性瘾者

NEOMA filled her lungs with the polluted air that she just breathed in, then she exhaled and smiled to herself brightly. "Ah, freedom."

By "freedom," she meant being able to go to Auberon (the Royal Capital\'s official name that she finally remembered) as \'Miss Ramsay.\'

She was feeling good today because she was wearing a pretty pink dress. Of course, she had to change her hair and eye color into brown to conceal her identity. Still, she was happy that her Papa Boss allowed her to have her freedom every last day of the month.

Ever since her "freedom day" had become regular, Lewis was also required to have a disguise when going out with her. Just like the first time he changed his appearance as a disguise, her son now sported blond hair. And from gold, his eyes had turned into blue.

"Lewis, relax," she whispered to her son while they were headed at her favorite bookstore. It was the bookstore that she found during her first Moon Festival, and it was called \'Life Books.\' She was now a regular customer there. "Jeanne and Dion will take care of the stalker."

Last month, Dion informed her and her Papa Boss that she might be being stalked.

By that, the Paladin meant her disguise as \'Miss Ramsay\' and not her as the Crown Prince. Apparently, the stalker first came out five months ago. Then, they showed again the following month. And before she left the palace a while ago, Jeanne told her that Dion saw the same person waiting for her to arrive at the Royal Capital.

So now, both Jeanne and Dion stepped out to catch the stalker.

"I still think that you shouldn\'t have left the house, Rara," Lewis said. Every time they were in disguise, they would call each other with the pet name that they gave each other. In short, she was now \'Rara Ramsay.\' "Not until they catch that person."

"Nah, I don\'t want them to think that I\'m scared of them," she said, then she turned to Lewis. "Plus, I have you with me. I know that you won\'t let them hurt me, Lulu."

Her son\'s face brightened up instantly.

"What do you mean Author Sola hasn\'t released a new book in the past year?!"

She instantly turned to the commotion happening inside the small bookstore.

Grandma Felicia, the owner of Life Books, was being yelled at by a young lady wearing a maroon hooded cloak that hid her face.

"As I said earlier, even Author Sola\'s publisher doesn\'t know where she has gone to," Grandma Felicia said calmly, unbothered by the young lady\'s rudeness. Then, the old woman blew the smoke of her tobacco before she spoke again. "There\'s a rumor that a year ago, some royal knights arrested Sola for allegedly writing obscene books."

To say that she was shocked would be an understatement.

"Royal knights?!" she and the young lady asked at the same time. "Are you saying that the emperor ordered the arrest of Author Sola?!"

Lewis who was standing beside her clapped his hands. "You said the same thing at the same time, Rara."

She ignored her son when the young lady turned to her.

[Woah, orange eyes?]

She was mesmerized by the young lady\'s clear, round orange eyes. She couldn\'t see the young woman\'s hair color clearly, but it seemed dark. Based on the other girl\'s height and body frame, she assumed that she was in her teens.

[What a lively teenager this one is.]

"You little puppy," the teenage girl said while walking towards her.

But the young lady wasn\'t able to get near her because Lewis literally blocked her way when he stood protectively in front of her.

"It\'s okay, Lulu," she said, then she walked past her son to face the young lady. Then, she looked up at her. "I\'m not a \'little\' puppy. I\'m a \'very cute, smart, and charismatic\' puppy. In short, I\'m Rara," she said, then she extended her hand to her. "Are you a fangirl of Author Sola as well?"

"I don\'t know what \'fangirl\' means but if you mean a \'fan\' that is a girl, then you\'re right," the lady said, then she bent her knees to shake her hands and meet her eye-level. "I\'m Juri," she said, then she shook her hand for a bit before letting go of it. "I don\'t mean to be rude but aren\'t you a little too young to read erotic novels?"

"I skip the sexy scenes," she lied with an innocent look on her face. "I\'m a reader who enjoys the plot especially if the story is character-driven."

Bullshit.

She liked Sola\'s books because the erotic scenes were hot and well-written. But of course, the plot was good. She just liked the sexy scenes better.

"You\'re missing out a lot if you\'re skipping the sex scenes," Juri said bluntly without even batting an eye even though she just said the word \'sex.\' "Reread those books once you have your coming-of-age ceremony, okay?"

She couldn\'t help but laugh softly. "I like you. Do you want to be my daughter?"

Lewis turned to her with a tired look on his face.

Of course, she ignored her son.

"You\'re a weird child, and I like weird people," Juri said, then she looked up at the ceiling as if she was thinking. After a while, she turned to her with a smile. "Do you want to talk about Author Sola over a cup of tea?"

Neoma smiled and nodded. "Sure, my future daughter."

***

DION clicked his tongue in annoyance when the target got away.

He wanted to chase him but he couldn\'t leave Jeanne who was shot in the stomach by the rifle that the stalker used. His colleague fell in the dark alley where the worst kind of criminals gathered after being shot. So naturally, he prioritized saving his fellow Paladin instead of running after the stalker.

Princess Neoma has Lewis anyway.

The stalker was smart enough to lure them into the commoners\' street. Moreover, he didn\'t give them the chance to get near him. The target fought them while jumping from roof to roof and firing bullets at them.

Thankfully, he and Jeanne wore civilian clothes. They didn\'t want other people to know that the Paladins of His Majesty were fighting a citizen in broad daylight.

"I\'m sorry, Dion," Jeanne, who was leaning against his chest, said in a weak voice while covering the wound in her stomach with her hands. Her wound was still bleeding profusely. "Because of me, the target got away."

"Save your energy," Dion said sharply. "The target is only a child. Lewis can handle him."

The stalker wasn\'t really a child.

He didn\'t get a clear view of the elusive target but he saw his face for a moment. If his estimation was correct, then the stalker must be a teenage boy. Too bad the young man had concealed himself properly.

The only feature that he remembered from the target was the fact that he had a pair of cold, ice-blue eyes.

"We\'ll get him next time," Dion said, then he carried Jeanne in his arms while glaring at the criminals surrounding them at the moment. "We have to get out of here first."

***

GLENN let out a deep sigh.

Right now, he was in Ruto\'s kitchen while having a cup of the bitterest tea that he had ever tasted in his life.

Since His Majesty kicked him out of his office, he didn\'t have anything else to do other than visiting his young friend. His fellow Paladins were all busy with their work, and Princess Neoma was playing outside the palace. He only had Ruto now.

But for some reason, it seemed like the young chef was upset with him.

"Ruto, you did this on purpose, didn\'t you?" Glenn asked the young chef who was sitting opposite him. "If you don\'t want me here, just say so. You don\'t have to serve me this awful tea, you know?"

"Why are you still here, Sir Glenn?" Ruto asked, avoiding his question. "You told me a few weeks ago that you think something is wrong with your lover. Why don\'t you go to her and check if everything\'s alright?"

He flinched at the young chef\'s question. "Ruto, you\'re talking a lot today, huh?"

"Are you avoiding a confrontation with Princess Bridgette because you\'re afraid to be rejected face-to-face?"

Once again, he flinched. Then, he lowered his gaze because he couldn\'t bear to look at Ruto\'s questioning eyes. "You wouldn\'t understand, Ruto," he said with a sigh, then he shook his head. "What does a child like you know about love and relationships?"

"If I were you, I would go to my lover and make sure that she\'s safe," Ruto said in a serious voice that made him raise his head. "It wouldn\'t matter to me whether she wanted to end our relationship or not. The only thing that I would want to know is if she\'s safe."

"Ruto…"

"Don\'t be afraid of a breakup, Sir Glenn," the young chef said seriously. "You must be more afraid to lose her forever."

He gulped when he heard that. "Lose her forever as in… because she died?" He laughed nervously. "Ruto, do you think Princess Bridgette\'s life is in danger? It\'s not like that. She\'s just asking for some space to reevaluate our relationship."

"And you believed that?" the young man asked. "What if the princess is being threatened?"

Now he fell completely silent.

To be honest, the letters that he recently received from Princess Bridgette were strange. Sometimes, he would feel like he wasn\'t talking to his lover. But he didn\'t want to overthink.

Moreover, Princess Bridgette would still talk about the things that only he and the princess know. So in the end, he would brush it off as him being paranoid.

But now that Ruto was scaring him, he was beginning to overthink again.

"Sir Glenn, don\'t be a coward."

For the third time, he flinched because of the young chef\'s words.

He was aware that he was being a coward.

But in his defense, this was the first time that he fell in love deeply so he didn\'t know what to do most of the time.

"Don\'t lose her just because of your cowardice," Ruto said seriously and at that moment, he felt like he was talking to an adult who had his heart broken in the most painful way. "But if you do, you better be prepared to sell your soul to the Devil just to turn back time for her."

Glenn gulped hard. "Ruto, have you ever been in love at that tender age of yours?"

***

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