"YOUR HOLINESS, may we know what happened at the Royal Palace?

"

Dominic Zavaroni turned around to face Duke Rufus and Duchess Amber Quinzel after he put Hanna Quinzel to sleep.

His Majesty Emperor Nikolai already returned to the Royal Palace. Since the matter back at the palace had something to do with William's unexpected return, Gale followed the emperor. Now, he was alone with the Quinzels.

After the emperor and the Wind Spirit left, he checked on Hanna Quinzel's vitals. Then, he put the young heiress to sleep to talk to her parents.

"William has returned, Your Grace,

" Dominic said, answering Rufus Quinzel's question a while ago.

"It seems like Princess Neoma has somehow summoned him.

"

The duke and duchess suddenly looked worried.

After all, everyone who knew William also knew that the Grand Spirit wouldn't hesitate to kill any de Moonasterio in his way.

"Does it have to do with how Hanna was miraculously healed, Your Holiness?

" Duchess Amber Quinzel asked.

"That seems to be the case, Your Grace,

" he said, answering the duchess's question.

"I have a feeling that William switched the physical condition of Princess Neoma and Young Lady Hanna Quinzel.

"

The duke and the duchess looked horrified by his revelation.

"Isn't that the same thing that the late Princess Nichole did a while ago, Your Holiness?

" Rufus Quinzel asked.

"I remembered that she took Prince Nero's curse away only to put it in Princess Neoma.

"

"It's quite different,

" he said.

"The Princess Royal only

"borrowed

" Prince Nero's curse and temporarily put it in Princess Neoma. His Majesty has a hunch that the Devil was the one who cursed Prince Nero. Thus, Princess Nichole was able to control the curse freely. But William's ability was far more precise than that.

"

There was a reason William was a Grand Spirit after all.

"William has the ability to control other people's life force,

" he explained to the couple.

"His ability allows him to heal people he wants to save, and kill people he wants to end by simply swapping his victims' life force. When he swaps the victims' life force, the person whose stronger life force was stolen would receive the other's weakening life force and physical injuries.

"

"Your Holiness, is that what William did with our Hanna and Princess Neoma?

" the duchess asked, her complexion suddenly pale.

The duke gulped before he asked again.

"Your Holiness, are you saying that now that Hanna is healed, the physical injuries that our daughter suffered have been transferred to Princess Neoma?

"

He could only nod as a response.

Knowing how much William detested the Royal Family, he wouldn't be surprised if swapping Princess Neoma's life force with Hanna Quinzel was the Grand Spirit's attempt to kill the royal princess.

I want to check on Princess Neoma's condition…

But he couldn't just simply leave Hanna Quinzel.

To be honest, as a saint, he shouldn't be using his divine healing power easily. But Hanna Quinzel was one of the children that Lord Yule wanted him to keep an eye on. Thus, he was serving as the young heiress's personal doctor.

This was hard for him to admit but he was definitely giving special treatment to Hanna Quinzel. After all, out of all the victims of the bombing incident, he could only use his divine healing power on the young heiress.

But he would pray for every single survivor to have a better life after this.

Prayers work.

"Your Holiness, what will happen to Princess Neoma now?

" Duchess Amber Quinzel asked in a trembling voice.

"Is Her Royal Highness going to suffer the same fate that our Hanna would have gone through if William didn't appear?

"

"Don't worry, Your Grace,

" he assured the duchess. He didn't want the poor mother to feel guilty. Hanna Quinzel's miraculous healing was still a joyous moment despite everything.

"Since the injury that Princess Neoma has obtained was inflicted by William, His Majesty will surely find a way to save our princess. But don't worry. William can only swap the life force of the same two persons. That means Young Lady Hanna Quinzel's condition won't change.

"

"We can't be completely happy knowing that our daughter has been saved at the expense of Princess Neoma,

" Duke Rufus Quinzel said.

"Your Holiness, if we can help in any way to improve Her Royal Highness's condition, please allow us to do so.

"

"We won't let Princess Neoma die, Duke and Duchess Quinzel,

" Dominic Zavaroni assured the duke and the duchess.

"But prayer works so let us pray for Her Royal Highness to be saved by our Lord Yule.

"

***

GLENN was shocked after he witnessed William blow Princess Neoma up by making the young princess explode using a bomb-like Mana.

When Her Royal Highness dropped on the floor, she was almost unrecognizable because her face was severely burned. Her hair that just grew long a while ago had been burned until she was nearly bald. The royal princess's whole body was bleeding.

And worst of all, he could see that Princess Neoma's legs were in a terrible condition.

No…

As soon as he recovered from his initial shock, he came at William.

Lewis Crevan attacked the Grand Spirit too while snarling loudly. He could feel the fox boy's anger towards William through his snarl and bloodlust.

But as soon as William turned to them with glowing eyes, he and Lewis Crevan were both sent flying by a strong, unseen force that definitely came from the Grand Spirit. But as soon as he and the fox boy hit the ground, both of them got up immediately.

Then, he and Lewis Crevan realized that they couldn't move.

That was when he realized that William had trapped them in his Spirit Dome. Worse, the two of them were being crushed by the Grand Spirit's Mana. It was heavy. The next thing he knew, both he and Lewis Crevan were already on their knees.

How can William overpower us this much when he's not even using his real body?!

"Glenn Exton, do you now regret disowning your family?

" William asked him with a blank look on his face, addressing him by his unwanted family name.

"If only you inherited your father's power, maybe you would have at least saved that filthy child of my master…

"

Huh?

The Grand Spirit trailed off the moment he realized that the pressure that was crushing him just a while ago disappeared without a warning.

Even Lewis Crevan looked shocked by what they were seeing right now.

By that, he meant Chef Ruto Stroganoff casually walking past William to get to where Princess Neoma was.

I didn't even feel Chef Ruto's presence!

Judging by the disbelief in William's face, it seemed like he also didn't notice Ruto's presence until the young chef literally walked past him. And it seemed like it was also Ruto who nullified William's Spirit Dome.

Is he a genius or a monster in his own right?

"Brat, I'll kill you if you touch that filthy bug,

" William warned Ruto when the young chef knelt beside the unconscious Princess Neoma.

"Do you know who I am?

"

"Yeah,

" Ruto said casually, then he carefully carried Princess Neoma in his arms. It seemed like the young chef lifted the young princess while covering her with his Mana to keep her limbs intact. After securing Princess Neoma in his arms, Ruto raised his head to look at William in the eye.

"I know you– I just don't care.

"

He got goosebumps hearing that from the young chef.

William, on the other hand, looked very offended.

"Who is he, Sir Glenn?

" Lewis Crevan asked in disbelief, his eyes glued on the young chef.

"He can't be an ordinary noble chef.

"

"Chef Ruto is the future Commander of the Order of the White Lion Knights, Lewis Crevan.

"

"Then, I shall leave the Order soon.

"

He was surprised by Lewis Crevan's declaration. But he didn't have the luxury to question the fox boy. After all, he saw William come at Ruto who just casually began walking away as if he was merely having a stroll in the park.

Chef Ruto is so laid-back!

Glenn lifted Ebony when William threw a dagger in Ruto's direction.

On the other hand, Lewis Crevan stood in front of the young chef.

To protect Princess Neoma, of course.

But even though he and the fox boy were in the position to prevent the dagger from hitting Ruto and Princess Neoma, he (devastatingly) realized that they weren't really needed for the following reasons:

First, Ruto already disappeared with Princess Neoma– making Lewis Crevan visibly anxious.

Second, someone suddenly appeared before them and caught the dagger between his two fingers.

Glenn smiled upon recognizing the gallant figure before him.

"Welcome back, Your Majesty.

"

***

NIKOLAI melted the dagger between his fingers using the heat of his Vermillion Bird's flame. Every time he was angry, South (the flaming Vermillion Bird), would be the first to respond to his call.

"Why are you still alive, William?

"

"Right back at you,

" William said coldly, his eyes aglow.

"You should have died when Mona left you.

"

"My daughter once told me that people with bad personalities like us don't die easily.

"

It was no use hiding Neoma's identity from William.

He was certain that the bastard already knew that the 'Crown Prince' was the royal princess pretending to be her twin brother. After all, William was one of the few people who were aware of the royal secret.

For some reason, the Grand Spirit seemed surprised by his words a while ago.

"You talk as if you care about the daughter you had with Mona.

"

"That's none of your business.

"

"Ah, so you really care about her,

" William said with a smirk.

"I should have recorded it when I blew her up as a memorabilia of your dead daughter.

"

He flinched when he heard those gruesome words.

Although he already knew what happened because he was aware of William's ability, it still made him angry hearing it straight from the bastard.

He was livid.

And he showed it by pulling out Calypso, his Holy Sword, in the blink of an eye. Then, without warning, he swiftly moved to get near William. The Grand Spirit looked surprised when they suddenly came face to face.

It was already too late for William to jump away from him because he was already done with his attack.

He already sliced him into half, crosswise, as if the Grand Spirit was a mere paper.

"Neoma is still alive,

" Nikolai said coldly, his eyes now glowing red.

"You better prepare yourself because once my daughter regains her strength, she'll be the 'Executioner' and not you, William Roseheart.

"

***

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***

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