THE BURN stings like hell.

Ruto was mad– mad that Neoma had to experience something as painful as this just to make a contract with the Devil. If he knew that she would end up needing the help of the Devil, he would have done it in her place.

But it was hard to predict Neoma's actions lately because she was very different from the one that he remembered.

"I bet you'll regret this later,

" the Devil taunted him while happily folding the new contract that he had with Neoma. The content was still the same except for the payment that he had asked in return for lending Her Royal Highness his help.

"I heard Princess Neoma likes handsome men. Do you think she'll look at your way now that your face looks like that?

"

"It's true that Neoma likes good-looking people,

" Ruto admitted while looking at Neoma who was still deeply asleep in his arms.

"But she's not a shallow person.

"

"It seems like you're confident that Princess Neoma will still like you.

"

He didn't give the Devil a response because his comment didn't deserve one from him.

Moreover, a noisy

"guest

" had arrived.

"How dare you change the content of the contract without me and Princess Neoma's consent!

"

"You're so loud, Trevor,

" the Devil scolded the demon that materialized in front of them.

"Do you want to wake up Princess Neoma?

"

Trevor just frowned, then he turned to him.

Ah, it was the demon that he met at the Royal Palace before. Just like him and Neoma, the demon was in his adult form. Or maybe it was Trevor's real form since he wasn't human.

"You're that creepy Royal Chef, aren't you?

" Trevor confronted him.

"I knew that you weren't normal at first sight.

" He raised an eyebrow while looking at the burn mark on his face.

"Why did you take my Moon Princess's burn mark? Are you bothered by it?

"

"No,

" he said even though he really didn't owe the demon an explanation.

"But as long as Neoma is acting as the Crown Prince, she has to be flawless. The nobility would bother her if her physical appearance is less than perfect. Although I'm sure that she can handle it on her own, I still don't want her to go through another unnecessary trouble.

"

"Whatever,

" Trevor said rudely, then he turned to the Devil.

"What kind of deal did that chef offer to you?

"

"I believe that's none of your business, Trevor,

" the Devil said, then he turned to him.

"Where's the door?

"

Ruto smirked at the Devil.

"I only said that I'll give you the key and I did,

" he said.

"I didn't say I'll tell you where the door is, did I?

"

***

"CHEF BASTARD, wait for me!

"

Ruto was annoyed.

First, he was called a

"purple bastard

" by the Grand Spirit. And now, he was being called a

"chef bastard

" by a demon.

"Hey, I said stop!

"

He was forced to stop his sprint when Trevor literally blocked his way.

That was to be expected when he didn't use his full speed when he ran away from the Devil. Moreover, he had business with Trevor anyway. He just wanted to talk to the demon alone. Thus, he purposely made him chase him.

And of course, he didn't move at full speed because he had to be careful since Neoma was in his arms.

"Don't shout. Neoma is still asleep,

" Ruto scolded Trevor, then he went straight to the point.

"How long are you going to act as Prince Nero's babysitter?

"

"What?

"

"The Devil locked you up when he cursed Prince Nero because he knew that you're the only one who could treat the Crown Prince,

" he explained to the demon.

"But you don't have to keep his physical body in your hellhole, do you?

"

"I don't understand what you're saying.

"

"Just bring your hellhole to the Spirit World.

"

"Yeah, right,

" Trevor said sarcastically.

"Why don't I get killed by the Spirit Queen while I'm at it, huh?

"

"The Spirit Queen won't kill you since your goal to heal Prince Nero aligns with the Spirit World's will to protect the Crown Prince,

" he explained.

"Now that Neoma has shown great affinity with the Devil, I'm sure that the Spirit World will choose Nero as their next ruler instead of his twin sister.

"

The demon tilted his head at one side.

"Why would they choose their next ruler between Prince Nero and Princess Neoma when the Spirit Queen is still alive and kicking…

" He trailed off, then he snapped his fingers.

"Ah. The queen is dying?

"

"I don't know the details,

" he said.

"But the Spirit World needs their next ruler to sit on the de Moonasterion throne. In that case, the Spirit World's goal will align with the Crow's obsession to make a male de Moonasterio the next emperor.

"

The demon's frows burrowed in confusion.

"Are you saying that there's a chance that the Spirit World will join hands with the cult because of their common goal?

" He paused for a second before shaking his head.

"Impossible. William hates the cult.

"

"The Grand Spirit is not the Spirit World,

" he said bluntly.

"He doesn't even have the same authority as the Spirit Queen. He's just a strong and crazy Spirit whose goal is to kill the de Moonasterios.

"

"Even so, Prince Nero will never betray Princess Neoma.

"

"That's why I'm asking you to work with the Spirit World,

" he said firmly.

"Keep an eye on the Spirit Queen while you're there.

"

The demon raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hah. It seems like you know what will happen in the future. But how can I trust you?

"

"You don't have to trust me,

" he said casually.

"You just have to do your job as one of the Pillars.

"

Trevor looked shocked by what he said.

"How did you know about the Pillars?

"

"You're the Devil's Grimoire,

" Ruto said while summoning Veton to take him and Neoma away from that place.

"I have one last piece of advice for you: read more.

"

***

RUTO let out a deep sigh when he found Duke Rufus Quinzel lying on the ground.

Thankfully, the duke was still alive and it seemed like his wound in the stomach had already stopped bleeding. He didn't know what kind of expression Duke Quinzel had at the moment. But he was pretty sure that the duke was too disheartened to move.

"Who are you?

" Duke Quinzel asked lazily. Then, when he saw Neoma, he abruptly got up. Ah, it seemed like he recognized the royal princess despite her being in an adult form at the moment.

"Put Her Royal Highness down.

"

"It's me, Your Grace,

" Ruto said politely.

"I'm Ruto Stroganoff. I'm in my adult form because I used my full power. That's the same case for Princess Neoma.

"

The duke looked at him long and hard while standing up.

"I see,

" he said when he confirmed that he was indeed Ruto Stroganoff.

"The fact that you're here must mean that you've already revealed to Princess Neoma that you know her royal secret.

"

"I had to.

"

"Your face…

"

"It just happened,

" he said because he wasn't comfortable talking about the sacrifice he made. In fact, he would like it if Neoma wouldn't find out about it. But he shouldn't be thinking about that at the moment.

"Duke Quinzel, I've met the former Commander Gavin Quinzel.

"

Of course, that was a lie.

He just knew that the former commander was there. But he hadn't met him yet because he ran away from the zombie and the fox.

"Is that so,

" the duke said, and he looked disheartened once again.

"It's hard for me to accept reality but it seems like I can no longer deny it.

"

"You shouldn't worry about your older brother, Your Grace.

"

The duke looked offended by his words.

"Ruto, I understand that it's hard for you to empathize but–

"

"The Unholy Shadow Beasts would be confused now that Gavin Quinzel is back,

" he said, cutting off the duke. He knew that he was being rude. But he was already running out of time.

"That means your daughter's position as the Shadow Technique successor would be jeopardized. Even if your older brother says that he wouldn't compete with your daughter, what can Lady Hanna Quinzel do if the Unholy Shadow Beasts still choose Gavin Quinzel as their master?

"

"I know that,

" the duke said, his jaw clenched.

"But I believe in my daughter. I know that she would be able to tame the Unholy Shadow Beasts on her own.

"

He let out a sigh.

Of course, he was aware that Hanna Quinzel was a hidden genius. But simply believing in the heiress wouldn't be enough.

"You have to support Lady Hanna Quinzel with all that you've got, Your Grace,

" he said seriously.

"Bring her to the Forgotten Graveyard.

"

Duke Rufus Quinzel looked understandably shocked.

"Are you asking me to kill my daughter? And how did you even know about the place that only the Quinzels should be aware of?

"

"If you really trust Lady Hanna Quinzel's ability, then please heed my advice,

" Ruto said while pulling Neoma closer to him as he prepared to leave. He didn't have the time to answer all the duke's questions.

"It's the fastest way for your daughter to be fully recovered,

" he added.

"She needs to awaken as a Pillar as soon as possible.

"

***

RUTO, with Neoma still in his arms, finally arrived at his last destination for now: the room where Lewis Crevan and Gavin Quinzel were frantically looking for the royal princess.

"Hah. I can't believe you that you grew up a naughty kid, Ruto,

" Gavin Quinzel said, acting as if they were close.

"You purposely left your trace here to make us believe that you and Neoma are in this room, didn't you?

"

Yeah, he did that.

But he wasn't able to respond to the zombie when all of a sudden, Lewis Crevan appeared right in front of his face.

"Princess Neoma,

" Lewis Crevan snarled at him.

"Give me.

"

Look at this punk. He's talking incoherently to me.

He didn't have to argue with the fox so he went past him and approached Gavin Quinzel. Then, he gently and carefully handed Neoma to the former commander.

To be honest, he didn't want to do that.

But he had to act like he trusted Gavin Quinzel.

"Please take care of Neoma, Lord Quinzel,

" he said politely.

"I have something else I have to do.

"

Gavin Quinzel, who looked very happy to have Neoma in his arms again, smiled and nodded.

"I have a lot of questions for you but it seems like you're already prepared to run away,

" he said while giving him a meaningful look.

"I'll catch you later,

" he said with a light warning in his voice. Then, he smiled at him brightly.

"For now, I'll take care of my daughter.

"

He almost laughed at what the former commander said.

But he held back and turned around instead to face Lewis Crevan. Then, he grabbed the fox by the collar and let Veton hit the two of them with a lightning bolt. It was the type of lightning bolt that teleported them to a new room.

"You,

" Lewis Crevan snarled at him.

"Let go– argh.

"

The fox wasn't able to finish his sentence when he pushed him until his back hit the wall. The impact was strong enough to create cracks all over the walls in the room.

"You're supposed to be Neoma's guardian,

" he said to the fox in an annoyed tone that he rarely used.

"Why did you let her go on a rampage? You should have stopped her.

"

"Why?

" the fox asked coldly.

"Princess Neoma told me to not stop her.

"

So, this punk is talking coherently again.

"Just because Neoma told you to not stop her doesn't mean you should follow her,

" he explained, trying to be as patient as he could.

"Do you know what will happen now that Neoma's affinity with the Devil has been exposed?

"

The fox looked confused by what he said.

"Neoma's enemies increased,

" Ruto said in a firm voice.

"But the worst thing that you did was allowing Gavin Quinzel to get to Neoma.

"

"Why is it wrong for me to do that?

" Lewis Crevan asked suspiciously.

"Do you know who the former Commander Gavin Quinzel is?

"

He couldn't answer that.

But he could say one thing.

"Lewis Crevan, listen to me carefully,

" Ruto said, almost pleading to the fox.

"Neoma is His Majesty's daughter--- whatever timeline it is.

"

***

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***

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