AT THE back of Nero's head, he knew that letting go of Hanna was the right decision.
Even though he was saying he didn't need to make a vow with Dahlia, he knew he still wouldn't be able to let the Black Witch die. But even so…
[How can I let go of Hanna? She's the only woman fit to be the future empress.]
Hanna was the perfect Crown Princess, and her politics often tis aligned with Nero's.
He could already picture the two of them leading the empire to reach new heights.
"Unhand before I cut off your hands, Prince Nero."
'Prince Nero.'
Hanna had addressed Nero by his first na casually ever since they were children.
Hearing her call him by his title now hurt a bit.
It was as if Hanna was building a wall between them.
"No," Nero said, letting go of Hanna's shoulders to clutch his head tight. A splitting headache hit him all of a sudden, causing him to lose his temper quicker than normal. "Hanna, can't you reconsider?"
"I'm sorry, but I've already made up my mind," Hanna said firmly. "Prince Nero, I'm quitting as your fiancée and as the Crown Princess of the empire."
Ah.
Hanna's clear green eyes showed that she wouldn't change her mind.
That her decision was final.
Nero then realized that he had already lost Hanna.
[Dammit.]
"Calm down, Nero," Hanna said, a hint of worry evident in her voice. "Are you alright?"
No, he wasn't.
But Nero couldn't say anything, so he just shut his mouth tight and shut his eyes.
He could feel another person's divine power trying to overwhelm his.
Nero was pretty much certain that it was the gift that he had received from the First Emperor before appeared around his head again.
It was supposed to rein his Lunacy in, but it wasn't working this ti.
There was a loud noise in his head that was driving him crazy.
[Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!]
"Dahlia!"
Nero quickly opened his eyes when he heard Hanna yell Dahlia's na worriedly.
And then he felt his heart drop to the floor when he saw the Black Witch coughing up blood nonstop.
Dahlia's lavender eyes were glowing while her Mana was fluctuating.
Lapiz, the Blue Whale the size of a salmon, explained in a hurry.
Ah.
Emperor Nero did ntion that the Black Witches were cursed.
Hence, Dahlia needed to make a vow with him because they needed each other.
But Nero didn't actually listen to the emperor that well because the emperor was beyoned annoying.
"Nero, why don't you go and make a vow with Dahlia now?"
Haaah.
Nero gave Hanna a look of disbelief.
Thanks to the absurdity of the situation, he cald down a bit.
"Is it not enough that you dumped ?" Nero asked Hanna bitterly. "And now you're pushing to another woman right after calling off our engagent?"
"Nero, do you think we have the luxury to worry about our personal feelings?" Hanna snapped at him. "If you die, then the empire and the Imperial Family would collapse. And if Dahlia died as well, then Neoma wouldn't forgive us."
Hearing Neoma's na brought him back to his senses.
[I can bear Hanna and Dahlia's anger, but not Neoma's.]
"Are you sure about this, Hanna?" Nero asked. "I don't want to hurt you more than I already had."
"It will hurt more if you and Dahlia lost your lives because you were too worried about my personal feelings," Hanna said firmly. "Nero, I will survive this heartache."
Of course.
Hanna was one of the strongest won that Nero acknowledged in his life.
"Alright," Nero said, turning to Dahlia awkwardly. "Are you okay with making that vow with , Dahlia?"
"I don't want to die early, Prince Nero. Especially not when the world I care about is being threatened by Darkness," Dahlia said quite firmly despite her poor condition at the mont. "I'll do anything to survive and increase my lifespan."
Nero suddenly felt ashad of himself after listening to Hanna and Dahlia's resolve.
[They're focused on our goal instead of their personal feelings even though the two of them must be hurt a lot because of my indecisiveness.]
Ah, Neoma wouldn't be proud of him at this rate.
If he couldn't be a proper lover to either Hanna or Dahlia, he should at least fulfill his duty as the next emperor.
"Let's make the vow then, Dahlia," Nero said calmly. "How should we do it?"
Dahlia extended her hand to Nero. "Please hold my hand, Prince Nero," she said shyly. "And please don't reject it once I enter your soul with mine."
***
[INTERESTING.]
Dahlia thought the space in Prince Nero's soul was interesting because of the things that she saw there.
To be fair, it was almost empty.
But the two things that caught her attention were what mattered most anyway.
The midnight blue rose in the middle of the almost empty white room was surrounded by so reddish bulbs of light that felt ominous.
If she was right, then the midnight blue rose would be the Crown Prince's Roseheart Blood.
And the reddish lights would be…
[That must be Prince Nero's Lunacy.]
"What's wrong?" Prince Nero asked. "Did you find sothing strange with my Roseheart Blood and Lunacy?"
Dahlia nodded slowly. "Your Lunacy is working like a poison on you, Prince Nero. It's not supposed to work that way."
She then pointed at the midnight blue rose in the middle of the white room.
The single-stemd midnight blue rose, that was the symbol of the Roseheart Blood, was enclosed in a crystal-like tube placed on top of a white cube.
Although not obvious, the edges of the rose's petals were starting to turn black.
It was as if the edges were burned, and there was only one culprit.
"The energy that Your Imperial Highness' Lunacy gives off is detrintal to your Roseheart Blood– which shouldn't be the case," Dahlia explained. "A de Moonasterio's Lunacy is activated by their unstable emotions. As a result, you go crazier each ti you experience an 'episode.' However, despite that, your Lunacy should never attack you from within."
These were all the things that Empress Dahlia had taught her in the short amount of ti that they spent together earlier.
It was like the empress unlocked so of her mories.
Hence, all the fresh pieces of information regarding the de Moonasterios and their Lunacy were flowing in her mind smoothly.
"This is probably why your Lunacy is worse than Princess Neoma, Prince Nero."
Prince Nero tilted his head to one side. "That makes sense. Neoma's episode only occurs when she's really mad. But I get triggered by the smallest things. I thought it was only because I have a worse personality than Neoma."
Pfft.
Dahlia couldn't help but laugh when Prince Nero casually admitted that he had a bad personality.
[At least, His Imperial Highness is self-aware.]
"You're laughing."
Dahlia imdiately put on a poker face. "I did not laugh at you, Prince Nero."
"I know," the Crown Prince said bluntly. "I'm just glad that you can still laugh even after all the horrible things you've gone through because of ."
She avoided his gaze. "I'm not the type to hold grudges, Prince Nero."
"That's probably why you're like a breath of fresh air to ."
Prince Nero whispered those words as if he was afraid he'd hear her.
But she did.
Hence, Dahlia pretended not to hear it. "Prince Nero, is it okay if we start the vow now?"
"Alright," Prince Nero said. "What do I need to do?"
Dahlia held Prince Nero's hands, then she closed her eyes because the words flashing in her mind at the mont were kind of embarrassing. "Prince Nero Roseheart de Moonasterio, do you accept as your soul companion?"
The spell that she had uttered sounded like a marriage vow, hence her cheeks burned from embarrassnt.
She closed her eyes because she didn't want to see Nero's reaction.
"Yes, Dahlia," Prince Nero said softly. "I'll take you as my soul companion."
Then the Blue String that served as proof of the vow between Dahlia and Prince Nero appeared around their ring fingers.
***
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