性瘾者

"LEWIS, are you happy?" Neoma asked Lewis while they were sitting on the railing of the pavilion. "Did you enjoy your birthday party?"

The private party just ended and only the two of them were left in the pavilion.

She asked Stephanie and Alphen to escort Hanna back to her palace.

Then, Sir Glenn excused himself because apparently, his birthday gift for her went "missing." The knight asked her to wait and so, she was still in the pavilion with Lewis.

"Yes," Lewis said. "Thank you, Princess Neoma."

"You're very much welcome, Lewis," she said. "I'm happy that you enjoyed this party. I hope next year, more people will come to sing you a happy birthday song."

"I don't need a lot of people in my life."

She just laughed it off. "So, when are you going to give me your gift?"

He flinched. "Sorry, no gift."

"Why the sudden broken speech?" she asked with a soft laugh. "I know you, Lewis. You always prepared a gift for me for my past birthdays. I'm sure you have one for this year too."

During her seventh and eight birthdays, Lewis gave her pretty marbles. The first marble that he gave her was only the size of a ping pong ball. The second marble was bigger and if she remembered it correctly, it was the size of a golf ball.

According to Lewis, those marbles weren't the Marble that greedy people wanted from him. They were just marbles that contained his Mana. Apparently, if her life was put in danger, she could use the marbles that he gave her to give her power an extra boost. She would just have to break the marbles to use them.

"I prepared another marble for you," Lewis said, obviously embarrassed for some reason. "But when I saw the other gifts that you received, I realized that I was stupid to not prepare something fancier. Something that you will enjoy as a girl."

 "Lewis, I appreciate all the gifts that I received from our friends," she said carefully. "And I will definitely appreciate yours. In fact, I'm looking forward to it."

He looked surprised by her remark.

"I'm excited to see your improvement," she continued with an encouraging smile. "The last marble you gave me was bigger than the last one. Did it increase in size again this year?"

He nodded hesitantly.

"Show me," she said, then she gave her a puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

Lewis looked hesitant at first. But in the end, he reached for the inner packet of his jacket. Then, he pulled out a pretty marble the size of a baseball ball.

"Ohh it's like a snow globe," she gushed, then she carefully took the marble from her son when he handed it to her. The marble was a glass sphere, and the colors inside it were pastel pink and lavender. "It's pink and lavender. I like these colors." She turned to him and gave him a big smile. "The previous marbles that you gave me were both dark. Did you change the color this time for me?"

"Sir Glenn taught me how to change the color of my Mana," he said. "But it will only stay that way inside the marble. If it breaks, the Mana inside will return to its natural."

"Oh, I see. That's pretty neat," she said. "Thank you, Lewis. I will treasure this."

 He looked satisfied with that. "I will get you a better present next time, Princess Neoma."

"I won't stop you if that's what you want to do," she said with an encouraging smile. "But Lewis, please remember that your existence is already a huge blessing to me. Our friendship and your loyalty are two of the best presents that I've received in this lifetime. You really don't need to give me anything else."

Lewis didn't smile but his beautiful golden eyes literally glowed beautifully.

Ah, he's happy.

"Princess Neoma, I apologize for my intrusion."

She turned around and was a little surprised to find Sir Glenn behind them. Even Lewis looked surprised to see the knight there.

Gosh, we didn't feel or hear him approach us.

As expected of her Papa Boss's personal knight.

"Princess Neoma, my present for you is in His Majesty's bedchamber," Sir Glenn said with an awkward smile. "Do you mind if you come with me to his room to fetch the gift?"

"Well, I don't mind but you know how much I dread seeing my father, Sir Glenn. Your gift better be worth it," Neoma teased Sir Glenn. She laughed when the knight went pale. "Joke!"

***

"MOCHI!" Neoma squealed when she saw the snow-white bunny sleeping on the grand four-poster bed that obviously belonged to her Papa Boss. The bed was huge and she could tell that everything about it (from the bed sheets to the curtains) was posh. No wonder Emperor Nikolai looked pissed while standing in front of the bed and glaring at Mochi. "Papa Boss, why did you kidnap the poor bunny?"

Of course, she knew that her father didn't "kidnap" Mochi.

It was just her hobby to annoy the emperor as a little revenge for all the hardships that she went through because of him.

"I didn't abduct that thing," Emperor Nikolai denied in an obviously annoyed tone, then he turned to her with furrowed brows. "You still haven't changed?"

By that, he definitely meant her princess outfit.

"I look pretty, don't I?" she said, then she twirled around to show-off her "natural" long hair and her pretty ball gown. When her father didn't look impressed, she rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Papa Boss. Sir Glenn made sure that nobody else would see me dressed like this."

"You're overdressed," the emperor deadpanned. "I thought you only had dinner with your so-called friends."

"Papa Boss, a queen like me is never overdressed."

"Don't call yourself a queen again if you don't want to get in trouble," he warned her. "If someone else hears you, they might think that the royal princess is vying for the throne."

Well, back in her second life, calling people "queen" was pretty normal.

'You dropped your crown, queen,' for example, was a very famous internet slang. She used to tweet that, and she would even change the spelling from 'queen' to 'kween.'

But she had to acknowledge that in the empire, using such word could be dangerous.

"My bad," she said. "But it's not that deep, Papa Boss."

"Use normal words, Neoma."

"I don't mean anything by what I said," she explained. "Would it be more acceptable if I say 'a princess like me is never overdressed' instead?"

"Yes," her father deadpanned. "Be careful next time."

"`Kay," she said, then she turned to Sir Glenn who was standing politely behind her. "Sir Glenn, is 'Mochi' your present for me?"

Sir Glenn smiled and nodded. "Yes, Princess Neoma," he confirmed. "Gale– I mean "Mochi" is a Wind Spirit."

"Oh," she said. "No wonder she was made me float a while ago."

The knight looked surprised by that. "You already met her?"

She nodded. "But she suddenly disappeared."

"I see," Sir Glenn said while nodding. "Now I know why she suddenly went missing."

"Pick up your pet now and leave my room," her father said. "And go back to your palace before someone else sees you, Neoma."

"I don't want to wake Mochi," she said, then she turned to the knight. "Sir Glenn, do you mind making tea for us?" She had no choice but to ask Sir Glenn because no one else should see her dressed like that. "I'll stay here in Papa Boss's room until Mochi wakes up."

Sir Glenn smiled but before the knight could even speak, the emperor beat him to it.

"Excuse me? It's already past your bedtime," Emperor Nikolai said firmly. "Do you want to spend time with me that badly, Princess Neoma?"

She didn't miss the sarcasm– she just chose to ignore it.

"Yes, Papa Boss. I looove spending time with you," Neoma said with as much sarcasm as he had a while ago. "It's my birthday so please don't ruin my mood."

***

"PAPA BOSS, for an emperor, your bedroom is quite simple," Neoma commented, then she sipped her tea before she continued talking. They were having tea in the lounge area of his big bedroom. Sir Glenn and Lewis were guarding outside the chamber. "I'm glad to know that you're not living too lavishly."

Emperor Nikolai sipped his tea before he continued. "Finish your tea and go to sleep. You have a banquet to attend later."

"The banquet starts at night," she reasoned. "I can sleep the whole day."

"I don't think your servants will allow you to do so," her father said. "As the star of the banquet, it's their job to make sure that you're the best-looking child during that time."

"My face always works hard, Papa Boss," she said. To not make her father confuse by the modern phrase that she used, she explained right away. "That means I'm always good-looking."

He looked at her wordlessly, then he pointed at the expensive-looking box on the table. "Take that with you once you leave."

She looked at the box and realized that it was wrapped as a present.

Wow, it was a dumb moment for her. She honestly thought that it was part of the decoration. Not gonna lie, she thought it was a box of fine chocolates that was served along with the tea.

"Papa Boss, is that your present for me?"

He just sipped his tea.

Now she was officially bothered by Saint Macaroni's prophecy.

Shit. In an anime series, when a terrible character suddenly shows kindness, it's usually taken as a death flag.

"I told you before that your mother has a unique way of cursing people, didn't I?" her father said. "I still remember the first time I heard her curse."

She gulped hard.

When a character tells their back story through a flashback, it's also a death flag!

"'Your Majesty, I hope your hairline recedes each time the twin stars' light dim,"" the emperor said with a bitter smile on his face. "Your mother cursed my father, the current emperor back then, during a banquet that celebrates His Majesty's birthday."

She couldn't help but laugh at what she heard. "Mama sounds like a fun person."

"Of course you'd find her fun," he said while shaking his head. "You got your mother's sharp tongue."

"Tell me more about her, Papa Boss."

"Mona also cursed Kyle's father, the previous Count Sprouse," the emperor said in an amused tone. "She used to curse the previous count to have barren land, or to lose heat during winter. And even during his final moment, your mother told him: "May your soul never find peace.""

"That's so evil," she said, impressed by her mother's unique way of cursing. "What's the tea, Papa Boss? Why does it sound like Mama hate the previous count?"

"House Sprouse was one of the families that caused House Roseheart's downfall."

She didn't comment but she smiled proudly.

Mama, you're a kween.

"Take your gift and return to your palace," her father said. "Don't wait for the bunny to wake up. Just grab it and bring it with you."

"Let me open my present first," she said as she reached for the box. "May I open the gift now, Papa Boss?"

"It's not like I can stop you."

She just giggled.

Then, she put the present on her lap and began to open the luxurious box. She gasped when she saw a pretty golden notebook inside. It had a hard cover with carved images of ladies dancing below a star. The design was elegant and meaningful.

"It's a magical journal that I bought from the best craftsman in the empire," her father said. "Instead of writing in the pages using a pen, you can "capture" your memories and put them in the sheets. If you open the journal, you'll see the curses that your mother used in the past. I transferred the memories I have of her from my mind to the pages of the journal. Some of them may be inaccurate or blurry. After all, it's been a while since your mother crossed my mind."

She knew it was a lie.

If her father barely remembered her mother, then how come she reminded him of her?

"Why did you choose this gift, Papa Boss?" she asked curiously. She was touched by her father's present but she didn't want to put her guard up. After all, she still didn't have the assurance that the emperor wouldn't think of throwing her away again. "Why are you talking about my mother now?"

"It's your reward," Emperor Nikolai said in a soft voice. "You should just be grateful that I'm in the mood to talk about your mother." He sipped his tea before he continued speaking. "Who knows if there's going to be a next time?"

For some reason, that scared Neoma a little.

It's definitely a death flag.

***

"MY LORD, now I'm really confused," Dominic Zavaroni prayed to Yule, the Moon God that he worshipped. "Who is really the Second Star that is destined to kill the moon?"

The crown prince's coronation would be held at the banquet later.

And according to the prophecy that he saw a while ago, the moon would bleed during the twins' birthday.

That would be tonight.

"His Majesty is also uncertain who between Princess Neoma and Prince Nero is the firstborn," Dominic Zavaroni continued in a confused voice. "My lord, please don't make Princess Neoma suffer even more."

***

"KURO, let's go," Gin called the three-headed hell dog cheerfully while fixing the cufflink of his formal attire. "We have a banquet to crash."

***

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