Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"THAT'S the compensation that Miss Dahlia asked for, Father," Nero, who was sitting on the receiving chair in front of his father, said. "I accepted it, since I thought it was something that I could do without putting our family at a disadvantage."

Yes, he gave the report to his father regarding Dahlia's request.

But he didn't want Neoma to hear about it, so he brought his father to the study to talk while his twin sister and their mother were in the main bedroom.

"Nero, it sounds dangerous," his father, who was sitting behind the mahogany desk, said worriedly. "I didn't even know that Novak is already dead."

"You know Novak, Father?"

"Yes, and your mother was pretty close to him," his father said. "Novak was the one who helped your mother cross to the other world. But your mother had been trapped in the ice as soon as she crossed over, so I guess she doesn't know what happened to Novak either."

"I'll tell Mother about my deal with Miss Dahlia later," he said. "Father, I intend to ask Mother for help. Miss Dahlia told me that she asked for my help because my Roseheart Blood is stronger than Neoma's. But if she needs Roseheart Blood to deal with Novak's corpse, then wouldn't Mother be able to deal with it better than I could?"

And that was exactly why he gave a report to his father.

"Can I ask for Mother's help, Father?" he asked carefully. "As you said, it sounds dangerous."

"Nero, thank you for asking for my permission," his father said. "But you should get your mother's permission instead of mine."

Oh, he didn't expect to hear that from his father.

"I can tell what you're thinking," his father said, smiling. "Yes, I used to be a person who thinks I have the right to decide for Mona. I thought I was doing the right thing in order to protect her. But I only ended up as a toxic partner to your mother."

He didn't know the full story of his parents' affair.

But he could tell that their past relationship was destroyed because of his father's excessive love for his mother.

"Nero, the women of our empire don't have the same amount of privileges that men enjoy," his father said gently. "As a man, I thought I should protect your mother by sharing my privilege with her. Thus, I ended up controlling her. But I didn't know that I was doing it to feed my ego as a man."

He could see where his father was coming from.

After all, he wanted to protect Neoma the same way.

"Nero, nobody told me that my idea of loving and protecting a person was toxic," his father continued. "I was raised by a crazy man who was completely apathetic and cruel. Thus, I didn't know what affection was until I met Mona. But it was hard to break my bad habits. And so, I ended up hurting your mother in the end."

Ah, as expected, that was the reason why his parents' relationship didn't work out in the past.

"Nero, don't make the same mistake that I did," his father said. "Treat women as your equal. No, scratch that. Just be a decent person and be kind to everyone."

"That doesn't sound convincing, Father," he said. "You're not a decent man."

"Yeah, I have a rotten personality," his father admitted while nodding. "It's hard for me to change since I've lived this way for a long time. I'm a work in progress."

He couldn't tease his father, since he knew his father was really trying his best to become a better person.

"Nero, it's not too late for you to change your wrong ways," his father said. "Now that Neoma and Mona are here, I'm certain you won't lose your way the way I did. I may not be the best person to raise you and your twin sister, but I'll do my best to help your mother guide the two of you to the right path."

He actually didn't expect to have this kind of conversation with his father, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

"Father, it won't be easy," he said truthfully. "I was born with a few loose screws."

His father let out a sigh. "Out of all the things you could inherit from me, why does it have to be my craziness?"

"Father, all de Moonasterios are born this way," he reminded his father. "It's the side-effect of receiving a god's divine power."

"Now that you mention it, you haven't experienced your Lunacy yet, Nero," his father said worriedly. "Neoma has already gone through it, and she survived. If you feel like you're losing your mind, don't hesitate to come to us."

"I'll keep that in mind," Nero said sincerely. "Thank you, Father."

***

"BABY, I'm so sorry that we're deciding things for you," Neoma said while her cheek was gently pressed against Brigitte unnie's baby bump. "I know that you're destined to be the next saint, and you're probably looking forward to being born as one. But please wait for a while. I promise I'll return your divine power to you, Horangi-ya."

"'Horangi-ya?'" Brigitte unnie asked curiously. "What does it mean, Princess Neoma?"

She raised her head to meet the queen's curious and sparkling eyes.

Brigitte unnie already knew her royal secret, even the fact that this was already her third life. She felt the need to tell the queen about her second life because she wanted to share her experience of living in the modern world as a woman.

"'Horang-i' means 'tiger' in Korean," she explained to the queen. "And '-ya' is like an endearment that we add to the names of people close to us." She smiled at the queen as she continued with her explanation. "Unnie, I forgot to tell you. But I met your baby through a dream. And in that dream, he's in the form of a baby tiger."

Brigitte unnie's face lit up even more. "A tiger? Glenn would love to hear that. His favorite animal is a tiger."

She smiled widely, Brigitte unnie's good mood rubbing off on her. "That's probably the reason why the baby saint took the form of a baby tiger when he showed up in my dream."

The queen smiled and nodded. "Thank you for telling me, Princess Neoma."

"You're welcome, unnie," she said, then she gently rubbed the queen's baby bump. "I'll be back after my entrance exam."

"Princess Neoma, Hazelden Kingdom is and will always be your ally," Brigitte unnie said seriously. "Whether or not Calyx Dalton turns out to be a de Moonasterio, my support will always be yours. Glenn and I will deal with the nobles here and put them in their place."

That was a relief to hear.

She knew that Brigitte unnie wouldn't betray them. But it was still nice to hear that the queen would always be an ally.

"Thank you, unnie," Neoma said, then she gently wrapped her arms around her unnie. "Take care of yourself, my favorite queen."

Brigitte unnie hugged her back. "Good luck on your entrance exam, Princess Neoma."

***

"CONGRATULATIONS on becoming a father," Nikolai greeted Glenn who just entered the study after Nero left. "How does it feel to be one?"

"I'm happy, Your Majesty," Glenn said, smiling from ear to ear, as he stood in front of him politely. "I want to say I could die from happiness, but I don't want to die yet. I now have the will to live long for my wife and child."

He chuckled. "I understand how you feel."

"It seems like Your Majesty has already been forgiven by Lady Roseheart, huh?"

He smiled proudly. "Mona and I decided to get married after we reveal Neoma's existence to the world. We want our daughter to be registered to the Royal Household first."

"That's great news, Your Majesty," the king said, and he looked very happy for him. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," he said, then he turned serious. "Glenn, I have a favor to ask."

"What is it, Your Majesty?" Glenn asked eagerly. "I'll do everything and anything in my power to be of help."

"I want you to start and spread a rumor here in Hazelden," Nikolai said, following the plan that he came up with his family. "Buy the mouths of the right people, and tell them to spread the news that the Cosmic Tree will send the hidden de Moonasterion princess back to the empire."

***

"MOTHER, can you help with Miss Dahlia's request?"

Mona smiled after hearing Nero's request.

She was wondering why her son asked her if they could talk in private after Neoma left the room to visit Queen Brigitte. To be honest, she didn't expect her son to ask for her help.

Nero seemed to be the type that would rather suffer than rely on other people.

[But I'm glad that I was wrong about my Pumpkin.]

"Of course, I'll help you, Nero," Mona said, smiling. But her smile soon faded. "Lord Novak had been my mentor in the past. I was wondering what happened to him after I was trapped. I didn't know he died."

"We may find out how the Ancient Spirit died once we see his corpse."

She nodded in agreement. "Nero, is there a reason why you didn't want Neoma to know about Lord Novak?"

Her son asked her to keep it a secret from his twin sister.

"It's nothing big, Mother," her son said. "I heard from Miss Dahlia that Novak is an Ancient Spirit that had the form of a unicorn."

"Yes, that's true. But what about it?"

"Neoma loves unicorns even if she hasn't seen one yet," Nero said. "I don't want her to be sad if she finds out that a unicorn died."

Aww.

She was touched by Nero's love and concern for Neoma.

"Nero, do you want to know one of your father's "dirty" secrets?"

Her son looked confused, but he shook his head. "Not at all, Mother."

She just laughed at Nero's blunt response. "Nikolai used to be obsessed with unicorns, too, when we were young."

Nero looked disgusted by the trivia that she had just shared with him. "I can't imagine Father obsessing with unicorns. That's too childish for someone like him."

Mona laughed at her son's reaction. "It's one of your Father's cute sides, Pumpkin."

***

"I DON'T want to leave."

Mona laughed at Nikolai's whining.

And the emperor was doing that while hugging her from behind, his face buried against her neck.

[He's being clingy again.]

Thankfully, their children weren't in the same room, or else they would tease them again for being clingy with each other.

"I know that it's better for you to stay here with Nero, but I'm going to miss you," Nikolai continued to whine. Then he put his chin on her shoulder. "I want to stay here with our family longer."

"I want that, too," Mona said. "But Kyle would nag at you if you don't return right away. He might blame me again if you ditched your work for too long, Nikolai."

He groaned as a complaint. "Are you going to check on Novak's corpse with Nero?"

"Yes, since it's our son's request," she said. "But I'm also curious about Lord Novak's cause of death. I might discover something if I go there."

"It sounds dangerous."

"Don't worry too much," she said, placing her hands on Nikolai's hands that were interlocked above her stomach. "The Rosehearts thrive in places similar to the Spirit World. And I won't let anything bad happen to our Baby Pumpkin."

"I know," he said. "Please be extra careful, too, Mona. You just woke up. Please don't push yourself too hard."

"I won't," she promised him. "You'll be attending the final match for the entrance exam, right?"

"I will. The final match requires the presence of the emperor. It's one of the few occasions where the emperor and his successor are allowed to leave the palace at the same time," he said. "Are you worried about Neoma?"

"I heard that Neoma will be facing Hanna Quinzel and Calyx Dalton," she said. "Of course, I'm worried about our daughter. But I'm also worried about Hanna Quinzel. Gale told me that the crows tried to kill the Quinzel Princess in the past."

"Rufus will watch the match, too," he assured her. "We won't let the crows harm Neoma and Hanna."

She was relieved to hear that.

"Take care of yourself, Nikolai. Don't let your guard down," she said worriedly. "Now that the crows are actively starting a war for the throne, it only means that they don't need you anymore. They probably exposed their own de Moonasterio to the public in order to remove you from the throne."

"I will protect the throne for Nero and Neoma," he promised her. "And I already made the resolve to live for you and our children, so don't worry too much."

Mona leaned against Nikolai and turned to him. "I'll miss you, Nikolai."

Nikolai smiled, then he kissed her on the lips.

***

"YOUR EXCELLENCY, I don't think Calyx will beat Ruston Stroganoff," Raven reported to His Excellency in an urgent voice. Then he put his hand over his bleeding chest. "I barely escaped to ask for reinforcements."

Raven accompanied Calyx to ambush Ruston Stroganoff in the inn near the border of their territory.

He thought the Masterpiece was enough to bring down the child with purple hair.

But much to his shock, Calyx was knocked down instantly. He knew they would both die if he interfered, so he just ran away to ask for help. But Ruston Stroganoff saw and attacked him. He had to use all the remaining strength in his body to escape.

"We underestimated Ruston Stroganoff," he said, clenching his jaw. "How can someone who just serves as the Sun Temple's knight be that powerful?"

<"Obviously, Ruston Stroganoff is more than that,"> the crow with the metallic voice said. <"There's a reason why the Sun Goddess is fond of that young man.">

"What should we do now, Your Excellency?" he asked worriedly. "We can't let Calyx die. It wasn't easy creating a Masterpiece like him. It would be a shame if he dies without accomplishing his purpose."

Unfortunately, if Calyx Dalton couldn't kill Ruston Stroganoff, then none of them could.

<"We won't let our precious Masterpiece die.">

After saying that, the crow with the metallic voice emitted smoke out of its small body.

Then the crow began to melt like a candle, creating a substance similar to wax.

The wax-like substance that dripped to the floor began taking the shape of a naked man slowly standing until its form became clear.

He was stunned.

This was the first time in a long while that His Excellency changed into his human form. Well, it was only a temporary shell, since his real body wasn't ready yet. Still, to see him in this form was a feast for the eyes.

[His Excellency will really do anything for Calyx.]

Raven kneeled and bowed down to the revered being in front of him. "Welcome back, Lord Callisto."

Yes– His Excellency was the one and only Callisto de Luca.

"I can't keep this form for too long, so lead the way," His Excellency, Callisto de Luca, said in a commanding voice. "I'll deal with Ruston Stroganoff personally."

***

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