性瘾者

‘Hanbok’ was a traditional Korean clothing.

She was pretty sure that the white top that the lady in front of her was wearing was a jeogori jacket- a basic upper garment of the hanbok. The see-through lace pattern of the sleeve part and waistline design looked elegant and neat, and so did the flower-patterned black midi skirt. There was also a dangling tassel ornament tied to the black belt that looked similar to norigae- a typical, traditional Korean accessory hung from a woman’s jeogori goreum or hanbok chima.

Overall, the dress looked soft and flowing. Plus, the unique lines of the hanbok appeared even with the slight movements made by the lady wearing it.

[That dress is definitely a modernized hanbok.]

The lady’s closed-toe gray pump shoes made her overall outfit look so modern-ish.

She was ignorant in her first life about a lot of things since her education was limited, and she didn’t get to travel outside the empire so she didn’t get to explore other countries’ cultures.

.....

[Is this how people from Ruto’s country dressed?]

“Greetings to the Lesser Moon of the Great Moonasterion Empire,” Lady Yngrid, Ruto’s mother, said politely as she bowed to her. “My name is Yngrid Stroganoff, and I’m here to deliver an item my son Ruto wishes for His Royal Highness to have.”

“Please raise your head, Lady Yngrid,” Neoma said, then she smiled at her. “And you may speak comfortably here. This tearoom is soundproof.”

Lady Yngrid raised her head and stared at her face with a gentle look on her face.

Just like Ruto, Lady Yngrid’s beauty wasn’t the type to stand out in a crowd. But she was pleasant in the eyes. Her hair was also tied in a low braided bun neatly, so you could clearly see her face touched only by a light makeup.

[Lady Yngrid has glass skin.]

Nice.

“Then let me greet you again, Your Royal Highness,” Lady Yngrid said, her voice sweet and her face kind. “It’s an honor to finally meet you, Princess Neoma.”

Yes, Lady Yngrid knew her royal secret.

Her Papa Boss told her so earlier.

[“The Stronagoffs know your royal secret because Ruston Stroganoff told his parents when he was young. I made them take the Oath of Silence, so it’s fine.”]

Neoma wasn’t fine with it, though.

[Seriously, Papa Boss? Just how many people know about my royal secret? It’s a miracle that crows haven’t found me yet.]

***

[THIS IS daechu-cha.]

Jujube tea or daechu-cha was a Korean tea made from jujubes. This was the first time she had that tea in this world.

“Your Royal Highness, how do you find the tea?” Lady Yngrid asked her. “That’s the tea that Ruto often makes for us. I figured you’d like it, so I brought some.”

Yes, the tea was even personally brewed by Lady Yngrid.

“I like it, Lady Yngrid,” Neoma said, then she smiled. She didn’t want to show the lady that she was feeling a little uncomfortable because of the things that reminded her of Korea. It wasn’t like she was simply getting homesick. “Thank you for sharing this precious tea with me.”

Lady Yngrid smiled. “Your Royal Highness is my son’s precious friend, so I want to treat you well.”

“Yes, I’m precious to Ruto,” she said, then she smiled and sipped her tea. “He’s also precious to me, ma’am.”

“It’s a shame I can’t stay and chat with Your Royal Highness for too long,” the lady said. “May I get straight to the point?”

“By all means, Lady Yngrid.”

Lady Yngrid removed the tassel attached to her black belt. When she put it down on the table between them, the tassel had turned into a necklace with a gold engraved whistle pendant. “This is the item that Ruto wishes to entrust to Your Royal Highness,” she said. “This necklace is the symbol of Ruto’s authority as Veton’s owner, and as the heir of our family.”

She almost spat out the tea she just sipped.

Then she remembered one of the conversations she had with Ruto before...

[“I will give you my authority while I’m asleep, Neoma.”]

[“Huh?”]

[“I’m more influential on the East Continent than in the West. I’ll hand over all my authority to you. That means you can use everything I have, including properties and people.”]

[“That... doesn’t sound bad.”]

[“I’ll ask my mother to send you my crest later. As long as you have it, everything and everyone I command would obey you.”]

Right, Ruto told her he would give all his authority to her while he was asleep.

But she didn’t expect him to be serious.

“If Your Royal Highness needs help from Veton or our family, all you have to do is blow the whistle,” Lady Yngrid explained. “Veton will come wherever Your Royal Highness is. You can tell Veton whatever you need, and he will relay the message to us if needed.”

She hesitated before she picked up the necklace with the gold whistle pendant. “Lady Yngrid, is it really okay for me to keep this?”

The lady smiled and nodded. “That’s what Ruto wants,” she said. “I trust my son.”

She held the necklace in her hand carefully. “Thank you for bringing this to me personally, Lady Yngrid.”

“It’s nothing, Your Royal Highness,” Lady Yngrid said. “I’m also glad that I get to visit my husband here.”

Right.

Ruto’s father, Morton Stroganoff, was her Papa Boss’s Exclusive Chef.

She couldn’t really focus on that fact, since she was busy admiring the pretty necklace in her hands, her thumb brushing over the gold whistle pendant.

[Ruto really entrusted me everything he has.]

Her heart swelled with pride and joy.

[Is this what they call... ‘wifey privilege?’]

“Princess Neoma, my Ruto really treasures you as a friend,” Lady Yngrid said with a gentle smile on her face. “I hope your friendship lasts forever.”

Ouch.

She knew how to read between the lines, but she was going to pretend she was illiterate.

“Lady Yngrid, the foundation of my relationship with Ruto is friendship,” she said politely. “We can be both friends and something else at the same time. Would that be unacceptable?”

“As a mother, I only wish the best for my one and only child,” Lady Yngrid said. She was still smiling, but it was obvious it didn’t reach her eyes. “That’s why I sincerely hope and pray for my son to settle with a lovely yet ordinary lady, and have a peaceful life with her.”

“That’s my wish, too, Lady Yngrid,” Neoma said, then she smiled at Ruto’s eomma. “I also sincerely hope and pray to become a lady of leisure in order to live a peaceful life.”

***

THAT WAS nerve-wracking.

Neoma couldn’t help but let out a deep, frustrated sigh.

“What’s wrong, Princess Neoma?” Sir Glenn, who was standing in front of her office desk, asked worriedly. “That was a big sigh.”

“Lady Yngrid doesn’t like me,” Neoma said, then she leaned against her seat. “My charm didn’t work on her.”

She could complain like that because Lewis wasn’t in her office.

Her “son” went on an errand earlier. She asked Lewis to fetch her some energy potions from Marcus, her Papa Boss’s Healing Sage, since Paige wasn’t there. Lewis personally went to get the potions to make sure it wasn’t tampered with.

It was a normal protocol, so Marcus wouldn’t be offended.

“Why would you want Lady Yngrid to like you in the first place, Princess Neoma?” Sir Glenn asked, while laughing softly. “Do you want to be her future daughter-in-law or something?”

She just smiled at him.

Sir Glenn stopped laughing, then he almost choked on his saliva. “Princess Neoma, don’t joke like that in front of His Majesty.”

“I enjoy teasing Papa Boss, though,” she said while laughing, then she sighed again. “Anyway, enough about me.” She gave the knight a playful glare. “I don’t want to talk about my love life with a happily engaged man.”

Sir Glenn immediately blushed while scratching his cheek. “Princess Neoma, I should thank you for encouraging me during the time I didn’t know how to deal with my feelings for Princess Brigitte. Thank you for being supportive of our relationship.”

“I’m glad to have played Cupid for you and Princess Brigitte,” she said while smiling, then she turned serious. “Sir Glenn, you’re going to be the king of Hazelden Kingdom soon.”

“Princess Brigitte is going to be a queen regnant- a monarch who reigns in her own right over the kingdom,” Sir Glenn said happily. “She will have complete sovereign powers, and I’ll just be a supportive h-husband.”

[Look at Sir Glenn stammering as if he still can’t believe he’s going to be Brigitte unnie’s husband soon.]

She laughed at how cute Sir Glenn was when being shy.

But the knight wasn’t just being modest when he said he would ‘only’ be a supportive husband, not that anything was wrong with that.

It was just that the husband of a queen regnant traditionally didn’t share the regnant’s rank, title, or sovereignty. However...

“The concept of a king consort is uncommon,” she said. “But I know you and Princess Brigitte won’t fight over power or roles. If anything, I believe the two of you will be a power couple.” She closed her hands and raised them. “Hwaiting!”

“Thank you, Princess Neoma.”

“You’re welcome,” she said cheerfully. “By the way, I decided to reveal my real identity to Princess Brigitte. I want to have a powerful ally who knows the real me. Papa Boss already approved of it.”

.....

The knight looked surprised by what she said.

“Once Nero returns, can I take a vacation in Hazelden?” she asked while smiling. “Will you and Princess Brigitte temporarily “adopt” me until my name makes it to the Royal Household’s registry?”

Sir Glenn smiled warmly at her. “You didn’t have to ask, Princess Neoma,” he said softly, then he put a hand over his chest. “Princess Brigitte and I will welcome Your Royal Highness anytime. Moreover, I’m pretty sure Princess Brigitte will be delighted once she finds out that the “Crown Prince” she knew was actually the royal princess. Of course, I also guarantee that she’s keep your identity a secret.”

“Thank you, Sir Glenn,” she said. “And I trust Princess Brigitte. Thus, I decided to reveal my identity to her.”

“Thank you for trusting Princess Brigitte,” Sir Glenn said, then he paused for a while as if he was thinking. “Regarding what Your Royal Highness said about Lady Yngrid not approving of your relationship with Ruto...”

She didn’t say it like that, but Sir Glenn wasn’t dense.

“This is just my hunch, but I think Ruto is similar to me,” Sir Glenn said. “I believe he’s also the type to cut his ties with his family to stand up for the things or people he loved.”

She also knew that Ruto was that kind of person.

“Sir Glenn, may I know why you severed your ties with the Extons?”

“It’s nothing grand, really,” Sir Glenn said, while laughing softly. “My family wanted me to turn my back on His Majesty.”

“I don’t think it’s “nothing grand,” Sir Glenn.”

He smiled and shook his head. “The Extons are your usual, conservative nobles who believe that the de Moonasterion emperor must marry into a “good” family in order to keep their bloodline superior. They supported His Majesty when His Majesty married the late Empress Juliet. But when the empress passed away and His Majesty brought Lady Mona Roseheart to the palace...” He trailed off, then he shrugged. “I think Your Royal Highness can guess what happened next.”

Oh.

“I guess the Extons really didn’t like my Mama Boss, huh?”

“That’s true, but my family is pretty much obsessed with Spirits,” he shared. “So I guess they hated Lady Roseheart partly because they were jealous of her ability as a Summoner. When Lady Roseheart disappeared, my family searched everywhere for her Spirit Guardians. But as far as I know, they only found Miss Gale- the Wind Spirit Your Royal Highness fondly calls ‘Mochi’ now.”

Ah, that was right.

She almost forgot that it was Sir Glenn who gave Mochi to her as a birthday present before.

“Sir Glenn... did you steal Mochi from your family?”

“It wasn’t stealing because Miss Mochi never belonged to the Extons, Princess Neoma,” he reasoned, then he smiled innocently at her.

She laughed at his poor excuse, but she was willing to let it slide because it was Sir Glenn.

[This man can never do wrong.]

“I feel better now after talking to you, Sir Glenn,” she said, then she smiled widely when she remembered something. “Sir Glenn, I heard my father will make you his sworn brother. He will announce it to the public later.”

He smiled shyly. “That’s true, Princess Neoma. I don’t think I deserve the title, but I will work hard to be worthy of it.”

“You’re already worthy to be my father’s sworn brother, Sir Glenn,” she said encouragingly. “Sir Glenn, can I call you ‘uncle’ from now on?”

The knight looked shocked at first.

Then he burst into tears.

Sir Glenn sobbed as he gave his response to her request. “That would be an honor, Princess Neoma.”

Neoma laughed softly. “Please don’t cry, Uncle Glenn.”

***

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