RUFUS was devastated when His Majesty and His Holiness explained the situation to him after he returned.

He already caught the doctors who pronounced his daughter's death earlier. But since his priority right now was his family, he let his vice-captain handle the interrogation for now. He didn't expect to be greeted with some terrible news after returning though.

"Is that the only way to save Hanna, Your Majesty? Your Holiness?

" Rufus, seated on the sofa while hugging the sobbing Amber close to him, asked in a cracked voice.

"Is cutting off her legs the only way for her to live?

"

He had met admirable amputated people in his life.

Of course, he knew that Hanna would still do well even without her legs. He had faith in his daughter after all. Moreover, losing limbs wouldn't make anyone less of a person.

But as a father, he didn't want his daughter to go through that kind of pain. Their little angel was only eight years old. Losing her legs would definitely hurt her. It would change her life drastically. And he didn't want that for his one and only child.

Still, if that was the only way to save Hanna…

"It's the only way, Rufus,

" His Majesty said bluntly.

"If His Holiness and I use force to get rid of the Curse Marks, Hanna Quinzel's body won't make it. And once her physical body dies, her soul will be sucked in by the Spirit World at once. You can't see it but we're currently surrounded by Spirits that are waiting for a chance to take your daughter's soul away.

"

"Your Majesty is right, Duke Quinzel,

" Saint Zavaroni said in a sympathetic voice.

"Unfortunately, even our divine energy couldn't fix your daughter's body anymore. To be honest, it's already a miracle that the young lady managed to protect herself despite being targeted by a black magic disguised as a bomb.

" His Holiness smiled sadly at him.

"Yong Lady Hanna Quinzel already did well.

"

Hearing that made him even more proud of his daughter. It didn't take away the pain in his chest completely, but it did lessen it. Right now, any kind of distraction would be welcomed.

Hanna, you never cease to make us proud.

"Please do it, Your Majesty and Your Holiness.

"

He was surprised to hear that from Amber. When he turned to his wife, he saw her looking straight at the emperor.

"Darling…

"

Amber turned to her. Despite the tough façade that she was forcing herself to wear, he could still see the fear in her green eyes. Yet, she smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Darling, Hanna will always be our Hanna,

" she said in a cracked voice.

"Even if she loses her legs, she's still our daughter.

"

Rufus held back his tears to smile at his wife.

"You're right, darling. No matter what happens to Hanna, our love for her won't change,

" he said while caressing Amber's face gently. Then, he turned to the emperor and the saint.

"We've already made our decision, Your Majesty and Your Holiness.

"

***

"LEWIS, when did you get this strong?

" Glenn asked the fox boy in a proud voice, addressing him casually since only the two of them were there. But it was because of familiarity and not an insult. After all, Lewis was practically his student because the young boy trained under him briefly.

"You're giving me a hard time, you know?

"

"Liar,

" Lewis, who was kneeling on the ground while clutching his stomach, hissed at him. The young boy's broken sword also on the ground.

"You're not even fighting me seriously.

"

"I'm sorry but I can't do that,

" he said apologetically while scratching his cheek.

"You'll die if I get too serious. But rest assured, I'm not taking you on lightly.

"

After all, Lewis Crevan was the last known descendant of the Silver Fox Clan.

Having said that, he still wouldn't use his full strength to fight the fox boy. He only brought his sword, Ebony, with him today because he needed to use his Earth Mana. It wasn't like he couldn't control his own Mana without his sword. He just needed it as a reminder not to get overboard.

"Don't underestimate me,

" Lewis said, then he stood up and crouched lowly. When his golden eyes glowered dangerously, his two fluffy tails came out. And so were his fangs and sharp nails.

"If you don't take this fight seriously, you may lose your life.

"

He tilted his head and smiled.

"I'm glad that you're speaking in full sentences, Lewis.

"

The fox boy just snarled at him, then he came at him at full speed.

He was ready to swing Ebony to create an earth shield when all of a sudden, the ground shook hard.

Then, the earth dome that he trapped Princess Neoma in exploded. Aside from the thick dust that covered the dome, a thick fog sizzling with

Princess Neoma!

But the explosion wasn't the only thing that worried him.

Princess Neoma's Mana wasn't stable. It was strong– very strong– yet uncontrollable. Moreover, he almost didn't recognize the young princess's power. After all, Princess Neoma's current Mana right now resembled Lady Mona Roseheart's Mana more than His Majesty's.

He gasped when he realized what might have happened.

Did Princess Neoma fully-awakened her Roseheart Blood?

But the other Mana that he felt was familiar. It was a lot weaker than what he remembered so he was uncertain. Still, could it be…

Lord William?

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Lewis Crevan run in Princess Neoma's direction. If his hunch was correct and the royal princess had somehow managed to summon William, then Her Royal Highness was in danger.

Lord William won't hesitate to kill Princess Neoma!

He ran full speed, easily overspeeding Lewis Crevan.

When he arrived at where the earth dome used to stand, he was surprised at what greeted him.

Of course, William's appearance was a huge surprise. As he expected, the Grand Spirit's Mana was a lot weaker now. In fact, he had a feeling that the one in front of him right now wasn't the real William. Not his real body, at least.

Lord William must still be recovering from the heavy injury that he obtained from his last battle with His Majesty.

"Is that…

" Lewis Crevan whispered to himself while looking at the royal princess with a shocked look on his face, then he trailed off. He fell silent for a while before he continued talking to himself.

"Princess Neoma…?

"

Ah, that was right.

Even he was shocked when he saw the royal princess's appearance.

Princess Neoma's hair grew long, and it turned completely pink. Her Royal Highness currently looked like a child version of Lady Mona Roseheart, save for the eye color since the royal princess had ash-gray eyes while her mother had light blue ones.

Still, the resemblance between the mother and child was undeniable.

No wonder William was looking at Princess Neoma bitterly.

Well, Princess Neoma was looking at William like she wanted to kill the Grand Spirit.

Glenn gulped while watching William and Princess Neoma attack each other with bloodlust. Just what happened between those two?

***

NEOMA was reminded the first time she awakened her Roseheart Blood.

Her hair grew long and the strands turned pink. It was a shame that her Papa Boss ordered for her hair to be cut. Thus, she had to tearfully say goodbye to her pretty two-toned hair.

That was her biggest worry now that her entire hair turned pink.

I-Is Papa Boss going to order me to shave my head?

She knew she'd still look good even when she becomes bald. But she'd like to keep her luscious and shampoo-commercial ready hair, thank you very much.

"You have Mona's face but your blood as a de Moonasterio still disgusts me,

" William said bitterly while reaching for her face.

"Maybe ruining that face of yours instead of killing you might make me feel better.

"

"Were you in love with my Mama?

" Neoma asked bluntly.

"You're acting like a simp, Uncle Scumbag. The bad kind of simp.

"

Uncle Scumbag stopped his hand from grabbing her face.

"You're talking nonsense.

"

"I guess what you felt for my mother is more of an obsession than love,

" she said.

"Just like my father, you were probably toxic to my mother. Gosh, was Mama Boss a magnet for scumbags or something?

"

"Don't you dare compare me with Nikolai de Moonasterio,

" he snarled at her, dropping his hand to his side only to grab his dagger again.

God, he really wants to kill me, huh?

"Why not? Just like my father, you hate me for reminding you of my mother,

" she said bravely, making William freeze on his spot.

"You know what, Uncle Scumbag?

" When William didn't respond, she raised her head and look at him straight in the eye.

"If you love my mother so much that you can justify hating on an innocent little girl like me, why don't you just kill yourself and follow my mother to the afterlife?

"

William's eyes darkened from anger.

"You filthy bug–

"

"Get the ** out of my sight, you useless scumbag,

" she said coldly. She promised herself that she would be more eloquent when cursing just like her Mama Boss. But how could she stay calm when a man like this bastard kept calling her a filthy bug? Cursing normally made her feel better anyway.

"I don't have time to deal with your bull** when Hanna needs me.

"

William looked shocked by his cursing, then he laughed like a lunatic that he was.

"Since you reminded me of a part of Mona that I'm fond of, I'll give you a present that could either be a potion or an antidote depending on you,

" he said, talking in rhymes that instantly gave her headache.

"There's a reason why you were able to summon me while you were desperate to save the life of the Quinzel heiress.

"

"God, I hope so,

" she said.

"I'd feel really bummed out if I find out that I summoned a little piece of ** like you for nothing.

"

He just smirked at her, then he got down on one knee to get to her eye level. And oh, boy. His dark blue eyes had a frenzied look on them.

"De Moonasterio bug, there's a way for you to save the Quinzel heiress.

"

"Really?

" she asked, delighted. Maybe William wasn't so bad after all.

"How?

"

William smiled at her, then he put a hand on her knee.

"Take the Quinzel heiress's place.

"

Neoma cursed at William the same time she felt a bomb explode on the lower part of her body.

Fucking scumbag!

***

NIKOLAI flinched when a familiar, hateful aura covered the entire room.

Then, much to his shock and everyone around him, a blu-ish and silver-ish light covered Hanna Quinzel's entire body before Saint Dominic Zavaroni could even begin his operation on the young heiress.

When the blinding light disappeared as soon as it appeared, they were once again shocked by what happened next.

Hanna Quinzel took a deep breath, then she got up while catching her breath.

He instantly noticed that all the injuries that the young heiress received disappeared. The burn mark on her face vanished, her hair grew back, and she was able to move her legs again. He saw it when she tried to stand up.

Even the Curse Marks disappeared…

"Hanna!

" Rufus and Amber Quinzel exclaimed, then they ran towards their daughter and hugged her tight.

Hanna Quinzel looked confused by what was happening.

"Your Majesty,

" Saint Dominic Zavaroni said in a worried voice.

"This aura...

"

"It's William,

" Gale said, her voice filled with worry as well.

"But how could he return on earth without being summoned...

" She trailed off, then a soft gasp escaped her lips.

"He was summoned...?

"

If Hanna Quinzel was miraculously healed the same time they felt William's presence, it could only mean one thing.

"Neoma summoned that bastard,

" Nikolai said, then he immediately headed to the door.

"I'm returning to the Royal Palace now.

"

***

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***

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