Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"EOTTOKE," Neoma said. It was a Korean phrase which roughly translated to "what to do?" She said that while looking at herself in the mirror. "I also look good as a brunette."

Since she was going with her Papa Boss to Illumina Plaza, they had to wear a disguise.

Thankfully, after "crying" so loud a while ago, her father allowed her to disguise as a young miss. Madam Hammock prepared a potion for her that transformed her white hair into light brown and her ash-gray eyes into chocolate brown.

Then, instead of a glamorous dress, she opted for an "apron dress." To be precise, it was a pink pinafore dress with a white long-sleeved blouse under. For her footwear, she chose a pair of brown boots.

"Lewis, do I look like a normal person now?" she asked her son while twirling in front of him.

She and Lewis were alone in her room right now.

Alphen went out after he delivered the clothes that she requested. Then, Stephanie also left after she helped her put on her clothes. The two were waiting outside her room.

After the incident wherein her Papa Boss put surveillance spirit stones in her room, she asked for compensation instead of an apology. And that compensation was to put a "sound-proof" spell in her room. In short, they were free to talk without having to worry whether the people outside were eavesdropping or not.

The only downside is if I were attacked in my room, I can't scream for help. But as long as Lewis is the one guarding me outside, I'm sure he'd sense it if there was an intruder.

Most of all, she was capable of protecting herself.

Plus, I'd grill Tteokbokki and eat his meat if he fails to protect me.

"No," Lewis said bluntly, cutting off her "violent" thoughts. "You still look like a princess."

She laughed softly. "This is almost how I look like in my second life, Lewis."

His face lit up upon hearing that.

"I naturally have black hair in my second life, but I often dye my hair," she said because it looked like Lewis was interested to hear stories about her second life. "When I was in high school, I dyed my hair ash brown because I don't want to stand out too much. I got bolder when I was a university student though. I started to dye my hair with blonde, pink, and even purple."

He looked pleased to hear that.

It also looked like he was imagining what she would have looked like in other hair colors.

"Anyway, you don't have to accompany me today, Lewis."

Of course, her son looked shocked (and betrayed) by that.

"Lewis, even Sir Glenn won't accompany me and Papa Boss," she explained patiently. "You and Sir Glenn can protect us more if you don't follow us. According to Papa Boss's logic, if the enemies somehow discover that the emperor and the Crown Prince's personal knights are at the plaza, then they would realize that we are mingling with the crowd. But if you and Sir Glenn stay in the palace, then they would think that we are also in the palace."

Her Papa Boss's logic honestly made sense.

Plus, it wasn't like she needed a knight when her escort was none other than the strongest man in the empire.

"It's for my safety so please understand, Lewis," she said. "And I have another mission for you anyway."

Her son looked like he was still sulking. But in the end, he knew that he was still her personal knight. Thus, he had to follow her order. Plus, it wasn't a dangerous situation anyway.

"I will reward you after this, Lewis."

Once again, his face lit up.

She chuckled at how easy it was for her to read Lewis's facial expressions. "You're so cute, Lewis."

"You're 100 times cuter, Princess Neoma."

"I know, right? Thanks," she said as a mild teasing. Then, she became serious. "Lewis, I have a feeling that the crows killed Hanna in my first life."

Her son nodded firmly.

She couldn't help but laugh again. "Lewis, are you just going to believe everything I say?"

"Yes," he said without missing a heartbeat. "Because you're Princess Neoma."

This time, she laughed out loud. She wanted to pinch Lewis's cheeks but she remembered that he wasn't comfortable with skinship that he didn't initiate. And whenever her son would touch her voluntarily, she wouldn't make a deal out of it. She wanted to follow his pace after all.

Trauma isn't something you get over easily.

That was why she got angry at Jasper Oppa for suggesting that they should use Lewis as bait. But she understood that at the end of the day, she still needed to consult her son about it. And whatever he decided on, she must respect that.

"Lewis, can you guard Hanna for today?" she asked. "Nero is busy preparing with Trevor for their departure so she's alone in her room. Since Regina Crowell is within the premise, I can't entrust Hanna to ordinary guards."

Well, the royal knights in the Royal Palace were above average swordsmen. Still, they weren't on the same level as Duke Quinzel and Sir Glenn.

Too bad Duke Quinzel was busy patrolling the plaza with his knights.

Plus, Black Hawk Knights weren't allowed in the palace it was the premise was the jurisdiction of the royal knights.

Lewis looked like he wasn't happy with her order, but he still nodded anyway.

"Don't sulk," she slightly scolded him. "Didn't I say that I will reward you?"

His face instantly lit up with that.

"But to be honest, I'm not happy with it," she admitted. "Lewis, are you sure you want to go with me and Jasper Oppa to the Death Camp? You know what kind of place that is, don't you?"

He nodded. Although he appeared indifferent as usual, she saw a spark of worry in his golden eyes. It was gone as soon as it appeared though. "Yes. I will go anywhere with you, Princess Neoma."

She sighed because she knew it was true. "Jasper Oppa wants you to become our bait to lure out the slave traders that run the Death Camp, Lewis. To be precise, he wants to "sell" you– a nine-tailed fox– to infiltrate the camp."

He felt silent for a while, then he nodded. "I'll do it."

She already expected that from him.

"Are you sure, Lewis?" she asked worriedly. "I don't want you to relive your trauma."

"It's different from back then so I'm not scared."

"Really?"

"I have you now, Princess Neoma."

Oh.

Did her heart flutter just now?

Nah, it can't be.

Neoma ignored that feeling, then she smiled and gave Lewis a thumbs up. "I will come and save you, Lewis."

Lewis gave her a very rare half-smile that she found endearing. "I know, Princess Neoma."

***

"YOU'RE LATE."

Neoma heard her Papa Boss's complaint as soon as she arrived at his office.

But she was too shocked to snap back at him.

Like her, Emperor Nikolai was in a disguise. His white hair had turned into black, and her ash-gray eyes turned into black.

It was how her dad or appa (Korean word for 'father') looked back in her second life.

Well, she had always known that Emperor Nikolai looked exactly like her dad/appa. But now that the emperor had the same hair and eye color as her dad/appa, she couldn't help but feel nostalgic. Even the simple button-down shirt, pants, and leather boots that he wore could pass as "modern-ish."

In short, her Papa Boss really looked like her dad/appa in that disguise.

"Appa," Neoma said, quite emotional since she suddenly missed her dad/appa so much. Before she knew it, she already raised her arms as if she was asking for him to carry her. "Oops."

She was about to put her hands down when all of a sudden, a miracle happened.

Papa Boss leaned down to hold her by the waist. Then, he lifted her up like how a normal person would carry a child in their arms.

Wow, he didn't drape her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes this time.

And her father looked so smug about it.

Should I praise you for finally learning how to carry a child properly, Papa Boss?

"I told you to stop using made-up words," her Papa Boss scolded her. "Speak in a manner that I will understand."

She heard that but she still couldn't believe that her father carried her properly!

"Papa Boss, is that really you?" she asked, then she cupped his face between her hands. Damn it. Why was her father's skin so flawless? Was the water that he used to take a bath different from the rest of them? "Did you secretly practice how to practice carrying a child in your arms, huh? Who taught you? Was it Sir Glenn or Duke Quinzel? I need answers!"

"If you don't stop, I'll drop you on the ground."

She slowly let go of her father's face, then she acted like she was zipping her mouth.

"Let's go," her Papa Boss said. "Glenn already prepared a simple wagon for us."

Well, that made sense.

If they were going to pretend as commoners, then they shouldn't use a fancy carriage.

"Papa Boss, you seem so used to sneaking out," she teased him. "Do you often do this when you were still a prince?"

"It's your mother's fault," the emperor said bluntly. "Mona taught me how to sneak out whenever she was bored and she wanted to go outside the palace."

Did her father just imply that her mother used to live in the Royal Palace before?

Now she was curious even more. Even though she promised herself that she would only ask about her mother's past after she secured her survival, she still tried to push her luck.

"Papa Boss, if I asked you to tell me the full story that happened between you and my mother, are you going to tell me the whole truth?"

Her father's face turned grim in an instant. "No."

Okay, His Majesty's deadly aura told her that she should no longer pry so she shut her mouth. It wasn't like she was afraid of her father. She just wanted to respect his privacy.

"It's not like I just want to hide the truth from you," her father said in a calmer tone this time. "But you're not the only one who has a royal secret, Neoma. I can't entrust that secret to you because you don't have the power to protect it yet."

'Yet.'

Then, that meant her father would tell her the truth once she was strong enough to protect her father's royal secret.

It's just like what Mama told me. I need to be strong first if I want to uncover their past.

"My royal secret is the one that protects the throne," His Majesty continued. "If the wrong person happens to discover my secret, it will be the end of our lineage."

Ah, that was heavy.

"Are you upset that I don't trust you enough yet, Neoma?"

She shook her head. "You only stated a fact, Papa Boss. I won't force you to tell me the things I shouldn't know yet."

He looked satisfied by her response. "For someone who has a bad temper, I'm quite impressed that you know when to be patient."

"Papa Boss, I'm quite rational, you know?"

"You got that from me," Emperor Nikolai said bluntly. "You inherited your craziness and recklessness from your mother, so you should be thankful that I contributed rationality to your personality."

Neoma didn't expect this to happen but her Papa Boss's "light" teasing actually made her laugh. "Papa Boss, you're so weird."

"I don't want to hear that from you, little rascal."

***

HANNA felt quite awkward with Lewis Crevan.

Right now, she was having tea on the balcony of her room while the young knight stood quietly behind her.

Neoma visited her a while ago, then she left her "son" in her care. The royal princess said that she just didn't want Lewis Crevan to be bored while she "played" outside the palace. But she had a feeling that there was a reason why the royal princess left her personal knight to her.

"Sir Crevan, may I know why Neoma asked you to guard me today?" Hanna asked, then she put her teacup down on the table. "Is my life in danger or something?"

"It's just one of Princess Neoma's whims, Lady Quinzel," Lewis Crevan said stiffly without even turning to her.

It looked like the young knight didn't have any intention to give a proper response, so she just dropped the subject. Something else got her attention anyway. She wasn't usually talkative in the presence of boys, but she needed to satiate her curiosity.

"Sir Crevan, may I know why you don't call Neoma by her first name?" she asked carefully. "I know that you're not allowed to do that in the presence of other people. But I know that Neoma wouldn't mind it if you're alone with her, or if you're in the presence of her close friends just like me."

The young knight didn't answer.

She was ready to apologize for being nosy when he finally spoke.

"I must call Princess Neoma by her title as a reminder," Lewis said softly. "I'm the only one who can't forget that she's a royal princess."

Hanna covered her mouth with her hands when she gasped softly. Perhaps, Sir Crevan has feelings for Princess Neoma?

***

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