NIKOLAI clicked his tongue, accidentally letting the ink of the fountain pen in his hand bleed on the paper.

For some reason, he suddenly felt annoyed.

"Is something the matter, Your Majesty?" Kyle, standing in front of his office desk, asked. "You look.. unwell."

"I don't know but I suddenly feel pissed," Nikolai said, then he raised his head to meet the count's gaze. "Where is Neoma?"

"I saw Princess Neoma with Glenn a while ago, Your Majesty," his aide said. "Glenn told me that Princess Neoma already discovered about Lewis Crevan's secret training under his guidance. I believe they were on their way to the fox boy's training ground."

He was aware that Glenn took Lewis Crevan under his wing a year ago.

Of course, he was also informed that the training method that the fox boy chose came from Trevor. That black book wouldn't have been allowed to be opened without his permission. After all, they couldn't simply trust Trevor.

Glenn and Lewis Crevan both knew that. Thus, the two consulted him first. He had Saint Zavaroni purify the black book first to make sure that the Devil wouldn't be able to use that as an entrance to the Royal Palace.

Only then did he allow Lewis Crevan to use the black book.

"Why is Neoma so attached to that fox boy?" he wondered aloud. Then he leaned against his chest and crossed his arms over his chest. "Aren't she a little too close to her personal knight?"

Neoma and Lewis's relationship reminded him of Mona and Gavin Quinzel's relationship in the past.

[I hate it.]

He brought Lewis Crevan to the Royal Palace for him to become Nero's knight.

But because of some twist of fate, Neoma ended up taking her twin brother's place. Thus, Lewis Crevan ended up beside Neoma instead of Nero.

[If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have brought that fox boy in the palace.]

"It's quite worrisome, indeed," Kyle said while nodding thoughtfully. "Your Majesty, Lewis Crevan is the last Silver Fox. I'm certain that a lot of nobles want the fox boy for themselves because of the Fox's Marble. The only reason why they can't touch Lewis Crevan is because he's currently viewed as a property of the "Crown Prince.""

"Don't refer to Lewis Crevan as a "property,"" he said sternly. "Neoma would get mad if she heard you say that to her precious "son," Kyle."

"Ah, I apologize for misspeaking," the count said. "It won't happen again, Your Majesty."

He just nodded as a response. "Anyway, are there still people who are interested in Lewis Crevan's Marble?"

"Those kinds of people won't disappear, Your Majesty," his aide said. "The nobility knows how precious a fox's Marble is."

He let out a frustrated sigh. "It would be hard for me to separate Lewis Crevan from Neoma."

"Your Majesty, what will happen to Lewis Crevan once Prince Nero returns?" Kyle asked carefully. "Would the fox boy remain as Princess Neoma's personal knight, or would he become Prince Nero's personal knight?"

"It's hard to tell for now," he said while shaking his head. "And it's not my current concern. I know that Neoma is only nine years old. But I can't help but worry about the future once she becomes an adult. I know that I promised her that I will give her the freedom to lead her life. But I just can't marry her off to someone I don't approve of."

"Someone like Lewis Crevan, Your Majesty?"

"Absolutely," he said firmly. "A knight is no good. There's always the possibility of dying while he's on duty. I don't want Neoma to become a widow early."

"Then, how about Ruston Stroganoff?"

"Huh?"

"Ruston Stroganoff is good friends with Princess Neoma's "alter-ego,"" the count said. "Ruto has been in the palace since he was three years old, and this is the first time I saw him befriend a lady. Princess Neoma seems to be clingy to the young chef as well. I think they have good chemistry."

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Ruston Stroganoff is going to be the future Commander of the White Lion Knights. I don't want him to marry my daughter."

Kyle fell silent for a while. "If we involve politics in Princess Neoma's future marriage, wouldn't Rubin Drayton be the most suitable husband for our royal princess? Isn't that the main reason why you initially accepted House Drayton's marriage proposal to Princess Neoma, Your Majesty?"

Ah, he couldn't refute that.

When he wasn't in his right mind yet, he did try to marry Neoma off to House Drayton.

After all, the Draytons had supported him ever since he was a Crown Prince. The ducal family was also wealthy and powerful.

But..

"I don't like Rubin Drayton," he said firmly. "That child looks cheeky."

The count sighed while shaking his head. "Your Majesty, you don't want Princess Neoma to get married, do you?"

"You wouldn't understand, Kyle," he said with a smirk. "You don't have a daughter."

"It's too early to worry about Princess Neoma's future, Your Majesty," Kyle consoled him. "And I don't think Princess Neoma will allow you to choose her husband for her anyway."

Ah, that was right.

He also remembered that he made a deal with Neoma before. They even signed a contract and one of his daughter's terms was the freedom to choose her spouse.

"Burn," Nikolai whispered to himself. "I must burn the contract."

***

"PRINCESS Neoma, I feel like crying."

Neoma laughed at Sir Glenn's reaction when he saw her in her adult form. "Don't worry, Sir Glenn. I'm still a child," she consoled him. Well, it wasn't like the knight was aware of her past lives. "Queen Lisica only turned me into this form because she doesn't like the way I talk to her."

"It's fine even if you talk casually to the queen," Sir Glenn said in an unusually distant voice. "You're the royal princess of our empire, Princess Neoma."

Lewis, who was standing beside her, nodded in agreement.

"Aww, that hurts."historical

The three of them turned to Lisica and Rustin Crevan who just entered the cave.

She noticed that Sir Glenn swiftly moved to stand behind her. Aside from that, she also noticed that Lisica smirked and winked at the knight.

Of course, she didn't like what she saw.

She gave Lisica a cold look. [Stay away from Sir Glenn. You're making him uncomfortable. Plus, he already has a lover.]

Lisica, who seemed to have read her facial expression, laughed and raised her hands in surrender. Then, the queen changed the topic swiftly. "Princess Neoma, I lost the bet since Lewis came out alive," she said. "Can we talk in private?"

Neoma remembered that Lisica promised her a piece of history that would be helpful to her in the future, allegedly. "No problem, Your Majesty."

***

"LEWIS, your tails are so cute and fluffy," Glenn said while looking at the child's nine tails. Yes, he counted it earlier. "May I touch them?"

Lewis turned to him with a blank look on his face. "No."

Well, he wasn't really surprised because he already expected that kind of response from the fox boy.

The two of them were distracted when they felt Princess Neoma's sudden burst of power.

They were about to run to where the royal princess was when Rustin Crevan suddenly appeared and literally blocked their way. He and Lewis were ready to fight when all of a sudden, the old fox knelt and lowered his head.

"I swear on my honor that Queen Lisica doesn't intend to kill or hurt Princess Neoma. Please allow them to continue talking in private," Rustin Crevan said in a pleading voice, then he raised his head to face them properly. "In return, I will tell you the things that our queen is sharing with Princess Neoma at the moment."

"Sir Glenn, I don't think the queen is strong enough to hurt Princess Neoma. Not in her current form, at least," Lewis said, then he turned to her. "Shall we listen to what Rustin Crevan wants to say?"

It was rare for Lewis to speak long and proper sentences.

How could he refuse the fox boy in that case?

"Alright, I understand," Glenn said to the fox boy, then he turned to Rustin Crevan. "We will trust your words, Lord Rustin."

***

NEOMA covered her mouth with her hands when she yawned.

She was currently inside the Dome that she created while Lisica was busy trying to break her durable barrier using her claws. The queen's fast and swift movements were quite hard to follow with ordinary human eyes. Thankfully, she wasn't ordinary.

[This is getting boring.]

"Mochi, come out," Neoma said when she got tired of watching and listening to Lisica growl and scratch the Dome in vain. "Catch the queen."

She couldn't counter-attack on her own as long as she was inside the Dome.

Thankfully, she was a Summoner. Instead of fighting back using her own strength, she would simply summon her Spirits whenever she was locked up inside the Dome.

Mochi, the Wind Spirit in the form of a white bunny, appeared out of thin air.

"Thank you for summoning me, Princess Neoma," Mochi said in an excited voice. "It's been a while since I get to fight a special being."

She smiled and waved at the white bunny. "Have fun."

The Wind Spirit giggled before she disappeared.

Then, the next thing she knew, Mochi was already "dancing" with Lisica. When it comes to speed, she was confident that the Wind Spirit could move faster than the queen.

And she was right.

In just a few minutes, probably after Mochi got tired of playing with Lisica, the Wind Spirit tied the queen with her invisible whip. After all, you can't see air.

"I give up," Lisica, now floating in the air with her hands tied behind her, said with a smirk, her golden eyes glowing from excitement. Even though the queen lost the fight, it seemed like her violent side was satisfied. "Although I didn't get to fight you personally, I am contented to know that you inherited both the de Moonasterio divine energy and the Roseheart Blood from your parents."

"Does everyone know who my parents are?" she asked as the Dome around her collapsed, and Mochi sat on top of her head comfortably. "I thought you were already dead way before I was born, Your Majesty."

"Well, your mother was a well-loved Summoner," the queen explained. "Spirits all over the world still talk about her even after her death."

That made her smile.

[I aspire to be as well-loved as my Mama Boss. Although that might be impossible since I have a bad temper and a foul mouth. Plus, I'm very vain. Only odd people like Lewis could tolerate a person as vain as me. In short, I'm too high-maintenance and most people can't handle that.]

"Why did you try to test my ability?" she asked while looking up at the queen. "I thought you were going to say something important to me, Your Majesty."

"I wanted to see for myself if you're worthy for our secret, Princess Neoma."

"You mean the Silver Fox Clan has a secret that could impact the Royal Family?"

"Why do you think your predecessors were very adamant on annihilating our clan?" the queen asked. "Your grandfather was the one who succeeded in purging us. But he wasn't the first one that dared to erase our clan in the empire. Thanks to your predecessors, our clan grew weaker and weaker. Your grandfather was just lucky that we met our downfall during his reign."

"Mochi..?"

"That's true, Princess Neoma," Mochi confirmed, then she suddenly appeared in her arms. "The Silver Fox Clan led by Rustin Crevan was still around when your mother was still living in the Royal Palace. When your crazy grandfather began the purging of the Silver Fox Clan just to steal their Marbles, Mona and little Nikolai began their rebellion to oust the previous emperor. Unfortunately, it was too late. The whole clan perished at the hands of your grandfather's army when Rustin Crevan was killed. Then, the crazy emperor ate all the Marbles that they had stolen from the Silver Fox Clan."

The queen laughed bitterly. "That crazy emperor only ate ordinary Marbles because Rustin's Marble, as well as the Marbles of the former nine-tailed foxes that our clan had kept hidden, were stolen by someone else," she said seriously. "All the Fox's Marbles that we had back then were stolen by the crow with red eyes."

Neoma gasped, feeling the shivers that went down her spine. Then, it was followed by anger that rose up in her chest. "Why does everything seem to be connected to the Crow?"

"Because first and foremost, the Crown was behind the collapse of the Four Pillars that protected the empire in the past," Lisica said while looking at her straight in the eye. "Princess Neoma, have you heard of the Four Pillars?"

***

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