Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

<"I DON'T know what you're talking about, Neoma.">

[Pfft.]

Neoma wanted to laugh as Neoma denied the truth.

But she didn't want to show off her close relationship with Nero their unwanted audience. She wasn't talking about Tara (the Spirit Queen) and William who were in the same room.

There were several eyes watching them, but the owners of those eyes were hidden.

[It seems like Nero is being closely monitored here, huh?]

"Master, Queen Tara, I'd like to talk to my baby brother in private," she said, then she turned to William and Tara who were standing next to each other behind her. "I'm sorry, but I'll be using my Dome and my Darkness attribute."

She didn't wait for any of the two to respond.

[At least, I apologized in advance.]

Then she unapologetically created a Dome (that was just big enough to cover the little space around the bed) laced with her Darkness attribute. It was to ensure that no eyes and ears would be able to watch her conversation with her brother. And since her Dome was laced with her Darkness attribute, it turned black.

Thus, they couldn't see anything outside.

But that meant it also turned dark inside the Dome.

"I didn't know you were being monitored here, Nero," she said sadly, then she opened her hand and summoned Kimchi– her Fire Spirit. The area suddenly lit up, and Kimchi settled on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. It must have been uncomfortable to live here for so long while being monitored like that."

<"It's alright, since I often sneak out, anyway. Moreover, I held back and didn't show them my full strength.">

"Good job, baby brother."

He let out a sigh. <"Who told you the truth about our birth order?">

"Papa Boss."

<"I'll kill him.">

She laughed. "Nero, don't be too hard on Papa Boss. He had to tell me the truth because of the problem we encountered with the High Priest in the past."

His scowl deepened.

"Oh," she said, amused. Then she sat on the bed and gently poked Nero's cheek with her finger. "You look like Papa Boss's younger version when you scowl like that, Nero."

He fell silent while staring at her.

<"You look more beautiful now, Neoma. And you're pretty tall for our age.">

"I think we're around the same height," she said while looking at his legs under the blanket. "You're quite lanky, Nero. But you're too thin. We need to fatten you up."

<"I heard from Trevor that we need you to share your Moonglow and Roseheart Blood with me for my quick recovery.">

"Yep, Papa Boss told me about it already," she said when she looked at her brother again. "Ah, where's Trevor, by the way? I thought he'd be here to greet me since that guy is a total simp for me."

<"I think he said he'll fetch some things he needs to help me recover faster before he left earlier.">

Oh.

Trevor must have been exhausted, yet he was still working hard for Nero's sake. She knew the demon boy was just fulfilling the deal that he made with her father, the emperor. Yet, she was a little impressed by Trevor's rigor.

"Nero, I'm curious," she said. "How did Trevor cure you?"

<"To be honest, I feel like Trevor made me a guinea pig. He would always read a strange book, then I would often hear him murmur 'I think this might work if I do this.'">

"Huh? That sounds sus."

<"I was skeptical, at first. But every time Trevor chanted a spell I don't understand, my body would get better. He kept doing it again and again over the years. Even though I don't understand his incantations, I know he used a different one each time. And all of those incantations worked well. Even he would get surprised by his success.">

"That really sounds like Trevor– carefree but capable."

<"I don't like praising one of your suitors, but you're right. Trevor is really capable. Sometimes I feel like he's creating magic out of thin air– and he does it with ease.">

"I guess he's not the Devil's Grimoire for nothing."

She was about to ask Nero what he planned to do next when she noticed the sudden change in his expression. He was already pale, but this time, he turned paler. Plus, her baby brother took a deep breath, as if he couldn't breathe properly.

"Are you having a hard time breathing because of my Dome?" she asked worriedly. "I'm sorry, let me collapse it–"

<"It's not your fault, Neoma. Ever since I woke up in my body, I suddenly have a difficulty in breathing. Trevor and William said the air here in the Spirit World isn't suitable for humans. That's why only Spirits are allowed here. They also said my physical body only managed to survive in this world for so long was because Trevor's healing magic was protecting me. But now that my physical body has returned to normal, this world is starting to reject my existence.">

She tilted her head to one side. "Really? I'm breathing fine. But then again, I just arrived here."

<"That could be it, Neoma.">

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Nero, call me 'noona.' It means 'big sister' in the country where I spent my second life."

<"I refuse. Such terms don't exist in the Royal Family's vocabulary.">

She clicked her tongue because Nero was right.

[Papa Boss just calls Aunt Nichole by her name.]

<"We're twins anyway, so we were still born the same day.">

She laughed at her twin brother's poor excuse. "It's rich coming from someone who treated me like a baby all these years."

Nero ignored her.

Or so she thought.

Then she realized that the life in Nero's eyes was starting to fade as his breathing turned fast and shallow.

[He can't breathe!]

She panicked at first, then she remembered the time Lord Redgrave (the minor god that she killed in the past), literally stole her breath in order for him to get better. Would it work on Nero? It should be, since they had Yule's blood in them.

"Nero, I'm sorry about this," she said, then she gently grabbed his face until his mouth formed an 'o.' Then she leaned down and closed her eyes. "You may find this gross, but please endure it for a moment."

She breathed into Nero's mouth.

Of course, she wasn't giving her baby brother CPR. She imagined breathing LIFE into Nero. Thus, she could feel the air coming from out of her mouth differently. It was warm, and the light hurting her closed eyes told her that yes, her breath was glowing.

But she didn't know how much "air" she should give Nero, since it was the first time that she had done it willingly. Moreover, she couldn't control it.

[Should I stop now? Have I given enough "air" for Nero? Did it even work?]

Okay, she started to panic when her whole body turned warm. And she suddenly craved for Darkness. The sensation was familiar. Plus, there was a buzz in her head. It suddenly became noisy, as if there were several things hitting her Dome.

But she didn't know if it was just her imagination or what.

[This is like when I turned into a tree before!]

"Neoma de Moonasterio, put down your Dome."

It was William's voice.

She opened her eyes and stopped breathing life into Nero at the same time she heard a crashing sound around.

[Ah, I accidentally broke my own Dome when I panicked.]

That wasn't her priority, though.

When she turned to Nero to check on him, she let out a relieved sigh after seeing that his breathing was back to normal. The light in his eyes was also back.

"Thank goodness," she said, then she held Nero's fine. "Can you breathe properly now?"

Nero blinked twice before speaking in her mind. <"Yes. Thank you, Neoma.">

She smiled at her brother, then she turned around to check on what happened around them.

Why did the room turn into a huge mess? There were giant tree branches that pierced through the walls and the roof, and there were giant roots that emerged from the floor. If she didn't have the Dome earlier, she and Nero might have been hit.

William and Tara looked fine, as expected.

"What happened?" she asked the two curiously while gesturing with her hands. "Were we attacked by giant trees?"

William let out a frustrated sigh. "The plants in the balcony turned into giant trees when you released your…breath."

Oh, so it was her fault.

"I'm sorry," she said, then she turned to the queen, who looked stiff next to William. "Your Majesty, how can I pay for the damages I caused?"

"Please don't worry about the damages, Princess Neoma. We can easily fix it," Tara said kindly, but the queen avoided her gaze. "The important thing is you helped Prince Nero breathe properly."

Ah, so they knew what happened.

"It seems like it will be hard for Nero to stay here now," she said worriedly. "I believe it's time for Nero to come home."

"That's one reason why we needed you to come here personally," William said. "Let's discuss Nero's situation. Nikolai de Moonasterio told me to let you and Nero decide what to do next. Your father seems to trust the two of you too much."

Well, it was because her father knew that both she and Nero weren't really kids inside.

[I wish Papa Boss becomes more lenient when it comes to my love life, though.]

"Allow me to excuse myself in the meantime to prepare for our discussion," Tara said, then she smiled and curtsied, which made her look extra cute. But the queen still didn't look her in the eye. "I'll also prepare a new room for Prince Nero."

After saying that, the Queen of the Spirit World gracefully left the room– flying.

"Master, the queen is not mad that I accidentally wrecked the room, is she?" Neoma asked worriedly. "Her Majesty avoided my gaze twice."

William let out a sigh. "Don't worry about it."

Tsk.

[I did something wrong, didn't I?]

"Is it because I used my special breathing technique or whatever it is?" Neoma asked carefully, then she let out a sigh. "It's so hard to live as a premium air purifier."

***

"AH?" TREVOR said to himself, then he tilted his head to one side while sniffing the air. "This is my Moon Princess's breath."

Of course, he wasn't talking about an ordinary "breath."

Princess Neoma's "air" was special.

[But I wished you didn't use that power in here, Princess Neoma.]

As if on cue, he heard a maniacal laugh that sent a shiver down his spine. And a familiar voice followed that laugh.

<"Princess Neoma is so valuable…">

Trevor clicked his tongue. "Someone wants to steal my Moon Princess again."

***

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