性瘾者

Nero stopped in his tracks when he felt his father’s presence.

Then he turned to his mother.

The two of them were on their way to the Frozen Woods to follow Queen Brigitte and King Glenn after they heard from the Fletcher Twins that the royal couple followed Neoma.

He and his mother were near the Frozen Woods when he felt her father’s presence.

“N-Nero, go ahead,” her mother said, already backing away. “Please look after Neoma for me.”

And her mother was gone before he could even respond.

.....

“Wyatt, Warren,” Nero called the Fletcher Twins, who immediately appeared before him. “Did you know Father would come here?”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness,” Wyatt said. “We apologize for not telling you. His Majesty ordered us to keep it from you and Lady Roseheart.”

Ah.

His father probably didn’t want to scare his mother with his unexpected arrival.

[But Mother still ran away.]

“It’s alright, I understand,” he said to the twins. “Did Father come alone?”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness,” Warren said. “Geoffrey stayed in the palace, pretending that he’s protecting His Majesty in the office so that people wouldn’t realize that the emperor had snuck out.”

“I see,” Nero said, then he turned his back on the twins and continued walking to the Frozen Woods. He didn’t have the time to worry about his parents’ dramatic affair. After all, he was busy wondering whether to take Neoma’s side this time or not. [I want the new saint to be born, but I don’t want Neoma to hate me...]

***

“REALLY, Papa Boss?” Neoma asked, then she clasped her hands together. “How can Brigitte unnie deliver the new saint in this world without sacrificing her life?”

“It’s simple,” her Papa Boss said bluntly, then he turned to her. “The child just doesn’t have to be the saint.”

If she were a meme, question marks would probably appear above her head.

Her father was about to explain when they were interrupted by a loud yelling.

“Nikolai de Moonasterio!” Manu, the Moon Priest who was usually laid-back, yelled and grabbed his father by the shoulder. “Are you trying to commit blasphemy against Lord Yule?”

“Yes, and what about it?” her Papa Boss asked nonchalantly.

Neoma let out an exaggerated gasp at her father’s savage remark. “I raised you well, Papa Boss,” she said, then she patted her shoulder. “Good job, self.”

Her father ignored her to focus on the Moon Priest. “Manu, I suggest removing your hand from my shoulder before you lose an arm,” he warned Manu. “My Soul Beasts do not care that you’re the Moon Priest.”

The Moon Priest reluctantly removed his hand from the emperor’s shoulder. But Manu still looked pissed. “Are you crazy, Nikolai de Moonasterio?”

“I thought it was already an established fact that the de Moonasterios are a bunch of lunatics,” her Papa Boss said bluntly. “Have you ever met a sane de Moonasterio?”

Manu opened his mouth to speak, but he immediately closed it. “Right, I’m at fault for forgetting that your bloodline has produced the most insane people in history. But what the hell, Nikolai de Moonasterio? Acting crazy like usual and committing blasphemy against Lord Yule are two separate matters!”

“Who told you to choose female Non-Mana users to give birth to the saints in this world?” Papa Boss asked disapprovingly. “Yule is the one who pushed us to resort to blasphemy, so we did nothing wrong.”

Neoma couldn’t help but give her father a round of slow claps. “If gaslighting was a person, it would be Papa Boss.”

Gaslighting was bad, of course.

But she was willing to let it slide this time...

“Nikolai de Moonasterio, it’s your duty as Lord Yule’s descendants to protect the saints born in this world,” Manu reminded her father, then the Moon Priest turned to her. “Neoma de Moonasterio, Lord Yule even asked you to bring the new saint to Astello Temple.”

“He did, but I never said I would,” Neoma said, acting as nonchalant as her Papa Boss. “And we also didn’t have a contract related to that.”

[Gaslight. Gatekeep. Girlboss.]

It was a negative phrase that promoted toxicity. But she and her Papa Boss were acting like the bad guys here, so it was okay to say that about herself.

“If the saint isn’t born in this world because of your meddling, you’ll be punished,” the Moon Priest warned them.

“So what?” Neoma and her Papa Boss asked at the same time.

Manu looked shocked by their arrogant response. “You’ll regret this,” he said threateningly, then his body began to turn translucent. “Lord Yule will definitely hear about this absurdity.”

And just like that, the Moon Priest disappeared.

[Wait... is Lord Yule already awake?]

She missed the chance to ask her Papa Boss about the Moon God when Uncle Glenn and Brigitte unnie approached them.

The royal couple exchanged polite greetings with her father.

“Your Majesty, thank you for coming all this way to share the good news with us,” Glenn, who looked relieved and very much grateful. “Can you tell us more about how to save my wife?”

“I chose to give birth to my child while knowing that it would literally kill me,” Brigitte said while gently rubbing her baby bump. “But if there’s a way for me to survive my childbirth, then please let me know, Your Majesty.”

Glenn looked relieved to hear his wife’s resolve to live.

Neoma felt the same.

The queen smiled sadly. “I’m being shameless. I’ve heard the Moon Priest warn Your Royal Highness and Your Majesty about getting punished by the Moon God. Yet, here I am, desperately clinging to my survival, even though I already made a resolve to die for my baby.”

Glenn seemed to share the same sentiment as his wife. “We’re terribly sorry that Your Royal Highness and Your Majesty have to go against Lord Yule for us.”

“It’s alright, Brigitte unnie and Uncle Glenn,” Neoma assured the royal couple. “It’s our choice to help you.”

“Gods do what they want regardless of the consequences, so why can’t we do the same?” her Papa Boss added casually. “It’s Yule’s fault for always doing things without considering the burden his orders put on us.”

“Yeah,” Neoma said, nodding her head in agreement. “Let’s blame it on Lord Yule.”

“Aren’t you two treating this too lightly, huh? Father? Neoma?”

She and her Papa Boss flinched when they heard Nero’s scolding voice.

When they turned around, they saw Nero (with the Fletcher Twins behind him) who didn’t look impressed.

[Ah, my baby brother is upset...]

“We’re not treating this matter lightly, son. I have a plan,” her Papa Boss said while his eyes were wandering around as if he was looking for something.

Or someone.

“Mother already returned to the villa,” Nero, who obviously noticed their father’s behavior, said. “Mother ran away as soon as she felt Father’s presence.”

Neoma would have made fun of her father had she not seen how dejected he looked.

[Poor Papa Boss...]

Even Uncle Glenn and Brigitte unnie lowered their gazes to the ground, pretending that they didn’t see the emperor’s heartbreak at the moment.

“We should head back to the villa, too,” Neoma said, breaking the awkward silence that ensued. “Brigitte unnie can’t catch a cold. It will be bad for the baby.”

Brigitte unnie laughed softly, then she turned to her with a grateful smile on her face. “I’m used to the cold weather in our kingdom, Your Royal Highness. But thank you for worrying about me and my baby.”

Glenn smiled and nodded in agreement. “Princess Neoma really cares about us a lot.”

“We need someone else to be here,” Papa Boss, who seemed to have gotten over his mini heartbreaking moment earlier, said. Then he turned to the Fletcher Twins. “Wyatt, Warren, bring the Black Witch here.”

Neoma raised an eyebrow. [Dahlia?]

The Fletcher Twins bowed at the emperor’s order without a question. “We received Your Majesty’s order.”

And just like that, the twins disappeared.

“Lewis,” her Papa Boss said while looking at her “son.” “You have a communication device connected to Dion, right? I want you to contact him and set up the device in one of the rooms in the villa. Make sure the room is safe.”

Lewis turned to her as if he was asking for her permission.

“Go,” Neoma said. “Take care.”

Only then did Lewis nod and bow to her father. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

After receiving the emperor’s order, Lewis left the Frozen Woods.

“Father,” Nero, who looked anxious all of a sudden, called their father. “What are you going to make Miss Dahlia do?”

“Something that doesn’t concern you, Nero,” her Papa Boss said.

[Ohh... burn.]

Nero wasn’t amused by their father’s remark. “Father, don’t make Miss Dahlia do dangerous things.”

“Why are so concerned about the Black Witch, son?”

“Because I was the one who brought her here,” Nero insisted. “She’s my responsibility.”

.....

“That better be the only reason why you’re concerned about Dahlia that much, Nero de Moonasterio,” Neoma warned her twin brother in a cold voice. “I won’t forgive you if you hurt Hanna because of your indecisiveness.”

It wasn’t something that they should be discussing in front of another kingdom’s queen and king, but she couldn’t help it.

Hanna was very important to her, after all.

“You were the one who insisted on getting engaged with Hanna despite knowing about Dahlia’s existence,” she reminded her brother harshly. “If your heart is already wavering because of Dahlia, then you better break off your engagement with Hanna before I break all your fucking bones.”

Nero, who looked shocked by her threat, quickly got over it to glare at her.

“Neoma, aren’t you being a little too harsh on your brother?” her Papa Boss scolded her lightly.

Neoma gave her Papa Boss a cold stare.

Father avoided her gaze, then he turned to Nero. “Son, you should listen to your sister. She’s right- don’t play with other people’s feelings.”

Nero glared at their father.

This time, Papa Boss closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine, just fight it out.”

“I didn’t do anything that would warrant this kind of harsh treatment from you, Neoma,” Nero complained as he approached her. Then he stood in front of her and crossed his arms over his chest. “I am not cheating on Hanna by caring about Miss Dahlia. Just so you know, Miss Dahlia and I decided to get along well since we will be working together in the future.”

“Yeah, right. As if you care about every single person working for you,” she said sarcastically, then she put her hands on her hips to assert dominance. “Nero, just a friendly reminder: emotional cheating is still cheating.”

Her twin brother looked offended. “Neoma, is that how lowly you think of me?”

“It’s not like that, but-”

She was forced to stop talking when the sky- clear and bright- suddenly rumbled loudly.

All of them automatically looked up at the sky.

The booming sound hadn’t ended and it was so intense that it created a skyquake, causing the ground to vibrate, too.

It didn’t end there.

The skyquake was followed by a bolt of blinding white lightning falling down- and it was obvious it was trying to strike her.

Neoma tried to push Nero away to save her brother...

... but Nero was quicker than her- he hugged her as if he was protecting her from the white lightning.

***

“NEOMA, NERO!” Nikolai yelled as the blinding white lightning struck his children. “No!”

Surprisingly, the lightning didn’t create a crater.

In fact, it didn’t hit the ground.

It was as if his children absorbed the lightning.

And now, both Neoma and Nero were falling to the ground- unconscious.

[Yule, you-]

He didn’t have the time to curse the Moon God as he rushed to catch his children. But he could only grab Nero.

After all, someone else caught Neoma before him.

“Neoma...” Mona said worriedly while cradling Neoma in her arms, then she turned to the unconscious Nero in Nikolai’s arms. “Nero...”

It was Mona.

[It’s really her.]

Nikolai forgot to breathe when Mona’s eyes finally met his.

***

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