYS!"
Hmm.
Trevor didn't know how to feel.
[I bet the damned chef-turned-commander also feels the same.]
Of course, Trevor was extremely happy to see his beautiful Moon Princess "alive" and moving.
It was one million times better than the Princess Neoma trapped in the ice coffin.
But he didn't know how to react to the chaotic background.
He could see Princess Neoma's pink Hellgate.
[That means my Moon Princess went on a killing spree again.]
He also recognized the red flame burning the buildings around them.
[That's definitely Tteokbokki's flame.]
But his confusion only lasted for a minute.
Trevor grinned at Princess Neoma. "Yep, there's no way my Moon Princess would change her behavior just because she was dragged to Hell."
Meaning, it was just another normal day for Princess Neoma.
"You're late," Princess Neoma complained lightly while looking back and forth between Ruto and Trevor. "By the way, the King of Hell said I need a heart."
[Yep, that's totally a normal request on a totally normal day for someone totally normal like Princess Neoma.]
Right?
***
HI! ROYAL SECRET ALTERNATE UNIVERSE: LET'S NOT DIVORCE is now posted on my P/atreon account.
Just copy-paste this link: (patreon.com/sola_cola) or G0ogle P/atreon sola_cola to find my page. My profile picture is the same as the one I have here on WN. And the background picture says 'SOLAVERSE.'
I have TWO TIERS.
ROYAL FAMILY TIER (2USD) grants you access to the completed main story + book cover reveal. Total of 24 chapters.
IMPERIAL FAMILY TIER (3USD) grants you access to the completed main story + book cover reveal + exclusive SIDE STORIES + power to vote on polls.
See you there!
And I hope you enjoy the AU!
You'll get a successful working mother Mama Boss, a CRYBABY Papa Boss who calls Rufus 'Hyung', a Nero who "hates" Neoma, and a delinquent Neoma who gets bullied by her schoolmates!
You'll also witness the best friendship in the series: Nikolai & Glenn~
And a spicy chapter for MonaxNikolai!
I'll also offer Kyle to you. Haha!
Oh, we also have Juliet!
And *whispers* you'll see Neoma call Papa Boss 'Ahjussi.' LOLOLOL.
Have fun spotting the other familiar names/characters in the story living a normal life in Korea~
***
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Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m