"NE-NE, don't say things that you don't an."
"And when did I do that?" Neoma asked Yule while looking at the god's pretty, galaxy-like eyes. "I'm arrogant because I have the skills to back it up. Thus, I don't say things I don't an, Lord Yule."
Yule looked surprised by her declaration. Then, his already sparkly eyes sparkled even more. "Do you want to be the first empress of the Great Moonasterion Empire now?"
"I don't 'want' to be the empress," she corrected him. "I need to."
"Interesting," the god said, then he snapped his fingers.
The next thing she knew, she was already seated on the floating chair across from Yule. She even had a cup of tea in one hand, and a coaster in the other.
"Wow, this is so convenient," she said, then she sipped the tea. Her eyes sparkled when she had a taste of the strange yet delightful drink. And no, it wasn't tea even though it was in a teacup. "Wow, Lord Yule. This tastes like my favorite toffee nut latte from St*rbucks."
"I'm glad that you liked it, Ne-Ne," he said smilingly. "The tea that I serve my guests magically transforms into whatever they feel like drinking at the mont."
Ah, so she was craving for St*rbucks right now.
I should ask Ruto to recreate my favorite St*rbucks drinks later.
"Interesting," she said, making the god laugh. "Anyway, I have a question, Lord Yule."
"What is it, Ne-Ne?"
"Do you want to beco the first empress of the empire?"
He smiled brightly at her. "Yes."
"Then, let's make a deal," she said. After that, she put the teacup down on the floating white table between her and the god. "If you create a miracle for , I will create a miracle for you."
"Tell more about it, Ne-Ne."
"I'm sure that my Papa Boss won't let die since I'm Nero's proxy," she said. "And I can tell that I'm not dying yet. If I was, I'd be at the Spirit World instead of having tea with you, Lord Yule. I guess right now, we can say that I'm in a coma. Which ans I'm barely alive."
He just smiled and sipped his tea.
"But even if Papa Boss successfully wakes up, my physical body won't magically return to normal, will it?"
"Of course not."
She already expected that and yet, the confirmation from Yule still scared her a little.
"The fact that your body didn't blow up to pieces after what William did to you is already a miracle, Ne-Ne."
"That's because Hanna managed to protect her body properly," she said. After all, William said that he'd swap Hanna's condition with hers. If Hanna's body was torn into pieces from the explosion, then she would have suffered the sa fate. "I guess noble children are literally built different, especially higher nobles like Hanna."
"You can say that again," he agreed with her with a firm nod. "Hanna Quinzel, as you call it, is 'built different.' After all, she has inherited the blood of the Quinzels. Their Shadow Manipulation Technique is one of the strongest techniques in the empire. All the descendants of House Quinzel are blessed with a stronger physical body than average nobles. Moreover, I believe that Hanna Quinzel's shadow protected her when she was attacked."
"Really?" she asked, surprised. "Hanna's shadow can think on its own?"
"Rather than 'think,' it would be more appropriate to say that a Quinzel's shadow is designed to protect its owner," the god explained. "It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that their shadows are equivalent to a de Moonasterio's Soul Beast."
She clapped her hands. "That's so cool. I didn't know that their shadows are that good."
"Their shadows are also capable of other 'cool' things," he said, then he sipped his tea before he continued. "But we're not here to talk about the Quinzels, are we?"
"Right," she said. Gosh, how impatient. It looked like she and her Papa Boss inherited their impatience from Yule, huh? "I'll get straight to the point then: please fix my physical body, Lord Yule."
He laughed softly while gently shaking his head.
It wasn't a mocking laugh so she wasn't offended. To be frank, it sounded like he was surprised by her request, then he just laughed it off.
"Now I understand why you called it a miracle," the god said, his voice filled with amusent.
"I know that my request sounds ridiculous," she said. "But as what Bokuto said, "it's not impossible– it's just hard.""
"Who's Bokuto?"
"A cutie owl."
"Ah, I see," he said. He obviously didn't get her reference but he probably didn't want to be rude. Thus, he just changed the subject swiftly. "You're right. Your request isn't impossible for to grant. But it's going to cost a lot."
"Huh?"
He smiled kindly at her and when he spoke again, he sounded patient. "I'm not the only god here in the Upper World, Ne-Ne," he explained. Ah, right. The world where gods and goddesses lived was called Upper World. But to humans, it was more known as the 'heaven.' "I can't do whatever I want. And if do sothing that goes against the law of this world, it will have so consequences on ."
"Will helping fix my body back to normal go against the law of this world?"
"No, it's not like that," he denied while shaking his head. "To be precise, using my heavenly powers to favor a single individual would be frowned upon by the other celestial beings around ."
"Are you afraid of them?"
"No, but I have to be careful," he said, then he smiled sweetly at her. "If a divine war breaks out among divine beings, it will literally be the end of the Middle World."
The 'Middle World' was also known as the 'living world.'
Our world.
"The divine beings have to co-exist peacefully for the human world to be safe," he added. Then, he fell silent before he spoke again. "There's a way for to grant your request without getting into trouble. You have to give sothing in return though."
"Of course," she agreed. "That's why I offered you a deal, Lord Yule. A miracle for a miracle, rember?"
"A deal with a god isn't sothing to be taken lightly, Ne-Ne," the god said. "We have to make an official contract."
"It's fine with , my lord," she said. "I know how contracts work. I even have one with my Papa Boss."
Plus, she had signed several endorsent deals back in her second life.
Signing contracts is a part of a celebrity's life.
"You seem to be determined, Ne-Ne," he said in an amused tone. "I rember how adamant you are about not taking the throne for a "life of leisure." What made you change your mind?"
"I finally decided to accept the fact that I'm the protagonist of this world, my lord," she said, then she let out a deep sigh. "I an, I'm only eight years old and yet, I've almost died several tis already. You know what's more annoying? Papa Boss tried to kill in the past because he was afraid that I'd compete with Nero. He's so sus of no matter how many tis I say that I'm not interested in the throne! Even Count Kyle Spouse looks down on because a girl like "dared" to "steal" my twin brother's place as if it was my idea. Then, all of a sudden, I found out that there's a cult dedicated to killing all the royal princesses to make sure that only male heirs could beco emperors." She sighed loudly and shook her head. "Gosh. I'm the only eight-year-old baby girl in the world to ever go through all those stressful events."
"The life of a royal, especially a female royal, is indeed diffiult," the god said sympathetically. "You've worked hard, Ne-Ne. Good job."
"Thanks, but I don't want to work 'hard' anymore," she said firmly. "This ti, I'll work 'smart.' I find it unfair that people who don't want to beco an empress are trying to kill when I never expressed interest in the throne. In short, no matter what I say or do to prove to them that I don't want to be an empress, nothing will change." She smirked before she continued. "If those hypocrites want to beco an empress so bad, then I'll beco one. And since I don't do things half-assed, I'll make sure I'd go down in history as the most competent ruler ever and crush my male ancestors' fragile masculinity in the afterlife."
Then, she laughed as if her sanity just snapped.
"I understand your feelings, Ne-Ne," the god said carefully. "But are you sure that it's enough reason for you to beco an empress? Although I want you to take the throne, I don't want you to regret the decision you made when you were angry. After all, I know that your dream is to be a 'lady of leisure.'"
"Oh, I haven't given up on that dream, my lord."
"What do you an by that?"
"Let state my term in our contract, Lord Yule," Neoma said seriously. "I will beco an empress for a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years only."
Yule's eyes widened in shock. "You're going to rule for a limited ti only?"
***
"LEWIS CREVAN, where are you going?" Glenn asked when he saw Lewis Crevan headed towards the exit instead of the waiting room where Madam Hammock went to. He was guarding outside the infirmary's private room where Princess Neoma was confined when he saw the fox boy walk past the waiting room. "Aren't you going to wait with Madam Hammock until Princess Neoma wakes up?"
Lewis Crevan stopped walking and turned around to face him. "I'm going to hunt."
"Hunt?"
"The young chef said that there were black crows following them earlier," the young knight said. "He killed those crows and said he's going to hunt down the others."
His eyes widened in shock. "Black crows?"
Now that was alarming.
When Princess Neoma said that she had dreamt of black crows, they imdiately assud that it was related to the cult. But they almost forgot about the possible revival of the Crow because they didn't detect any movent from the enemies' side.
Not until now, at least.
Ruto wasn't an ordinary child. He wouldn't kill black crows if they were just ordinary birds. The young chef wasn't aware of the cult, so he probably just followed his instinct when he killed the crows earlier. Even though Ruto was still young, he trusted the child's judgnt.
After all, Ruto was the person His Majesty chose to be the next commander of the White Lion Knights.
"I will report it to His Majesty," he said firmly. "For now, search around the Royal Palace and kill every single crow you see, Lewis Crevan. I will dispatch a squad to do the sa thing."
The young knight just nodded at his command, then he bowed politely.
"Wait, Lewis Crevan," he said when he rembered sothing. "Ruto is a year older than you so you can't call him 'young chef.'"
"I'm taller than him," Lewis Crevan said with a cute pout on his face. "A one-year gap doesn't make him better than ."
After saying that, the fox boy left with heavy footsteps.
Which was strange because Lewis Crevan was known for his quiet movents.
Glenn laughed softly and shook his head when the realization finally hit him. "Is Lewis Crevan jealous of Ruto?"
***
"YOU JUST said that you need to be the empress, my lord," Neoma said with a sweet smile on her face. "You didn't say that I need to be the empress for the rest of my life."
Yule looked shocked by her term, then he laughed softly. "You're one wicked little lady, aren't you?"
She smiled and nodded. "It's just a part of my charm, my lord."
He just laughed softly, then he sipped his tea. He fell silent for a while before he finally spoke again. "I accept your first term, Ne-Ne."
She heard a 'but' so she just sipped her tea and waited for the god to continue.
"But in return, I want you to do one thing for before your reign as the empress ends."
"What is it, my lord?"
Yule suddenly beca serious. "End the cult for , Princess Neoma de Moonasterio."
She got goosebumps when he called her by her full na. Even the usual playfulness in the god's voice was gone. Plus, his sparkly eyes suddenly darkened.
"The cult?" she asked with a raised brow. "As in the cult led by the Crow with red eyes?"
"Yes," he said with a firm nod. "The previous emperors before your father took the throne didn't bother to eliminate the cult. After all, the crows help the male heirs get rid of their competitors by killing the royal princesses."
That ticked her off.
"Why?" she asked. "Why do they have to kill the royal princesses when in the first place, the law states that a female royal can't succeed the throne anyway?"
"Because of a prophecy that says a woman would lead the empire to ruins," the god explained. "The prophecy was passed down to male heirs of the Royal Family. Thus, every single Crown Prince in the history of the empire was raised to be wary of their female siblings. When a royal princess is born in the royal family, it has been a tradition to raise them separately from the royal prince to avoid the siblings from forming a strong bond. Since the past royal princes were detached from their female siblings, they didn't care if the royal princesses were murdered."
"I want to say that they were all fools to kill innocent little girls just because of a re prophecy," she said in a cold voice, her fists clenched tight. "But I guess they were right to believe the prophecy because the mont I was born, that prophecy has already been fulfilled."
He smiled aningfully at her. "Are you saying that you're going to destroy the empire?"
"I won't hesitate if I have to," she said bluntly. "Sotis, you have to choose violence. After all, only bad people can end the evil ones."
He chuckled at her response. "Are you calling yourself a bad person?"
"A person who aims to succeed the throne can't be a good person," she reminded him. "After all, the person who sits on the throne will also inherit the sins accumulated by the previous rulers."
"It seems like I chose the right person for the job."
"Well, I plan to end the cult in the first place so I can easily accept your term, my lord," she said. "But if you want to end them so badly, can you give so clues about them? Like, their whereabouts. It seems like you know everything about what's happening in the Royal Palace so..."
"If I can see what the crows are doing, I wouldn't ask for your help, Ne-Ne."
"Oh."
That actually made sense.
"Unfortunately, my real eyes that can see everything have been stolen by the first Crow that led the cult."
She almost choked after hearing that revelation. "How did you get involved with the cult, my lord?"
He smiled sadly as if he rembering sothing that broke his heart. "Do you know how the Royal Family managed to get a hold of my tears?"
She was confused by the sudden change of topic, but she still went along with it. "Those were your real tears? I thought it was just so holy water with a romantic na."
"Those were my real tears," he said with a faint smile. "I cried for so long that they were able to fill a vial with my tears."
"What in the world did make you cry for that long, my lord?"
"Betrayal," Yule said with a bitter smile on her face. "Ne-Ne, I'm the founder of the cult."
Neoma's eyes widened in shock. "Oh shit."
***
WHEN HANNA opened her eyes, she realized that she was alone in the room.
But she wasn't afraid because she could hear her parents' voices outside the room while talking to Saint Dominic Zavaroni. The entire room was also covered and protected with her father's Mana.
And most of all, his father's own shadow was standing beside her while keeping an eye on her. Needless to say, she felt very safe at the mont.
But her heart was heavy when she rembered that she was fine because Neoma received the injury that she suffered from the bombing. But a while ago, before she fell asleep, His Holiness assured her that Neoma would be fine.
And I know that Neoma will be fine because, well, she is Neoma.
"Please hurry up and recover soon, Neoma," Hanna whispered to herself. "I want to quickly tell you that Regina Crowell has fallen into my trap."
***
Hi. You may now send GIFTs to our Neoma. Thank you~
***
Please ADD my story to your LIBRARY to be notified when an update is posted. Thank you! :>
Reviews
All reviews (0)