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“It’s alright, Mother,” Ruto assured his mother who looked worried and guilty for what happened. “It’s just a gold mine.”

He and his mother just finished talking to the Willows to officially stop the engagement talks with the Willows. Right now, the two of them were walking back to the Cyran Temple. It was time for his mother to pray to the Sun Goddess, so he offered to walk her there.

[Neoma told me to be kinder to my mother.]

Moreover, it looked like his mother was upset with how the discussion ended so he wanted to console her.

The Willows were offended that he rejected Phoebe after Lord Levi chose the young lady himself to be his bride. Hence, as compensation, he let the Willows have his gold mine. He didn’t care though, since it wouldn’t even leave a dent to his wealth.

“It’s not ‘just’ a gold mine,” his mother said, sighing. “Gold is the most valuable mineral on the East Continent since it symbolizes the Sun Goddess. Moreover, your gold mine produces the best gold on the continent. And now, the Willows own it.”

.....

“They promised to never approach me again with a marriage proposal,” he reasoned. “If you asked me, then I’d say it’s worth it, Mother.”

His mother let out a sigh. “Do you hate the idea of marrying Lady Phoebe that much?”

“I do,” he said firmly. “Why would I marry a child?”

Physically, he was the same age as Phoebe Willows.

However, he was a grown man inside. Hence, he saw almost everyone around him as children. Yes, even his own parents.

“Princess Neoma is also a child, son.”

“Physically, yes,” he said. “But we’re both adults inside, so...”

To be honest, he was being extra careful because even though it was common for royals and nobles to be engaged as young as twelve years old, he knew that it shouldn’t be normalized.

His mother smiled softly at him. “You must really like Princess Neoma. With or without your memories, your feelings for her never wavered.”

That was true.

[Neoma has so much power over me.]

The royal princess’ clear gaze mesmerized him the moment their eyes met. And, right then and there, he already realized why his past self followed Neoma’s will even though someone of his stature shouldn’t be bowing to a royal princess from the West Continent.

“Mother, Neoma and I both know that it’s not yet the right time for us to focus on our feelings,” he assured his mother. “We both have duties we need to fulfill first, so rest assured, we won’t be hasty and reckless.”

“I feel reassured and guilty,” his mother said. “You and Princess Neoma carry the burden to save the world.”

“That was the burden that the past me carried, Mother,” he corrected her carefully as he could. “But right now, I don’t think I’m interested in saving the world. After spending time with Neoma, albeit the time being short, I realized my own feelings despite my missing memories: I only do things that will benefit Neoma. If she wishes to burn the world, I’ll gladly do it for her this time.”

His mother laughed nervously. “That sounds scary because I know you and Princess Neoma are capable of destroying the world. Maybe not now. But in the future, once both of you have regained your previous strength, then it’s possible.”

He was about to agree with his mother, but he stopped when he saw the person waiting for them at the entrance of the temple.

[Phoebe Willows.]

He was wondering why Phoebe Willows was absent earlier. The young lady must have been waiting for him here all this time. He pretended not to notice the child’s puffy eyes.

[She cried for a long time, didn’t she?]

“Lord Ruto, can we talk?” Phoebe Willows asked after greeting his mother earlier. “I won’t take too much of your time.”

He thought it was the least thing that he could do for the child, so he agreed.

“Then I’ll excuse myself now,” his mother said before leaving.

And now, it was only him and Phoebe Willows.

“Once again, I apologize for rejecting the marriage proposal that our side brought up first,” Ruto said, bowing his head to the child. [After all, it’s Lord Levi’s fault and he’s my divine father. Hence, I should take responsibility.]

“I’m not here to hear your apology again, Lord Ruto,” Phoebe Willows said in a cracked voice. “I’m only here to ask you some questions.”

He raised his head, worried that Phoebe Willows might cry in front of her.

To be honest, he didn’t really care about the young lady on a personal level.

However, Neoma had a soft spot for kids. He didn’t want the royal princess to hate him if she found out that she made a child cry.

“What is it, Lady Phoebe?” he asked, addressing the child properly this time to put some distance between them.

“It’s Princess Neoma, isn’t it?”

He remained silent because he had no intention of talking about his relationship with Neoma to a person he wasn’t close with.

The young lady smirked bitterly. “You said you weren’t interested in me because I’m a “child,” and yet you chose a girl younger than me?”

“First of all, I wasn’t interested in you just “because you were a child,”” he said bluntly. “Even if you were older, I don’t think I’d be interested in you, Lady Phoebe.”

He didn’t mean to be harsh, but he also didn’t want to sugarcoat his words.

It would be better if Phoebe Willows’ admiration for him would turn into hate.

“Why her?” Phoebe Willows asked, tears brimming in her eyes this time. “Why Princess Neoma?”

“I don’t know,” Ruto said honestly, sighing. “But having these warm feelings for Neoma comes as natural as breathing.”

***

“HOW MUCH?” Neoma asked the old man. “How much does an oxygen mask cost?”

“One silver,” the old man said indifferently. It was obvious that the old man was already so used to running this business. “Each mask will give you fresh air for five days.”

One silver was a small amount for a noble and a royal like her. However, in a poor town like that, one silver was definitely too much for a mask. Obviously, it was the price for rich people like them.

[Well, it can’t be helped since it’s obvious we’re nobles even though we’re wearing plain clothes.]

“Give me all the masks that you can sell me today,” Neoma said, then she threw a bag of gold coins at the old man (who caught it swiftly). Again, she was being rude on purpose. “And give me the same number of masks every day while we’re here.”

The old man, who looked indifferent, as if he was already used to “customers” like her, nodded. “Understood, little princess.”

Her children, even Trevor, suddenly released their bloodlust to the old man who remained passive.

Neoma, however, remained calm since she was amused by the old man’s personality.

“What?” the old man complained. “Unless the little princess’ hair color is fake, then she must be a Roseheart since only the Rosehearts have pink hair in the entire world. The news about the hidden royal princess, the child born between Lady Mona Roseheart and Emperor Nikolai de Moonasterio, has reached even this isolated island. Only fools who do not know about politics wouldn’t realize that the little girl with pink hair is a royal princess from the West Continent.”

Oh, the old man was sharp.

“How do you explain my pure pink hair, then?” she asked, testing the old man’s wit. “The de Moonasterios are known for three physical traits: their white hair, ash gray eyes, and pale skin.”

“It’s simple: the blessings of the gods don’t reach this island,” the old man explained in a bored manner. “Even a de Moonasterio will lose their divine power as long as they’re here. Your white hair symbolizes the divine blessing that you received from the Moon God. If you didn’t have Roseheart Blood in you, then your hair would have turned black and not pink. After all, strangely enough, you have Darkness attribute in you.”

Okay, this time, she was alarmed.

[I thought I have concealed my Darkness attribute quite well. But this old man...]

Hmm.

It was true that she was alarmed. However, she didn’t feel any threat from the old man. In fact, he looked like he didn’t give a fuck.

[Gosh, I like his lazy vibes.]

“He knows too much,” Trevor, whose eyes were already glowing menacingly, whispered to her. “My Moon Princess, we should-”

“I want to adopt you, old man,” Neoma declared, ignorning Trevor’s warning. “Do you want to be my son- mmf!”

She wasn’t able to finish her sentence because Paige and Juri suddenly covered her mouth.

Jeno, on the other hand, wrapped his arm around her waist and gently pulled her away from the old man. Then the Marksman dragged her inside the inn despite her complaints. Paige and Juri remained covering her mouth, too.

Trevor, that bastard, laughed as if he found her situation funny.

Greko bowed to the old man. “Grandpa, please give me the masks that my eomma purchased.”

Neoma couldn’t believe that her children could do this to her.

[I’m telling you— they’re in their rebellious phase!]

***

“MY LADY, I don’t think it’s safe to “adopt” anyone without running a background check on them first.”

Neoma was being scolded by Paige, but she was distracted.

After all, as soon as they entered the inn, the person that she had been looking for already appeared before her.

“We met again,” Rubin Drayton said indifferently. “Are you stalking me?”

Usually, she would have already reacted violently.

However...

“Why do you look ugly today, huh?” Neoma asked, confused. She didn’t want to say this, but Rubin Drayton was the most handsome young man she had seen in all her previous lives, even now. She could see the same in front of her at the moment. But the vibes were strange. “Who the fuck are you?”

.....

***

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