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He was quite impressed by how Hanna managed to keep up a gentle face despite seeing how frail he looked now. To be honest, even he thought that he looked horrible at the moment. He and Neoma used to resemble each other a lot, regardless of their different genders.

But now, nobody would believe him if he said he was Neoma’s twin brother, even though they had the same hair and eye color.

[People would probably think I just dyed my hair and pupils in order to look like a royalty.]

“I look horrible, don’t I?” Nero asked Hanna. “Have you changed your mind about marrying me now that you’ve seen me in this poor state?”

He was skin and bones, after all.

Hanna smiled warmly at him. “Nero, I didn’t like you only because of your physical appearance,” she said. “Moreover, I heard from His Majesty earlier that he put Chef Stroganoff in charge of your meals. I’m sure you’ll regain your weight fast since the chef is known for being the best on the continent.”

.....

He just frowned at that.

“You don’t like Chef Stroganoff because he’s Lord Ruto’s father, do you?”

“If you already know that, then don’t ask.”

Hanna just laughed softly at his crankiness.

And he couldn’t help but notice how elegant she was even when laughing.

[Hanna isn’t loud even when she laughs, and just the way she sits already exudes elegance. Moreover, she’s good at controlling her facial expressions.]

“Did I pass?” she asked while smiling kindly at him.

Ah, so she noticed that he was “appraising” her.

“You already know that you’re the best candidate to become the future Crown Princess,” he said. “But you also know that I’m the worst partner you could have. I intend to treat you well, and I also promise to be faithful to you. Still, I can’t dedicate my everything to you, Hanna.”

He decided to be completely honest with Hanna now that they were at the age where their engagement wouldn’t end up in a verbal promise only. This time, if he and Hanna promised to marry each other in the future, then their engagement would be official.

Neoma, who lived in a modern world in the past, would be upset by all of this. His twin sister was obviously against engagement and marriage between children.

But what could he do? It was the norm in the empire for children of their status to get engaged early. A prince like him could even get married even before his coming-of-age ceremony. The law would make an exception if he needed to get married to ascend the throne.

The least thing he could do to appease Neoma was to show her that he didn’t force Hanna to be with him.

And that was what he was doing now.

“Hanna, before I’m your fiancé, I’m Neoma’s twin brother and the Crown Prince,” he said seriously. “That’s why I can’t promise you that I can give you the attention and affection you might be expecting from me. I will always prioritize Neoma and the duties I need to fulfill in order to protect her above anything else.”

“I understand, Nero,” she said in her gentle yet firm voice. “I also intend to use my power as the future Crown Princess to help Neoma reclaim her birthright as the royal princess.”

As expected, he really chose the right girl to be his partner.

“Nero, before we confirm our engagement, I just have one question.”

“What is it?”

“I heard some things about your relationship with the Black Witch in the past,” Hanna said, her voice stern but her facial expression calm. “Do you intend to make her a royal concubine in the future?”

He was surprised to hear that from Hanna.

[A royal concubine and not even a royal consort?]

In the empire, the emperor was allowed to have other wives aside from the empress. The first wife (after the empress) would be referred to as ‘queen consort,’ and the following wives would be simply referred to as ‘royal consorts.’

On the other hand, a ‘royal concubine’ was just a fancy term for a mistress- someone who accompanied the emperor without the privilege of being a wife.

[Hanna is asserting her superiority to Dahlia.]

It was kind of adorable.

“I won’t do that,” he said firmly. “You’re the only one I intend to marry, Hanna Quinzel.”

Hanna smiled as if she was relieved to hear that. “Alright,” she said cheerfully. “I’m looking forward to your marriage proposal once you’ve fully recovered, Nero.”

“I’ll give you the grand proposal that you deserve, Hanna,” Nero promised her. “For now, please wait for me until I’m done recuperating.”

***

“DID YOU have a pleasant dream, Princess Neoma?”

Neoma wasn’t surprised to see Manu, the Moon Priest, sitting on the windowsill.

He wasn’t there when she woke up, but she felt his presence a while ago.

“I saw a cute tiger cub,” Neoma said when she got up, then she leaned against the headboard. “I think it’s the new saint.”

“I also have a feeling that the new saint has arrived in this world,” Manu said while nodding. “When a new representative of Lord Yule is dispatched here, we would feel it. After all, they’re basically our brother.”

“Brother?” she asked curiously. “Are all representatives of Lord Yule men?”

“Yes,” the Moon Priest said bluntly. “The Light Temple used to be led by a saintess, though. But the de Moonasterios destroyed the temple, so Lord Yule never sent a saintess again.”

“Lord Yule was also in charge of the Light Temple in the past?”

“That was the case,” Manu said. “Anyway, the saint is here. Did he say when or where would you meet him?”

“No,” she said while shaking her head. “But Lord Manu, I’ve always been curious about one thing.”

“About what?”

“You’re a lot older than the former saint Dominic Zavaroni,” she said. “But you sometimes talk like you grew up together.”

“We grew up together,” the Moon Priest said. “In Paradise, the place where Yule’s “children” live, Dominic and I stood out among our batch. He was trained to be the saint, whereas I was trained as the Moon Priest. But I was dispatched earlier, since the Moon Priest is an existence that needs to oversee the Soul Beasts.”

“Dispatched earlier?” she asked curiously. “But it still doesn’t make sense. You speak of the de Moonasterio family as if you’ve been around for at least a century. If I remember it correctly, the former saint is just a few years older than my Papa Boss.”

“Time flows differently in Paradise. Moreover, the way the saint and the Moon Priest are dispatched are totally different,” Manu explained. “The children of Yule have consciousness the moment they are born in Paradise. Then we grow up like how human children do.” He put a hand over his chest as if he was pointing at himself. “When I reached the age of twenty in Paradise, I was dispatched to the human world as I was.”

“Oh, I see,” she said while nodding her head. “Now I get the difference between you and the former saint. I read from the History books that the saints in the empire are born like ordinary humans.”

“That’s true,” the Moon Priest confirmed. “Saints are born like humans because they have to look like humans in order for them to be accepted by your race. After all, humans fear things that differ from them.”

Ah, that actually made sense.

That was probably why Yule thought the saint must be born the “normal” way.

“But even though the saint is born like a regular human, he still has the memories of his life in Paradise,” Manu continued with his explanation. “That’s how he could perform “miracles” and talk to Lord Yule.”

She nodded while absorbing that information. “Then even if the new saint is a newborn baby, his past memories would remain intact.”

“Correct. The saint would also be capable of communicating through mental telepathy,” the Moon Priest added. “But it wouldn’t change the fact that he would still be a defenseless infant. Thus, we need to protect him until he’s big enough to protect himself.”

“`Gotcha,” she said. “But I wonder how on earth would I find him? Do I need to get a list of every single pregnant woman on the entire continent?” She tilted her head to one side. “How did they find the former saint again?”

“Dominic was actually found by Nichole de Moonasterio,” the Moon Priest said. “If I remember it correctly, it happened during the time the young Princess Royal was kidnapped. Dominic used his power to save the young princess. Thus, revealing himself as the saint.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“Your crazy grandfather gave the credit to Nikolai de Moonasterio for finding the saint.”

“Huh?”

“The former emperor spread the rumor that it was Nikolai de Moonasterio who found Dominic,” the Moon Priest repeated bluntly. “Nikolai de Moonasterio hated that fabricated story so much that everyone was practically banned from talking about it. Thus, you’d never hear people talk about how the former saint was found.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I hope my crazy grandfather never finds peace wherever he is right now.”

“Well, history is about to repeat itself,” Manu said. “You were assigned to find the new saint, but the credit would be given to the “Crown Prince.”” The Moon Priest smiled bitterly. “Don’t you think Lord Yule is cruel? He claims he wanted you to take the throne. But all your hard work for the past years only benefits Nero de Moonasterio.”

“It’s alright,” she said casually. “It’s a main character thing, so I’m already used to it. I need to suffer a little before I get the happy ending I deserve.”

“I like your positivity, Neoma de Moonasterio.”

“Thanks,” she said. “By the way, how was your trip to the East Continent, Lord Manu?”

“The Sun Priestess is still as feisty as ever-”

“I don’t care about her,” she said, cutting him off. “Did you see-”

“He’s already awake,” the Moon Priest said, cutting her off this time as revenge. “Didn’t you know?”

She clenched her hands tight. “Excuse me? Can you please repeat that?”

“Ruston Stroganoff is already awake,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve seen that boy ever since he was a toddler. And you know what? He changed a lot. The past years have been good to him.”

She clenched her hands tight. “He changed? How?”

“I never thought that Ruston Stroganoff is the handsome type since his face is kind of average, especially if you compare him to the men around you,” Manu said, and it was obvious he was teasing her at this point. “But the Ruston Stroganoff I saw a while ago definitely belongs to the ‘attractive’ category now.”

Neoma gulped hard. She wanted to see the seventeen-year-old Ruto so bad, but one thing was bothering her. “Why didn’t he contact me if he was already awake?”

***

.....

“IT’S SO cold,” Dahlia complained while hugging herself tightly. She couldn’t move her body anymore, so she just squatted down while trembling like a small animal under a tree covered with snow. “Do we really have to stay here in the meantime?”

Lapiz, her Familiar-slash-Elemental Guardian who shrunk into the size of a mackerel while floating beside her, laughed softly. “We must, Dahlia,” she said. “The Stars told us to stay in Hazelden Kingdom and wait for him.”

Waiting for him was easier said than done.

Moreover, the “mission” that she received this time was so vague.

Dahlia let out a sigh and closed her eyes. “Why am I the one who has to take care of him?”

***

***

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