Chapter 879 WHAT HANNA QUINZEL LACKED
NERO clicked his tongue when he realized that he was, in fact, in another dimension.
But this time, it wasn't only his consciousness that was summoned to the throne room– even his physical body was there.
He was sitting on the throne that resembled the throne room in the real world.
[Why am I here?]
"Are you finally awake, Prince Nero?"
"Who gave you the right to call me by name? It's 'Your Imperial Highness' to you," Nero said, scoffing at the woman who appeared before him. "Are you Larissa?"
The silhouette of the woman that he saw earlier was standing in front of him now as if it were a real person.
It was a middle-aged woman who looked elegant despite wearing a simple white dress.
"Please accept my late greetings, Your Imperial Highness the Crown Prince," Larissa said, bowing politely towards Nero. "I am Larissa, the Goddess of Fertility."
He scoffed after learning the identity of the goddess. "Ah. So you're that person. The one who gives blessing to the married couples in the family."
The goddess just smiled and nodded. "Your Imperial Highness, I heard you do not wish to marry the Black Witch."
"Hanna Quinzel is the Crown Princess, and I intend to make her my empress."
"You can't do that, my Crown Prince."
"Do I look like I care about your opinion?"
Larissa smiled, but that smile looked cold. "Your Imperial Highness, Princess Hanna Quinzel cannot be the empress for she is infertile."
To say that Nero was shocked would be an understatement. "Hanna is infertile? And how did you know that?"
"I'm the Goddess of Fertility, my prince," the goddess reminded her. "Of course, I'd know."
"Do you think I'll trust your words easily?"
"Whether you believe me or not won't change the truth, Your Imperial Highness," the goddess said sternly. "Princess Hanna Quinzel cannot be the empress because she cannot give birth to a successor that will continue the de Moonasterion bloodline."
"Shut up," Nero said angrily, his red eyes glowing menacingly. "Whether it's the truth or not, don't you dare mention it to Hanna."
Larissa laughed softly. "It's too late for that, my prince."
***
[SHE FINALLY transformed.]
If Hanna was a jerk, she would have attacked Eloise already while the female Silver Fox was in the middle of her transformation.
[I'm sure Neoma would have done that, though…]
Unfortunately, as a Quinzel, she couldn't find it in herself to attack an unprepared enemy.
[I know my pride will kill me someday, but I'm sure it's not today.]
Eloise soon completed her transformation.
The female Silver Fox had grown bigger in size.
[She also became muscular.]
Eloise also grew long and sharp fangs, as well as nails that almost looked like the claws of a wild beast now.
But the most obvious change was her white tails.
[She has five fox tails.]
"Oh," Lewis muttered, and he sounded impressed. "Five tails. Be careful, Princess Hanna."
"Of course," Hanna said. "But don't worry too much, Lewis. She doesn't have nine tails like you, so I think I'll be fine."
Eloise, who obviously heard what Hanna said, growled as if she was offended. "Let's see if you can still act arrogant after I'm done with you, you undeserving Crown Princess!"
[Ah, she's pissing me off.]
Eloise charged at Hanna, and Hanna noticed that the female Silver Fox was faster now.
But that didn't mean she would lose when it came to speed.
[Neoma is still faster than Eloise, and I've sparred with Neoma many times in the past.]
Hence, Hanna didn't hesitate to lunge at Eloise.
Since the female Silver Fox didn't use a weapon, Hanna didn't use one either.
She just covered her fists and her entire body with her Mana and shadows. After all, she wouldn't be able to match a Silver Fox's strength if she didn't cover herself with enough Mana.
Fortunately, there were many shadows around her.
[Argh!]
Hanna's thoughts were interrupted when she blocked Eloise's punch with her arms.
She was almost pushed back.
If her shadow didn't stand behind her and held her by the shoulders, the impact of Eloise' fist connecting with her arms would have sent her flying.
And, although her arms were covered with Mana, her arms still almost broke.
[Eloise' brute force is no joke.]
"Did it hurt, Hanna Quinzel?" Eloise asked in a mocking tone while preparing for another punch. "Brace yourself because the next one will hurt more!"
Hanna secretly hated her short height.
After all, she was surrounded by tall people.
However, right at that moment, she suddenly became thankful for her petite size.
She just ducked, but she immediately disappeared from Eloise' line of view. After all, the female Silver Fox had towered over Hanna after her transformation.
Her sudden "disappearance" confused Eloise who punched the air after Hanna ducked.
Of course, Hanna used that opportunity for her counterattack and punched Eloise in the stomach.
And, yes, she infused her punch with enough Mana.
As a result, Hanna heard Eloise' ribs break when her knuckles connected with the side of her stomach.
The female Silver Fox immediately coughed up blood and bent her body a bit.
Hanna then jumped and gave Eloise a good kick in the face– sending the female Silver Fox flying.
But Eloise didn't get thrown that far away.
Moreover, the female Silver Fox had quickly gotten up.
Tsk.
[She's literally tough, and she also recovers fast.]
Hanna, on the other hand, was trembling a bit from the impact of her attacks.
Her arms were still swollen from blocking Eloise' punch earlier. Moreover, she sprained her ankle when she kicked the female Silver Fox.
[Moreover, why does my body feel heavier and heavier as moments pass by?]
Hanna suddenly had a bad feeling about this.
Eloise, who probably noticed that Hanna had already realized that something was strange, laughed as her golden eyes glowed menacingly. "Does your body feel heavy after hitting me again and again, Hanna Quinzel?"
Ah.
Hanna suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
Eloise laughed while watching her reaction. "Does it make sense for a skeleton like you to dominate a fight with a Silver Fox?"
The female Silver Fox was saying that she let Hanna hit her.
And Hanna belatedly realized why Eloise just let her beat her to a pulp.
[The more I hit Eloise, the heavier my body gets!]
"Come," Eloise said haughtily, opening her arms. "Beat me all you want, wench."
Hanna's green eyes glowed menacingly, irritated by the fact that the female Silver Fox was looking down on her just because she fell into her trap once. "Now that I know how your trick works, don't even think for a second that it will work on me again–"
"Hey, Crown Princess!"
It was the annoying Ancient Devil.
Of course, Hanna ignored the Ancient Devil. She wasn't a fool to let herself get distracted while she was in the middle of a fight.
Hence, she didn't take her eyes off Eloise despite the Ancient Devil's distraction.
"Do you know why you're not qualified to be the next empress?"
Hanna flinched.
Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was now listening to the Ancient Devil. As a result, she found it hard to concentrate on watching Eloise' next move.
"Hanna Quinzel, you are infertile, that's why."
Huh?
Hanna's concentration broke instantly against her better judgment.
She was so shocked by the Ancient Devil's revelation that she couldn't stop herself from looking up at the balcony to glare at the Ancient Devil.
"What nonsense are you saying?" Hanna growled at the Ancient Devil, her body trembling from anger. "And who said I'm infertile? As the Crown Princess, I've taken all the medical tests I needed to prove that I'm healthy enough to be in this position."
The Ancient Devil smirked.
Hanna waited for the Ancient Devil's response, but she got distracted by Eloise' laugh.
"Who told you to get distracted in the middle of a fight, Hanna Quinzel?!"
Hanna heard Eloise' taunting, but she didn't bother to turn to the female Silver Fox.
She also didn't need to move from her spot to avoid the attack.
After all, Lewis ran past Hanna to stop Eloise from attacking her.
"I'm sorry I meddled in your fight, Princess Hanna," Lewis said in a calm yet obviously worried voice. "Let me fight in your stead this time."
Hanna couldn't give a response to Lewis.
She couldn't even turn to the fox boy because the Ancient Devil began talking again.
"I don't know the details. I'm just a messenger, after all," the Ancient Devil said cheerfully as if he found the entire thing funny. "But the diagnosis that you're infertile came from the Goddess of Fertility herself."
The Goddess of Fertility?
Hanna knew that she shouldn't trust a word that was coming from the mouth of an enemy.
But she was shaken when the Ancient Devil mentioned the Goddess of Fertility.
After all, even the children of the empire knew that if you wanted to have a child, you had to pray to the Goddess of Fertility. Aside from being the patron of childbirth, the Goddess of Fertility was also known to bless married couples to have a harmonious relationship.
"The Goddess of Fertility said you do not have the ability to carry a child in your womb," the Ancient Devil said in a taunting voice. "Hence, if you marry Prince Nero and you become the next empress, the de Moonasterion bloodline will end in the new emperor's generation."
Hanna's entire body turned cold.
She knew that she shouldn't listen to what the Ancient Devil said. Moreover, he didn't even bring proof that she was infertile.
None of the medical tests that she had taken before said that she couldn't conceive.
Even so…
The Ancient Devil laughed while looking at Hanna. "Are you going to cry, Crown Princess? Oh, I can't wait to see your tears."
Hanna knew that she shouldn't cry.
Not in front of this bastard who didn't deserve to see her tears.
However…
[I want to have a child of my own someday…]
The possibility that Hanna may not be able to conceive broke her heart into pieces.
Before she knew it, tears began to gather in the corner of her eyes.
But before her tears rolled down her cheeks…
"Lewis Crevan!" the Ancient Devil yelled angrily. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Hmm?
Hanna was surprised when her vision suddenly turned dark at the exact moment her tears rolled down her cheeks.
She belatedly realized that Lewis' covered her head with his jacket.
"Princess Neoma taught me that there's nothing wrong with crying," Lewis said in a cold, angry voice. "But it's a different matter when my friends are crying because a bastard like you hurt them– I'll make you pay for this, you ugly old devil."
Hmm?
Hanna wasn't used to hearing Lewis curse, but it made her feel better hearing him get angry in her stead.
Hence, her tears finally stopped falling.
[This isn't the time to be crying.]
***
"DO YOU understand now, Prince Nero? You cannot marry Hanna Quinzel if you don't want the de Moonasterion bloodline to end."
"So what?" Nero snapped at Larissa. "My successor doesn't have to have my blood."
"My prince!"
"I'm not your prince, you wench," he said, scoffing. "And I can always make Neoma's child my successor if the de Moonasterion blood is still a requirement to take the throne."
Larissa looked stupefied by his response. "I thought you were so overprotective of your twin sister that you wouldn't even entertain the idea of Princess Neoma getting married…"
"That was before I recovered some of my past memories related to Neoma."
In the memories that he had recovered, he realized that Neoma only wanted one thing back then.
A child.
[How can I deny that from Neoma now?]
"I'll probably never acknowledge Neoma's future husband, but I can accept her child," Nero said, smirking at Larissa's pale face. "If Neoma's future child is as lovely as her, then I don't mind making them my successor– and I'm sure Hanna would love the idea, too. Problem solved, isn't it?
***
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