Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

WHEN Neoma came back to her senses, she was already covered with blood.

Giselle Averon and her male lover were on the floor, their dead bodies soaked in their own pool of blood. After all, the two's bodies were stabbed to death.

Yes, that was her work.

But to be honest, she could barely remember the things that she had done. All she knew was she was so angry, and she vented out that anger on Giselle Averon and her partner. When Trevor's red horn disappeared when it reached its limit, she borrowed Tteokbokki's strength. Her nails turned as sharp and as hard as any dagger.

She would admit that what she had done was overkill, but she wasn't able to stop herself.

[I have really lost my mind.]

"You're here."

Neoma was surprised when she heard the voice that she didn't expect to hear. When she turned around, she was even more shocked to see Ruto in his adult form.

Yes, the Royal Chef, for some reason, had the appearance of an adult just like she did. She had so many questions for him but the first thing she did was to cover her face with her bloody hands.

"Don't look at me," Neoma said in a cracked voice. "I don't want you to see me right now."

"I can't see your face."

She smiled sadly. "You really don't say the things that I want to hear from you, silly Ruto."

"Neoma."

Okay, she almost fainted from shock when the Royal Chef called her by her name.

Neoma raised her head to look at him properly. Only then did she realize that his hair color wasn't black anymore. It was actually purple. "Ruto... you know?"

Ruto gave her a half-smile that looked pained for some reason. "How could I not?"

She dropped her arms to her sides and looked at him suspiciously.

"I know that you have a lot of questions that you want to ask me," he said, then his gaze went past her. "But I think we should move to another place before we talk."

Ah, he saw the bloody corpses of Giselle Averon and her partner.

"I killed them," she said, her heart heavy and her hands clenched tight. "Not only them. I also killed all the bad people that ran the camp."

"Good job," he said as if he was proud of her. Then, he approached her and gently patted her head. "You did well, Neoma."

She knew that she deserved to be punished for the mass murder that she had committed. But for some reason, Ruto's words consoled her. Of course, it didn't justify what she did. Yet, she was comforted by the fact that he didn't hate her for it.

For the first time since her Lunacy began, the storm in her head finally stopped.

[So he knows the right things to say at the right time, huh?]

"I'm famished," Neoma said, now calm but tired and hungry. "Feed me, Ruto."

"That's why I'm here," Ruto said while pulling something out of his pocket. "Here, a beef jerky."

***

NEOMA stared at Ruto while munching on the fifth beef jerky that Ruto handed to her.

Now that she had calmed down and they were in a clean and empty parlor room, she had the chance to look at him properly. Well, it was pretty dark because the only source of the light inside was the moonlight coming through the window. Fortunately, her eyesight gets sharper when her eyes turn red. After all, her red eyes allowed her to see things in the dark just fine.

She just noticed that Ruto's hair was now purple while his eyes were a dark shade of violet. His hair and eye colors were supposed to be black.

[What's his real hair and eye color?]

Dayum, her Ruto looked handsome.

She would admit that before she saw his adult form, she thought that Ruto had an average appearance. Well, she couldn't really blame herself for thinking that way. After all, she was surrounded by god-tier beauties since she was born.

But now…

[Why does Ruto look so handsome in my eyes now?]

Still, she couldn't be swayed.

"Who are you?" Neoma, seated on the sofa, asked seriously. "You also appeared in my memories that I don't remember. Have we met before?"

She was being vague on purpose.

Although she knew that she could trust Ruto, she couldn't just casually reveal to him that this wasn't her first life.

Ruto, seated on the sofa across from her, answered while pulling out a vial of water from the inside pocket of his robe. Then, he put the vial on the table between them and nudged it closer to her side. "Yeah, we've already met before."

"Really?" she asked, her heart thumping hard and fast now. [Is my hunch correct? Have we really met in my previous life? Does he remember it as well?]

"I met you when you were a baby."

"Huh?"

"You were a bald baby."

"I wasn't bald!" she argued with clenched fists. She didn't really know what she looked like when she was a baby but she didn't like Ruto's teasing tone. Her pride was hurt. "I was born with thick, luscious hair!"

"No, you weren't," he said bluntly. God, this boy was seriously brutally honest. "I was only four years old when you were born but I clearly remember how you looked like as a baby. And you were bald."

She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "How did you even meet me when I was a baby? I thought my existence was a secret."

Nero's case was different. It wasn't really a secret that her father had a son. Her twin brother was merely hidden for his protection.

On the other hand, her existence as the royal princess was a royal secret.

[Heck, I wasn't even registered as a member of the Royal Family.]

"His Majesty introduced me to you back then," he explained. "Technically, His Majesty introduced me to Prince Nero but since you were also there, he explained that you were the royal prince's twin sister."

She almost rolled her eyes at that. [It sounds like I was just an afterthought to Papa Boss when I was a baby.]

Well, it wasn't like she didn't know that already.

[My relationship with Papa Boss has only improved lately…]

"My father and I took the Oath of Silence along with the other nobles that knew about you and Prince Nero. His Majesty chose to share the royal secret with the people that he either trusts or needs to maintain his power," Ruto continued with his story. "In my case, he chose to share it with me and my father in an attempt to lure me to become the Commander of the White Lion Knights. His Majesty wanted me to serve Prince Nero once the Crown Prince ascends the throne."

[The Commander of the White Lion Knights…]

It was the person that she was talking to in the memory that she heard in her mind a while ago– the memory that only had voices and not images.

But she wanted to be cautious so she didn't want to bring it up yet.

"I've mistaken Prince Nero as the royal princess the first time I saw the two of you," Ruto said while looking at her now short hair. "Prince Nero's hair was thicker and more luscious than yours when you were babies."

She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Why are you so obsessed with my hair?"

"It's because it's one of the only things that I can see when I look at a person," he said softly. "I can see your hair, your form, your internal energy– everything but your face."

"My internal energy?" she asked curiously. "Is it the same as my aura?"

"It's more like your Core instead of your aura," he explained. "Your aura is kind of similar to the aura of your family members, especially since you're a de Moonasterio. The Royal Family's divine energy can't be mistaken for someone else. However, your Core is unique to you. It's like the storage of all the energy that you have inside your body."

"How many kinds of energy do you see in me?"

"There is three major energy inside you," he said. "The de Moonasterio divine energy, your Roseheart Blood, and that strange dark energy that gives you affinity with the demons."

"Are you not going to ask why I have an affinity with the demons?"

"I don't want to pressure you," he said. "That's why I'll wait for you until you're ready to share it with me. But if you don't want to, then it's also fine with me."

"I also don't know why I have it," she said. "But it's the reason why I'm in this form right now. Trevor, my demon friend, gave me a weapon that will allow me to turn into an adult once used. Since I was in a pinch earlier, I had to use it." She tilted her head at one side while looking at his (handsome) face. "Can you tell me why you look like that now, Ruto?"

"The reason behind this form is almost the same explanation as to why Lewis Crevan turns into an adult when using his full power as a nine-tailed fox," he explained. Did he see Lewis in his adult form earlier? It was possible since they were in the same place. "The power inside me is too great that if I use it, my young physical body won't be able to handle it. Thus, once I use my full power, it transforms my body into an adult temporarily. It's like the bigger the vessel is, the more energy it can store."

"Ohh," she said. "Our Ruto is now bragging about his strong power, huh?"

"I need to be at least that strong if I want to stand next to you," he said casually. "But if I could choose, I'd like to continue living as a chef." He patted her head again. "So I hope you don't get into this kind of trouble again."

She just smiled because she couldn't promise that, then she changed the topic.

"Ruto, you're amazing," she said, amused. "I don't see the things you see in me when I look at other people."

"It's probably an ability that I got to compensate for my inability to recognize faces."

She let out a deep sigh. "You're so OP, Ruto," she complained. "I can't believe you've tricked me into believing that you're weak."

"I didn't trick you," he reasoned. "It was you who believed that I'm weak. I just went along with it since it's not important anyway."

[It is important!]

She was too tired to argue so she just let it slide.

Except for one thing.

"Why did you pretend that you didn't know me?" she asked carefully. "You even used to ask for "Neoma Ramsay" after meeting me as the Crown Prince."

"I did that for you."

"For me?"

He nodded before he explained. "I wanted to give you an excuse to dress up as the real you."

"But I'm already good at making excuses to go and play outside as 'Neoma Ramsay.'"

He paused for a moment before he spoke again. "I wanted to see you as Neoma Ramsay and not as the Crown Prince. Of course, I can't see your face. But spending time with you as Neoma Ramsay is more fun than accompanying the Crown Prince since we have to be formal with each other."

She cleared her throat while trying to hide her embarrassment. "You should have just been honest from the start."

"If you're done eating, drink water first."

At this point, she was already used to Ruto's insensitivity so she just frowned at him.

But her annoyance was quickly relieved when he stood up and sat next to her.

[Omo, what's happening?]

Without warning, Ruto held her hands and wiped them clean using his handkerchief. Then, he picked up the water vial and opened the lid befor handing it to her.

She silently drank water while in deep thought.

[He held my hands and took care of me so naturally, huh? I wonder why I'm not mad even if he invaded my personal space without permission? If it was Trevor, I would have chopped his head off for simply touching my hand.]

Huh?

Did it mean she was being biased? Was Ruto her favorite person? But she already gave that title to Lewis. But perhaps…

[If all the boys around me were a Kpop boy group, does it mean Ruto is my bias?]

She closed the lid of the water vial and put it on the table quietly.

"Are you still hungry?" Ruto asked, cutting off her thoughts. "I was only able to bring beef jerky since I was in a hurry. Sorry."

Ah, right.

[I almost forgot to ask him the most thing I'm curious about.]

She blinked several times while looking at him. "Why are you here, Ruto?"

"Because you're here."

Okay, that made her heart skip a beat.

[Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush…]

Gosh, what was with her stupid heart? Thank goodness Ruto couldn't see her face. She was relieved that he couldn't see her face turn red.

"T-That's suspicious," she accused him, cursing herself for stuttering. "How did you know I was here? This is a secret mission."

"You summoned Veton," he explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I can go anywhere my Elemental Guardian is."

"And you followed Veton because I used it?"

"You wouldn't use it if you weren't in danger."

"And you followed Veton because you think I was in danger?" she asked teasingly. "Then, is it safe to assume that you're worried about me?"

"I'm sorry for not letting you know that I already know your royal secret from the start."

"Huh? Why are you suddenly apologizing for that?" she asked, confused. "That's so random, Ruto."

"You're upset that I kept it a secret from you. Thus, you're trying to annoy me right now."

Wow, she couldn't believe her bias.

[I'm playing with you– not trying to annoy you, dummy!]

"Ruto, you're not an easy man," she said while shaking her head. "You never say the things that I want to hear the most."

"What do you want to hear from me?"

"Well, I wanted you to compliment my beauty since I will die if I don't get attention from my face," she said, then she sighed sadly. "But I'm not beautiful anymore. That's why I'm glad that you can't see my face."

He didn't say anything but it looked like he was eager to know what happened to her face.

So, she held his hand and guided it to her face. To be precise, he put his hand on the burned side of her face. Even if he couldn't see what her burn mark looked like, she was pretty sure that he could tell what happened through his touch.

After all, Ruto's face turned sad.

"I made a deal with the Devil," she explained with a forced smile on her face. "I had to do this for him to grant my request. You may not see my face but to the people that can, I look ugly now."

"Do you regret your decision?"

"I'd like if I say that I don't. But just a little," she said. "Even if I turn back time, I'd still do it. My revenge is more important than my face."

He looked at her long and hard before he pulled his hand away from her face. "You should take a nap first."

Again, that was so random.

But it wasn't a bad idea anyway so she laid her head on his shoulder. He froze for a moment before he eventually relaxed. She liked his reaction so she smiled while closing her eyes.

"I had a strange dream, Ruto. Apparently, it was my past life," she said softly. She had to pretend that it was only a dream because she didn't want to reveal carelessly that she had the memories of her past lives. "In that dream, I was talking to the Commander of the White Lion Knights. He promised me that in his next life, he'd be a chef instead of a knight."

"Do you think that I was the commander in your dream?"

"Uh-huh."

"Why?"

"Because you have purple hair," she said with a pout. "I also had another dream where I saw a man with purple hair."

"I'm not the only one who has purple hair in the world, am I?"

She pouted at his logic. "You sound as if you hated the idea that you were the commander in my dream so much," she complained. "It was just a dream, okay?"

He didn't respond for a couple of seconds that she thought he didn't want to talk to her anymore.

She was on the verge of falling asleep when she heard his voice again.

"That commander in your dream," Ruto whispered as if he was talking to himself. "It wasn't me…"

Neoma, her consciousness being pulled away by darkness, didn't hear what Ruto said that time.

***

[THE ZOMBIE and the fox are here.]

Ruto didn't waste time and gently carried the sleeping Neoma in his arms. To be honest, keeping her that close to him felt like a sin. After all, he felt bad that he had to lie and keep things from her when they were talking earlier. But he had to for her sake.

[Let's not focus on that for now.]

He summoned Veton and asked his Elemental Guardian to bring him and his princess to where he wanted to be at that moment.

"Are you dying?" Ruto asked with a raised eyebrow while looking down at the 'thing' sitting on the ground while leaning against a huge rock. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing," the Devil said while using his glowing hand to probably treat the bleeding bite marks on his neck. "I was just bitten by a large snake."

[He's probably talking about His Majesty's black serpent.]

Judging by how rough the Devil's appearance was, he could tell that he barely managed to run away from his fight with His Majesty's Soul Beasts.

[He lost the fight.]

"What brings you here?" the Devil asked. "And why did you come here with Princess Neoma?"

"Change the content of the contract that you made with her."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Heal Neoma's face," he said bluntly. "Put the burn mark on my face instead."

The burn on Neoma's face was caused by the Red Dragon's flame.

Therefore, not even the greatest Healing Sage in the continent could heal it. Thus, the only way to heal the royal princess's face was to give the burn mark to another person. And he was willing to be that person for her.

The Devil looked stunned for a minute before he spoke again. "I can't do that," he said. "Princess Neoma's beauty is the price that she has to pay for the contract that we formed."

"You have the authority to change it."

"If you give me something that has the same value as Princess Neoma's beauty, then maybe I'll think about it–"

"I'll give you the key."

The Devil's red eyes glowed in excitement. "Are you talking about THAT key?"

"Yes," Ruto said while hugging Neoma closer to him. "I'll give you the key to the other world where Neoma came from."

***

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