Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"HANNA isn't here?" Neoma asked in surprise when she arrived at Hanna's room in Madam Hammock's infirmary wing. Much to her dismay, her cousin wasn't there. Only Duchess Amber Quinzel was in the room. "Did she meet up with my brother by any chance, Your Grace?"

She told Nero to meet and thank Hanna. But since her brother was mad at her, she didn't expect that he'd listen to her.

Maybe he really wants to thank Hanna even without me telling him to do so.

"Hanna was indeed summoned by His Royal Highness, Princess Neoma," Duchess Amber Quinzel said with a warm smile. "Is there an urgent matter that you need to discuss with my daughter? I can send an attendant to deliver a message for her, Your Royal Highness."

"Oh, it's nothing important, Your Grace," she said while politely shaking her head. "I just wanted to check on her."

"Thanks to Madam Hammock's excellent treatment, our Hanna has already fully-recovered," the duchess assured her. It seemed like she was in a good mood, probably because Hanna was already out of danger. "Thank you for your concern to our daughter, Princess Neoma."

She smiled and nodded. "Again, thank you for helping us during that time. And I'm terribly sorry that Hanna got hurt in the process."

"Please don't say that," Duchess Amber Quinzel. Then, even though she wore clothes with several layers (since it already began getting colder), she squatted down to reach her eye level. It must have been hard to move because of her heavy clothing. So she appreciated the fact that the duchess still did that just so she could properly face her. "Princess Neoma, it wasn't your fault. And as nobles of this empire, it is our duty to protect the royal family."

Again, Neoma smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Your Grace."

***

NEOMA didn't want to think of this line because she had already read it in hundreds of YA and contemporary books back in her second life, but she had to: As soon as she left Madam Hammock's infirmary, she LET GO OF THE BREATH SHE DIDN'T KNOW SHE WAS HOLDING.

Damn, that's like one of the most cliché lines ever.

"Princess Neoma?"

Neoma turned to Lewis. Since they were already back in Blanco Palace (her residence), her son walked behind her. It would be rude of him if he walked beside her. She hated it but she didn't want Lewis to be scolded by his superiors in the White Lion Knights squad. "Yes?"

"Do you hate Duchess Quinzel?" Lewis asked, his facial expression and voice as blank as usual. "You look awkward every time you talk to her."

Ah, expected of her son. He really knew her like the back of his hand.

"I don't hate Duchess Quinzel," she said, then she looked to the front as they entered the hallway leading to Princess Brigitte's room. Since Hanna was with Nero, she decided to visit the foreign princess instead. "I just feel awkward around her."

Even though she knew that Duchess Amber Quinzel was very different from the adoptive mother that she had in her first life, she still couldn't get rid of the trauma that she got from how the duchess treated her in the past.

So even if Duchess Amber Quinzel was nice to her now, she still found it hard to be comfortable with her. It was the same case with Emperor Nikolai and Rubin Drayton.

People like Lewis who didn't personally hurt her in her first life were easier to forgive.

Nero was a different case though. Despite her twin brother killing her in her first life, she still had to suck up to him to survive in this lifetime. Plus, she had to acknowledge the fact that she had been a bitch to Nero in her previous life. She was no angel– back then and even now.

"I know that Duchess Amber Quinzel is a good person," she said. "I can't blame her for losing her sanity when she lost her only daughter in my first life. Although I was traumatized because of the mental and emotional abuse that I received from the duchess, I still can understand her. But for some reason, my heart can't seem to forgive her yet."

And she knew the reason why.

She loved Duchess Amber Quinzel as a mother in the past. And she felt betrayed when the duchess chose Regina Crowell over her. Her adoptive mother threw her away after she did everything she could to literally replace Hanna in House Quinzel.

"It's okay, Princess Neoma."

She turned to Lewis who used a warmer voice than usual. "Hmm?"

"You're not required to forgive people that you don't want to forgive," Lewis said casually. "It's okay if you hate them. You're allowed to do that because you're Princess Neoma."

She blinked in surprise, then she laughed. "That's right," she said while nodding. "Thank you for the life advice, Lewis."

"It's nothing, Princess Brigitte."

She flinched in surprise when she heard Sir Glenn's voice.

When she took a corner, she saw Sir Glenn and Princess Brigitte talking in front of the latter's room. She immediately took a step backward and pulled Lewis with her. Then, the two of them leaned against the wall.

"I should be the one saying thank you," Sir Glenn continued.

"For what?" Princess Brigitte asked.

"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."

"I bet there are ladies who still chase you even after getting turned down," the foreign princess added, obviously teasing the knight.

The knight could only give an awkward chuckle as a response.

Ohh.

They're flirting, Neoma thought to herself. But I just heard Princess Brigitte say that Sir Glenn rejected her.

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

"Princess Brigitte…"

Neoma covered her mouth with her hands.

To be honest, she sympathized with Princess Brigitte because she was in the same position. There was also a phase in her life where Emperor Nikolai ignored her despite her efforts to get closer to him. And quite frankly, most of the princesses in this continent were treated like shit.

"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."

Neoma gasped when she heard those brave and inspiring words from Princess Brigitte.

What a quotable quote!

If I were in my adult form, I would have proposed marriage to Princess Brigitte already. But if she turns me down, I'll just stay as her bestie. Should I start calling her 'unnie?'

'Unnie' meant 'big sister' in the Korean language. It was usually how younger girls addressed older girls.

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

His face is red?

Neoma sneakily took a peek at the rom-com in the making.

Lewis copied her right away. It was cute how her son would copy some of the things that she does. He would sometimes act like a baby that copies what adults do.

Anyway, she almost giggled when she saw Sir Glenn's red face.

Before she gets caught, she leaned against the wall again. Of course, her cute son did exactly what she had just done.

"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."

Once again, her son tilted his head at one side. "Cupid?"

"Cupid is a naughty baby boy with wings that shoots people with his arrow," she explained. Well, it was her own version of Cupid in her head. Lewis wouldn't know that her explanation wasn't accurate anyway. "The pair that's, unfortunately, hit with Cupid's arrow would fall in love with each other."

Lewis didn't react– he was obviously unimpressed.

"Anyway," Neoma changed the topic right away. "I'm bored so let's play Cupid."

***

"PAPA BOSS, fancy meeting you here!"

"This is my office, Neoma," Emperor Nikolai said bluntly. "What do you mean by "fancy meeting" me here?"

Neoma just shrugged it off. Then, she stood in front of her father's desk. Of course, Lewis stood behind her. Her Papa Boss was alone though. Thank goodness Count Kyle Sprouse wasn't there! "Papa Boss, what's your itinerary for the upcoming Moon Festival?"

"My what?"

"Schedule," she explained. "But to be precise, I just want to know when Sir Glenn is required to babysit– I mean, to guard you."

"Every time I need to show my face to the public."

Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Gosh, Papa Boss. You're so clingy."

He glared at her. "I wasn't the one who established that rule. If I dismiss Glenn during a public event, he'd be criticized for leaving my side."

"Touché," she said. "Does it mean Sir Glenn will also guard you during the dancing ceremony or whatever it's called?"

"If I wouldn't be dancing, I am required to observe that event."

Her ears perked up after hearing that. "If you wouldn't be dancing? Then, does it mean that if you're going to dance, you wouldn't be required to show your face to the public?"

"Yes. It's a strange tradition of the royal family," her Papa Boss explained. "If the emperor decides to dance during the Moon Festival, he's required to dance in the shrine dedicated to Yule. Apparently, it's a dance that only the Moon God is supposed to witness. During that time, not even Glenn is allowed to step foot in the shrine."

Out of all the stupid traditions of the royal family, that was the only thing that she liked.

"Papa Boss, are you going to dance during the festival?"

"No."

"Why not?"

His brows furrowed in confusion. "Why do I need to dance? I don't have a fiancée or a wife anyway. An emperor is only allowed to dance with his future wife or the empress during the Moon Festival. And..."

"And his daughter, right?" she asked. "I think I've read it in a book that if an emperor doesn't have a wife or a fiancée during special occasions, he's allowed to dance with a female family member. The Moon Festival is included in that, isn't it?"

Emperor Nikolai raised a brow. "And what about it?"

"You have a daughter," Neoma declared proudly. "Papa Boss, dance with me during the Moon Festival."

***

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