Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"HEY, FROG."

"For the last time, I'm a toad," the talking frog, placed inside a sphere made of hardened cloud, insisted. "And my name is 'Soju.' It's the name that our great Princess Neoma has given me so you better respect it."

Jeno Dankworth's eyes bulged from surprise. "Princess Neoma gave you a name?"

He thought he heard the toad smirk before he spoke again. "That, Her Royal Highness did. According to her, my name Soju means 'a person that frees one from worries.'"

"T-That's a nice name with a deep meaning," he said while nodding thoughtfully. "As expected, Princess Neoma is wise."

His admiration for the royal princess just increased.

[I followed the right person.]

And because he decided to follow Princess Neoma, he was currently following Lewis Crevan in secret.

Right now, he was on the roof of the carriage that Lewis Crevan was using while seated on a cube made of solidified cloud. He also used mist to conceal his presence and his physical body. Of course, his brother Sean Dankworth was better than at him at using Cloud Manipulation.

[But I'm pretty good at it too if I do say so myself.]

Moreover, the toad was helping him conceal their presence completely.

Soju used his ability so that other people wouldn't hear their voice. Thus, they could talk freely. Now, their presence was completely concealed.

"Soju, how close is Lewis Crevan to Princess Neoma?"

"Very close."

"How important is the fox boy to our princess?"

"It's hard to measure how important Lewis is to our princess," the toad said. "But one thing is for sure: if Lewis Crevan gets hurt, Princess Neoma will lose her mind like how a mother who lost her son would."

"Then, that means I can't let Lewis Crevan get harmed at all cost."

"My dear Jeno, that's not our Princess Neoma's order. She asked us to tail Lewis Crevan, not protect the fox boy," Soju reminded him. "Don't do unnecessary things or else, Her Royal Highness's plan might get ruined."

[Ah, that makes sense.]

"I understand," he said. "I won't do anything that Princess Neoma didn't ask for."

"That's the correct answer," the toad said while nodding his head. "By the way, you don't see Princess Neoma as your little sister, do you? Although our princess is usually good and kind to everyone, she hates the clingy and obsessed type. Once you show too much interest in her, she'd cut you off her life mercilessly."

"I don't plan to cling to Princess Neoma anyway," he said softly. "I just want to support her from afar."

It wasn't like he was using Princess Neoma as his little sister's replacement.

But for some reason, he was still drawn to the royal princess. He wanted to support her with all that he got. Maybe he was hoping that by doing this, his little sister in the heaven would be proud of him.

His thoughts were cut-off when the carriage abruptly stopped when they entered the deeper part of Lifa forest– the forest that they needed to cross to reach the border.

He and Soju were thrown off because of what happened.

[Damn!]

He quickly summoned more clouds to catch him and Soju. They landed on a huge pillow-like piece of cloud, making a soft thud that he was hoping none had heard.

"Come out, Lewis Crevan!"

To say that he was shocked when a wild redhead man ripped the carriage's door apart like it was nothing would be an understatement.

Then, Lewis Crevan came out of the carriage like a fired bullet. The fox boy instantly gave the redhead man a high kick in the face. The redhead was sent flying and as soon as he hit the tree, Lewis Crevan used his sharp claws to maul the stranger's face.

He shivered when he felt the fox boy's thick murderous aura in the air as he continued mauling the redhead lying unmoving on the ground.

[Is he really a child?]

Well, the two white tails that appeared on Lewis Crevan's body reminded him that he wasn't an ordinary human.

[Right, he's a Silver Fox.]

Now he understood why His Majesty, for so long, only assigned one knight to protect Princess Neoma.

He was convinced that Lewis Crevan could handle it until he noticed another presence.

When he turned to his right side, he saw a familiar face standing on a tree branch while observing the fight. He also noticed that the young man was surrounded by red butterflies.

Red butterflies…?

His eyes bulged when he finally figured out why the young man was familiar.

[Duke Jasper Hawthorne!]

He met the young duke once when he secretly accompanied his older brother in a social gathering. To be honest, he didn't really remember the appearance of the young duke because he didn't care about him. But he did remember that Jasper Hawthorne was surrounded by red butterflies during that time.

[As far as I remember, those red butterflies are poisonous!]

He stood up and touched the gun in the holster around his waist, under his cloak.

"Stop, Jeno Dankworth," Soju warned him in a serious voice. "Princess Neoma didn't order us to protect or save Lewis Crevan."

He froze when he realized what the toad meant by that.

[Ah.]

He also remembered that the redhead called Lewis Crevan. And that made him realize that it was a planned attack.

Jeno turned to the toad who was calmly watching the fight below them. "Soju, does Princess Neoma know that Lewis Crevan is going to get ambushed?"

***

[LEWIS CREVAN, you should hold back a bit…]

Jasper Hawthorne knew that Lewis Crevan was doing the right thing by fighting at full force. After all, if the fox boy held back, Prism would find it strange. Even though the red fox was like that (violent and reckless), he was unexpectedly pretty sharp.

He was slightly distracted when he saw the coachman of the carriage slowly crawling inside the carriage. Luckily for the coachman, Lewis Crevan and Prism weren't moving that much. Moreover, the red fox was too overwhelmed in the fight to notice the witness.

[Yes, just hide quietly there.]

He ignored the coachman who hid inside the carriage, then he focused on the fight between Lewis Crevan and Prism again.

[What happened to you in the past year, Lewis Crevan?]

The fox boy still only had two tails just like he remembered. But he looked stronger and sturdier now.

He never once thought that they could abduct Lewis Crevan easily. But he also didn't think that it would be this hard to accomplish their goal. Well, it was on him. He forgot that Lewis Crevan was a growing boy. Of course, part of his growth was to get stronger.

Prism wasn't simply receiving Lewis Crevan's attacks. The red fox was clawing at the young fox as much as the latter did. In fact, Lewis Crevan's face, arms, and torso were already bleeding from the cuts he was receiving.

[Princess Neoma would be heartbroken if she saw Lewis Crevan's mauled face.]

Ah, no.

Scratch that.

The royal princess would probably get enraged and kill Prism for ruining her "son's" beautiful face.

[That's if Lewis Crevan doesn't beat Her Royal Highness to it first.]

After Lewis Crevan mauled Prism's face, the fox boy began stabbing the red fox's chest again and again using his sharp and strong claws. It looked like Lewis Crevan was trying to pierce his hand through Prism's chest to rip his heart out.

It wasn't like he cared about Prism but why the hell couldn't the red fox get Lewis Crevan off of him? Prism, despite being on the skinny side, was physically strong.

[At this rate, we will fail to capture Lewis.]

He promised Prism that he wouldn't interrupt his fight with Lewis Crevan. The red fox was prideful, so he would definitely get mad at him if he helped him. But he couldn't care less. He spent a year working for the 'Master.' He wouldn't let it go to waste.

Jasper opened his hand. "Mariposa."

"Don't you dare!" Prism, who obviously had a sharp hearing, yelled angrily while being mauled by Lewis Crevan. "Don't interrupt my fun or I'll kill you first, Jasper Hawthorne!"

"Three minutes," he said to the red fox. "Capture him in three minutes."

The red fox just laughed maniacally as a response.

But that hysterical laugh turned into a painful groan when Lewis Crevan's hand finally pierced through his chest.

[Ah, Lewis got Prism's heart.]

He was debating with himself whether to save Prism or not. After all, he could still bring Lewis Crevan to the 'Master' even if the red fox died. One of them dying just to capture the young fox was expected.

[There's no way I'm the one dying here.]

His thoughts were suddenly cut off when Lewis Crevan hissed loudly as if he was in pain.

[What the hell is happening?]

When Lewis Crevan pulled his hand out of Prism's chest, his hand and arm had literally turned into stone until the young fox became a status.

[Shit!]

Jasper jumped from the tree and caught Lewis Crevan who was about to fall on the ground. Then, he glared at Prism. "What did you do to our merchandise?"

"Don't be so stiff, Jasper," Prism said with a laugh, then he propped himself up on his elbows. "It's all a part of my plan. Didn't I already tell you? The Red Fox Clan is the natural enemy of the Silver Fox Clan."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Lewis Crevan probably doesn't know because his clan was already gone when he existed," the red fox explained carefully. "But the Bead inside a red fox is their weakness. Of course, a single Bead won't do anything to a Silver Fox. Thus, I took out the Beads of my dead clan members from my collection, then I put them inside my heart. After all, I know that Lewis Crevan would aim for my heart– just like any wild fox would do."

Ah.

So that was the reason why Prism let Lewis Crevan manhandle him.

"If you let Lewis Crevan turn into a statue, I suppose you have a way to turn him back," he said. "You know that we need him alive, don't you?"

"Don't worry too much, Lewis," the red fox said. "He'll return to normal in a few hours so we should hurry back to Master."

"Will you be fine though?" he asked. He wasn't worried about the red fox though. He was merely acting his part. "You look uglier now with all that cuts and blood on your face and body."

"Fuck you and your pretty face," Prism snarled at him. "You can't go around telling other people that they're ugly just because you're handsome even though you're dark! Well, at least my skin is paler than yours!"

He was already used to that kind of backhand compliment and insult.

Moreover, he insulted Prism's physical appearance so he already expected to be insulted back. He also knew that it was wrong to poke fun at someone's insecurity.

But he hated Prism after what he did to Tate, his cousin-slash-butler.

[I'll have my full revenge on you soon, red fox bastard.]

"It's not time to argue about our "flaws,"" Jasper said even though he started it. So, he changed the topic before Prism could criticize him for that. "We must return to the camp now."

[Princess Neoma, see you soon.]

***

JENO DANKWORTH could only breathe normally after Jasper Hawthorne and the unknown redhead took a statue-like Lewis Crevan.

He watched everything that happened in horror and silence.

[Princess Neoma's most precious "son" was kidnapped by the youngest duke of the empire. Does it mean Jasper Hawthorne is a traitor?]

But it seemed like the royal princess was expecting that to happen.

[Just what is going on here?]

"Jeno Dankworth, they're leaving fast," Soju said in a hurried voice. "We're supposed to follow Lewis Crevan even to the depths of hell, aren't we?"

Ah, right.

That was Princess Neoma's order.

"Don't worry," Jeno said. "As long as they're walking under the clouds, I could trace them. I have something else to do first."

"What is it?"

"Princess Neoma said I should know when to contact her if I want to be a part of her team," he said, then he clenched his hands. "I think this is the right time to report to Her Royal Highness. That's the reason why she asked you to accompany me, right?"

He heard the toad smirk before speaking. "You pass," he said. "I will contact Princess Neoma now."

What that a test?

And he passed? Then, does it mean…

"No, you're still not a part of Princess Neoma's team. This is just your first test," Soju, as if he just read his mind, said. "Now, let's hurry up and report to Her Royal Highness before Lewis Crevan and his kidnappers get away completely."

Jeno nodded firmly. "Please connect me to Princess Neoma."

***

NIKOLAI knew something was wrong as soon as Dion and Jeanne returned to his office after he asked the two to follow Lewis Crevan.

He dispatched the two after the fox boy had left a few hours before. But he was confident that the Paladins would easily catch up to Lewis Crevan because there was only one way to get to the Golden Field. But judging by the seriousness on the two's face, something had definitely gone wrong.

"What happened?" Nikolai asked, then he put the documents that he was supposed to sign down on the table. "Did you not find Lewis Crevan?"

"Your Majesty, we found the carriage that Lewis Crevan used in Lifa Forest," Dion reported in a somber voice. "It was ambushed."

He unconsciously crumpled the papers in his hands.

"We found the coachman hiding inside the carriage," Jeanne added. "Fortunately, he wasn't seriously hurt. He hid inside the carriage and pretended to be unconscious while the fight was happening. According to him, an adult and an adolescent male abducted Lewis Crevan. He also said that he clearly heard the two talking about bringing the fox boy to the camp."

"What kind of people could abduct Lewis Crevan?" he asked with furrowed brows. "That fox boy isn't the type to get kidnapped easily."

Dion and Jeanne looked at each other before they turned to him.

It was Dion who did the talking though. "The witness said he heard the adult male shout Jasper Hawthorne's name."

To say that he was shocked to hear the empire's youngest duke's name would be an understatement.

But to be honest, it was plausible.

"Jasper Hawthorne disappeared from the social circle a year ago," he said in an irritated voice, then he leaned against the chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Find Lewis Crevan at all cost. Neoma will go crazy if she finds out that her precious "son" was abducted."

"Your Majesty, aren't we going to inform Princess Neoma of what happened?" Jeanne asked carefully. "Her Royal Highness is expecting Lewis Crevan's arrival."

He opened his eyes and shook his head. "We will only inform Neoma of what happened to the fox boy once we know where to find him. Understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the two Paladins said at the same time.

"Now go," he said. "Do everything you could to find Lewis Crevan before Neoma finds out and goes on a rampage."

Dion and Jeanne bowed politely. "We received your order, Your Majesty."

After that, he dismissed the two Paladins.

He let out a deep sigh once he was alone in his office once again.

[I'm glad Glenn already left,] he said to himself. [I'm sure that loyal fool would delay his departure if he found out that Lewis Crevan got abducted.]

He sighed again while shaking his head. "We have to find Lewis Crevan at all cost."

"You shouldn't be worrying about that fox boy, Your Majesty."

As soon as he felt the dark energy entered his office, the White Tiger came out on its own accord. His Soul Beasts would usually act on their own once he was being ambushed.

"Woah, it's just me," the demon boy known as the Devil's Grimoire said while he emerged from the black hole on the floor. Then, he raised his hands in surrender. "I'm not here to fight."

He patted the White Tiger's head to calm it down. "What brings you here, demon boy?"

Trevor smiled brightly at him. "I just missed you, father-in-law."

Father-in-law?

"West," Nikolai said coldly, calling the White Tiger by its name. "Eat that cheeky demon."

***

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