性瘾者

"I ALREADY asked the Fletcher Twins to fetch Sola from the temple," Emperor Nikolai declared. "I will allow you to meet up with your favorite author before we send her home if you want to."

Juri Wisteria was relieved to hear that from the emperor himself.

She turned to Princess Neoma, who was standing next to her, and smiled when she saw the relief on the child's face.

[Princess Neoma really seems to be fond of Author Sola.]

To be honest, it was shocking to know that the nine-year-old princess was already reading sexy books. But she reminded herself that the royal children of their empire mature faster than the average kids. Moreover, Princess Neoma said that she skipped the mature scenes in the book anyway, and she believed the royal princess.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Juri said when she turned to the emperor again. "I will now officially sign the contract with Princess Neoma."

Her Royal Highness told her that she could speak her name freely inside His Majesty's office because it was a "safe" place.

Moreover, right now, only she, Princess Neoma, and His Majesty were in the office.

"Good," the emperor said, then he locked gaze with her. "Juri Wisteria, do you remember when you sent me a letter and asked thing about Hisa Tree?"

"My family asked me to pretend that I never did such thing, Your Majesty," she said honestly. "But if you promise me that you won't punish me if I speak about it, then my memories might return."

"Big Sister," Princess Neoma said in an amazed voice, then she slowly clapped her hands. "I like your braveness."

She just smiled at Her Royal Highness.

To be honest, despite the bad rumors that she heard about His Majesty, she knew in her heart that he wasn't a bad person. Well, she wouldn't say that the emperor was a saint. But at least, she knew that he was quite different from the other mean nobles around them.

[But still, I don't trust His Majesty completely because of the Royal Family's tie with House Wisteria.]

"I won't punish you," His Majesty promised. "In fact, I wanted to talk to you about the Hisa Tree since you sent that letter to me. But I know that your family won't deliver my response to you. Worse, they may ask someone from your family to write a response in your place without your knowledge."

Ah, it seemed like the emperor had an idea about how messed up House Wisteria was.

"Juri Wisteria, I want to know why you're so obsessed with the Hisa Tree," the emperor said. "Is there a specific reason why you sent me that letter in the past?"

"I have a selfish reason, Your Majesty," she said carefully. "There was a person I admired a lot when I was a kid. She was called the 'shield' of the empire."

Princess Neoma turned to her with a curious look on her face.

[It seems like the royal princess knows whom I talking about.]

Of course, His Majesty was also aware of that.

Fortunately, the emperor didn't have a violent reaction even though she brought up the late Princess Nichole casually.

Thus, she didn't hold back anymore.

"When I was a child, the mages of the Royal Tower brought me along in a "field trip" where we met up with the late Princess Nichole," Juri began, still careful. "It was supposed to be my first Hisa harvest. But on our way to the Golden Field, we were attacked by high-skilled bandits. They didn't succeed and Princess Nichole was able to protect us. The Princess Royal used her shield to protect us. But she suffered a great deal of damage: her back was burnt by an explosive that the leader of the bandits threw at her."

His Majesty's face turned grim.

Ah, it seemed like the emperor remembered that event.

"When we returned to the Royal Palace, it was my grandmother who treated Princess Nichole's injury," she continued with her story. "My grandma saved the Princess Royal's life. But she wanted to do more. She wanted to erase the burn mark on Princess Nichole's back. Thus, she begged the previous emperor to let her use the Hisa Ointment. But they didn't give it to my grandmother because apparently, the then-Crown Prince needed the ointment as well." She couldn't help but smirk before she continued. "Apparently, the then-Crown Prince needed the Hisa ointment for his sunburn after training outdoors for the whole day. Since the Crown Prince's whole body was red from the burn, they used up the last tube on his skin even if an ordinary ointment would have sufficed for sunburn."

"That's awful," Princess Neoma said. "Is that true, Papa Boss?"

She was quite confused at what Princess Neoma called His Majesty. But the emperor didn't react. It seemed like it was the normal for the two.

"It's true," His Majesty confirmed with a firm nod. "Believe it or not, I didn't know that Nichole suffered a grave injury back then. I only found out about it when Saint Zavaroni told me that he treated my twin sister's burn marks."

"I was relieved when I heard from my grandmother that His Holiness fixed Princess Nichole's burn marks," she said with a bitter smile. "My grandmother said that the burn marks didn't disappear completely. But at least, they turned faint and you can only notice it if you look at the Princess Royal's back hard enough."

She thought it was funny when Princess Neoma glared at His Majesty, then the emperor turned his gaze away from his daughter nervously.

[Is His Majesty afraid of Princess Neoma?]

"I have nothing to say about that incident," His Majesty said when he turned to her. "Is that the reason why you're questioning the rarity of Hisa Tree, Juri Wisteria?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said bravely. "I know that this empire doesn't treat royal princesses nicely. But if only there are more than one tube of Hisa Ointment produced, then Princess Nichole didn't have to experience that kind of injustice. Moreover, I don't understand why a tree as productive as Hisa Tree isn't being reproduced like crazy. Isn't it good for the environment to plant more trees anyway?"

"Hisa Tree isn't only used as an ointment for the Royal Family," the emperor said, shocking her because it was the first time that she heard it. "The Hisa Tree also produces a rare piece of jewelry that House Wisteria has been using for its jewelry business for a long time now. If we reproduce the Hisa Tree like you wanted, then the value of the jewelry that your family has been harvesting for generations would lose its value. If the Hisa Tree stops being a tree that only grows every fifty years, then the jewel that it produces will also become just another pretty gem for the nobles."

She was too shocked to react that unexpected piece of information.

"Papa Boss, you know that and yet, you're not doing anything to stop it?" Princess Neoma asked. "Are you that greedy for money? We should plant more Hisa Trees and make more ointments. Not just for the Royal Family but also for the ordinary citizens. We already have enough wealth, haven't we?"

"It's not that easy," the emperor said to his daughter. "I've been sending Madam Hammock to the Hisa Tree all this time because I asked her to find the rare jewelry that the tree produces. After all, we need solid evidence that the Hisa Tree doesn't only produce ointment. But obviously, we haven't succeeded yet. Moreover, despite Madam Hammock's efforts, we can't also find a good research study that it's possible to reproduce the Hisa Tree."

[Ah, so my grandmother has been working with His Majesty all this time?]

"So Papa Boss, we just need to find evidence?" Princess Neoma asked. "If we do, then do you promise to support the reproduction of the Hisa Tree to produce ointments for all the families in the empire?"

"It wouldn't be easy since House Wisteria is supported by other strong and influential families," the emperor said. "But if you're up for the challenge, then you're free to try."

She turned to Princess Neoma instantly. "Your Royal Highness…"

"You don't have to say anything, Lady Juri. I know," Princess Neoma said with a smile, then she turned to the emperor. "Papa Boss, we'll uncover the truth behind the Hisa Tree."

Emperor Nikolai nodded. "Then, I'll ask Madam Hammock to bring you with her during the harvest twelve days from now."

Juri smiled a relieved smile when suddenly, Princess Neoma shrieked as if she was surprise.

"Twelve days?" Princess Neoma asked with widened eyes. "Can we delay it, Papa Boss?"

But why?

***

NERO was satisfied when Zev, his Soul Beast, was able to create a mansion made of their ice Mana.

It was a part of their training.

Now that he was close to being able to resonate his soul with Zev's, he knew that it was only a matter of time before he finds out his Soul Beast's real name.

"Good job, Zev," Nero said while gently patting the head of his two-tailed wolf. "You may rest now."

Zev nodded before it completely disappeared.

"You really have the audacity to summon your Soul Beast even though I already warned you that I don't want to see it."

He turned to William who just returned from the Spirit World.

[Great. My peaceful days are now over.]

"Queen Tara gave me the permission to train my Soul Beast in this piece of land that she gave me a while ago," he said bluntly. "Why are you here? I've already mastered summoning Spirits from the queen herself during your absence. I don't need a new teacher."

Tara told him that a year had already passed back in the human world.

But since time flowed differently in this world, that year felt longer. He didn't care about that though. After all, he managed to train both of his abilities as a Roseheart and a de Moonasterio.

"I returned because I feel like you're already strong enough to go with me," William said seriously. "Nero, do you want to see your mother?"

"Only if Neoma is with us," he said. "It's my sister who wants to see our mother desperately. I don't have that much interest in people who are already long gone."

"Who said that Mona is already gone?"

To say that he was shocked to hear that would be an understatement.

"What do you mean by that, William?"

"Mona is still alive," William declared seriously. "Do you want to see your mother now, Nero?"

Nero clenched his hands tight. "Bring me to Mother, William."

*** 

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