Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

NEOMA was shocked when Duke Arman Winchester, along with the other nobles who expressed their doubts earlier, slightly bowed their heads.

"We apologize for our rudeness, Your Royal Highness," Duke Arman Winchester said, then he raised his head. Despite his seemingly polite behavior, the coldness in his eyes showed his true feelings at the moment. "Congratulations on catching the Devil's Grimoire."

Hah.

She held back a smirk.

Although she wasn't really good at politics since she never lived as a proper princess before, she could tell that the old duke was bowing his head now not because he was apologetic– he and the other nobles were bowing down because they were afraid of the Devil's Grimoire.

[Now that they have confirmed that it's the real Devil's Grimoire, they're afraid that I might use it to reveal their dark secrets.]

But just because she had the Bookworm didn't mean that she could use it as she pleased. After all, Trevor was still the Devil's Grimoire. And yet, even if it was the case, the demon boy told her that he didn't know everything since not everything was written in the book.

["Trevor, if I pretend that I've caught the Bookworm, would I gain your ability to know everything?"]

[Trevor laughed softly. "Princess Neoma, you're so cute," he said, then he explained immediately when she raised her fist in an attempt to scare him. "No matter how awesome I am, I don't know everything. I also don't have access to certain records that the Bookworm protects."]

["Really? Even though you're the Devil's Grimoire?"]

["It's just a fancy term for a bodyguard. My main job is to protect the Devil's Grimoire. I memorize the contents that I have access to, but I can't take a peek at the contents that are locked. Princess Neoma, to be honest with you, the Devil's Grimoire is actually a title shared by three beings: Me, the bodyguard. Bookworm, the literal book. Finally, the Recorder. As its name suggests, it's the one that gathers all the information that the Bookworm keeps and I protect."]

["And who is this Recorder?"]

["I'm afraid I can't tell you that, my Moon Princess. Out of the three of us, the Recorder is the most important part of the Devil's Grimoire."]

["You're just as important. If it wasn't for your smartass, the Devil's Grimoire would have been caught by other people a long time ago."]

["Thank you for complimenting my ass."]

["Trevor, do you want to die?"]

[He just laughed at her threat before he spoke again. "I don't know everything at first glance," he explained once more. "But if I look in the eye of a person and the things that he knows have records in the Bookworm that I have access to, then I'll get to know everything about that person."]

["Really?"]

["Uh-huh. That is exactly what happened the first time we met, Princess Neoma. The information regarding your cursed twin brother was available, thus I knew right away why you were looking for me."]

["Ah, I remember that. You also know that this isn't my first life. Plus, you also mentioned that you know the history behind my birth."]

[Trevor laughed awkwardly. "I was actually just bluffing then," he confessed while scratching his cheek as if he was embarrassed. "I only know that Lady Roseheart and the former Commander Gavin Quinzel didn't elope but they ran away together to bring you to another world. I also know that the former Empress Juliet Sloane's dead body was stolen from the Shrine. But other than what you already know, the history behind your birth is in the private section of the Bookworm." He clasped his hands together. "I'm sorry for lying to you back then, Princess Neoma.]

She clenched her hands when she remembered Trevor's accidental confession of the truth.

But her thoughts were soon interrupted when the High Priest spoke. As soon as he heard his gentle yet firm voice, she was instantly brought back to the present.

[Let's stop thinking about that demon liar for now.]

"Your Royal Highness, is the Devil the reason why Saint Zavaroni disappeared?" High Priest Wellington asked in a voice filled with despair. "Was His Holiness abducted by them?"

This was the hardest part for her.

She already lied about the source of the demonic power found at the camp. Lying about what happened to the saint might cause her to get busted. Thus, she was forced to be honest this time. Papa Boss also gave her a piece of advice: ["You can't just lie. You also have to give them some truth. Don't underestimate the nobles too much. Since most of them are damned liars, they're good at telling if someone is lying or not."]

"Esteemed gentlemen," Neoma said carefully. It disgusted her that every representative of the Twelve Golden Families was a male. But that wasn't important at the moment. "I believe that every single person in this Hall is aware that the Devil is the former Princess Nichole."

Everyone's expression became stiff.

Even Duke Rufus Quinzel became solemn.

[Ah, they must have an idea about the relationship between Princess Nichole and Saint Zavaroni.]

She couldn't reveal the existence of the cult.

Apparently, the damned crows only appeared each time a royal princess was born. If she revealed that the cult was at the camp, the nobles who didn't know about her royal secret would get confused.

"His Holiness went to the camp when he received a message from Lord Yule telling him to help me capture the Devil's Grimoire," she lied with a straight face. The child actress in her had completely taken over. Plus, living with Papa Boss all these years had turned her into a good liar for her survival. "There, he met Princess Nichole. The former Princess Royal revealed the hell that she went through when she was abducted by the camp. When His Holiness heard everything, he cursed the gods that allowed Princess Nichole's misfortune to happen. Sadly, that made Saint Zavaroni decide to turn his back on Lord Yule and the temple."

She didn't mean to sound like she was blaming Princess Nichole for Saint Zavaroni's betrayal. But that was how some of the damned nobles and the people of the church interpreted her words.

"His Holiness betrayed Lord Yule just because of that?"

"Perhaps, Princess Nichole exaggerated her experience to get the saint's sympathy?"

"Hah. She's really the Devil! To drag His Holiness to hell–"

"It's your fault that Princess Nichole's life turned tragic and you're also the reason why she ended up as the Devil," she declared bluntly, filling the room with silence once again. All eyes were on her. Some were glaring, others were indifferent, and there were some bold nobles who didn't even try to hide the mirth in their eyes. "The strong and long-lasting shield that protects the capital and the Royal Palace were both created by Princess Nichole. She dedicated her life to protecting the empire while some of you hid in the comfort of your own territories. And what did the former Princess Royal get in return for her loyalty and dedication to the empire?" She shook her head firmly. "Nothing. The Royal Family treated her like a dirty rug until the end."

This time, the nobles were shocked except Duke Rufus Quinzel.

The younger duke was looking at her with a pained look on his face. Duke Quinzel knew that she was speaking as a princess and not as a Crown Prince this time.

[Argh, I want to curse so bad.]

But the nobles were already mad at her so she held back.

"Your Royal Highness, even though you're the Crown Prince, you can't speak like that toward the Royal Family!"

"Your Royal Highness, you weren't born yet during that time so how could you speak like you know everything about what happened to Princess Nichole?"

"Your Majesty, how long are you going to allow His Royal Highness to insult the Royal Family?"

Hah!

It was Duke Arman Winchester who had the audacity to use an accusatory tone on her Papa Boss.

"It's not an insult if it's the truth," her Papa Boss said sternly while addressing the nobles with his cold gaze and stiff expression. "Princess Nichole spent her life as a princess dubbed as the empire's strongest shield. But after she lost most of her power due to torture that she received in the hands of the damned crows, our family treated her like she didn't exist. I wasn't surprised that my twin sister ended up as the Devil" The emperor smirked bitterly. "Moreover, we all know that there's a special relationship between Princess Nichole and Saint Zavaroni. Why do you immediately assumed that it was Princess Nichole's fault that His Holiness turned his back on his god?"

"Your Majesty!" High Priest Wellington chimed in a shocked voice. "Are you blaming His Holiness now?"

"His Holiness and Princess Nichole were the ones who killed Madam Hammock," Neoma declared, making everyone turn to her again. It was Princess Nichole who made the final blow. But it was the saint's will that she revealed it that way. "Can we still treat His Holiness who killed a person as a saint?"

She heard a collective gasp.

Of course, she wasn't happy with this development. But she had no choice but to do this. Plus, she knew that Saint Zavaroni would be happy with her decision. He already quit his position as the saint, and she was only here to make it official.

She received the request from His Holiness through Trevor.

["Princess Neoma, His Holiness gave you the Divine Item because he wants to ask you a favor--- the saint wants you to officially kick him out of his position by saying that he helped Princess Nichole kill Madam Hammock."]

Neoma accepted that request because she also believed that it was time for His Holiness to be excommunicated.

[I'll grant your wish, my dear mentor.]

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