Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

GLENN almost choked when he saw Juri Wisteria about to hit the sleeping Jeno Dankworth with her sledgehammer.

He only stepped out for a while to ask the servants to bring tea.

And when he returned in the drawing room, he was greeted by the young lady who seemed to have the intention of murdering the sleeping young man on the sofa.

"Lady Juri, stop!" Glenn said while running towards the young lady. "Please don't kill Lord Jeno!"

"I'm not going to kill him," Juri Wisteria said with an evil smirk. "I'm just going to hit him hard enough to wake him up."

"No, he'll die!"

"Hello, beautiful people!"

[Ah, that strange greeting…]

He was relieved when Juri Wisteria stopped midway from murdering the sleeping Jeno Dankworth when the young lady heard Princess Neoma's voice.

Of course, it was Her Royal Highness.

Only their princess would greet them that way.

[But how do we greet Princess Neoma?]

Her Royal Highness was still dressed as 'Miss Ramsay.' But her hair was still long but it had returned to its original white color. Even the royal princess's ash-gray eyes were back.

Because of that, Juri Wisteria also looked confused.

"It's alright," Princess Neoma said with a smile. But it was noticeable that the royal princess looked more serious than normal. "You can greet me as usual."

With that, he and Juri Wisteria both bowed politely. "Greetings, Your Royal Highness."

The royal princess just smiled at their greeting, then she stood in front of the sleeping young nobleman. "Wake up, Jeno Dankworth."

Much to his surprise, Jeno Dankworth immediately woke up.

Then, the young lord got down on one knee and lowered his head before the royal princess.

"I heard that you saw His Majesty save me a while ago," Princess Neoma said while looking down at the young lord with unusual cold eyes. "Do you have any idea why?"

"I came up with two conclusions," Jeno Dankworth said, his eyes still shut while his head remained hanging low. "First, the Crown Prince has a hidden sister. And second…" The young lord opened his eyes and raised his head to meet the royal princess's gaze. "You're pretending as the Crown Prince. After all, you look like him."

"Both conclusions are correct," Princess Neoma said, then she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm Neoma de Moonasterio, Nero's twin sister. I won't disclose the reason but as you can see, I'm pretending as my twin brother. But doing so takes a toll on my mental health. Thus, every once a month, my father allows me to leave the Royal Palace and spend my day as a girl." She raised a brow. "Apparently, during those days, you've been stalking me."

Glenn was surprised at how Princess Neoma was handling the situation.

[I honestly thought our Princess Neoma will go easy on Jeno Dankworth because the young lord has a pretty face that suits our little princess's taste. But right now, Her Royal Highness is looking at Jeno Dankworth as if he's the most unsightly person in the world.]

Maybe he shouldn't have been surprised.

After all, Princess Neoma had expressed her disgust with her stalker many times. And it didn't change even if the stalker in question was a handsome young lord.

Now Glenn felt ashamed of himself.

[Please forgive me for thinking that you're going to forgive good-looking people easily, Princess Neoma.]

Jeno Dankworth lowered his head again. "I apologize for making you feel comfortable, Princess Neoma."

"Yes, you should be," Princess Neoma said indifferently. "But I will give you a chance to explain yourself, Jeno Dankworth."

***

"THE FIRST time I saw you was after a month since I lost my little sister."

Neoma, who already heard that from Geoffrey's report, sipped her tea while listening to Jeno Dankworth's story.

Since she wanted to talk to him alone, she asked Juri and Sir Glenn to wait outside the drawing room. Thankfully, the two followed her order without questions. Juri and Sir Glenn may have noticed that she was more serious today than usual.

[Well, I hate men who make women, especially children, uncomfortable.]

"Her name was Gemma, and she passed away when she was only eight," Jeno Dankworth continued, his gaze fixed on the teacup on the table that he hadn't touched yet. "We were separated when I was twelve and she was only three years old. But even so, I didn't forget about her. I would often sneak out of the mansion and visit my little sister. Thus, it was as if we didn't get separated at all."

"May I know why House Dankworth suddenly took an interest in you?" she asked even though she already knew the answer. "Is it because you manifested the power that you inherited from the Dankworth clan?"

"That's correct, Your Royal Highness," he said. "House Dankworth threw me away and my mother in the past. But when the former count heard that I inherited the power to manipulate clouds, he forced me to return to his mansion. If I didn't, he threatened that he would banish my family from living in the empire. I didn't want that to happen so I accepted his family name and trained as a Dankworth. But…"

"If it's too hard for you to speak about your past, you don't have to," she said. "All I need to know is your purpose for stalking me."

He shook his head, then he continued with his story. "My sister fell terribly sick one day. Even though I'm a Dankworth now, it doesn't mean that I have access to the family's wealth. I had to steal some pieces of jewelry in the mansion and sell them to buy medicine for Gemma. But I was told that the medicine sold by House Wisteria could help my sister. The medicine they sell is too expensive so I begged my father for money. He said he wouldn't waste money for a child who isn't related or useful to him."

She clicked her tongue when she heard that. [What a scumbag.]

"Father locked me up in the basement of the mansion after that," the young lord continued. "I was only able to get out when Brother Sean finally woke up from his two-week slumber."

She almost choked on her tea. [Who sleeps for two weeks straight?!]

"When Brother Sean heard what happened, he immediately got me out of the basement and gave me a blank check to buy medicine for my sister," Jeno Dankworth said. "I was too late though. When I arrived at my mother's house with the medicine, my sister already passed away."

She felt a squeeze in her heart.

"I didn't come out of the mansion for a month after that," he continued, then he raised his head. "When I finally had the courage to visit Gemma's grave, I realized that I forgot to bring money to buy pretty flowers for her. And that was when I met you, Princess Neoma."

"Huh? Really?" she asked, surprised. "I don't remember."

If she saw someone as handsome as Jeno Dankworth, she would definitely remember him.

"It was a brief encounter," the young lord said. "The owner of the flower shop was cursing at me because I didn't have money to buy his products. Moreover, I didn't look presentable back then as I was wearing a dirty hooded cloak. The owner must have thought that I was a thief."

Ah, so that was why she didn't see his face back then.

"You saw what happened and came to my rescue, Princess Neoma," Jeno Dankworth continued in a slightly more cheerful voice. "You cursed at the flower shop owner and bought all the flowers in his shop. Then, you told me to get whatever flower I want. After that, you left."

"Oh, I can't remember that," she said while scratching her cheek. After all, she would often get into fights in the Royal Capital. She couldn't help it whenever she would see an injustice that was unfolding before her. "But it sounds like something I would do."

He smiled softly at him. "I thought my sister came back at me that day, Princess Neoma. Except Gemma never cursed. But your energy and temperament are similar to my sister's. Before I knew it, I have already begun stalking you. I memorized the date that you'd appear in the Royal Capital. That was how I ended up following you each time you appear in Auberon, Your Royal Highness."

"I'm relieved that you didn't stalk me for perverted reasons," she said, then she let out a frustrated sigh. "But Jeno Dankworth, you still made me feel uncomfortable."

Once again, he bowed deeply to her. "Please forgive me, Princess Neoma."

"Raise your head," she said and he complied. "Jeno Dankworth, I'm not Gemma and I will never become your little sister's replacement. I know it's hard. But it's time for you to accept that she's gone. She needs to rest in peace, and I believe that she wouldn't be able to do that as long as you're hanging onto her like this."

Jeno Dankworth didn't say anything, but his tears fell silently.

Of course, it was hard for her to see that. But she had to put up a cold and tough façade. After all, she already decided to "adopt" Jeno Dankworth.

"I need your ability, Jeno Dankworth," she said, causing the young lord to give her a questioning look. "Once I see that you're ready to live in the present, I will invite you to become my team's Marksman." She paused to sip her tea before she continued. "But of course, you need to take the Oath of Silence before you leave this room."

"I will keep your secret, Princess Neoma."

"Even so, it's my father's order to make people who know my royal secret take the Oath of Silence," she said. "If you don't, you won't leave this room alive."

"I don't have any intention of sharing your secret to anyone so I will gladly take the Oath of Silence, Your Royal Highness."

Neoma smiled sympathetically at him. "See you later, Jeno Dankworth."

Jeno Dankworth bowed to her once again. "I promise I will return as a better person, Princess Neoma."

***

NEOMA took a deep breath after she left the drawing room.

Madam Hammock entered the room to take care of Jeno Dankworth's Oath of Silence, and Juri Wisteria accompanied her grandmother.

Thus, she was left with Sir Glenn.

And that was when she realized it.

"Glenn, where's Lewis?" Neoma asked with furrowed brows. "I haven't seen my son yet ever since I returned to the palace."

Glenn suddenly looked guilty, then he gulped before he spoke. "Princess Neoma, Lewis Crevan is still stuck in the 'Training Book.'"

What the hell was a 'Training Book' for it to trap her precious soon?!

[Don't worry, Lewis--- your mother will rescue you!]

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