Chapter 8: EMPEROR'S ORDER

{A FEW minutes after Neoma left the room…}

WHEN Nero woke up when he smelled Neoma's scent. He opened and eyes and realized that he was being carried by Stephanie who was running as fast as she could. He looked around and found out that they were already outside the palace. To be precise, they were in the garden. "Where's Neoma?" he asked in a weak voice. "Stephanie, where's my sister?"

Stephanie sobbed before she answered his question. "The princess sacrificed herself to give us time to escape, Your Royal Highness," she said. "Her Royal Highness posed as you and lured the enemies away."

He gasped in surprise.

That was when he realized that he could clearly smell Neoma because he was now wearing her nightgown. There were also long strands of Neoma's hair on the dress. Did his precious sister cut her hair and wore his pajama so the assassins would mistake her for him?!

He hated to admit this but it was a good plan.

Nero and Neoma looked alike because they were twins, duh. And since they were still both kids, their bodies weren't fully-developed yet. To simply put, it wouldn't be impossible for the assassins to mistake Neoma as him if she cut her hair and wore his clothes.

"Why?" Nero hissed. His body felt heavy for some reason, and the anger in his chest was making it harder for him to breathe. "Why did you let Neoma do that?!"

"Forgive me, Your Royal Highness," Stephanie said between sobs. "It was His Majesty's order that if the palace was attacked by assassins, our top priority is to protect you. He also told us that if we were put in a situation where we have to choose between Her Royal Highness and His Royal Highness, we must choose you."

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

[What's wrong with the emperor?!]

"Stop," Nero ordered Stephanie in a cold voice. "I'm going back in the palace to save Neoma!"

"Forgive me but I can't follow your order, Your Royal Highness," Stephanie said tearfully. "It's my duty to protect His Majesty's only heir."

He knew talking wouldn't work so he just used the remaining strength that he had.

As soon as he released his Mana, Stephanie literally froze in where she stood. The pressure from his unleashed power was enough to stop the head maid from moving. Her arms automatically lost their strength– causing her to accidentally drop him.

Despite his aching muscles, he forced himself to stand up and run back to the palace.

"Found you, Your Royal Highness."

Nero stopped running when the emperor's personal knight suddenly appeared before him.

Then, all of a sudden, he was surrounded by royal knights.

Glenn got down on one knee to even their eye level. Then, he gave him a relieved smile. "Your Royal Highness, allow me to bring you to you to the royal doctor."

"No," he said firmly. "I need to go back to the palace and save Neoma!"

"You're not going back in that palace, Nero de Moonasterio."

He froze at the coldness of the voice coming from behind. He didn't need to turn around to know that it was Emperor Nikolai.

"Glenn, take the prince to the royal doctor," Emperor Nikolai said. "We're leaving."

"Don't touch me," Nero hissed at Glenn who stood up and tried to walk towards him. Then, he turned around to face the emperor. He could feel the wound in his chest opening up again, the blood sticking to Neoma's nightgown. If he'd be honest, he'd say that he was about to pass out anytime. But his sheer willpower and desire to save his precious sister kept him standing. "Your Majesty, I'll only come with you if you bring Neoma with me to the royal doctor."

"I already sent some of the royal knights inside the palace," the emperor said. "If it isn't too late yet, then the princess would be saved."

"Neoma is still alive. I can feel it," he said firmly. "And I don't want the knights to save her. Do it yourself, Your Majesty."

The emperor looked surprised by his request.

To be honest, he wanted to save Neoma himself. But at his current state, he knew that he couldn't do it.

He didn't want to admit this but he noticed that Neoma was attached to the emperor. In that situation, he didn't have to guess what his precious sister was feeling right now. She was definitely scared.

Neoma would be relieved and happy if it was Emperor Nikolai who would save her instead of him or the royal knights.

"I'll save the royal princess," Emperor Nikolai said. "But in return, you'll follow my orders from now on."

Nero didn't like that but in that situation, he didn't really have the luxury to act high and mighty. "Let's talk after you saved my precious sister, Your Majesty."

***

NIKOLAI found the assassins ahead of the royal knights he sent to the palace in advance.

No matter how the assassins conceal their presence, they couldn't hide it completely from him. And most of all, he could sense Neoma's presence.

[I have to admit that it's impressive for a princess to awaken her Soul Beast.]

He was supposed to let the assassins live for interrogation. But since they were about to kill the princess, he decided to kill them instead. There were other ways to investigate the case and trace whoever sent the assassins to kill the prince.

To be honest, he was expecting Neoma to freak out after the gory way he killed the assassins. She looked horrified at first, but calmed down right away.

[Impressive.]

"For a girl, you're smart and brave," Nikolai told her.

Neoma, who only noticed him when he spoke, looked up at him.

He was quite taken aback.

Neoma and Nero were twins so naturally, they looked alike.

But now that Neoma cut her hair short and wore Nero's clothes, it was hard to tell that she was a girl. It wasn't just her appearance though. The amount of Mana that she possessed was the amount that one would expect from the crown prince.

[No wonder the assassins were deceived.]

"You're not as useless as I thought you'd be," Nikolai told the princess. Then, he shook off the blood in his sword with magic. Once the blade was clean again, he put the sword back in the sheath attached to his hip. "Neoma de Moonasterio, the first princess of Moonasterion Empire. From now on, you'll live as Prince Nero's proxy."

Seeing how Neoma could perfectly pose as the prince made him come up with the best way to protect his heir until he was strong enough to protect himself.

This wouldn't be the last time that enemies would attempt to kill his heir. He could hide Nero if Neoma would stay in the palace to pretend as the prince. Only a few people knew that the prince had a twin sister. Some of his enemies probably knew that as well. But all he had to do was kill them to keep the princess's identity.

As long as his future enemies targeted Neoma instead, Nero could safely hide and come out only when it was time to declare him as the official crown prince.

[The prince's life is more important than the princess's.]

Neoma, after gaining back her composure, smiled at him. "Father, what do you mean by that?"

["Father?"]

It seemed like Neoma was still a bit shocked because she wasn't acting cute right now. Despite her effort to behave as lively as before, he could tell that she wasn't in a good mood because of her sudden politeness.

"From now on, Nero would be targeted by assassins sent by my enemies," Nikolai explained. "Until he's strong enough to protect himself, you'll pose as your twin brother."

Neoma continued to smile at him despite the obvious confusion in her eyes. "But Father. If I take my brother's position, then wouldn't the assassins mistake me for him and…"

The princess stopped talking.

Obviously, she already realized what he wanted her to do.

[Ah, she's indeed smart for her age.]

"You're no longer a princess, Neoma de Moonasterio. From now on, you'll live as Prince Nero de Moonasterio," Nikolai declared, making his red eyes glow to intimidate her. "Try to survive until your twin brother comes back to take his rightful place, understood?"

Expectedly, Neoma looked shocked by his declaration.

But surprisingly, she didn't look intimidated at all.

Nikolai already noticed this before but Neoma had never looked at him with fear. Sometimes, she would even look at him as if she was an adult. To be honest, her gaze oftentimes made him feel uncomfortable.

"Papa, I'll follow your order because I trust you," Neoma said with a smile. It seemed like she had already calmed down completely because she called him "Papa" again instead of "Father." "But in return, will Papa try to love me if I become a good daughter?"

Earlier it was Nero who demanded him to save his twin sister. Now it was Neoma who was demanding him of something that would be hard for him to give.

But despite the eerie feeling that the princess gave off, she was still a child, wasn't she? Making her believe that she would get what she wanted would make it easier for him to control her. And if he successfully controlled Neoma, then Nero would listen to him as well.

[Neoma has Nero wrapped around her little finger. But it's obvious that the princess wants my affection. If I use that to my advantage, then I'd be able to control Nero by using Neoma.]

"If you follow me like an obedient daughter that you should be, I will shower you with all the luxurious things I could offer you," Nikolai compromised.

"That's so vague, Papa," the princess complained with a pout. "How about you give three wishes instead?"

"Alright," he gave in. He was confident that he could give anything that a five-year-old little girl would ask for. "As long as it is in within my power, I will grant you three wishes."

Neoma gave him a polite curtsy. "Thank you, Papa."

***

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