Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

NEOMA took a deep breath once she was back inside Madam Hammock's residence.

She already excused herself from Rubin and Regina before she lost control. Although she was good at hiding her fangs when she needed to, she couldn't do the same with Regina Crowell. Moreover, had she stayed longer, she would have revealed that she knew about the Crow.

"Remember that girl very well, Lewis," Neoma said, then she looked up at Lewis who stood in front of her. "Regina Crowell is my enemy."

Lewis nodded firmly.

"Gosh, have you seen her?" she said while shaking her head. "Her angelic face doesn't match her rotten personality. But not gonna lie– she's really pretty. No wonder Rubin is so enamored with her."

"Miss Crowell is ugly."

She blinked in surprise at what Lewis said. This was the first time that he heard him directly insult a person. "Woah, Lewis. I know that she's an enemy. But we shouldn't lie like that."

"She's really ugly," her son said firmly. Wow, this was the first time that he argued with her like this for something so petty. "It's okay to say that people with rotten personalities are ugly. It's okay because I'm not nice like you, Princess Neoma."

She just laughed it off. "A bad person doesn't declare that he's "not nice," Lewis. But okay, I'll let you call Regina 'ugly.' I won't scold you anymore."

"Everyone and anyone are beautiful to you, Princess Neoma– even those who are not conventionally attractive. Out of five people that you call "pretty," only two of them are usually good-looking," Lewis said bluntly. "I'd say that you're just good at praising people. But I know you so I know that you genuinely think that they're beautiful even if they're not. And that's because you have a good heart."

She got embarrassed by what she heard from her son. Well, she was used to people saying that she was vain and arrogant because that was how they wanted them to perceive her. After all, as the Crown Prince, she had to have the audacity– ahem, the confidence of a man.

But who would have thought that Lewis saw through her magnificent act?

"You talk a lot today, Lewis," she said, amused. And yes, she just changed the topic. "And you spoke well just now. I wonder why you talk in a broken speech manner when we're with other people. They will underestimate you if you continue acting that way."

"Exactly."

"Huh? You wanted to be underestimated?"

"It's like a game for me," he said. Then, his golden eyes glowed menacingly. "It's fun to kill a prey after you made it believe that it is the predator."

What a feral boy.

She almost forgot that the Lewis or 'Lu' in her first life was just as crazy as Nero back then. Since her Lewis was tamed around her in this lifetime, she often forgets his true nature.

"Just what did you learn from the White Lion Order?" she said while shaking her head. "Anyway, maintain that attitude towards our enemies. But never be too complacent. Just because you're strong doesn't mean they can't outsmart you."

He just nodded. "Princess Neoma, do you now consider Miss Crowell as a part of the Crow Cult even without solid evidence yet?"

She noticed the change in Regina Crowell's eyes when she mentioned the word 'crow.' But it wasn't enough evidence to prove that she was a part of the cult that killed her in the past.

Still…

"In my first life, a crow always appears whenever Regina is there," she said. "And I can't think of a reason why she wanted me dead. If she only wanted Rubin and a noble title back then, she already got them even without having the need to kill me. Thus, I believe that she was sent to kill me because she found out that I'm the royal princess. And the Crow hates female royals."

"Ah, I thought it was because of her last name."

"Hmm?"

"There's a 'crow' in Crowell, Princess Neoma."

She blinked several times while absorbing what Lewis just said, then she gasped. "Gosh, you're right," she said in disbelief. "It's so obvious that I overlooked it. This is probably what it means to "hide in plain sight.""

Her son nodded in agreement.

Regina Crowell is still young but she's already dangerous, huh?

She turned in the direction where Regina was a while ago. "A crow alone is harmless. But once they attack in a group, they can kill a bigger bird through mobbing. There's a reason why a group of crows is called 'murder,' after all." She looked up at Lewis, her ash-gray eyes glowing. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say, Lewis?"

Lewis nodded before he responded. "Miss Crowell won't attack alone."

"Yes, she won't," Neoma agreed while nodding thoughtfully. "That's why we need to find the other crows before they turn into a murder."

***

"PAPA, stop scolding me. Pretty please?" Neoma complained after two hours of getting an earful from Emperor Nikolai. She wasn't the only one who got nagged by her father though. "Jasper Oppa and I already learned our lessons. We won't fight again." She raised her right hand for an added effect. "I promise."

"Your Majesty, I swear on my life that this won't happen again," Jasper Hawthorne, seated beside her, said with his head hanged low. "Please forgive me for fighting with Prince Nero for a piece of land."

After she had tea with her father and Nero a while ago, His Majesty suddenly said that he wanted to talk to Jasper Hawthorne.

The emperor asked Glenn to send Nero back to their residence. Then, she and her Papa Boss went to visit the young duke in the infirmary. And now, they were talking in Madam Hammock's private lounge.

Of course, they were having tea.

Again.

She and Jasper sat side by side on the sofa while the emperor sat on the chair opposite them. Their personal knights/guards (Sir Glenn, Lewis, and Tate) were asked by Papa Boss to stay outside.

Anyway…

Since His Majesty didn't know that she told Jasper Hawthorne the royal secret, she and the young duke were pretending that they only fought because of a territory.

"Jasper Hawthorne," Emperor Nikolai said, then he put the teacup down on the table. "What does that land have for you to be compelled to fight the Crown Prince of this empire over it? If Nero didn't beg me to spare your life, I would have executed you for treason."

Well, that was true.

And she really begged her Papa Boss to not punish Jasper Hawthorne for their fight.

"I believe that Mount Kimbro is a lair of unique and strange insects, Your Majesty," Jasper lied with a straight face. Wow, her Oppa was brave for lying straight to the emperor's face, huh? He even did it with a convincing voice. "That's the reason why I'm very interested in it."

"I want to raise strange insects, too, Papa," she lied to support Jasper's story. "That's why I firmly told Jasper Oppa that I won't let Lewis sell the land to him. Thus, we fought."

The emperor let out a sigh. "Don't let other people find out that the Crown Prince and the youngest duke of this empire have fought just because of a mere piece of land."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Sure, Papa."

"And Jasper Hawthorne, don't think about taking anything that belongs to my child," Emperor Nikolai said, his ash-gray eyes glowing. Thank goodness his eyes didn't turn red. Because when Papa Boss's eyes turn red, it would mean that he was feeling murderous. "If something like this happens again, I won't let it slide again."

Jasper Hawthorne bowed to her father once again. "It won't happen again, Your Majesty."

Neoma smiled brightly at her Papa Boss. "Is this conversation now over, Papa?"

***

"I CAN'T believe that I'm still alive."

Neoma laughed when she saw how pale Jasper Hawthorne was.

It also looked like that the young duke was only able to breathe after her Papa Boss left the private office.

Now, she was alone in the room with Jasper Hawthorne. She asked Lewis to step out when the young duke ordered Tate to leave. She did that because she didn't want Tate to suspect that she had another secret to hide from him.

By asking Lewis to step outside as well, Tate would think that she and Jasper Hawthorne would have a discussion for nobles only.

"My father is strict but he's not crazy to kill an esteemed duke like you easily," Neoma said while munching on macaroons.  "He's serious when he said that he'll kill you the next time you fight me though."

"I can tell that much," Jasper said, then he turned to her. "Now that we're alone, can you tell me what you know about Mount Kimbro? I won't ask you anymore about your source. But I need you to tell me everything that you know about that territory."

"I know that there's a Death Camp operating in there, Jasper Oppa."

The young duke looked surprised by that. "You know more than what I expected from you, Princess Neoma."

She just smiled at that. "Do you plan to infiltrate the Death Camp and free the slaves, Oppa?"

He nodded carefully. "It's not going to be easy, Princess Neoma. After all, the slave traders that run the Death Camp will only "appear" if we present them with a valuable "item" that they won't be able to resist. That's the hurdle that I can't overcome…" His eyes suddenly gleamed. "Until I met you, Your Royal Highness."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Your personal knight, Lewis Crevan, is a nine-tailed fox and he's apparently the last of his kind," Jasper said seriously. "We can use him as a bait to infiltrate the Death Camp, Princess Neoma."

Neoma clenched her tiny fists tight. "No," she growled lowly. "I won't let my son relive his trauma for whatever cause, Duke Jasper Hawthorne."

***

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