Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

BRIGITTE couldn't help but laugh softly while watching Glenn who was anxiously helping her walk down the grand staircase.

Her husband was holding her hand, while his other hand was placed gently on the small of her back. With every step she took, he would remind her to be careful. Glenn would also scold her lightly every time she took her hand off the handrail.

"Honey, I can walk on my own just fine," Brigitte said to her husband. "I appreciate what you're doing, but I don't want to be too spoiled. What will you do if I get lazy and start depending on you too much?"

"It's alright, my queen," Glenn said gently, then he smiled brightly at her. "I'll carry you– literally and figuratively for the rest of our lives."

Aww… she almost broke down in tears.

Ever since she became pregnant, she noticed that she became more emotional than usual.

Yes, she was pregnant.

In fact, she was already five-month pregnant. She was worried because despite being five-month pregnant, her baby bump was small. It wasn't that obvious, especially whenever she wore flowy dresses.

She wasn't really hiding her pregnancy, but she didn't want to announce it yet either. After all, there were annoying pests who were trying to question her power recently. She wasn't scared to face them– but it wouldn't hurt to be extra careful either.

[I can't wait to tell Princess Neoma about my pregnancy– I'm sure she'll be as ecstatic as Glenn and I were when we first heard the news.]

To be honest, she was a little sad that she couldn't share the good news with her family.

Her family wasn't executed despite their attempt to kill the empire's Crown Prince. After all, she made a deal with them.

In exchange for their lives, her brother gave up his place as the Crown Prince. Then her father stepped down from the throne and named her the new queen of the Hazelden Kingdom. Although she already got the nobles' support by threatening them, it would be easier for her to ascend the throne if her father and her brother abdicated their positions "willingly."

Of course, she still asked for Princess Neoma and Emperor Nikolai's permission before she made the deal with her family. But if Princess Neoma didn't convince His Majesty, she doubted the emperor would let her family live.

To repay the emperor and Princess Neoma's generosity, she promised that she would never let her family commit any crime again.

Right now, her family was banished to the countryside.

The royal family owned a villa there, and it was heavily guarded by knights that she chose herself. Her father and brother were forever banned from getting out of the villa. However, her mother and younger sisters would be allowed to leave from time to time as long as they got her approval in advance.

[The nobles are urging me to marry my sisters off to foreign kingdoms, but I refuse to treat my sisters as objects. Their only crime is believing that women are supposed to do what the men in their lives tell them to, thus they kept their mouths shut even though they were aware of my father and brother's attempt to kill the Crown Prince.]

Her younger sisters hated her because of her guts. After all, the princesses of their family were raised to be mere "decorations."

That was why she was trying to educate her sisters instead of giving up on them.

"My queen? What are you thinking?" Glenn asked worriedly. "You suddenly fell quiet. Are you tired? Do you feel sick?"

She smiled and shook her head to assure her doting husband that she was fine. "I'm alright, Glenn. Thank you for worrying about me."

It wasn't like she was hiding things from Glenn.

She just didn't want him to worry.

After all, even if she wanted to, informing her family about her pregnancy wouldn't be wise because they might hurt her baby as revenge. Her father and brother would never forgive her for "stealing" the throne from them.

Even though the two were under strict surveillance, she still didn't want to risk it.

"Are you sure, my queen?" her husband asked worriedly. "If you don't feel well, I can just ask our guests to visit your palace instead."

Glenn didn't mention their guests' names on purpose.

Since she was technically sneaking out of her own palace to secretly visit the royal twins and their mother, there were no servants or guards around them.

[Well, Glenn is the best knight that I could ask for, so I'm not really worried.]

Anyway, it was still better to be extra careful even though no one was around them.

"I'm really fine, honey," she said, then she gently pinched her husband's cheeks. "You can be such a worrywart sometimes."

"Of course," Glenn said kindly. "I love you and our baby, so I won't stop worrying about the two of you."

"My god, honey," she said, feeling giddy. They had been married for a few years now, but Glenn never failed to make her feel like they had just started dating. "I haven't given birth to our baby yet, but I already want to get pregnant with your child again."

Her husband's face turned red instantly.

[Pfft.]

This was why she loved teasing her honey.

[I always tease him, but he still blushes every time.]

"Honey?"

"Yes, my queen?"

She cupped her husband's handsome face between her hands. "I love you, Glenn."

"That came out of nowhere," Glenn said while laughing softly, then he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead while gently rubbing her small baby bump. "I love you, too, my queen. You and our baby."

Brigitte smiled, then she tiptoed to kiss Glenn on the lips.

For some reason, she wanted to express her love for her husband even more.

***

"YOUR ROYAL Highness, the queen and king are here."

Nero gently put his teacup down on the saucer after hearing Warren Fletcher's report.

He was having tea in the drawing room because Neoma and their mother were using the bedroom.

[I want to monopolize Neoma, but I'll let Mother spend time with her in the meantime.]

"Let's go," Nero said, then he stood up and led the way. "Only the queen and the king arrived?"

"Yes, Your Royal Highness," Warren said opening the door for him. "Miss Dahlia didn't come with the queen and the king."

He stopped in his tracks to give the Paladin a cold stare. "Did I ask about Miss Dahlia?"

This was why he preferred Wyatt over Warren. The former was quiet and minded his own business. Warren, on the other hand, was unapologetically meddlesome.

"Prince Nero, I am more emotionally intelligent than you give me credit for," Warren said smugly. "And I know how to read between the lines."

"Do you want to die?"

The Paladin immediately bowed his head. "I apologize for my rudeness, Your Royal Highness."

He just sighed, then he walked past him.

When he arrived at the main entrance, he saw Wyatt with King Glenn and Queen Brigitte. He greeted the royal couple politely, and the two did the same.

[Hmm?]

He knitted his eyebrows when he felt a spark of faint divine energy coming from the queen.

[And it's pretty similar to Yule's divine energy.]

"Prince Nero, is something the matter?" the queen who caught him staring asked worriedly.

"I apologize for staring," he said with a slight bow. "Let me lead Your Majesties to where Neoma and Mother are."

After that, he led the king and the queen to his bedroom, which was currently occupied by Neoma and their mother.

The king and the queen walked behind him.

And the Fletcher Twins didn't follow them because the two were stationed to guard the villa outside.

The one assigned to guard inside the villa was Lewis.

[And there he is.]

Lewis, who was standing beside the door, bowed to them as a greeting.

Glenn and Queen Brigitte looked delighted to see the fox boy since the royal couple greeted Lewis enthusiastically.

Nero ignored the fox boy, then he knocked on the door. "Mother, Neoma, it's me," he said. "Queen Brigitte and King Glenn are here. May we come in?"

The door immediately burst open.

Neoma came out with an excited look on her face. Then his twin sister greeted Glenn before she focused on Queen Brigitte.

It was obvious that Neoma was excited to see the queen.

Queen Brigitte smiled. "It's been a while, Princess Neoma."

"I've missed you, Brigitte unnie," Neoma said while approaching the queen. "It's been a while, indeed."

Her twin sister hugged the queen.

It would have been a touching moment had Neoma not reacted as if it electrified her after getting in contact with the queen.

The next thing he knew, Neoma was already on the ground while clutching her head.

Nero's eyes widened in shock. "Neoma!"

His mother and Glenn also called his twin sister.

He was about to check on Neoma when he froze on the spot.

[Neoma… is crying?]

It was shocking to see because Neoma rarely cried.

He unconsciously clenched her hands tight, his jaw clenching at the same time.

[Who and what made my sister cry?]

When he calmed himself down, his head became clear.

The look on Neoma's face suggested she was in a daze. He could only guess that his sister was seeing something in her head.

[Perhaps a vision?]

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

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

Ah.

That was when Nero began to understand what was happening.

The faint divine energy that he felt from the queen earlier was actually coming from the child in her womb. And there could only be one reason why a normal person who didn't even have Mana would have a child that possessed divine energy.

[The queen is pregnant with the new saint.]

Neoma probably saw a devastating vision earlier regarding Queen Brigitte and the new saint in the queen's womb.

His thoughts were distracted when Neoma stood up, the anger in her glowing red eyes clear. Moreover, his twin sister's fluctuating Mana was a sign of her unstable emotional and mental state.

Everyone was concerned.

"Give me a moment," Neoma said in a cold voice before turning her back on everyone. "Don't follow me."

Neoma's order was clear.

But Lewis followed her anyway.

Nero would have followed his twin sister as well, but he needed to act as the Crown Prince.

"Mother, please stay here," Nero said when he noticed his mother, who was about to follow Neoma and Lewis. "Neoma will be fine."

His mother still looked concerned. "But your sister looks enraged, Nero."

"She'll calm down after she kills the Moon Priest, Mother."

He knew Neoma very well, so he knew his twin sister bolted out of the mansion to hunt down Manu. After all, the Moon Priest was the closest being to Yule that she could interrogate about the situation.

[And I would have done the same if I were Neoma.]

But he shouldn't have said his twin sister's plan to their mother.

Now his mother looked even more worried.

"Pardon me, Prince Nero, but may I know if Your Royal Highness knows why Princess Neoma acted that way?" Queen Brigitte asked worriedly. Then she gently placed her hands on her stomach. Only then did the small bump become obvious. "Does it have anything to do with the child in my womb?"

Glenn, who was standing next to the queen with a worried look on his face, gently rubbed his wife's back as if he was consoling her.

[Ah, the king and the queen of Hazelden truly love each other.]

How tragic.

He learned from his Theology class that saints, after living in Yule's Paradise for years, would be born on earth the natural way. All saints were delivered by ordinary women…

… and all those women died in childbirth.

[And that's exactly why Neoma was devastated.]

"Neoma saw a vision," Nero said, gaining everyone's attention instantly. "She finally met the new saint of Astello Temple."

The first person who realized what he meant by that was his mother.

Then Queen Brigitte, who finally realized the implication of his words, turned pale. "Is my baby the new saint, Prince Nero?"

He nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, Your Majesty," he confirmed. "You're carrying the new saint in your womb."

The queen looked shocked, then her arms instinctively wrapped around her stomach.

Glenn looked as equally devastated as Neoma.

[Sire Glenn is an ex-Paladin, and Paladins are knowledgeable in Theology. He probably knows that all the women who gave birth to the saints in the past died.]

That was going to be a problem.

Neoma wouldn't want Queen Brigitte to give birth to the new saint.

Nero, on the other hand, would want the opposite.

[The queen must give birth to the new saint in order for us to keep our power over Valmento and the Astello Temple.]

This was one of the few times he wished Neoma wasn't soft-hearted.

"Queen Brigitte, King Glenn, I'll give you time to think," Nero said indifferently, then he turned his back on the royal couple to retreat to his room. "Please let me know if you'd like to keep the baby or not, even after knowing the risk of your pregnancy."

***

"LORD MANU, come out!" Neoma yelled at the top of her lungs as soon as she reached the Frozen Woods. It was far enough from the villa, so she wouldn't have to hold back. Had it not for Brigitte unnie and her baby, she would have exploded in anger in the villa earlier. "I know you're here!"

She also knew that Lewis followed her, but she didn't have the time to scold her "son."

Her anger was directed at Manu since the Moon Priest was the closest being to Lord Yule. If she couldn't reach the Moon God himself, then Manu would do.

"Neoma de Moonasterio, please calm down."

It was Manu, and those were the first words he uttered as soon as he materialized in front of her.

As expected, the Moon Priest was indeed in the Hazelden Kingdom.

[Now I know why Lord Manu often disappears even though he was supposed to stay with us until the egg hatched– he was here, probably guarding the new saint.]

"I'm still calm," Neoma said coldly. "If I already lost it, I would have attacked you right away."

The Moon Priest smiled bitterly. "The fire in your eyes doesn't look convincing, Neoma de Moonasterio."

"Take it back," she said firmly. "This world doesn't need a new saint– so take it back."

"Neoma de Moonasterio, you need the new saint," Manu said. "Without the new saint, you wouldn't defeat the Darkness. Do you want this world to be engulfed with Absolute Darkness again?"

"Why should I carry the burden of saving this world when you're killing the people I love?" Neoma snapped at the Moon Priest. "I'm so fucking tired of being the hero that all of you don't deserve– so I quit," she said, opening her hand to summon Skewer. "I will choose my people over this damned world, Lord Manu– tell that to your boss."

***

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