889 HEARTLESS PROPOSITION
LARISSA had always known that Yoan was ruthless.
But she was still shocked at how cold-hearted he could be when Princess Neoma wasn't looking.
Yoan killed the spirits of the de Moonasterion princesses easily, without an ounce of emotion on his face.
It particularly looked more brutal because he was using his ancient bow.
Hence, it looked like Yoan was only hunting birds judging by the blank look on his face. Heck, he even looked bored "hunting."
<nulli>[I thought he would hesitate a bit because Princess Neoma has a soft spot for children. Moreover, he knows the history of the young de Moonasterion princesses born in history. How can he kill them so easily?]
Granted that those de Moonasterion princesses were nothing but Spirits now, Larissa was still in belief that Yoan didn't hesitate to get rid of the children for good.
"Does Princess Neoma know how heartless you can be, Yoan?"
"Of course, she knows. I can't hide things from her even if I want to," Yoan said indifferently, hitting more young princesses with his lightning arrows. "And stop calling me by my dead name. I go by 'Ruto' now."
"I'll call you by any name I want," Larissa said stubbornly. "Are you not going to ask me how I ended up stuck in this place?"
"I'm not really interested," he said nonchalantly. "But Neoma might be interested, so I'll make sure you'll talk once she gets here."
Haaah.
<nulli>[This child hasn't changed a bit.]
People often thought Yoan was a good son.
That he sacrificed Princess Neoma for the sake of the world in the first timeline.
But Larissa knew the truth.
<nulli>[It's not like Yoan loved the world more than he loved Princess Neoma. He just followed Princess Neoma's will to die by his hands.]
"I'm curious about one thing, though."
Larissa raised an eyebrow when Ruto initiated a conversation after he was done getting rid of the Spirits of the young de Moonasterion princesses that she summoned. "Since we're both buying time here, I'll humor you. What is it that you want to know?"
"I don't believe that Hanna Quinzel is infertile," Yoan said bluntly. "The palace people had conducted several medical check-ups on Hanna Quinzel to make sure that she's healthy enough to give birth to the Crown Prince's successor. That test is led by the Royal Archmage herself. If Hanna Quinzel was really infertile, then why didn't the Royal Archmage find out?"
"Do you think the Royal Archmage faked the result?"
"No, I don't think so," he said, shaking his head. "The Royal Archmage has no intention to do that. Moreover, she made a vow when His Imperial Majesty made her the leader of the Royal Tower. She'd die if she harmed the members of the Imperial Family in any way."
Larissa laughed and nodded. "You're right. The Royal Archmage didn't fake the result. The fact that Hanna Quinzel was infertile simply couldn't be diagnosed with ordinary medical ways."
"And why exactly is that the case?"
She pondered for a bit if she should tell Yoan the truth.
After all, she knew that the child would tell Princess Neoma about their conversation. Hence, Hanna Quinzel would find out the truth about her situation.
<nulli>[But even if Hanna Quinzel knows the truth, it won't change a thing.]
Hence, Larissa decided to open her mouth. "When I said Hanna Quinzel was infertile, I meant she couldn't conceive a child with Prince Nero– only with Prince Nero, though. If she marries another man, then it wouldn't have a problem in getting pregnant."
Yoan knitted his eyebrows, confused. "Emperor Nikolai's mother was a Quinzel, so I reckon there's nothing wrong with the compatibility rate of a Quinzel and a de Moonasterio. Then… is Prince Nero's Roseheart Blood the problem?"
As expected of the Divine Lord, he was smart and quick-witted.
"That's right– the problem lies with Prince Nero's Roseheart Blood," Larissa explained. "Mona Roseheart and Nikolai de Moonasterio were able to conceive children because a de Moonasterio has the purest divine power out of all the clans in the world. Hence, Mona Roseheart's blood didn't reject the current emperor's divine power. But the Quinzels have Darkness attribute. Am I wrong?"
She could hear Yoan's brain working overtime.
"So, are you saying that Hanna Quinzel's Darkness attribute would collide with Prince Nero's Roseheart Blood? Is that the reason why they wouldn't be able to conceive a child?"
"You're not wrong, but there's a more complicated matter behind that," Larissa said, smiling while stepping back. "Unfortunately for you, the new host to entertain you has arrived."
Yoan, who felt the hostility of the new "host," suddenly jumped backwards– creating a huge distance between them.
And it was a smart move.
After all, if Yoan didn't move from his spot, the guest would have reached for his heart already.
"You're as elusive as ever, you Levi's damned son."
Yoan scowled after recognizing the enemy in front of him. "Callisto de Luca."
Larissa smiled when her "savior" finally appeared. "Now let's get along with each other, shall we?"
<nullb>***
NERO WAS glad that it was he who got summoned there and not Neoma.
<nulli>[If Neoma was here, she wouldn't hesitate to take responsibility for the sins that our ancestors have committed.]
It wasn't like he didn't feel bad for the Rosehearts.
<nulli>[But why do I have to die to pay for my ancestors' sins?]
"As expected of someone who also carries the blood of a de Moonasterio in him," Nero Roseheart said, his voice full of resentment. "You're a cold-blooded beast just like your ancestors."
"Sure, I'm heartless," Nero said indifferently. "But let me ask you one thing, you fake. What kind of freedom do you want to achieve?"
"What kind of question is that?" the Soul Beast growled at him. "Of course, we want to get out of here and stop getting reborn again and again just to be your bloodline's weapons!"
Hmm.
Wasn't that exactly what his parents tried to do in the past?
<nulli>[But why did they fail?]
Something was off here.
"Is it truly freedom that you seek and not revenge? If you kill me, my twin sister, and my father, then our bloodline will truly end."
Nero Roseheart's fake looked confused by his question.
Even Dahlia turned to Nero with a confused look on her face. "Prince Nero, what are you trying to achieve by provoking him?"
"I'm not provoking him– I'm giving him a hint," Nero said, giving the fake Nero Roseheart a bored look. "Hey, do you want to get out of here by becoming my new Soul Beast? You and all the Soul Beasts here."
<nullb>***
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