"I AM not here to hurt my lady," Neoma said carefully and politely to the confused and scared lady. "My name is Nero de Moonasterio, the current Crown Prince of the empire."

She had to introduce herself as the Crown Prince because she was acting like one.

"Nero de Moonasterio?" the lady asked, and she looked even more confused now. "I'm afraid I don't remember that name from the Royal Family.."

Ah, right.

Tteokbokki mentioned that the lady's soul had been trapped in this tree for years.

"And as far as I know, the heir to the throne is His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince Nicholas."

Her eyes widened in shock when she recognized that name.

[Nicholas de Moonasterio is my Papa Boss's father!]

Aka, her paternal grandfather– the cruel tyrant who had done atrocities during his reign, and one of those unspeakable acts was hunting the Silver Fox Clan for their Fox's Marbles.

"My lady, I know this is hard to believe, but I'm the grandson of the previous emperor–"

"Impossible!" the lady interrupted her with wide eyes, her pupils shaking from distrust and shock. "His Royal Highness Prince Nicholas just got engaged to Lady Claudia Quinzel! How come the Crown Prince has a grandson already? Did you come from the future.."

The lady trailed off and eventually shut her mouth.

[Ah, she probably answered her own question.]

"How.." the lady began to ask in a weak voice. "How long was I trapped in this dimension? It only feels like a year to me."

A year?

She clenched her hands before she gave an honest response. "You've been trapped in here for around fifty years, my lady."

To be honest, she didn't calculate her grandfather's and father's ages.

She just remembered the fact that this particular Hisa Tree was planted fifty years ago, and thus it was time to harvest it now.

"Fifty years..?" the lady asked weakly, her whole body trembling now. Then her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground while hugging herself. She looked shocked, confused, and on the verge of crying now. "I've been here for fifty years?"

It hurt her heart to see the unnamed lady crumble before her.

So she avoided the pitiful sight by looking around. The dimension was pretty much like Tteokbokki's space. It was a well-lit, yet empty room. She also noticed that there were several jewels and pretty ornaments scattered on the floor. Were those the precious items that Tteokbokki saw before?

But something else caught her attention soon.

[Is that her physical body?]

The lady's physical body was entrapped inside a cage made of roots that emerged from the ground.

"Is there a way for me to get out of here?"

She immediately turned to the lady, who was still kneeling on the ground. "I promise to get you out of here," she said determinedly, then she turned to Tteokbokki in his baby dragon form. "Tteokbokki, how do we get out of here with the lady's physical body?"

"Let's destroy this place," Tteokbokki said casually. "But the physical tree outside would get damaged as well. I thought you need to harvest that or something?"

That was true.

But come to think of it, only the Royal Family would get affected by the loss of the Mother Hisa Tree anyway. Considering that her Papa Boss didn't care about the tree that much, then perhaps it wouldn't be that big of a loss.

[I mean, the Hisa ointment works well. But a human's life is more important than that.]

"Tteokbokki, go wild," she told her Soul Beast. "I will create a barrier to protect the lady and her physical body."

"Alright," Tteokbokki said, then he opened his cute little wings and flew above her. "I'll wait for your sign before I wreak havoc."

She gave her Soul Beast a thumbs up. "Okay."

Lewis was guarding her physical body outside, so even if the tree burst or something, she'd be fine.

"Y-Your Royal Highness.."

She squatted down and placed her hands on the floor while talking to the lady. "Don't worry, my lady," she assured her gently. "I will get you out of here safely."

After saying that, she covered the entire room with her Dome.

It was amazing how she could still use her barrier despite being in her Spirit form. According to Mochi, it was thanks to the Roseheart Blood flowing in her veins.

[Mama Boss's genes are exceptional, too.]

"Your Royal Highness, my name is Paige Avery."

She smiled and nodded. "It's not to meet you, Lady Avery."

But the lady seemed to be disappointed by her reaction.

"It seems like Your Royal Highness didn't recognize my name."

Oh.

Now she suddenly felt guilty even though she did nothing wrong.

[But I'm glad that Lady Avery seems to be taking everything better than expected.]

"Your Royal Highness, I have a question," Paige Avery asked hesitantly, her pupils shaking as if she was scared. But the Crown Prince did not cause the fear. It was caused by whatever the lady wanted to ask. "Does the Avery Clan still.. exist?"

Avery Clan.

As a royal, she had memorized all the noble and important households in the empire. But Avery, despite being quite a common last name, was something that she hadn't heard of yet.

"Ah," Paige said, then she smiled bitterly. "It seems like our clan has been wiped out."

She felt a pang in her chest.

The Avery Clan suddenly reminded her of the Silver Fox Clan.

[My crazy grandfather wiped out the Silver Fox Clan for their Marbles. It seems like the Avery Clan is the key to the wonders of the Hisa Tree, and the Royal Family monopolizes the Hisa Tree all this time.]

That could mean the Royal Family might have hidden the existence of the Avery Clan to monopolize their ability.

[If Paige was still free before my crazy grandfather became the emperor, then their clan must have been hidden or wiped out during Emperor Nicholas's reign. That's probably the reason why I haven't heard of the Avery Clan until now.]

Tsk.

[My grandfather must have really been a crazy bastard. May his soul never find peace.]

Drip.

Her thoughts got interrupted by the strange sight in front of her.

Paige Avery's chest, the part where her heart was supposed to be, turned into something that resembled a small black hole. Then a heart-shaped red diamond emerged from the black hole.

And after that, the red diamond was split into hundreds of pieces.

[What the..]

Finally, the broken pieces of the red diamond fell to the floor.

Much to her shock, the small pieces of the broken diamond turned bigger after falling to the ground. As someone who grew up in luxury in both of her previous lives, she could tell that they could sell those pieces of the jewel at astronomical prices.

[Is this what the Wisterias are after?]

"This is the ability of our clan, Your Royal Highness."

She raised her head to meet Paige's gaze.

Ah, Paige Avery was crying.

"We, the Averys, are dubbed as the "Jeweled-heart Mages.""

Oh.

[She's a mage?]

"Our heart is made of a precious gem that resembles a red diamond," Paige explained in a cracked voice. "When we experience severe emotional pain, our diamond-like hearts break into pieces only to create more jewels. We turn the gems produced by our broken hearts into ornaments and weapons that could be infused with Mana using our magic power."

That would explain the jewels and the ornaments scattered on the floor.

[But weapons that could be infused with Mana? That sounds awfully familiar.]

Ah, she remembered now– the Hazelden Kingdom.

[Princess Brigitte's kingdom produces Mana-infused weapons for non-Mana users, too.]

"But aside from that, our clan's magic power could also give life to a special seed called 'Hisa,'" Paige continued with her story. Then she smiled bitterly at her. "Is that the reason the former Emperor Conrad de Moonasterio trapped me here?"

Conrad de Moonasterio was Nicholas de Moonasterio's father.

[That another crazy bastard is my great grandfather.]

"The previous heads of our clan disappeared before their time as well," the Mage continued in a sad voice. "Were they also trapped in the Hisa Tree like me?"

"I apologize, but I can't answer your questions regarding that, Lady Avery," she said apologetically. "I've only started with my investigation. It's embarrassing to admit, but I didn't know that somebody is trapped in here until I heard your voice."

"I've been screaming for help all this time. But it seems like the people outside couldn't hear me since my soul got separated from my physical body after coming here," Paige said, then she looked at her with interest. "Are you a Mage, Your Royal Highness?"

"I am not a Mage," she said. "But my ability to hear Spirits like you is thanks to my Roseheart Blood."

The Mage's eyes widened in shock. "Your Royal Highness has Roseheart Blood?"

"My mother was the last matriarch of House Roseheart."

"Was?" the Mage asked, surprised. "The ducal House Roseheart no longer exists?"

Ducal?

Damn, this was the first time she heard that House Roseheart used to be a ducal family. What the hell did her crazy grandfather do for House Roseheart to become the baron family that she knew?

Ah, thinking about it pissed her off.

"Lady Avery, let's talk again after we get out of here," she said in a serious voice.

Paige seemed to notice her sour mood, for the Mage only nodded in silence.historical

"Tteokbokki," Neoma said, then she looked up at Tteokbokki who was flying above her head, outside the Dome that she created. "Burn everything to ashes."

Tteokbokki laughed, and his laughter sounded like a roar. "That's my specialty!"

***

WHEN NEOMA opened her eyes, she found herself in Lewis's arms.

"Are you okay, Lewis?" Neoma asked weakly. "You hate skinship, so you can let go now."

"I'm okay with skinship if it's with you, Prince–" Lewis said, catching himself. Then his gaze subtly went past her before he looked at her in the eye again. "Prince."

Ah, they weren't alone.

"Okay, put me down now," she said when she realized that Tteokbokki's flame was running wild behind her.

He nodded before he carefully put her down.

When she turned around, it surprised her to see the Mother Hisa Tree burning down. And a few meters away from the burning tree, an unconscious lady wearing a robe was lying down on the grass while hugging her staff that was shaped like a cane.

It was the Mage with mint-green bob-cut hair and turquoise eyes that she met earlier.

Thankfully, Paige Avery was still protected by the Dome that she created a while ago.

"Dion," Neoma called when she felt the Paladin's presence nearby. "Bring the Lady Mage in the villa safely."

She turned around and was already back to the villa with Lewis behind her when she heard Dion's response.

"As you wish, Your Royal Highness."

***

"GREKO, stay here with Lady Avery and monitor her condition closely," Neoma said to her youngest "son" while looking at the Mage lying on the bed. They brought Paige Avery to one of the guest rooms at the villa. "Call me if something happens."

Juri gave Paige Avery a sponge bath and changed the Mage's clothes into a clean pajama earlier. Paige Avery didn't wake up despite all of that. But thankfully, the Mage was just sleeping soundly.

"I will take care of Mage noona, eomma," Greko assured her. "I'm glad to be of help to eomma."

She turned to the child and ruffled his smooth head before she turned to Juri. This time, she put on an apologetic expression. "Juri, why do I always have to cause your family pain and trouble?"

First, there was the issue with Madam Hammock– Juri's maternal grandmother.

This time, she was going to make House Wisteria pay for their crimes. The current head of the Wisterias was Juri's grandfather, while Lady Sera Wisteria– the leader of that expedition– was Juri's aunt.

[This will directly affect Juri's immediate family.]

"It's not Your Royal Highness's fault that both sides of my family have committed grave sins," Juri said politely, then she bowed her head. "Please proceed with our punishment as you deem fit without worrying about my feelings, Your Royal Highness."

Hearing that made her clench her fists.

[In this world, a person's crime is the crime of the whole family. If I punish House Wisteria, Juri will be punished as well. But I can't turn a blind eye to this..]

"Alright, I understand," she said. "Stay here with Greko and monitor Lady Avery's condition with him."

After all, Juri could also heal people.

Juri and Greko both bowed to her. "As you wish, Your Royal Highness."

She just nodded at the two before leaving the room.

All her people were currently busy.

She sent Jeno to extinguish the fire with Mochi and Soju.

Jeanne Audley was currently guarding Xion, the assassin, who was locked up in the basement prison.

The other royal knights who accompanied them to that expedition were guarding Count and Countess Campbell, along with the villa's servants and employees, who were under house arrest.

Dion and Lewis, on the other hand, fetched Lady Wisteria and the Mages.

Ah, she felt tired even though most of the things that she did today were order people around.

[This is all my ancestors' fault for being crazy bastards.]

She stopped cursing her ancestors when she arrived at the top of the grand staircase. From there, she could see Dion and Lewis guiding Lady Sera Wisteria and three Mages. Everyone stopped and looked up when they felt her presence.

Seeing Lady Sera Wisteria made her blood boil.

Neoma didn't notice it but at the moment, she released a very dominating aura that made Lady Sera Wisteria and the other Mages kneel before her.

Even Lewis and Dion felt the powerful urge to kneel. But since her anger wasn't directed at the two, the pressure that Lewis and Dion weren't as heavy as the one felt by Lady Sera Wisteria and the three Mages.

"Avery Clan– the Jeweled-heart Mages," Neoma said in an icy voice slowly, making her sound scarier than normal. Even without looking at her reflection, she knew her eyes had already turned glowing red. "Are you aware that a Mage from the Avery Clan has been trapped inside the Mother Hisa Tree all this time?"

***

Hi. You may now send GIFTs to our Neoma. Thank you~

***

Please ADD my story to your LIBRARY to be notified when an update is posted. Thank you! :>