DOMINIC ZAVARONI understood the shock in Count Kyle Sprouse's face.

Actually, it wasn't only the count that had that kind of reaction. Almost everyone in the Castillo Hall looked surprised by his appearance (he changed into his clean, and neat uniform before entering the hall). But to be honest, he knew that it wasn't his appearance that shocked the guests.

They're probably more shocked to see some of my Holy Knights.

The Twelve Holy Knights rarely left the Astello Church after all. And the last time that the Holy Knights stepped foot in the Royal Capital, it was to help Emperor Nikolai oust the previous emperor. That was why some of the guests also looked nervous.

He already expected that kind of reaction from the citizens of the empire so instead of bringing the whole squad, he only brought six of them. In fact, he just wanted to bring three of the Holy Knights. But the captain insisted that he brought half of the squad.

Each Holy Knight wore their full armor that covered them from head to toe, thus they looked more intimidating than normal knights in their military uniforms.

"Your Holiness,

" Count Sprouse greeted him when he got over his shock. It looked like he wanted to ask him why he and the Holy Knights were there. But since the count knew that eyes were on them, he acted like he was expecting them.

"On behalf of His Majesty and His Royal Highness, I'd like to welcome you and the esteemed Holy Knights to Prince Nero's coronation ceremony.

" He bowed politely to him.

"My utmost gratitude for gracing us with your presence, Your Holiness.

"

"I appreciate the warm welcome, Count Sprouse,

" he said, then he also bowed to him as a sign of respect. While doing so, he whispered to the count and made sure that only the two of them could hear his words.

"I will hide the Devil presence with my divine power. His Majesty won't probably use his Soul Beasts to avoid getting noticed by the crowd. I will stall for as long as you can, so please check on His Majesty and tell him to hurry up.

"

After all, he wasn't supposed to be there even if it was the royal prince's coronation ceremony. Overstaying his welcome would affect His Majesty's power over the nobles. Especially since the previous emperor had sort of severed the royal family's tie with the temple.

Count Sprouse, who knew very well that importance of time in that situation, nodded before he raised his head.

"I'll leave it to you, Your Holiness.

"

Then, the count once again faced the guests to introduce him and the Holy Knights as part of the protocol. Then, he excused himself and let him have the floor.

"Good evening, esteemed people of the Moonasterion Empire,

" Dominic Zavaroni greeted the crowd with a smile. He also made sure to infuse his voice with his divine power to make the guests focus their attention on him. Of course, not everyone was a believer so he wasn't expecting to charm the whole crowd. He just needed the majority to be engrossed with his speech to buy time for His Majesty.

"I am Dominic Zavaroni, the saint that our Lord Yule chose to lead the Astello Temple.

"

***

"MICHYEOSSEO?

" Neoma asked herself while gently slapping her good cheek (because the other cheek was bleeding from Big Lewis's attack). Anyway, she just asked herself in Korean

/Hangul if she was crazy.

"Gosh, I must have gone crazy if I think my son is hot.

"

"Stupid thug princess!

" Tteokbokki yelled at her in her mind.

"This is why I told you we should prioritize covering your head with my scales instead of your arms!

"

Since both Tteokbokki and her weren't used to using

"gear mode

" yet, they could only cover a small part of her skin with his scales for now. Her Soul Beast insisted that she should cover her chest area and head for protection.

But she insisted on covering her arms instead of her head.

"I don't want to cover my face with your scales,

" she insisted in a stubborn voice.

"S*ilor Moon doesn't cover her face when fighting.

"

Well, that was just her talking ** because Gin was listening. She didn't want the bad black guy to discover another weakness of her.

After all, the area that Tteokbokki's scales covered felt like it was burning. Yes, his scales weren't just hard– each one was also scalding hot. Every time the scales disappeared, it never failed to leave burnt marks on her skin. The only thing that could make the marks disappear was the ointment from Madam Hammock.

But Gin doesn't need to know that.

"Thug princess, your vanity will be your downfall someday.

"

"Everyone is going to die anyway, and I want to die in a pretty and grand manner. Suck it up,

" she said, then she prepared herself for Big Lewis's attack. Well, she didn't know what he'd do because her (not) son was just crouching really low while keeping an eye on her.

"Gosh, I can't read his mind.

"

She was still shocked that Lewis turned out to be a nine-tailed fox.

The first thing that entered her mind was N*ruto. But she remembered that kitsune (a Japanese nine-tailed fox) wasn't the only kind of fox. She learned in her previous life that the Korean counterpart of a kitsune was called a kumiho

/gumiho. Now it made sense why Lewis had a Fox Marble that could apparently bring the dead back to life.

Come to think of it, I've seen a Kdrama in the past called 'My Girlfriend is a Gumiho.' The gumiho in that series isn't really dangerous. And to be honest, even if Lewis's power is intimidating, I have to say that his nine white fox tails look very cute and fluffy.

"Hey, Lewis,

" she called him carefully.

"Why are you fighting me?

"

Lewis's didn't react.

But since she knew her son well even though this Lewis only came from the memories of her first life, she still noticed the spark of confusion in his eyes.

Of course, she took advantage of that.

"Lewis, do you know me?

" she asked him, still in a careful tone. Lewis's posture was on an attack mode so she didn't want to take chances.

"Even if you don't know my name, I believe you can recognize my face.

"

"Prince's…

" Lewis said in his deep, husky voice that was starting to sound like music to her ears.

"Twin.

"

She actually didn't expect Lewis to respond verbally because he obviously hated talking.

But I should take advantage of this and use my version of talk-no-jutsu on him.

"Yes, I'm Nero's twin sister. My name is Neoma,

" she said.

"Did the crown prince asked you to kill me?

"

Lewis suddenly looked confused.

Ohh… it's working.

"I know that Nero wants to kill me. But did your master ask you to kill his twin sister?

" she asked him.

"I know my brother well enough to know that he hates it if his people do stuff that he didn't ask for. You're his closest aide so you should know that as well.

"

Again, her (not) son didn't respond but she noticed that his tense posture had relaxed a little. His crouching wasn't as low as it was a while ago.

"Truth be told, you're being controlled by that cat,

" she said, then she pointed at Gin who was seated on a dead tree's branch.

"If you don't believe me, then ask yourself: why did you attack me as soon as you were summoned here? Even if Nero hates me, I don't think you're the type of person who will do things behind his master's back. Or perhaps…

" She smirked when she realized that her talk-no-jutsu was working.

"Are you an easily-controlled pushover?

"

"If I listen to you, that would also make me a pushover.

"

"Good point. As expected of my son,

" she said proudly, then she pointed at her face.

"But Lewis, let me ask you. Would you rather fight me because of a bad black cat that's treating you like a puppet? Or listen to me who has almost the same face as your master?

"

He tilted his head at one side as if he was thinking.

"You should help me get rid of the black cat first,

" she said, still trying to convince his son to take her side.

"Then, let's fight again if you still feel like doing it.

" She gave him her notorious

"business smile.

"

"Deal?

"

Lewis stood straight and nodded.

"Deal.

"

She smiled brightly at her.

So, talk-no-jutsu really works!

"You're seriously cunning, Princess Neoma.

"

She was about to say something savage when she noticed that Lewis stood in front of her as if he was protecting her from Gin.

Oh?

"I can't believe that you easily persuaded Sir Crevan to join your side,

" Gin, who now stood in front of them, said in a disappointed voice. Then, he turned to Lewis.

"You have no use for me now, Sir Crevan. I'll send you back to your world.

" He snapped his fingers.

"Goodbye.

"

A few seconds later and Lewis suddenly began to turn translucent.

Ah, he's disappearing…

Lewis turned to her. At first, he looked shocked that his body was slowly disappearing. And it seemed like he knew that he couldn't do anything about it. But he easily calmed down and faced her with determination.

"Princess, you're interesting,

" he said, his voice still deep and husky. But this time, his tone was gentle and not rude.

"I'll find you again.

"

"Then, don't let Nero kill me,

" she said with a soft, sad laugh even though it was already too late to say that.

"Goodbye, Lewis.

"

She didn't know if it was just her illusion or Lewis really smiled faintly before he vanished.

It's rare for my son to smile.

She didn't have the time to relax because all of a sudden, Gin came at her while baring his fangs and claws.

"Gosh,

" she said while preparing for a fire punch. Aside from summoning Tteokbokki's flame in her fist, she also concentrated hard enough to cover her hand with his dragon scales. It **ing hurt but she endured.

"I'm really going to turn your meat into a steam bun filling, you bad black cat!

"

Gin laughed like a lunatic that he was.

"Like I said, I don't have the energy to fight you, Princess Neoma. But sending you back to that nightmare again is easy!

"

She remembered that when Gin touched her a while ago, she was sent to that

"nightmare.

"

Feeling that she shouldn't let him touch her again, she jumped away from him instead of coming at him. Shit, she suddenly realized that she was weak at defense.

I should learn how to make some barrier once I return to the Royal Palace.

"Crimson, make a ring of fire,

" she told her Soul Beast.

"Don't let Gin touch even a strand of my hair.

"

"You ask too much of me, thug princess,

" Tteokbokki complained.

And yet, as soon as her feet landed on the dry soil, she was suddenly surrounded by a ring of red flame.

Gin clicked his tongue, then he jumped away from her fire.

Both of them froze though when the ground shook hard once again.

What is it this time?

Her thoughts were cut-off when she heard a dog's loud bark.

Although she was curious, she didn't take her eyes off Gin. Even if the black cat claimed that he didn't have the power to fight, she didn't believe him.

"Princess Neoma.

"

She blinked in surprise when Lewis, her real son, appeared before her. But before she could even see his face, he already got down on one knee with his head hanged low.

"Forgive me for failing to protect you,

" Lewis said in a voice filled with anguish.

"I'm sorry, Princess Neoma.

"

"Uhm, Lewis?

" she called his attention while being a little hesitant.

"I understand how you can recognize me right away even if I'm in my adult form. But won't you ask why I look like this?

"

"It doesn't matter to me whatever form you have, Princess Neoma. Even if you turn into a frog, I will still recognize and accept you,

" he said without missing a beat.

"For me, you'll always be my princess.

"

She was about to say that she didn't want to become a frog. But when she saw Gin behind her son, she gasped.

"Lewis, behind you!

"

Lewis didn't move from his spot.

But his two white (and fluffy) fox tails moved to give Gin a hard bitch slap. It was enough to send the black cat flying until he hit a dead tree.

Daebak!

"Lewis, you grew two tails while I was gone. Congratulations,

" she said, impressed. The Big Lewis that she met a while ago had nine tails already. But her son only had two. Ah, his remaining tails would probably show up once he got stronger.

"Raise your head. I'm not mad.

"

Her son raised his head. He looked regretful, but he instantly turned serious.

"Princess Neoma, you have to go.

"

"I'm trying to get out of here, Lewis,

" she said.

"But I think I can only escape once I beat the hell out of Gin.

"

"I'll deal with the stinky cat,

" he said, then he stood up. Much to her shock, he offered his hand to her.

"May I?

"

Without thinking, she reached out her hand to him.

"You need to return to the Royal Palace immediately,

" Lewis said seriously while putting something akin to a stone in her hand.

"Princess Neoma, Prince Nero is trying to kill His Majesty right now.

"

Neoma's eyes widened in shock.

"What the **?

"

***

NERO heard it when the strings that Hanna's Marionette attached to his shadow snap the same time his father jumped away from him. After all, a dark ball of energy attacked His Majesty.

It was followed by Duke Rufus and Duchess Amber Quinzel's cry while calling Hanna's name. Even without looking at the Quinzels' direction, he could tell that something bad happened to his cousin. After all, when her Marionette disappeared, her Mana also vanished.

Hanna…

He didn't have the luxury to worry about Hanna though. After all, he couldn't even control his body again. This time, it was because of his aunt.

"You're the one who has to do it, my dear nephew,

" Princess Nichole, who somehow gotten away from the Quinzels, said behind him. Like she did a while ago, she put her hands on his shoulders.

"Only someone who has the Roseheart blood could kill a de Moonasterio. Neoma can do it as well. But you don't want to sully your sister's hands with your father's blood, do you?

"

He didn't respond to that.

To be precise, he couldn't.

The next thing he knew, he was already running towards Emperor Nikolai with the Death's Scythe in his hand. He was surprised when it changed its form. Its curved blade suddenly became a spear head.

Emperor Nikolai raised his hand to create a barrier between them.

"Don't stop, Prince Nero,

" Princess Nichole said.

"Nikolai's barrier is weak– I'll break it for you.

"

He didn't need that kind of encouragement because in the first place, he couldn't even control his body. So even if he was hesitating now, he couldn't stop himself from throwing the spear at His Majesty.

Like what Princess Nichole said, the barrier really broke when the blade of the spear hit it. He thought the spear would hit Emperor Nikolai's chest…

… until Neoma suddenly appeared in front of their father.

The spear that he threw pierced through his twin sister's chest. If Neoma wasn't floating in the air, her little body wouldn't have gotten hit by the spear. But she came out of nowhere, floating like that.

Nero's eyes widened in shock and disbelief when what happened finally registered to him.

"Neoma…

"

Neoma, as if there wasn't a spear pierced through her chest, smiled warmly at him as blood trickled down the side of her mouth. Then, she slowly began to fall on the ground.

"Long time no see, Nero.

"

***

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