Chương 33: SWORD LILY

EMPEROR NIKOLAI's smirk vanished. "Do you want to?" he asked threateningly. "Do you have the intention to compete with Prince Nero for the throne, Princess Neoma?"

"Nah," Neoma said right away. "I just want to be a true lady of leisure in the future."

In short, she just wanted to be a rich duchess once she escaped from that hellhole.

"Good," he said, satisfied by her answer. "Don't even dream of becoming the empress."

That pissed her.

She suddenly had the urge to change the f*cking law so she would have a chance to be the crown princess just to spite her father. But nah, the sc*mbag wasn't worth it.

"So, what's the job you have for me, Papa Boss?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Find the Devil's Grimoire."

"Woah," she said, impressed. "That sounds badas– I mean, cool."

He just gave her a dire stare before he continued. "The Devil's Grimoire was originally owned by the royal family. But my grandfather deemed that the book was dangerous and shouldn't be in possession of any human. He tried to burn the book but apparently, it suddenly disappeared."

Wow, what a cool story.

[I remember so many anime and webcomics series.]

"My father tried to look for the Devil's Grimoire but he didn't find it," the emperor continued. "Although before he went insane, he claimed that he found a trace of the book in the old library that House Thompson and House Alberts built together. When the marquis denied the previous emperor's claim, my crazy father burned down the library."

[Gosh, the crazy gene in our family is strong.]

"Despite my father's deteriorating mental health back then, he was still the emperor who wouldn't lie about things like that," her father continued. "That's why I believe that the Devil's Grimoire might be in the possession of either House Thompson or House Alberts. I'm not interested in the content of the book. But I realized that the cure for Prince Nero's curse might be in there. That's why I want you to find that book for me."

"Sure," she said. It wasn't that she was confident that she could do the job given to her easily. She just had to do it since she was a mere "employee." Plus, he wanted to do that for Nero. "But can't you just ask them to hand it over, Papa Boss?"

"If I do that, they will demand to know where the book will be used. I don't want House Thompson and House Alberts to know your secret. I've always been wary of them because I feel like they're too keen about the royal family's business," Emperor Nikolai explained. "And I don't think they will easily admit that they have the Devil's Grimoire. After all, a lot of dangerous people with ill-intentions want the book." He sipped the tea before he continued. "And so, I want you and the foxy boy to retrieve the Devil's Grimoire in secret."

"Gosh. The mission sounds very dangerous and you want two children to do it?" Neoma complained, then she let out a deep sigh to calm herself. Sure, she agreed right away to take the mission. But she didn't know that the book was sought by dangerous people. Fine, it was her fault. She should have known better. But still… "Are you out of your mind, Your Majesty?"

***

[SHE EXPLODED like a bomb, just as I expected.]

By now, Nikolai was already used to Neoma's short temper. It didn't faze him anymore. He was also glad that she didn't curse at him this time. "I know that it's dangerous but the two of you aren't ordinary children," he said, then he put down the tea cup on the coaster. "And I won't let you die. I'll make sure that Glenn will keep you safe."

If he was the one to make a move, House Thompson and House Alberts would tighten their security more.

That was why he wanted Neoma to "infiltrate" the two houses by getting close to Byron Thompson and Harry Alberts. The two young boys weren't the heirs of their respective families. That meant Count Thompson and Marquis Alberts wouldn't keep an eye on them.

"Use the young nobles to find anything that you can about their families' collection of books," he told Neoma who was still fuming. "Once you have a clue, tell me. I will ask Glenn to steal the Devil's Grimoire."

Hearing that she wouldn't be the one stealing the book made the royal princess calm down.

He wouldn't put Neoma's life in danger. If she was hurt or killed, then Nero would definitely kill himself. He couldn't lose his heir so he must protect the royal princess.

"Okay, that sounds fair. If I only need to use my brain and charisma to get information, I can do it," Neoma said. Then, she sipped her overly sweetened tea before she continued. "I thought you'd ask me to steal the book, too."

"What if I did?"

She raised her tiny hands as if she was showing them to him. "You'd catch these hands."

Again, he didn't understand the royal princess. "Your words are confusing, Princess Neoma."

"That's just a part of my charm, Papa Boss," she said with a (fake) smile now. "Anyway, since my job this time is dangerous, I'd like to ask for an advanced compensation."

That didn't surprise him anymore. "What do you want this time?"

"My own stamp," she said with a smile. "I don't trust you 100%, Papa Boss. So to make sure that you won't retract our deal, I decided that we need a proper contract. And to sign that contract, I need my own stamp."

[Smart girl.]

"Sounds fair," he said.

"I already have a design that I want for my stamp," the royal princess said excitedly while opening the big sketchbook that she brought. "I want a Gladiolus flower to be my sign."

"That's the first time that I've heard of that flower."

"Don't worry, Papa Boss. I drew it for you," Neoma said brightly, then she showed him the page of the sketchbook with a poorly drawn and poorly colored flower. "Gladiolus flower is commonly known as the 'Sword Lily' in the empire and��"

The royal princess stopped talking midway when he dropped the tea cup in his hand.

It shattered instantly as soon as it hit the floor.

"Your Majesty!" Glenn yelled worriedly. In just the blink of an eye, the knight was already beside him. "Are you alright?"

"Sword Lily…" he said in a whisper, ignoring his knight.

At that moment, all Nikolai could hear was the loud, erratic beat of his heart. He shut his eyes tight to calm himself. But he wasn't able to do that because suddenly, he heard the voice of the woman that he wanted to forget most.

["Nikolai, you have a face as pretty as a flower… but a personality as dirty as the soil."]

***

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