"OUCH!

" Trevor complained while his adoptive son, Lewis Crevan, was helping him put his piercings in his left ear back. After ~slightly threatening~ his son to lock him up in that hellhole if he didn't help him, Lewis finally (begrudgingly) lent him a hand. And so, right now, he was seated on the ground while the fox boy was squatting down beside him.

"Can you please be a little gentle?

"

Lewis Crevan harshly pressed the stud in the outer rim of his ear (that was called helix, by the way). It was the last piercing that he needed in his left ear.

"No.

"

He rolled his eyes, then quickly put the last stud in the anti tragus (or the little bit of cartilage next to his earlobe and opposite his tragus). With that, his seal was complete. Both of his ears still hurt because he almost cut them off while he was trying to unseal his demonic powers. It hurt but if he didn't do that, he would have died because of the injuries he received from the Devil.

"Thank you, son.

"

"I'm not your son.

"

He just laughed it off.

Actually, they could relax now because a while ago, he made contact with Saint Zavaroni. He asked the saint to let the emperor know that he needed to get to the palace as soon as possible. Of course, he could just break the barrier around Yule Palace.

But he didn't want to create another ruckus so he opted for the most peaceful way: to politely ask for permission.

I got manners and **.

"Ah,

" he said when he remembered something important.

"How old is Neoma now?

"

It wasn't like he could show up in the Royal Palace in his adult form. Since he already decided that he wanted to be with his Moon Princess, he thought literally growing up with her wouldn't be bad. Thus, he wanted to be the same age as her in his child form.

The fox boy's golden eyes glowed menacingly as he glared at him.

"Pervert.

"

"Hey, I'm not a pervert,

" he denied with a laugh. Then, he realized that he just had to count how many years Prince Nero had been asleep in his territory.

"Ah. The Moon Princess is eight years old now.

"

After saying that, he snapped his fingers while executing a spell on himself.

A few moments later, he felt his body turn lighter and smaller until he finally got the average height of an eight-year-old boy in the empire.

Lewis looked surprised by his sudden transformation.

"His Majesty is more comfortable with this appearance of mine. He might not be comfortable letting an adult hang out with the Moon Princess,

" he explained even though the fox boy didn't ask. Then, he stood up and extended his hand to his son.

"Hold my hand.

"

The fox boy just gave him a dire stare.

"No.

"

"Well, what should we do?

" he asked in a teasing tone.

"If you don't touch any part of my body, you will get left behind. Can you bear not to see your precious mother?

"

"Princess Neoma isn't my mother.

"

"Sure,

" he said, then he clapped his hands three times. He wasn't applauding though. It was his way of asking the monster behind him to wreck Gin's territory. It was the only way to get out of there.

"Lewis, you have fifteen seconds to decide.

"

As Gin's territory began to get broken into tiny pieces like a snow globe dropped to the floor, his body was engulfed in a black smoke that would get him out of there. Lewis Crevan had to grab his hand before it was too late–

Ouch!

He turned to the fox boy with a shocked look on his face because his rebellious adoptive son just grabbed him by the hair. That was when he realized that Lewis Crevan was taller than him!

Shit. I forgot that his clan was known for being taller than average people.

"Lewis Crevan, what do you think you're doing to your future father?

"

"You're not my father,

" Lewis Crevan said firmly.

"You said I should grab any part of your body. It doesn't have to be your hand.

"

He smirked at that. Well, the fox boy got him.

"Someone wore their smarty pants today, huh?

"

The fox boy ignored him.

He didn't have the time to tease his future adoptive son because in the just the blink of an eye, they already arrived at Yule Palace.

To be precise, they arrived at the emperor's spacious room.

Emperor Nikolai was seated on the sofa while holding a book. His Majesty raised a brow as soon as they saw them. He looked surprised for a moment, but his face returned to being as blank as usual. It seemed like the emperor was already expecting their arrival.

Ah, His Majesty must have opened the gate to his room to make sure that nobody else would see us.

"Princess…

"

Trevor was distracted when he heard Lewis Crevan talk. When he turned to the fox boy, he was already on his way towards the sleeping royal princess on the huge bed. But after taking a few steps, the fox boy froze on his spot.

Then, his future adoptive son glared at his future father-in-law.

"Neoma is already asleep,

" Emperor Nikolai, who was responsible as to why Lewis Crevan couldn't move at the moment, said dismissively.

"Go away.

"

"Aww, don't be that cold,

" Trevor said to His Majesty in a

"friendly

" voice.

"I want to see my fiancée's beautiful face, dearest father-in-law.

"

He knew he **ed up the moment he felt His Majesty's oozing bloodlust directed at him.

The next thing he knew, he was already kneeling on the ground with his head hung low. It was the same for Lewis Crevan.

Ah, that was a bad joke.

"I dare you to say that again,

" Emperor Nikolai said in a low, and obviously angry tone.

"If you call my daughter your fiancée again, I will kill you.

"

Trevor raised his head to tell His Majesty that he wouldn't do it again. Although he knew that he could fight the emperor, he didn't want to get on the bad side of his future father-in-law. But when he was about to open his mouth to speak, he noticed something that sent shivers down his spine.

No, it wasn't the emperor's glowing red eyes.

His glow is fading…

All the emperor of the Great Moonasterion Empire that took the throne had a unique aura called 'Moonglow.' It was a silver-ish light that appeared every time the emperor used his Mana, just like now. Ah, it would be more appropriate to compare the Moonglow to the moonshine in the dark, night sky.

There was a reason why the moon was the symbol of their empire's ruler after all. Many believed that the Moonglow was a blessing from Yule– the Moon God that the empire worshipped ever since it was built.

But only a chosen few could literally see the Moonglow.

Not even the emperors themselves could see their own aura. That means I'm special. But well, I'm not the only who could see the Moonglow.

If he remembered it correctly, Saint Zavaroni could also see it.

Does His Holiness know that His Majesty's Moonglow has begun fading?

Emperor Nikolai, who noticed that he was staring intently at him, raised a brow at him.

"What are you looking at, you little demon?

"

Trevor was just about to get smart with the emperor but someone already beat him to it.

"If you can't sleep, then let other people sleep!

"

They all turned to the bed where the nasal and angry voice came from.

He smiled right away when he saw Princess Neoma standing on the bed in her sleepwear. Ah, she grew a little bit taller than the last time he saw her. Even though the royal princess had her cut like a boy, her beautiful face was still shining.

Wait, she's literally shining this time.

His eyes widened in shock when he realized that the faint glow around Princess Neoma wasn't the glow of a First Star. The silver-ish moonshine around her was warmer and purer than normal. He couldn't mistake it for something else.

It was faint but it was there.

Moonglow, he thought to himself in disbelief. How could a female de Moonasterio be blessed with the Moonglow?

It was unprecedented.

But the fact that a royal princess wasn't the most shocking part.

It was actually the fact that two de Moonasterios shared the same Moonglow that he found very strange. The future emperor was supposed to be blessed with the Moonglow once his predecessor passed on. So this phenomenon could only mean one thing.

Princess Neoma is unconsciously stealing the current emperor's Moonglow, he thought to himself again, amused. The royal princess doesn't know that she's killing her own father.

Because yes, the Moonglow was also a gauge for how long the emperor would live.

He couldn't help but laugh at what he discovered.

"Princess Neoma, as I thought, you're really interesting,

" Trevor said, his purple eyes glowing in frenzy.

"Marry me once you come of legal age.

"

As soon as he said that, he felt the deadly aura of Emperor Nikolai and Lewis Crevan behind him. He ignored the two, of course. His focus was on Princess Neoma who looked obviously unimpressed by his marriage proposal.

"You're not my style. F-you for not being able to take the L,

" Princess Neoma said, her words vague to him. But when she raised her middle finger at him, he realized what she meant with what she said a while ago.

"I, Neoma Ramsay, Lady of Leisure, will only marry an average-looking guy with a stable job in the future.

"

***

"YOUR GRACE, how are you feeling?

"

"Like crap,

" Jasper Hawthorne said to Tate, his butler, when he got up. He didn't have to look around to know that he was back in his bedroom in his mansion. Obviously, his butler brought him home since Tate was the only attendant he brought with him at the Royal Palace.

"The saint knocked me out. What happened while I was unconscious?

"

He already expected that that kind of thing would happen.

For that reason, he asked Tate to hide his presence and watch over him in a safe distance. He just hoped that his butler kept an eye on his surroundings while he was out.

"Your Grace, it's strange,

" Tate, a seventeen year old young man with moss green wavy hair and bronzed skin like him, said in his usual childish tone. Although the butler was older than him, Tate was a little immature. And that personality of his suited him because of his small stature. People would often mistake Tate as someone younger than him because he was short. He even wore shorts instead of pants that a butler should wear.

"I saw two Prince Neros.

"

That was weird, and shocking.

But Tate's dark amber eyes were special. He could see things clearly even from a distant. Most of all, his butler wouldn't lie to him.

"One of them is obviously fake,

" Jasper said, then he stood up and stretched his arms.

"It seems like I have to return to the Royal Capital to meet the acting crown prince.

"

***

"MISS GALE, you know why Lady Roseheart abandoned His Majesty, don't you?

" Dominic Zavaroni asked the Wind Spirit. Prince Nero was still in a deep slumber and Sir Glenn just left the shrine to give a report to the emperor. That was why he was free to talk like that.

"It's to protect Princess Neoma and His Majesty, isn't it?

"

Miss Gale, who was lying next to Prince Nero, raised her (bunny) head to look at him straight in the eye.

"Have you seen it, Dominic?

"

"Seen what?

"

"The faint glow in Princess Neoma,

" the Wind Spirit said.

"I'm not talking about her glow as the First Star– I'm talking about the Moonglow.

"

He wanted to say that he was shocked to hear that but he couldn't.

Well, he was surprised but only because it confirmed his fear.

"If His Majesty's Moonglow starts to fade to make Princess Neoma shine, then it must only mean that the heavens have really chosen a new ruler for our empire,

" he said with a sad voice.

"That also means that Princess Neoma's life is in danger. Even if Emperor Nikolai gives up his throne for his daughter, the enemies around the royal family won't let it happen. There are strong forces who would object for a female Roseheart to take the throne.

"

Now he understood why Lady Roseheart decided to leave the emperor without telling him the reason for doing so.

Lady Roseheart didn't want His Majesty and Princess Neoma to fight for the throne.

"Nikolai isn't the problem here,

" Gale said, then she turned to the sleeping royal prince.

"It seems like Prince Nero is destined to dull the moonshine of his twin sister.

"

Dominic let out a deep sigh.

"Why does it seem like the heavens despise having a pair of Moonasterion twins born in this empire?

"

***

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***

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