Chapter 562: ANTAGONIST
“NERO, let Rufus handle this,” Nikolai said firmly. “I won’t allow you to go to Hazelden when you can’t even keep your emotions in check.”
He couldn’t scold his son and say that he was only acting that way because of Dahlia- not in front of Rufus who was the father of Nero’s fiancée.
Hanna wasn’t officially the Crown Princess yet.
However, he wasn’t that thick-skinned to mention another girl that his son fancied right in front of Rufus.
“Your Royal Highness, I believe His Majesty is right,” Rufus said to Nero politely. “Let me and my knights handle the fight in the Hazelden Kingdom.”
“Father, Duke Quinzel, my gut feeling is telling me I need to be there,” Nero insisted, his eyes returning to their original color while looking straight at Rufus. “Moreover, I believe it’s better if Your Grace would stay here in the Royal Palace as Father’s shield.”
He knitted his eyebrows in confusion.
.....
Rufus also looked confused. “Your Royal Highness, of course, it’s an honor to take that position if I am not needed anywhere else. However, right now, I don’t think His Majesty needs me as his shield specifically. Aside from the fact that His Majesty is the strongest man in the empire, His Majesty has also his Paladins and the royal knights. Hence, I’m still the best person to serve as reinforcement for Glenn and the queen.”
“Father is no longer the strongest man in the empire,” Nero said matter-of-factly. “Duke Quinzel, I want you to know that Father is dying because I’m stealing his Moonglow from him.”
Nikolai was flabbergasted at how Nero blew his condition out of proportion casually.
No wonder Rufus looked at him as if he was about to cry from too much worry.
“Is that true, Your Majesty?” Rufus asked worriedly. “Why didn’t Your Majesty tell me that your condition has worsened?”
“Because it hasn’t,” Nikolai said, scoffing. “I still have at least five years before my condition deteriorates.”
“Your Majesty, please don’t talk like that,” Rufus said in a cracked voice. “You have to live longer than that...”
[God, why is Rufus still such a crybaby when he’s already this old?]
Nikolai clicked his tongue, then he glared at Nero.
[See what you’ve done?]
Nero just shrugged, feigning innocence. Then he changed the topic. “Father, I’m not thinking of going alone. I actually plan to bring Mother with me.”
Ah, he could see why Nero thought of bringing his mother with him.
Aside from Manu, the Moon Priest, Mona could provide much-needed help in protecting the future saint and the queen of Hazelden.
[That’s not a bad idea...]
“Duke Quinzel, please stay here in the Royal Palace,” Nero said firmly. “The crows have finally made their move. We can’t leave Father to fend for himself.”
Nikolai frowned. “I can protect myself, thank you very much.”
“Father, only Neoma is allowed to be that arrogant in our family,” Nero said sternly, as if his son was scolding him. “As I said before, the crows don’t have any use for you anymore, Father. Now that they have me and Calyx Dalton, they won’t hesitate to go all out and kill you. The crows will put either me or the crazy bastard once they get rid of you, so please don’t be too complacent.”
He knew that his son was correct, however...
[Nero is blunt- too blunt that it hurts.]
Now Nikolai wondered if this was his karma for all the times that he said cold and harsh words to Neoma many years ago.
[No wonder Neoma used to call me ‘scumbag.’]
“Father, Duke Quinzel, the crows have portals that lead to different parts of the world. I’m sure they have a portal that’s directly connected to Hazelden,” Nero said seriously. “But Calyx Dalton openly and illegally used the portal here in the Royal Palace, and he even destroyed it as if he was “trying” to stop us from following him. However, to me, it seems like he was actually provoking me to go and follow him to Hazelden.”
Nikolai raised an eyebrow at his son. “And how did you come up with the conclusion that Calyx Dalton’s supposed message was directed at you?”
“Because I’m the thing that Calyx Dalton desires the most,” Nero said casually. “That crazy bastard definitely wants to show me his worth.”
[Calyx Dalton “desires” my son?]
Now Nikolai was confused.
[Should I be worried?]
***
ALMOST TWO days.
Jasper traveled with Lewis Crevan for forty hours in silence.
They rode ships and used illegal portals again and again in order to get to the East Continent the fastest way. The long trip was tiring and expensive.
[Illegal portals are expensive, after all.]
Not that he cared since Prince Nero gave them an astronomical amount of budget.
Anyway, during that long trip, Lewis barely responded to him. Even when his questions were answerable by ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ the fox boy would just either nod or shake his head. Lewis also had a bad habit of talking incoherently when he didn’t feel like holding a conversation.
Why was Jasper reminiscing about the awkward time he spent with Lewis?
Simple.
“You’re ugly. How dare you try to imitate Princess Neoma? Delusional wench.”
Jasper was still in shock while listening to Lewis spit out those words bitterly.
He was listening to the fox boy intently because it was more effective than following his movements with his eyes. It was hard to do that because Lewis moved really fast. But he had to focus because he was sending his white butterflies in Lewis’ direction in order to give the fox boy clean air to breathe.
The entire island was engulfed with Darkness, after all.
Thankfully, since his butterflies were a part of Nature, they had the ability to purify Darkness. But it was only on the level where the butterflies could provide clean air for them for a few hours. It wouldn’t last long.
“Even if you die and get reborn, you’ll never reach Princess Neoma’s level. Know your place.”
Jasper was impressed by Lewis’ insults.
[Princess Neoma, your son is very offended that someone tried to copy you. Now he’s talking a lot. Well, more like throwing insults, to be precise...]
“Shut up, you arrogant fox! How dare you turn me down?! I’m the only female Silver Fox alive in the world!”
“Are you sure you’re a fox, too? Foxes are supposed to be pretty like me. Why are you ugly?”
Jasper stifled his laughter after hearing Lewis’ insult to the fox lady.
[Oh, god. Lewis knows he’s pretty. He’s really Princess Neoma’s “son.”]
Anyway, Jasper could only listen to Lewis and the fox lady’s aggressive banter.
After all, his eyes couldn’t follow the two’s movements properly. He could see the white tails move from time to time.
But only the fox lady had white tails.
Ah, Jasper could also hear the sound of Lewis’ blade clashing with the fox lady’s sharp and strong nails.
[Lewis is fighting with his sword instead of his ability as a Silver Fox.]
“Kyaaah!”
The fox lady was sent flying until she hit a huge sea stack- aka a vertical rock formation standing in the sea.
Of course, it collapsed due to the impact and the fox lady fell in the water.
When she stood up, it was clear that she wasn’t happy with getting soaked.
[She’s probably around Lewis’ age?]
Just like the fox boy, the fox lady also had silver hair and golden eyes. Moreover, she had three white tails.
Oh, just three?
[If I remember it correctly, Lewis has nine tails.]
But maybe the fox lady wasn’t using her complete strength yet.
[She should if she wants to leave, though.]
It was amazing how Lewis, who wasn’t that devoted to the sword, was on the same level as a Sword Master.
[I heard Emperor Nikolai personally trained Lewis in the past.]
But His Majesty wasn’t a Sword Master, too. After all, the de Moonasterios were known for their brute strength and Soul Beasts. In short, the Royal Family had no use for weapons.
[The Sword Masters on the continent who dedicated their entire lives being one with the sword would cry if they find out that a person like Lewis reached their level without devoting himself to the sword.]
Jasper was spooked when he suddenly met the fox lady’s glowing golden eyes.
“What are you looking at?” the fox lady hissed at him. “You damned butterfly nerd.”
Ouch.
However, he was raised as a proper noble.
“I apologize for staring, my lady,” Jasper said politely, slightly bowing to the female fox. “I’m Jasper Hawthorne, the Duke of Langhuie. May I know my lady’s name?”
.....
“It’s Eloise,” the fox lady growled at him. “Why do you want to know my name?”
Jasper smiled before he responded politely. “So that I would know what name to write on your grave, Miss Eloise.”
Eloise was obviously enraged as she came at him at full speed.
Jasper summoned his red butterflies, the poisonous ones, to create a wall in front of him and block Eloise’s attack while drawing his sword.
However, he stopped when Lewis suddenly appeared above Eloise...
... then Lewis gave Eloise a dropkick, causing the fox lady to plummet to the ground with a loud thud (and a shriek from the poor girl).
The impact even created a crater- a testament as to how strong the kick was.
No wonder Eloise was knocked out in an instant.
[How barbaric.]
“Lewis, your “mother” will be sad if she saw how you treat a lady.”
Of course, Jasper was only teasing Lewis.
[Gender doesn’t matter in a fight. In fact, it was good that Lewis didn’t hesitate just because the opponent is a girl.]
“Princess Neoma will understand. I fought for her honor and defeated the evil that tried to copy her unrivaled beauty,” Lewis said as he safely landed on the ground in his feet. Then he turned to him with a frown. “But Princess Neoma isn’t my “mother.””
Jasper laughed, but it didn’t last long.
He grabbed Lewis and hid the fox boy behind him when he felt the sudden surge of Darkness emerge from Eloise.
[Ah, this is far from over.]
***
“WHAT AN honor!” Calyx said when he was greeted by King Glenn himself as soon as he crossed over the portal that led to Hazelden Kingdom. “Your Majesty, how’s the queen doing?”
King Glenn just drew his black sword- Ebony, was it?- and pointed it at him. “Lord Calyx, you aren’t officially recognized as a royal prince yet,” he said firmly. “And even if you are, using the portal without permission is still a crime. I am entitled to punish and arrest you, young lord.”
“Be my guest,” he said, shrugging while looking around the empty room. “The fact that Your Majesty is alone here only means that Queen Brigitte is well-protected.”
The king just gave her a dire stare.
“Sire, I want you to understand that I’m only doing this with the best intention in mind,” he said to the king. “This world needs the new saint more than your wife.”
King Glenn responded by releasing his bloodlust against him.
[Oho, he’s pretty strong.]
“Your Majesty, should we make a deal, then?”
“I won’t make a deal with you, young lord.”
“Aww, it’s a pity,” he whined. “I was going to ask you to hand over Dahlia to me in exchange for leaving the queen alone.”
Of course, that was a lie.
He was greedy- so he wanted both the baby saint and the Black Witch.
King Glenn knitted his eyebrows. “Why do you need Miss Dahlia?”
That was when his smile faded.
He was always closely monitoring Prince Nero. And he happened to hear the royal prince’s conversation with his parents that involved the little Black Witch...
That was the first time he heard Prince Nero worry about someone else who wasn’t Princess Neoma, and that was also when he realized that Princess Neoma wasn’t his sole rival.
Hence, he mobilized his people to investigate Dahlia.
Luckily, the Black Witch was already on their family’s target list. Hence, information about Dahlia was already available.
“Because that wench seduced Prince Nero,” Calyx said, all the playfulness on his face and voice gone. “Sharing my dear brother with Princess Neoma is already hard enough- I won’t let that Black Witch get in my way.”
***
WHEN NEOMA died in her first life- the death that she knew before meeting Ruto- she remembered looking up at the sky and finding a crow watch her draw her last breath.
She died alone while the crow laughed at her seemingly.
But now, the situation had been reversed.
Neoma was the one that soared in the sky because of her rose wings while Regina plummeted to the ground after her surprise attack.
However, she wasn’t happy with what she discovered.
“Shadows?” Neoma asked in disbelief while looking at the barrier Regina made to protect herself. It was made of Shadows that were very similar to the Quinzels’ signature Shadow Manipulation Technique. “Did you steal the Quinzels’ technique or something?”
Wait, could someone steal it in the first place?
There were other people who could use shadows as a weapon, but the Quinzels’ Mana was too unique for her to mistake it for something else.
Hence, she was confused.
Regina, whose back was stuck on the ground, laughed bitterly while looking up at her. “Princess Neoma, I heard from Rubin that you know about his split personality,” she said, blood trickling down from the corner of her mouth. “Do you remember the name of Rubin’s alter-ego?”
She suddenly remembered a conversation that she had with Rubin the moment she discovered about his split personality when they were younger...
“I remember Rubin introducing his other personality to me as ‘Gavin,'” Neoma said. “And he also said that you were the one who named his alter-ego.”
She discarded it as a coincidence then because ‘Gavin’ was a common name.
“That’s right,” Regina said proudly. “You see, I’m quite fond of the name ‘Gavin.'”
[I am, too.]
But Regina didn’t have to know that. Moreover, she was doing her best not to think of Gavin Quinzel- her appa- these days.
“I didn’t steal the Shadow Manipulation Technique from the Quinzels,” Regina said, smirking. “I inherited it from my father.”
She suddenly got the chills.
Her heart wanted to deny it, but her brain had already figured it out.
The reason why Regina asked her if she knew the name of Rubin’s other personality...
The fact that it was Regina who named the alter-ego ‘Gavin...’
[No, no way...]
“Regina Crowell,” Neoma said, her voice shaking from anger. “Are you saying that Gavin Quinzel is your biological father?”
“That, I am,” Regina said, laughing. “But why are you so angry, Princess Neoma?”
***
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