Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"HOW'S my daughter's condition?" Nikolai asked Madam Hammock as soon as he entered Neoma's room. "Was my diagnosis correct?"

When they arrived at the Royal Palace earlier, he brought Neoma to her room first before she summoned Madam Hammock.

He, on the other hand, had to check first if Glenn had properly executed his order. After he heard that his personal knight threw Geoffrey in the basement cell, he asked Glenn to go to Juri Wisteria and interrogate Jeno Dankworth with the young lady.

Jeno Dankworth was his second biggest concern at the moment next to Neoma.

[That child saw me rescue Neoma. It won't be long before he figures out my daughter's real identity. Killing him won't be a hassle since as far as I heard from Geoffrey, Jeno Dankworth has a bad relationship with House Dankworth. All I have to do is accuse the young nobleman of offending the Royal Family.]

Still, he wouldn't do that.

Neoma had taken interest in Jeno Dankworth's ability (and only his ability). Thus, he would allow his daughter to decide whether to kill the young nobleman or accept him in her team.

To be honest, he didn't want his daughter's stalker to be a part of her Order. But if the young nobleman clears the misunderstanding and proved that he wasn't a stalker, then he wouldn't mind accepting him as one of Neoma's people. After all, the more talented a "knight" was, the safer his daughter would be.

His thoughts were cut off when Madam Hammock turned around to face him.

Madam Hammock nodded politely before speaking. "Your diagnosis was correct, Your Majesty," she said. "Princess Neoma's heart received a shock when she suddenly performed a technique that she hasn't practiced before. Thus, the Mana around her heart "infected" her lungs and caused Her Royal Highness to cough up blood."

He was relieved to confirm that the reason for Neoma coughing up blood wasn't serious.

He'd say that it was pretty normal for people with high Mana like them to experience that. Moreover, their Mana would turn toxic and infect their lungs if they were using it for something that their body wasn't used to. It was their Mana's way of informing them that their heart couldn't handle it.

[Neoma is a laid-back Mana user so she never experienced something like this before. But now that she's seriously using her power to create different techniques, her heart and her body received a shock.]

He looked at Neoma who was peacefully sleeping (and snoring) on the bed. Then, he clicked his tongue while shaking his head. "This is what you get for being lazy for the past few years, little rogue."

"Don't be too hard on our Princess Neoma, Your Majesty," Madam Hammock scolded him lightly. The Healing Sage was one of the people that he would allow to "scold" him. After all, Madam Hammock was practically his nanny when he was a child. "For someone who doesn't wish to be in her position, she's already working too hard for the empire that has done nothing but torment a royal princess like her."

He couldn't refute that.

Neoma, as a royal princess, saved him and the Royal Family from falling out of power by pretending as Nero. If his enemies had discovered that his only male successor had been cursed and put in a comatose state, that would have been enough reason for the Noble Faction to rebel and remove him from the throne.

As long as the law that dictates only males could become successors hadn't changed, Nero would remain his successor in the eye of the whole empire regardless of his will.

"Madam Hammock."

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"You're too fond of my daughter."

The Healing Sage smiled warmly at his remark. "Princess Neoma is easy to love, Your Majesty." She paused as if she hesitated for a bit before she continued. "You put me in charge of Lady Roseheart's welfare when you brought her in the palace in the past. When Lady Roseheart got pregnant, she asked me to take care of her daughter as if she knew that she wouldn't live long enough to raise her child. At first, I thought I was doing this just to grant Lady Roseheart's final wish." Madam Hammock turned to Neoma with a gentle look on her face. "But before I knew it, I already see Princess Neoma as if she's my own granddaughter." She turned to her with an apologetic look on her face. "Was it impertinent of me to say that, Your Majesty?"

Well, if other people said, then he would have cut their tongue off.

But hearing that from Madam Hammock wasn't so bad.

[I entrusted Mona to Madam Hammock in the past. I wouldn't have entrusted Neoma to her if I don't trust her. The fact that she sees my daughter as her own granddaughter is actually a huge relief to me.]

He wouldn't say that out loud though.

"Madam Hammock, you're probably fond of Neoma because she has the same attitude as your granddaughter," he said, changing the topic smoothly. "Both my daughter and your granddaughter are what most people would call 'unhinged.'"

Madam Hammock looked surprised by what he said, then she laughed softly. "Your Majesty, thank you for allowing my granddaughter Juri to join Princess Neoma's team. It's true that my granddaughter acts like she has a few loose screws in the head. But please trust me when I say that Juri has a good heart. Moreover, she only follows people that she deeply respects. I can assure you that she will never betray Princess Neoma."

"You shouldn't be saying that to me," he said. "It's Neoma who chose and invited Juri Wisteria to join her team. I merely respected my daughter's choice."

He couldn't stand the warm smile that Madam Hammock gave him, so he changed the topic again.

"Madam Hammock, Neoma requested to leave the Royal Palace earlier than scheduled for the harvest of Hisa Tree," he informed the madam. "Would that be alright?"

"It wouldn't be a problem, Your Majesty," the madam said. "I will arrange the necessary procedures for changing the date of our departure."

He just nodded as an acknowledgment. "Madam Hammock, we brought a ruffian in the palace. I was informed that he's supposed to be Count Sean Dankworth's hidden half-brother." He paused before he continued. "Unfortunately, he saw me rescue Neoma earlier. Although Geoffrey recommended him to be a part of Neoma's team, I can't easily trust a young man who stalked my daughter for the past few months."

He would admit that he had been reckless when he left the palace without even putting on a disguise. If Geoffrey didn't secure the area, more people would have seen him earlier.

But in his defense, he couldn't think straight after hearing that Neoma had been kidnapped.

"I understand, Your Majesty," Madam Hammock said. As expected of the person who practically raised him when he was a child, he didn't need to say more for the madam to understand what he needed her to do. "I will prepare the potion that will manipulate Lord Jeno Dankworth's memory if needed."

Nikolai nodded as a token of gratitude. "You're dismissed, Madam Hammock."

***

"DID I get sick again, Papa Boss?" Neoma asked her father who was seated on the chair beside her table while having a drink. "I remember coughing up blood before I fell unconscious." She gasped as fear began to shake her heart. "Do I have a terminal illness…?"

"No, you don't," Emperor Nikolai said bluntly. "You're just reaping what you sow for not training properly in the past. You suddenly performed a technique that your heart isn't ready for. Thus, your Mana released a kind of toxic that contaminated your lungs. It's your body's way of saying that you've reached your limit for today."

She blinked in confusion. "Is it the same case as Hanna? Did my heart weaken suddenly, Papa Boss?"

"It's different from Hanna Quinzel's case," he explained. "Hanna Quinzel's heart is naturally weak. You, on the other hand, were just reckless."

Her lips formed a thin line, unable to refute her father's accusation.

It was true that she had been reckless by performing a technique that just entered her mind at that moment. In her defense, she didn't expect that she would be able to execute it since she had never used the Dome on other people before.

[Hah. If only I could control my Roseheart Blood the way I could control my de Moonasterio divine power…]

"I already informed His Holiness about what happened," her father said. "It's a shame that His Holiness can't leave the Holy Land for the meantime. So let's just wait for him to send you a message."

"Okay, Papa Boss," she said. "What happened while I was unconscious?"

"Jeno Dankworth saw me when I rescued you."

She clicked her tongue. "Papa Boss, you've been reckless as well."

"I know that," he said, unbothered. "Should I deal with Jeno Dankworth?"

"Nah, that stalker is mine to deal with."

"I thought so."

"Thank you for letting me deal with Jeno Dankworth, Papa Boss," Neoma said sincerely. "But what should I do if I still don't like him after I interrogate him?"

"Don't hesitate to kick that ruffian out of the palace if you don't like him. Don't worry about House Dankworth," her Papa Boss said encouragingly. "I will take care of the rest."

Ohh… someone was being dependable, huh?

***

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