Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"IT'S NOT like it's our family secret since this is also the first time that I've heard about the God of Eternal Darkness, Lady Roseheart."

Mona nodded her head when she realized that Gavin Quinzel was right. "The whole continent is believed to be protected by Lord Yule. Thus, most people here worship the Moon God. But it's not a crime to follow and worship other gods. I don't see the need for the old House Quinzel to hide the fact that they were serving the God of Eternal Darkness."

"Perhaps it has something to do with the stigma that people with Darkness attribute are evil," Gavin Quinzel said carefully. "But compared to other people who use Darkness attribute, the Quinzels don't get that much criticism since we don't summon darkness. People aren't afraid of our power because we need light to use our Shadow Manipulation Technique."

The commander was right.

She once met a Darkness attribute user and when that person used their power, the area that fell under their field of domain was engulfed with complete darkness. Most people were afraid of the darkness. Hence, the majority of them also feared the Darkness attribute.

"I've read once in a textbook that I found in a temple that humans are naturally afraid of the darkness," she said when she remembered the content of the textbook. "Apparently, during the Ancient Period, the Middle World was swallowed by Absolute Darkness. The gods that possess the power to light up the human world descended from the heavens."

The two most prominent gods that descended back then were the Moon God and the Sun Goddess. Thus, after they lit up the whole world, the two were given the biggest continents as their "territory" to protect.

The Sun Goddess received the East Continent, while the Moon God received the West Continent.

"But because the time the world was covered with Absolute Darkness had deeply traumatized the human race, the fear of the darkness was wired in our minds," she continued with her explanation. "Hence, even though the Ancient Period had long been over, the human race still couldn't help but fear the darkness."

"Do you think the Absolute Darkness of the Ancient Period was created by the God of Eternal Darkness?"

"I don't know who or what caused the Absolute Darkness," she said honestly. "But I believe that most people believe that it was created by the God of Eternal Darkness. It's the reason why he is so unpopular that we don't even know his name."

The Moon God was Yule, the Sun Goddess was Elina.

But even she didn't know the name of the God of Eternal Darkness. She wished she knew because the god's title was too long.

"The Nameless Royal Princess said that the darkness isn't always an enemy," she said. "That's the thing that led me to believe that the black tree is protected by someone with the Darkness attribute. But now that you've brought up the God of Eternal Darkness, I believe that he is the one protecting the Nameless Royal Princess."

The commander's brows furrowed in confusion. "How did you get to that conclusion, my lady?"

"We found the black tree in the Forest of Impurity," she explained. "It was in the deepest part of the forest where the trees are big and tall enough to block the sunlight. Thus, it's always dark in the Forest of Impurity. The "eyes" of the gods can't see in the darkness. But of course, the normal and natural type of darkness couldn't possibly block the "eyes" of the gods."

"Ah, now I get it," the commander said, then he nodded his head. "The God of Eternal Darkness is protecting the Nameless Royal Princess. Thus, he sent his Messenger to me."

"Gavin, there's a reason why the God of Eternal Darkness decided to let you know that your family is supposed to serve him."

Gavin's face turned serious, then he nodded his head carefully. "I will ask my father about it, Lady Roseheart."

"Thank you, Gavin," Mona said, satisfied that Gavin Quinzel was willing to unravel his family's secret with her. "I really mean it."

***

MONA gasped when she heard the voice of Mother Tree in her head.

"What's wrong, Mona?" Nikolai, who was seated on the chair across from her, asked worriedly. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, I'm fine," Mona said, then she put her teacup down on the table. She was having tea with Nikolai in the garden that he gave to her as a present. Since she was still waiting for Gavin Quinzel's report, she decided to stay in the palace first to rest. She didn't want to overwork herself for her baby. "Mother Tree just informed me that the Thunderbird has been revived."

It was the emperor's turn to be surprised. "The Thunderbird? You mean the very rare Elemental Guardian that disappeared after the Ancient Period?"

"Yes," she said, then she sipped her tea before speaking again. "If it's been revived, it only means that the Thunderbird has found its new master."

She didn't miss the greed in Nikolai's eyes.

It wasn't like she didn't get where his greed was coming from.

There were only a few Elemental Guardians in the world. In terms of strength, the Elemental Guardians were on par with the de Moonasterio's Soul Beasts. Perhaps, the Elemental Guardians might be stronger than the Soul Beasts because the former existed during the Ancient Period.

"Mona, do you happen to know where the Thunderbird has been revived?"

Nikolai was asking her because she was one of the selected few who could feel the existence of such mighty and legendary beings. It was true that Mother Tree, aka the Cosmic Tree, had informed her of the revival of the Thunderbird. But even if the Mother Tree didn't tell her, she'd still know because the Thunderbird was also a special type of Spirit.

"I feel the Thunderbird's power in the Eastern Continent."

The emperor frowned at her "bad news." "If it's in the Eastern Continent, then I can't find it easily."

"Why do you need the Thunderbird, Nikolai?"

"I need to gather strong beings in my side," he said seriously. "If we're going to fight against the gods to protect our child, then I'd like to gather strong individuals to ensure that you and our daughter will not be harmed."

She smiled warmly at his reasoning. "Don't worry, Nikolai," she assured her. "The wind told me that the Thunderbird is headed to our continent. I have a strange feeling that we will soon meet the new master of the Elemental Guardian."

Nikolai smiled as if he was thrilled. "I don't know why the new master of the Thunderbird is headed here but I'd like to meet them as soon as possible."

"I'd like to meet the person who revived the Thunderbird, too," Mona said, then she touched her stomach. She couldn't feel the baby's movement yet. But for some reason, the inside of her womb felt warm. She couldn't help but smile because of the warmth in her belly. "Baby, are you also excited to meet the Thunderbird?"

***

GAVIN felt guilty that he didn't report to Lady Mona Roseheart right away after he heard the truth from his father.

Instead of reporting to her, he packed his bag and headed to their family's land. But it wasn't the duchy. The territory that he went to was less known. In fact, it was located in another country. They were able to purchase a piece of land in that country because of his uncle's wife's family.

Right now, he was in the Forgotten Graveyard.

Just like what its name suggested, it was a graveyard. The land was a vast field with hundreds of tombstones and monuments around. But his destination was the underground mausoleum that somehow looked like a buried temple to him.

Of course, it was dark.

The fire Spirit stone floating in front of him as it guided him was the only source of light in the mausoleum. It was also very chilly in there that he was currently having goosebumps.

"I found it," Gavin whispered to himself when he finally got to the room where a black coffin was displayed in the center. His father told him that the secret of their family could be found in that coffin. Thus, he didn't hesitate to approach it. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he slowly and carefully lifted the lid. He didn't know if there was a person inside the casket. But he apologized in advance if it was someone's resting place. "I'll just take a peek–"

And Gavin wasn't able to finish his sentence because he was suddenly engulfed by the darkness that emerged from the open lid of the coffin.

***

"HEY, wake up."

Gavin immediately opened his eyes when he heard the familiar yet unfamiliar voice of a lady. He easily recognized the beautiful face that greeted him. But for some reason, the hair and eye color of the lady was different from what he remembered.

The hair that was supposed to be pink was black.

And the eyes that were supposed to be pale ice blue were also black.

Moreover, the dress that the lady was wearing exposed her arms and legs (she was standing in front of him so he noticed). The dress was too short in his humble opinion. Thus, he immediately averted his gaze away from him.

When he looked around, he suddenly realized that he was in an unfamiliar place.

[But strangely enough, I feel nostalgic.]

He was in a bright place with a lot of people dressed strangely. Some of them were seated while holding different types of cups. The aroma coming from the drinks was definitely not tea. But the weirdest thing that he noticed was the language.

For some reason, he could still understand the language used by the strange people even though he was certain that it wasn't the language of the empire.

[Here comes the nostalgic feeling again…]

His heart thumped rapidly against his chest.

[I know this place. I've been here before. But when?]

"Kim Won-shik!"

He was startled when the lady who looked like Lady Mona Roseheart called him by a different name. When he turned to her, he realized that the lady was now sitting on the chair across from him while looking at him with furrowed brows.

"Won-shik sunbae, are you okay?" the lady asked worriedly. "You look… different today."

"My name is not 'Won-shik, Lady Mona," Gavin said, confused. "And where are we…"

"Is this a prank, sunbae?"

"I don't know what you mean by that, my lady."

"'My lady?'" the lady asked in disbelief, then she laughed while shaking her head. "Alright, sunbae. I'll play along with this new prank of yours." She cleared her throat, then she extended her hand to him. "Hello, Won-shik sunbae. I'm a freshman and my name is Go Aerum."

Gavin, despite being confused, accepted the lady's handshake. "Go Aerum?"

That was when he finally remembered where he "met" the lady.

[Ah, it was during the time that I had a long dream!]

And it was also the reason why Gavin asked Lady Mona Roseheart if she had a twin sister.

***

"LADY GO Aerum, may I know–"

Gavin began to ask but he was forced to stop talking mid-sentence when he heard a loud thump that made him close his eyes for a moment.

When he opened his eyes again, the darkness greeted him.

The bright yet strange surroundings, along with the lady that looked like Lady Mona Roseheart, had already disappeared. He felt a hollow in his heart for some reason. It was as if he lost someone or something important again.

"What was that?" Gavin whispered to himself, then he clutched at his chest. "Was it another dream or perhaps…"

The thought that crossed his mind was too ridiculous that he wasn't able to say it out loud.

But…

[Perhaps, it was a different world?]

***

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