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Neoma nodded at her mother’s question.

To be honest, she wanted to smile at her Mama Boss, but she couldn’t. She knew that she was in the wrong. But she couldn’t help but feel...

[Bitter.]

Yes, she was feeling bitter.

Maybe she was just being stubborn, but the topic about her appa was a sensitive topic for her.

“Yes, Mama Boss,” Neoma said in a cracked voice. She was still emotional, so her voice sounded that way. “But I’m not fine, so is it alright if you leave me alone in the meantime?”

.....

It looked like her words hurt her mother’s feelings.

[Shit. Damn me and my bitter tone.]

In her defense, she couldn’t control her emotions at the moment.

“Neoma, are you upset with me?” her Mama Boss asked in a careful and nervous voice. “I’ve hurt your feelings, haven’t I?”

“I was hurt because you spoke the truth, Mama Boss,” she admitted. It was no use lying, since she couldn’t control her expressions at the moment. Thus, it was better to be completely honest with her mother. “But I’ll be fine.”

“Did I overstep my boundaries?” her mother asked, and it was obvious that she was feeling very guilty. “Did I sound like I was invalidating your feelings towards Gavin Quinzel?”

Did she feel that way?

To be honest, she didn’t know. But she didn’t want to have an argument with her mother.

“It’s not like that, Mama Boss,” she said, then she avoided her mother’s gaze. “I was neglected in my first life. The first people who showered me with unconditional love were eomma and appa. That’s probably why I’m finding it hard to let go of them- especially appa. But I don’t expect Mama Boss to understand me, so it’s fine.”

“What do you mean by that, daughter?”

“Mama Boss, you grew up surrounded by people who love you- I didn’t,” she said, her voice still bitter. “There are many people who love you even after you were gone, you know? Even the Spirits adore you. Then there’s the Nature, the Cosmic Tree, the Spirit World. So, Mama Boss doesn’t know how it feels like to cling desperately to the few people who showed you what it feels like to be loved...”

She trailed off when she realized she was just venting out her frustrations to the wrong person.

When she turned to her mother, she felt a pang in her chest.

She hurt her Mama Boss, and she could see the pain clearly in her mother’s light-blue eyes.

[I fucked up.]

“I guess you’re right, Neoma. I spoke like I knew everything when I know nothing about you and the life you lived,” her Mama Boss said in a sad voice. She smiled as if she wanted to console her, but it only made her mother look sadder. “I’m sorry, baby. I’ll let you rest now,” she said, then she stood up and kissed the top of her head. “Good night, my precious daughter.”

After saying that, her mother left her bedroom in a hurry.

[She’s going to cry, isn’t she?]

She saw the tears in the corners of her mother’s eyes earlier.

But even though she knew that, she couldn’t bring herself to run after her Mama Boss and apologize. It wasn’t like she didn’t feel remorseful. She just didn’t want to say the wrong words again, since her emotions were still unstable.

[I need to calm down first and clear my head.]

Neoma let out a sigh. “I’m an awful daughter.”

***

“I’M AN AWFUL mother, Nikolai,” Mona said in a cracked voice while crying in Nikolai’s arms- literally. The two of them were already lying down on the bed, with her using Nikolai’s arm as a pillow while his other arm was gently patting her back. “I’ve hurt our daughter’s feelings by acting like I know her feelings better than she does. No wonder she got upset with me...”

“Gavin Quinzel is very special to Neoma,” Nikolai said carefully. “We can’t blame her for that. After all, it was true that Gavin Quinzel was a good father to her. You died in her first life, while I was a terrible father to her back then. I heard that Rufus was good to her during that time, but Amber Quinzel- not so much. Thus, Neoma only experienced having a complete, happy family when she grew up with Gavin Quinzel and Go Areum during her second life.”

She already heard the kind of life that Neoma lived in the past.

Nikolai and Gale told her that much.

Moreover, she saw some fragments of her daughter’s memories.

Even so, hearing straight from her daughter how much she valued Gavin Quinzel was very different from simply being aware of it.

“I should have been more thoughtful,” she said, remorseful. “I was only thinking about my resentment towards Gavin Quinzel. Because of my selfishness, I’ve hurt Neoma. I want to apologize to her again, but I’m afraid to make her more upset.”

“Don’t worry, Mona,” he comforted her. “Neoma isn’t a small-minded person. Well, she has a nasty temper. But we just need to give her time to breathe. Once she has calmed down, she’ll be ready to face us again with a clear mind.”

“Do we really just need to wait?”

“Yes, my love,” he assured her while gently sliding his hand up and down her back. “Neoma hates having miscommunications. She’ll talk to us once she’s ready. As I said earlier, she’s not small-minded.”

She fell quiet before she confided another thing to Nikolai. “It seems like Neoma feels a little... jealous of me.”

“How so?”

“She said I wouldn’t understand her desperation to cling to Gavin Quinzel because I grew up surrounded by people and beings who love me,” she said hesitantly. “Neoma thinks I had it easy because I was showered with love all my life.”

She wouldn’t deny that.

Although House Roseheart was oppressed by most households in the empire, she’d say she was still lucky to have met the right people in her life.

Neoma was right- she was loved.

But it wasn’t always a good thing.

“Even so, it’s not like I can tell Neoma that being loved by the people around me could also be considered a curse,” she said softly. “It would be like complaining about how full I am in front of a hungry child.”

“You and Neoma need to talk it out once our daughter is ready,” Nikolai said gently. “I’m sure with proper communication, you two will understand each other-”

He trailed off when they felt a loud explosion of Mana coming from outside.

And that Mana was very familiar.

Mona and Nikolai got up in an instant. “Nero!”

***

NEOMA ran to the room next door as soon as she felt Nero’s Mana explode.

Lewis, who was guarding outside her door, followed her.

But the two of them were already late.

Nero was no longer in the room.

Worse, Geoffrey Kinsley- the Paladin that her Papa Boss probably assigned to guard her baby brother- was heavily injured.

“Omo, are you alright?” Neoma asked worriedly when she saw that half of Geoffrey Kinsley’s body- from the waist down- was frozen with ice. The Paladin’s chest was also bleeding from a deep cut. “Of course, you’re not okay. I’m sorry for asking something stupid.”

“I’m alright, Your Royal Highness,” Geoffrey Kinsley said, even though he was obviously in pain. “But our esteemed guest...”

The Paladin called Nero an ‘esteemed guest’ to protect her brother’s identity.

After all, the soundproof barrier was destroyed when the room was destroyed, too. Thus, anyone could hear their converesation from the outside. And since the explosion was pretty loud, the people staying in Blanco Palace would surely arrive any minute now.

“Lewis, make the employees return to their rooms,” she ordered her “son.” “Then come back here ASAP. We need to follow our esteemed guest before it’s too late.”

Lewis bowed to her, then he disappeared quietly.

“Tteokbokki, come out.”

Tteokbokki, in his human form, came out instantly. Thankfully, he was wearing proper clothes this time. He looked like a young master from a noble household now.

[Papa Boss probably threatened him not to appear naked in front of me again.]

“Tteokbokki, melt that ice,” she said while pointing at Geoffrey’s lower half. “You can melt that ice, right?”

“I melted Delwyn’s ice,” Tteokbokki said smugly, then he pointed a finger at Geoffrey’s direction lazily. Red flame appeared on the tip of his finger, then the flame grew bigger as it reached for the ice that covered the Paladin’s lower half. In just a few seconds after the red flame licked the ice, it began to melt. “So, I can melt any kind of ice now.”

“Gosh, so arrogant,” she complained. “I wonder where you got that attitude from.”

Geoffrey Kinsley turned to her with a disbelieving look on his face.

On the other hand, Tteokbokki gave her a look that said he was tired of her bullshit.

“What?” she complained to the two.

The Paladin shook his head immediately, while her Soul Beast just rolled his eyes at her.

[This punk...]

She couldn’t scold Tteokbokki because he was doing his job properly.

“Your Royal Highness, what happened?”

She turned around and was surprised to see Hanna- all alone.

“Why did you come alone, Hanna?” she asked worriedly. “I thought Duke Quinzel left his elite knights to guard you?”

.....

“They’re slow,” Hanna said, smiling. Then she snapped her fingers. “But they’ll be here soon... probably.”

After Hanna snapped her fingers, the portion of the palace that included her room and Nero’s destroyed room was covered by a thin mesh “veil” hovering above them like a dome.

[So cool.]

“Well, I believe you can protect yourself well,” she said to Hanna. Then she gave her a thumbs up. “Good job, girl.”

Hanna just smiled and nodded.

She then turned to Geoffrey Kinsley. “Geoffrey, do you know why Nero suddenly sneaked out of the palace in this manner? It’s safe to speak now, thanks to Hanna’s veil.”

“I believe it’s because of Prince Nero’s Lunacy acting up, Princess Neoma.”

Excuse me?

[Lunacy?!]

Nobody told her Nero was going through his Lunacy now! But come to think of it, she wasn’t in the condition to receive such news earlier.

“When I heard Prince Nero scream in agony earlier, I immediately dashed to his room,” the Paladin continued with his explanation. “But before I could even ask what happened, His Royal Highness attacked me. Prince Nero’s eyes were red, and it seemed like he wasn’t in his right mind...”

Yep, that was Lunacy.

[I mean, Nero has never been completely sane. But he’s not the type to attack our allies mindlessly.]

“`Gotcha, thanks for the tea,” she said to Geoffrey who looked confused by the words she used.

She just ignored the Paladin’s confusion because Lewis had returned already.

“Everyone has returned to their rooms,” Lewis reported to her. “I threatened- I asked them politely to stay in their room...” His voice suddenly became barely inaudible. “Unless they already want to die.”

Hanna, who was standing beside Lewis, stifled her laughter.

She, on the other hand, clicked her tongue.

Who raised this boy?

[Oh, wait- I did.]

“What happened here?”

[Ah, Papa Boss...]

Hanna, Lewis, and Geoffrey all bowed deeply to her Papa Boss and Mama Boss.

Neoma also bowed her head, but not as deep as the three did since she was also a member of the Royal Family.

[Unofficially, but I’m still my father’s royal daughter.]

“Papa Boss, Mama Boss, Nero sneaked out,” she reported to her father and mother. “According to Geoffrey, it seems like Nero isn’t in his right mind. That’s why I’m planning to chase after him to bring him back here.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” her Papa Boss said. “We can’t let people see two Crown Princes. Nero is going through his Lunacy and therefore, his eyes are probably glowing red. Anyone who sees him will immediately realize that he’s the Crown Prince.”

“Then should I come out as Neoma?” she asked carefully. “We’re spreading the rumor that the royal princess is in the empire anyway.”

“No, that’s too dangerous,” her Papa Boss said firmly. “Calyx Dalton is still alive. I know that you’re not afraid of them, but we have to be careful. We don’t know what tricks they would pull now that Helstor is on their side.”

Her father had a point.

She shouldn’t underestimate Helstor and the crows who sided with the God of Eternal Darkness.

[The fact that they nearly killed Ruto is a testatement to their combined strength-]

“I’ll go,” Papa Boss declared, shocking them all. “I’ll look for Nero and bring him back.”

“Your Majesty, you can’t,” Geoffrey, who was just freed from the ice (thanks to Tteokbokki), protested. “I’ll go.”

“You’re injured, Geoffrey. Stay here and I’ll heal you,” Mama Boss said sternly. Then she turned to Nikolai. “Nikolai, it’s also dangerous for you to go alone. I know that you’re strong enough to protect yourself even from Helstor. But it won’t hurt to be more careful if you’re going out to look for our son.”

Mama Boss had a point.

But she couldn’t open her mouth to agree because she was too ashamed to talk to her mother after her embarrassing outburts earlier.

“Then would it be alright if I accompanied His Majesty?”

Everyone turned their heads in Hanna’s direction.

Hanna remained calm as she addressed their questioning looks. “I can erase His Majesty’s tracks using my Shadow Manipulation Technique,” she said politely. “As long as I use my shadows, not even the God of Eternal Darkness would be able to see His Majesty’s movements.”

“Right, the Quinzels’ Shadow Manipulation could cover even the eyes of gods,” her Mama Boss said, impressed. “But accompanying the emperor is a dangerous job, Hanna.”

Ohh.

[Mama Boss addressed Hanna casually.]

Right, the two must have already gotten acquainted with each other while she was asleep.

“I understand, Lady Roseheart,” Hanna said politely. “I’ll be careful. Thank you for worrying about me.”

Mama Boss smiled at Hanna warmly.

[Ohh... Hanna earned some brownie points from Mama Boss.]

“That’s fine with me,” Papa Boss said. “I’ll just change my clothes quickly.”

“Papa Boss, Hanna, once you leave the palace, try to look for the most dangerous alleys in the Royal Capital,” Neoma said solemnly. “If I remember it correctly, in my first life, Nero would often go to those places to satiate his blood-thirst.”

Everyone, even Tteokbokki, looked shocked by what she implied.

And they weren’t wrong.

“Yes, Nero would often hunt down scumbags and kill them mercilessly under the guise of punishing them,” Neoma said bluntly. “But in reality, the Nero in my past life was nothing but a mere violent psychopath.”

***

NOTE: Today is my birthday~ Please leave lots of comments~ Thank you.