Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"SO MOCHI, what made you drawn to my Mama Boss the first time that she summoned you?" Neoma asked Mochi while holding a small journal in her left hand, and a fountain pen in her right hand. As usual, they were in the pavilion by the pond. Since she was an epic fail yesterday, she decided to take it easy for today. "Was it the fragrance of my mother's blood rose? Were the other Spirits attracted to it as well?"

She decided to gather information first before trying to recreate her mother's technique. After all, her training wasn't going anywhere.

Although Mochi's instructions were easy to follow, she realized that it would still be better to have a clear image of a Summoner in her head. Thus, she wanted to create an image of her mother as she summoned Spirits by interviewing Mochi and the other people who had seen her Mama Boss use her power in the past.

"You can say that again, Princess Neoma," Mochi, now seated on a fancy red cushion that she put on the railing to make the Wind Spirit more comfortable, said. "Mona's blood smelled sweet for Spirits like me. The fragrance of her "blood rose" lured us to her. And before her, we couldn't do anything. Her mere presence overwhelmed us to the point that all we could do was kneel and bow before her." She paused for a while before she continued. "But of course, the stronger the Spirit is, the stubborn they are."

"Just like William?"

"Yes, just like William," the white bunny confirmed with a nod. "Since William is a very strong Spirit, he was able to reject Mona for a long time. But of course, in the end, he still succumbed to your mother."

"My Mama Boss sounds like an awesome person."

"She was," the Wind Spirit said. "Too bad her taste in men was bad."

"I can't refute that."

"You seem to have inherited your mother's bad taste in men, Princess Neoma."

"Excuse me?"

"You like good-looking men a little too much," Mochi reminded her firmly. "Your mother was blinded by little Nikolai's face, you know?"

She couldn't refute that.

"B-But to be fair, Papa Boss's face is really out of this world," she said defensively to protect her mother's dignity. "His face makes up for his lack of heart and personality." She clicked her tongue while shaking her head. "Papa Boss's face, his saving grace, works hard every single day."

The Wind Spirit laughed at her "joke."

Well, it was half joke-half truth.

"Anyway, thank you for answering my question, Mochi," she said, then she handed her mini journal and pen to Lewis who stood behind her quietly all this time. "May we end our lesson here for today? I want to interview other people regarding my Mama Boss's technique."

"Other people?"

"Sir Glenn and Papa Boss," she said. "I'm sure they've seen Mama Boss use her Summoning power at least once."

"Well, that's true, Princess Neoma. Mona fought alongside little Nikolai and the Paladins of the White Lion Knights in the past," Mochi said. "But will you be alright asking little Nikolai about Mona? He turns into a monster whenever he hears your mother's name."

"Nah, Papa Boss is in the middle of his character development, Mochi. He doesn't go batshit crazy anymore whenever I bring up Mama Boss," Neoma said confidently, then she put her hand on her chest. "Papa Boss is slowly opening up his heart to me, you know?"

***

"I DON'T remember what happens whenever your mother used her Summoning power in the past," her Papa Boss snapped at her. "If you have nothing else to ask, then get out of my office and play outside."

Neoma wanted to click her tongue at her grumpy father but decided against it.

After all, it was her principle to act nice if she wanted something from her Papa Boss. Plus, she could tolerate her father's mood swings. As long as the emperor wouldn't cross the line, she wouldn't talk back at him rudely.

But moreover, she could see the mountain of paper works in her father's office desk. She could tell that he was busy. And she was painfully aware that she was interrupting his work.

Tsk.

"Then, shall I visit your room later after your work, Papa Boss?" Neoma, standing in front of her father's desk, asked instead. "Let's talk over a cup of tea."

Her father let out a deep sigh. Then, he dropped his pen on the table, put his arms over his chest, and gave her an exhausted look. "Why do you want to know how your mother's power looks like?"

"I'm trying to recreate Mama Boss's technique."

"'Mama Boss?'"

"You're my Papa Boss, so of course, my mother would be 'Mama Boss,'" she said proudly. "And thus, I am your Lady Bo–"

"Rogue," her Papa Boss interrupted her. "You're a little rogue."

She didn't get the chance to complain when Sir Glenn returned with the maids who served them tea.

As soon as the maids were done serving them, they left.

Gosh, they entered and left the office so quietly.

And she also noticed that Sir Glenn carefully watched the maids as they served the tea. Was the knight keeping an eye on them to make sure that they wouldn't be poisoned?

Well, that makes sense. I'm the Crown Prince and Papa Boss is the emperor.

Anyway, right now, they were already seated in the lounge area to have tea.

She sat on the sofa while her father sat on a fancy chair across from hers.

"Ah, Sir Glenn, may I ask a question?" she asked the knight who stood behind her Papa Boss.

Unfortunately, Lewis was guarding outside because her father didn't like "strangers" becoming familiar with his office. She couldn't complain because it was the emperor's place. Plus, it seemed like her son didn't mind leaving her side if she was with her father and Sir Glenn.

"Of course, Princess Neoma," Sir Glenn said cheerfully. "I will answer your questions to the best of my knowledge."

"Oh, it's easy," she assured him. "May I know if you remember how my mother's Summoning power looks like whenever she used it in the past? Mochi said that you have witnessed it at least once."

"That's true. But…" The knight scratched his cheek while laughing awkwardly. "Lady Roseheart's Summoning power never failed to knock me out in the past so I never really had the chance to look at it properly."

"Huh?"

"Glenn and the other Paladins used to be weaklings," her father said with a smirk. "They were unable to stand Mona's power. Thus, they would often faint whenever she summoned a Spirit in the past."

The knight's face turned red. "Your Majesty, that's a bit…"

"It's true though," the emperor insisted. "Only your previous commander could withstand Mona's power…"

There was an awkward silence after her Papa Boss stopped talking mid-sentence.

Argh.

Papa Boss was talking about Ex-Commander Gavin Quinzel, wasn't he?

"Papa Boss, I want to be as strong as Mama Boss," she said cheerfully to change her father's sudden sour mood. "And if I work hard, maybe I can be better than my mother when it comes to summoning Spirits."

Well, she was just saying that to distract her father from his foul mood because of suddenly remembering the former commander.

"You're quite ambitious, huh?" her father said, his mood seemed to have been better now than a while ago. "Mona was the best Summoner House Roseheart had ever produced. You're saying that you're going to surpass that kind of person?"

She smirked and acted haughtily. To be honest, she didn't have the confidence that she could surpass her mother. But… fake it till you make it works, right? "Papa Boss, who am I?"

"A little rogue."

"Tsk," she complained. "I'm Neoma Ramsay. That means I'm invincible."

"You're not a Ramsay," her Papa Boss said firmly. "Stop referring to yourself as 'Ramsay' before I hunt down people with that surname and exile them from the empire."

She just laughed it off.

Papa Boss can't be serious, right?

"Papa Boss, don't change the topic," she said. "Please tell me what you remember from Mama Boss's Summoning technique."

Her father fell silent for a while before he spoke again. "A magic circle is usually just a big circle on a surface with ancient language written on it. That's the spot where the summoned Spirits come out from."

She nodded because she knew the basic principle of a magic circle.

"But Mona never needed a magic circle," her Papa Boss said. "She would use her blood and create a Field to summon Spirits."

"'Field?'" she asked. "Mochi didn't teach me that, Papa Boss."

"Your mother and I named her technique," her father said, then he sipped his tea. "That's probably why Gale doesn't know what to call Mona's strange magic circle."

Aww, her Papa Boss and Mama Boss decided on a name together?

That was so sweet.

But come to think of it, it was kind of sad that her Mama Boss and Papa Boss named her mother's technique together. But who named her and Nero?

"We decided to call it 'Field' because her magic circle was too big to be called a circle," the emperor explained. "The stronger the Spirit Mona would summon is, the bigger her Field would become."

"What's in my mother's Field, Papa Boss?"

"A huge rose garden."

"A huge rose garden?"

Her Papa Boss nodded before he explained. "Once the red rose from Mona's blood dropped on the ground, her 'Field' would extend to reach all the Spirits dwelling on the area she was in. Instead of summoning the Spirits, it was more like she was commanding them to appear and kneel before her." He sipped his tea, then he continued. "Back then, to me, it was a pleasant sight: Mona in the middle of a rose garden surrounded by Spirits kneeling before your mother."

She gulped while trying to envision that scene in her mind. "That sounds awesome, Papa Boss."

"I won't stop you from learning the technique of a Roseheart," her father said seriously. "But don't show it to other people. The nobles are quite happy thinking that you're more of a de Moonasterio than a Roseheart. Don't scare them with your Roseheart Blood."

"`Kay," she said, then she sighed. "But I'm not even sure if I can copy Mama Boss's badass– I mean, awesome technique."

"Well, you have to."

"Because I'm a Roseheart?"

"Because you're very arrogant," Emperor Nikolai said bluntly, then he smirked before he continued. "And rogues like you need outstanding skills to support their arrogance."

Sir Glenn betrayed her for the first time by stifling his laughter.

Neoma could only glare at the two men in front of her.

I will really polish my skills so I can justify my arrogance, you'll see!

***

NEOMA laughed after Lewis tucked her in bed.

It wasn't part of his duty as his personal knight. But every time she was in a bad mood, her son would take extra good care of her.

Just like now.

"Thank you, Lewis," Neoma said with a smile. "You should go back to your room and rest."

At first, Lewis stayed outside her room all night to guard her.

But she sternly told him to sleep whenever she would because he was still a child. Plus, her son's room was just next to hers. If something happened, he could reach her easily. Of course, she was confident that she could protect herself this time.

"Okay, Princess Neoma," Lewis said. "Good night."

She smiled and was about to reach for the choker on her neck when all of a sudden, the mini pocket watch necklace on her night table rang.

Huh?

She got up and picked up the necklace. The small pocket watch attached to it as a pendant was ringing loudly. That was when she remembered that it was the "phone" that Ruto gave her the last time they talked.

"It's noisy," Lewis said with a scowl. "Shall I break it, Princess Neoma?"

Neoma laughed while removing the choker in her neck that changes her voice to sound like Nero. She was just about to remove that when Ruto called. What perfect timing. "I almost forgot about Ruto's present," she said, then she answered his call by lifting the lid of the small pocket watch. "Hi, Mr. Black Soybean."

***

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