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Of course, her mother was still a beauty.

But something was different from what she remembered when she saw her mother earlier.

Her Mama Boss smiled at her. “Baby, do I look older than what you remember when you first saw me?”

As expected of her mother, she was sharp.

“I wouldn’t say older,” Neoma said, happy that she was able to talk to her mother now. “I’d say you look more mature now than earlier, Mama Boss. When I saw you before, I almost called you unnie- I mean, big sister because you look just a few years older than me. But now, I see that you and Papa Boss are the same age.”

But to be honest, her mother could still be mistaken as her older sister.

.....

[Gosh, Mama Boss looks youthful just like Papa Boss.]

“Time has stopped for me when I was trapped in the ice,” her mother explained. “But now that I’m free, my age has caught up with time.”

“I didn’t expect that you’d be able to move like you haven’t been asleep for thirteen years, Mama Boss,” she said. “When Nero woke up, he lost his motor skills. He had to absorb some of my Moonglow and Roseheart Blood. Then William helped him with his physical therapy.”

“I believe it’s because time has stopped for me, so my body didn’t lose its strength,” her mother explained. “Moreover, my body is used to being an empty shell since I often separate my soul from my physical body. It’s probably why my strength didn’t change, even though my age caught up to me after time works for me again.”

“Mama Boss, you’re amazing.”

“Thank you, baby.”

“Compared to you, Nero is such a weakling,” she teased Nero, who was lying down next to her. Yes, she was between her mother and her baby brother because Nero refused to lie on their Mama Boss’s other side. “He couldn’t even talk when he woke up.”

Of course, she was just teasing Nero, who was recovering well.

She wouldn’t joke about it if her baby brother was still in a grave condition.

“Ah, your brother’s case is different because he was cursed,” her mother said gently. “The fact that he was able to recover this much a few days after he woke up is already a miracle.” Her mother turned to Nero. “You’re doing well, baby.”

Nero remained indifferent. “Thank you, Mother.”

[Tsk. Is Nero not excited to be with our Mama Boss?]

“Mother, I don’t mind if you call Neoma ‘baby’ because she’s a baby,” Nero said, then he got up to look at their mother properly. “But can you please not call me ‘baby?’ I’m already thirteen years old.”

Huh?

What kind of logic was that?

“Nero, we’re twins,” she reminded him bluntly. “And I’m older than you. If I’m a baby, then you’re a baby, too.”

“No, we’re different,” Nero argued. “I have a fiancée, so that makes me more of a young adult than you.”

She was too stunned by her baby brother’s logic.

“I-I see...”

It was their mother who spoke, but why was Mama Boss’s voice shaking?

“Nero already has a fiancée,” Mama Boss said. She was smiling, but there were tears in her eyes. “My baby boy already has a fiancée, huh? I know thirteen years is a lot of years to miss out on my children’s lives, but I didn’t expect the gap to be this huge...”

She felt a pang in her chest.

Even Nero’s indifferent face cracked, and his eyes showed concern for their mother.

[Poor Mama Boss...]

For real, though. Thirteen years was truly a lot. Now she wanted to cry with Mama Boss.

“Mother, you may have missed out a lot, but I promise you that you won’t be missing out on anything from now on,” Nero said in a gentle and comforting voice. Even his face softened up. “I may not tell you everything that’s going on in my life. But I promise that you will always be a part of the big decisions I’ll make starting this moment.”

“Me, too, Mama Boss,” she said eagerly. “From now on, we will be best friends.”

Her mother looked touched by their words. “My babies grew up well. I can’t believe Nikolai raised you well on his own.”

Nero let out a sarcastic laugh.

She gently nudged her brother, but her action only made their mother suspicious. Still...

[Nero, you won’t throw our Papa Boss under the bus, right?]

“Father abandoned us in Luna Palace for years.”

She closed her eyes when her twin brother began to snitch on their father.

It wasn’t like Nero was wrong to do so. Their Mama Boss already had the right to know how their father treated them in the beginning. But she felt bad because it felt like they were betraying Papa Boss...

“Father only remembered that he has children when Neoma awakened as a de Moonasterio.”

She slowly opened her eyes to check on their mother’s reaction.

Their Mama Boss was listening intently, and she could see different emotions playing on her face. There was sadness, pain, guilt, regret, and anger (anger was definitely directed at Papa Boss). But their mother was doing a good job staying calm.

“I was treated better by Father and the servants because I was a male heir,” Nero continued indifferently. “Neoma was treated harshly, though. The servants wouldn’t even let her eat meat using the lame excuse that they didn’t want her to get fat. But the truth was they were eating Neoma’s portion by themselves. They also stole from our personal funds. Thus, Luna Palace turned into a trashy residence.”

This time, anger became clear on their mother’s face.

Neoma gulped hard.

[Papa Boss, you’re dead meat.]

“When I got cursed, Father forced Neoma to take my place while I was being treated,” Nero continued unapologetically. “There was a time when my condition got worse. Back then, Father tried to sacrifice Neoma’s life to extend mine.”

Their mother’s anger took the form of a literally earth-shattering force.

Amazingly, the stuff that fell from their places didn’t hit the floor. They just floated and got suspended in the air while being surrounded by some pinkish lights.

[Mama Boss’s Mana is both pretty and terrifying...]

Papa Boss better sleep with one eye open from now on.

“Mama Boss, please calm down,” Neoma said because she was starting to feel seriously bad about Papa Boss. “Nero didn’t lie. But our relationship with Papa Boss got better over the years. He genuinely loves us now. He even told me to prioritize my safety over saving you.”

Wow.

She couldn’t believe the day when she would defend her Papa Boss would come.

[If I turn back time and tell the five-year-old me that I’ll be defending Papa Boss from my mother, my younger self would curse the hell out of the present me.]

“It’s true that Father has been good to us recently, but he messed up again.”

Neoma turned to Nero and glared at him. [Dongsaeng1, do you want Mama Boss to kill our Papa Boss?]

Nero ignored her and continued talking to their Mama Boss. “Mother, a child who looks like Father’s younger self, has appeared. He’s called Calyx Dalton, and he’s older than us.”

Neoma could only pinch the bridge of her nose.

[I know that we should tell this stuff to Mama Boss, but shouldn’t we celebrate first before engaging in a serious talk?]

She wanted to have a barbecue party with their mother first!

“That boy has ivory hair and green eyes, but he looks like me and Neoma when she’s in disguise,” Nero continued sabotaging their Papa Boss. “He could easily be mistaken as Father’s child despite his different hair and eye colors.”

“Is that boy sent by the crows?” Mama Boss asked calmly, but her light-blue eyes were glowing. “He must be. The de Lucas also resemble the de Moonasterios in some way.”

“There are pieces of firm evidence that link the boy to the crows,” Nero answered straightforwardly. “Father told me that the crows may have used high-level magic to change the boy’s appearance. But I don’t buy it.”

Neoma didn’t buy it either.

But she didn’t like the other conclusions that she came up with, so she pretended to believe that Calyx Dalton was just using high-level magic to alter his appearance.

“I believe Calyx Dalton is the son of either Father or the former Princess Royal.”

Neoma hated to admit this, but she also came up with the same conclusions.

[Aunt Nichole has suffered so much when she was kidnapped by the crows in the past...]

Mama Boss let out a deep sigh, as if she was trying to calm down. “I can see why you think Nichole might be the child’s mother. But why do you think Nikolai could be the father? Your father might have a horrible personality, but I’m sure he never held another woman in his life.”

“But at some point, Father was married to another woman,” Nero said bluntly. “How can we be sure that nothing was conceived during their marriage? If Mother could erase the memories of the strongest man in the empire, how can we be certain that the late empress couldn’t do the same thing? I heard that the former empress held an impressive power, too.”

Neoma knew that it wasn’t something that children should discuss with their mother, but she didn’t stop Nero.

Because right now, Nero was speaking as the Crown Prince whose position was threatened by the appearance of another possible prince. Whether Calyx Dalton was the son of Aunt Nichole or their Papa Boss, it wouldn’t change the fact that he’d be declared as a prince once proven that he was a de Moonasterio.

[Calyx Dalton must be using an enchantment type of magic to hide his de Moonasterio traits- from his appearance up to his divine power.]

“I understand why you’d suspect Juliet,” their Mama Boss said carefully. “But I assure you, Nero and Neoma. Juliet wouldn’t do that to me and your father.”

Nero let out a sigh. “It’s not about whether or not the late empress is trustworthy, Mother.”

“Mama Boss, the late empress’s body was stolen from her resting place,” Neoma added solemnly. “Even Papa Boss doesn’t know when the body disappeared.”

.....

***

MONA DIDN’T want her children to see her facial expressions, so she had to excuse herself.

She went to the rooftop of the villa to breathe some fresh and cold air.

Gale, her Wind Spirit that somehow ended up with Neoma, followed her.

“Gale, it’s been a while.”

The Wind Spirit, still in her bunny form, bowed her head. “Welcome back, Mona.”

“Thank you,” Mona said, then her eyes glowed. “Gale, tell me everything that has been going on while I’m away.”

***

“I APOLOGIZE for asking you to come all the way here, Miss Dahlia.”

Dahlia gasped, shocked when Queen Brigitte- the amazing, beautiful, and elegant queen regnant of Hazelden Kingdom- apologized to her. She immediately shook her head and waved her hands politely. “P-Please don’t apologize to me, Your Majesty,” she said meekly. “I totally understand why I’m not allowed in the same residence as Prince Nero and Princess Neoma.”

Both she and the queen knew the royal secret, so it was alright to speak Princess Neoma’s name in front of Her Majesty.

The Fletcher Twins accompanied her to the queen’s palace earlier.

Then the twins let Queen Brigitte know that she was one of Prince Nero’s allies, and that she also knew about the existence of Princess Neoma.

“Although it’s a secret that Prince Nero is staying in my villa, it still wouldn’t be right to let an unmarried young lady like you stay in the same residence as His Royal Highness alone,” Queen Brigitte said. “Moreover, there’s also the thing about the security. I hope you understand.”

She smiled and nodded. “It’s really alright, Your Majesty,” she assured the queen. “I’m already grateful that Your Majesty lent me a room in the royal palace. And it’s a wonderful room, at that.”

To be precise, she was a guest in the queen’s palace.

The room that Her Majesty lent her was so luxurious that she was afraid to touch anything in case she accidentally broke it.

Expensive things made her nervous, after all.

“I’m glad that you liked the room we prepared for you,” Queen Brigitte said kindly. “I’ll send people to serve you later, Miss Dahlia.”

She tried to refuse politely, but in the end, she couldn’t say no to the queen’s kindness.

After she assured Her Majesty that she was already comfortable in her room, only then did the queen leave the room with her guards.

And now, she was alone in the bedroom with Lapiz.

That was when her smile completely vanished.

“Lapiz, what should we do?” she asked her Familiar in a cracked voice, then she covered her face with her hands to stop herself from crying. “Why does a person as kind as Queen Brigitte have that kind of destiny?”

The Stars showed her something that broke her heart.

Lapiz said in a concerned voice.

“Why are the gods so cruel?” Dahlia asked, now completely sobbing. “Princess Neoma might never forgive Lord Yule this time.”

***

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