Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"HOW are you, Princess Brigitte?" Nikolai asked the first princess of Hazelden Kingdom in his usual disinterested voice. But for the sake of formality, he invited Princess Brigitte for a morning tea in the rose garden of Yule Palace. "I hope the accommodation that we prepared for you and Count Elwood is to your liking."

"Nowell and I are comfortable, Your Majesty," Princess Brigitte said formally, then she elegantly put her teacup down on the saucer. "Thank you for providing us the best service for our temporary stay, Your Majesty."

He just sipped his tea.

The two of them weren't alone in the rose garden. Glenn and Count Nowell Elwood were standing by the entrance of the rose garden. The two guards' distance was far enough not to hear their conversation, but quite close enough to reach them if ever they were ambushed.

"I'm sure you already know why I invited you here," he said when he put the teacup down on the saucer. "It's about the incident that took place before the crowning ceremony."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I deeply apologize for getting you involved in that mess," he said. Apologizing to a victim hurt by the attack towards his family was only right. It was also a part of his duty as the emperor. "I'd also like to extend my gratitude to you for helping us stop the enemy back then."

The first princess smiled slyly. "Your Majesty, is this the part where you're going to ask for what I want in exchange of my silence?" She paused, then let out an exaggerated gasp. "Ah, I misspoke. I shouldn't have put it that way. Would it be more appropriate if I say that maybe you're going to offer me a reward for the good deed that I have done for the royal family?"

He raised a brow, amused.

To be honest, this was the first time that Princess Brigitte talked to him that way. It felt like he was talking to another person. To be precise, he was seeing her in a different light.

The only thing that didn't change in the Princess Brigitte before him was the way she dressed. Right now, she wore a bloody red dress that showed off her shoulders and the valley of her breasts. She was also decorated with expensive jewelry and other accessories that befitted a princess like her.

But truth be told, even without a flamboyant dress or luxurious things, the first princess would still stand out because of her beautiful face. And he wasn't praising Princess Brigitte by having this kind of thoughts. He was simply stating a fact.

"I'm a little surprised by your sudden change of attitude, Princess Brigitte," he commented, breaking the silence the ensued a while ago. "Did you already give up on your father's dream of making you an empress?"

Of course he was aware that the king of Hazelden was only forcing Princess Brigitte to seduce him.

After all, the first princess never looked at him with warmth or fondness.

"Like you said, it's my father's wish to have one of his daughters to become the empress," the first princess admitted. "I made a deal with my father. If I succeed in seducing you, he will give me enough power to protect the oppressed women in our kingdom. But you're an iron wall, Your Majesty. Never mind love and other romantic nonsense. The fact that you didn't get seduced by my blinding beauty and gorgeous curves made me accept that you're an immovable rock– and I am not the force that can move you."

He couldn't help but smirk at what the first princess said.

Princess Brigitte suddenly reminded him of Neoma's sass. It seemed the new generation of princesses all over the continent was very different from the princesses of the past, huh?

"Anyway, it's not important anymore," the first princess said, then she sipped her tea before she continued speaking. "Your Majesty, I'm officially giving up on you."

"My utmost gratitude, Princess Brigitte."

"I will not speak a word to my father about what happened before the crowning ceremony. If our king finds out that I was hurt because the royal family was attacked that night, I assure you that the news will spread in the whole continent like wildfire," she said seriously. "It seems like you're keeping that incident a secret. I believe if the news of what happened that night leaks out, the newly crowned heir's reputation will get damaged right away."

He sipped his tea before he asked. "Is that threat?"

"Is that how it sounds to you, Your Majesty?"

"You're bold, I'll give you that," he said, then he quietly placed the teacup down on the saucer. "But you know that I can kill you and Count Elwood easily, don't you? I'm not afraid to go on a war against Hazelden Kingdom."

"You can't kill me, Your Majesty."

He raised a brow at her. "Really now?"

"Your Majesty, you don't know, do you? Prince Nero and I are close friends now," she said proudly. "His Royal Highness confirmed it himself."

He almost rolled his eyes when he heard that.

Of course Neoma will befriend a woman that has the same attitude as her.

"Prince Nero visited me a lot while I was still at Madam Hammock's infirmary," the first princess continued. "The crown prince even calls me 'bestie.' I think it's a language that only the royal family uses because I didn't understand it. But Prince Nero was generous enough to explain to me that 'bestie' means best friend."

That word definitely didn't come from the Solanina Language (the language that the royal family used to speak in the past).

Neoma, your vocabulary is really vast yet strange.

"Anyway, I know that Prince Nero won't let you kill me," Princess Brigitte said firmly. "And you can't dispose of a person that you might use to your advantage, Your Majesty."

"How can you be relevant to me, Princess Brigitte?"

"I'm glad you asked, Your Majesty," she said seriously. "I believe you know the reason why my father is desperate to marry me off to you, Your Majesty."

"Your father wants freedom to legalize and distribute Favor weapons without having to ask for my permission," he answered. "The king also wants to monopolize the use of Lender stones."

The Lender stones were the kind of stones that could give power to a Non-Mana user. And if a Lender stone was attached to a weapon, then that weapon would be called a Favor. Of course, a weapon infused with Mana would be more powerful than normal weapons.

"That's correct," the first princess said while nodding. "But there's a reason why my father can't stand against you regarding that matter, Your Majesty."

"It's because only the Royal Technicians can attach a Lender stone on a weapon safely," he said. "Your kingdom trades Lender stones with us in exchange of the Royal Technicians' cooperation. But your father is greedy. He wants the Royal Technicians to share their techniques to your kingdom without giving us anything in return." He smirked and raised a brow at the princess. "Ah, no. Your father sent you to me to take care of that matter, after all."

Yes, that was the reason why Princess Brigitte was asked by her father to seduce him. And that was only one of the benefits of a political marriage. But unfortunately for Hazelden Kingdom, the empire wasn't weak to depend on that kind of union.

"I have a business proposal where we can get what we want without us having to get married, Your Majesty," Princess Brigitte said, then she bowed to him. "Please listen to what I have to say."

Of course, he had no reason to accept the first princess's business proposal.

But once again, Princess Brigitte reminded him of Neoma when his daughter asked him to listen to her "royal business proposal." His child was desperate to survive then, and he could feel that same desperation from the first princess of Hazelden Kingdom.

And for that reason alone, he couldn't turn her down.

Nikolai sipped his tea before he spoke. "I want to hear your business proposal, Princess Brigitte."

***

"SIR GLENN, may I see Prince Nero later?"

Glenn smiled and nodded at Princess Brigitte's request. "I will ask Prince Nero if he has time to spare for you, Princess Brigitte."

The first princess smiled and bowed to him. "Thank you, Sir Glenn."

Right now, the two of them were standing in front of Princess Brigitte's room in Blanco Palace. Count Elwood wasn't with them because he went to the admin building to fetch the letter that came from Hazelden Kingdom.

"It's nothing, Princess Brigitte," he said with a smile, then he scratched his cheek. "I should be the one saying thank you."

"For what?"

"For not lashing out on me or avoiding me after… uhm…"

"After I got turned down?" the first princess asked, then she laughed softly. "Sir Glenn, let me guess. Whenever you turn down a lady, she would either lash out on your or avoid you."

His cheeks flushed, then he nodded shyly.

I hope it didn't sound like I was bragging that I've already been confessed to in the past…

"I bet there are ladies who still chase you even after getting turned down," she teased him.

He just chuckled awkwardly as a confirmation.

"Don't worry, Sir Glenn. I don't belong in any of those three categories," she assured him with a smile. "I'm the type of lady who can handle rejection just fine. After all, I'm used to being ignored by my father."

He felt a pang in his chest. "Princess Brigitte…"

To be honest, he wanted to comfort her but he didn't know how. The first princess also reminded him of Princess Neoma. But since the royal princess was a child, it was easy for him to console her.

He didn't know how to comfort a grown-woman.

"I'm fine, Sir Glenn," the first princess said. "Thanks to my father's cold treatment, I learned that a lady shouldn't chase a person who doesn't want her. For that reason, I won't bother you or force you to like me back. So please feel free to approach me as a friend, Sir Glenn."

He didn't know what happened but all of a sudden, his heart thumped against his chest hard.

Princess Brigitte suddenly shined so bright he thought he was going blind.

He had always known that the first princess was a beauty. But at that moment, he realized that she wasn't just pretty outside. She was also a good person and that made her shine even more.

And he rejected such a beautiful soul.

"Sir Glenn, are you alright?" Princess Brigitte asked worriedly. "Your face is red. Do you want me to call Madam Hammock for you?"

Glenn unconsciously took a step backwards, then he covered half of his face with the back of his hand. His heart was still beating erratically, and his eyes were still glued on Princess Brigitte's beautiful face. And that was when realization hit him.

I like Princess Brigitte…

***

"DID you see that, Lewis?" Neoma whispered to Lewis while they were leaning against the wall in the corner of a hallway. She was about to visit her new bestie Princess Brigitte when she saw her with Sir Glenn. And she accidentally heard everything! "Princess Brigitte and Sir Glenn have something."

Lewis tilted his head at one side, obviously clueless. "Something?"

"You're too young to know," Neoma said with a smile. "Anyway, I guess I should play Cupid to my favorite people."

***

NOTE: Ah, finally! I was able to update daily for a month. Congrats to us! Unfortunately, I won't be able to do it this March. I wasn't able to prepare a stockpile for my new privilege tier because I was busy with my day job.

Anyway, I will add FIVE more chapters so please give me three or five days before I post them.

I promise that they're going to be worth it.

The next arc is going to be INSANE. So please consider buying my privilege. My dream is to have more than 500 priv readers this time. Thank you to the 306 people who bought my priv. Love y'all. Hope to see you again this month. Hehe.

Here are a few things that you can look forward to in the upcoming arc:

1. Duke Jasper Hawthorne and Princess Neoma de Moonasterio roasting each other--- verbally and literally. LOL

2. You'll see why Sir Glenn is called 'Mad Dog; He's not that kind, yk?

3. Friends and allies leaving Neoma one by one. :(

4. You'll finally meet REGINA CROWELL! Which means Rubin Drayton will return. Haha yeah, I know you're not excited about that.

5. MY FAVORITE PART OF THE UPCOMING ARC: NEOMA GOING ON A RAMPAGE. Our princess is batshit crazy, I tell you.

Yes, I am bribing (and begging) you to buy my privilege tiers: 1 coin for 2 advanced chapters, 50 coins for 5 chapters, and 100 coins for 10 chapters. Hope you consider buying them. Thank you. <3

Again, please give me 3-5 days to prepare for my next update. Sorry in advance for making you wait. And thank you always for the support. :)

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