Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

NEOMA's day started right.

She and her Mama Boss enjoyed a warm bath together first thing in the morning.

The tub was big enough for two people to share, so here they were now.

She was sitting between her mother's legs while her Mama Boss was gently rubbing her back with a sponge…

… while crying silently.

Yes, her mother was sobbing behind her, but she pretended not to notice.

[Mama Boss is probably happy that she could finally do things like this for me.]

"Your nanny has taken good care of you, baby," her Mama Boss said in an emotional voice. "Look at how soft and smooth your skin is."

"Stephanie is good to me, Mama Boss," Neoma said, smiling at the thought of her kind nanny. "Even though she was originally Nero's nanny, she was still kind to me from the start. Stephanie and Alphen took good care of me and my baby brother. Have you met them in the past, Mama Boss?"

"I did," her mother said softly. "In fact, Stephanie was the only maid who volunteered to serve me when Nikolai brought me to the palace as his lover. After all, most of the elite servants at the time used to serve Juliet."

Ohh.

[Stephanie is really kind, huh?]

"While Alphen is just… the perfect employee?" her mother said hesitantly, then she laughed softly. "He's the type of person who works hard without caring about the things that don't have anything to do with his job. He's diligent, but not greedy. Attentive, but not nosy. And most of all, he's tight-lipped."

"Ah," she said, nodding. "Now I know why Papa Boss trusts Alphen."

"At least, even though Nikolai was a bad father to you at the time, he still put trustworthy people to take good care of you."

She nodded in agreement. "Papa Boss also assigned Uncle Glenn as our personal knight before the other Paladins arrived."

"Glenn is a wonderful person," her mother said. "I'm glad you were surrounded by the best people in Nikolai's circle."

Hmm…

Should she snitch on a certain someone?

[I mean, Nero already snitched on our Papa Boss. I can't do worse than that, right?]

"Not everyone around Papa Boss was nice to me, Mama Boss."

She felt her mother freeze behind her.

"It's Kyle Sprouse, isn't it?" her Mama Boss asked in a calm yet rigid voice. "God, that prick hasn't changed at all, has he?"

"He was mean to me since day one," she tattled on, pouting. "He has calmed down recently, though. Instead of taunting me with offensive remarks like he did in the past, he just ignores me these days."

By "ignoring" her, she meant Kyle Sprouse had stopped poking his nose in her business. The count hadn't nagged at Papa Boss for "spoiling" her, too.

But of course, Kyle Sprouse would still politely greet her whenever they would meet.

"Don't worry, Mama Boss," she consoled her mother, who fell silent. She could already tell that her Mama Boss was feeling guilty for not being there for her during the time Kyle Sprouse was bullying her. "I bullied Count Sprouse as much as he bullied me. And I won all the war of nerves that we had."

Her mother finally laughed.

"Thank you for being strong, baby," her Mama Boss said, then she gently wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "I'm sorry for not being there for you and Nero."

Her heart suddenly felt heavy with guilt.

It wasn't her mother's fault that she had been trapped in the ice for so long. In fact, it was her appa's fault. And yet, she still had the audacity to think about asking her Mama Boss to forgive her appa.

[No, I can't bring it up yet.]

She knew that at some point, she and her Mama Boss needed to talk about Gavin Quinzel– her appa who was also trapped in ice.

But not now– not when her mother was just starting to spend time with them.

"You don't have to apologize, Mama Boss," she said softly, then she leaned against her mother. "Nero and I understand. We're just grateful that you're finally here with us."

Her mother hugged her tight.

To be honest, she didn't expect that she and her Mama Boss would instantly hit it off because there was a thirteen-year gap between them. But they just naturally got along well.

[Nero is still distant to our Mama Boss, though he's like that to anyone else aside from me.]

"Thank you, baby," her mother said, then she kissed her on the cheek. "We will make up for lost time from now on."

"That sounds like a splendid plan, Mama Boss," she said, then she hesitated for a bit before she asked the thing that she had been itching to ask since last night. "Mama Boss?"

"Yes, baby?"

"When are we going back to the palace?"

She was actually nervous, but she tried hard not to show it.

"Oh, right," her Mama Boss said. "You have royal duties to attend to."

That wasn't wrong, but that wasn't her point.

"I heard from Gale that you just passed the entrance exam for Royal Moon Academy," her Mama Boss said. "Congratulations, Neoma. I'm so proud of you."

Aww.

Her heart swelled with pride after hearing her mother say she was proud of her.

She couldn't help but smile genuinely, momentarily forgetting the fact that she was supposed to convince her mother to return to the palace with her and meet Papa Boss. "Thank you, Mama Boss."

"I also heard from Gale that for the first time in the academy's history that three students topped the exams," her Mama Boss continued. "You're going to fight with the Calyx Dalton that we talked about last night, right?"

She nodded, although she wasn't sure if Calyx Dalton would make it.

[Ruto said he'd take care of Calyx Dalton before the final match, so I'm not sure if the crow psycho would still be alive then.]

"And who's the other one you're going to have a three-battle match with?"

"Oh, it's Hanna," she said excitedly, then she turned to her mother. "Hanna Quinzel– Nero's would-be fiancée."

Her mother gasped softly. "Hanna Quinzel? Is she Rufus and Amber's daughter?"

"Yes, Mama Boss," she said. She was spilling the beans to her mother because Nero would never say anything unless her mother asked. "Hanna is our future Crown Princess."

There was a strange emotion that sparkled in her mother's eyes. "So, that baby lived," her Mama Boss said softly. "I'm glad that Hanna Quinzel lived."

"What do you mean by that, Mama Boss?"

"I met Amber when she was pregnant with her daughter," her Mama Boss explained. "Back then, I felt that the child in her womb was weak. I had a gnawing feeling back then that the child wouldn't live long, but I didn't have the heart to tell Amber and Rufus. Thus, I could only give them some medicine that might help their daughter in some way."

Ohh.

It was probably because Hanna wasn't originally meant to live long.

[But Hanna changed her destiny.]

She wanted to say to her mother that Hanna had died in her first life, but she held back. If she talked about her first life, she may not be able to stop herself from mentioning her second life. Any talk about her appa would be sensitive, and she didn't want to ruin her mother's mood.

At least, not yet.

Her Mama Boss, who caught her staring at her, smiled. "What is it, baby? Do you have something to tell me?"

"Mama Boss, do you not want to see Papa Boss?"

She didn't have the courage to mention Gavin Quinzel, her appa, so she just brought up her Papa Boss. And she really wanted to know if her Mama Boss was running away from her Papa Boss, anyway.

Her Mama Boss smiled sadly at her. "I heard from Gale that your father tried to marry you off to House Drayton when you were still a baby. And it was just the beginning of your father's mistreatment."

"Oh," she said, then she nodded. "But my engagement with House Drayton already fell through a long time ago, Mama Boss. And Papa Boss already apologized for everything."

"I know I shouldn't get mad at your father when you have already forgiven him," her mother said hesitantly. "Moreover, I'm partly to blame for how he acted towards you and Nero. Because I took away his memories and his ability to love, he became cold and harsh to you and your brother. Still, hearing about how he treated you in the past makes my blood boil."

Well, that was understandable.

"But I'm not avoiding your father because I didn't want to see him. I'm doing this for his sake," her mother explained. "If I face him when my anger for him is still fresh, I might sucker punch him as soon as I see him. And I don't want to be violent in front of you and Nero."

She blinked several times.

Oh?

So, that was the reason why her Mama Boss refused to see her Papa Boss?

Neoma couldn't help but laugh. "Mama Boss, it's totally okay to punch Papa Boss once. I love Papa Boss, but he still deserves it," she said, then she gave her mother a thumbs up. "Sometimes violence is okay to knock some sense into stubborn people like Papa Boss."

Her Mama Boss looked shocked at first, then she laughed. "Oh, baby– you inherited your father's nasty temper."

[Don't be shocked, Mama Boss– I inherited all Papa Boss's ugly genes.]

***

"PRETTY," NEOMA said while twirling around in her new dress. It was the dress that matched her mother's dress. So, technically, they were "twinning." "Where did you get this dress, Mama Boss?"

She and her Mama Boss were both wearing a pretty moss green dress with flower decorations. The dress also came with a pair of nude flat shoes that matched the dress.

That was why her mother tied half of her into a crown braid.

[Now we look like fairies.]

"I made a quick tour to the Spirit World," her Mama Boss, who was smiling warmly while watching her enjoy her new outfit. "Tara gave us matching clothes, shoes, and accessories to use."

She stopped twirling. "Oh."

To be honest, she didn't like the Queen of the Spirit World that much.

She was about to ask her mother if they could trust Tara. But she was interrupted when they heard a knock on the door.

"Mother, Neoma, it's me," Nero said behind the door. "Queen Brigitte and King Glenn are here. May we come in?"

Her eyes sparkled.

[My bestie is here!]

"Mama Boss, I'll open the door," she said, then she practically ran towards the door and opened it.

She was greeted by Nero, who was already dressed up like the royal that he was.

But her gaze went past her baby brother.

She greeted Glenn with a smile, but her attention instantly went to Brigitte who was dressed in a simple yet elegant dress that suited a modest queen like her.

Brigitte smiled at her warmly. "It's been a while, Princess Neoma."

"I've missed you, Brigitte unnie," she said while approaching the queen. Brigitte told her to address her casually when they didn't have an audience. "It's been a while, indeed."

She and her unnie hugged each other tightly.

But as soon as she made contact with the queen, she felt a strong current that electrified her whole body.

[What the fuck…]

The next thing she knew, she was already on the ground while clutching her head tight– her mind filled with awful images that she could only interpret as visions.

"Baby!"

"Neoma!"

"Princess Neoma!"

The concerned voices of the people around her called her name again and again, but she couldn't lift her head.

Tears just rolled down her cheeks, dripping to the floor uncontrollably.

The vision that she had just seen devastated her to the core.

[No way… I can't accept that kind of future!]

"Brigitte unnie…" she said in a cracked voice, then she raised her head to look at Brigitte who kneeled in front of her– the queen's face filled with worry. "Are you pregnant?"

Brigitte looked confused at first, then she turned bright red. "How did you know, Princess Neoma?"

Oh, no… just no fucking way.

Neoma closed her eyes, now sobbing hard.

Her Brigitte unnie was destined to give birth to the new saint…

… and the queen regnant would die from childbirth.

***

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***

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