[DURING Neoma's meeting with Lewis and Hanna..]

"So, Saint Macaroni– I mean Saint Zavaroni saw a dangerous prophecy," Neoma said while cracking a chocolate chip cookie into two. Sir Glenn secretly delivered a basket of delicious chocolate chip cookies and three mugs of hot chocolate for her, Hanna, and Lewis a while ago. Right now, the three of them were in the tea area of her room. "His Holiness said that he saw me killing His Majesty or something."

Hanna, who was sitting elegantly on the sofa from across her, stopped drinking her hot chocolate midway. "May I implore you to repeat what you just said, Neoma?"

"His Holiness said that he saw a prophecy where I kill my father during my coronation night," she repeated, slower and clearer this time. Then, she turned to Lewis who stood behind the sofa where she was seated. His face looked blank, but she could see the concern in his eyes. "Here," she said, then she handed the other half of her cookie to her son. "Hanna is a friend so you're free to eat around her."

Lewis just nodded, then he bowed to her when he received the half-a-cookie. When he realized that she was waiting for him to eat it, he put the cookie in his mouth.

"Good boy," she said, then she turned to Hanna again. "His Holiness and I have a feeling that the Devil will show up at the party. They might try to control me and make me kill His Majesty. I have no intention or reason to kill my father, so the only thing that could make me attempt to take his life is through mind or body control."

"Neoma, this is a very serious matter," Hanna said, then she gracefully put the mug on the saucer. "Have you told His Majesty about that prophecy?"

She shook her head. "No, I haven't. The saint and I decided to keep it a secret from my father."

"But why?" he cousin asked worriedly. "Is the saint even allowed to keep his prophecies from His Majesty?"

She took a sip of hot chocolate before she continued. "If His Majesty finds out about the prophecy, I'm afraid that he might kill me on the spot."

Hanna looked surprised by her declaration.

She could even feel Lewis getting tense behind her.

"I don't want to say this but to be honest, my father only sees me as Nero's replacement," she told Hanna seriously. "Unfortunately, we don't have the best father-daughter relationship. Please don't ask questions. Just trust me on this– His Majesty won't hesitate to kill me if he finds out that I'm a threat to his life."

She didn't want to think the worst of her father.

But she hadn't forgotten about the fact that the emperor tried to sacrifice her life to extend Nero's. Because of that, she couldn't trust her father.

"I understand, Neoma," Hanna said. "How can I help you?"

She smiled at how understanding and considerate her cousin was. "First, we have to find a potion, spell, or anything that can help me snap out of mind or body control. I'm thinking of asking Madam Hammock to make a potion for that without letting her know what that is for."

Her cousin fell silent for a few seconds, then she nodded. "I'll go and talk to Madam Hammock later," she said. "I'll tell her that I need that kind of potion for my homework."

"I'm sorry that you have to lie for my sake, Hanna."

She smiled and shook her head. "It's okay, Neoma. I don't want anything bad to happen to you." For some reason, her cheeks turned red. "Prince Nero will be sad if you get hurt in his absence."

Oh, so it was for Nero's sake.

Well, she didn't mind. Plus, even though Hanna seemed to have a huge crush on her twin brother, she could feel that her cousin genuinely cared about her.

"Thank you, Hanna," she said with a grateful smile. Then, she turned to Lewis and patted the space next to her. "Sit here, Lewis. We need to discuss your circumstance seriously."

Lewis hesitated for a moment but when he saw the seriousness in his eyes, he nodded. Then, he sat beside her and left a decent space between them. He moved quietly, not uttering a single word. For some reason, her son wasn't fond of talking if there were other people with them.

Anyway..

"Lewis, the Devil is after your Marble," she said when she faced her son. "They might be planning to control me and kill the emperor just to distract us from their real objective. We can't dismiss the possibility that they might use the chaos to steal the Marble from you."

Her son nodded.

"So, I'm thinking of making a decoy Marble to confuse the enemies," she said. "Lewis, you can make other marbles, right? Like the ones you gave me before."

Again, her son only nodded as a response.

"Here's my plan," she began. "Lewis, let me ask you a question first. What's the difference of the Marble that the devil wants from the ordinary marbles that you give me?"

"Life force," he said. "Mana."

She took a deep breath to calm herself. Why did her son revert to speaking that way just because Hanna was there? But since she was Lewis's mother, she extended her patience for her only child. "Alright, let me decipher that," she said, her brain working overtime once again. "Are you saying the Marble contains your life force while the little marbles you give me are filled with your Mana?"

He nodded as confirmation.

She clicked her tongue when realization dawned upon her. "So, the Marble can bring the dead back to life because it has your life force? Are you saying that you're going to die if the big Marble gets stolen from you?"

He shrugged, his face clueless.

Well, she couldn't blame her son. His clan was already purged by the time that he was born. Nobody probably taught or raised him as a proper Silver Fox. "We can't let the enemy get a hold of the big Marble, Lewis. So, here's the plan," she said. "I want you to create a decoy marble that's as close as to the real one. To make the enemies believe that it's the real Marble, I want you to fill it with a little bit of your life force and your Mana. But make sure that your life force can overwhelm the aura of your Mana, hmm? Is that possible? Can you do it?"

Lewis fell silent for a while as if he was thinking really hard.

"It's okay if you can't," she told him gently. "Don't push yourself too hard, Lewis. My brain can come up with other plans anyway."

She was overestimating her brain but she had no choice.

Lewis's face suddenly seemed determined, then he looked at her as if he was showing her that he could do her request.

"You can do it?"

Her son nodded again, more determinedly this time.

"That's the spirit," she said, proud of her son.

"Neoma, may I ask a question regarding that plan?" Hanna asked. When she nodded encouragingly, her cousin continued talking. "Where will you hide the real Marble? If you're going to leave the fake one in Sir Crevan's body, then you should hide the real Marble elsewhere, right?"

"Right. I have a solution for that," she agreed. "Tteokbokki, come out."

A few seconds later, Tteokbokki appeared.

Wow, her Soul Beast was in his Red Dragon form (small version, the size of an average iguana). Was it shy to show up in his unicorn form because Hanna was there?

Fine, I'll let you keep your dignity for now.

"What is it, thug princess?" Tteokbokki, who decided to lay on the armrest of the sofa, asked lazily. Gosh, where did this ketchup-colored donkey get his laziness from? "You rarely call me out."

"I have a mission for you, Tteokbokki," she said seriously. "My life depends on it."

"What is it?" the Soul Beast asked. "Getting that serious doesn't suit you."

"Shut it," she scolded him. "Anyway, I want you to swallow Lewis's Marble. Can you do that?"

"I can do that," Tteokbokki said casually. "But I heard that a Silver Fox's Marble tastes really good. Don't blame me if I "accidentally" eat it."

"Sure, go ahead," she said, her eyes glowing menacingly. "But remember this, Tteokbokki. If you eat Lewis's Marble, I will roast you, send your meat to the Royal Chef, and ask him to make a steak out of you. I've always wondered what dragon meat tastes like, you know?"

The Soul Beast fell silent for a while, then he gulped. "W-What should I do after swallowing the Marble?"

She smiled, satisfied that Tteokbokki wasn't stupid enough to cross her. "You can travel into different dimensions, can't you? After all, you're living in my soul. I heard from Papa Boss that his Soul Beasts can travel from one soul to another."

"I can do it but it's not easy," Tteokbokki said. "Where do you want me to go?"

"To the saint," she said. "If push comes to shove, I want you to bring the Marble to Saint Zavaroni. Tell him to go to the Royal Capital and protect Lewis."

The disapproval in Lewis's face was very obvious.

It's like he's saying that he doesn't need protection.

"Are you asking me to leave you if things get dangerous?" Tteokbokki asked in a shocked voice. "I can't do that. I'm your Soul Beast for a reason."

"That's why you have to follow my order," she insisted. "If you swallow the Marble and I get kidnapped, the enemies would get both what they want: me and the Marble."

"Wait, Neoma," Hanna said, confused. "Are you implying that you think the enemies are trying to abduct you?"

Lewis also looked as concerned as her cousin.

"Yes. They already tried it once, so I won't be shocked if they try it again," she confirmed to both Hanna and Lewis. "But don't worry, I'll try my best not to get kidnapped."

"I'll do my best to protect you, Neoma."

"Thanks, Hanna," she said, touched by her cousin's concern. "By the way, I have another favor to you."

"What is it?"

"Whatever happens, don't use your Mana or the shadow technique of your family," she said seriously. That was the reason why Hanna died in the past. She didn't want to lose her cousin this time. "I heard that using your Mana is bad for your heart."

Her cousin just smiled and nodded.

She turned to Lewis who looked very worried about her as well. "Don't worry, you two. If I get kidnapped, there's only one thing that I want you to do."

"What is it?" Hanna asked eagerly. "We'll do it."

Lewis nodded firmly in agreement with her cousin.

"All you have to do is wait for me," Neoma said with a smile, then she looked at both Lewis and Hanna. "I swear on my life that I will return whatever happens."

***

"AND THAT was my plan," Neoma concluded telling the story to Gin. "I don't know how Lewis's decoy Marble found its way to my stomach, but I guess I anticipated most of your attacks correctly."

Of course, being returned to her awful first life was an unexpected attack.

She almost lost her heart and soul to the repeating nightmares that she had. But thankfully, her mother came and saved her.

"I also thought that my plan was fool-proof," Gin said with a smile. "But an unexpected variable came and ruined everything for me."

"Sucks to be you."

The bad black cat just laughed it off. "I don't have enough power to steal the Marble from you, Princess Neoma."

"Are you giving up now?" she asked with a raised brow. "You don't look like you have given up though."

And for that, she put up her guard even more.

Tteokbokki, be on standby, she told her Soul Beast. She linked their minds together for them to be able to move in synch. We can't trust the bad black cat.historical

I know, thug princess, Tteokbokki answered in her mind. I don't like cats anyway.

"Well, I don't have energy left in me anymore because I summoned someone from your nightmare," the cat butler said, then he snapped his fingers. "He'll fight in my place and keep you trapped in my territory."

She groaned as complaint. "If it's from my nightmare, then it can only be Nero, Rubin, or my father. Just so you know, even if they have the face of people that I'm close with, I won't hesitate to crush them.."

Oh.

She trailed-off when suddenly, the person that Gin summoned finally appeared before her.

Silver hair, golden eyes, White Lion Knights uniform.

The young man in front of her was handsome, tall, and lean. But the dangerous aura around him was very different from the boy that she knew. His twenty one year old version sent shivers down her spine.

"Lewis," she said in disbelief. "Who told you to grow up that fast?"

Although she knew that the Lewis from her nightmare wasn't her son, she still couldn't believe that he grew up this well.

She was so shocked that the next thing she knew, she was already on her knees.

Of course, Lewis just gave her a cold glare as a response to her behavior.

But his glare is kind of cool, you know?

"What's happening to you, Princess Neoma?" the black cat asked with a laugh. "Are you that shocked that you have to fight the Lewis Crevan from your nightmare?"

"How did you find out my biggest weakness, Gin?" she complained while trying to block her view of Lewis with her hands. "How did you know that I'm a sucker for good-looking people?"

Gin looked confused by her remarks.

"Shit, why is my son so unnecessarily handsome?" Neoma continued to complain, then she covered her nose with her hand in fear of getting a nosebleed from looking at her son's face. But in reality, she was already preparing for an attack. She just hoped Gin wouldn't notice. "Gosh, how can I fight without ruining Lewis's face?"

***

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***

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