Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"LADY YNGRID, how is Ruto?" Sienna asked Lady Yngrid, Ruto's mother, who just stepped out of the room where Ruto was. She liked calling Ruto by his previous name 'Yoan,' but it would be disrespectful to call him that in front of his mother, who gave him his current name. "How serious are his injuries?"

"Helstor poisoned Ruto with pure Darkness," Lady Yngrid said in an exasperated voice. "Moreover, he was also stabbed with the Moonblood with Callisto de Luca's divine power. Thus, Ruto's curses were activated."

"When did Callisto de Luca and the God of Eternal Darkness join forces?" she asked in frustration, then she clicked her tongue. "The Sun Goddess didn't show me the vision of those two working together…"

"The Sun Goddess' vision has probably been blocked by Darkness, the same way Lord Yule has lost his fake eyes recently."

Ah, yes.

It was one of their major problems recently.

The gods on their side were being hunted down by Darkness intending to steal their sight.

[Now, it's hard for our allies to predict the enemies' movement.]

Moreover, the possibility of another Absolute Darkness coming to engulf the world again had increased.

"Ruto didn't see this coming as well," she added. "Killing Calyx Dalton would have been a piece of cake for him."

The fact that Helstor and Callisto de Luca had to work together in order to bring Ruto down was a testament to how fearsome Ruto was as an enemy.

[Ruto faced a god and a half-god on his way, and yet he still survived.]

Granted that she rescued Ruto, it wouldn't change the fact that he was able to stay alive while facing Helstor and Callisto de Luca.

[I wouldn't– I wouldn't even last a minute if I faced Helstor alone.]

Helstor was often mocked as a "nameless" god, and the God of Eternal Darkness himself claimed that he had grown weak because of his lack of followers.

But how could the god who governed the Darkness become weak?

"Ruto's curses were sealed off when I removed Callisto de Luca's divine power in his body," Lady Yngrid said. "While the poison was purified by his divine power. It took a while because the Darkness that Helstor fed him was pure, but his life isn't in danger anymore. I also treated his physical injuries."

"Lady Yngrid, let's lock up Ruto," she said determinedly. "If I didn't arrive in time, he would have made himself explode."

It wouldn't have killed Ruto, but he would have been heavily injured if he resorted to that.

Thankfully, the Sun Goddess had sent her an urgent message to rescue Ruto. Moreover, the Sun Goddess also lent Sienna her power to summon. A god's summoning power wasn't something that even Helstor or Callisto de Luca could stop. Thus, the two failed to stop her and Ruto from escaping.

But if she had been a minute late…

"You need the strength of the Sun Goddess if you want to lock me up, Sienna."

Her gaze went past Lady Yngrid to see Ruto coming out of the room.

Look at this boy.

He could barely move when she brought him to the Sun Temple. And just a few hours after Lady Yngrid had healed him, he was already walking like he almost didn't die earlier.

"Where are you going?" she confronted Ruto. "Don't tell me you're going back to the empire?"

"Of course," Ruto said casually. "Neoma has to know that Helstor is now working with Callisto de Luca."

"Then I'll do it," she insisted. "I'll go to the empire to inform Neoma de Moonasterio about what had transpired."

"I need to be there in person," Ruto said. "I need to be there in case Helstor and Callisto de Luca suddenly decided to attack Neoma. What if they ambushed her while she was fighting Calyx Dalton?"

"Do you think she'd be alone during the match?" she snapped at him. "And if Neoma de Moonasterio needs your help all the time, then I don't think she deserves to be the next ruler of the empire."

"Why are being harsh toward Neoma?" Ruto asked her coldly. "Neoma never asked for our help. It was my choice to do so, even though I know she's capable of protecting herself."

"Exactly," she said. "She can protect herself, and there are other people willing to die for her. You don't need to always put your life on the line for her, Ruto."

"You're asking for the impossible, Sienna," Ruto said seriously. "I've already decided to dedicate my life to Neoma, and nothing would change my mind."

She couldn't say anything anymore after she saw the firmness in Ruto's eyes.

"Son, is that really something that you should be saying in front of your mother?" Lady Yngrid asked in a gentle yet disappointed voice. "Don't you feel sorry for me and your father? Saying that you dedicate your life to someone else already…"

"Mother, you know how important Neoma is to me," Ruto said to his mother gently. "I know that the things I do make you dislike her. But please don't blame it on Neoma. The only thing she often asks me to do is to cook delicious food for her. Which she doesn't really have to do since it's my job as her personal chef."

Lady Yngrid let out a frustrated sigh. "Dear, you already gave all your authority to Princess Neoma. And just the other day, I saw you taking out your Bank Crest."

Sienna let out a hollow laugh. "What, you're going to give all your wealth to Neoma de Moonasterio this time?"

She was being sarcastic, but Ruto actually smiled.

[He rarely smiles, though…]

Thus, she felt a pang in her heart to see Ruto smiling because of Neoma de Moonasterio.

"I can't show up in front of Neoma empty-handed. And she was upset with me, so I plan to spoil her a little once I returned to the empire as an apology," Ruto explained cheerfully, then he turned to Lady Yngrid. "Mother, thank you for healing my injuries. I'll get going now."

He didn't ask for permission.

Ruto just simply informed Lady Yngrid that he was leaving, then he bowed his head and left the temple without even looking back at his mother.

The disappointment in Lady Yngrid's eyes was clear.

[Ruto's acting this way because of Neoma de Moonasterio…]

"Don't worry, Lady Yngrid," Sienna assured her. "I can head to the empire faster than Ruto since I still have the Sun Goddess' teleportation technique."

"Dear, I'm fine," Lady Yngrid said while smiling to soothe her. "Please don't do anything that will make Ruto mad at us."

***

"HOW DID I lose to that guy?" Calyx complained after he heard from his Uncle Raven that he had lost to Ruston Stroganoff. He listened to his uncle while he was sitting on the bed and leaning against the headboard. It was embarrassing to admit, but every inch of his body hurt so badly. "But I never lost before."

"Ruston Stroganoff isn't an ordinary human, so you shouldn't feel too bad about losing to him once," Uncle Raven, who was sitting on the chair beside his bed, consoled him. "You just need to get stronger so you wouldn't lose to him again, Calyx."

"He's not an ordinary human?" he asked, confused. "But we did a thorough background check on him. He came from an affluent family, and although both his parents are impressive people, they're nothing but above-average Mana-users."

Yngrid– Ruston Stroganoff's mother– came from House Solfrid. It was a household favored by the Sun Goddess. Thus, the Solfrids had been tasked with protecting both the Sun Priestess and the Cyran Temple.

As a result, the Solfrids had received the protection of the Sun Goddess.

On the other hand, Morton Stroganoff was the head of the clan. The Stroganoffs were known as hunters, and they excelled in archery. But these past few decades, the Stroganoffs had dedicated their hunting skills to hunting down animals as food ingredients.

And now, House Stroganoff was known for owning a chain of fancy restaurants all over the continent instead of their archery skills.

"After the first de Moonasterio was born from Lord Yule and Lady Roxana's union, the rulers of the Upper World have forbidden major gods from bearing a child together," Uncle Raven explained to him. "But there are gods who wanted to have their successors no matter what. Thus, they would break their Seeds into two. Then they would send half of the Seed to the female they chose to bear their child, then the other to the partner of the woman they've chosen."

He lit up after hearing the explanation from his uncle. "Oh, that's similar to how the Crowells were born."

"That's right," his uncle said. "Ruston Stroganoff must have been born that way, too. There's no other explanation as to how he could have been born with divine power."

"Hmm… then he cheated."

His uncle looked confused. "Huh?"

"Uncle, I'm saying that Ruston Stroganoff cheated," he said cheerfully. "He turned out to be the son of a powerful god. Isn't that cheating? Even if I have de Moonasterio blood flowing in my veins, you can't compare it to someone born from a god's Seed."

"Well, if you say so…"

"Thus, I didn't lose to Ruston Stroganoff," he said firmly. "Our fight wasn't valid in the first place. Right, Uncle Raven?"

His uncle looked confused at first, then he laughed. "You're right. Your fight with Ruston Stroganoff wasn't valid, so your "no-losing" record hasn't been broken yet. Our precious Masterpiece can't lose to anyone."

He smiled and clapped his hands. "Great."

"Calyx, if you feel better now, then get up and meet His Excellency at your private training room," his uncle said, then he stood up while looking at him with a serious look on his face. "His Excellency will teach you a new technique that will increase your chances of beating the fake Crown Prince during your match."

"A new technique?" Calyx asked, then he tilted his head to one side. "But I thought His Excellency already taught me everything I need to know as a de Moonasterio-de Luca."

"It's a new technique that His Excellency learned from the God of Eternal Darkness himself," Uncle Raven said, smiling. "We will be working with Lord Helstor in the meantime."

***

"PRINCESS NEOMA, are you heading out?"

Neoma, who was disguised as 'Neoma Ramsay' (her hair and eye color dyed with magic, while she wore a hooded pink cloak), turned around.

She was almost out of the palace's secret back gate when someone caught her sneaking out with Lewis (who was clad in a black hooded cloak, his hair and eye color also dyed with magic). And that person was a little unexpected.

"Count Sprouse," Neoma greeted Kyle Sprouse. "Have you just returned to the palace?"

Kyle Sprouse nodded politely. "I had something to take care of outside," he explained. "May I know where Your Royal Highness is headed with only Sir Crevan as an escort?"

"I'm meeting Duke Hawthorne," she explained shortly. "Are you going to stop me?"

"Not at all, Your Royal Highness," he said, then he bowed to her. "Have a safe trip."

Huh?

It was a little surprising that Kyle Sprouse didn't scold her.

[He didn't even ask me if I got Papa Boss' permission to go out.]

But her thoughts were soon distracted when she felt a powerful aura above her.

A rock engulfed with a bright, orange flame was floating just right above the barrier protecting the whole Royal Palace. And it was also lighting up the dark night sky.

[Dammit – how am I supposed to sneak out now?!]

<"Neoma de Moonasterio, I'm here to challenge you.">

She knitted her eyebrows, pissed at that stupid little thing that ruined her night. "Who the fuck are you?"

<"I'm Sienna– the Sun Priestess.">

Neoma raised an eyebrow, then she opened her arms. "Bring it on, darling."

***

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***

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