性瘾者

"I SAW a crow earlier, Princess Neoma."

Neoma froze when she heard what Lewis said.

Right now, they were alone in the carriage that would bring her to Illumina Plaza where the Grand Yule Dance would commence.

Emperor Nikolai already went ahead of her with Sir Glenn and Count Kyle Sprouse to begin the closing ceremony with a speech. Her presence wasn't needed because it was the emperor's duty to give an opening remark and not hers.

Her job as the "Crown Prince" was to lead the dance later.

For that reason, she wasn't allowed to go to the plaza with Hanna– her "date" and dance partner for tonight. Apparently, the gentlemen would have to wait for the ladies as a part of the ritual. Thus, she needed to arrive in the venue earlier than Hanna.

And she was glad that it turned out that way so that she could have this kind of conversation with Lewis.

"A crow, huh?" Neoma said after pausing for a while. "Tell me more about it, Lewis."

Of course, there were crows in the empire.

But her son wasn't dumb. He wouldn't bring that up if he didn't find the crow that he saw strange. It might have acted weird for Lewis to notice it.

"I noticed it when Duchess Amber Quinzel arrived earlier," Lewis, seated on the couch from across her, reported to her in his usual indifferent face and voice. "The crow also followed the duchess when Her Grace left the palace."

"Does that crow have red eyes?"

He shook his head. "But I felt its malevolent energy."

She nodded, completely believing her son.

Lewis wasn't the kind of person to spout nonsense after all. And she knew he wasn't just being overly cautious.

We're talking about a boy who rarely talks here after all.

"Maybe the crow with red eyes is meant to be my surveillance. If that's the case, then it's possible that the cult assigns a different crow to a different target," she said. "We have to be extra careful now, Lewis. Crows are smart. They remember things clearly, and they pass the information they gather to the whole flock."

He nodded firmly.

"Did you do anything when you saw the crow?"

He shook his head. "I am under the impression that we're supposed to pretend that we don't know about the cult yet. Am I wrong, Princess Neoma?"

"Of course not," she said, then she gave him a thumbs up. "Good job."

Her son just looked at her as usual.

But at least, he looked pleased by her praise.

"So, is there anything else you'd like to report to me?"

He nodded before he spoke. "I think Lady Hanna Quinzel is a little bit upset that you're hiding things from her. Sending me as her personal knight for a day has made her realize that you're trying to protect her from someone."

She smiled proudly. "As expected of Hanna, she's sharp."

Now she was even more convinced that Hanna was killed in the past. Her cousin was meek, but she wasn't stupid or weak. She wouldn't have used too much Mana by accident. Someone or something must have attacked her the day she died in her past life.

But what she didn't understand why how could the Quinzels not know that Hanna was killed?

It's either my current assumption is wrong, or something happened in the past that I am not aware of. I was a naïve little girl in my first life, so the latter is more likely to have happened. It seems like I can't rely on the memories of my first life anymore.

"Things that didn't happen in my first life have been taking place now ever since I took Nero's place three years ago," she said seriously. "I don't want Hanna to die."

"Are you going to tell Lady Hanna Quinzel the truth?"

"No, not the entire truth," she said while shaking her head. "But I will tell her the things she needs to know to avoid her untimely death that happened in my first life."

"Is there a reason why you can't tell Lady Hanna Quinzel the whole truth, Princess Neoma?"

She flinched at Lewis's question. "Well, I can sense that Hanna is infatuated with Nero. If she finds out that this is already my second time living as Neoma de Moonasterio, she'd probably ask who Nero ended up getting engaged to in my first life. I don't want to break her heart by letting her know that Nero fell in love with another girl."

"Ah."

"You don't seem to agree with my decision, Lewis."

"I'd like to think that I'm different from the Lewis of your first life, Princess Neoma," her son said. "I believe that Lady Hanna Quinzel will think the same."

"Lewis, do you trust Hanna?"

"Yes. I can see that Lady Hanna Quinzel adores you, Princess Neoma," he said. Then, for some reason, his golden eyes glowered. "And if I'm wrong, I can always just kill her."

"I'll disown you if you kill Hanna."

He paused for a while, then his eyes returned to normal. "Yes, please "disown" me."

"You ungrateful brat," she scolded him lightly. "This is why they say it's useless to raise a son."

Of course, her son ignored her complaint.

So, she just changed the topic.

"Lewis, you don't have to guard me later," she said. "I promised Trevor a game before the ceremony ends. If he catches me, I'll give him my last dance. I want a fair game so you don't have to help me hide from him."

He fell silent for a while before he spoke. "May I join the game as well, Princess Neoma?"

Neoma's eyes widened in shock. "Are you interested to have my last dance as well, Lewis?"

"Not really," Lewis said casually. "But I don't want you to give your last dance to a malicious demon like Trevor, Princess Neoma."

Ah, so it's like that.

***

"YOU CAN talk freely now," Nikolai, standing in the balcony while watching his people dance in the plaza, said to the aides he was with: Glenn and Rufus on his right side, and Kyle on his left side. "The spell is up."

That was the spell that would prevent people from outside the shield to hear what they were talking about. Reading their lips would also be impossible for outsiders to do so.

He did that because his ears hurt every time his aides would refer to Neoma as the Crown Prince. Although it was the right thing to do, for some reason, he hated hearing it now. Thus, he would often refer to the "Crown Prince" as his child instead of a son.

"Where's Nero?" he asked without turning his head to any side.

"Prince Nero is resting in the royal parlor of this palace, Your Majesty," Kyle, the one he assigned to secretly bring Nero to the People's Palace, reported to him. "Stephanie and Alphen are keeping His Royal Highness company."

"The front porch of the palace where the real Prince Nero and my daughter Hanna will dance later is already secured," Rufus added. "People won't be allowed to come near them and the barrier around would make it difficult for the outsiders to make out their features."

They made it so the people who had already seen Neoma as the Crown Prince wouldn't notice her differences with her twin brother.

Which reminded him…

"Nero asked for permission to switch with Neoma and dance with Hanna Quinzel at the closing ceremony," he said. "Does anyone know what Neoma would be doing while Nero is dancing with the young lady? She mentioned something about playing a game with the demon boy."

"Oh, I heard from Princess Neoma a while ago that the players have increased," Sir Glenn said delightfully. He was the one who escorted Neoma to Hanna Quinzel a while ago, so he must have a short talk with his daughter. "Apparently, Lewis will also join the game. Our Princess Neoma is famous, isn't she?"

"That, Her Royal Highness is," Rufus agreed in a proud voice. "Hanna told me a while ago that if she could, she would also compete with the boys for Princess Neoma's last dance. Apparently, my daughter is not yet ready to "give" our princess's hand for marriage to anyone."

Kyle let out a deep sigh. "It seems like Yule Palace will be chaotic later."

Yule Palace was his residence.

"What did you say, Kyle?" he asked, then he turned to his aide. "Why will my residence turn chaotic later?"

"Your Majesty, Princess Neoma told me that you gave her the permission to use Yule Palace as her "playpen" later," Kyle said in a confused voice. "Because of that, I ordered the servants of your palace to leave and return tomorrow morning, Your Majesty."

Neoma didn't ask for his permission to use his residence as her "playpen."

Nikolai could only pinch the bridge of his nose. "That little rogue child…"

***

NEOMA gasped softly when she suddenly felt chills all over.

"What's wrong, Your Royal Highness?" Hanna, who had her arm link with his, asked. "Are you alright?"

"I suddenly had an ominous feeling," Neoma confessed, then she faced her dance partner. "Is it because you're upset with me?"

Her cousin just laughed softly.

As of now, they were in Illumina Plaza joined by other couples from different noble households.

The beautiful water fountain in front of People's Palace had turned into a bonfire.

They, along with the other noble children, surrounded the bonfire. The higher your rank was, the closer you were to the fire. Of course, she and Hanna would be the closest to the flare.

But since it was a dance for the mass, the noble children in the plaza right now wore simple and modest clothes. Well, as "simple" as their wardrobes would allow. That meant that for the commoners, they still looked as expensive as hell.

"We have a lot of things we need to talk about later, Your Royal Highness," Hanna said as she put one hand on his shoulder, while the other was holding her hand. "You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

Her green orbs even glowered.

Neoma smiled, then she put a hand on the small of Hanna's back. "I have something to confess to you later, Hanna."

***

FOR THE first time in Neoma's third life, she ran as if her life depended on it.

After her dance with Hanna a while ago, she stayed in the balcony with Emperor Nikolai to overlook the ceremony. And while doing so, she received an earful from her Papa Boss because she forgot to tell him that she needed to use Yule Palace as her playpen.

Well, the safest place for her to hide from her "pursuers" was her Papa Boss's residence. To be precise, she was running towards her father's office right now.

Let's see if Trevor and Lewis can enter Papa Boss's office!

It was just a little frustrating that she was wearing her "Miss Ramsay disguise." But instead of enjoying the festival, she was stuck in her father's palace while playing with the boys.

I didn't mean this when I said I'd be a playgirl in the future…

"My Moon Princess, here I come."

Neoma clicked her tongue when she heard Trevor's voice behind her.

She didn't mean to but her body moved on its own to turn and look at the demon boy. She almost had a heart attack when she realized that Trevor was close enough to grab her. Thankfully, her ever-loyal knight came at the perfect time.

Lewis suddenly appeared in front of her, then he gave Trevor a flying kick.

The talking book was sent flying in the hallway.

"Good job, One-Kick Lewis!" Neoma yelled, then she ran faster when she saw the door of her father's office. But then, she suddenly felt a strong pressure behind her. When she turned to look at it, she was surprised to see Lewis running after her. "Lewis, why are you chasing me?!"

"Last dance," Lewis said. "Princess Neoma."

She didn't quite get it but she clicked her tongue and ran faster. This time, she summoned Tteokbokki and borrowed his strength. It did boost her speed.

Then, she was distracted when the double doors suddenly opened.

She cursed under her breath when she realized that at the speed that she was going, she would crash to the person who just went out of her father's office. Much to her shock, she instantly recognized that young boy with black hair and black eyes wearing a chef's uniform.

Ruto?!

Ruto turned to her and met her gaze.

She was pretty sure that he saw her clearly. Thus, imagine her surprise when he literally stepped aside– a clear sign that he had no intention to stop her from crashing into the door.

Tsk!

She was prepared to destroy her Papa Boss's office door when all of a sudden, said Papa Boss appeared on the spot that Ruto was standing on a few seconds ago.

Then, much to her surprise, her father didn't move an inch and let her crash against him.

Ouch.

"What a rogue," Emperor Nikolai said while shaking his head. Then, he literally picked her up and draped her over his arm. Then, he turned to Lewis and Trevor who both stopped in front of them. She didn't know if it was just her imagination or did Papa Boss really look smug at the moment. "I guess I won, little rascals."

[No, I won.]

She was surprised when she heard that strange, soft voice of a man in her mind.

Then, all of a sudden, there was a burst of blinding white light that made her close her eyes tight. After that, she felt the change in her surroundings. Thankfully, she still felt her Papa Boss's arm around her waist. And that meant her father was with her.

Thank goodness.

Wait, why am I relieved by that?

[You may now open your eyes, child.]

And she did.

To say that she was surprised to lay her eyes on the most gentle, the most beautiful, and the most angelic face that she had seen in her three lives would be an understatement. The person in front of them also looked soft and relaxed because they wore a white robe that reached the floor.

Who is this beautiful person?

And where were they?

It wasn't definitely her Papa Boss's office.

This one looked more like a Holy Shrine. She couldn't decide if it was simple because it was practically empty except for the chair where the beautiful person was seated on, or was it grand because the pillars were made of gold?

"I didn't expect that you'd summon us here," Emperor Nikolai said in an indifferent voice. "Yule."

Her eyes widened in shock.

Yule?! As in the Moon God?! And did Papa Boss just casually called a god by their name as if they are equals?!

But, wait.

Is it really this easy to meet a god here?!

She didn't know because she didn't grow up as a proper Moonasterion Princess in her first life.

"Nikolai, Neoma," Yule, in his soothing voice, called her and her Papa Boss in a friendly way. "Will the two of you dance for me?"

"I respectfully decline," Neoma and her Papa Boss said in unison.

Yule's smile seemed to have been frozen because of their blunt rejection.

Hah, talk about awkward.

***

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