THE DEVIL'S GRIMOIRE

NEOMA found herself in a cube-like wall.

The four giant shelves with rolling ladders served as the wall. When she quickly looked up to find a way out, she realized they were deep down the earth because she couldn't see the ceiling. It was as if the room was buried in the ground.

Count Thompson and Marquis Alberts didn't show her that area a while ago.

[Tteokbokki,] Neoma called her Soul Beast. [Are you there?]

Instead of answering in her mind, Tteokbokki appeared beside her in his baby red dragon form– which was just as tall as her. "I'm here, thug pri–" He stopped when she glared at him. "Prince. Thug prince."

Neoma just rolled her eyes. Then, she turned to her ex-homies. Her brows furrowed in confusion when she noticed that Byron and Harry's eyes turned all-black. That sh*t was a little creepy. And obviously, they weren't their usual selves. "My dudes, who's controlling you?"

She tried to walk towards the two but much to her surprise, Tteokbokki blocked her way.

"Thug prince, I don't know what happened but your little friends don't smell like humans anymore," Tteokbokki said anymore. "The strong scent of the strange grimoire is coming from them directly."

She gasped when she heard that. And then, she got surprised when Byron and Harry suddenly appeared behind the Soul Beast. "Tteokbokki, behind you!"

Tteokbokki just calmly slapped the two children with his dragon tail.

Byron and Harry were sent flying. But this time, they stopped mid-air before hitting the bookshelf behind them. Then, they held hands. As soon as the two boys' hand touched, the both of them were suddenly wrapped in a "blanket" of darkness.

Her brows furrowed in confusion when she realized what Byron and Harry could be.

"You two look like the cover of an open book," Neoma said, then she smirked and tilted her head to one side. "You're the Devil's Grimoire, aren't you?"

As soon as she said that, she was suddenly swallowed up by the floor.

She literally fell into their trap.

[F*cking sh*t.]

***

NERO dropped the tray with two teacups sitting on it when all of a sudden, he felt like somebody ripped his heart out of his chest.

He was in Hanna's room because he accompanied Duke Quinzel in visiting his daughter who was still sick. When he asked Hanna what he could do for her, his cousin asked him if he could make tea for her. It was an easy request so he accepted it.

When he returned to her room with the tea that Hanna requested, the numbing feeling overwhelmed him all of a sudden.

"Prince Nero, are you alright?" Duke Quinzel asked, then he carefully walked towards him while avoiding the broken pieces of the teacups on the floor. "Please step away so you won't accidentally hurt yourself–"

"Duke Quinzel," Nero cut him off with a hint of fear in his voice. It looked like the duke was alarmed by the tone he used because he suddenly looked more alert now. "Neoma's entire presence is gone."

The duke looked confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"I can't feel her presence anymore," he said in a panic. "It's like she completely disappeared. Something bad must have happened to my twin sister!"

Duke Quinzel held him by the shoulders as if he was trying to calm him down. "I will call His Majesty right away."

"Yes, but that's not the only thing we're doing," Nero said firmly. "Duke Quinzel, I need to return to the Royal Capital."

***

GLENN was anxious.

When the lights in the library returned, Princess Neoma was already gone. Byron Thompson and Harry Alberts also disappeared with the royal princess.

The only child left in the room was Lewis. Just like him, the fox boy looked very anxious. He kept on sniffing the air as if he was looking for Princess Neoma. But the frustration on the child's face told him that he couldn't locate the royal princess.

Lewis was obviously starting to get agitated.

"Lewis, calm down," Glenn said firmly. "I already asked the royal knights to summon Lord Thompson and Lord Alberts–" He stopped talking when all of a sudden, Princess Neoma's Soul Beast appeared in front of them in its dragon form (in its cute size). "Mr. Tteokbokki, where's Her Royal Highness?"

"The thug princess disappeared!" Mr. Tteokbokki said frantically. "The Devil's Grimoire swallowed her up! I tried to chase them but they closed the hole that they used to capture the thug princess!"

Lewis hissed loudly.

"Mr. Tteokbokki, please explain," he said. "How did the Devil's Grimoire swallowed up the royal princess?"

"The brats the princess calls as Byron and Harry… they are the Devil's Grimoire!" the Soul Beast revealed, shocking both him and Lewis. "I don't know how it happened but I'm telling the truth! When the floor suddenly opened and swallowed up the thug princess, they followed her and enveloped her in a thick blanket of darkness. Then, they closed the hole on the floor so I couldn't follow them!"

He still couldn't fully understand what was going on but one thing was for sure…

[Count Thompson and Marquis Alberts shall be apprehended.]

Speak of the devil…

"What the hell is going on here, Sir Glenn?" Marquis Alberts asked. "I heard the children were gone!"

The marquis was followed by Count Thompson and the royal knights that he asked to fetch the two lords. He also noticed the personal knights of the count and the marquis beside the royal knights that he brought.

[I'm glad that they're both here now.]

Glenn drew his sword and pointed it at Marquis Alberts who looked shocked.

Even Count Thompson, the royal knights, and the personal guards seemed surprised.

On the other hand, Lewis moved fast and pointed his long and sharp "foxy" nails at Count Thompson's stomach.

"What kind of insolence is this, Sir Glenn?!" Count Thompson asked angrily. "Have you lost your mind?" He turned to his personal guards. "Lord Alberts and I are being threatened! What are you waiting for?!"

The personal guards, who seemed to snap out of their shock, pulled out their swords.

But the royal knights were faster. Even without an order from him, they already drew their swords to counter the royal guards.

Count Thompson and Marquis Alberts went pale.

"Lord Alberts and Lord Thompson," Glenn said menacingly. "You two are under arrest for abducting His Royal Highness Prince Nero de Moonasterio."

***

NIKOLAI received two separate but urgent calls a while ago.

The first call came from Glenn who informed him that Neoma discovered that Bryon Thompson and Harry Alberts were actually the Devil's Grimoire. But after the royal princess found out about the big secret, she was apparently "swallowed up" by the book.

Glenn and the foxy boy apprehended Count Thompson and Marquis Alberts. But according to his knight, the two lords refused to talk.

[How insolent.]

The second call that he received came from Rufus. The duke informed him that Nero felt Neoma's disappearance. Apparently, the royal prince was insisting that he needed to return to the Royal Capital as fast as possible. For that matter, Nero was demanding him to allow them to use the portal in Astello Temple connected to his palace.

It was the same portal that he used to bring Neoma to the temple before.

"Kyle."

"I'm here, Your Majesty," Kyle, who stood in front of his desk, answered right away. "What can I do for you?"

"Call the saint and tell him to let Rufus and Prince Nero use the portal connected to my palace. Then, prepare my carriage," Nikolai said, then he stood up and grabbed his jacket. "I'm going to Alphonse Library to retrieve the Devil's Grimoire."

And perhaps, save Neoma while he was at it.

***

WHEN NEOMA opened her eyes, she found herself staring at a ceiling made of dark, cumulus clouds.

[What a pity.]

The puffy and cotton candy-like clouds would have looked closer if they were white.

"How long are you going to stay on the floor, Your Royal Highness?"

The unfamiliar, deep male voice made her sigh.

[Gosh, I can't even catch a break.]

She got up and as soon as she did, she saw a man sitting on a plain black throne. The only special thing about the throne was the giant scythe with its curved blade embedded in the backrest of the chair.

And the "King Arthur" sitting on the armrest of the throne was actually very handsome.

Black messy hair, purple eyes, pale skin.

The man wore a black turtle neck shirt and black pants under a loose white robe with red and golden embroidery of a language that she didn't understand. He also wore a pair of black boots with several silver chains that looked pretty cool to her.

Ah, she also noticed that his left ear was full of piercings.

The stranger had piercings in his helix, rook, snug, orbital, daith, tragus, outer conch, upper lobe, and standard lobe of his left ear.

She knew because she used to have piercings in her ears too during her second life.

[Okay, I have to admit that the piercings look cool on him because he's handsome.]

"Aww, don't stare at me too much, Princess Neoma," the handsome stranger said in a sarcastic voice. "I'm shy."

There was no way a dude with piercing eyes could be shy.

She was about to call him out when she realized what he called her.

["Princess Neoma."]

Her eyes widened in shock.

But before she could even react to what the stranger said, the white walls in the room changed into mirrors.

That was when she realized that she was no longer a tiny princess.

She reverted back as the eighteen-year old Neoma de Moonasterio of her first life. She recognized that the pretty lavender dress that she wore right now was exactly the dress she was wearing when she was killed by Nero back then.

[What the hell is happening?]

"You were looking for me, aren't you?"

Her brows furrowed in confusion because she was sure that she wasn't looking for a handsome man with ear piercings…

…. until she realized what he could be.

Neoma's eyes widened in shock. "You're the devil who owns the grimoire?"

***

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