NERO, as soon as he felt the crazy strong divine energy coming from above them, grabbed Neoma by the hand and hid her behind him.
Much to his surprise, Emperor Nikolai suddenly "appeared." To be precise, his father came out of nowhere and plopped to the bed. The emperor seemed to be unconscious, and the look on his face said that he was in pain.
But His Majesty wasn't the only one who was "unconscious" though. The four balls of divine energy that fell on each of his father's side must be his Soul Beasts.
"Nikolai is so heavy now!"
Nero raised his head to look up at the strange, glowing being that hovered over his father.
White hair, pale skin, deep blue eyes that seemed to contain the stars in them. Aside from his prominent features, the stranger's divine energy could only belong to one person.
"Yule," Nero muttered to himself. "The Moon God."
"Yes, I'm indeed the Moon God," Yule said, then he descended to sit next to his father. "How are you, Prince Nero de Moonasterio?"
The fact that the Moon God only greeted him made him turn to his precious little sister behind him.
And that was when he realized why Yule only greeted him.
Neoma was standing very still.
He turned to Yule and glared at the god. "What did you do to my twin sister?"
"I only stopped time in this room because I wanted to talk to you," the Moon God said. "But don't worry, young prince. Ne-Ne is fine."
His brows furrowed. "'Ne-Ne?'"
"That's the pet name that I gave the royal princess," the god said proudly. "Doesn't it sound cute?"
"No, it sounds awful," he said bluntly. "I might slash your throat if you give me a horrible "pet name" like that."
"Aww," Yule said, obviously disappointed. "'Ro-Ro would have been a cute pet name for you."
"It. Is. Not," he snarled. "Now I know why His Majesty's Soul Beasts have awful names."
It was a well-known fact that Yule was the one who gave the Soul Beasts their names.
The emperor was in control of the Four Holy Guardians: North (the Black Tortoise), East (the Azure Dragon), West (the White Tiger), and South (the flaming Vermillion Bird).
Lame names for something as legendary as the Holy Guardians.
"You were blessed with the wolf with two tails, aren't you?" Yule asked him with a not so trust-worthy smile on his face. "Do you want me to tell you the real name of your Soul Beast? If you call the two-tailed wolf with its real name, then you'd be able to control it completely. Of course, that also means that you'll get stronger."
"Are you looking down on me?"
The god just raised a brow at his question.
"I don't need your help to control Zev," he said. "I don't even want to know his real name because I'm sure it sounds lame."
"You're hurting my feelings, young prince," the god said even though it was obvious that his feelings weren't hurt.
"What do you want from me?" he asked impatiently. "I don't want to waste my time with you when I can spend it with my twin sister instead."
"Do you like your sister that much?"
"I'm not obliged to answer that," he said. "As I said before, what do you want with me? Seeing that you froze time in this room to keep Neoma out of this conversation, then it must mean that you're here for me."
"I've already greeted Ne-Ne a while ago, so I thought I should greet the one and only prince of the empire before I leave," Yule said, then he stood up only to squat down in front of him. "Nero de Moonasterio, do you desire to be the next emperor?"
That question seemed weird to him.
He was the only prince of the empire. Naturally, he would become the next emperor. But if Yule, the Moon God himself, asked him if he wanted to be the emperor, it only meant that someone else was eligible for the throne in the god's eyes.
And there was only one person who could compete with him regarding that.
"Do you think Neoma deserves the throne more than I do?" he asked bluntly, obviously surprising the god. "If my position as the next emperor is already fixed, you wouldn't have asked me if I desired the throne. Your question sounds like you're taking pity on me, Lord Yule."
The Moon God laughed as if he was trying to laugh his shock off. "Ah, right. The de Moonasterio children mature faster than ordinary children. Thus, you were born more intelligent than the rest. I shouldn't have underestimated you."
It wasn't the only reason why he was mature.
But it didn't matter anymore.
"Nero, what if I say that Neoma is also qualified to be an empress of her own right?"
"Of course, my Neoma is qualified to be an empress of her own right. She's the sun in the empire that worships the moon," he said firmly. "She deserves to have all the people in the continent to bow and kneel before her."
Once again, the god looked shocked by his statement. "Then, are you saying that you don't want the throne?"
"Acknowledging that Neoma deserves to be the empress doesn't mean I'm giving up the throne," he said while shaking his head. "I have to be the next emperor."
"You "have" to be the next emperor?"
"If I don't take the throne for myself, you will definitely make Neoma the empress," he said. This time, he was sure that his ash-gray eyes turned glowing red. After all, he felt aggravated now. "All this time, my twin sister only expresses her desire to live leisurely. I intend to respect that."
"And do you believe that a lady as great as Ne-Ne is destined to live a quiet and lazy life?"
"No," he admitted. "But I will always support her decision."
"What if she changes her mind and wants to fight you for the throne?"
"I will take the throne first," he said. It wasn't the first time he considered the thought that Neoma might change her mind about taking the throne. Thus, he already knew what he would do if such thing happened. "I will protect the throne and eliminate all the enemies. Once the empire is peaceful enough, only then will I hand it to Neoma." He paused when he remembered something important. "Moreover, she can't be an empress because of the current law. Thus, I need to become the emperor first to change it."
He didn't want to expose his plan to Yule himself.
But he had a feeling that he couldn't lie to him anyway. Might as well tell him the truth. His feelings wouldn't waver anyway.
"A royal prince who isn't greedy for the throne is admirable," the Moon God said. "But a future emperor who's willing to give up the throne for his twin sister doesn't sound too reliable to me."
"I won't e giving up the throne for my twin sister," he said softly. "I will be giving it up to the person who deserves the throne more."
"Ah, I like that you're self-aware," Yule said with a faint smile. "Nero, do you know why the emperor's Order of Knights is symbolized by a white lion?"
He nodded because it was one of the first things that he was taught as the royal prince. "A person of exceptional courage and bravery is called a "lionheart." Thus, the first emperor decided to make a rare white lion the symbol of his Order."
"That's correct," the Moon God said while nodding. "But do you know that the term 'Lionheart' was an official honor that had only been granted to one person?"
He shook his head. "This is the first time that I've heard of it. My teachers and the books didn't say anything about that."
"It's because the first and only person who received that title was the first matriarch of House Roseheart. It was granted to her because of her exceptional bravery and courage that saved the empire in the past," the god explained. "Thus, during their glory days, the Rosehearts were actually known as the 'Lionhearts.'"
"That's an interesting story."
"It doesn't seem like you're interested in your mother's family history though."
"Our mother is no longer here," he said bluntly. He was glad that Neoma was "unconscious" at that moment. After all, he didn't want her to hear the cold words that he just said. After all, he knew that his twin sister was longing for their mother. "And learning about the history of House Roseheart isn't my priority right now. But once I return, I intend to uncover the dark history of the Rosehearts. I need to do that if I want to eliminate the enemies who want me gone just because of my mother's blood."
"I like how you have your priorities straight, Nero."
"Are we done talking now, Lord Yule?" he asked in an impatient tone. "I only have a few hours before I leave. I want to spend every second of it with Neoma."
Yule just chuckled, then he stood up and put a hand on top of his head. "Nero, congratulations. You proved yourself worthy of the 'Lionheart' title," he said. "I hope your heart that intends to cherish and protect Ne-Ne doesn't change whatever happens."
"I don't need fancy titles," Nero said, then he turned to Neoma. "The only title I need is being Neoma's dear big brother."
***
"LEWIS CREVAN, do you want me to teach you how to become stronger?" Trevor asked his son while floating in front of him. "I know how you can make your remaining tails come out."
Right now, Lewis was standing in front of Neoma's room.
Both of them could feel the strange divine energy coming from inside the chamber. And for some reason, both of them also knew that they couldn't interrupt whatever was going on inside. Thus, they remained standing there.
"How?"
To say that he was shocked that Lewis expressed interest shocked him.
"You offered it so why do you look shocked?" Lewis Crevan snapped at him. "Was it just a bluff?"
"No," he said while shaking his head. "I'm just surprised that you're willing to take my advice."
"I'm not in the position to turn it down," Lewis Crevan said, his eyes now on the floor. "I need to be stronger fast if I want to stay with Princess Neoma."
"My method could kill you," Trevor warned him. But when Lewis Crevan raised his head with his golden eyes glowing magnificently, he smirked. "But you're my son so I know that you'll survive."
"I'm not your son, Trevor."
***
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