“SIR GLENN, are you sure you’re okay now?” Neoma asked worriedly. “You’re still supposed to be resting.”

[What is Papa Boss thinking to send Sir Glenn as my knight?]

Right now, she was in the grandiose carriage with Sir Glenn (who sat across from her) and Lewis, who sat on her left side. Stephanie, Alphen, and her other maids were on the carriage behind them. The “convoy” also had the luxurious set of gifts that she prepared for House Thompson and House Alberts.

[Anyway…]

The only condition that Emperor Nikolai gave was for her to bring Sir Glenn as her knight.

“Thank you for the concern, Princess Neoma,” Sir Glenn said cheerfully. “I’m alright now. The poison was contained immediately by Madam Hammock. Thanks to our Healing Sage, I was able to recover fast.”

“I can see that,” she said. “But Sir Glenn, can you pretend to be still a little weak later?”

The knight blinked in confusion.

She pointed at Lewis whose neck, arms, and legs were covered with bandages even if the young butler wasn’t hurt. Not anymore. But she still asked him to get covered in bandages for her plan. “Lewis threw himself in the pond a few days ago. But for today, we will act like Papa threw him in the pond last night as punishment. I also asked Lewis to suppress his power so that anyone who can gauge Mana would feel that he is very weak at the moment.”

Sir Glenn’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Your Royal Highness, do you want me to act like I haven’t fully recovered yet from the poisoning?” he asked. When she just nodded as a response, he continued. “But if both of your guards are in a “weak state,” then the enemy would surely take advantage of it and attack…” He trailed-off when he gasped. Then, he snapped his fingers while nodding. “Ah. You’re trying to lure the enemies, Princess Neoma?”

“Bingo,” she said brightly. “But I’m pretty sure that their target this time is Lewis and not me. So, I prepared a little trick for the enemy.���

Lewis let out a loud sigh of complaint.

[Gosh, he’s still protesting the plan that I came up with.]

“Hush, son,” Neoma scolded him. “We got this.”

Sir Glenn suddenly got visibly nervous. “Your Royal Highness, what are you planning this time?”

***

“WELCOME TO the Alphonse Library, Your Royal Highness.”

Neoma smiled at the greetings of Count Thompson and Marquis Alberts. Byron and Harry also greeted her politely.

Behind her, Alphen and Stephanie were busy helping the other servants unload the gifts that she brought for the two lords. On the other hand, Lewis stood on her right side while Sir Glenn was on her left side.

[Thug princess,] Tteokbokki said when he created a link in their minds without her permission– again! [The scent of the strange grimoire is very strong in this area.]

That meant the Devil’s Grimoire was really in the Alphonse Library.

Neoma smiled brightly at the two lords and her two homies (Byron and Harry were his homies now, okay?). “Thank you for the warm welcome, Lord Thompson and Lord Alberts.”

***

NEOMA was bored and tired now.

She spent two hours with Count Thompson and Marquis Alberts while listening to them rave about the rare collection of books in Alphonse Library. The two lords also proudly talked about the best scholars in the empire that their families produced.

Of course, she humored them and praised both houses the entire time.

Thankfully, Count Thompson and Marquis Alberts finally left her alone with Byron and Harry for their “book discussion” aka storytelling time for her.

[I swear Sh*nen J*mp would have sued me by now if I were in the modern world.]

Anyway, right now, she was in the VIP lounge of Alphonse Library with her homies.

She shared a table with Byron, Harry, and Lewis. A variety of delectable refreshments were served. The best part was their table was placed beside the giant glass window where they had the beautiful view of the luxurious garden in front of the library.

On the other hand, Sir Glenn was guarding them from the entrance of the VIP lounge. Alphen and Stephanie were busy receiving the gifts that Count Thompson and Marquis Alberts prepared for her.

“Your Royal Highness, is everything alright?” Harry asked worriedly. “You look exhausted while Lewis looks beaten up.”

“May we know what happened?” Byron asked worriedly.

“Lewis made a mistake last night and Papa got really mad at him,” Neoma, her acting mode on now, said in a sad voice. “This is a secret, okay?”

Byron and Harry nodded eagerly.

“Papa threw Lewis in the pond last night,” she continued in a whispered voice. “Lewis was barely alive when we pulled him out of the pond. I didn’t want to bring him with me but my father insisted that making him work even though he hasn’t recovered yet is part of his punishment.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “My poor son.”

Lewis didn’t comment on her “son” comment because if he did, he had to call her “prince” instead of “princess.”

Anyway, Byron and Harry looked at Lewis with eyes filled with pity.

“I feel bad because it wasn’t only Lewis,” she continued, making her homies turn to her again. “I won’t go into details because it’s confidential. But Sir Glenn was injured from his previous mission. Still, my father allowed me to go out of the Royal Palace with Lewis and Sir Glenn because he trusts that House Thompson and House Alberts will also protect me.”

As soon as she said that, the “air” around suddenly turned chilly.

Then, darkness covered the entire room– completely blinding her. After that, she heard Lewis groan in pain. She didn’t panic because she already expected her son to be attacked.

Plus, she wouldn’t go to a “war” unarmed.

“Tteokbokki,” Neoma said firmly, then she snapped her fingers. “Switch.”

***

TTEOKBOKKI was Neoma’s ace in the hole today.

When she was thinking of a way to ensure that the enemy wouldn’t capture Lewis, she asked Tteokbokki if he could leave her soul and temporarily enter Lewis’s soul instead to protect her son.

Tteokbokki said that he could “cut” a part of his being and stick it to Lewis’s soul. And if needed, he could also switch their places.

At that moment, her plan was completed.

Once Lewis was dragged by the enemy, she would ask Tteokbokki to make them switch places so that Lewis would be safe with Sir Glenn and she’d be the one to face the culprit. She was confident that she’d be okay as long as she had her Soul Beast.

Her son protested, of course.

But once Neoma already made up her mind, there was no way anyone could change it.

***

TO BE honest, Neoma expected to be faced with an unknown enemy.

It never crossed her mind that she’d find herself lying on the floor while being strangled by Byron and Harry. The two looked surprised that they got her instead of Lewis. As soon as they realized that they got the wrong target, they jumped backwards until their backs hit the bookshelf.

She got up while panting.

Gosh, her neck hurt like hell.

But even though she would never say it aloud, she actually a little bit hurt to find out that the enemies all along were her homies.

[I didn’t see this coming.]

Still, she was a professional baby so she had to finish the job even with a heavy heart.

Neoma cracked her knuckles while moving her head from side-to-side. “I’m ending my friendship with you, my ex-homies.”

***

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***

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