"NIKOLAI, wake up.

"

Hearing the soft and sweet voice that never failed to soothe him, Nikolai opened his eyes. As expected, he was greeted by the most beautiful woman in his eyes.

"Mona.

"

Mona smiled but there was a look of worry on her angelic face.

"Did you have a bad dream?

" she asked worriedly, then she gently wiped something off his face with her soft and warm hands.

"You were crying in your sleep.

"

He blinked in surprise.

"I was crying?

"

The last time he cried was when Juliet passed away.

And he rarely gets bad dreams recently. Ever since Mona moved into his palace to live with him, his days had been blissful. Thus, he couldn't fathom what could make him cry when he was at his happiest these days.

She nodded, then her face turned sad.

"You were apologizing to Nichole.

"

Ah.

Of course, it would be related to his twin sister.

He got up and stared at his hands. If he was apologizing to Nichole in his dream, then he probably dreamed of that moment again– the moment when he absorbed Nichole's life force to extend his lifespan.

"I had never been a good brother to Nichole. The last thing I was able to do for her was to take her life force before she used it to do something that she'd regret later,

" he said softly.

"But then again, I only decided that for her. Maybe I shouldn't have stopped her back then.

"

And the only way to stop his twin sister back then was to absorb her life force.

"You did what you thought was best for Nichole,

" Mona said, then she held his hand and squeezed it.

"You wiped out the cult in Nichole's place. I know it's not enough. But I pray and hope that Nichole wouldn't hate you so much.

" She paused, then let out a sigh.

"I wished I didn't leave the empire back then. If I was there, maybe I could have protected Nichole. Or at the very least, we could have found her earlier…

"

"You had to fulfill your responsibility as the successor of House Roseheart. Don't blame yourself, Mona,

" he comforted her. Then, he gently placed a hand on her stomach.

"You being upset is bad for our baby.

"

"Are you worried about our baby now?

" she asked with a pout.

"When I told you I was pregnant a few days ago, you didn't look happy at all.

"

"It wasn't like I wasn't happy. I will automatically love all the things that you love except for William and your other rude guardians,

" he said bluntly, making Mona chuckle while shaking her head.

"It's just that I was overwhelmed with worry.

"

"What are you worried about?

"

"The Rosehearts only give birth to female children,

" he said carefully.

"That means you're going to give birth to a royal princess.

" He let out a deep sigh.

"The empire is harsh to women born in the Royal Family, Mona. Our child would have an easier life if they were born a male.

"

"You're making me upset, Nikolai.

"

Hearing that scared him. He didn't care even if the whole world hated him. But he couldn't bear it if it was Mona.

"I'm sorry…

"

"What's the use of your position as the emperor if you can't utilize it to protect our child?

" Mona asked sternly.

"You saw what happened to Nichole. She was abducted during your absence. Thus, the Royal Family only did the bare minimum to find her. If you and the Order of the White Lion didn't return earlier than expected from your expedition, then it must have been too late to save Nichole back then.

"

He flinched.

To be honest, if he didn't get sick on their way home from the expedition, then the White Lion Knights could have been dispatched earlier to rescue Nichole. If only he had known in advance that his twin sister had been abducted by the cult, then he wouldn't have delayed his troop's return home…

"The empire isn't going to be a safe place for our child, Mona,

" he said seriously, then he looked at her straight in the eye.

"The thing that you mentioned about the doors that lead to another realm…

"

Her face instantly lit up.

"Have you made up your mind?

" she asked with a big smile on her face.

"Are you finally considering leaving the empire to live in another world with me and our baby?

"

When Mona brought it up before, he brushed it off.

He went through a lot to ascend to the throne. Heck, he even killed his own father to be the emperor. But now that Mona was pregnant, he felt like the only way to protect their child was to leave everything behind and live a new life in another world.

But does it really exist?

"Nikolai, you have to have more faith in me,

" Mona said as if she could see the doubt in her eyes.

"If the Upper World and the Spirit World exist, why can't you believe that another realm exists?

"

"I'm just wondering if the realm that you speak of is really suitable for us,

" he confessed hesitantly. He hated doubting Mona. But he wanted to be sure that he would bring his family to a safe place.

"Crossing another realm is already dangerous enough. I want to be certain that what lies ahead the doors that you mentioned would bring us to a safe world.

"

"I swear on my life that the real I found is safe,

" she assured him with confidence.

"I've been observing that realm for quite some time now, Nikolai. Out of all the realms that I got to visit, it's the one that resonates with our souls best.

"

"Is it very much different from the world that we live in?

"

"It is,

" she said carefully while nodding.

"For once, that world doesn't have Mana, aura, or magic. Or, they were forgotten, at least.

"

To say that he was shocked to hear that would be an understatement.

"How could we live in a world without our powers? Even commoners in our empire are blessed with Mana. No matter how faint or how weak their powers are, they still have it. But you're saying that the world you want to live it doesn't use Mana?

"

She laughed softly.

"That world doesn't have use for Mana. They use other things that make their lifestyle comfortable,

" she explained, then she smiled sweetly at him.

"It's a lovely place, Nikolai. I can't wait for you and our baby to see it as well.

"

Seeing her smile calmed his worried heart.

Her smile never failed to have that kind of effect on him.

Mona is really pretty.

"What is it called again?

" Nikolai asked while caressing Mona's soft and smooth cheek.

"The realm that you fell in love with.

"

"It's a world as big as ours with a lot of beautiful places and beautiful people as well,

" Mona said excitedly.

"But the one I fell in love with is the country called Korea.

"

***

"JAL JA, JAGIYA.

"

Jagiya?

Neoma opened her eyes, the last words that she heard before falling asleep still ringing in her head loud and clear.

'Jal ja, jagiya' were Korean words, and they meant

"good night, sweetheart

/darling

/baby.

"

Jagiya was an endearment and it was often used by married and unmarried couples.

But how did Ruto learn the Korean language?

Ah, this was so frustrating. She already told him that she wouldn't ask questions that Ruto would definitely find hard to answer. But then, he had to speak Korean to her!

Just why did I fall asleep during the most critical time?!

"Neoma babo,

" Neoma said to herself while pulling her hair in frustration. She just called herself

"stupid

" in the Korean language because she was.

"I should have at least asked Ruto three questions. Did he already run away?

"

"That, he did.

"

She gasped in surprise when she heard her Papa Boss's voice.

Much to her shock, only then did she realize that her father was sitting beside her.

She was still seated on the double swing in the garden. But instead of Ruto, it was her Papa Boss sitting on the other side of the swing.

Shit.

She wasn't ready to face her Papa Boss yet.

But when she saw his swollen eyes as if he just cried, she couldn't help but worry for him despite everything.

"Did you cry, Papa Boss?

" she asked bluntly.

"That's so out of character.

"

"Perhaps, I cried in my sleep,

" her Papa Boss said, then he turned to her.

"I dreamed about your mother. It seemed like a memory, but I can't remember when it happened.

"

"Papa Boss, I'm not in the mood to use my big brain right now.

"

"Ruston Stroganoff knocked me out earlier.

"

Her eyes widened in shock.

"It's already shocking that the good boy that I know did something as rude as that, Papa Boss. But it's even more shocking to know that he managed to knock you out.

"

Her father scoffed.

"That boy messed with my head.

"

She scoffed at her father to defend Ruto.

"Your head is already messed up, Papa Boss.

"

He flinched at what she said.

"Papa Boss, I'm angry at you because of three things,

" she said seriously.

Strangely enough, she felt calm right now unlike what happened at the camp. She was still angry, but she could control it. Was it because Tteokbokki was asleep inside her? She could tell that her Soul Beast was inactive.

She was worried about Tteokbokki but right now, she was glad that he wasn't connected to her mind. After all, she didn't want him to hear what she was about to talk about with her father.

"First, I'm angry at how incompetent you were when Aunt Nichole was abducted, Papa Boss,

" she continued without holding back.

"Second, I don't understand why you let Madam Hammock become my personal doctor after what she did to my aunt. And lastly, why didn't you tell me that our Soul Beasts were humans before?

" She clenched her hands tightly.

"To be precise, I heard that our Soul Beasts were created by killing male Rosehearts.

"

The pain in her voice mirrored the pain that crossed her father's eyes.

"Must we really talk about those things, Neoma?

" her Papa Boss asked in a pained voice.

"The more you know about those things, the more hurt you'd get. A child like you should be ignorant of the ugly side of this world.

"

"I'm no longer a child, Papa Boss,

" Neoma said firmly.

"If you don't want me to hate you again, then speak.

"

Her Papa Boss took a deep breath before speaking.

"Let's return to the Royal Palace first, then we'll talk.

"

***

"NERO, where are you going?

"

"To my mother,

" Nero said as a response to Tara, the queen of the Spirit World.

"I can feel my mother calling out to me.

"

"It's dangerous to go to the Black Ocean alone, Nero,

" Tara said worriedly.

"You should wait for William to recover so he could accompany you.

"

"I'll kill that incompetent bastard if I see him, Queen Tara,

" he said firmly.

"If you don't want us to get into a fight again, then let me go alone.

"

The queen looked hesitant.

"But Nero...

"

"I may not be able to save my mother, but it seems like she has something important to tell me,

" Nero said. He remembered that her mother warned him about Gavin Quinzel. But that useless William didn't get any useful information. The Grand Spirit even refused to tell him what happened back in the living world.

"I want to be with my mother.

"

"Then, shall I give you a hand, dear future brother-in-law?

"

Who the **...

Ah, of course, it would be Trevor.

***

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***

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