"BUT FIRST things first," Neoma said while giving William and Delwyn a look full of suspicion. "What's with the 180-degree turn? You both wanted to get rid of earlier. And now you want to work with you?" She raised an eyebrow at them. "What's the catch, boys?"
"No reason," William said bluntly. "Stop asking dumb questions–"
"We were scolded by Lady Irina," Delwyn said, cutting off whatever William was about to say. "Lady Irina is the Cosmic Tree, and her orders are always absolute."
That piqued her curiosity.
"Is the Cosmic Tree's position higher than the Spirit Queen's?" she asked curiously.
"The Spirit Queen is only responsible for the Spirit World, but the Cosmic Tree is responsible for both Spirits and every living thing, so it's hard to compare the two," the Ice Spirit explained. "Moreover, the Spirit Queen and the Cosmic Tree have different factions, since different beings follow each of them."
"Oh, so there's politics even among Spirits, huh?" she said, then she nodded. "But then again, everything is political."
[But of course, politics isn't everything.]
"You said the Cosmic Tree's orders are always absolute," she said while giving William and Delwyn a curious look. "What did she order you to do?"
William just ignored her.
"Lady Irina told us to work with you for the next three years," Delwyn revealed. "Since it's the Cosmic Tree's order, not even William can defy it."
For the next three years, huh?
"My influence on this world is too big," she said while shaking her head. "Just because I decided to move three years from now, everyone is following suit." She smirked, amazed by her awesoness. "I was a social dia star in my previous life. Never thought I'll still be an influencer in this lifeti. But I guess it suits ."
William and Delwyn exchanged confused looks.
"Let's just ignore her rumblings," William said to Delwyn. "That child isn't normal."
She just gave William a dire stare. After all, she couldn't deny that she wasn't a "normal child." A superstar like her couldn't be normal, duh. "Uncle Scumbag, I have a question. I rember people telling my mother is the 'Daughter of Nature.' Apparently, Mama Boss is very close to the Cosmic Tree. Is that true?"
The Grand Spirit nodded. "Yeah."
"Then why didn't the Cosmic Tree greet after she woke up?" she asked. "I an, if she knew I can influence the world the way I want to, wouldn't it be more productive for us to talk to each other instead of asking the two of you to work with ?"
"Hah. You're really arrogant," William said while giving her a disapproving look. "What made you think the Cosmic Tree is on your side?"
"Well, everyone made feel like I'm the main character of this world recently."
"No one is the main character here," the Grand Spirit said bluntly. "The Cosmic Tree exists to keep the world safe. She only seems like she's taking your side because, at the mont, your goal aligns with hers. But once you made a dumb decision that could endanger the world she protects, you'll know why the Cosmic Tree is feared by even the High Spirits like and that bum."
William pointed at Delwyn when he said 'bum.'
[Delwyn is a High Spirit?]
"Your expression looks dumb," William said, then he clicked his tongue. "Yes, Delwyn is a High Spirit. Every single Spirit Guardian that your mother owned in the past is on that level."
"Amazeballs," she said, impressed by that discovery. "Anyway, are you saying the Cosmic Tree can't et ?"
"Of course," William said, scoffing. "Now that the Cosmic Tree is awake, all eyes are on her, so she can't just et with you on a whim. But if she must, the Cosmic Tree will summon you."
"What occasion must rise in order for the Cosmic Tree to summon ?"
"If the Cosmic Tree needs you for the "greater good," she will summon you."
She smiled bitterly. "Everyone seems to want a piece of ."
William raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't you enjoy the attention, anyway?"
"My net worth back in my second life was astronomical," she said arrogantly. "I won't be generous anymore. If you want to work with you, pay up. I'll teach this world how capitalism works."
"I understand."
"Huh?"
"You want to tempt you with an offer you can't refuse, right?" William asked, then he stood up. "Then, in exchange for working with you for the next three years, I will give you Valnto's Holy Knights."
She tilted her head to one side. "I don't need them, though?"
"Don't be foolish," the Grand Spirit scolded her. "Astello Temple is the biggest religion in the empire, and most of the people in the West Continent are devotees of Lord Yule. Right now, there's no saint or Moon Priest to guide the temple in the right direction. The High Priest was easily controlled by Darkness, which is a testant to how little faith he has in Lord Yule. If a person like that continues to lead the temple, then it will crumble."
She wouldn't lie– religion was her least favorite subject.
It wasn't like she didn't have respect for the divine beings. She was simply fed up since the beings she was supposed to respect had been ddling with her life from the beginning. Committing blasphemy against the gods was her way of venting out her frustrations.
[And it doesn't help that the gods I've t so far aren't very nice.]
Yes, including Yule.
[I an, Lord Yule is partly to bla for the crows' existence…]
"We have to push the current High Priest out of power," William continued seriously. "It won't be easy because I'm certain the group of priests and priestesses that serve Astello Temple are supporting him. But the Holy Knights are different."
"How so?"
"The Holy Knights are loyal to the saint because they believe the saint is the closest being to Lord Yule," the Grand Spirit explained. "You may not know this because you're not interested in religion, but the Holy Knights are obsessed with "miracles." Those punks probably want to experience the sa thing the first generation of Holy Knights experienced."
Now she was getting confused.
[I should have taken my religion class more seriously…]
"Since the saint disappeared, the Holy Knights won't care about who leads the temple. They will probably focus on protecting the temple until the prophesied next saint arrives," William continued with his lecture. "But we need the Holy Knights to care about the politics inside the temple because they're the only ones we can use. And we need those punks to support the puppet that we would use to replace the current High Priest."
She gently tapped her fingers on the armrest. Although she wasn't interested in religion, she understood what William was trying to explain, since he was speaking politics now. "The Astello Temple thrived all this ti because of the forr saint," she said, her big brain now working. "But after the saint disappeared, this happened. That ans the High Priest and most of the people serving the temple have been corrupted for a long ti now."
Knowing Dominic Zavaroni's personality, he probably turned a blind eye because bad stuff hadn't escalated yet. Perhaps he thought he could stop it if things got worse. The forr saint was passive, after all.
[I know because he's my forr ntor.]
Wasn't Dominic Zavaroni's passiveness the reason why he couldn't do anything to save her Aunt Nichole in the past?
[We can't be passive now.]
"But can we trust the Holy Knights?" she asked William. "Just like the High Priest, they were controlled by the crows, too."
"We don't need to trust them– we just need them to shift their faith on you," William said casually. "Like I said earlier, we're going to use the Holy Knights for you to gain the right to kick out the High Priest, and replace him with one of your own."
She gasped when she realized sothing. "Uncle Scumbag, are you telling to find a replacent for the High Priest among my people?"
The Grand Spirit knitted his eyebrows. "You just realized it now? I didn't know you could be pretty slow, Neoma de Moonasterio."
"I'm not slow," she said firmly. "I just can't believe you're giving an arduous task when you know there's already too much on my plate at the mont."
"It's not a hard task since you already have the perfect puppet in your hands."
"Huh?"
"We'll talk about it later," William said, then he pointed his chin in Delwyn's direction. "You and that bum should clean up the ss in this kingdom first. The whole place reeks of Darkness, and the Spirits are dying because of it."
Ah, yes.
She rembered hearing the cries of the Spirits in the snowy mountain earlier. That was another reason for her to completely purify the kingdom.
[Even if it ans destroying half of it.]
"Where are you going, Uncle Scumbag?" she asked, surprised when William's body suddenly turned translucent.
"I'm heading to Valnto first," William said nonchalantly. "I'll create a miracle for you to be recognized by the Holy Knights as their new master."
And just like that, Uncle Scumbag vanished.
Neoma pinched the bridge of her nose, realizing a little too late that her father's habit, when stressed out, had completely rubbed off on her. "The adults around give too much credit."
How the hell was she supposed to deal with William when they got along like oil and water?
***
"YOUR MAJESTY, is it really alright to let the Black Witch leave just like that?"
Nikolai nodded at Geoffrey Kinsley's question while wiping his hands with a white handkerchief. "It's not safe for the Black Witch to stay here," he said while leaving the torture chamber. "Moreover, we have to respect her wishes. She's an Elental Guardian owner, just like Ruston Stroganoff. The empire can't afford to lose such a rare existence."
He would get in trouble if people found out he allowed a Black Witch to step foot in the empire in secret.
But since Dahlia Leticia was an Elental Guardian, he was willing to take the risk.
[I'll take responsibility for it later. Nero chose the Black Witch as one of his people, so I must have faith in my son's decisions. All I have to do is prepare to support my children the best way I can.]
He wouldn't be an emperor forever, and even his influence over the nobles wouldn't last long, judging by the current situation. The Noble Faction in the Royal Capital was quiet while Neoma, while acting as the Crown Prince, was gaining more power.
There was no way in hell those Noble Faction bastards weren't planning anything to stop the Crown Prince from being more influential.
[Their silence only ans they're preparing to tear my child down.]
He had to gather all the power he had. And hopefully, his Moonglow would last until he could successfully establish both of his children's positions in the empire.
[But my Moonglow at the mont…]
"Your Majesty?" Geoffrey called him worriedly. "Is sothing the matter?"
"Nothing," he said, pushing the negative thoughts out of his mind. "What's the situation with the Fletcher Twins?"
"I talked to Wyatt earlier, and according to him, they have safely brought the Black Witch back at her ho," the Paladin reported to him. "The twins are on their way to Hazelden Kingdom to report to Princess Neoma about what happened to Bram de Luca."
Hah.
Neoma would surely be frustrated.
When the Fletcher Twins brought Bram de Luca to the empire, the crow was nothing but an empty shell.
"The body that Bram de Luca used this ti is just one of his clones. It seems like he used the clone of the younger version of himself to enter Valnto as a young Holy Knight," he said. He had t Bram de Luca in the past, and he certainly didn't look like a young innocent man back then. "Unfortunately, his soul managed to escape his shell while Dahlia Leticia was purifying the Darkness in his "body.""
But the "shell" that the Fletcher Twins had brought back wasn't completely useless.
He spent the past few days dissecting it. Thus, he had been cooped up in the torture chamber while getting his hands dirty. It was worth it, though.
[I extracted a piece of a divine orb in the shell, after all.]
"That ans Bram de Luca is still alive," Geoffrey said while shaking his head. "The crows are truly the roaches of the sky."
He could only agree with the Paladin.
The Paladin clicked his tongue while continuing his rumblings. "Those crazy bastards…"
Crazy, huh?
That reminded him of the conversation he had with the Black Witch before she left the empire…
["Dahlia Leticia, give one reason you don't want to et Nero at the mont."]
["Your Majesty, your son is scary,"] Dahlia Leticia said awkwardly, and she couldn't even lift her head to face him as she continued talking about Nero. ["I apologize in advance, but Prince Nero is a psycho– I an, a c-crazy hot blood that I should only et when it's absolutely necessary to do so."]
Dahlia Leticia, as far as he knew, hadn't t Nero personally yet. So the young Black Witch probably saw a vision related to his son.
[Otherwise, Dahlia Leticia wouldn't have talked as if she already t Nero.]
"Is Nero crazier than Neoma is?" Nikolai whispered to himself. "Or does my son's "craziness" has sothing to do with his Lunacy?"
***
"I WONDER how Uncle Scumbag would create a "miracle" that can apparently make the Holy Knights loyal to him," Neoma wondered out loud. "Does he know a lot about Lord Yule and our religion because he hates the de Moonasterios so much?"
"Little Neoma, you didn't know?"
She turned to Delwyn who had just gotten up from bed while stretching his arms. "Know what?"
"The Founder of Astello Temple's Holy Knights was a male Roseheart."
"Huh?"
"The first Holy Knight that served the first de Moonasterio ruler was a Roseheart," Delwyn said in a bored voice. "If I rember it correctly, the first Holy Knight was called Nero Roseheart– the owner of the White Lion."
"Nero Roseheart?" Neoma asked, surprised. "My twin brother's na is 'Nero,' too."
[And what exactly is a White Lion?]
***
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