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“Yes, Master,” Neoma said to William while glaring at the dragon egg. “Tteokbokki doesn’t want me to touch him because he thinks he’s all that now? Hah! Only I should be arrogant between us.”

“I see,” William said while nodding his head. “You and your Soul Beast are both kids.”

South laughed cheerily. “William, at our age, even the oldest human on this continent is a kid.”

“I think the one who’s picking a fight with me is Crimson and not Tteokbokki,” she said while glaring at the red egg. “My Tteokbokki is a good boy. Only Crimson will reject me as his boss.”

“That’s not the issue here,” William said, then he turned to South. “Where’s Manu? He’s supposed to be here until the egg hatches. Did he run away again to sleep?”

“Hey, give our Moon Priest a little credit for working hard these past few years,” South scolded William lightly. “Manu just went to the East Continent to report to the Sun Priestess.”

.....

“Ah,” William said, obviously disinterested. “I see.”

“Why, though?” she asked, her eyebrows knitted. “Why does Lord Manu have to report to the Sun Priestess? Did we make an alliance with them without my knowing?”

William and South both gave her a look that practically screamed, ‘are you for real?’

“What?” she complained. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Are you stupid?” William asked, irritated. Then he pointed at her neck. “Do you even know the significance of the necklace you’re wearing? Do you treat it as mere jewelry?”

Her hand automatically reached for the necklace she was wearing- the one with the golden whistle pendant.

It was the necklace that Lady Yngrid, Ruto’s mother, handed to her a few years ago. She would hide the necklace in her inventory (aka the Lynx Ring) every time she was outside to keep it safe. But when she was just at home, she would wear it proudly.

“This is my personal treasure,” she said. “What about it?”

William looked too stunned to speak.

South, on the other hand, laughed as if he was amused. “Princess Neoma, that necklace is the symbol of Ruston Stroganoff’s authority on the East Continent. That means you also currently hold half the authority in the Sun Temple.”

“Ruston Stroganoff’s maternal family, the Solfrid Clan, is one of the East Continent’s Four Golden Families,” William explained. “To be precise, his maternal family serves as the Guardian of the Cyran Temple. If the Astello Temple has the Holy Knights, then the Cyran Temple has the Solfrid Clan.”

She already knew that.

But she didn’t want to hear about Ruto’s family from other people, so she would often just brush off any conversation regarding that.

[I want to hear it straight from Ruto.]

“Lady Yngrid is the current matriarch of House Solfrid. That’s the reason why she’s in a long-distance relationship with her husband,” South added. “Ruston Stroganoff is Lady Yngrid’s only child, and that means he’s also the sole heir of the Solfrid Clan.”

And her Papa Boss wanted to make the sole heir of such a family the new commander of the White Lion Knights?

[Wow... Papa Boss is ambitious.]

“But the Sun Priestess doesn’t like you, Princess Neoma,” South said bluntly. “She sends her messages to Manu instead of you.”

“The feeling is mutual,” she said, pouting. “I don’t like the Sun Priestess too, so I’m glad she didn’t reach out to me.”

She barely remembered putting Paige Avery in charge of communicating with the Sun Priestess.

“You don’t have to be friends with the Sun Priestess,” William said. “You just have to use each other for your own personal gains. That’s how people who represent the gods work together, anyway.”

“We need to work with them, especially now that Darkness is becoming a threat again,” South said. “Princess Neoma, please use Ruston Stroganoff’s power wisely.”

“I will only use it if necessary,” she said, then she changed the topic. “Anyway, I’m going to teach Tteokbokki a lesson today.”

It felt weird to talk about Ruto’s family when he wasn’t here. Plus...

[That punk never let me in his dreams for the past three years!]

William taught her how to enter people’s dreams.

She was even able to do that to anyone she wanted to see in her dreams- anyone but Ruto.

[And appa, too. But William said it’s probably because appa is unconscious. Which means appa isn’t deliberately rejecting me.]

Ruto, on the other hand, was rejecting her on purpose.

“South, gimme Tteokbokki for a moment,” she said, then she extended her arms to the Soul Beast.

“Are you sure, Princess Neoma?” South asked worriedly. “I don’t want you to get burned.”

“I’m prepared this time,” she assured the Soul Beast. “I covered my entire body with Coat.”

‘Coat’ was one of the three barriers that the former saint Dominic Zavaroni taught her in the past. It was the kind of barrier that would cover the user’s entire body with divine energy.

“Alright,” South said, then he handed the red egg to her. “Be careful, Princess Neoma.”

She just nodded, then she carefully took the red egg in her arms.

[Ouch, it stings a bit.]

It was amazing how the red egg managed to burn her a little, even though she was covered with her Coat. She got pissed, so she increased the amount of Moonglow covering her entire body. The thicker it got, the lesser pain she felt until the heat didn’t affect her anymore.

“You punk,” she said to the red egg. “You’re Crimson, aren’t you? My Tteokbokki wouldn’t attack or reject me.”

The red egg vibrated as if it was responding to her.

Then she felt the egg increase its temperature as if it was trying to burn her for real.

[Yep, this is Crimson.]

She stopped playing this time.

Crimson needed to be subdued, after all.

So, she placed her palm on the egg and gathered a large amount of Moonglow in her hand. Her divine energy was naturally cold, so it was a terrible match with Crimson’s red flame. She could feel that punk’s flame slowly losing its heat.

The moment her eyes turned glowing red, it was game over for Crimson.

Her Moonglow increased so much it extinguished the red flame in an instant, resulting in the egg cooling down.

[Subduing complete.]

South clapped his hands. “Wow, the dragon really calmed down.”

“Sometimes violence works on violence,” William said while shaking his head. “It’s probably their language.”

“Yep, that’s our love language,” Neoma said while laughing, then she kissed the egg. “Tteokbokki, Crimson, see you later.”

***

“I HAVE returned, Your Royal Highness.”

Neoma laughed softly before she pulled Hanna into a tight embrace. “Welcome back, Hanna.”

Duke Rufus Quinzel, who was standing behind them and beside Lewis, smiled warmly while watching the two of them.

Lewis had a poker-face, but his eyes were sparkling.

Even her Papa Boss, who was sitting behind his office desk, looked pleased to see her happy with her reunion with Hanna.

“I’ve missed you, Princess Neoma,” Hanna said, addressing her formally because her father, the emperor, was in the same room. “And you’ve grown... a lot.”

She pulled away from the embrace and looked at Hanna. Well, there was only a 3-inch height difference between them, so she didn’t really tower over her cousin. But she’d like to tease Hanna, since her reactions were cute. “You’re bite-sized, Hanna.”

Duke Rufus Quinzel laughed softly.

“157cm is average for girls our age, Princess Neoma,” Hanna said, pouting. “You’re the giant one.”

She laughed because she couldn’t refute that. “Shall we go? Nero is waiting for you.”

Hanna nodded eagerly. “Yes, please.”

Neoma smiled at Hanna, although her feelings were quite complicated at the moment. [I really don’t want Hanna to end up with Nero.]

***

HANNA was quite confused when Neoma brought her to the drawing room instead of where Nero was.

Even Lewis, who served as their guard, looked confused.

“Neoma, why are we here?” Hanna asked carefully, addressing the princess casually now that only the three of them were in the drawing room. “I thought Nero wanted to see me.”

“Yep, Nero wanted to see you,” Neoma said, then she sat down on the sofa while motioning her to do the same. “My brother will probably ask you if you still wish to be engaged to him.”

“I figured that much,” Hanna said, then she sat down beside the princess while Lewis stood behind them. “I came here to give my answer to Nero.”

For some reason, the princess looked devastated. “You still want to marry Nero?”

She nodded. “Yes, Neoma. I worked hard for the past few years to become the perfect Crown Princess for Nero,” she said. “Do you... not want me to be your sister-in-law?”

“Can I be honest?”

.....

“Of course,” she said confidently, although she was a nervous wreck inside.

“I know this isn’t my place to say this, but I really think you’re too good for Nero,” Neoma said carefully. “Plus, I’m worried because you have feelings for my brother. Whereas Nero...”

“Neoma, I’m aware that Nero has no romantic feelings for me,” she said, smiling while ignoring the tiny throb in her heart. “I’m also aware that he only chose me because I’m the best among the candidates to be the future Crown Princess.”

She was very aware that her marriage with Nero would only be a political marriage.

Still...

“It’s alright, Neoma. I’ll be fine,” she assured the princess. “Once Nero and I get married, we’ll be spending the rest of our lives together. That means I have plenty of chances to make me fall in love with me.”

“Your optimism hurts my heart, Hanna.”

She laughed at the princess’ worries. “Neoma, please trust me.”

“I trust you, but I can’t trust Nero,” Neoma said firmly. “I know this is awful to say behind my brother’s back. But I have to let you know that he’s more cunning than he looks. And...”

“And he used to be in love with the Black Witch?”

The princess nodded. “Nero told me in passing that he already met Dahlia in this lifetime. Not personally, though. I think he said he met her in her dreams.”

“There’s probably a reason for Nero to meet the Black Witch,” she said casually. “Nero chose me in this lifetime, Neoma. That’s all that matters to me.”

“Hanna...”

“I’ll be fine. I have another reason why I want to be the future Crown Princess,” she assured Neoma again, then she held the princess’s hands and squeezed them gently. “Neoma, once I gain power as the Crown Princess, I will help you reclaim your birthright as the royal princess of the empire.”

“Alright, I concede,” Neoma said, then she squeezed her hand a little tighter. “But Hanna, if you find yourself wanting to run away from Nero in the future, don’t hesitate to tell me- I will do everything in my power to help you.”

“I will help you, too,” Lewis, who broke his silence ever since they arrived at the drawing room, said while looking at her. “I will help you escape anytime, Lady Hanna.”

Hanna smiled at Neoma and Lewis’s unwavering support. “Thank you, Neoma and Lewis.”

***

NEOMA left Hanna and Nero since she thought the two needed private time to talk about their engagement.

After that, she returned to her bedroom because it was time for her afternoon nap.

[William is so strict when it comes to my afternoon naps, so I have to take it no matter how busy I am.]

She thought her consciousness would fade away as soon as she hit the bed.

But, just what would often happen to her, she “woke up” and found herself in a different dimension again.

[In fairness, it’s been a while since I’ve been spirited away.]

This time, she found herself...

... on the moon.

Yes, the moon. But this half-crescent moon she was standing on was planted on the ground in the middle of a colorful garden.

And she was looking down at a tiger cub standing in front of him.

[A tiger with eyes that look like they contain the night sky in them.]

Blue, sparkling orbs that seemed very familiar...

“You...” Neoma said, then she squatted down in front of the tiger cub. “You’re a representative of the Moon God, aren’t you?”

The tiger cub slowly nodded its head.

“What are you?” she asked curiously. “Dion is a fallen angel. Lord Manu is the Moon Priest. What else could...”

She trailed off when the former saint Dominic Zavaroni’s image entered her mind.

“No way,” she said in disbelief. “Are you... the next saint?”

the tiger cub, who had the voice of a child which was hard to tell if it belonged to a girl or a boy, said cheerfully.

She was about to say something, but when she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the familiar ceiling in her bedroom.

Argh, she was back in reality.

“The new saint...” Neoma whispered to herself. “The new saint has arrived in this world.”

***

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