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Mona turned to Nero when she felt her son’s Mana fluctuate. She was surprised and disturbed to see the murderous look on Nero’s face. [Pumpkin...?]

The color of Nero’s eyes kept changing like blinking lights as well. One second they were ash-gray, the next they were glowing red. It was as if he couldn’t control his emotions- and it looked like he would explode in anger anytime.

[Is this normal?]

They arrived at the empire’s Royal Palace around noon, and they were informed that Neoma was resting. According to Nikolai, Neoma was having abdominal cramps. Apparently, their daughter also suspected that she was about to get her first period.

“It’s been hours since we’ve arrived, but my sister hasn’t woken up yet.”

It was true.

.....

They arrived around noon, and it was already past midnight. Yet, Neoma was still deep asleep.

“Neoma is probably summoned by someone again,” Nero said in a voice that sounded like a low growl. This time, his Mana didn’t fluctuate- it continued rising as if he was about to really explode. “Why can’t they leave my sister alone?”

Mona, attempting to soothe her son, tried to touch his shoulder. “Nero, calm down-”

A loud whacking sound was heard in the room.

It was the sound of Nero slapping her hand away.

[Oh...]

She was surprised, and her hand hurt a little. But she didn’t care about that. She was more worried about Nero who looked at her with glaring red eyes as if he didn’t recognize her. “Nero, baby-”

“Nero de Moonasterio.”

The situation got worse when Nikolai arrived...

... and the emperor had to witness Nero slapping her hand away.

“Who do you think you are to hurt your mother?” Nikolai growled at Nero while approaching their son angrily, then he stood beside Nero and put a hand on the back of his head. “Apologize. Now.”

“Nikolai, don’t be too hard on our son,” she scolded him. “Can’t you see that he’s not himself? Nero isn’t feeling well!”

Only then did Nikolai calm down. He removed his hand from the back of Nero’s head, then he turned to their son and watched him closely.

By that time, Nero was panting hard while loosening the tie around his neck.

It was obvious that their son couldn’t breathe.

“Father, my chest hurts and my mind is getting hazy,” Nero said, his eyes still glowing red. “I... I can’t breathe... And I feel like... I’m losing my mind...”

Those symptoms...

[Could it be...?]

“Mona, I’ll take care of Nero,” Nikolai said, then he grabbed their son by the arm in order to support him. After all, Nero couldn’t stand straight anymore. “Take care of Neoma. If she still doesn’t wake up...”

“I’ll enter her consciousness,” Mona said firmly, then she turned to Nero. Her heart squeezed painfully when she saw her son panting hard while clutching his chest tight. “Please take care of our Nero.”

***

“NERO, how are you feeling?” Nikolai asked after he tucked Nero into his bed. He brought his son to the room next to Neoma’s bedchamber, and he put him into the bed because he was unstable. “Is your mind still foggy?”

He knew that Nero wasn’t fine. After all, his eyes were still glowing red. But he needed to know how exactly his son was feeling in order to help him.

“Father, please knock me out,” Nero said in a weak voice. “My bloodlust is urging me to kill...”

Lunacy.

As expected, Nero was going through his Lunacy.

“I understand,” he said, then he put a hand over Nero’s red eyes. “Sleep for now and try to calm down.”

He used the Black Tortoise’s calming spell to put his son to sleep.

Since Nero wasn’t rejecting the spell, it worked well. In just a few seconds, his son fell asleep.

Thankfully, Nero’s Mana stopped fluctuating as well.

“It’s Lunacy, isn’t it?”

He turned to the that appeared right beside his son.

A “young” man with pink hair was lying down on his side, with his cheek pressed against his knuckles, while he used his elbow to prop himself up.

If he was the old him, he would have threatened the Soul Beast for acting comfortably in front of him while lying down shamelessly beside his son. But at the moment, he didn’t care about anything else aside from protecting his family.

“Yes, it is,” Nikolai confirmed. “My son is going through Lunacy right now.”

“I knew he wasn’t acting normal when he threatened to kill me.”

“My son threatened to kill you?” he asked, surprised.

He had always known that Nero had a violent nature ever since his son was a toddler. But he thought his son had calmed down recently. Thus, he was surprised to hear that Nero threatened his own Soul Beast.

[Moreover, Nero is usually patient with people and things he deems as useful.]

It seemed like the effect of Lunacy on his son was worse than he thought.

[Is it because Nero is violent in nature?]

“Prince Nero was upset when I refused to tell him the true history of my former master, Arche de Moonasterio,” the Soul Beast said. “He threatened to kill me at first. Then he changed his mind and said he’d cut my tongue off instead...”

The Soul Beast stopped talking when he finally read his mood.

Nikolai wasn’t particularly mad, but the Soul Beast said something that made him increase his guard even more. “When a de Moonasterio dies, his Soul Beast or Soul Beasts die with him. Then the Soul Beasts return to Yule’s home. They stay there until a new de Moonasterio that resonates with them is born. But once the Soul Beasts get reborn in their new master’s consciousness, the memories of their past is supposed to be erased.” He looked at Nero’s Soul Beast with a sharp gaze. “How come you remember your former master, ice phoenix?”

The Soul Beast smiled, then he disappeared instantly.

But of course, his Soul Beast was faster.

South, the flaming Vermillion Bird in his human form, caught the ice phoenix.

The next thing he knew, the ice phoenix was already face down on the floor while South was stepping on his back. Everything happened right in front of Nikolai, who just watched silently while sitting on the chair next to Nero’s bed.

“We’re both from the Phoenix Clan, so let’s not fight for real,” South said playfully, then he removed his foot from the ice phoenix’s back. “But if you try to escape again, I’ll be angry.”

The ice phoenix sighed, then he moved and kneeled properly in front of Nikolai. “I’m not going to escape anymore, but I won’t answer your questions if I don’t feel like doing so.”

South tilted his head to one side. “Your Majesty, should I rough up this brat a bit more?”

“He’s Nero’s Soul Beast, so we can’t touch him carelessly,” Nikolai said, then he observed the ice phoenix carefully. “You’re already a full adult.”

The ice phoenix flinched, then he avoided his gaze.

“Soul Beasts grow with their hosts- the de Moonasterios,” he said, although he was pretty sure that the ice phoenix already knew what he was talking about. “Although the Soul Beasts can alter their appearance, the age of your current Essence should be the same age as Nero.”

His eyes glowed red while looking at the ice phoenix’s heart.

The Essence of a Soul Beast was visible in the eye of the de Moonasterios.

“You’re already a full adult, ice phoenix.”

Neoma’s Soul Beast was the same age as her, so they had to rush the red dragon’s growth in order to save Mona.

But the ice phoenix...

“And you have the memories of your previous master,” Nikolai said, then he smirked. “Interesting.”

The ice phoenix tilted his head to one side, confused, as if he was asking him what was supposed to be interesting.

He wasn’t obligated to explain, but he felt like bragging about his children.

“My daughter has a god for a Soul Beast, and my son’s Soul Beast turns out to be more special than I thought,” he said smugly. “As a father, I couldn’t be more proud of my children.”

To be honest, he didn’t know his children ended up with unique Soul Beasts.

But he had a feeling why something like that had happened.

“We failed to free the Soul Beasts in the past,” Nikolai said, smiling bitterly. “But I have a feeling that my children would succeed.”

And he also had a feeling that it wouldn’t only be Neoma and Nero.

The other children following Neoma and Nero all seemed promising as well.

In short...

“The old generation’s era is about to end,” Nikolai said firmly. “It’s time for the new generation to take over the world.”

***

WHEN NEOMA opened her eyes, she was greeted by her mother’s worried face.

.....

Ah, she was finally back to reality.

“Neoma, baby, you’re finally awake,” her mother said, then she held her hand tight. “Are you alright? How are you feeling?”

She was about to say that she was alright, but she noticed William and Delwyn standing behind her mother.

[Why do they look like they’re about to go to war or something?]

“What’s happening, Mother?” Neoma asked, her voice a little hoarse. “Why did that two ahjussis- I mean, my mentors, come out?”

Her mother helped her get up, then she handed her a glass of water before she answered the question. “I was about to enter your consciousness to see why you aren’t waking up. Since we don’t know who summoned you, William and Delwyn insisted to accompany me.”

She drank the water slowly while observing William.

Wow.

William cared about her mother this much while he didn’t give a shit about her even when she became her student? Well, she already knew that the Grand Spirit was obsessed with her mother. But it still felt strange to see it with her own eyes.

“Neoma?”

“Mother, I’m fine,” she said, then she put the glass down on the bedside table. “The person who summoned me is an ally.”

“May I know who that person is?”

She looked at William and Delywn meaningfully.

The two got her message clear, as expected.

William and Delwyn both disappeared silently.

“Mother, I’m sorry. I can’t tell you who the person who summoned me was,” she said apologetically when it was only the two of them left in her room. “But they’re a good person.”

She purposely didn’t reveal her grandmother’s pronoun.

Her mother, on the other hand, smiled warmly. “I understand, Neoma.”

Oh?

“Mother, it seems like you already guessed who it was.”

Her mother laughed softly. “I had a hunch after your father told me that you’re having abdominal cramps. There’s only one individual who would summon female de Moonasterios once they get their first period.”

[Ohh... Mama Boss knows, no cap.]

“I was surprised that she appeared earlier, but since you’re pretending as the Crown Prince, I can see why she had to reach out to you this way instead of waiting for you to take a bath in her temple.”

[I got my big brain from Mama Boss.]

No offense, Papa Boss.

“Neoma, my baby,” her mother said, then she held and squeezed her hands gently. “It’s a tradition in the empire to throw away a girl’s old, colorful clothes once she gets her first period. Then her parents are supposed to buy her new clothes that aren’t bright-colored.” Her mother smiled sadly at her. “But we can’t do that. We don’t even have colorful dresses to throw away since you lived as Nero all this time.”

Her old clothes were burned when she began living as Nero.

The dresses that she would wear every time she would sneak out as ‘Neoma Ramsay’ were disposable clothes.

“It’s alright, Mother,” she said while smiling. “I like colorful outfits.”

“Oh, Baby Muffin...”

“Instead of getting new clothes, we can do something else,” she said cheerfully. “During my second life, my eomma- Go Areum- cooked rice with ren beans when I got my first period. It doesn’t have to be the same dish, but I’d love it if you prepare a meal for me once I get my period, Mama Boss.”

Her mother nodded immediately. “Of course, I’ll do that. I will also prepare a special tea for you.”

She smiled and nodded, then she turned serious.

Since she unconsciously brought up her eomma in the conversation, she was reminded of the topic that she had been putting off for a while now.

[This is a good opportunity since only Mama Boss and I are here now.]

“Mama Boss, Go Areum is still waiting for me and appa to return to her side,” she said carefully. To be honest, she was more nervous now than she did when she was facing life-threatening situations. It didn’t help that all the emotions on her Mama Boss’s face disappeared suddenly. “I can’t return to my old world now. But I can send Nabi back. And if you allow me, I also want to save appa and send him back-”

“Neoma,” her mother said in a firm yet careful voice. “Gavin Quinzel has hurt and killed his own people in the past.”

She flinched, then she lowered her gaze.

How could she look her mother in the eye?

To be honest, a small part of her had always known that her appa might have killed his own people in the past in order to escape. But she chose to overlook the possibility because of her faith in her appa. But now, she was forced to face reality.

Now she felt like cold water was poured over her.

[Appa... killed his own people...]

“If getting trapped in a block of ice is the price that Gavin Quinzel has to pay for his sins, so be it,” her Mama Boss said sternly. “Neoma, I understand that Gavin Quinzel has been kind to you. But after he stole you away from us, isn’t that the bare minimum that he could do for you?”

Her mother’s words hurt like a knife.

After all, Mama Boss made it sound like her appa only took good care of her out of guilt.

[But... but Mama Boss has a point.]

She was just shocked because she had never seen it from that standpoint.

[No, appa’s love for me is genuine...]

“Neoma, everyone has to pay the consequences of their own actions,” her Mama Boss reminded her firmly. “I understand how you can forgive Gavin Quinzel easily. But what about the family left behind by the people he killed? To you, Gavin Quinzel is a father. To other people, he was the heartless murderer who killed their beloved ones.”

She was being scolded, and every word her mother said hurt like hell.

For the first time in a while, she felt like a little child afraid caught by her parents doing something bad.

“It wasn’t even a war, Neoma,” her Mama Boss continued, her voice still stern. “Gavin Quinzel didn’t have to kill those people, but he still did.”

A lump formed in her throat, and her vision turned blurry as her eyes became watery.

Choking back her tears was painful.

It hurt.

But everything her mother said hurt more because they were true.

“Neoma, I’m sorry, but I cannot allow you to save Gavin Quinzel and send him back to the other world,” her mother said, then she sat beside her and wrap her arms around her trembling body. “Baby, even if you end up hating me, I won’t change my mind.”

She couldn’t hate her Mama Boss for being fair.

It was just that...

[It’s painful. I feel awful for loving my appa. After all, Mama Boss is right. For other people, the father that I love and respect is nothing but a mere criminal.]

And so, for the first time in a long while, Neoma cried her heart out.

***

NOTE: I posted a new side story on my ko-fi page. Episode 3: Glenn’s Hot Birthday Present: [Glenn has good self-control, unless he’s on the battlefield... and he’s in the bed with his wife.]

The art that came with it is a little... sexy. *shy*

Warning: The side story has mature scenes. Yes, it has a lot of s/ex. So don’t read if you’re not comfortable with that kind of content. Hehe. *covers face with hands*

Link to my ko-fi account (or just type sola_cola on the search bar): ko-fi .com/sola_cola

Link to the story: ko-fi.com/Post/EPISODE-3-GLENNS-HOT-BIRTHDAY-PRESENT-H2H1CUHWC

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