"PRINCESS," Lewis said, then he pointed a finger at her. "You."
"Yes," Neoma answered cheerfully. "Call me "Princess" when we're alone. Can you do that, Lewis?"
He slowly nodded his head as a response.
"Good boy," she said.
She tried to pat his head but for some reason, he suddenly backed away.
Then, much to her shock, he suddenly got down on his knees and bowed until his forehead touched the ground. She also noticed that his body was shaking.
"F-Forgive me, M-Master," Lewis said. "S-Sorry."
Her forehead knotted in confusion.
["Master?"]
That made her think that right now, Lewis was seeing another person instead of her. Was his trauma triggered because she tried to touch him? She wasn't sure because she never heard much from "Butler Lu" during her first life.
But she didn't need her memories of her past life to know that the poor boy was traumatized.
[Who was his former master again?]
She couldn't remember but she would find and punish them later.
"It's me, Lewis," Neoma said patiently. "I won't hurt you."
He still didn't budge.
She squatted down in front of him. "Lewis, I'm going to hug you."
It seemed like he understood that because he raised his head in surprise.
She used that as an opportunity to "attack" him with a hug. He didn't catch her though. Instead, he let himself fall until his back hit the ground. And so, she fell on top of him.
"Princess?"
[Ah, he's back to himself.]
"Yes, I'm your princess. Good job remembering my order," she told him. Then, she raised her head to look at him. Finally, he stopped shaking. "Are you okay now?"
He just nodded.
"I have a new order for you," she told him. "Forget about your old master."
He looked surprised by her order. "Forget?"
"Yes," she said firmly. "From now on, I'm your one and only master. If your bad memories start to pester you again, just remember my face."
"Princess? Face?"
She nodded eagerly. "Yes. I'm pretty, am I not?"
"Princess. Pretty."
"Very good," she said. "So whenever you feel sad, scared, lonely, or angry, just think about me. I'm sure my loveliness will make you feel okay."
"Princess," Lewis said. Then, his hand reached out to touch her face. "Lovely."
"Can I touch you, Lewis?"
Fear crossed his eyes for a while. But then, suddenly, it was replaced by determination. "Okay."
She slowly reached her hand to touch his hand on her face.
He closed his eyes as if he was trying hard not to react.
[Ah, he hates it.]
"Sorry," she said. Then, she let go of his hand and stood up. "It's okay now, Lewis. Stand up. We still have bullies to puni–" She stopped when she realized that the word "punish" might trigger Lewis's trauma. "I mean, we have children to teach a lesson."
Lewis opened his eyes. Then, he stood up and put his hands behind his back like the proper butler that he was. He just bowed to her as a response to what she just said.
"Let's go," Neoma said cheerfully to hype herself. "Let's teach some insolent kids a lesson they would never forget."
***
NEOMA smiled sweetly at Byron Thompson and Harry Alberts– the insolent children who mercilessly beat Lewis to a pulp.
[They're already twelve years old and yet, they still ganged up on a child?!]
She was so pissed but she had to control her emotion and show a charming smile.
Right now, she invited the two brats to an afternoon tea with her. Her palace prepared all the best pastries and snacks for children their age. Plus, she also asked the chef to put honey in their tea. Although she wasn't sure if the two boys were already used to drinking regular tea.
[Whatever.]
Anyway, at first, she thought that the two dudes were twins.
Byron and Harry both had blonde hair and blue eyes. But then, she realized that almost every noble had light-colored hair and eyes like blue or green. It was rare to see people with dark hair and dark-colored eyes in their empire.
[Well, the setting of this empire reminds me of the Western countries I've been to back in my second life.]
"Hello, Lord Thompson and Lord Alberts," Neoma greeted them with a smile. "Do you know who I am?"
"You're the illegitimate son of His Majesty," Byron said haughtily.
[Wow, how blunt.]
"Everyone knows that Her Majesty didn't have a child before she died," Harry added.
That brat was talking about the empress, the woman that His Majesty married but never loved. She died of sickness a few years before she and Nero were born. According to the rumors, the emperor had never consummated his marriage with the poor empress.
So no one was happy when a lowly woman gave birth to the emperor's "son."
[Yes, that sc*mbag never acknowledged that he has a princess!]
Anyway, the two had the courage to talk to him that way because her attendants were standing a few meters away from them.
Lewis was the only guard standing right behind her.
"Your snotty attitude tells me that both of you are born with noble parents," Neoma started with a smile.
[Gosh, my face hurts from smiling too much.]
"Of course," Byron and Harry said in unison. "Both our parents are higher nobles."
She smiled and sipped her tea before she spoke. "So what?"
Byron and Harry looked confused by her arrogant tone.
[You're not the only one allowed to be arrogant here, brats. Learn from me.]
"My father is still a de Moonasterio," she continued with an arrogant smirk. Then, she elegantly placed the cup on the table before looking at them haughtily. "The royal family has the purest blood of all the families in the empire. WE are descendants of Yule, the Moon God. That means we are different from mere mortals like you. So even if my mother was a lowly woman, it doesn't change the fact that I am a de Moonasterio. The blood of a god is running through my veins and it's purer than the combined blood of simple nobles like your parents." Even without looking at her reflection, she knew her eyes turned red and glowed menacingly. She wasn't raising her voice but she could feel her anger in every fiber of her being. No wonder the two brats looked scared of her now. "The Soul Beast inside me is proof that I am a de Moonasterio. Anyone who says otherwise will be swallowed by my beast. Do you want to become my LOVELY PET's snack?"
In fairness, the two brats looked like they wanted to answer.
But their little bodies were shaking too much. They could definitely feel the heavy pressure from her Mana. A few seconds later, they dropped to the ground while holding their necks as if they couldn't breathe.
She raised a hand to stop her attendants and knights to come and help the kids. They bowed to her and remained where they were.
Neoma looked down at the two kids on the ground. They were now crying while scratching their necks. "Lewis, listen to my new orders."
"Me," Lewis said behind her. "Listening."
"I'm giving you the permission to hurt the humans who hurt you," she said coldly while looking down at the two brats who were now looking at her with fear in their eyes. "Always return the favor tenfold. Do you understand?"
"Me understands," Lewis answered in a flat voice. "Prince."
"Good," she said, then she smiled. Now that she had calmed down, she was sure that her eyes already returned to normal. As proof, the brats also started to breathe again. Ah, it would be more appropriate to say that the two boys were now catching their breath. "You've heard me, Lord Thompson and Lord Alberts. The next time you hurt my butler, WE will return the favor tenfold. So you better think twice before touching my people."
The two brats nodded eagerly, tears brimming in the corner of their eyes.
Byron and Harry tried to run away but she stopped them.
"Sit," she said with an overly sweet smile. "Finish your tea before you leave or else, I'll ask Lewis to run after you."
Byron and Harry sobbed, but they were forced to sit down anyway.
[Good.]
She picked up a macaroon, then she turned to Lewis and smiled at him.
Of course, he didn't react and just looked at her with a blank face.
"Open your mouth, Lewis," Neoma asked him. When he opened his mouth, she put the macaroon close to his mouth. "Bite this." He did bite the macaroon but he didn't chew. She decided to be more patient with him. "Chew it slowly before you swallow."
Lewis nodded, then he slowly chewed the macaroon.
Neoma smiled and gently brushed the crumbs at the corner of his mouth. She touched his face as lightly as possible to not startle him. Thankfully, this time, her touch didn't trigger his trauma. [I need to help Lewis.]
***
"I HEARD what you did to the young nobles yesterday."
Neoma forced herself to smile at what Emperor Nikolai commented. Right now, they were having breakfast at his palace. But she was the only one enjoying her pancakes. The emperor was only having tea for his breakfast. Not that she cared. "Papa, if you're just going to scold me, please forget it. I don't want to have a stomachache. But if you're going to praise me, go ahead and make my day."
"You're getting more and more arrogant, Prince Nero," Emperor Nikolai said. "Are you trying to test my patience?"
"No, I'm using my male privilege against you," she answered brightly. She could talk freely like that because aside from the two of them, no one else was in the dining hall. Not even Glenn. "If I were the real Nero, I'm sure you'd praise me. I only copied what you often do, Papa– and that's terrorizing your subjects."
"Balance it," the emperor said, obviously dismissing the fact that she was being so rude to him. "Too much fear would create hatred in your subjects' hearts. You have to make them fear and respect you at the same time."
"Thank you for the advice, Papa."
"I'll be your personal trainer for today."
She almost choked on her food, forcing her to gulp down a glass of juice. "What do you mean by that, Papa?"
"I'm giving you the attention you're desperate for," Emperor Nikolai said with a smirk. "I'm going to teach you how to use your Soul Beast."
Neoma almost threw up.
[Is he planning to torture me as a punishment for my rudeness?!]
***
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NEOMA was kind of nervous.
After Louisa helped her change into training clothes (linen shirt, pants, boots), she asked the head maid and the head butler to leave the room. The only one she allowed to stay with her was Lewis. And that was because she had another "mission" for him.
"Lewis, my life might be put at risk later," Neoma said to her young butler. "You have to save me."
Lewis, standing in front of her with his hands behind him, nodded. "Me. Save. Princess."
"Very good," she said. "But Lewis, tell me. Who do you like more? Me or His Majesty?"
"Princess," he answered without missing a beat.
"Very good," she said with a smile. "Then, will you save me from His Majesty if you have to? Will you fight him even if it means being a traitor?" She gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "Will you do that for me, Lewis?"
Lewis nodded. "Anything. Princess."
She squealed in delight and was about to hold his hands when she realized that he wasn��t used to sudden physical contact. So instead, she just hugged herself. "Thank you, Lewis. You're the best boy ever!"
As soon as she said that, Nero's "smiling" face suddenly crossed her mind.
[Nero will probably get mad if he heard me say that.]
Well, whatever. Her twin brother wasn't here anyway.
"Let's go, Lewis," Neoma said cheerfully. "Let's kick some royal ass today."
***
[GOSH, does His Majesty have to be that handsome?]
Neoma was now on the training ground with Emperor Nikolai.
Her father was wearing the same outfit as her but of course, the emperor was one hundred times better-looking.
She hated that her father had a face that could be considered a national treasure. Plus, he had a good built. In short, even though he was a jerk, his physical appearance was a big reason why other people would find it hard to hate him.
[He's a god's gift to women.]
Was that the reason why her mother gave her everything to this sc*mbag?
"Prince Nero, are you spacing out?" Emperor Nikolai asked while he was rolling the sleeve of his linen shirt up to his elbow. "Spacing out during training could get you killed, you know?"
[I know– especially if the instructor is you.]
"I'm not spacing out, Papa," Neoma said with a charming smile. "I'm just wondering about what kind of training we are doing today."
"I want to see your Soul Beast."
Her smile suddenly froze.
"Didn't you hear me?" the emperor asked. "I want you to summon your Soul Beast and try to attack me using it."
"Papa, aren't we supposed to start with the basics?" she asked, hoping that her charm would somehow affect him. "I thought we would begin by learning the basics of swordsmanship."
"Swordsmanship is only secondary to a de Moonasterio. We are naturally strong so we don't necessarily need weapons," her father said. "We must hone our magical ability first by training with our Soul Beast."
"Uhm–"
"What's wrong?" the emperor asked with a knotted forehead. "Don't tell me you can't summon your Soul Beast?"
"I can," she said abruptly. "There's just a super itsy bitsy problem, Papa."
"What is it?"
"I asked my Soul Beast to transform," she said, tearing her gaze away from him. "My Soul Beast is originally a dragon. But it's so common."
"You consider a dragon "common?""
Neoma finally got the courage to face her father properly. "Papa, I want a unicorn so I asked the dragon to turn into one."
She fully prepared herself for the insults that her father would definitely throw at her.
Knowing him, she knew he would find her "childish" even though she was literally a child now. Worse, the emperor might even compare her to the real Nero. Or maybe he would attack her for being "feminine" even though she was a girl.
But none of that happened.
Instead, Emperor Nikolai graced her with a rare smile.
She didn't have a heart problem but she felt like she just had a heart attack.
[He smiled.]
In her previous life, the emperor only smiled at her once in her whole life. And that smile happened when she also talked about a unicorn. Was he fond of that mythical creature for him to smile again when she mentioned it in this lifetime?
Whatever the reason was, she couldn't deny that Emperor Nikolai's genuine smile was seriously pretty.
[Talk about a million-dollar smile.]
If the emperor lived in the modern world and he decided to become a vlogger, she was sure he would gain millions of followers in just a few days.
"When I was your age, I also wanted a unicorn," Emperor Nikolai said. "I can't believe you inherited that naiveté from me."
She didn't know how to react.
This was the first time that he talked to her about his childhood. She was happy, but she also didn't want to get swayed easily.
[But damn, I definitely got my pretty genes from him.]
"Did you get a unicorn, Papa?" she asked with a smile. To be honest, she wasn't in the mood to smile but whatever. She needed to suck up to him even if he only saw her as Nero's proxy. "Do you think I'd get the chance to own a unicorn as well?"
The emperor's facial expression suddenly turned grim. "If your Soul Beast really turned into a unicorn, I will kill it."
Her smile froze at that.
"You're the crown prince of the empire, Nero," Emperor Nikolai said coldly. Looking at him now, she wondered if she really saw him smile a while ago or it was just all in her head. "You don't need childish things like a useless unicorn."
Neoma smiled even though deep inside, she was screaming in annoyance. Gosh, the emperor's mood was so unpredictable. She almost softened up when he smiled. But now that she witnessed his awful mood swing, she put her guard up again. "I will not ask my Soul Beast to turn into a unicorn, Papa."
[Hmph!]
***
CONCENTRATING to get to the place where her Soul Beast was a piece of cake for Neoma.
Ever since she was three years old, she had already mastered the art of concentrating. That was probably why she awakened first before Nero. Sometimes, she thinks that she was born a genius and her talent was only repressed by her tyrannical father in her first life.
But in this current lifetime, she had no reason to hold back.
"Hey, Mr. Dragon," Neoma called out to her Soul Beast. Right now, she was back in the strange "dark room" where she met her Soul Beast for the first time before. The room was small and right now, she couldn't see anything with her. "Come out while I'm still asking nicely."
"You really talk like an adult thug!"
She turned around to face her Soul Beast with an expectation that it was still in the form of a dragon. After all, the Soul Beast told her that changing its form to a unicorn wouldn't be easy. That was the reason why she couldn't summon it when her life was in danger.
But much to her shock, a white unicorn that was the size of a pony was standing in front of her now. It looked so adorable! And the unicorn even had tiny wings.
"No," she said, then she covered her mouth when she gasped. That was because she remembered that her father said he'd kill her Soul Beast if it turned into a unicorn. Now she felt guilty for being childish. But that anxiousness only lasted for a few seconds. She wouldn't let her father kill her Soul Beast! "Get ready, my dude," she told the Soul Beast, then she punched her fist against her other hand. "We're going to kick my father's royal ass."
"Uhm, how about no?" the Soul Beast said while slowly walking backward– away from her. "I don't want to die yet, you stupid thug princess!"
"I'm not asking for your opinion, my dude," Neoma said with a sweet smile while walking towards the Soul Beast like a predator. "It's an order from your master, you one-horned donkey."
"Hey, I'm a unicorn!"
***
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