691 A MEANINGFUL PRESENT
BLERGH.
Melvin almost threw up as soon as Princess(?) Neoma put the crown on top of Prince Calyx’s head.
[What a puke-inducing scene.]
His stomach was in knots because he could tell Princess Neoma’s intention by giving the silver crown to Prince Calyx. Of course, it was just his speculation.
However…
‘Don’t even dream about being the next emperor.’
That seemed to be Princess Neoma’s message to Prince Calyx.
[I knew I’d regret becoming Prince Nero’s secretary.]
Everyone who studied the History of the Great Moonasterion Empire would recognize the missing silver crown of the first emperor.
.....
But not everyone knew the story behind it.
Only the Crown Prince was educated about the silver crown’s origin.
Well, supposed to be.
[There’s a book that only the future emperors are supposed to read. But Prince Nero made me read the entire book as punishment the first time I handed in my resignation letter.]
Thanks to that, he discovered the secret of the missing crown that he didn’t want to know.
[According to the History book I’ve read before, the silver crown that was crafted from the moon. The reason wasn’t stated in the book, but apparently, the throne rejected the crown. Hence, the silver crown had become nothing more than a pretty display in the museum. It was stolen many generations ago, though.]
“How did the royal princess find it, though?”
Melvin only realized he said it out loud when Lady Hanna Quinzel spoke.
“It’s Neoma– she can create miracles,” Lady Hanna said, smiling at him. “Finding a missing heirloom is easy for her since her existence as the one and only royal princess is special.”
Ah, so the future Crown Princess was already aware of the royal princess’ existence.
[I do not have the right to question Lady Hanna, though. Although I’m the Crown Prince’s secretary, his private life is none of my business.]
Moreover, the Royal Family was good at hiding their dirt anyway.
“Are you not going to ask me anything about Princess Neoma, Lord Melvin? I can tell you already figure out that I’m friends with the royal princess.”
“It’s not on my job description to worry about the private life of my boss’ fiancée, Lady Hanna,” Melvin said politely. “Whom my lady is friends with is none of my business. Of course, only as long as it doesn’t hurt Prince Nero.”
Fortunately, the Crown Princess didn’t seem offended by what he said.
“Thank goodness you’re different from a certain aide who doesn’t know his place,” Lady Hanna said, then she looked up at the balcony. “I’m glad Prince Nero’s secretary knows his place.”
Hmm?
Was it just Melvin’s imagination or was Lady Hanna really looking at Count Kyle Sprouse sharply?
The count was standing behind the Empress Dowager.
[And he’s only aide standing near the Empress Dowager. Did Count Sprouse offend Lady Hanna by chance…?]
Ah, forget it.
[I shouldn’t get too involved with royal affairs if I want to stay sane while working in the palace.]
“Lord Melvin.”
“Yes?”
Lady Hanna smiled sweetly at him. “Please stay as Prince Nero’s aide even after he becomes the emperor. Ah, no. Once Prince Nero becomes the emperor, then Lord Melvin will be promoted as the royal chancellor.”
“P-Please don’t curse me, Lady Hanna,” Melvin said while shaking his head hard. “If I offended you in any way, I’ll apologize. Just please don’t curse me. I’m going to quit as Prince Nero’s secretary before he ascends the throne…”
“Good luck with that, Lord Melvin,” Lady Hanna teased him. “You need that.”
Melvin learned at that moment that the kind-hearted Lady Hanna could also be a sadist if she wanted to.
Scary.
[No wonder Prince Nero chose Lady Hanna as the future Crown Princess…]
***
“CAPTAIN, is that really the lady you’re trying to reject?”
Ruto just frowned at Aspen’s question.
He attended Calyx Dalton’s birthday banquet as their kingdom’s official representative along with his mother, the Sun Priestess, and the Willows Siblings.
Since it was an official visit, he was required to bring one guard/knight.
He chose Aspen because the demigod was at his strongest when he was surrounded by booze. But he was starting to regret choosing Aspen as his guard for tonight.
“I feel bad for you because you can’t see Princess Neoma’s face at the moment,” Aspen continued with his animated ramblings. Their conversation was protected by a protective spell, hence they didn’t have to worry about people eavesdropping on them. “No wonder the Goddess of Beauty hates her. Princess Neoma’s face is out of this world. And her outfit? It would have looked strange if another lady wore it. But Princess Neoma pulled it off.”
Ruto clenched his hands tight.
He couldn’t see Neoma’s face, but he could clearly see her outfit.
[I know Neoma could wear anything she wants to wear, but I can’t help but feel the urge to wrap her in a blanket.]
He knew Neoma would hate it, but what could he do?
“Captain, look at all the gentlemen in the hall,” Aspen continued yapping. “I’m pretty sure all the bachelors will hit on Princess Neoma tonight.”
“Shut up, Aspen.”
“Right.”
Fortunately, Aspen shut his mouth.
“It’s THAT silver crown, isn’t it?”
It was Sienna, the Sun Priestess, who approached him while holding a glass of champagne in her hand.
[This alcoholic…]
Ruto frowned. “Sienna, you can’t get drunk.”
[Sienna and Lord Manu shouldn’t hang out later.]
“Champagne is just like water to me, Ruto.”
“Are you proud of it?”
“I’m not going to get wasted,” Sienna assured him, then she turned to Neoma who put the silver crown on Calyx’s head. Then the Sun Priestess chuckled as if she was amused. “It was the crown that Callisto de Luca crafted in the past after he convinced the first emperor to abdicate the throne in secret. After that, he used a powerful spell to copy the first emperor’s appearance.”
Ruto nodded in agreement. “But the throne recognized Callisto de Luca as a fake, hence the throne rejected him. He was too embarrassed by that dark past of his. Hence, the History book that only the future emperors could read only said the throne rejected the silver crown without a proper explanation.”
But, of course, Ruto and Sienna both knew the truth.
He was the divine son of Lord Levi, and the Sun Priestess was the favored child of the Sun Goddess.
Hence, it wasn’t only once or twice that they got an invitation to dine with the gods.
The gods in the Upper World loved gossiping about Callisto de Luca’s “most embarrassing moment,” and that was how Ruto and Sienna found out the truth about the silver crown.
“Callisto de Luca was so embarrassed by the silver crown that he wanted to destroy it, but the first emperor put it in the museum after he reclaimed his rightful place,” Sienna continued with the story. “I heard the silver crown was stolen. So, I wonder how it ended up in Princess Neoma’s hands.”
“Neoma attracts all kinds of things,” Ruto said while shaking his head. “But I wonder how Neoma discovered the true story behind the silver crown?”
Because clearly, Neoma put the silver crown on Calyx Dalton as an insult.
And the best part?
[The people who don’t know the true story behind the silver crown will think Neoma is generous for giving the long-lost silver crown to the First Prince as a birthday present.]
***
THE FIRST emperor had become an existence similar to a kind ahjussi-next-door for Neoma.
[He’s so bored that he would often summon me in my dreams just to talk.]
And that was how Neoma found the true story behind the silver crown.
But the First Emperor told her that he already forgot where the silver crown was. Hence, she was surprised when her “children” found it in the villa.
[All’s well that ends well since the silver crown is the perfect present for Calyx.]
“It’s the crown crafted by a certain fake,” Neoma said, smiling at Calyx sweetly. “No wonder it suits you well, Prince Calyx.”
.....
After saying that, she quickly got rid of her Dome.
[Insulting this crazy bastard is just the appetizer.]
Calyx, who looked offended at first, quickly changed his expression when he realized that their conversation wasn’t protected by the Dome anymore. “Thank you for the meaningful present, Princess Neoma. This silver crown is the treasure of the Royal Family. I’m grateful.”
“You’re welcome, Prince Calyx,” Neoma said, still smiling. “I only brought the silver crown to its rightful place.”
Calyx just smiled even though his eyes were obviously cursing her.
“Now that you’ve given your present to Calyx, should we start the celebration now?” Nero asked, also smiling as if the three of them had been getting along well from the start. “I believe our Imperial Mother has something to say.”
Neoma’s smile froze and she unconsciously clenched her hands tight.
[I don’t like the fact that Nero called the fake Empress Juliet his ‘mother.’]
***
[IT’S ALRIGHT. We can still erase the memories of the guests in the hall at the moment. Calyx might suffer again, but we have no choice.]
That was Juliet’s thoughts while observing Princess Neoma from the balcony.
“I believe our Imperial Mother has something to say.”
Juliet smiled and stood up from her throne when Prince Nero looked in her direction. She was about to secretly signal Calyx to erase everyone’s memories when, suddenly, Princess Neoma suddenly spoke again.
“I apologize for the sudden interruption, but I still have one more present to give,” Princess Neoma said, then she looked up at Juliet with a smile on her face. “This time, the present is for our Imperial Mother from my mother– Lady Mona Roseheart. Is it alright to present it now, Your Majesty?”
“Of course,” Juliet said with a smile on her face. “I’m looking forward to see the gift that my dear friend prepared for me.”
Princess Neoma just smiled, then she clapped her hands once.
The roots suddenly disappeared, and the door of the hall reappeared. On the other hand, the roof remained open.
And Juliet realized that it was on purpose when golden roses began pouring like rain.
That gave her goosebumps.
[The Cosmic Tree…!]
“I also presented this gift to the people celebrating Prince Calyx’s birthday in the streets,” Princess Neoma said, smiling. “Everyone seems to be delighted by my gift.”
Juliet couldn’t believe what she heard. “Princess Neoma, what do you mean by that?”
“Oh, I forgot to say,” the royal princess said “apologetically” even though she didn’t appear apologetic. “Before I went here, I joined the common people’s celebration. Fortunately, they quickly recognized me as Emperor Nikolai and Lady Mona Roseheart’s daughter because of the Cosmic Tree.”
She clenched her hands tight.
[This little wench…!]
Now that the common people had recognized Princess Neoma’s existence, it wouldn’t be easy to erase their memories.
It worked before because only a handful of people knew about the royal princess’ identity.
But now that the entire empire was aware of Princess Neoma’s existence… and the Cosmic Tree even verified her identity…
Hah!
“I introduced myself to the people of the Great Moonasterion Empire on my own accord,” Princess Neoma said, smiling sweetly at her. “I hope that’s alright with you, Imperial Mother.”
Juliet could only smile coldly.
[This rotten princess got us.]
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