Chapter 213 - CATCH THE STALKER

"MISS WHITE Radish, are you alright?"

"I'm not crying, Mr. Black Soybean," Neoma said while wiping the tears off of her face using her hands. "My eyes are just sweating."

Ruto gave her a blank look, then he laughed softly. "Okay. Tell me the date of your departure. I will pack lunch for you before you leave."

[He's consoling me with food, huh?]

Well, it worked.

"Okay," she said. "I want triple burger patty, tonkatsu burger, and strawberry sandwich. I will be traveling with my friends so if you don't mind, can you make some for them as well?"

"Sure," he said. "But what is tonkatsu burger? I also haven't heard of strawberry sandwich yet."

Those were some of the snacks that she enjoyed when she went to Japan for vacation. Of course, it happened during her second life and she went on that country with her eomma/mommy and appa/daddy.

[Good days.]

"I'll make the recipe later and send it to you," she said.

"Okay."

This had become normal between them.

Every time she would crave for a dish that wasn't popular in the empire, she would make the recipe and send it to Ruto. Sometimes she'd do it as 'Miss Ramsay,' and sometimes as the Crown Prince. Whoever sent the request, the young chef would always deliver splendid results.

"I like that about you, Miss Ramsay."

"Huh?"

Ruto smiled warmly at her. "I like that you always know what you want to eat," he said. "Whenever I ask you what you want to eat, you either give me the exact dish or tell me what kind of food you're in the mood to have."

That wasn't the kind of compliment that she was used to receiving.

Nevertheless, it made her happy."

"Ruto."

"Hmm?"

"You suck at giving praises," she complained jokingly. "You never really say the things that I want to hear. Plus, you always crush my ego."

"I do?" he asked worriedly. "I didn't mean to do that…"

"I know," she assured him, then she laughed softly. "But I guess that's why being with you is easy."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's so easy to feel human when I'm with you," Neoma explained with a smile. "You don't shower me with praises, you don't dote on me, and you treat me normally. That's probably the reason why I keep coming back to you even though you piss me off most of the time." She crossed her arms over her c.h.e.s.t. "Just so you know, I'm treated like a queen elsewhere."

"You're not a queen," Ruto said bluntly, hurting her ego effortlessly once again. But it wasn't like he said anything wrong. Plus, she didn't want to become a queen or an empress anyway. "I think an ordinary life suits you more, Miss Ramsay."

[Well, I would live a quiet life if I could, Ruto.]

***

"THE STALKER is the hidden half-brother of  Count Sean Dankworth?" Neoma asked Geoffrey while munching on some cookies that Stephanie brought in her office a while ago. "And you think that he fits the Marksman position that I want for my dream team?"

"Yes, Your Royal Highness," Geoffrey Kinsley, seated on the sofa across from her while having tea, said. "I said the same thing to His Majesty. But unfortunately, His Majesty rejected my suggestion."

"Why?"

"According to His Majesty, he won't put your stalker next to you."

"Well, Papa Boss has a point," she said while nodding her head. "Regardless of his background or his intention for following a child around, a stalker is still a stalker. If he turns out to be a p*dophile, I'll cut his p.e.n.i.s off, crush his balls, and feed them to wild dogs."

The Paladin almost choked on his tea because of the vulgar thing that she said.

"You also owe me an explanation, Geoffrey," she said sternly, then she put down her cookie on the plate to pick up her teacup. She sipped her tea first before she spoke again. "Despite knowing that the young Dankworth is my stalker, you still insisted to put that kind of person next to me. What are you thinking?"

"Your Royal Highness, I don't believe that Jeno Dankworth is following you for a perverted reason," Geoffrey said seriously. "Jeno Dankworth lost his younger sister who's the same as you. He probably sees her in your, Princess Neoma. I'd like to ask for permission to capture him and bring him to you. After you confront the young lord for stalking you, I'd like you to decide whether you want him in your team or not." He bowed his head to her politely. "Please reconsider your decision, Princess Neoma."

She raised a brow at that.

[Geoffrey ignored Papa Boss's decision and directly reported to me. It's either he has a death wish or he simply believes that Jeno Dankworth is the perfect Marksman for my dream team. Come to think of it, if that child is a Dankworth, then he must also have the ability to manipulate cloud like Count Sean Dankworth.]

Ah, right.

She suddenly remembered Jeno Dankworth's fight with Juri a while ago.

The "stalker" had the ability to jump in the air because of the jelly-like cubes that he used. Those cubes must be cloud that he solidified to create a "staircase" in the air. Plus, she also remembered that Jeno Dankworth was able to conceal his presence then. If it weren't for Juri's special eyes, they wouldn't have noticed him.

[Jeno Dankworth also probably used one of the properties of clouds to hide himself.]

Well, if that was true, then the stalker might really be useful to her.

[Plus, if I were to believe Geoffrey, then it's probably safe to assume that Jeno Dankworth isn't a pervert. Moreover, House Dankworth is a part of the Royal Faction anyway. Even if he finds out my royal secret, it wouldn't be hard to convince him to become my ally.]

"Raise your head, Geoffrey," she said to the Paladin, then she quietly put the teacup down on the table.

"Can I trust your judgment?"

"Yes, Princess Neoma," Geoffrey said seriously. "If I made the wrong judgment, I'm willing to pay with my life for my mistake."

"You don't have to go that far, Geoffrey," Neoma said with a smile on her face. "But I need you to come up with a plan to catch the stalker."

***

"LEWIS, I don't need you to accompany me," Neoma told Lewis after she changed back to her disguise as 'Miss Ramsay.' Right now, she was in her room with her son. Since her "excursion" today was a secret from her strict Papa Boss, she sent Geoffrey first to make a "safe path" for her. "Geoffrey and Juri will watch me from afar. We need to catch the stalker so I have to act like I went to the Royal Capital alone."

Geoffrey came up with an impressive plan: to organize a sudden "autograph signing" for Author Sola who just got released from the temple.

According to the Paladin, Jeno Dankworth might already be aware that 'Miss Ramsay' was a fan of Author Sola after stalker her for months. Thus, Geoffrey believed that Jeno would come out to check if she would attend the event.

The autograph signing event would take place in Life's Books– her favorite bookstore.

Juri would also attend it in a disguise so Jeno Dankworth wouldn't recognize her.

Aside from that, they also created a "drama" where the "stalker" would be forced to appear in front of her: Geoffrey hired some thugs to "harass" her after she went out of the bookstore. And since she was alone, they were hoping that Jeno Dankworth would appear to "save" her.

That was when Geoffrey and Juri would seize the stalker.

Of course, she had to play the role of the damsel-in-distress to conceal her real identity.

[Geoffrey is good at things like this, huh? What a dangerous man. I'm glad that he's not an enemy or else, we're doomed.]

"Okay," Lewis said, cutting off her thoughts. "I will wait for you, Princess Neoma. Please come back safely."

To say that she was shocked to hear that from her son would be an understatement.

After all, she expected him to make a fuss over it. All this time, Lewis would always "rebel" every time she would ask him to not guard her. And so, she expected him to complain instead of easily agreeing to her plan.

"Lewis, it's really okay?"

He nodded, his face as blank as usual. "Sir Kinsley and Lady Juri are both strong. I can entrust you to them."

She raised a brow at him. "You… you're going to your secret training with Sir Glenn again, aren't you?"

He just avoided her gaze guiltily.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Ever since last year, Lewis would disappear for a few days with Sir Glenn. Whenever he would return, her son would always be half-dead. Well, she might be exaggerating but she didn't like it whenever he was heavily injured because of that "training."

"What kind of training is that anyway?" Neoma complained, worried about her precious son. "Do you really have to go through that kind of torture, Lewis?"

Lewis met her gaze. "I have to, Princess Neoma," he said softly. "I have to be strong enough to stay beside you so you wouldn't need anyone else to protect you."

Huh?

[Why does Lewis sound like a yandere?]

*** 

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