"NERO, WAKE up!

"

Nero, irritated by the loud voice yelling his name again and again, opened his eyes slowly. He scowled as soon as he saw William's face. But that scowl quickly disappeared when he realized that he was inside a bubble different from the one the Grand Spirit made for him earlier.

The bubble he was inside right now had a warmer feeling, and the aura was a mix of coral pink and silver.

Ah, this is Mother's Mana…

Now he remembered that the bubble William made for him burst when he touched his mother's block of ice for quite a long time. His mother probably created a new bubble for him, then she sent him back to the shore.

Thank you, Mother.

When he touched the insides of the bubble, it disappeared. Then, he felt the warm aura enter his body. He didn't know if it was just his imagination or did he really feel better now.

"What happened?

" William asked, curious.

"Did you meet Mona?

"

"I met mother,

" Nero confirmed with a nod of his head.

"But I failed to save her. According to Mother, only the flame of Neoma's Soul Beast could melt the ice she was trapped in.

"

The Grand Spirit obviously didn't like what he heard.

"Dammit,

" he cursed under his breath.

"Why does it have to be that filthy–

" When he glared at William, he cleared his throat.

"Why does it have to be your twin sister?

"

"Isn't it obvious? My twin sister is the most special person in the whole continent,

" he said proudly.

"Yeah, right.

"

He ignored William's sarcasm.

"I need to go back to the surface.

"

"By surface, do you mean…

"

"The living world,

" he said seriously.

"My mother gave me a task.

"

The Grand Spirit's face lit up.

"What task? If it's an order from Mona, then I'll gladly help you out.

"

"William, who is Commander Gavin Quinzel?

"

The noisy spirit suddenly fell silent.

"I know that he was the former commander of the White Lion Knights. I've also heard the nasty rumor between him and my mother,

" he explained.

"But what was he to Mother?

"

"Why are you suddenly asking about Mona's relationship with that bastard?

"

"Because Mother told me that the commander is back.

"

The Grand Spirit's eyes widened in shock?

"Back? Do you mean back to life?

"

He nodded.

"Mother told me to keep the commander away from Neoma at all cost,

" he said worriedly.

"According to the rumors that I heard before, I thought Mother trusted the former commander. But now, I'm confused.

"

"Mona really trusted Gavin. I did, too,

" William said in a cold voice, then he clenched his jaw before he spoke again.

"But that bastard had become too greedy. In the end, he betrayed your mother.

"

"I never believed that my mother ran away with the former commander, but I also never thought that she was forced by the commander to come with him.

"

The Grand Spirit smirked bitterly.

"That bastard didn't force Mona to come with him. But he found a way to make your mother choose him over Nikolai de Moonasterio.

" He paused, then he sighed.

"Admittedly, even I thought Gavin's plan was perfect to keep Mona and your twin sister safe from the enemies who wanted the Rosehearts completely gone. Back when your mother was still pregnant, we didn't know that she would give birth to a male. Thus, the enemies who wanted our clan expected that she'd give birth to a girl. They thought killing Mona and her heiress would be the end of House Roseheart. But no one expected your birth, Nero. Not even Mona herself.

"

"Is that why Mother decided to leave me to Father?

"

"It was a hard choice for Mona,

" the spirit insisted.

"She didn't want to leave you, Nero. But she believed that you'd be safer with Nikolai de Moonasterio because you're a male. Thus, she knew that the people who support the Royal Family would protect a male successor regardless of her blood running through your veins. Unfortunately, a royal princess like your twin sister doesn't have the same privilege. Moreover, as soon as a royal princess is born, she's already a target for the Crow.

"

Ah, yes.

The Crow was the cult dedicated to killing all the royal princesses born in the Royal Family.

"Thus, when Gavin introduced his plan, we immediately thought that it was the safest route for Mona and your twin sister,

" William continued, then a glint of anger crossed his eyes.

"But in the end, that bastard gave in to his greed and hurt my master.

"

"What did Gavin Quinzel do to my mother?

"

The Grand Spirit looked at him as if he was hesitating.

Then, his gaze went past him.

The shock on William's face was enough to make him turn around. To say that he was surprised to see Tara, the Queen of the Spirit World, would be an understatement.

"Nero,

" Tara said with a sweet smile on her face, then she waved her tiny hand.

"Good night.

"

Nero cursed under his breath when he felt his consciousness being swallowed by darkness. Why…

***

WILLIAM caught Nero before the royal prince hit the black sand, then he raised his head to give Tara a questioning look.

"What's the meaning of this, Your Majesty?

"

"I was in a meeting with the other gods a while ago,

" Tara explained, then she let out a deep sigh.

"It seems like Princess Neoma's Lunacy is about to come out sooner than expected.

"

"That filthy bug is only nine years old,

" he said in disbelief.

"I thought the de Moonasterio's Lunacy begins showing up when they turn thirteen?

"

"It seems like Princess Neoma is really special,

" the queen said.

"A great tragedy always follows a de Moonasterio's second awakening– just like what happened with Nichole and Nikolai in the past. Apparently, this time, the royal princess's Lunacy would affect even the sleeping ancient gods.

"

"She can't lose her mind.

"

"Are you suddenly concerned about the little princess?

"

"No,

" he said bluntly.

"But Nero was able to communicate with Mona. According to my master, only the filthy bug's flame could melt the ice that she was trapped in. That little princess could die after she saved my master.

"

"Well, then go and save Princess Neoma.

"

"What?

"

"I put Nero back to sleep because I felt his desire to return to the surface in his Spirit Form,

" the queen explained seriously.

"But I have a feeling that the real Devil would make an appearance this time. If that person saw Nero in his Spirit form, I'm certain that they would kill the royal prince right away. You know what will happen if Nero's Spirit form is damaged, don't you?

"

He nodded thoughtfully.

"If Nero's Spirit gets damaged, then he wouldn't be able to return to his physical body anymore.

"

"That's why we need to protect Nero,

" Tara said.

"The Devil has two goals: to put a female de Moonasterio on the throne, and to kill the male heir as revenge for all the royal princesses that were killed in the past. Just like how the Crow has two goals: to continue raising emperors with their beliefs and principles, and to kill all the royal princesses born in the empire.

"

"Are you saying that the Devil and the Crow will have a clash soon?

"

"Yes,

" she said with fear in her voice.

"We have to save Princess Neoma, and keep Nero safe. It's the Spirit World's job to keep both Mona's children safe.

"

He let out a deep sigh.

"Fine. I'm going to the surface in Nero's place and save Neoma.

"

His plan was to kill Neoma de Moonasterio.

But now that he knew that only the filthy bug's flame could save Mona, then he had no choice but to save her first.

I can just kill her later, even if I'll earn my master's wrath in return.

"William, you almost spilled the secret to Nero earlier.

"

"Ah,

" he said, suddenly feeling guilty.

"I didn't notice that I was about to tell Nero the truth between Mona and Gavin Quinzel.

"

He couldn't help that he was so fond of Nero.

After all, in his heart, his beloved master only had one child. He couldn't acknowledge Neoma de Moonasterio the way he easily accepted Nero because the princess was like the embodiment of a de Moonasterio.

It was ironic since Neoma de Moonasterio was a female, and princesses like her were shunned by the empire itself.

"You should be more careful,

" the queen said sternly.

"Mona and Gavin executed a forbidden spell that caused the downfall of many gods in the past. If people found out that the forbidden spell really works, then chaos would befall the whole continent. Do you understand what I'm saying, William?

"

"I understand,

" William said with a scowl.

"I understand that we shouldn't let other people know that there is another world aside from this one, and we can open that world the way Mona and Gavin Quinzel did in the past.

"

Yes, the ancient and forbidden spell that Mona and Gavin Quinzel used was one that opened a portal to another world.

Apparently, it was a world that was very different from the one that they were born in. That was the

"safe place

" that Gavin Quinzel introduced to Mona.

But he didn't know what happened in that world.

Or how his master was able to return to this world trapped inside a block of ice under the Black Ocean.

"That's correct,

" Tara said firmly.

"We should protect that secret for the sake of peace and order of this world.

"

***

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***

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