Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"LEWIS, I'm going to enter the tree in my Spirit form," Neoma said while looking at Lewis seriously. "I'll be bringing Tteokbokki with me, so I will leave my physical body defenseless."

"I will protect you while you're unconscious, Princess," Lewis said determinedly. "Please come back safely."

She smiled and nodded. Then she closed her eyes and summoned her Soul Beast. "Tteokbokki, are you already awake?"

Her question was met with silence.

While waiting for Tteokbokki to respond, her mind drifted away for a moment.

Before she sent the others back to the villa with the assassin, she talked to Dion and gave the Paladin some points that he needed to report to her Papa Boss. She didn't have the time to give a detailed explanation, so she just gave the highlights of the events that transpired earlier.

["Please tell Papa Boss that I'm fine, but I might get in trouble later for killing a minor god."]

["Your Royal Highness, that ominous existence was a god?"]

["Yes, and it seems like the Hellgate I created will emerge every time I kill people and other beings."]

["…"]

["And oh, please tell Papa Boss that Lord Redgrave, the old minor god, said that I could be the next Aether. Apparently, the Aether is the pure air in the Upper World. It seems like my breath works like a miracle to them because when Lord Redgrave sucked in my breath, his youthful appearance returned."]

["Your Royal Highness…"]

["What?"]

["It seems like we can't leave you alone."]

Her Soul Beast's response to her summon earlier interrupted her thoughts.

<"Yes, I'm awake now,"> Tteokbokki said in a sleepy yet confused voice. <"What happened earlier?">

"I'll tell you later," she said. "We still have work to do."

<"What kind of work?">

She opened her eyes and touched the cold and hard surface of the Mother Hisa Tree that was still covered by a gem-like coat. "Remember the lady you saw inside this tree? We need to save her. I'm thinking of entering the tree's dimension in my Spirit form. Is it possible?"

<"Of course, it's possible. Who do you think your Soul Beast is?">

She smirked at Tteokbokki's arrogance that he definitely inherited from her. "Good boy. Let's go then."

<"Thug princess, you better hold onto me tight. Traveling to another dimension isn't a joke. One mistake and we'll end up lost in space,"> Tteokbokki warned her. <"Do you understand?">

"I understand," she said, then she raised her right hand as if she was making an oath. "I will stick to you like glue."

"Princess, is Tteokbokki back in his dragon form?"

"Yes," she answered Lewis's question. "Why?"

Lewis looked relieved. "I don't like Tteokbokki's human form. He's handsome, and his face is your style."

"That only applies to humans," she said defensively. "I'm not attracted to animals."

<"I'm not an animal, you judgmental thug princess!">

Neoma rolled her eyes at Tteokbokki's complaint. "Whatever, reptile."

***

"Y-YOUR Majesty, we received another report from Dion."

Nikolai, who was still in his office despite finishing all his work for that day, raised his head to meet Geoffrey Kinsley's shaking pupils. The fact that his Paladin was acting nervous made him nervous as well. "Is my daughter safe?"

"Princess Neoma is safe, Your Majesty," Geoffrey said, then he gulped. "For now."

His jaw clenched. "Explain."

"Apparently, the assassin that tried to kill Princess Neoma was supported by an old minor god."

He held his breath unconsciously. [An old minor god?]

"And Princess Neoma has slain the minor god."

He released the breath he was holding in slowly. "My daughter killed a minor god," he whispered in disbelief. "The other gods won't let this slide easily."

His daughter was truly… brave.

[Neoma's soul is older than her current physical body. But she's still young. To kill a god is a tremendous feat. It will also cause trouble in the future– especially if the believers and followers of gods hear about this.]

But it was his job as Neoma's father to deal with that to protect his daughter.

"Dion also reported that the Hellgate that Princess Neoma created before emerged after Her Royal Highness has slain the minor god."

"Did anyone from Lady Wisteria's side witness it?"

The Paladin shook his head. "Fortunately, Young Master Jeno Dankworth covered the area with his mist."

He nodded, relieved to hear that. "What else?"

"Princess Neoma wishes to inform Your Majesty that the minor god sucked her breath in."

Anger immediately rose to his chest. He slammed his hands on the table, and the poor table split in two. "How dare he to disrespect my daughter like that!"

Geoffrey gulped again before he continued with his report. "After the old minor god did that horrible and disrespectful thing to Her Royal Highness, the god apparently regained his youthful appearance."

Hearing that didn't lessen his anger, but it piqued his curiosity. "My daughter can rejuvenate a god?"

"According to Princess Neoma, the minor god called her the next 'Aether.'"

Aether?

Hearing that familiar word caused him a splitting headache out of nowhere. He clutched his head and shut his eyes tight while groaning in pain. Suddenly, unfamiliar images flooded his mind.

"Your Majesty!" Geoffrey yelled worriedly. "I'll call Kyle and your Healing Sage!"

He wasn't able to stop the Paladin from leaving the room to call Kyle and Marcus– his personal Healing Sage. But he trusted that Geoffrey would keep it a secret from the others. The fact that he was in pain at the moment should never leak out.

Soon, he stopped worrying about that.

All because unfamiliar memories that he had with Mona came back to him.

Ah, no – those scenes weren't "unfamiliar." Those were, in fact, the missing memories that Mona stole from him in the past.

After realizing that, he calmed down and accepted everything quietly.

"The gods are planning to turn Neoma into the next Aether," Nikolai whispered to himself when he opened his eyes. "And Gavin…" He clenched his hands tight until his nails dug deep into his skin. "That scheming bastard!"

***

"THUG PRINCESS, remember this: Visualize the Mother Hisa Tree in your mind as vivid as possible," Tteokbokki, now in his baby dragon form, said as he wrapped his short arms around her arm. "And stick close to me!"

Neoma nodded and gently patted Tteokbokki's cute paws. "Sure, Tteokbokki."

"Okay, now close your eyes."

She nodded, then she closed her eyes.

As per Tteokbokki's instruction, she visualized the Mother Hisa Tree in her mind. The tree's beautiful emerald impressed her, so she easily imagined it in her head. Plus, Mochi trained her to do things like that to summon Spirits.

Moreover, Tteokbokki was with her anyway…

Wait.

[Tteokbokki?]

She felt an icy breeze pass her by, and she realized that the baby dragon clinging to her arm also disappeared.

[Damn, did I fail?]

She slowly opened her eyes and was greeted by a different tree in the middle of a lush garden that smelled sweet.

[Beautiful…]

The white tree with diamond leaves took her breath away.

[But this isn't the Hisa Tree…]

Shit, she got lost. Thankfully, she didn't feel any danger or malice around her. In fact, the beautiful white tree was oozing with warmth as if it was welcoming her in that beautiful garden.

[I'll hear an earful from Tteokbokki later.]

Neoma let out a frustrated sigh. "How do I get out of here?"

"The exit is that way, unnie."

Her eyes widened in shock when she heard an unfamiliar voice of a little girl. ["Unnie?"]

She whipped her head toward where the voice came from.

To say that she was shocked to find a little girl who had the same appearance as her when she was living in Korea would be an understatement.

Yes, the pale girl looked exactly like her except for the black hair and black eyes.

It was like looking at the child version of herself in her second life.

"You called me 'unnie,'" Neoma said, still in shock. 'Unnie' was a Korean honorary title used by younger girls to call their older sisters or females older than them. "Who are you?"

Her look-a-like just smiled at her and pointed her finger to her left side.

Then, suddenly, the child suddenly burst into butterflies– colorful, pretty butterflies.

Neoma looked at the butterflies that scattered above her. "Nabi…?"

'Nabi' meant 'butterflies' in the Korean language. She didn't know why she called the butterflies in Korean instead of the language of that world. Was it because the child that she met spoke Korean to her earlier?

[Is she my child version?]

"Thug princess!"

Neoma closed her eyes when Tteokbokki yelled loudly in her mind.

And when she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a different dimension.

Tteokbokki was floating right in front of her face, puffing and huffing while nagging at her for being "absent-minded."

[But I wasn't being absent-minded then!]

"Shut up for a minute," she said while massaging her temples. "I swear I didn't act careless this time. But I don't know how I ended up in a different dimension. Do you know where that place is, Tteokbokki?"

"I don't," Tteokbokki said while shaking his head. "Our souls are tied together. I just tugged at the thread that connects our soul to pull you here."

She was about to say something when she noticed the trembling lady behind her Soul Beast.

[Ah, yes. We have to save someone.]

"A d-de M-Moonasterio," the lady with short bob-cut mint green hair and sparkling turquoise eyes said while hugging the staff close to her chest. "Are you here to k-kill me?"

Neoma smiled awkwardly and scratched her cheek.

[Just what did my ancestors do to this poor girl for her to think a child is here to kill her?]

***

"IT seems like the Cosmic Tree is about to awaken earlier than expected," Tara, the Queen of the Spirit World, said while looking up at the beautiful white tree with diamond leaves. She was one of the select few who had the permission to enter the garden after they forced the Cosmic Tree into a deep slumber as a punishment. "And I believe it's thanks to your nurturing, Nabi."

Nabi, the Spirit with the same appearance as Princess Neoma, just smiled at her while watering the Cosmic Tree's roots with a golden watering can. "I'm just doing what Ruto Oppa told me to do."

Ruto, huh?

That child brought the Spirit into the garden a few years ago. Since the Cosmic Tree's home was out of her jurisdiction, she failed to stop Ruto from bringing a stray Spirit to the Cosmic Tree--- especially since the Cosmic Tree herself allowed it.

Even though the Cosmic Tree was asleep, she still could convey her will to the surrounding beings.

[I was wondering why Ruto became significantly weaker than what he used to be. But the answer is hiding in plain sight.]

Seeing Nabi covered with a powerful Mana made her realize Ruto gave up half of his power to protect the young Spirit. But Ruto wasn't the type of person to be kind and merciful to someone who wasn't Princess Neoma. If he did this for Nabi, it could only mean one thing.

"Nabi, you have it, don't you?"

The Spirit ignored her.

"You have it," Tara said while smiling. "Princess Neoma's missing memories."

Tara couldn't clearly remember what happened during the lifetimes where Princess Neoma had previously died. But she could feel that this world had regressed, and the trigger was the young princess.

As the queen of the Spirit World, she wanted to know how she failed to protect her world in the past to prevent the same thing from happening again. But unfortunately, even though she had a high rank as the queen of the Spirit World, her memories of the world before the regression were blurry.

[Thus, I have no choice but to depend on the memories of other people.]

Nabi turned to her and smiled brightly. "I will protect Neoma unnie's memories even from you– just like what I promised Ruto oppa."

***

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