Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"LEWIS, say 'ah,'" Neoma said while offering a piece of candy to her "son." "I've neglected you, haven't I?"

Lewis just gave her a blank look.

Right now, she was in the snowy garden of the villa with her "son."

Earlier, Lewis told her that he saw two ice sculptures of her in the garden. Thus, they went to check it out.

And to her surprise, it was true.

One of the ice sculptures made her look innocent, while the other captured her beauty and elegance. She liked the latter.

But both ice sculptures were pretty, since she was the model.

"Lewis, my arm hurts," she said. "Come on, open your mouth."

Lewis let out a sigh, then he opened his mouth.

"Good boy," she said, then she put the candy in his mouth. "I'm sorry for not paying attention to you recently, Lewis."

"It's alright, Princess Neoma," Lewis said after eating the candy. "I understand."

"But you were sulking."

"I just hate the fact that I'm always not by your side when something terrible happens to you."

Ah, right.

Lewis left to follow her Papa Boss's order before she and Nero were struck by lightning.

"Nothing serious happened, so don't let it bother you," she consoled him. "Cheer up, Lewis."

He just let out a sigh.

"Should I act cute for you?" she asked, then she stood in front of him while cupping her (beautiful) face with her hands. Then she opened her eyes wide and blinked prettily. Don't ask her how to blink prettily– it came naturally to her to do pretty things. "Just look at my face and you'll feel better."

Lewis stifled his laughter.

Then, much to her surprise, he "wiped" her face with his gloved hand.

It was rare for him to start physical contact. But maybe it was okay for him since he was wearing gloves, thus their skin didn't touch.

"Princess Neoma is right," Lewis said. His face was back to its usual indifference, but his voice was warm and friendly. "Looking at your pretty face makes me feel better. So please don't disappear from my sight."

She just laughed his worry off. "Why would I disappear from your sight? We're stuck to each other like glue, Lewis."

Lewis smiled again, and he was about to pat her head when it suddenly got colder.

The change of temperature was followed by someone clearing his throat.

She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Ohh, the Pumpkin is here," she teased her baby brother.

Nero just rolled his eyes at her teasing, then he stood beside her while looking at Lewis. "You're a White Lion Knight, Lewis. And once Neoma's Order is officially established, you'd be a commander."

She frowned. [Why is he suddenly scolding Lewis?]

"Thus, you must follow protocol at all times," Nero continued in a scolding voice. "You must not touch the body of any member of the Royal Family unless it's a life or death situation."

She was about to defend Lewis when her "son" spoke.

"I didn't break any protocol," Lewis said coolly. "Princess Neoma isn't officially registered in the Royal Household. So, technically, she's not a member of the Royal Family."

She gasped softly.

[Oh my god– that was savage.]

Lewis wasn't wrong, but Nero wasn't impressed.

[Ah, the Pumpkin is gonna snap.]

"Nero, Nero," she said, calling her brother in a disgustingly sweet voice while clinging to his arm. When Nero turned to her, she gave him the best puppy dog eyes she could muster at the moment. "Did you make those ice sculptures for me? They're so pretty– I love them!"

'Operation: Distract Nero From Killing Lewis' was a success.

Nero's face softened up when he smiled at her. "Miss Dahlia and I had a competition. We made ice sculptures. Can you guess which one of the two did I make?"

"The one where I look really pretty and elegant?"

"Oh, how did you know?"

"I just know. Maybe because we're twins, so I know how you see me," she said with a shrug. Then she linked her arm with Lewis' arm and dragged him back inside the villa. "Anyway, did you win?"

Lewis was still following them.

But since she was giving her full attention to Nero, her baby brother had probably already forgotten about why he was upset earlier.

"I didn't win," Nero said. And for someone who was competitive, it looked like he didn't mind losing this time. "Sire Glenn and the Fletcher Twins served as the judges. Sire and Wyatt voted for Miss Dahlia's ice sculpture. Apparently, they liked how Miss Dahlia captured your innocence in her ice sculpture."

"I can see that. My innocent side is really charming," she said while nodding. "But I like yours better, Nero."

"I'm glad to hear that," he said, then he changed the topic. "Miss Dahlia agreed to help us, but she wanted to be compensated."

"Of course, we'll compensate her. That goes without saying," she said. "What did she ask for in return? Let's give it to her if it's within our means."

"Don't worry about it– I'll take care of it later."

"Are you sure?" she asked, just to be sure. "I know Dahlia wouldn't take advantage of us. But you didn't agree to something dangerous or sketchy, did you?"

"Of course not," he assured her, but he changed the topic again as if he wanted to avoid her interrogation. "How did your talk with the queen and the king go?"

"Gosh, you won't believe this, Nero," she said. "The news about Calyx Dalton possibly being our father's son has already reached Hazelden. Worse, people are treating the rumor as if it was the truth. According to Brigitte unnie, the nobles in this kingdom are already pressuring her to reconsider her alliance with us. Apparently, they believe Calyx Dalton would take the throne in the end because he is older than you– the real Crown Prince."

"This is why you shouldn't have been lenient with those people," Nero scolded her. "You should have killed Queen Brigitte's family and buried the nobles in the avalanche you created a few years ago." He turned to her with an 'I-told-you-so' look on his face. "See how they want to repay our generosity?"

Neoma slowly pulled her arm away from Nero. [Why am I being scolded?]

***

"I FEEL terrible for spying on our daughter," Mona said while cupping her face between her hands. "I just wanted the Spirits to look out for her. But I didn't know they'd give me a full report."

To be precise, the Spirits became her eyes and ears.

As a result, she saw and heard Neoma's conversation with the Silver Fox boy.

She turned to Nikolai.

After his marriage proposal, she went to the kitchen because she wanted to cook for her family. The kitchen was complete with high-quality food ingredients and cooking utensils. Apparently, the Fletcher Twins were in charge of making meals for Nero since no one else, aside from the queen and king of Hazelden, were allowed in the villa.

[If I remember it correctly, Wyatt Fletcher is the designated chef among the Paladins.]

Anyway…

Nikolai followed her, but she already expected that. So, she just told him she wouldn't mind if he stuck to her all glue as long as he didn't bother her.

And thus, Nikolai sat on the chair quietly.

"Is the Silver Fox our Muffin's personal knight?" she asked curiously. "What's the boy's name again?"

"His name is Lewis Crevan," Nikolai answered, frowning. It seemed like he didn't like that the boy was close to their daughter, huh? "And he's Neoma's "son.""

She almost dropped the spatula from shock. "Excuse me?"

The emperor smirked as if he was amused. "Your daughter refers to her friends as her "children" since she's "older" than her."

"Older?"

"This is already Neoma's third life."

Ah, right.

The first time she saw Neoma, she saw a glimpse of the two lifetimes she had lived. She only got a glimpse, but she didn't like either.

Especially the second one.

"Gavin Quinzel," she said, gripping the spatula in her hand tight. "She stole our daughter from us and lived as if she was his own daughter."

"Neoma loves Gavin Quinzel," Nikolai said in a careful voice as if he was being gentle with her feelings. "She still sees him as her father."

She didn't like it.

But the memories that she saw from Neoma's second life, her daughter was happy with Gavin Quinzel and the woman who looked like her twin sister.

[That's Go Areum, right?]

In the end, Gavin Quinzel succeeded to build a family with her.

"Mona, Gavin Quinzel is currently trapped in the same ice that imprisoned you for thirteen years."

She nodded. "Gale told me about it."

"Neoma wants to free Gavin and send him back to the other world," Nikolai said softly. "But I told her I will only allow that to happen with your permission."

"Even if I forgive Gavin, he still has to be punished," she said firmly. "He killed his own people, Nikolai."

"Neoma doesn't know that," he said. "I didn't tell her that Gavin killed his own people."

"Why didn't you tell her?"

"Because I didn't have the heart to do so," he confessed. "We may hate Gavin for betraying us. But Neoma loves and respects him. Moreover, Gavin is the reason why Neoma has become who she is today." He smiled sadly. "Gavin is a better father than me, Mona. He loved and treasured her, even though she wasn't his own flesh and blood."

She couldn't refute that.

And now, she didn't how to handle the situation.

She couldn't forgive Gavin easily. But if Neoma begged her to, she wasn't confident that she could refuse her daughter.

"You also have to know that the soul of Go Areum's real daughter is trapped inside the Cosmic Tree's garden," Nikolai added. "The child is the reason why Neoma is desperate to save Gavin. She wants to send them back to the other world."

It must have been a hard decision for Neoma.

[Her decision to send back Gavin and the child to the other world only means that she has already given up on the life that she could reclaim if she wanted to.]

Neoma probably chose to stay here for them– her family in this world.

"I can't find it in my heart to forgive Gavin yet, Nikolai."

"I find it hard to do, too, Mona. But…"

Nikolai didn't need to finish his sentence because she completely understood.

[It won't be easy not to give in to Neoma's wish.]

"Mona, you don't have to forgive Gavin if you don't want to," Nikolai said gently. "I'll talk to Neoma."

"No, I'll talk to Neoma," Mona said while shaking her head. "The fact that she hasn't mentioned Gavin to me means she's not yet ready to open up to me about her second life. Let's wait for our Muffin, Nikolai."

He nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's do that."

"Are you okay with the Quinzels?" she asked. "I heard Nero's fiancée is Rufus and Amber's daughter."

"I can't hate Rufus for what Gavin did," he said. "The Quinzels didn't know about Gavin's plan. Thankfully, I hadn't gone crazy enough back then to destroy their family after Gavin's betrayal."

It was probably because of Rufus.

[Nikolai treats Rufus like his own brother, after all.]

"I'm grateful that our Muffin saved me before our Pumpkin gets married," she said, smiling. "I've missed out on a lot of things about our children's lives. But at least, I'll be there when they get married." She tilted her head to one side. "But I don't know if Neoma wants to get married, though. And since her identity as a royal princess is concealed, I guess it won't be easy for her to meet potential suitors, huh?"

Nikolai scoffed. "Your Muffin already has a little harem of her own."

Her eyes widened, surprised. "Tell me more about it, Nikolai."

The change of topic was welcomed.

[I don't want to think about Gavin for now. I've just been reunited with my family. I want to catch up on things that matter most.]

"There are a lot of pests hanging around Neoma," Nikolai said, frowning. "Lewis Crevan, Jasper Hawthorne, Trevor, Ruston Stroganoff."

She laughed softly.

It was cute to see Nikolai sulking.

[Aww… he doesn't want his daughter to be taken away from him.]

On that note, she wished her daughter's future suitors a stroke of good luck.

[They need it.]

"Are you that happy that your daughter has potential suitors now?" Nikolai asked, still sulking. "Neoma is only thirteen."

"Nikolai, we were already dating when we were Neoma's age."

He opened his mouth to protest, but he couldn't refute what she said so he just shut his mouth in the end.

She laughed at Nikolai's reaction.

[God, I didn't know he could be this cute!]

"I'm not just happy because Neoma has potential suitors now. Of course, I'm glad that there are people who admire our daughter," she explained gently. "But what really makes me happy is the fact that from now on, I can be with our daughter as she goes through the 'firsts' in her life."

Nikolai smiled at her as if he was happy for her. "Mona, thank you," he said sincerely. "Thank you for protecting our children from me. To be honest, I can't apologize enough for trying to kill our children in the past. But right now, I can no longer imagine my life without Nero and Neoma."

She could see that.

In the past, Nikolai could only see her. He didn't care about other people– not even their own children.

But he was able to love their babies despite the fact that she stole his ability to love.

"Nikolai."

"Yes?"

"Let's get married."

Nikolai looked shocked by her sudden proposal.

[Understandable.]

After all, she just told him a few minutes ago that she wanted to think about his proposal first. And now, it was her proposing to him.

"I thought I need more time to mentally prepare," she explained. "But I think that's stupid. Thirteen years have already been stolen from us. I don't want to wait anymore. I don't want to make you wait any longer."

There were still a lot of things that needed to be discussed between her and Nikolai. But she felt like she would be wasting time if she didn't spend it being honest with her feelings. She didn't want to part with Nikolai without making their relationship clear.

The only thing she hated about Nikolai in the past was his obsession with her. He was so obsessed with her to the point that he chose her over their children.

But Nikolai's love for her didn't scare her anymore.

[Nikolai has changed. It must have not been easy for a person like him to change. But he did– and he did it for our children.]

Her heart swelled with her love for him.

Ah.

[I finally admitted to myself that I'm still in love with him.]

"Mona?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I hold you?"

She carefully put the spatula down on the table. "Yes."

Nikolai immediately stood up, then he walked towards her.

Slowly.

She couldn't wait anymore, so she quickly walked towards him. Then she grabbed Nikolai by the arm. When their bodies collided, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face against his chest– savoring his scent, his warmth, the feel of his embrace.

"I was just going to ask if I could hold your hands, but this is so much better than that," Nikolai said while laughing, his chest vibrating in the process. Then he wrapped his arms around her. He gathered her in his arms in the most gentle way possible. It was as if he was afraid to accidentally crush her. "It's been a long time since I held you. I don't know how much strength I should put in my embrace."

"You can hold me tighter," she encouraged him. "I'm not that fragile, Nikolai."

"Alright," he said softly as his embrace got tighter. "I'm not hurting you, am I?"

She shook her head, then she looked up to see his face. "God, you're still so handsome after all these years."

He suddenly laughed as if he remembered something funny.

[Nikolai never laughed this much in the past.]

"Sorry," he said when he calmed down after laughing hard. "I just remembered when Neoma said you only liked me for my face and body because apparently, I only have my looks going for me."

She was surprised to hear that, then she laughed. "Our Baby Muffin must have hated you so much in the past."

"She used to call me 'scumbag,' too."

She gasped softly. "Our baby curses?"

"Like a sailor," he said. "But I deserve it, so please don't scold her. I let it slide because she's an adult inside. And she's careful not to curse in front of other people."

"Our Baby Muffin has an interesting personality, huh?"

"Yes, and that is what makes her more endearing."

She smiled warmly. "I can't wait to get to know her more. Our Baby Pumpkin, too."

"You will, and I won't let anyone take you away from us again," Nikolai said, then he cupped her face between her hands. "Can I kiss you, Mona?"

Mona laughed, then she closed her eyes. "Oh, Nikolai– I thought you'd never ask."

Nikolai leaned down and captured her lips for a chaste kiss.

But his patience didn't last long.

Soon, he was devouring her mouth as if he was making up for the lost time.

[Thirteen years isn't a short time by any means.]

"Nero, this is the preview of how we were made."

"Close your eyes, Neoma."

Mona tried to break the kiss as soon as she felt her babies' presence, but Nikolai wouldn't let her!

He only stopped kissing her when she gently pulled his hair.

Nikolai glared at their children playfully. "Go to your room, Muffin and Pumpkin."

"And you should get a room," Neoma and Nero said at the same time, the twins' identical faces mirroring each other's disgusted look while glaring back at their father.

Mona couldn't help but laugh at Nikolai's playful interaction with their babies.

[I hope this happiness lasts long.]

***

NEOMA cleared her throat to get her family's attention.

Right now, they were having dinner together before she and Papa Boss return to the Royal Palace.

And before that, she had an announcement to make.

"Let's beat the rumor that the crows spread with an even more shocking "rumor,"" Neoma declared confidently. "So, let's announce to the world that the Royal Family has a hidden royal princess."

***

JUST random thoughts:

1. I feel bad that Lewis is always MIA (missing in action) when Neoma is in danger, but he'll get a big moment in this arc (connected to the Silver Fox Clan).

2. The thing I don't really like about most of the anime/manga/webcomics/novels that I read is the 'the-heroes'-parents-are-dead' trope. I'm too weak-hearted to make Nero and Neoma orphans. Hehe! I love cliches and happy endings. LOL

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