性瘾者

"ALL THIS time, we\'ve been following the traces left by the real Devil in search of Juliet\'s body," Nikolai said while stirring his tea. "Thinking back, Trevor never said that the Devil stole Juliet\'s body. He only suggested that the Devil could do it. Admittedly, I was blinded with rage back then." He sipped his tea before he continued. "This is my mistake."

Right now, he was talking to Glenn and Geoffrey in the lounge area of his private office.

"Please don\'t say that, Your Majesty," Geoffrey said in an embarrassed voice. "I\'m the Order\'s source of information. I should have noticed that we were following the wrong traces all this time." He lowered his head. "I beg for your forgiveness, Your Majesty."

"This isn\'t the time to blame each other," he said, then he put the teacup down on the table. "But I can\'t shake off the feeling that Princess Nichole has still something to do with the disappearance of Juliet\'s body. My sister is the original creator of the barrier that protects the Shrine. She could have easily turned it off and on again without me noticing."

That was the reason why he immediately believed it when Trevor implied that the Devil, Nichole to be precise, was able to steal Juliet\'s body right under his nose.

"It\'s possible that Princess Nichole and the Devil stole Empress Juliet\'s body first," Glenn said, then he sipped his tea before speaking again. "Your Majesty, do you think Princess Nichole worked with the Crow?"

"What do you think?"

His personal knight immediately shook his head. "It can\'t be. After what the Crow did to Princess Nichole before, I don\'t think she\'d work with them."

"If you know that, why did you still ask that stupid question?"

Glenn, who was already used to his sharp tongue, just laughed it off. "I\'m just merely trying to bring up all the possibilities, Your Majesty. Even the most ridiculous ones."

Well, that made sense.

[Glenn likes playing the devil\'s advocate, too.]

"It\'s also possible that the Devil stole Empress Juliet\'s body, then the Crow somehow stole it from them," Geoffrey said seriously. "It doesn\'t make sense for the Devil to revive the dead using the Fox\'s Marble. After all, the Devil is a powerful necromancer. They don\'t need Marbles to bring someone back to life."

He nodded in agreement.

"Let\'s say that the Crow really did revive Empress Juliet using the Fox\'s Marble," Glenn said carefully. "What could be their purpose for doing that? All this time, the Crow\'s only goal is to eliminate the royal princesses born in the empire. They disappear as soon as the job is finished. If our theories are correct, then this is the first time that something like this happened."

[I think I know why.]

"The Crow did something that they haven\'t done before because for the first time in history, a royal successor with Roseheart Blood was born," he announced, obviously surprising Glenn and Geoffrey. "The de Luca clan, the family that founded the Crow, has always hated the Rosehearts. Thus, the current leader of the Crow probably can\'t accept that the future ruler of the empire is half-Roseheart."

Glenn still looked confused.

Geoffrey, on the other hand, looked like he finally understood what he was trying to say. "Your Majesty, are you saying that the Crow is trying to bring back Empress Juliet in her place because they want you and Her Majesty to conceive an heir– an heir that doesn\'t have Roseheart Blood in them."

Glenn, who finally got it, gasped aloud. "Your Majesty, what will happen to Princess Neoma and Prince Nero if Empress Juliet really comes back to life?"

"Juliet was the perfect empress in the eye of the nobles, and she was also well-loved by the citizens. If she really returns, she could easily take back her rightful place," he said carefully, then he sipped his tea before he continued speaking. "The nobles, especially the ones who hate the Rosehearts, will probably appeal for "Nero" to be ousted as the Crown Prince. After all, they only accepted him as my successor because they know that they can\'t force me to remarry."

"I can also imagine those nobles executing a smearing campaign to ruin Lady Mona Roseheart\'s reputation," Geoffrey added while shaking his head. "They will do everything to get the public to hate Lady Roseheart. Then, they will definitely pressure Empress Juliet to get pregnant with His Majesty\'s child."

Glenn scowled after hearing that. But it was only for a moment. Right now, the knight obviously looked confused. "I want Empress Juliet to return. She was a good person, and she was a good ally to His Majesty. But I don\'t want Prince Nero and Princess Neoma to be kicked out of the Royal Palace…"

"I won\'t let that happen even if Juliet returns," he said firmly. "Moreover, do you think Juliet would kick Nero and Neoma out of the Royal Palace?"

Glenn and Geoffrey both shook their heads firmly.

"Empress Juliet was also a good friend of Lady Roseheart," Glenn said with a smile. "I\'m sure Empress Juliet would treat Prince Nero and Princess Neoma as her own children."

He nodded in agreement with Glenn\'s statement. [Yes, Juliet would do that.]

"I agree with that," Geoffrey said, but there was a concerned look on his face. "I\'m actually more worried about what House Lennox would do if Empress Juliet returns. Marquis Vincent Lennox, the late empress\'s grandfather, has been quiet all this time. He even publicly supported "Prince Nero" as a way to atone for the sin of House Sloane. But if Empress Juliet really returns, I don\'t think House Lennox would support the royal twins anymore." He sipped his tea before he continued. "I know that nothing is proven yet but I don\'t think it would harm us if we prepared for the possibility of Empress Juliet\'s return, Your Majesty."

"I know that," Nikolai said, then he picked up the teacup on the table. "For now, we will begin hunting down the crows while also looking for the Devil." He sipped his tea before speaking again. This time, his eyes turned glowing red. "We would take both of them down at the same time."

***

NEOMA covered her mouth with her hands when she yawned.

Right now, she was in Ruto\'s private kitchen while waiting for him to finish packing the snacks that he prepared for her and her friends.

To be precise, she was standing in front of the kitchen island with her eyes half-closed. She slept late last night, and she had to wake up early because she had to disguise herself as \'Miss Ramsay\' to meet the young chef.

After all, today was their departure day.

[Jasper Oppa, wait for me.]

"Miss White Radish, are you listening?"

Neoma forced herself to open her eyes wide. "What is it, Mr. Black Soybean?"

Ruto looked amused while watching her. Then, he pointed at the cute pastel pink picnic basket on the kitchen island. "I packed tonkatsu burgers and strawberry sandwiches for you and your friends. This basket is magical. It will keep your food warm for twenty-four hours."

Now she was truly awake.

She smiled widely while looking at the cute picnic basket. "It\'s not just pink– it\'s pastel pink!" She raised her head to meet Ruto\'s gaze. He was looking at her but she knew that he couldn\'t see her face anyway. Still, she liked that he was looking at her in the eye. "I love pink."

"I know."

"Huh?"

"You always either wear or carry something pink with you."

"Ohh," she said, then she changed the topic when she remembering something more important. "When are you going to leave the empire, Ruto?"

"I\'ll be leaving in three days," he said. "I guess I won\'t be here anymore once you return."

"I guess so," she said in a somewhat down voice. [Well, I don\'t know when I\'ll be able to return. But why the heck do I feel sad?]

"Why do you sound like we\'re not going to see each other again?" the young chef asked, then he placed his hands on the flat surface of the kitchen island. After that, he leaned down to get closer to her. "You still have the communication device that I gave you, right?"

"I\'m not going to use it," she said firmly. She didn\'t like it when people invade her personal space. But for some reason, she still felt comfortable with Ruto. Her whole system must have already been bribed by Ruto\'s yummy food. "Even if you call me, I won\'t answer it."

"Why?"

"Because I don\'t want to get too attached to someone who\'s not physically close to me."

She didn\'t want to admit this but she could be the clingy type.

And she would never say this aloud but she knew deep in her heart that she would miss Ruto (and the godly food that he makes for her). Hearing his voice would only make her miss him even more.

She didn\'t want to feel that.

"Miss Ramsay."

"What?"

"You\'re quite cold," Ruto said in a slightly complaining voice. "Why don\'t you just ask me to stay then?"

Neoma raised a brow at his challenge, her stupid heart suddenly beating erratically. Was she being excited because the possibility of her favorite chef staying meant that she could eat all the food that she wanted again? After all, only Ruto could make the modern food that she would often crave. "Would you stay if I asked you to?"

***

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***

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