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It was the “gift” that Nikolai received from his father on his 13th birthday.

An extravagant banquet was prepared for him.

However, behind the curtains, Nikolai was struck on the face by his very own father- the current emperor.

The aides, the royal knights, and the servants that surrounded His Majesty pretended that they didn’t see the emperor hit the Crown Prince.

And he didn’t expect them to take his side.

The only one who tried to protect him was his Gavin Quinzel- his closest friend and personal knight. If he didn’t step forward to stop Gavin from reacting, that idiot would have been punished for trying to harm the emperor.

.....

“I’m sorry, Father,” Nikolai said, bowing his head to the emperor. “I beg your forgiveness.”

Why was he apologizing again?

Ah, right.

The emperor coughed up blood suddenly and His Majesty blamed it on him.

“Ungrateful bastard,” the emperor said in a cold, harsh tone. “After all the things that I’ve done for you, you’re just going to steal my Moonglow and kill me? You haven’t proven anything yet and you already want my throne?!”

[Who wants the stupid throne?]

But he couldn’t voice out his honest thoughts, so he just bowed his head again while clenching his hands tight.

As a result, his nails dug deep into his skin until his palms bled.

“I’m sorry, Father.”

“I don’t need your apology!” the emperor yelled angrily, then he raised his hand again. “You worthless piece of garbage!”

He was prepared to get hit again, but it didn’t happen.

“Dear, enough.”

That cold, stern voice belonged to his mother.

[It’s comical how Father listens to Mother even though the two has a sour relationship.]

“We can’t keep the guests waiting,” his mother said sternly.

His father scoffed, then he walked away. “Give me five minutes to compose myself.”

After declaring that, the emperor left with his entire entourage.

Only then did Nikolai raise his head.

Black hair, amber eyes.

His mother looked like a Quinzel that she was.

He didn’t inherit a single physical feature from his mother. It couldn’t be helped though. After all, every de Moonasterio in the world would inherit the strong physical traits that they got from the Moon God: white hair, ash gray eyes, pale skin.

“Mother,” Nikolai greeted his mother politely. “Where is Nichole?”

“She left the banquet early because she wasn’t feeling well,” his mother said indifferently, then she looked at the blood at the corner of his lips. “Go to Marcus and get yourself treated. You can’t appear in the banquet hall looking like that.” After saying that, his mother’s gaze went past him. “Gavin, escort the Crown Prince to the Healing Sage.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

His mother smiled at Gavin faintly, her usually stern face softening up a bit. “Gavin, you silly child. You’re allowed to call me ‘aunt’ when we don’t have an audience.”

After saying that, his mother left with her servants without saying anything to him again.

[Mother is clearly more fond of Gavin than her own son.]

Your Royal Highness, I’ll take you to Lord Marcus,” Gavin said worriedly, then he offered his handkerchief to him. “And you should change clothes, too.”

After all, the blood from his mouth trickled down his clothes.

“Gavin, I’ll probably treat my future heir the same way my father treats me right now.”

Gavin’s face turned stiff. “Please don’t say that, Your Royal Highness. You’re different from His Majesty.”

“I don’t think so,” Nikolai said bluntly. “The emperor and the empress have chosen Juliet as the Crown Princess. I don’t love Juliet, so I’m sure I would never love our child.” He smirked bitterly. “And once my child starts stealing my Moonglow the way I’m stealing my father’s Moonglow, I’ll probably end up resenting him, too.”

***

“PAPA BOSS!”

Nikolai blinked, confused.

First of all, he didn’t expect that he’d end up falling asleep on the sofa in his office.

Second, he was a little surprised to see Neoma’s face as soon as he opened his eyes.

“Neoma, what are you doing here in my office?” Nikolai asked while getting up. “Do you need something?”

“I need you to go and prepare for our outing now, Papa Boss,” Neoma said, laughing softly. “Today is the day that we’re scheduled to visit the place where all the stolen things on the continent go to.”

He knitted his eyebrows, confused. “And what place would that be?”

“The Moonasterion Museum, of course.”

***

“IT’S SERIOUSLY criminal how many stolen artifacts our museum owns, Papa Boss.”

Nikolai had to hold back his laughter after hearing Neoma’s comment (said in a whisper) while his daughter admired the holy artifact in front of them. It was a small holy tree made of gold. According to the label, it was from the kingdom that the empire colonized fifty years ago.

[Nobody hates the monarchy as much as Neoma does.]

And his daughter’s early comment was really funny.

But he realized that he shouldn’t be laughing because, just like the previous emperors, he was also responsible for ruining some of the countries and kingdoms on the continent.

In his defense, he never started a war— he would just finish what the enemies had started.

[Anyway...]

The Moonasterion Museum was currently closed to the public, so only Nikolai and Neoma were there.

But the Paladins, the royal knights, the aides, and the servants were in the same room.

Hence, he didn’t want anyone else to see or hear him laugh.

“Papa Boss,” Neoma whispered, then she turned to him with sparkling eyes. “What if a thief breaks in, then steals all the items in the museum and returns them to their rightful owners?”

He raised an eyebrow at his daughter. “Is there a thief who can break in and steal all the items here?”

“Someone like Nero can probably do it, though?”

He almost laughed again, but he instantly turned serious when he realized that his children were actually capable of doing that.

[If Neoma asked, Nero would do it for sure.]

And the scary part?

[Nero would actually succeed.]

He was about to tell his daughter to leave the museum alone for now. But he froze when he felt something was suddenly wrong with his body.

Neoma knitted her eyebrows worriedly. “Papa Boss?”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

After saying that, he left the room and asked everyone to stay with the “Crown Prince.”

Only one stubborn fellow had the guts to disobey him.

“Your Majesty...”

He raised his hand to stop Glenn from talking. Then, when he finally entered the men’s bathroom, only then did he allow himself to cough up the blood stuck in his throat.

Yes, blood.

[Neoma is stealing more and more Moonglow from me.]

He stayed quiet, analyzing his own emotions.

But he didn’t feel any kind of resentment or bitterness towards his daughter. In fact, if he needed to give all his Moonglow to Neoma, he had a feeling that he’d do it in a heartbeat.

That thought made him smile.

“Your Majesty, is this the time to be smiling?” Glenn asked worriedly. “If Princess Neoma sees you in that state...”

.....

Nikolai just ignored his knight while savoring the warm feeling in his chest.

[Maybe I have really learned to love my children.]

***

Hi! I’d like to invite you to read my new story Spooky Soulmate. It’s a teen fic with a touch of fantasy/supernatural in modern society. Please leave comments and reviews if you can. Thank you~