Chapter 35 - WELCOME TO MY BOOK READING CLUB
"MY SON, how was your first day of class?" Neoma asked Lewis excitedly. "Did you have fun? Did you learn a lot? Did someone dare to bully you?"
"Class okay," Lewis said in his usual monotone voice. "No bully."
She waited for her butler to talk more but he didn't.
[Oh, well. Lewis is Lewis.]
Right now, they were on their way to the "Prince Nero's Royal Library." Sir Glenn and Lewis were walking half a step behind her. Stephanie, Alphen, and three other maids were walking behind the two.
She spent half of the day apart from Lewis while she was on her daily classes. On the other hand, her butler went to the study hall of House Marquis to have classes with Byron and Harry.
Lewis went back to the palace after that.
And now, she would spend her afternoon with the three boys for her Book Reading Club.
[According to Alphen, it's Nero's original idea.]
Of course, her father wouldn't build a library for her. She wasn't disappointed to know that the library was built for Nero because in the first place, she was never interested to have one anyway. Plus, this was just work for her.
[I'm a professional.]
Anyway, she wasn't that impressed when she arrived at the Sapphire Palace. Of course, the palace was elegant and luxurious. But it paled in comparison with Blanco Palace– which was understandable because her palace was built for every crown prince born in the royal family.
When they entered the royal library, she was quite surprised.
The bookshelves were really huge and each shelf was filled with different books. Gosh, just looking at those already made her feel sleepy.
She remembered that during her first like as a weak princess, she did nothing but study so that she wouldn't feel irrelevant. When she was reborn in the modern world, she didn't devote herself to studies alone. She learned the importance of balance thanks to her loving parents in that world.
[Mom and Dad taught me to study hard and play harder.]
This time, she just wanted to be a woman of leisure.
[I can't wait to be a capitalist that will exploit the overly wealthy noble families in this f*cking empire.]
"Greetings to the First Star of the Great Moonasterion Empire," Byron and Harry greeted her when she arrived at the second floor of the library.
The butlers behind the young noble children also bowed to greet her.
"Good afternoon, Brother Byron and Brother Harry," Neoma greeted the boys brightly. She decided to greet them casually because she needed to get close to them. All for the sake of her mission, of course. "Shall we begin our first book discussion?"
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NEOMA raised a brow when she saw the thick books in front of Byron and Harry.
Right now, they were in the study hall in the second floor of the royal library. They occupied the table in the middle of the hall. She sat in the center while Lewis sat in her right side. Harry was in her left side and Byron sat beside Harry.
She asked their servants to wait in the first floor because she didn't want them to hear the story that she chose to "read" to the children for today.
"So, what books do you suggest that we read today?" Neoma asked with a big smile while looking at Byron and Harry. Of course, she already decided the "book" that they were going to discuss. But of course, it was only right to ask for the noble children's opinion first. You know, for the sake of formality. "Let's hear you out, gentlemen."
Byron cleared his throat. This time, he didn't look scared of her. He actually looked excited. Harry, too.
[They must be book nerds.]
She shouldn't be surprised. After all, Byron and Harry were both from a scholar family. They must have inherited their bloodlines' love for books.
"Your Royal Highness, I would like to recommend the Ancient Tongue by Sir Lucas Weston," Byron said proudly. "It's a history book that tells the story of the magical kingdom that apparently existed before the Moonasterion Empire was built. Allegedly, the ruler of that kingdom was a demon lord that pretended to be human. The book suggests that the Solanian Language, the language that the royal family speaks, came from this kingdom."
She covered her mouth with her hands when she yawned.
Of course, she had already read that book. She could also speak and understand Solanian in her first life, although she must be rusty by now. Maybe she should study the language again and learn some Solanian cusses that she could throw at the emperor if she needed to.
"Can you speak Solanian, Brother Byron?" she asked, then she spoke the language. "[If you can understand what I'm saying right now, then we can discuss that book.]"
To be honest, she didn't know if her pronunciation was correct because it had been a long time since she spoke Solanian. Even in this lifetime, the emperor had never talked to her using that language. Maybe her father thought she couldn't speak Solanian because she didn't have a Language teacher yet.
But it looked like she didn't have to worry whether her pronunciation was right or not. Based on the clueless look on Byron's face, it looked like he didn't understand what she said.
"I apologize, Your Royal Highness," Byron said, his cheeks red from embarrassment. "I will be more careful in choosing a book next time."
"It's okay, Brother Byron. This is just our first book discussion anyway," she said, then she turned to Harry. "How about you, Brother Harry?"
"I brought a geography book that depicts the expansion of the empire throughout the years, Your Royal Highness," Harry said in a somewhat shy voice. "But I think we should discuss the book that you want to talk about for our first discussion, Your Royal Highness."
Byron nodded in agreement.
Heh, this was the moment she was waiting for.
"But Your Royal Highness, I don't think you brought a book with you," Byron said with furrowed brows. "Or is it in this library?"
She smirked at that. "Brother Byron, I��m the book," she said proudly, then she pointed a finger at her temple. "I don't need a physical book because the story that I will discuss with you is imprinted here."
"Ohh," Byron and Harry said in unison, both looked excited.
[In the end, they are still kids.]
After she threatened Byron and Harry for bullying Lewis, they learned their lesson. Their arrogance was gone and they didn't look down on her butler anymore. Now, they were acting like puppies because of their love for books.
[I won't disappoint you, my children.]
"Before I begin, you must take an oath of silence first," she said, acting like she was dead serious. "The story that I will share with you today is a story passed down to the children of the royal family. But since Brother Byron and Brother Harry are friendly with me and Lewis now, I decided to share it with you. But only if you promised that you won't share it with anyone else. Because if you speak of it to another soul, you'll get cursed."
Byron and Harry gulped at the same time, then they both nodded. "We promise to keep this a secret, Your Royal Highness."
"Good," she said with a bright smile. "The "book" that I'm going to share with you is an Epic that depicts Friendship, Effort, and Victory."
She loved J*mp's concept, okay?
Anyway…
"The story is called Blondecat Chases Edgelord to Hell," she continued with her storytelling. "Blondecat is a ninja who grew up in a hidden village called Maple Leaf. If you don't know, a ninja is a covert mercenary. Anyway, Blondecat is an outcast because unknown to him, a monster was residing in his body…"
She stopped and glanced at Lewis who still had a blank look on his face.
To be honest, she was about to say that the monster was a nine-tailed fox. But she remembered that Lewis came from a fox clan so she just didn't specify what kind of monster that was. She didn't want her son to think that he was a monster.
Neoma cleared her throat before she continued her storytelling. "That monster destroyed their village in the past and so, Blondecat grew up being hated by most people. Because of the maltreatment that he experienced, he became a troublemaker. He declared that was he was going to be the next Ultra Ninja. But when he entered the ninja academy, he met his rival– Edgelord." She leaned forward to capture the boys' attention even more. "Now, do you think it's possible for Blondecat and Edgelord to work together in a team?"
[Sh*nen J*mp, please don't sue me.]
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