Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"JUST TO be clear, we're not engaged," Neoma said while munching on the fresh strawberry. Ruto gave her a bowl of fresh and sweet strawberries for dessert. And now, she was enjoying the fruit while sitting on the swing in the garden. "My proposal is purely out of the goodness of my heart."

"Okay," Ruto said casually. "Tell me when you're done eating. I'll walk you home."

She frowned at that.

Right now, the two of them were seated side-by-side in the white wooden double swing in his garden. It was cold outside so Ruto wrapped her in a warm blanket earlier. Plus, he also brought a spirit stone that functioned like a heater. He attached the ruby to the swing and it was keeping them warm at the moment.

She was so comfortable that she didn't want to go home yet.

[But it's not like I want to stick to Ruto all night, okay? I just don't want to return yet because I know I'll be scolded.]

Yes, that was it.

There was no way her Papa Boss hadn't heard yet that she went out of the Royal Palace without permission.

"You don't want to go home, do you?"

Neoma turned to Ruto and nodded. "You said earlier that you're going to leave early morning. There are only a few hours left before sunrise. Should I help you pack your things?"

"My things are already packed."

"Then I'll send you off so let me stay here–"

"No," he said, abruptly cutting her off. "One of His Majesty's Paladins was here a while ago. I'm sure His Majesty is on his way to pick you up."

She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Neoma, you shouldn't be outside the Royal Palace without any guards," he said, scolding her lightly. "Don't overestimate your power."

"I'm not overestimating my power," she said defensively. "I only went here without Lewis because I know that I'm safe with you. You're OP and I'm OP so we'll be fine."

"That's what I call overconfidence."

"Leave me alone," she said, then she put two strawberries in her mouth.

"His Majesty locked Lewis Crevan up in the Red Sky Tower."

She froze when she heard that.

The Red Sky Tower was the fancy prison for nobles who committed light yet punishable crimes.

[Papa Boss did what…?]

"Not only Lewis Crevan," he continued. "Lady Juri Wisteria, Lord Jasper Hawthorne, Lord Jeno Dankworth, and a child from the camp were also locked up with him."

She gasped when she remembered her children.

[Even Greko…?]

"I'm such an irresponsible mother," she whispered to herself guiltily. "I need to go back…"

"You can stay here for a little longer since I'm sure someone will be here to pick you up later anyway."

"Yeah," she said, then she put another whole strawberry in her mouth. "The Red Sky Tower is a comfortable place for "prisoners." I'm sure my children aren't in danger so they'll be fine even if I don't bail them out right away."

It wasn't like she was neglecting her children.

[Mothers deserve a break from raising their children, don't they?]

But fathers, on the other hand…

"I don't understand why Papa Boss has to lock them up," she said in an annoyed tone. "My children aren't criminals."

"Don't be too hard on His Majesty. He's just doing the right thing," he said carefully, defending her Papa Boss. "Your friends broke the law."

"What law?"

"They were locked up for endangering the life of the "Crown Prince.""

She blinked several times, confused. "They didn't endanger my life."

"They did when they failed to protect you," he insisted bluntly. "Moreover, I heard that Lord Hawthorne confessed that he asked for your help to infiltrate the camp. His Grace has been irresponsible when he did that when he couldn't even ensure your safety."

"It was my choice to work with Jasper Oppa though."

""Oppa?""

"That's an endearment I use with Jasper Oppa," she explained simply since she couldn't tell Ruto that it was a word from another world.

"Endearment?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "I guess you're really close to Lord Hawthorne since you call him by his name."

She stifled a laugh while looking at Ruto's amusing facial expression at the moment.

That was the first time she saw him raise an eyebrow as if he was annoyed.

[He looks jealous…]

She cleared her throat to control her own expression.

[Nah, why would he be jealous of Jasper Oppa?]

"We're close, too," she reminded him. "Don't you call me by my first name? You realize that you don't address me by my title, do you?"

"Ah," he said, his face back to being calm and composed. "I apologize for being rude, Princess Neoma."

"Cringe," she complained. "Just call me by my first name. I don't find it rude."

She knew that she didn't need to remind Ruto not to call her by her name when they were with other people.

[Plus, he made an Oath of Silence with Papa Boss anyway.]

"Okay, Neoma," he said casually. And that sounded better since she didn't like it when he talked formally to her. "May I ask a personal question?"

"Sure."

"Do you trust Lord Hawthorne?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I revealed my royal secret to her."

He let out a deep sigh. "I figure you did but I'm still taken aback now that you confirmed it."

"But Jasper Oppa isn't a bad person," she admitted. Plus, she knew from her first life that the young duke wasn't an enemy. "Don't you trust him?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Lord Hawthorne's family was sentenced to death by His Majesty. I just wonder if Lord Hawthorne isn't thinking of taking revenge on the Royal Family."

"Nah, Jasper Oppa isn't that kind of person," she said. "Even though his family committed a grave sin, he remains loyal to the throne. That's why when he inherited his father's title, House Hawthorne became a part of the Royal Faction."

"Do you think that the people who support the Royal Family will automatically become your ally?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Do you like the Royal Family and the system that runs the empire, Neoma?"

That question made her pause and think.

Come to think of it, after she found out how rotten the Royal Family and the system they created were, she began to resent the two.

Ruto was right.

The Royal Faction was composed of people who supported the rotten system that the Royal Family created.

"Not everyone in the Royal Faction is an ally, and not everyone in the Noble Faction is an enemy," Ruto said carefully. "Moreover, most of the members of the Royal Family support Prince Nero, the real Crown Prince. They don't know that a royal princess exists. And quite frankly, I don't think the members of the Royal Faction are that different from the Noble Faction. After all, the majority of the nobility is headed by men who think little of women."

Ah, everything Ruto said was right.

It didn't matter if it was the Royal or the Noble Faction. Both sides wouldn't easily accept a royal princess to lead the empire in the future.

She shouldn't forget that.

"It seems like to break a system, I need to break myself first," she said while shaking her head. "It's hard to be the main character, Ruto."

"You're not the main character," he said in a playful voice. "If you're going to break the system that everyone is used to, doesn't that make you a villainess?"

"Ah, that's a valid point," she said. "And since I'm already a mother of four, you may call me 'Mommy Villainess.'" She paused, then she snapped her fingers. "That sounds like a good title for a fantasy book, doesn't it?"

"No, it sounds corny."

She glared at him. "Sometimes I wonder why I like talking to you even if you almost always crush my ego."

"I didn't mean to," he said, then he paused. "But I guess you need reality check once in a while because you're being spoiled by people around you."

"But I want to be spoiled by you, too!"

She realized that she said it aloud when Ruto's face turned red.

[Ah, shit.]

But it was the first time that he saw Ruto blush.

[He kinda… look cute?]

She wanted to scold herself for thinking that a thirteen-year-old boy was cute since she was already an adult inside. But she had to admit that she never once thought Ruto as a child the way she saw Lewis and the others.

And even though her brain screamed it was wrong to feel that way, her heart was kinda just vibing with her feelings.

[Neoma Ramsay, protect your pride!]

"I mean, you often scold me," she said as a way to somehow save face. "As a narcissist, I want to be spoiled by everyone around me."

"Uh-huh," he said while scratching his cheek. "I'll do my best to spoil you."

"Then, you should come and see me thrice a month."

"I can't promise you that."

She glared at him again.

"I'll try to come home twice in a month," he said. "I thought we already talked about this, Neoma."

She let out a deep sigh. "I know," she said softly. "Can you lend me your shoulder?"

Instead of answering verbally, Ruto moved and closed the gap between them until their arms were touching.

That made her smile.

"You better become the best chef in the continent," Neoma said, then she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "My Ruto has to be the best among the best."

Ruto laughed softly. "I won't disappoint my Neoma."

***

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