That's right—he's just asking for it.
Queen Sevanti believed that Clone No. 4 could detect and eliminate the elite soldiers sent by the First Queen, proving its exceptional capability in protection.
She wanted to bring Clone No. 4 over to protect her own son, Prince Marayam~
After the ambush on Momoze and the earlier incident where the Fourteenth Prince's guards turned on each other, Sevanti had finally realized that the lower-ranked princes were in the most danger—easiest targets for assassination.
For the sake of her son Marayam's safety, she insisted on making her request, pride be damned.
To the other queens and princes, this kind of blatant favoritism from a mother—protecting her son while ignoring her daughter—was eye-opening.
Still, while it made them raise an eyebrow, the other royals could at least understand Sevanti's reasoning.
That said, the whole thing was an ugly look.
Momoze herself showed no reaction to her mother's partiality.
She'd grown up used to it—this blatant favoritism had always been part of her life. Over the years, she had long since learned not to expect anything different.
Even so, it didn't mean it didn't sting.
She responded politely to everything Sevanti said, but when it came to the matter of Clone No. 4's ownership, she stood her ground and refused to yield.
When the rightful master refused to release the clone, and Clone No. 4 himself showed no intention of switching allegiance, Queen Sevanti resorted to a mix of threats and sweet-talking. When that failed, she could only mutter "Selfish..." under her breath and leave in frustration.
"With a mother like that, it couldn't have been easy for you all these years~" Clone No. 4 remarked, having seen the entire scene unfold.
He was left speechless by a woman who showed such blatant, one-sided affection and yet seemed to believe she was perfectly reasonable.
"It's fine. I'm used to it~" Momoze replied quietly, her voice light but hollow.
Those words—I'm used to it—cut deeper than anything else.
"Still, you'd better be on guard. You just killed some of the First Queen's elite soldiers. She won't take that lightly, and neither will the First Prince."
Momoze warned him sincerely.
Clone No. 4 only gave a faint smile. "Let them come. I don't care how many they send."
He gestured toward the guards outside the room, all of whom were still present and clearly harboring ill intent.
He could see right through them.
It might be time to purge that group entirely.
With Clone No. 4 standing watch, they wouldn't dare try anything again.
Thanks to him, Momoze's safety was, at least for now, secured~
...
Momoze's rare show of defiance against Sevanti had not gone unnoticed by the bodyguards.
They were finally beginning to understand the true level of danger they were in.
And with that realization came a desperate hunger—for Nen.
Because of her circumstances, Momoze didn't have the time or energy to attend the Nen Study Group herself.
Prince Tyson and Prince Camilla, who also didn't attend, had already learned Nen independently and had no interest in helping others.
Tyson was preoccupied with refining her "Tyson Scripture" and going on lavish outings with her male companions—she had no time to spare.
Kurapika had expected this kind of reaction from some of the princes. But...
"Do you think the First Prince will attend?" Kurapika asked, eyes narrowing as he looked at the name written at the top of the attendance list.
"Yes~" Bill answered while organizing the summary sheet. "Although it's not so much Prince Benjamin himself who's interested... more like his Captain of the Guard, who seems to be keeping close tabs on our next move."
"As for the princes who didn't attend, the Twelfth Prince didn't make any comment. And the Sixth Prince said he was... unavailable."
Bill paused, clearly confused.
"Too busy? Is there anything more important than your own safety—especially when we're offering a way to gain extraordinary power to protect yourselves?"
Kurapika couldn't help recalling what his master, Izunavi, had told her about the 'Tyson Cult.' The corner of his mouth twitched, but he motioned for Bill to continue.
Bill pressed on: "As for the Second Queen's side—well, they probably already know Nen. Either she or her private soldiers have it under control. That's likely why they didn't bother responding or sending anyone to investigate our training."
Kurapika nodded slowly, thoughtful.
"Take that soldier, Slakka. He was under the control of Queen Duazul—but now that we've subdued him, he fits the profile perfectly. It seems the Second Queen's troops are now fully under Camilla's control."
A fair assessment.
Given Camilla's domineering personality and her strained relationship with Duazul, it made sense. As long as her orders didn't directly threaten the Queen's safety, the troops would obey her.
Camilla's behavior, frankly, wasn't surprising.
With that, Kurapika's mind turned to the other Nen users.
"How did the Hunter Association members and the Nen-trained guards react?" he asked.
"Hm~ It seems like they're going along with our narrative," Bill replied. "Using this brief training session as bait to draw the princes in, pretending they're still in the early stages of learning Nen."
Bill's expression grew slightly worried.
"But because you said it could be learned in two weeks, people are getting nervous..."
Kurapika stayed calm.
"It's natural for them to feel uneasy. But two weeks is enough for them to understand the risks of Nen. I'm confident we'll succeed."
"I have two more concerns," Bill said, glancing toward Ronnel on the couch.
"Two?"
"First, some princes want to send more than one guard to train. That increases the risk to our security."
Ronnel shrugged as he leaned back casually.
"Whatever comes, comes. I don't mind~"
"Really?" Bill exhaled in relief.
"But too many people would be dangerous," Kurapika added. "Let's cap it at two guards per prince."
Bill nodded, then hesitated before raising the second issue.
"The other problem is the Third Prince's side. After all, we still have their guards under our control..."
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)