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"NIKOLAI, you\'re pretty dumb for a crown prince."

Nikolai glared at Juliet. But it was hard to get mad at her because aside from her respectable personality, her face was also exquisite. Red hair, green eyes, porcelain skin– these were the top three features that Lady Juliet Sloane was known for. "Excuse me?"

As expected, Juliet remained pokerfaced. In fact, she looked like a statue while holding a book in one hand, and a teacup on the other. "You\'re dumb, Nikolai," she repeated stoically. Then, she put the tea cup down on the coaster with elegance. After that, she closed the book and turned to him. "You should be glad that your twin sibling is a woman. Princess Nichole is an amazing person. Had she been born a male, she would have been the crown prince and not you."

He was rendered speechless by her bluntness.

Juliet could talk rudely at him like that because there were only the two of them in the rose garden of Blanco Palace– his residence– at the moment. Part of his daily schedule was to have tea with her every afternoon.

To be honest, Juliet was just one of the "candidates" to be his crown princess. But his father had a close tie with House Sloane. And Juliet was the closest lady to him ever since he was a child. In short, she was likely to be picked as his betrothed.

He had a feeling that his father would make his engagement with Juliet official in his coming-of-age ceremony next year. Both he and Juliet would turn eighteen by then.

According to their empire\'s law, it was the perfect age for royals to "make" an heir.

"Why am I dumb?" Nikolai asked when he finally got over his shock from Juliet\'s brutal honesty. "What did I do?"

"You did nothing and that what makes you dumb," Juliet declared in her usual monotonous tone. Also, she had a semi-permanent frown on her face that made her look like she was judging everyone even though she wasn\'t doing that. "If you love her, why don\'t you pursue her?"

He almost choked on what she said. Of course, he knew whom she was referring to. He may or may not have blushed at the memory of the wonderful girl that he met a few months ago. "You know that you\'re technically my fiancée, don\'t you? Is that what the future crown princess is supposed to say to her fiancé?"

"I\'m not in love with you and you\'re already in love with someone else," she said as if it was the most natural thing to say in the world. "Why do we have to be engaged to each other if that\'s the case?"

"Because I\'m the crown prince and you\'re a high-ranking noble lady," he said. "My father thinks we\'re the perfect choice to be the next emperor and empress that will lead the Moonasterion Empire in the future."

"That\'s a pity," she said, then she sipped her tea.

He also sipped his tea, then he asked in a hesitant voice: "Juliet, what should I do?"

"If you love her more than you love the throne, then you should choose her and give up on being the next emperor," Juliet said without missing a beat, her face remained as blank as usual. But her pretty green eyes sparkled with warmth at the moment. Despite her kind of aloof personality, he could say that she was one of the most genuine friends that he had since childhood. "I want to say that you can work hard until the royal family and the high society learn to accept a lower noble as the next empress. But to break a system, you can\'t avoid breaking yourself in the process. I\'d rather see you run away from your royal duties than see you get broken by a system that we both hate."

"If I run away with another woman, you\'d be left alone," Nikolai said seriously. "Everyone will blame you and accuse you of being inadequate as the reason why I abandoned you. And worse…"

"My "value" as a woman will decrease," she finished the cold words that he didn\'t have the heart to say aloud. "I\'ll be fine, Nikolai. I\'d rather stay alone for the rest of my life than marry a darned chauvinistic pig anyway."

He frowned at her choice of words. "Nichole\'s dirty mouth is rubbing off on you, Juliet."

She just shrugged and finished her tea in the most elegant way that he had ever seen.

Juliet is really the epitome of a noble lady.

Even if she cussed, it still sounded eloquent coming from her.

"Juliet, I\'m sorry," Nikolai said seriously. "I want to be with Mona."

"I know," Juliet said. Then, a rare thing happened: she smiled. If she already looked beautiful even with a blank look on her face, can you imagine how beautiful she looked when she smiled? "I\'m happy for you and Mona, Nikolai."

***

NIKOLAI didn\'t know what to do.

The throne room he was in was literally burning. Dead bodies of his knights and servants were scattered everywhere. And the walls were literally painted with blood.

Those damned traitors!

He knew that he had royal duties to fulfill. But at that moment, his heart and mind were with someone else.

Mona, please be safe.

Gavin better protect her or else, he\'d kill the commander himself.

His thoughts were cut-off when the doors of the throne room burst open. He immediately put his guard up. But when he saw who came, he was relieved right away.

"Nikolai, go," Juliet said while walking towards him. Instead of her usual glamorous dress, she wore a red and gold knights\' uniform. It was a lot similar to the military uniform he was wearing now. That was what royals were supposed to wear during a war like that. "I\'ll protect the throne while you\'re away," she said, then she opened her hands. A few moments later, a beautiful crystal sword appeared in each of her hand– making her look like the goddess of war in the process. Actually, that was one of her many monikers. Anyone who had seen her in the battlefield would agree that she was definitely more than a pretty face. "Mona needs you."

"Don\'t be ridiculous, Juliet," Nikolai said while shaking his head. "I won\'t abandon you here. It\'s too dangerous."

"My brother and our private knights will come here soon. And Princess Nichole is now creating a strong barrier that will prevent more enemies from infiltrating the palace. Once she succeeds, it will be easier to contain the traitors since they\'re going to get locked up here," she said, then she stood in front of him. "I\'m not weak, Nikolai."

"I know that very well."

"Then, go," she said. The determination in her eyes and voice told him that she wouldn\'t change her mind. "Mona needs you. If the enemies get a hold of her, it\'s over for all of us."

He couldn\'t refute that remark.

"I\'ll be back quickly, Juliet," Nikolai promised her. "Don\'t you dare die on me."

"I won\'t die," Juliet said with a firm nod. "I will protect your throne until you return, Nikolai."

Lies.

***

NIKOLAI got up while catching his breath.

That was the first time that he dreamed of Juliet after a while. Even though those scenes had already played in his mind several times, the memories of her still hurt. He would still wake up with a chest heavy with regrets and bitterness.

Dammit.

Was Juliet haunting him because it had already been three years since her body was stolen and he hadn\'t found it yet?

Yes, that must be it.

"I\'m sorry, Juliet," Nikolai whispered to himself. "It seems like I\'m still letting you down even after you\'re gone."

***

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