章節 41: I'M A CHILD STAR

"YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS, you shouldn't be here," Sir Glenn said sternly but his eyes were full of mirth. "I will definitely report this to His Majesty."

"Cut, cut, cut!" Neoma yelled while crossing her tiny arms together. "Sir Glenn, you suck at acting. You're supposed to look scary while scolding me."

The knight laughed heartily. "I'm sorry, Your Royal Highness. This is my first "acting" mission so I feel awkward."

Right now, they were "rehearsing" in her room.

Sir Glenn went to her palace to discreetly deliver her Sword Lily stamp. Since the knight was already there, she asked him to practice their lines together.

[But Sir Glenn is hopeless. He has the face of an actor but he's talentless.]

"Let's take a break for now," she said, then she stood up and went to the tea table where Stephanie just finished preparing the refreshments for her. Alphen then carried her and carefully sat her on the high chair. "Thank you."

Stephanie and Alphen just bowed to her before they left the room.

While she was having tea, Sir Glenn and Lewis stood on either of her side.

It was awkward but no matter how many times she invited the two to join her, they would just refuse her repeatedly.

"Sir Glenn, is there another reason why you visited me to my palace?" she asked curiously. Usually, the knight would leave as soon as his job was done. But since he stayed this time, she could tell that he still had some business with her. "Does Papa Boss have a new job for me?"

Sir Glenn smiled awkwardly before he answered. "Your Royal Highness, His Majesty wants you to know that you can request his office to make a stamp for Lewis."

She raised a brow before she sipped her tea. "And what do I have to do in return?"

"Please deal with Duke Sloane, Your Royal Highness."

She gently put the teacup down on the coaster before she asked. "You mean the brother of the late empress?"

During her first life, she heard that Nero's biggest critic was Duke Sloane. The duke tried many times to dethrone her twin brother as the crown prince. Apparently, Duke Sloane was the de facto leader of the Noble Faction– the group of nobles that wanted to destroy the monarchy.

"Yes, Your Royal Highness," the knight said. "Duke Sloane is the brother of the late empress."

"Spill the tea, Sir Glenn," she said. When the knight's brows furrowed in confusion, she explained. "I mean, please elaborate."

"Duke Sloane claims that Lewis, the last known survivor of the Silver Fox Clan, belongs to his family," Sir Glenn said. "The duke wants His Majesty to hand over Lewis to him."

"Is he crazy?" she asked, pissed. "What right does he have to claim my child?"

"Me not Princess child," Lewis chimed in.

"Shh," she scolded Lewis when he turned to him. "My son, not now. The adults are talking." When Lewis didn't respond, she turned to face Sir Glenn again. "Can't Papa Boss just tell the duke to scram? He's so good at pushing me away. Why can't he do the same to other people?" She smirked when she thought of something good. "Ah. Is Papa Boss only capable of bullying those beneath him?"

The knight bit his lower lip in an attempt to hold back his laughter.

[Hey, you are the emperor's knight. Why are you laughing when he's being ridiculed by his very own cute and charismatic five year old daughter?]

"Well, His Majesty can't simply tell Duke Sloane to "scram,"" Sir Glenn explained, still obviously trying to stifle his laugh. "And His Majesty said that you have ownership over Lewis now, so he wants you to handle the issue, Your Royal Highness."

[He's obviously testing me again.]

"Lewis is my son but I don't own him. He's a person– not a property," Neoma said firmly. "But since he's my child and he's still not capable of protecting himself, I will deal with Duke Sloane and put him in place."

***

"BIG BROTHERS, do you want to go visit the royal library with me?" Neoma asked Byron and Harry while they were having tea during their break. They were still in her library and before their break time, she was telling them the story of Sh*ppuden. In her story, it was the "season 2" of The Blondecat Chases Edgelord to Hell. "When I say royal library, I mean Papa's royal library and not this one, obviously."

Byron and Harry both looked surprised by her offer.

"Can we, Your Royal Highness?" Harry asked excitedly. "But I thought only the royal family members and those with special permission can enter His Majesty's library."

"I'll take care of it," she assured them with a smile. "I want Brother Byron and Brother Harry to visit the royal library because you said that it's one of your dreams."

Of course, she wouldn't get in trouble because she had already asked for permission to "sneak in." The guards in the royal library were also informed that she'd be coming with her friends and they already know what to do.

[I hope Sir Glenn rehearsed his lines.]

"Will it really be okay, Your Royal Highness?" Byron asked worriedly. "We don't want you to get in trouble."

Neoma smiled brightly. "Thank you for worrying about me but trust me– I got this."

***

"YOUR ROYAL Highness, I apologize but your friends do not have access to enter His Majesty's library."

Neoma held back her smile.

[Good job, Mr. Guard.]

In fairness, the guard in the entrance of the royal library had a poker face that suited the "scene." She missed acting so much that she got into her role right away.

"Are you questioning my decision?" Neoma asked sternly. Thanks to the magical choker in her neck, her voice sounded like Nero's when he was being cold and angry. In short, she sounded intimidating even though she was just acting. "I'm the future crown prince of the empire. I have the right to grant access to an establishment owned by the royal family. Are you trying to challenge my authority as the royal prince?"

Of course, after saying that, the royal guards couldn't talk back to her.

Instead, they just silently allowed them to enter the royal library.

[Y'all, everything's a part of the plan.]

"Your Royal Highness, we're sorry that you're breaking the royal protocol for us," Harry said worriedly. Then, he blocked her way causing her and Byron to stop walking in the lobby of the library. "What if this reaches His Majesty?"

Byron nodded in agreement with Harry. "We're already grateful with your intention to share the royal library with us. We don't want you to be scolded by His Majesty, Your Royal Highness."

"I want Papa to know that I brought you here in his library because I want to make my stance clear," Neoma said with a bright smile. "I want to let the whole royal family know that it's time to share the knowledge they hide to the new generation of the empire."

Byron and Harry looked touched by her words.

Thank goodness she did a background check on House Thompson and House Alberts. Apparently, one of their mottos was everyone had the right to access knowledge or something like that. In short, the only thing the two families could complain about the royal family was the fact that they were keeping so many secrets from the nobles.

[Not that I care about solving that, I just need to tug the heartstrings of these children.]

And it looked like she already succeeded.

[Good job, Neoma.]

***

"YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS, you shouldn't be here," Sir Glenn said sternly but just like before, his eyes were still full of mirth. It was a miracle that he was able to stop himself from laughing. "I will definitely report this to His Majesty."

[Gosh, you should thank your parents for giving you a nice face, Sir Glenn.]

Anyway, the knight "greeted" them as soon as they got out of the library.

She just toured Byron and Harry around. Thankfully, the two kids were too scared to touch the books. Much less to borrow one.

And that was a huge relief to her.

[Papa Boss allowed me to "sneak in" with the kids but he told me to make sure that they won't insist on borrowing any book.]

"I understand, Sir Glenn," Neoma said seriously, just like how she was supposed to act based on the script that she wrote herself. "I don't mind if you report this to Papa. In fact, I want to talk to him about this."

"Very well, Your Royal Highness," the knight continued with his awful acting. "Shall I escort you to His Majesty's palace?"

She just nodded.

[End of script.]

"Wait!" Harry said. "Sir Knight, please bring me with His Royal Highness!"

"Me, too!" Byron added. "It's our fault. Let us explain in front of His Majesty. His Royal Highness did nothing wrong!"

She had to bite her lower lip to stop herself from laughing.

Sir Glenn also looked satisfied by the kids' reaction.

[He knows that I'm aiming for the trust of Byron and Harry.]

"Is His Royal Highness already causing problems for His Majesty?"

She turned around to find a man with pretty golden platinum hair and light blue eyes. In fairness, he was quite handsome. Not to mention he was tall and had a good built. Judging by his obviously expensive tailored suit and one-shoulder mantle, she could tell that he was a higher noble– the sc*mbag type, if she may add.

His arrogant smirk was a giveaway.

[Wait… I've seen that shade of blonde before…]

The blurry image of the late empress entered her mind. She couldn't remember how the empress looked like but she was pretty sure that her long hair was golden platinum. If her memory served her right, then that meant this dude was…

[Duke Sloane.]

"Greetings to the First Star of the Great Moonasterion Empire," Duke Sloane said in a mocking tone and a lazy bow. "I'm Duke Ethan Sloane– the one and only older brother of the late empress."

Neoma smiled to be polite but deep inside, she was seething.

[You're the a$$hole who's targeting my son, huh?]

***

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