665 I’M LOOKING RESPECTFULLY
“AREN’T you coming in?”
Neoma clenched her hands when Ruto opened the door a little wider while inviting her to come in. “Are you sure?”
Ruto knitted his eyebrows as if he was confused. “Yes? You’re here to talk about something important, aren’t you?”
[Not really, but…]
“Ruto, are you really sure you want me inside?”
“I mean, I’m not forcing you. If you’re not comfortable, then let’s just meet in the restaurant–”
“Gosh, I’m already here, so why are you kicking me out?”
“You’re the one who doesn’t want to come in, though?”
She flipped her hair before she walked past Ruto when she entered the room. “Ruto, I’m saying this now. If I suddenly lose control, you’re free to push me away,” she warned him before she turned around in time to see Ruto closing the door. Dayum, his back muscles looked delicious. “Gosh. Why did you open the door when you’re half-naked? Are you seducing me?”
.....
[Lord Yule, my dear grandpa, are you testing my patience? Or is this you giving me the sign that it’s time for me to continue our bloodline with Ruto???]
“You were standing still in front of my room for a few minutes already. I thought something bad happened, so I hurried to open the door,” Ruto explained “innocently,” then he turned around to face her. Gosh, look at this punk stand there as if he was a (very gorgeous) model. “Moreover, I thought you were here to seduce me and not the other way around?”
Gosh.
Look at her man getting chatty when talking back to her.
[But those abs are really distracting! Who wouldn’t get seduced?!]
“I’m just a girl, standing in front of a half-naked boy, looking respectfully.”
“Right,” Ruto said as if he was just going along with whatever she was up to at the moment. “Give me a minute to get dressed.”
“Why?”
“Huh?” He knitted his eyebrows, confused. “Would you like us to talk while I’m half-naked?”
“…”
Ruto cleared his throat when Neoma considered it for a moment. “You’re a princess, Neoma. To be precise, you’re the one and only royal princess of the empire.”
“Gosh, what a roundabout way to tell me to maintain my dignity as a princess.”
“YOU said that, not me.”
“I know how to read between the lines.”
“…”
“I know I’m being shameless, but it’s not like we’re doing something inappropriate for our age,” she said defensively, putting a hand over her chest. “If we combine all my ages from my first life up to now, then I’m already over sixty years old. And you’d be older than me, of course. So, if we add our ages together, then we’d already be over a hundred years old.”
“And…?”
“That’s why it’s totally okay for us to change the genre of our love story from fluff to smut.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing,” Neoma said, gently slapping her dirty mouth with her hand. “Go and get dressed already.”
Ruto shook his head while holding back his laughter. “Yes, ma’am.”
***
NERO had never felt so humiliated until that moment.
He lost to the girl who claimed to be his older twin sister.
Even Zeru, his main Soul Beast, lost to a mere Elemental Guardian.
Worse, he was knocked out. When he woke up, he found himself on his bed– in his room. Instead of his people, he found Calyx sitting on the chair next to the bed.
[Does he already know about what happened?]
“You’re awake,” Calyx said, closing the book in his hand. “Are you feeling better? Should I call the royal physician?”
“No. I’m fine,” Nero said grumpily. “How much do you know about what happened?”
“I met her.”
“What?”
“The girl claiming to be your older twin sister.”
He just frowned. [So, he knows everything already.]
“Nero, do you believe her?”
“I don’t care whether she’s my real twin sister or not,” Nero said in almost a growl. He still felt humiliated that both he and Zeru lost. “But if she’s here to compete for the throne now that women have the right to inherit titles, then she’s nothing but an enemy.”
Calyx looked satisfied by his reaction.
[You’re also a competition to the throne, Calyx.]
Even though his older brother already publicly declared that he wouldn’t compete for the throne, Nero couldn’t trust him fully.
[Perhaps my greed for the throne runs deeper than I thought.]
Also…
[“Calyx isn’t our brother. He may be a de Moonasterio, but he’s not related to us.”]
[“Calyx belongs to a cult that kills all the royal princesses in the Royal Family in order to crown the next emperor that they chose. They wanted you to become the next emperor, but I’m the one destined to become the first empress regnant.”]
[“Because of that prophecy, the crows are trying to get rid of me. The crows wanted you to take the throne. But you love me so much that you didn’t mind handing the throne to me without a fight.”]
Those were the accusations that the girl who introduced herself as ‘Neoma Roseheart de Moonasterio’ threw at Calyx.
The accusations were heavy, but Nero felt like he shouldn’t confront his older brother.
Not directly, at least.
[I’ll ask Melvin to investigate the cult later.]
“I was worried you’d believe everything she said to you, Nero,” Calyx said while smiling warmly at her. “After all, she looks like you.”
That was true.
Moreover…
[“I “brainwashed” you since we were three years old so you’d love me to death.”]
Hah!
That brazen girl declared that Nero loved her to death. It sounded ridiculous. However…
[Why can’t I refute it?]
There was something else that bothered him, though.
[“You love me more than you love our parents. But Calyx erased me from your memories. In fact, he put a very powerful curse that erased me from everyone’s memories.”]
Calyx erased his memories?
Was there such a powerful curse in existence?
[And it worked on ME?]
He couldn’t believe that because William and the Queen of the Spirit World had been by his side all this time.
[I’m sure they would have protected me if I was cursed.]
“Nero?”
“I’m going to check the Royal Treasury,” Nero said as he got up. “I need to see if anything was stolen.”
“Take me with you,” Calyx said, tilting his head to one side. “Please?”
***
CALYX smiled at Sanford Devon, Raku, and Melvin Luchessi who were all waiting outside Nero’s room. “Nero is already awake.”
His brother’s knights looked relieved.
[It worked.]
He had to borrow the power of the new saint to erase the memories of Sanford Devon, Raku, and Melvin Luchessi because the three heard his conversation with Neoma de Moonasterio.
[These people shouldn’t know that Neoma de Moonasterio is Nero’s real twin sister.]
.....
“Thank you for coming to save us, Prince Calyx,” Sanford said while scratching his cheek. “Sorry, we’re not yet strong enough to protect Prince Nero from another… uh, was the lady earlier a de Moonasterio?”
“We don’t know that yet,” Calyx said, smiling. “As you know, it’s easy to dye one’s hair and eye color. And there’s also a type of magic that could change your appearance.”
Sanford said, nodding. “I see. That makes sense. It’s hard to believe that Prince Nero has a twin sister anyway.”
Calyx smiled wider. “Right? I’m the only sibling Nero has.”
***
[WE’RE BACK as a wholesome couple.]
Neoma was now having tea with a well-dressed Ruto, and they were still in his hotel room.
“Why did you want to talk to me?” Ruto asked while putting the teacup down on the table between them. “You won’t be here if it’s not for something important.”
“I’m here because I was worried about you.”
“Huh?”
“Ouch. Why do you look so surprised? I’m offended.”
“I guess I didn’t expect that you’d personally visit me as soon as you got back just because you’re worried about me?” he said, shrugging. “I thought you’d hear the report from your “children” first.”
“Of course, I already did that,” she said. “Paige is a good aide, you know? Her reports are short but informative.”
“I see.”
“Paige and Hanna succeeded in making Regina Crowell talk about her power,” she said. “Apparently, Regina Crowell can turn back time in one’s body. That’s how she was able to turn me into a child before, and how she managed to turn Hanna’s body to the time that she wasn’t immune to poison yet.”
Ruto drank his tea. “I see.”
“As expected, you’re no longer surprised,” Neoma said, then she sipped her tea before she asked. “Did you use Regina Crowell’s power to revive me during the first timeline?”
“…”
“Is that why you haven’t killed Regina Crowell yet even though you could have killed her easily if you really wanted to?”
“…”
Ruto didn’t have to answer verbally because Neoma could tell that her hypothesis was correct.
[It’s probably why the old Neoma told me not to kill Regina yet.]
However…
“It seems like both you and the old Neoma aren’t allowed to talk about Regina Crowell’s power,” Neoma said, observing Ruto who hadn’t made a comment yet regarding the issue. “It’s alright if you’re not allowed to talk about it, Ruto. I’ll just figure it out on my own.”
“Regina Crowell’s power isn’t something you should handle carelessly,” Ruto said in a serious tone. “And even if I sacrifice my life to revive you using that power, it won’t be enough.”
She almost dropped the teacup in her hand.
As she said earlier, she knew how to read between the lines.
Hence, she easily understood what Ruto was trying to say.
[To revive me during the first timeline, several people were sacrificed…]
The teacup in Neoma’s hand broke into tiny pieces.
Although the tea was still hot, it didn’t burn her.
In fact, the tea didn’t even touch her skin since Ruto moved his hand, causing the tea to suddenly disappear into thin air.
On the other hand, the broken pieces didn’t even scratch her.
After all, the de Moonasterio had thick skins– literally. They had a sturdy body, remember? People often said that the Royal Family had bodies as sturdy as a dragon’s.
“This is why the old me didn’t want you to remember the past,” Ruto said while looking at her indifferently. “And I can’t say more than I already had. This cursed body of mine gets weaker each time you remember something important from the first timeline.”
“I know that, that’s why I’m not asking anything anymore,” Neoma said, then she stood up. “Now that I see that you’re fine, I’ll take my leave then. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about our deal. If you need my help later, I’ll come running to you.”
“Wait.”
“Hmm?”
Ruto stood up in front of her. “Is that really all you need from me?”
“What are you going to ask in return if I say what I really want from you?”
“Nothing,” he said. “You’re in a bad mood, and I feel like you’re going to destroy a building or two if I let you leave just like this.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “So, you want to appease me?”
He just shrugged.
“You SHOW me what you think I need from you,” she challenged him. “I won’t sue you if you do.”
Ruto just looked at her…
… then he gently grabbed her wrist and hugged her tight.
“Is this the correct answer?”
Neoma closed her eyes and nodded as she wrapped her arms around Ruto’s waist. “The only correct answer.”
[Gosh, my man smells so good.]
Ruto’s body was also warm and solid.
[I can totally fall asleep in this position.]
If she could get a hug from Ruto after working all day, then she’d reconsider living a lazy life.
[I’d become a workaholic FOR THIS.]
Neoma pouted and grumbled when she remembered something important.”You should have done this earlier.”
“When I was half-naked?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t let anyone know that the empire’s one and only royal princess is a pervert,” Ruto said, sighing. “And I’m only hugging you to appease you, Neoma. Don’t get your hopes up.”
Neoma just smiled and hugged Ruto tighter. “Sorry, but I do what I want, babe.”
***
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