"NOW LET'S sign the contract.

"

Neoma was amazed when a scroll suddenly appeared on the table between her and Yule.

"It's written in a language that I've never seen before,

" she commented while looking at the texts. Then, she raised her head to meet the god's gaze.

"But I can clearly read it.

"

"Of course you can,

" Yule said with a smile, then he opened his right hand. When he did, a pair of golden scissors appeared and he grabbed it.

"You have my blood so you have the ability to speak, write, and understand all the language in the world.

"

"Oh, that's so convenient.

"

He just smiled, then he extended his hand to her.

"May I have a cut some strands of your hair, Ne-Ne?

"

She was curious but still, she handed him the pink strands of her long hair.

"Do you need my hair instead of my blood to sign the contract since this isn't my physical body?

"

"To be precise, a piece of your soul is needed to sign the contract,

" he explained, then he cut a few strands of her hair.

"Since cutting your finger seems gruesome, your hair will do.

"

"Oh.

"

Much to her surprise, when the god cut her hair, the form changed. It turned into a tear-shaped liquid-like form. Then, when Yule dropped it, her piece of 'soul' splattered on the paper just like how a drop of blood would.

Then, the god did the same. He signed the contract by cutting a few strands of his hair.

"Now the contract is sealed,

" the god said with a smile.

"I will use my divine healing power to bring you back to your normal state.

"

She smiled, relieved.

"In retrospect, I'm glad that William tried to kill me by swapping my condition with Hanna. After all, you wouldn't heal Hanna even if I prayed hard, would you?

"

"Hanna Quinzel isn't destined to die yet so she would have survived even without William's interference,

" he assured her.

"But if William didn't do what he did, then the Quinzel heiress wouldn't be able to retrieve her body back to normal. After all, I can only perform miracles on people that inherited my blood.

"

She raised a brow at that.

"But why didn't you help Nero when he was cursed? We even gave him your tears but it didn't work on him.

"

"Nero de Moonasterio doesn't have your vigor,

" he said casually.

"And his Roseheart Blood is stronger than his Moonglow.

"

"Moonglow?

"

"It's the divine aura that you're born with because you have my blood,

" the god explained.

"You can say that it's equivalent to your Roseheart Blood.

"

"Oh,

" she said, then she tilted her head at one side.

"Wait. Does it mean we've been asking for help from the wrong people then? If Nero's Roseheart Blood is stronger than his Moonglow, then maybe we should seek the help of the Rosehearts…

" She trailed off, then she clicked her tongue.

"Tsk. House Roseheart doesn't exist anymore.

"

"Unfortunately, I can't help you with anything related to the Rosehearts.

"

"It's okay, my lord,

" she said with a bright smile on her face.

"I'm not expecting you to help me with that anyway.

"

He laughed softly while shaking his head.

"Ne-Ne, once I fully heal you, I will be forced to return to my deep slumber to recover my divine energy. Be careful while I'm asleep. Not all gods are fond of you.

"

"Well, not all gods have good taste so it's understandable.

"

He laughed again, then he got serious.

"Now that you know what kind of clan is behind the cult, I want you to be extra careful. Callisto de Luca, my brother, was half-immortal. That means his descendants also inherited the holy blood of my father. Although it may not be as strong as the blood of the de Moonasterios, you still shouldn't underestimate the Crow, Ne-Ne.

"

"I won't, my lord,

" she promised.

"Especially not after I've been humbled by my mistakes.

"

He smiled at her.

"I'm glad to hear that, Ne-Ne.

"

"How long are you going to be asleep, my lord?

"

"I'm not sure since time flows differently in the Upper World,

" he said, then he smiled at her.

"Are you going to miss me, Ne-Ne?

"

"I don't miss people I'm not that close with,

" she said bluntly.

"I'm just asking because I'm curious if you're going to witness me ascend to the throne.

"

He chuckled.

"Don't worry, Ne-Ne. I wouldn't miss it for the world.

"

"`Kay,

" she said.

"So, shall we part ways now?

"

"Are you in a hurry, Ne-Ne?

"

"Of course. I don't want to make my people worry about me any longer,

" she said.

"Then, I have to check up on Lewis and Hanna, talk to my Papa Boss regarding my change of heart, start building my own Order of the Knights, and finally, plan Regina Crowell's death, and finally: ask Ruto to cook my favorite dishes since I'm famished.

"

"Our little princess is busy, huh?

"

"This is the fate of a protagonist, my lord,

" she said while shaking her head.

"If only fillers exist in real life to give me a break…

"

The god just smiled at her 'nonsense,' then he tilted his head at one side as if he was listening to something that she couldn't hear. Then, he laughed softly.

"Ne-Ne, your father just prayed to me.

"

She gasped aloud.

"Papa Boss knows how to pray?

"

He laughed louder this time.

"Well, your father was also a Crown Prince once so he went through the same lessons that you have right now, including Theology.

"

"I still can't imagine my father praying to you, Lord Yule,

" she said in disbelief.

"What did Papa Boss say?

"

Yule chuckled before he answered.

"Ne-Ne, please tell Nikolai later that I'm looking forward to hearing him call me 'Grandfather' again.

"

Neoma was shocked to hear that, then she laughed.

"Papa Boss has a cute side as well, huh?

"

***

"YOUR MAJESTY, I'm thinking of deploying the royal knights to kill the crows around the Royal Palace,

" Glenn said in a serious voice. His persona knight entered the private room where Neoma was confined to report to him about the sightings of 'strange' crows around the Royal Palace.

"Please give me your permission.

"

"No, that won't be necessary,

" Nikolai said bluntly.

"You said Ruston Stroganoff and Lewis Crevan are already taking care of the crows. Those two are enough to deal with it.

"

His personal knight didn't look convinced.

"Your Majesty, I know that we can trust Ruto and Lewis Crevan. But I don't want to be too complacent since we're dealing with the Crow.

"

"We can't make a fuss over it, Glenn,

" he said sternly.

"The Royal Palace is currently preparing to welcome the Twelve Golden Families. They can't find out about the possible revival of the Crow. Because if they do, they will realize that I'm hiding a daughter. After all, the cult only appears when a royal princess is born.

"

"Ah, I didn't think about that,

" the knight said, then he laughed softly while scratching his cheek as if he was embarrassed.

"His Majesty is truly wise.

"

"If you were calm, you would have thought about it,

" he scolded Glenn.

"Stop being agitated, Glenn. I'll make sure that the cult won't be able to touch Neoma.

"

Glenn was a great vice-commander. He was strong and smart. But the cult traumatized him with what happened to Nichole in the past. That was why the knight was agitated right now. Unfortunately, whenever Glenn was restless, he would sometimes forget to think and act like a wild beast instead.

That was a bad habit that the knight couldn't break until now.

This is why people call him 'Mad Dog.'

"I apologize for my embarrassing behavior, Your Majesty,

" Glenn said, then he lowered his gaze.

"I will accept any punishment from you.

"

He was about to say something when he felt a burst of divine energy behind him.

When he turned around, he was surprised to see Neoma engulfed in a silver-ish light that reminded him of the moon's glow. Moreover, he could see that his daughter's injury was being healed at an unnatural speed.

The tears worked.

"Your Majesty, what's happening to Princess Neoma?

"

"She's recuperating fast,

" he said, then he turned to his knight.

"Glenn, call Madam Hammock,

" he paused, then he added.

"Summon Neoma's maid as well. Tell her to bring the prettiest dress that she could find as soon as possible.

"

"A dress, Your Majesty?

"

"Neoma is returning to her original state, and her hair is growing longer,

" he explained.

"It won't hurt if we allow her to be herself for the meantime. She doesn't need to pretend as the Crown Prince while recovering anyway.

"

Glenn smiled, obviously pleased with his decision.

"I'm sure Princess Neoma will be pleased to hear that, Your Majesty.

"

After saying that, the knight bowed and politely excused himself.

He was now finally alone in the room with his daughter.

Neoma…

He got down on one knee and held Neoma's hand.

Her hand is so small…

Was this the first time he held his daughter's hand?

To be frank, he didn't know why he was acting this way. In the past, just the sight of Neoma could instantly make him mad because of Mona's spell. But right now, he didn't feel any repulse in his chest.

In fact, he was relieved that his daughter's beautiful face was back.

Did I just praise Neoma…?

His thoughts were cut off when the blinding light that engulfed Neoma slowly disappeared. And when it completely vanished, he was greeted by his daughter who looked as good as new. Not even a scratch was left on her face.

She'll be glad to know that her hair has grown long again.

Moreover, even though Neoma's body was covered with a blanket, he could tell that her limbs were properly attached to her body again.

"I'm **ing back, bitches…

"

He immediately let go of his daughter's hand, hoping that she didn't catch him.

But when he realized what Neoma just said as soon as she opened her eyes, he scowled.

Neoma, are you going to die if you don't curse, huh?

When he raised his head, he was greeted by Neoma's glowing red eyes.

Ah, her eye color changed because her Mana hadn't stabilized yet. His daughter's overflowing divine energy was still leaking out of her body.

Neoma blinked while looking at him.

"Ah, it's just you, Papa Boss.

"

He raised a brow at that statement.

'Just you?'

"Papa Boss, I have three questions,

" his daughter said in a sleepy voice.

"I'm so sleepy but I have a feeling that I won't be at peace until my curiosity is satiated.

"

"What do you want to know?

"

"Am I pretty again?

"

"Yes, you look normal again.

"

"Whew,

" she said weakly.

"My second question: can we change Callisto Hall's name into Gordon Ramsay Hall instead? I hate Callisto with a passion now.

"

Ah, this was really Neoma, indeed.

"You're speaking nonsense as soon as you recovered, huh?

"

"Just answer my question, Papa Boss.

"

"I will consider it if you drop the 'Ramsay.'

"

"Let's negotiate later when I'm sober,

" she said, then she went straight to her last question.

"Can I take the throne, Papa Boss?

"

"What…?

"

"I need to be the first empress of this continent, Papa Boss,

" Neoma declared in a firm voice. Then, she slowly closed her eyes as if she couldn't fight her drowsiness anymore.

"Will you kill me if I do that…?

"

He flinched when he was reminded of his past mistakes.

But that was the last thing in his mind right now.

"You 'need' to be the first empress?

" Nikolai asked softly to Neoma who was now asleep (and snoring loudly).

"Just what did Yule ask in exchange for bringing you back to normal?

"

***

JUST WHAT kind of situation is this?

After Glenn sent Stephanie and Madam Hammock to Princess Neoma's room earlier, he went to Princess Neoma's personal training ground. It was the man-made forest near her palace and he could feel something hostile coming from it.

And that was when he found a rare sight: Ruto and Lewis Crevan having a staring contest. They were also releasing killing intent towards each other.

Here comes the creepy part: the two young boys were sizing each other up while standing in the middle of dead crows around them. Most of the dead birds were obviously fried from being electrocuted. While the others were sliced up by a sharp blade.

This is so strange. Lewis Crevan just usually ignores other people. On the other hand, Chef Ruto is always nice and polite to other people even if he looks bored all the time. But right now, Lewis Crevan is paying too much attention to a stranger, and Chef Ruto is acting hostile.

What was wrong with those two kids?

Glenn cleared his throat but the children ignored him. Still, he walked towards the two and tried to meditate.

"Let me introduce you to each other,

" he said, then he literally stood between Ruto and Lewis Crevan. The two finally looked up at him as if they just realized that he was there. He smiled at the kids anyway.

"Sir Crevan, this is Chef Ruto Stroganoff– the Crown Prince's personal chef. He's also the youngest Royal Chef in history,

" he said, then he turned to Ruto.

"Chef Ruto, this is Sir Lewis Crevan. He is Prince Nero's personal knight. Sir Crevan rarely talks so it might be difficult for you to get familiar with his voice so–

"

"I know his voice, Sir Glenn. I only heard it once before but it's unforgettable due to the situation back then,

" Ruto said unsmilingly, then he turned to Lewis Crevan.

"If you are Prince Nero's personal knight, then what were you doing in Miss Ramsay's room during late at night?

"

Now he was officially confused since he didn't understand a thing from what the young chef said.

And who's 'Miss Ramsay?'

Oh, wait.

He suddenly remembered that His Majesty asked him to check if there was a Ramsay family living in the empire now. He also remembered that Princess Neoma would often refer to herself as 'Neoma Ramsay.'

Ah, right! Chef Ruto met Princess Neoma during the Moon Festival when she was disguised as a 'commoner.'

"I am Prince Nero's personal knight,

" Lewis Crevan said, then he smirked– which rarely happens!

"And I'm also Miss Ramsay's most favorite person in the whole world.

"

Ruto's face remained calm but his bloodlust intensified.

Glenn could only scratch his cheek.

Should I tell His Majesty that the two young 'monsters' of this generation are fighting over Princess Neoma?

***

HANNA, seated on the bed, smiled at her mother and father who both seemed to be on the verge of crying while sitting beside her.

Ever since she woke up, both his parents would suddenly get teary-eyed while looking at her as if they were so grateful for her to be alive. Of course, that never failed to make her heart swell with joy and gratitude.

I'm also happy to be alive after the risk that I took.

"Mother, Father,

" Hanna said to her parents who both smiled at her encouragingly, then she clasped her hands together to command her shadow. Right now, only she and her parents were in the room in the hospital that she was confined. Moreover, she asked her father to create a strong Shadow Veil earlier. Thus, that room was a safe place now.

"It's time for me to return to you the memories that I sealed for our plan.

"

***

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***

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