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"WHAT DO you mean by that, Prince Nero?"

Neoma hugged her knees and leaned down a bit to whisper to Rubin Drayton who was still pinned to the ground. "Does it make sense to you that the casualty of a fire that big is only Regina Crowell? Of course, I\'m not saying that more people should have died. But I find the incident strange, Rubin Drayton."

Thankfully, it looked like her words soothed the young lord.

"I also find it strange, Your Royal Highness," Rubin Drayton said calmly. "The mage that inspected the burnt body and confirmed that it was Regina\'s disappeared. Worst, he burned the remains to ashes without permission. When I arrived at the Belle\'s House, they only gave me the urn where they put Regina\'s ashes."

Ah, that was a useful piece of information.

"I tried to track the mage down, but my father wouldn\'t let me," the young lord said remorsefully. "I don\'t have the money to hire people since my father is monitoring my finances. He doesn\'t want me to spend anything on Regina."

"I\'ll help you."

"Huh?"

"I said I\'ll help you find that mage," she said carefully. "Tell me the details that will help us find him. I know someone who\'s good at tracking shady people. Of course, I\'ll pay for everything."

"Wouldn\'t it be dangerous for you to be involved with shady people, Your Royal Highness?" the young lord asked. "All eyes are on you because of Lord Yule\'s will."

"Don\'t worry about that," she assured him. "I have my ways."

"Why do you want to help me?"

"I care about Regina Crowell," she lied, acting like she was sad. Heh. Behold the talent of a former child actress! "As you said, none of this would have happened if I didn\'t invite Regina to be a court lady."

Lewis frowned at her lie but she ignored her son.

[Thank goodness Rubin Drayton can\'t see Lewis\'s face.]

"Can I trust you, Prince Nero?"

"Well, it\'s up to you," she said. "Can you trust me?"

"Can you ask your knight to get off of me first?"

She looked at Lewis and nodded.

Lewis looked reluctant when he finally released Rubin Drayton\'s arms. Then, her son stood up but didn\'t bother to help the young lord.

[Oh, son. Rubin is still a noble. When we\'re in public, treat him with respect.]

She had no choice but to offer her hands to Rubin Drayton after she stood up. Well, to be honest, even nobles couldn\'t freely touch a royal\'s body. But she figured it would be fine since she wore gloves anyway.

[And I\'m not sure if Rubin would accept my help anyway.]

Much to her surprise, the young lord grabbed her hands and let her pull him up quietly.

Even Lewis looked shocked by Rubin Drayton\'s unusual behavior.

On the other hand, she was once again surprised when she realized that Rubin Drayton was already way taller than her.

[Tsk. He\'s just going to get taller from here on.]

"Prince Nero, thank you so much," Rubin whispered in a relieved voice. And the young lord hadn\'t let go of her hands yet. "Thank you."

She was a little startled when she noticed that Rubin\'s voice and hands were both shaking. When she looked at his face, she realized she was on the verge of crying.

[Ah, pretty people are still pretty even when crying, huh?]

She should know, since she was pretty even when crying, too.

"Rubin Drayton, you really care about Regina, huh?"

"I do," Rubin Drayton said in a cracked voice. "Regina is the only person who cares about me genuinely."

She held back a sigh.

[Rubin is really a child. You\'re wasting your emotions on the wrong woman, dude. But I guess that\'s your karma.]

Her thoughts were interrupted when Lewis suddenly used a "karate chop" to hit Rubin Drayton\'s arms, effectively forcing the young lord to let go of her hands.

[My son is in a rebellious phase again!]

Rubin glared at Lewis. "You–"

"Crime," Lewis said in a lazy voice without even looking at Rubin. "Touch. Royal. Body."

"Ah," Rubin said when he realized his mistake, then he turned to her and bowed. "I apologize for my rudeness, Your Royal Highness."

"Nah, it was me who offered to help you anyway," Neoma said casually. "Anyway, let\'s keep the thing about Regina Crowell a secret from everyone, okay?"

***

"PRINCESS NEOMA, why are you kind to Rubin Drayton?"

Neoma turned to Lewis and laughed.

Since only the two of them were in her office, it was fine for Lewis to address her by her proper title and name.

"So, you\'re speaking straight sentences again," Neoma, who was sitting behind her desk while reading Teacher Belmont\'s report about the scholars of Sword Lily Foundation, said. "Anyway, I\'m not being kind to Rubin Drayton. Can\'t you tell that I only comforted him because I want him to help us find Regina Crowell?"

"Really?"

She raised her head and looked at Lewis who was standing straight in front of her desk. "Really," she said while laughing. Then, she quickly changed the topic. "What\'s my schedule in the afternoon?"

Since she didn\'t have a secretary yet, Lewis was also the one in charge of her schedule.

[Should I get a secretary to lessen my son\'s workload?]

"You\'re scheduled to meet the new head of the Hisa Tree expedition," Lewis said in his usual indifferent voice. "It\'s a meeting with Lady Sera Wisteria."

Wisteria, huh?

[Is Lady Sera my daughter Juri\'s aunt?]

It was already hard to memorize all the nobles in the empire– especially the nobles from the Royal Capital. But she also had to memorize the family trees of those nobles.

[The burden of being born a royal is pretty hard, huh?]

"I wonder what kind of person Lady Wisteria is," Neoma wondered loudly. "Since Juri is my daughter, I hope I get along well with her."

***

"FORGIVE my rudeness but to be honest with Your Royal Highness, I feel the powerful urge to pull your hair at the moment."

Neoma almost choked on her afternoon tea after hearing what Lady Sera Wisteria just said.

[She\'s the fox type, huh?]

In Korea, women who fell under the "fox type" category were believed to be cunning.

Lady Sera Wisteria, who was around her father\'s age, was unbelievably beautiful and elegant. Her red dress was fabulous, and so were the jewels and ornaments that adorned her from head to toe.

The only thing that she didn\'t quite like was Lady Sera Wisteria\'s strong perfume.

"Lady Wisteria, did you mean you feel the urge to ruffle my hair affectionately?" Neoma asked while smiling politely. House Wisteria was an old family, so she was being extra careful with her manners. "My hair looks fluffy, doesn\'t it?"

"No, I meant what I said literally, Your Royal Highness," Lady Wisteria said eloquently. She didn\'t know that someone could sound so elegant while spouting rude words. "Although you look like the child version of His Majesty, I can still see that you\'re Lady Roseheart\'s son." She sipped her tea before she spoke again. "I once pulled Lady Roseheart\'s hair when I was younger."

Once again, she almost choked on her tea.

She discreetly looked around to see if she was the only one who felt uncomfortable with Lady Sera Wisteria\'s straightforwardness.

At the moment, she was having tea with the older noblewoman in her favorite garden.

Their servants accompanied them.

And all the maids, knights, and butlers around them looked uncomfortable as well. Only Lewis had a poker face.

[I\'m relieved to know that I\'m not just being sensitive.]

"I regret that even until now," Lady Sera Wisteria, who didn\'t seem to be good at reading the room, continued. "Lady Roseheart did nothing wrong." She raised her head and met her gaze. "I should have pulled the late Commander Quinzel\'s hair instead."

Her eyes widened in shock. [My appa? But why?]

She was about to ask about the former Commander Gavin Quinzel when she heard someone clear his throat behind her.

Ah, right.

It wasn\'t only Lewis who served as her guard for today.

"Lady Wisteria, His Royal Highness Prince Nero has a tight schedule today," Geoffrey Kinsley, the Paladin that her father asked to accompany her, said. "Please don\'t talk about something that has nothing to do with the agenda."

"Ah, is that so?" Lady Sera Wisteria said calmly, then she turned to her and bowed. "I apologize, Your Royal Highness."

"It\'s alright, Lady Wisteria," Neoma said politely. "Let\'s move on to today\'s agenda."

[I\'ll just ask her about my appa later.]

***

"WHAT DID Glenn say?" Nikolai asked Dion Skelton after hearing the Paladin\'s report. It wasn\'t like he didn\'t hear it properly. He just wanted to make sure that he understood Dion\'s report correctly. "He\'s not coming back?"

"Vice-commander Glenn sent a letter saying that he\'d stay in the Hazel Kingdom with Her Royal Highness Princess Brigitte permanently," Dion said in his usual stoic voice. "Apparently, his immigration to Hazelden Kingdom will be handled by the Hazelden Royal Family. Princess Brigitte\'s messenger also informed us that they already sent a letter to the vice-commander\'s family."

He scoffed upon hearing that. "Glenn has long been diswoned by House Exton," he said. "That\'s a sloppy excuse. Did you check if the letter really came from Glenn?"

"I checked it several times, Your Majesty," the Paladin said. "I\'m certain that it was the vice-commander\'s handwriting and seal. But…"

"But what?"

"It didn\'t sound like him at all."

He smirked, impressed by Dion\'s righteous judgment. "Investigate," he said. "And don\'t let Neoma find out about Glenn\'s predicament. She has to focus on her upcoming expedition."

He was worried about Glenn.

But he didn\'t want Neoma to find out that Glenn must have been stuck in Hazelden Kingdom because he wanted to lessen his daughter\'s workload. Although Neoma was acting as the Crown Prince, he still wanted her to act like the child that she was.

[Neoma isn\'t a child inside but for a parent, I guess their children will always be children.]

He was glad that he was able to make it up to Neoma before it was too late.

[I pray for Nero\'s faster recovery.]

After all, he wanted the three of them to become a real family soon.

[To make that happen, we have to work hard first for the empire.]

Dion bowed deeply. "I understand, Your Majesty."

"You\'re dismissed," Nikolai said, then he focused on the documents in his hands. "I\'m leaving Glenn to you, Dion Skelton."

***

"WHY DOES the young Crown Prince look like a girl? He\'s so fucking pretty."

"Huh? Does it matter? Moreover, isn\'t the Crown Prince pretty because he\'s the son of His Majesty? Have you seen our emperor\'s face, you dumb bastard? I\'m telling you, His Majesty is the enemy of men."

"The Moon God has really blessed them with good looks, huh?"

"Why do you care so much about the Crown Prince\'s appearance when you\'re going to kill him anyway?"

The assassin smirked at his colleague\'s remark. "I guess you\'re right," he said playfully, then he looked at the Mana stone where the Crown Prince\'s ridiculously handsome face was carved. "The Crown Prince is just a lump of meat that I need to butcher soon."

Silence ensued after a few moments.

When the assassin turned to look at the people in the pub, he realized that their demeanor had changed. The people he had been talking to earlier were now looking at him as if they had just seen him for the first time.

"Who are you again?"

"I don\'t think I need to answer that," the assassin said in a light voice, then he stood up and blended into the crowd easily. "You won\'t remember me anyway."

***

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