Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

SILENCE.

Mona felt the chills in the air after she and Nikolai received the warning from the God of Among Gods.

<'I'm watching you all.'>

It was the message, plain and simple.

And yet, that warning probably had shaken up the entire world by surprise.

"Ruston Stroganoff is the God Slayer, and the son of the God Among Gods?" Nikolai said, then he placed his teacup down on the saucer. "Now he deserves to be appointed as the new commander of the White Lion Knights even more."

She gave Nikolai a look full of disbelief.

The emperor's arrogance was outstanding.

[Even though Nikolai just found out that Ruto is the world's one and only legitimate God Slayer, he still wants the boy to become a mere commander?]

Now it was clear as to whom Neoma inherited her arrogance.

"Nikolai, you know that as a God Slayer, Ruto has the license to kill a de Moonasterio, right?"

"It's not a question whether or not he has the right to kill us," he said nonchalantly. "The question is if he can. Just because a person has the "license" to kill us doesn't mean we'll allow them to take our lives without fighting back."

Well, he had a point.

But…

Her eyes wandered to their sleeping Baby Muffin.

Right now, she and Nikolai were having tea in the lounge area of Neoma's room. Their daughter was still asleep, but her <anno data-annotation-id="dcff4ae3-75a4-0f05-f92b-2e61c31fd564">internal bleeding in the hea</anno>d finally stopped. To be fair, it wasn't an ordinary bleeding.

The "blood" came from the broken seal that protected her memories.

[It means my daughter remembered something shocking from her previous life.]

"Ruto and Neoma seem very close," she said. "I don't feel comfortable with the fact that my potential son-in-law might kill our daughter if his divine father orders him to do so."

"Son-in-law? Who?"

She turned to Nikolai who was frowning already. "Ruto. Don't tell me you haven't noticed that he and Neoma are interested in each other in a romantic sense?"

She hadn't met Ruto yet after her return.

But Neoma told her about her close "friendship" with Ruto. She recognized the sparkle in her daughter's eyes whenever he would talk about the young God Slayer.

"I oppose it," Nikolai said firmly. "The future commander of the White Lion Knights can't marry my daughter. I won't accept Ruston Stroganoff as a son-in-law."

[You won't accept anyone as your son-in-law, anyway.]

She was grateful that Nikolai cared about their daughter this much, but he was being overprotective now.

However, since Neoma was only thirteen years old now (physically, at least), she didn't scold Nikolai. Although she was open to the possibility of Neoma having suitors, she wouldn't take it seriously yet as her daughter was still very young.

[Nikolai and I started our relationship early, but Neoma has a different mindset from us since she lived in a different world before.]

"How should we treat Ruto once he returns to the empire?" she asked Nikolai. "He's the son of the God Among Gods. But I feel like we can trust him."

"What's so special about being the son of the God Among Gods?" Nikolai asked, and he wasn't being sarcastic. He was being sincere! "He's still Ruston Stroganoff. That child grew up in front of me. I know that he prefers being a chef to being a God Slayer."

Nikolai's remark amazed her.

[He wasn't being arrogant when he asked what was special about being the son of the God Among Gods. Nikolai simply knows that Ruto prefers a simple life.]

That made her smile.

"Nikolai, you'll probably hate hearing this, but…" Mona couldn't help but laugh softly when she saw Nikolai shifting uncomfortably in his seat. It looked like he already had an idea about what she was going to say. "I think you're not really against Ruto having a close "friendship" with our Baby Muffin."

***

"WHAT ARE you doing here?"

Hanna smiled.

She didn't have to turn around to know that it was Lewis.

Right now, she was in the pavilion by the pond. It was Neoma's favorite spot in the palace, and she gave her access to it.

"You escaped from your guards again," Lewis said, then he stood beside her while leaving a decent space between them. "You've become a bad girl, Lady Hanna."

Hanna laughed softly, then she turned to Lewis. "The palace is a safe place, and I can protect myself. Moreover, this is Neoma's favorite spot. She put up a powerful barrier around the pavilion, and only people with access like us can enter here."

"Still, sneaking out is a bad habit."

"You should tell that to Neoma."

She could mention Neoma's name because like she said earlier, the pavilion had a barrier. It included a soundproof barrier, too.

Lewis shrugged at her earlier remark. "Touche."

She just smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"I just finished my night exercise when I saw you here," he said, then he turned to the pond. "Lady Roseheart told me I don't need to guard Princess Neoma tonight, since she'll stay with her the entire night."

"Then go to sleep."

"I can't sleep," he said. "I heard from Lady Roseheart that Princess Neoma has internal bleeding in the head. She said it wasn't that serious, but I'm still worried."

It was obvious that he wasn't just worried.

Come to think of it, Neoma had been busy lately that she couldn't pay attention to Lewis.

[Ah, that must be it.]

"Lewis, are you lonely?"

"I should be the one asking you that, Lady Hanna," he said, then he turned to her. "Why do you look… unhappy?"

She didn't expect Lewis to notice since she was doing her best to hide her feelings. After all, she didn't want to be a downer.

But since he already noticed, she decided to be honest.

"I'm just thinking," she whispered, her cheerful facade slipping away.

He tilted his head to one side. "May I know what you're thinking about?"

"I'm thinking if marrying Nero is the right choice."

"You're having second thoughts?"

She nodded thoughtfully. "I know that I don't exist in Nero's first life. But when he talked about Miss Dahlia in his Lunacy state, I finally realized how much he loved her in the past."

[And it hurts.]

She may be too young to fall in love deeply. But her feelings for Nero had always been pure and sincere. And so it hurt.

It hurt that he didn't feel the same way about her.

But even if it was painful, she couldn't complain since Nero wasn't obligated to reciprocate her feelings. It wasn't his fault that he didn't like her the way she did.

"Does it matter?" Lewis asked nonchalantly. "It's in the past, anyway."

"I don't think it's the case for Nero," she said, then she smiled sadly. "He has already met Miss Dahlia in this lifetime. And I believe her existence still matters to him a lot."

"Is that the reason why you're having second thoughts about marrying him now?"

"Are you disappointed in me?" she asked jokingly. But she half-meant it. "We promised to root for each other. But here I am now, doubting my decision. You must be disappointed, huh?" She laughed to lighten up the mood, but her laugh sounded shallow even in her ears. "Everyone will probably be disappointed as well if I take back my decision to marry Prince Nero."

"Who cares about what other people think?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm not disappointed," Lewis said, then his hand moved to pat her head. He obviously hesitated at first. But in the end, he gently patted her head– his gloved hand barely touching her hair. "Lady Hanna, you're allowed to change your mind."

Aww…

His words touched her.

Before she knew it, her eyes were already brimming with tears. The weight on her shoulders disappeared after hearing Lewis's encouraging words. When he told her that she was allowed to change her mind, her feelings felt validated.

"Thank you, Lewis," Hanna said in a cracked voice, then she covered her face with her hands. "Thank you for being a reliable friend."

***

[RUTO!]

Neoma woke up and the first thing she saw was her hands trying to grab something in the air.

[Oh.]

She was back in reality.

The ceiling that greeted her was the ceiling in her bedroom. But it was bright. Too bright. She remembered that it was nighttime when she confronted Nero.

[I've been asleep for the entire night?]

"Neoma?"

She turned to her mother, who just entered her room while carrying a bouquet of strange yet pretty flowers in her arms.

"I'm glad you're finally awake," her mother said cheerfully. "I was about to brew a special tea for you from these flowers that I received from the fairies living in the palace."

"Mama Boss, good morning," Neoma said while reaching for her communication device in the drawer. "I'm sorry, but can I make a call first?"

"Oh, of course," her mother said. "Then should I step outside in the meantime?"

"You can stay here, Mama Boss," she said while putting on her stud earring. It was a communication device directly connected to Ruto. Her Papa Boss told her she was forbidden to call Ruto directly, but it was an emergency. She would just apologize to her father later. "I'm just going to call Ruto."

Her Mama Boss smiled and nodded, then she went to the lounging area of her bedroom.

She, on the other hand, focused on the ringing she could hear from the other end of the line.

To be honest, she was nervous.

After regaining an important part of her memories, she suddenly remembered the consequence of having it remembered. While thinking of Ruto, she couldn't help but worry.

[Please let the consequence be light!]

She felt her heart stop for a moment when Ruto finally picked up the call.

"Ruto, I'm sorry," Neoma said immediately, her heart heavy with guilt. "I couldn't help my curiosity, so I asked Nero about the past and then, I suddenly remembered a huge portion of my past memory regarding Hanna–"

<"Ah, so that was why Yoan lost his memories.">

She knitted her eyebrows. "Lady Sienna?"

Why did the Sun Priestess pick up her call instead of Ruto?

<"Yes, it's me. Yoan can't answer your call, so I picked it up instead.">

She gulped before she asked. "Is Ruto occupied at the moment?"

<"No, but he said he has nothing to talk to you about.">

"Excuse me?"

<"You know the consequence of untimely remembering your past memories, don't you?">

She unconsciously held her breath while waiting to hear the confirmation that she was afraid to face.

<"Neoma de Moonasterio, Yoan already lost his precious memories of you.">

Neoma shut her eyes tight, the weight of her regret crushing her heart into tiny pieces.

***

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