Chapter 870 SPIRIT GOD'S WHISPERS
<"IT'S TIME, Nero de Moonasterio.">
Tsk.
Nero couldn't believe that right after the older Neoma left, he was summoned to another dimension again.
This time, he found himself in the throne room.
But the strange thing was he was already in his physical body when he opened his eyes. And that meant he suddenly disappeared from his bedroom.
[Melvin would panic again once he realized I disappeared suddenly.]
<"You should listen when an elder is talking, Crown Prince!">
Nero looked at the throne coldly.
There were several voices talking at once, saying the same stupid things, and all those voices were coming from the throne.
[They all sound like those annoying old men from the Noble Council.]
Ah, so then…
"You must be the shame of the de Moonasterios," Nero said, scoffing. "The pathetic, crazy, and evil former emperors who gave our clan a bad name."
The throne fell silent as if it was shocked.
It took a moment before it exploded.
<"How rude!">
<"To speak so brashly to your ancestors…!">
Oh.
This time, the voices weren't saying the same things. It was as if their anger had forced their souls to split up just to curse at Nero individually.
"You find me rude?" Nero asked, laughing. "You should meet my twin sister. I bet your ears would fall off as soon as she opened her mouth."
It wasn't an insult to Neoma.
[I'm merely complimenting my twin sister for her vast vocabulary. After all, Neoma knows all the curse words in every language in the world.]
<"Let's not waste time with idle talks!">
Oh, the voices had merged once again.
<"It's time for you to take the throne, Nero de Moonasterio!">
"I know," Nero said bluntly. "I've been ready since forever."
<"We must make haste!">
He knitted his eyebrows.
[What's with the rush when I'll be taking the throne in a few days anyway?]
<"Usually, an emperor must have already had his coming-of-age ceremony. But in your case, it's fine if you skip that as long as you go through the other ceremony needed before taking the throne.">
"Are you talking about the wedding ceremony?"
<"It is an absolute must that the Crown Prince is already married before he takes the throne to become the new emperor!">
All the previous emperors, even his own father, were already married before taking the throne. It was already a tradition, and he wasn't one to question traditions that didn't affect him or Neoma.
But now, he was curious.
"Why must I be married before I take the throne?"
<"It's to receive the blessing of the Goddess of Fertility!">
"The Goddess of Fertility?"
<"Our bloodline is precious, so we must ensure that the emperor would be able to produce an heir without a problem for us to stay in power! But the Goddess of Fertility would only bless married couples! Hence, you must be married before ascending the throne!">
Pfft.
"That was so stupid that it sounded funny to me," Nero said, holding back his laughter. "I can't believe that the emperors were required to get married just because of a silly reason."
<"How dare you laugh at our long-lasting tradition that ensured the birth of the Crown Princes before you! The blessing that the married Imperial Couples have received from the Goddess of Fertility is the reason why our bloodline has produced high-quality successors all throughout history!">
Nero, when facing nobles and royalties, liked talking eloquently as it befitted an Imperial Crown Prince like him.
However, at a time like this, he just wanted to talk like his twin sister.
[Neoma taught me how to curse, so might as well put it to good use.]
"The tradition you speak of is a complete bullshit."
<"…!">
"My father, Emperor Nikolai de Moonasterio, married the late Empress Juliet before ascending the throne. They didn't have a child together despite the blessing that they may have received during their wedding ceremony," Nero said, smirking. "And you know what? My father and my mother, the-now Empress Mona, didn't need your Goddess of Fertility's blessing to give birth to the best pair of twins in history."
Hence, it was proof that the tradition those old men speak of was nothing but nonsense.
"Neoma and I are proof that the tradition you're talking about doesn't work. That we don't need the blessing of the Goddess of Fertility to produce an excellent heir," Nero said, smiling "sweetly" at a throne. "As soon as I ascend the throne, I'll get rid of that useless requirement. It's one way to discourage Neoma from getting married, so you have my gratitude for telling me the story behind that stupid tradition."
His heart was now at ease.
[Now Neoma doesn't have to get married once she becomes the empress regnant.]
All's well that ends well.
"This conversation is over," Nero said, now in a good mood. "Goodbye–"
<"Hanna Quinzel isn't fit to be your empress, Nero de Moonasterio.">
"How dare you insult Hanna in front of me?" he growled, gathering his Mana in his hands while preparing to hit the throne. "Hanna is the ONLY qualified lady to become the empress–"
<"Hanna Quinzel doesn't have the qualifications to be the next empress!">
Nero scoffed. "Since when did the throne have the right to choose who'll become the empress, huh?"
<"You'll die if you don't marry Dahlia, the Black Witch.">
Huh?
Nero wasn't only surprised by what was said.
There was something else that shocked him.
[Was that a woman's voice?]
But who…?
<"Drill this into your head, Nero de Moonasterio: Hanna Quinzel isn't qualified to become the empress, hence you must marry the Black Witch instead of the Crown Princess.">
"What the– argh!"
Nero was forced to stop talking when a splitting headache brought him to his knees.
He clutched his head and shut his eyes tight when unfamiliar yet vivid memories began flooding his mind forcefully.
And in every single piece of memory, SHE was there.
[Dahlia…?]
Nero soon realized that those were memories that he shared with Dahlia in the first timeline…
… then everything went black.
***
WHEN NERO came to be, he was already sitting on the throne.
He had just begun gathering his thoughts when his father arrived in the throne room.
[Father must have felt my fluctuating Moonglow and Mana.]
Nero was confused at first because the throne forcefully returned some of his memories from the first timeline to him.
Moreover, there was also the memory of him talking to Neoma of the first timeline.
Hence, he was disoriented after he woke up.
But after his father answered his question, that was when his mind cleared up.
Then he told his father about what the throne had said to him.
"Nero, you can't break your promise with Hanna Quinzel," his father scolded him sternly. "And Dahlia doesn't want to marry you."
Nero smiled bitterly. "The throne said I'll die if it wasn't Dahlia."
"Son, do you trust the throne?"
"Huh?"
"I don't trust the throne," his father said firmly. "Don't forget that the throne's desires lie with the crows'. Even though the throne has acknowledged Neoma as a rightful heir recently, I still don't trust it. We don't have to follow what the throne said, son."
His father was right.
All this time, the throne chose the rightful heir with the crows.
It was a miracle that it also acknowledged Neoma as a successor. But that didn't mean they could trust it right away.
"Don't get me wrong, son," his father said. "I'm not saying this because I don't care about what happens to you if we don't follow what the throne said. It's actually the opposite. I don't want you to hurt other people by blindly following something that we can't fully trust."
Pfft.
"Father, you don't have to say sentimental things. I know you care about me even if you don't say it."
"But I want to," his father insisted. "Mona taught me that even though actions speak louder than words, it wouldn't hurt to express my feelings with words, too. Moreover, I often wonder if I'm making you feel lonely."
That gave him goosebumps.
"Why are you being sappy today, Father?"
His father paused as if he hesitated. But it was only for a moment. "I won't lie, Nero. I'm aware that I treat Neoma better than I do to you. Even though I try to be fair to both of you, I can't help but pay more attention to your twin sister. I often wonder if you find it unfair."
"No, I don't," Nero said bluntly, without missing a heartbeat. "Father, why would I find it unfair when I love Neoma more than I love you and Mother?"
His father looked stupefied by what he said.
"In fact, I prefer it that you and mother dote on Neoma, Father," Nero said. "Neoma deserves all the love in the world, so don't mind me. I know that both you and Mother love me, and that's enough. You don't have to shower me with affection since the only affection I want is from Neoma."
His father looked at him long and hard before sighing. "I know I don't have the right to say this, but your obsession with your twin sister is frightening."
Nero just smiled because it sounded like a compliment to him. "As expected, talking about Neoma cleared my head."
"Do you feel better now?"
"Yes, Father."
"Then let's go," his father said. "You just got your blood taken from you, hence you need to rest more."
"Alright, Father."
Nero stood up.
But, suddenly, a strong force pushed him down until he was sitting on the throne again.
[Who dares…!]
Nero tried to fight back, but he IMMEDIATELY lost his strength before he could even use his power. It was as if someone sealed his Mana, Moonglow, and divine power all at once. He couldn't even use what was left of his Roseheart Blood.
<"You should have received the Eternal Flame's power instead of walking away from it, you foolish child.">
He raised his head when he heard the woman's voice again.
There was a silhouette of a woman blocking Nero's view of his father who was calling out his name worriedly while running to him.
[This woman…]
Nero gasped when he finally remembered the owner of the female voice. "Larissa?"
It was the Spirit God that he received before.
[Why did I forget about her…?]
<"You finally remembered me again, my Crown Prince,"> Larissa said, then she leaned down and whispered in his ear. <"Now, sleep.">
Nero, despite his will to stay awake and fight back, eventually closed his eyes.
***
"NERO!" Nikolai yelled worriedly while using all his might to break the invisible barrier that separated him from his son. Calypso was hitting the wall bluntly, but the barrier appeared to be as sturdy as Neoma's Dome. "What the hell is happening?"
When Nero stood up from his seat earlier, an ominous aura suddenly struck the throne.
Before he knew it, Nero had already fallen back to his seat– unconscious.
Then an invisible barrier suddenly appeared between him and his son.
[The throne has trapped Nero inside!]
<"Stop it, Nikolai de Moonasterio.">
Huh?
[A woman's voice?]
Nikolai knitted his eyebrows when a silhouette of a woman suddenly appeared before him. "Who…?"
[Tsk!]
He immediately jumped backwards when the ghost tried to lean down in his ear.
"How impudent," Nikolai growled at the Spirit. "Only my wife and my children are allowed to invade my personal space, you uncultured female ghost."
<"I'm a god.">
He raised his Holy Sword. "You won't be the first god I'll slice with my sword."
<"I have no use of an emperor who has already lost his Moonglow,"> the female ghost said, raising her hand. <"Listen to me, Nikolai de Moonasterio. Bring Dahlia here. Nero de Moonasterio will only succeed in ascending the throne once he marries the Black Witch.">
"Who died and made you emperor?"
The female ghost laughed. <"Bring Dahlia here if you don't want your son to die. Remember this, Nikolai de Moonasterio. Calyx de Luca also has the qualifications to sit on the throne– I won't hesitate to kill your son.">
Nikolai just tightened his grip on Calypso as he prepared to attack.
But, all of a sudden, a strong force pushed him out of the throne room.
[What…]
Nikolai wasn't only shocked that he found himself outside the throne room. Something else had shocked him. "The door isn't here," he whispered to himself in disbelief. "The throne room disappeared…"
***
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