Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"ARE YOU getting married?" Nikolai asked as soon as Glenn stepped foot into his office. When the knight's face turned red, he let out a smirk. "My hunch is correct, huh?"

Glenn stood in front of his desk and covered his face with his hands. "I proposed to Princess Brigitte, and she said 'yes,' Your Majesty," he said cheerfully, although his ears had turned red from being shy. "I'm so happy I could die."

"You can't die yet," he said, then he dropped the bad news– the reason why he told Glenn to return to the empire immediately. "Your family will probably kill you, though."

The knight removed his hands from his face and showed him a very irritated face. "Your Majesty, did my father reach out to you, by any chance?"

"Duke Exton sent a letter asking if I'm marrying you off to a foreign princess."

"Please ignore my father's rubbish, Your Majesty."

"Why would I ignore it?" he said, scoffing. "I sent a reply saying that yes, I'm going to marry you off to Hazelden's first princess, and it's none of his business. I also reminded your father that you've officially removed your last name from House Exton's family registry a long time ago."

Glenn looked relieved. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

He leaned back against his seat while looking at Glenn solemnly. "As an advance wedding gift, I'll give you the 'Grand Duke' title, Glenn."

The knight tilted his head to one side. "I think I've misheard Your Majesty…"

"You didn't mishear it," he said firmly. "I'm making you a Grand Duke, idiot."

"But it's a title only given to the emperor's relative."

"That's why I'm also making you my sworn brother."

Glenn looked shocked. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Then he just looked at him like he couldn't believe what he just heard.

"The emperor's sworn brother gets the same right as his blood relatives," he said to Glenn who looked like he was about to faint anytime. "We practically grew up together, Glenn. Everyone in the empire knows you're the only friend I have."

Glenn gasped softly, finally snapping out of his trance. "You called me a 'friend,' Your Majesty."

"Shut up," he said, trying to mask his embarrassment.

The knight smiled at him as if he just saved his life. "Your Majesty, I can't turn down your offer," he said, as if he was embarrassed. "Princess Brigitte is the first princess of Hazelden Kingdom. She'd be the next queen, too. On the other hand, I'm just a knight without a family name."

He scoffed. "Why are you undermining yourself? You're a war hero, Glenn. Moreover, you're the vice-commander of the White Lion Knights. And you're the empire's 'Mad Dog.'"

"The last one is a bit…"

He waved his hand to dismiss Glenn's worries. "Don't overthink too much, Glenn," he said. "Even though I'm saying I'm going to make you a Grand Duke, I can't give you a territory since you're going to marry a foreign princess. The nobles will criticize me if I do that, and I don't have time to deal with them now."

"I understand, Your Majesty," the knight said, then he put a hand over his chest as if he was expressing his gratitude. "The fact that you're planning to make me your sworn brother is already more than enough."

"I can't give you a territory as a Grand Duke, but I'll give you the Golden Field."

"The Golden Field?" Glenn asked, confused. "The field where Hisa Trees grow?"

"That's correct," he said. "Before Princess Brigitte returned to Hazelden Kingdom before, we made a deal. She offered to supply the weapons created by their kingdom to us exclusively. In exchange for that, I sent some of our top knights to their kingdom to teach Hazelden's knights how to properly fight against Mana users. But you know how it ended."

Despite Princess Brigitte's efforts to strengthen her kingdom's military power, her own father and brother messed that up.

It was recently revealed that the king and Crown Prince of Hazelden Kingdom sold their weapons to the enemies of the empire. Those feels even attempted to assassinate the "Crown Prince" of the empire while pretending to be the victim.

"To be honest, that was just supposed to be the beginning of our good relationship with Hazelden Kingdom," he continued. "Princess Brigitte offered a secret deal with me, but it didn't push through because of what happened recently. Still, the offer is too good that I can't let it go to waste."

"Your Majesty, is it about the "living weapons" that they couldn't retrieve because of the harsh snowstorm in the kingdom's restricted area?"

"That's correct," he confirmed. "Princess Brigitte, upon learning that the "Crown Prince" is a Roseheart that can talk to Spirits, asked for our help since the one causing the snowstorms is a Spirit. But I told Princess Brigitte that we'll push through the second deal once the first one succeeds. It wasn't like I don't trust her. The people I didn't trust were the king and the Crown Prince of their kingdom."

"I see," Glenn said while nodding his head. "Now that the king and the Crown Prince will be removed from their position soon, Your Majesty wants to make a deal directly with Princess Brigitte."

"Princess Brigitte will be the queen of Hazelden Kingdom soon, so yes."

Glenn smiled at him brightly. "Princess Brigitte will be an excellent queen, Your Majesty. You can trust her."

He smirked at how happy Glenn looked. Of course, he was happy for his friend. "I'm sure you'll be a good partner to the future queen of Hazelden," he said. "Paige Avery will create a device that will help the Hisa Trees produce Hisa Jewels using her Jeweled Heart. Once I give you the Golden Field, you'll be in-charge of everything. That means you'll also be working with the Wisterias and the Hammocks."

"Can we still trust the Wisterias and the Hammocks, Your Majesty?"

"They're good at what they do, and we have the things we need to keep them in check," he said. "And I'm giving you the Golden Field because I know you can handle it. You're crazy on the battlefield, but you have a good head on your shoulders."

That was the reason why Glenn stayed by his side, just like Kyle Sprouse.

"Thank you for the trust, Your Majesty," Glenn said while smiling bashfully. "I won't disappoint you."

He was about to say something when the door suddenly burst open.

"I apologize for being rude, but I just received a shocking report from Princess Neoma, Your Majesty," Geoffrey Kinsley, who entered his office in a hurry while ignoring Glenn, said. "Dion just revealed to the people of Astello Church that he's a fallen angel."

To say he was surprised would be an understatement.

Even Glenn looked shocked.

"And it doesn't end there, Your Majesty," Geoffrey Kinsley said, then he gulped. "Dion also announced his retirement as a Paladin in order to become the next leader of the temple."

"The next leader of Astello Temple?" Glenn asked, shocked. "But just because Dion is a fallen angel doesn't mean the Astello Temple would accept him. In the first place, why would he need to be one?" He trailed off, then he snapped his fingers. "Ah, right. Princess Neoma must have done something."

Nikolai pinched the bridge of his nose because he agreed with what Glenn said. "What did Neoma do this time?"

"Princess Neoma claimed Lord Yule and the First Holy Knight sent Her Royal Highness a divine message telling her to name the new leader of Astello Temple," Geoffrey Kinsley said. "Princess Neoma announced it during the council meeting of the priests led by His Eminence. Of course, the High Priest and some of his supporters got into an argument with Princess Neoma."

He felt a big headache coming while listening to what his daughter had done without informing him first.

[I thought the little rogue went back to Valmento just to check on the citizens…]

He didn't know his daughter was scamming people behind his back.

[There's no way Yule or the First Holy Knight would send her a divine message. Yule is in a deep slumber, and the Spirit of the First Holy Knight disappeared along with the White Lion.]

"To stop the argument, Princess Neoma suggested settling the matter by voting," Geoffrey Kinsley said. "Princess Neoma won the election, so Dion is now the new leader of Astello Temple."

Nikolai could only sigh and shake his head. "My daughter has become a scammer."

***

[I'M GONNA get scolded big time for sure.]

Neoma was a little nervous when she stepped out of the portal.

The Astello Temple had a portal connected to one of the prayer rooms in Yule Palace– her Papa Boss's residence. She used the portal to head home because her father told her to come home right away.

[Papa Boss is probably upset that I didn't consult him first. Let's blame it on William.]

She only brought Lewis with her.

Dion needed to stay in the temple, and she asked Jasper Hawthorne and Paige Avery to stay with the new leader of the temple.

[I can't believe we pulled off that shit. Do I have a knack for scamming people?]

"Welcome back, Princess Neoma."

Oh?

She beamed when she was greeted by Duke Rufus Quinzel.

Sir Glenn was also there.

And of course, her Papa Boss.

"Duke Quinzel, Sir Glenn, you're both back," Neoma said brightly while walking fast towards the two. She missed the duke and Sir Glenn so much. "I'm glad to see you again!"

She was so excited that she didn't watch her steps and tripped.

[Fuck, so embarrassing.]

Since she slept like a baby for three days, she noticed that her body remained sluggish. So she was pretty sure she'd fall face-down because of her slowed reflexes. But it didn't happen.

Her Papa Boss, Duke Quinzel, Sir Glenn, and even Lewis all ran to catch her.

But of course, her Papa Boss was the fastest.

The next thing she knew, she was already in her father's embrace. It felt so comfortable that she found herself automatically wrapping her arms around her Papa Boss's neck.

"Are you alright?" her Papa Boss asked worriedly while gently patting her back.

Oh.

[Before, he asked me first if I'm alright instead of scolding me for being careless…]

She was touched.

"I'm alright, Papa Boss," Neoma said shyly, then she buried her face in her Papa Boss's neck because she didn't want anyone to see her blushing. "Thank you for worrying about me."

Her Papa Boss continued patting her back gently. "I'll bring you to my room," he said as he walked towards the door. "You must be tired, so you should rest first before we talk."

"Okay, Papa Boss," she said, then she closed her eyes.

[Gosh, this is a little awkward.]

She suddenly realized that in this life, she was truly loved.

In her first life, Papa Boss was a scumbag who neglected her. But at least back then, she had Duke Rufus Quinzel who treated her well.

During her second life, she had her appa who gave her the unconditional love of a father.

And this time, she fixed her relationship with her Papa Boss. She still had Duke Rufus Quinzel and Gavin Quinzel as her father figures. Sir Glenn, on the other hand, was the good uncle that treated her well back when her father was being a scumbag to her.

She was truly blessed in this lifetime.

But unlike her, there was a child who didn't even have a father figure because she was stuck in a different dimension after her physical body was stolen from her.

[And I even had the audacity to act selfish with that poor child.]

Neoma should kneel in front of Nabi and beg for her forgiveness.

***

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