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[That morning…]

"NEOMA, you\'re leaving early."

"Yeah," Neoma said in response to Hanna\'s remark, then she covered her mouth with her hands when she yawned. "Why are you already awake, Hanna? Are you here to send me off?"

She had just finished taking a bath and was in the middle of choosing an outfit when Hanna arrived. Judging by the fact that the Crown Princess was already dressed up, she could tell that Hanna got up earlier than she did.

[Gosh, she\'s so dedicated as the Crown Princess.]

"Do you know why Nero was put on probation?" Hanna asked, standing in front of Neoma\'s walk-in closet while checking the dresses on the rack. "I\'m sure you already know it was because he said he wanted to declare war against Helstor and the crows. But have you heard the real reason why he wanted to start a war?"

"I knew Melvin omitted the most important thing when he gave me the report about Nero\'s probation," Neoma said while clicking her tongue. "So, why did my precious twin brother suddenly want to start a war?"

"Nero wanted to use the war as an excuse just to stop the Selection."

"Huh?"

"Yes, and Nero said that in front of His Majesty."

Neoma let out a frustrated sigh. "No wonder Papa Boss put him on probation again. Only a tyrannical, blood-thirsty psychopath would start a war for that reason."

"Nero\'s reasoning may be unacceptable, but I agree with his thoughts."

"You… want to declare war?"

"I don\'t "want" a war, Neoma," Hanna said, then she turned to her with a serious look on her face. "But our fight with Helstor and the crows is headed that way. Whether we want war or not, it\'s going to happen. I\'d rather we start it than let the enemies declare war on us."

Neoma clenched her hands tight. "It doesn\'t have to end up in war."

"I know what you\'re thinking, Neoma. It\'s the poor who always gets affected the most when a war breaks out. But if it\'s you, I\'m sure you\'re going to find a way to protect them."

"Hanna…"

"Nero and I will be married soon, then we\'ll be crowned as the new emperor and empress respectively," Hanna said in a serious tone. "Whether you like it or not, we will soon have the power to declare war on the entities that threaten the safety of the empire. However, we want you to fight with us."

Oh.

"The peace that the empire enjoys at this moment is temporary, Neoma," Hanna said, holding Neoma\'s hands. "Sometimes, in order to achieve long-lasting peace, we have to make sacrifices. You don\'t have to give us an answer now. But please think about it."

"Okay," Neoma said, nodding. "I\'ll try…"

***

BEEP.

BEEEP.

BEEEEP.

Neoma stopped reminiscing about her conversation with Hanna this morning when the alarms around began sending signals.

[What the fuck…?]

"The candidates," Abigail Barlowe, the Royal Archmage, said worriedly. "They\'re asking to be rescued one by one."

Neoma heard the Royal Archmage, but she was more focused on the familiar presence that took over the forest. "It smells like shit in here."

"Yeah," Trevor agreed with her. "The crows reek."

"Lady Barlowe, my "children" already went out to fetch the candidates, but please send out the remaining mages to make the rescue operation faster," Neoma said to the Royal Archmage, then she turned to Trevor and Lewis. "We\'re going to give the crows a warm welcome."

***

"THE stone tabs were successfully installed in the main areas in the Royal Capital, and a few in front of the Royal Palace. But we already expect the Imperial Family and their knights to destroy the stone tabs as soon as they appear, so why don\'t you already start your little show?"

Pfft.

Calyx was amused by Dilan\'s grumpiness. "You rarely talk, Dilan. But you always give a long speech when you\'re upset."

"…"

Calyx laughed at his cousin\'s silence. "Are you upset because we asked you to copy the stone tabs that Trevor Kesser and Paige Avery created? Does it make you feel inferior that your brother invented something that you didn\'t think of first?"

Dilan glared at him. "If you already know, then shut your mouth."

"You\'re funny when you\'re upset," Calyx said, laughing. "Anyway, where\'s Regina?"

Regina suddenly disappeared when they arrived at Mount Theron.

It was okay since they had to install the main camera-slash-video recording device that was connected to the stone tabs that they sent to the Royal Capital.

[Trevor Kesser may be the best Sorcerer in the world, but Dilan is also a genius on his own.]

Moreover, the crows were good at copying things anyway.

[We don\'t care about originality. As long as we can have the same thing what does it matter whether we\'re only a copycat or not?]

That was why Calyx didn\'t understand why Dilan was upset.

"Regina spotted Rubin Drayton earlier," Dilan said, frowning. "She said she\'d check if she could still use Rubin Drayton as a puppet."

"But Rubin Drayton already snapped out of your spell after Trevor Kesser made it so you couldn\'t control the young lord again," Calyx said. "Why is she still interested in a broken toy?"

"Regina is more emotional than you thought, Calyx."

That made him laugh.

"Really?" Calyx asked in disbelief. "Regina has always been the coldest among us since we were children."

"Something changed in Regina five years ago."

"Hmm?"

"Remember the time that she kept having nightmares?"

Ah, right.

Calyx remembered the time Regina almost lost her mind for having vivid nightmares.

It was so bad that Regina almost lost her position to their other cousins.

But, of course, it only lasted for a short while.

"I thought Regina had already recovered from that phase?" Calyx asked, tilting his head to one side. "Is she still having bad dreams? Do we need to lock her up again so she\'d pull herself together?"

"I\'m fine, thank you very much."

It was Regina who stepped out of the dark forest.

[Still as sassy as ever.]

"Welcome back, Regina," Calyx said cheerfully. "So, how was Rubin Drayton?"

"As expected, a broken toy must be thrown away," Regina said curtly. "Now that I\'m here, why don\'t you start already?"

"That\'s what I\'m saying," Dilan said. "That kid keeps on wasting time."I think you should take a look at

"I just want to be as dramatic as Princess Neoma," Calyx said, laughing. "The Imperial Princess is good at commanding the audience, after all."

***

[FOUND YOU.]

Neoma would never not be amazed at how Trevor was so good at using magic.

It only took the demon boy a few seconds to locate the crows, then he opened a portal for them to use.

And when they stepped out of the portal, the first thing they saw was Calyx.

[Is he having a broadcast?]

Calyx only came with a small group, but his group shouldn\'t be underestimated.

The fifteen to twenty black-clad priests around them could be ignored.

[But Regina and Dilan Crowell are there, so we can\'t be too complacent.]

Anyway, Neoma noticed that some of the "priests" were actually mages.

She could tell that the five people in the group were controlling the stone tab in front of Calyx.

[That\'s definitely a video camera device.]

Since Calyx was talking to it, it was clear that the main stone tab was connected to other stone tabs that were probably scattered in the empire.

"Greetings to the people of the Great Moonasterion Empire."

That was what Neoma, Trevor, and Lewis heard from Calyx when they arrived at the scene.

[As expected, the stone tabs are connected to the stone tabs installed in the empire.]

It looked like the crows learned how to take advantage of camera and video-recording devices from Neoma, huh?

Gosh, no wonder she was a famous influencer in her past life.

[They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, don\'t they?]

Neoma smirked smugly. "Fucking fancy meeting you here, Calyx Dalton."

Calyx, Dilan, and Regina all turned in her direction calmly.

[Ah, of course, they already expect me to find them quickly.]

After all, Neoma could tell that the crows didn\'t bother to hide their presence as if they were luring her out.

"Hey, adjust the camera here," Neoma said arrogantly. "You\'re scaring my people with your fugly face, so let them see my face to cleanse their eyes."

Calyx laughed softly, but his ash-gray eyes glowered as if he was annoyed. "I look like Prince Nero, so we technically look alike, too, Princess Neoma. How can you call me ugly?"

"No, you\'re fucking ugly and you can\'t change my mind with logic."

Calyx only frowned in response.

Neoma was the queen of shit-talking.

Did Calyx think he would win against her in a battle of vulgar words?

[Heh. In your dreams.]

"Princess Neoma, I see that your attitude doesn\'t change whether there\'s a camera in front of you or not," Calyx said, smiling as if he was a good guy. "Should I compliment you for staying true to yourself whatever the situation is?"

"Having a foul mouth isn\'t something to be proud of, but it\'s not something I should deliberately hide either," Neoma said, shrugging. "As long as I\'m sincere with my duty to protect the empire and the people, I\'m sure the thoughtful citizens would understand."

Calyx burst out laughing. "For someone who uses vulgar words a lot, you sure have a way with words, Princess Neoma."

"Didn\'t I already tell you I\'m more than a pretty face?" Neoma said, shrugging. "So, how do you plan to scare our people this time? I\'m sure there\'s a reason why you want this conversation streamed live." She let out an exaggerated gasp. "Omo, omo! Did you get jobless after getting kicked out of the palace so you\'re trying to be an influencer now?"

Of course, Calyx looked confused by her words.

"I\'m saying there must be a reason why you\'re recording us in real-time," Neoma explained in words that Calyx and the others would understand. "Spill the beans. I\'m only giving you five minutes to talk before I turn this scene into a battlefield."

She couldn\'t be hasty and violent.

Not when the entire empire was watching her.

[The people are already scared enough. If they saw me act like a lunatic, they\'ll only get scared even more. This isn\'t the time to lose the people\'s faith in the Imperial Family.]

Hence, she must still carry herself appropriately as the Imperial Princess.

Calyx smiled as if he was already expecting that Neoma wouldn\'t be able to attack him carelessly. "I came here as the disciple of Helstor– the God of Eternal Darkness."

Neoma scrunched up her nose. "Eww."

"I don\'t think you can still mock me after you hear what I\'m about to declare, Princess Neoma."

"Try me, Calyx."

Calyx just laughed softly, but his ash-gray eyes suddenly turned glowing red. "In thirteen days, my master will finish swallowing up the moon and the sun with Darkness," he announced smugly. "To simply say, the second coming of the Absolute Darkness will happen in thirteen days."

In thirteen days?

That was when their coming-of-age banquet was scheduled to take place.

Moreover…

[It\'s Nero\'s coronation day.]

"But if you give us what we want, my master promised to stop the Darkness from swallowing the moon and the sun."

Neoma raised an eyebrow. "What do you want? The throne?"

It was obvious since they chose the date of Nero\'s coronation day to "swallow the moon and the sun."

[Bullshit.]

"Yes, you must give me the throne in thirteen days if you don\'t want my master to drown the world in Darkness," Calyx said, laughing. "I have the right to the throne as Emperor Nikolai\'s brother, anyway."

"What?"

"I recently found out that my father was actually the previous emperor--- which was also Emperor Nikolai\'s father," Calyx declared as if he was proud to be the son of a tyrannical pig. "The crows used the previous emperor\'s Seed to conceive me."

Neoma covered her mouth when she almost threw up on the spot. She was more disgusted than shocked, honestly "That\'s the most disgusting shit I\'ve heard in a while." She knitted her eyebrows. "So, are you saying all of this because you want me to call you \'Uncle\' or something?"

Gosh.

[My family tree is so fucked up.]

***

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