"ARE YOU not going to ask me anything?" Ruto asked Neoma who was pretending to be asleep while lying her head on his shoulder. It was cute how she pretended to be asleep when she wouldn't stop "discreetly" eating the strawberries. She was even gripping the bowl in her hands tight as if she was afraid someone else might snatch it away from her. "You should ask it now before I leave, Neoma."
"I'm sleeping."
"If you can eat while "asleep," I'm sure you can also speak while you're at it," he said teasingly. "You already did, didn't you?"
Neoma clicked her tongue before she spoke again. "Do you believe in the process called reincarnation?"
Ah.
He already had a feeling that Neoma suspected that he was also from the past. He thought he had smoothly avoided her suspicions with the lies that he fed her. But that didn't seem to be the case. He already expected this kind of thing to happen though.
"Yes, I believe in reincarnation," he said truthfully. "That belief is a part of our empire's culture, isn't it?"
"What a safe answer."
"Why don't you ask me specific questions then?"
"If I do, I feel like you're going to disappear on me, Ruto."
He was quite taken aback by what she said.
All because it was true.
"So I won't ask questions that I know you can't and won't answer," she said in a sleepy voice. Ah, it seemed like she was about to fall asleep for real this time. "All I need to know is you're on my side."
"How sure are you that I'm on your side."
"Your feelings have reached me, Ruto."
He was glad that Neoma couldn't see his face right now because he definitely blushed.
[Neoma, you used to be so shy around me…]
But he wasn't complaining.
Then and now, Neoma was still Neoma.
[She just keeps on getting lovelier and lovelier each time we meet.]
"What kind of enemy would make a deal with the Devil just to literally save my face?" she asked in a confident voice. "Had the burn mark on my face stayed, it would have been bad for my position as Nero's proxy. The nobility is already having a hard time accepting my twin brother as the Crown Prince because of Imagine what would have happened if the heir to the throne is anything less than perfect physically."
He smiled at what he heard. He was glad that even now, Neoma still trusted her despite not knowing the whole truth.
"If you believe in reincarnation, are you thinking that maybe we've met in our previous life?" he asked carefully.
"Yeah."
"What kind of relationship do you imagine we had then?"
"You were probably a simp for me in our past lives," she said confidently. "It's a term that is close to 'pining for someone.'"
She didn't have to explain what "simp" meant but he appreciated it.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" she complained lightly. "It's just my arrogance talking so don't take it seriously."
"I don't think you're wrong though."
"Are you a proud simp?"
"I don't think I'd give myself a burn mark if I wasn't a simp," he said. "I also don't think that my personality would have been that different from my current personality."
She laughed softly. "That's true. Don't worry, Ruto. I won't take advantage of your "simpness.""
"Uh-huh."
Neoma fell silent for a couple of seconds but he knew that she wasn't asleep yet.
Of course, he'd know.
He had spent countless nights watching her sleep in the past after all.
Just to be clear, it was not in a creepy way. It was his job to protect her in the past. Thus, he was required to keep a watch on her even in her sleep. To be honest, instead of "watching" the royal princess sleep, it would be more appropriate to say that he used to "listen" to her breathe.
That sounded more creepy but he swore he was being professional then.
"Listening" to Neoma sleep in the past was a way for him to guard him even if he was only guarding outside the door of her room. He could tell if she was having a nightmare or a good sleep by just listening to her breathe. And of course, if her breathing changed even for just a bit, he would check on her right away.
"Ruto."
"Hmm?"
"I have a feeling that this isn't our first time meeting each other," Neoma said in a sleepy yet serious voice. "But my gut feel tells me that I shouldn't ask. So even if it's stupid and reckless, I choose to blindly follow you. If you betray, I guess that's on me."
"I see."
"You see what?"
"I see that you're also a simp."
Once again, she laughed– a little more "awake" this time.
"Neoma, surround yourself with good and strong people in my place, okay?"
"I'm already surrounded by good and strong people, you know?"
"You don't know how to utilize them though."
"They're not tools to be utilized, Ruto."
Ah, she was still soft-hearted.
For someone who committed mass murder, his princess was still too soft. But it was just one of the things that he liked about her.
"I trust you, Neoma," he said softly. "I pray that you don't get betrayed in this lifetime."
Neoma didn't respond this time as her breathing evened.
[Ah, she fell asleep.]
"Good night, Neoma," Ruto whispered, then he called her by the endearment that they used to have. And those words were words that Neoma spoke in her second life. "Jal ja, jagiya."
***
RUTO STOOD up after he carefully put the Moonstone anklet around Neoma's thin ankle.
The royal princess was still asleep and he laid her comfortably on the swing. He covered her from neck to toe with the blanket wrapped around her body earlier. And now, he could tell that she was deep in sleep because of her light snoring.
"Ruto, the grumpy emperor is here," Veton, still in the form of a small bird, said as she sat on his shoulder. "Should we go and greet him as planned?"
Ruto nodded before he gave Neoma one last longing look before turning to his Elemental Guardian. "Yes, we should proceed as planned," he said. "I will try to crack the barrier that seals His Majesty's missing memories." He gently patted Veton's head with his finger. "Please bring me to His Majesty, Veton."
"Of course, Ruto."
In just the blink of an eye, he disappeared in the garden and materialized in front of His Majesty who just arrived in front of the mansion's main entrance.
[Ah, His Majesty looks mad.]
After that, Veton disappeared by his side to return to Neoma's side and watch her in the meantime.
He politely bowed to the emperor. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
His Majesty gave him a cold, hard look. "How dare you seduce my daughter, Ruston Stroganoff?"
"I didn't seduce Princess Neoma, Your Majesty," he denied politely. [It was mutual pining.]
The emperor scoffed. "Are you saying that my daughter isn't good enough for you? Are you looking down on the one and only royal princess of the empire, huh?"
He wanted to sigh in front of His Majesty.
[I can't tell if His Majesty wants me to be seduced by his daughter or not…]
"Your Majesty, with all due respect, this talk is making me feel uncomfortable," he said bluntly. "And Princess Neoma is only nine years old. Until she has come of age, I wouldn't dare to form any kind of relationship with her aside from friendship."
It wasn't like he and Neoma were children inside but physically, they were so he had to be mindful of his words and actions.
"You're right. And I'm glad that you're about to leave now," His Majesty said. "Where's Neoma?"
"She's in the garden, Your Majesty," he said politely. "But before you go and fetch Princess Neoma, may I humbly ask a favor?"
The emperor raised an eyebrow at him. "Alright, let's hear it."
"May I shake your hand before I leave, Your Majesty?" he asked, then he added a lie. "In my mother's small country, it's a part of their custom to shake the hand of their leader before they leave for another place."
He was hoping that His Majesty wasn't familiar with his mother's small country to know that he just lied to his face.
"I forgot where your mother is from and I don't have time to remember it," His Majesty said, then he extended his hand to him. "But since this is the first and last time, I'll give you the permission to shake my hand."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. It's an honor," Ruto said, then he grabbed the emperor's hand while gathering a strong lightning bolt in his hand. His Majesty looked surprised and when he tried to pull his hand away, he just held onto the emperor's hand tighter. "And please forgive me for my discourtesy."
And just like that, he electrocuted Emperor Nikolai de Moonasterio– the one and only moon of the Great Moonasterion Empire.
***
OF COURSE, Ruto ran away as soon as he and Veton brought the unconscious emperor beside the sleeping Neoma.
Right now, he was already in the carriage that was automatically driven by spirit stones that took the form of four horses. Veton was also with him, consoling him as he kept on coughing up blood in his white handkerchief that already turned red.
"My poor Ruto," Veton said in a worried voice. "Princess Neoma doesn't know how lucky she is that the Founder of her Pillars is you. The least thing the princess could do for you is to love you eternally."
"Neoma doesn't owe me anything," Ruto said when he calmed down. "She doesn't need to love or anything so please don't speak like that, Veton. Neoma is precious to me."
"I like Princess Neoma but because of her, you're suffering," the Elemental Guardian said. "And now, you're on your way to die."
"I'm just going to close all the doors that lead to another world, Veton."
"That's the same as dying!" Veton complained. "None of this would have happened if only Princess Neoma sought out to kill Regina Crowell from the start."
He shook his head. "Neoma did the right thing by not touching even the strand of Regina Crowell's hair. Had she decided to do so in the past, I would have stopped her," he said. "You know what would have happened if Princess Neoma killed Regina Crowell, don't you?"
"I know," the Elemental Guardian whined. "Regina Crowell is the trigger to awaken the sleeping Callisto de Luca. If she was harmed in any way, the ancient half-god would have awakened and killed Princess Neoma."
"That's right."
"But you tried to kill Regina Crowell, and she saw your face," Veton said in a cracked voice. "Now that makes you Callisto de Luca's target."
That was true.
And that was one of the biggest reasons why he had to leave the empire. Now that he had become the Crow's target, he had to be as far away from Neoma as possible.
"I'm glad that I became the target of the Crow for now so they wouldn't solely focus on finding the royal princess," he said, trying to comfort his Elemental Guardian. "Veton, I have to do this as the Founder of the Pillars."
"Can't you just tell Princess Neoma and His Majesty everything that you know?" Veton begged him. "Ruto, can you not do everything by yourself?"
"I will lose all the memories of my past once Neoma remembers hers," Ruto said, then he shook his head. "I can't afford to do that for now. I have to lay down all the foundations first so Neoma would walk the easy path." He leaned against the backrest and closed his eyes. "Once I'm done paving the safest path for her and the Pillars, only then could I surrender all my memories for Neoma to retrieve the full memories of her first life, and the real ones that have come after that."
***
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