Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

LIKE ANY ceremony, the opening ceremony in the Royal Moon Academy was too formal and boring.

Neoma almost yawned while listening to the headmaster's long speech.

Her Papa Boss was on a higher platform behind the podium where the headmaster was standing on (and where the teachers were seated on the chairs behind the headmaster).

The emperor was sitting regally on a fancy chair made of gold. Geoffrey Kinsley stood beside her Papa Boss while the royal knights surrounded the platform. And although not visible, she was pretty sure the Fletcher Twins were just hiding somewhere.

[They appear and disappear whenever.]

Oh, well.

She was getting bored.

To prevent herself from falling asleep while standing, her eyes wandered around discreetly.

Right now, the students were gathered in the arena called Moon Arc.

[Moon Arc actually reminds me of Wembley Stadium in London, especially the arch that supports the entire roof load. The major difference is the Moon Arc can actually open and close its roof. And the size, of course, since Wembley Stadium was much, much bigger than the Moon Arc.]

Right now, the roof was closed.

But she heard they would open the roof once the match began.

[Anyway…]

As of the moment, only the freshmen students in the Crescent Moon Division were standing in the field.

[Ah, yes. There are two divisions in the Royal Moon Academy.]

The first division was called the Crescent Moon, and it was like the middle school in the modern world. The Crescent Moon Division was divided into three grades: the Freshmen, the Sophomores, and the Juniors.

Then there was the Full Moon Division. It was equivalent to high school in the modern world, but more intense. She could say that the division also acted like how universities in the modern world since Full Moon students were required to choose their 'Major' once they reached their second year.

In the Full Moon Division, every student was called 'Senior.' But they were divided into three levels. Senior-1, Senior-2, and Senior-3.

The Full Moon students were watching the ceremony, and they occupied the right side of the bleachers. It was easy to spot the older students because instead of maroon, they wore navy blue school uniforms.

On the other hand, the sophomores and the juniors of the Crescent Division occupied the left side of the bleachers. She didn't want to admit this, but the Juniors caught her attention earlier because of one person: Rubin Drayton.

[He's so handsome his face stands out in the crowd effortlessly.]

Anyway…

Although the freshmen were gathered in the center of the field, all eyes were on the three top students standing in the very first row.

[Of course, that's me, Hanna, and the crow psycho.]

Since she was acting as the Crown Prince, she stood between Hanna and Calyx Dalton. The rest of their fellow freshmen students were standing behind them.

[Main character vibes.]

"Your Royal Highness," Calyx Dalton whispered as he tilted his head in her direction. "Our father looks especially handsome today, doesn't he?"

Hah.

Father?

This crow psycho was claiming her Papa Boss as his father? The audacity! She was the one who raised her Papa Boss to become a decent human (and a father, eventually)– and yet a delusional boy dared to harvest the fruits of her labor?

"Fuck you," Neoma said, smiling. She was raised a royal, so faking her expression was easy peasy. "I could be eloquent and creative in cussing you out, but you're not worth the effort. So, fuck you."

Hanna, who could hear their conversation, stifled her laughter.

"My precious little sibling, do you kiss Lady Roseheart with that mouth?"

She wasn't surprised when the crow psycho mentioned her Mama Boss. After all, her mother had announced her return to the world.

"You don't kiss Commander Yoan Solfrid with that mouth, do you?"

Someone wanted to die early, huh?

Hearing her precious Ruto's name coming out of the filthy crow psycho's mouth made her go insane immediately.

Her bloodlust exploded the same time she moved to grab Calyx Dalton by the collar. She felt Hanna grab her by the wrist to stop herself from killing the crow psycho. But at that moment, she knew that it was too late to regain her senses…

… until she felt her Papa Boss's overwhelming bloodlust.

She wasn't the only one who felt it.

A lot of students– mostly the freshmen– fainted, the people who only had average Mana fell to their knees, some buckled, and only a few remained standing straight. The headmaster was forced to stop his speech, while the teachers stood up from their seats frantically.

Neoma, Hanna, and Calyx Dalton were among the people who withstood the emperor's bloodlust.

That was when Neoma gained back her senses and realized why the emperor did that.

[Papa Boss probably covered my bloodlust with his bloodlust, so that people won't realize that I almost killed Calyx Dalton.]

She was ashamed of herself for getting worked up by Calyx Dalton's provocations.

But in her defense, the fact that the crow psycho mentioned Ruto's name in his previous life felt ominous to her.

[Do the crows already know that Ruto and I regressed?]

"Your Royal Highness," Hanna said, then she gently pulled her beside her. "Are you okay?"

Nero just nodded, then she ignored Calyx Dalton, who smirked at her.

"Think of what happened as a little test from me to see if the students of the prestigious Royal Moon Academy are really the cream of the crop here," Emperor Nikolai, her Papa Boss, said in a bored voice. His voice echoed in the arena because of magic. "I'm satisfied to see that most of the students have withstood my aura despite it being a surprise attack."

It wasn't aura– it was bloodlust.

But it wasn't like anyone had the guts to "correct" the emperor.

[Papa Boss, it's amazing how you can lie with a straight face even though you know that most people here know the difference between aura and bloodlust.]

She couldn't complain, though.

After all, her father released bloodlust instead of aura to cover her bloodlust.

"I'll send a gift to the students as a reward later. For now, bring the ones who fainted to the infirmary," Emperor Nikolai said, then he looked down at the headmaster with cold eyes. "Let's end the opening ceremony here and begin the final match, Headmaster Salvatore."

Headmaster Salvatore bowed his head deeply towards the emperor. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

Neoma could only smile and shake her head.

Her Papa Boss was as entitled and as rude as usual, but she loved him for it.

[I owe you big time, Papa Boss.]

***

NEOMA wasn't listening to Headmaster Salvatore who was explaining the rules of the match while standing in the middle of the ring. She already knew the rules because the academy had sent a letter in advance to the contenders for the final match. The letter contained the regulations that the council had come up with for the fight.

A concrete ring (a squared circle, just like the ring used in boxing minus the ropes) elevated in the field through magic. Thankfully, there wasn't a rule that said the contender would lose if they stepped out of the ring.

Of course, the first rule stated that killing each other wasn't allowed.

A contender could win in two ways: first, knock out the other two contenders. Second, make them surrender. If a contender still attacked the opponents who had already surrendered, then they would get disqualified.

Tsk.

[That means I can't kill the crow psycho.]

The second rule was forbidding them from using poisoned weapons that might cause permanent damage to the opponents such as paralysis.

And lastly, the losers must accept their defeat graciously.

That meant whatever the result of the match was, the losers weren't allowed to take revenge outside the ring. Moreover, their families wasn't allowed to fight either.

The third rule would definitely be breached.

After all, no matter what the result would be, Neoma and Calyx Dalton would surely go after each other's throat after the match.

Her thoughts were distracted when she heard Hanna sigh.

She turned to her cousin, and she noticed that her eyes were screening the bleachers occupied by the students' families.

After the opening ceremony, a section of the Moon Arc was opened to allow the families of the students to be spectators of the upcoming match. And because there were students and civilians watching, an invisible barrier was created to separate the spectators' section from the ring.

Only seven people, aside from the contenders, were inside the ring.

First, there was Headmaster Salvatore, who would officiate the match and serve as the main judge. He was accompanied by three faculty members: Sir Harris (one of most the extinguished Swordmasters of the West Continent), Lord Matthews (the Head of Security), and Lady Bailey (the famous Alchemist).

Each contender was allowed to bring one knight or attendant who had the authority to withdraw their master from the match if they deemed that the contender could no longer continue the fight. It was one of the countermeasures created to ensure the safety of the contenders.

It should be the role of the parents or guardians of the contenders, but that particular rule was flexible. Every time a de Moonasterio was among the contenders, the academy would change the rule to requiring the knights or attendants' presence instead of the parents.

After all, a member of the Royal Family wasn't allowed to intervene the match.

And so, Neoma brought Lewis, her precious "son."

Calyx Dalton brought Raven, his "butler."

Hanna brought Jaxson Emmet, the vice-captain of the Black Hawk Knights.

"Hanna, what's wrong?" Neoma asked her cousin worriedly. "Are you nervous?"

"Yes, but for a different reason," Hanna confessed in a low voice, so that the crow psycho standing behind them wouldn't hear. "I can't see Mother and Father anywhere."

Okay, that made her worried.

She took a quick glance at the section where the duke and duchess should be. Like what Hanna said, the Rufus Couple wasn't there.

[Duke Rufus was here earlier. Did he leave…?]

Her thoughts were once again distracted when she heard a snicker from behind.

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

[Did he hear what we're talking about?]

"Let's just ignore him, Your Royal Highness," Hanna said, her voice loud enough for Calyx Dalton to hear. "A ferocious crow that's about to be flightless isn't worth our time."

She smiled and nodded at her cousin.

[Is it just me or Hanna gets scarier and scarier day by day?]

"And now, let's welcome this year's top three students," Headmaster Salvatore announced, making the crowd go wild. "Lady Hanna Quinzel, Lord Calyx Dalton, and His Royal Highness, Prince Nero de Moonasterio are now making their entrance!"

The three climbed the ring in the order of the score they got from the previous exams.

Neoma climbed first, even though she had the same score as Calyx Dalton. It was because she performed better than him during the second exam where the levels of their Mana were gauged.

[And admittedly, my status as the Crown Prince played a huge part in it.]

Calyx Dalton followed her.

And Hanna followed behind the crow psycho.

"Lady Hanna, Lord Calyx, Prince Nero, on behalf of the academy, I wish you all the best. No matter the outcome, know that you've already made us and your families proud by standing on this stage," Headmaster Salvatore said while the three of them stood in front of him. "May Lord Yule bless this fight."

[Nah, Lord Yule can't see shit right now, so I doubt he could bless us today.]

And it wasn't just because the Moon God lost his fake eyes. It was also because Yule's vision was obscured by Darkness.

[Don't worry, Lord Yule– I'll dedicate my win for you to console your devastated soul.]

"I pray that this fight doesn't shed too much blood," Headmaster Salvatore said. "Let the match begin!"

After saying that, the headmaster left the ring instantly.

Neoma was ready to fight Hanna and Calyx Dalton when, all of a sudden, she felt the burst of Darkness behind her. It wasn't the harmful type– but the type of Darkness familiar with her.

[Hanna?]

When she turned around, she saw Calyx Dalton whispering in Hanna's ear.

And her cousin was obviously enraged.

She was about to move to separate the two when Hanna yelled.

It wasn't a simple yell.

Hanna's voice was mixed with an aura that created a gush of violent wind that sent Calyx Dalton flying.

If Neoma didn't put a barrier around her, she would have been sent flying as well.

[What the hell did Calyx Dalton say to Hanna for her to lose it?!]

"Calyx Dalton," Hanna said, her voice filled with rage and the bloodlust oozing out of her body thick. The shadow forming under her feet was also terrifying. And her green eyes? They were glowing menacingly. "You son of a bitch."

Neoma gasped aloud.

[Omo, omo! Did Hanna just cuss?! The elegant, delicate, and kind-hearted Hanna that everyone knows and loves just used vulgar words?! Did I corrupt her?! Is it my fault?! Oh, my god! It must be my bad influence!]

"Nathaira!" Hanna yelled. "Come out and devour the crow bastard!"

Nathaira?

Neoma was surprised.

[Is it the same 'Nathaira' that I know? As in the Imoogi that protected Mama Boss while she was trapped at the bottom of the Black Ocean?]

Her question was soon answered when a shadow emerged from the floor.

It was the shadow of an two hundred meter imoogi. In Korean folklore, an Imoogi was a serpent beast that failed to become a full-fledged dragon. But in this world, an Imoogi was considered a giant snake demigod.

[So, when Nathaira died, her physical body disappeared. But her Spirit was stuck on the bottom of the Black Ocean while her shadow was taken by the Quinzels?]

Hanna had an Imoogi, a snake demigod, as her Shadow Beast?

[Daebak.]

Neoma was even more amazed when the Imoogi hissed loudly, opening its big mouth, baring its fangs at Calyx Dalton.

Nathaira, despite being 200-meter in length and probably 6 tons in weight, moved fast and graciously like running water. The Imoogi lunged at Calyx Dalton at the speed of lightning, then she swallowed the laughing crow psycho– a collective loud gasp erupting from the crowd.

Most people in the audience probably didn't see Calyx Dalton laugh instead of avoiding the Imoogi's attack.

[He's really a psycho.]

"Your Royal Highness."

Neoma immediately turned to Hanna.

Her cousin still looked very upset, and her green eyes were still glowing menacingly.

She wanted to ask Hanna what happened, but the determined look on the Shadow Queen's made her shut her mouth.

[Hanna…]

"I don't care if you break all his bones, but don't kill him," Hanna said through gritted teeth. "Calyx Dalton will die by my hands once I returned."

After saying that, Hanna's shadow emerged from the floor. Then it wrapped itself around her legs and snaked its way upward until her cousin was covered with her own shadow.

"I'll leave it to you, Your Royal Highness," Hanna said in an urgent voice. "And please tell His Majesty I apologize in advance for what I'm about to do."

Then, without so much ado, Hanna disappeared– leaving Neoma in disarray.

[Hanna, what are you going to do?!]

The crowd's loud gasp and murmurs that followed snapped her out of her trance.

But, in just a few seconds, something else drowned the noises around.

A loud roar.

The roar of what seemed to be a feracious beast shook the ground, sending the inexperienced people into panic. But the adults and the students who were confident about their skills remained observing the development calmly– not even blinking in fear of missing a critical scene that was about to unfold.

Neoma was the same.

After all, the loud roar was coming from inside the Imoogi that was violently shaking now. It didn't take a minute before the giant serpent beast fell to the ground, shrieking in pain.

[It's about to explode.]

Neoma created several layers of Dome to brace for the impact of the upcoming explosion. And it came eventually.

The ground shook once again when the Imoogi's body exploded.

A blinding light went off, too– forcing Neoma to close her eyes, much to her chagrin. She was the descendant of Yule and Roxana– gods that wielded Light. A de Moonasterio like her shouldn't be hurt by any kind of light once her Moonglow was actively protecting her.

Thus, the shock.

[What kind of light is that?!]

"Your Royal Highness, didn't I tell you before that you can't kill me for three reasons?"

It was obviously Calyx Dalton.

Judging by the loud and panicking voices Neoma heard, most of the people in the crowd were also blinded by the light that exploded earlier. Thus, the confusion among the audience.

She, on the other hand, had adjusted to the light.

Neoma slowly opened her eyes, only to get the biggest shock of her life yet.

"This is the first reason," Calyx Dalton said, smiling while petting the head of the majestic beast beside him. "I own the symbol of the Royal Family."

And the White Lion beside the crow psycho roared once again, baring its fangs at her.

Yes, it was THE White Lion– one of the rare Elemental Guardians, the divine beast that supposedly didn't allow anyone to become his master after Nero Roseheart (the first knight of the Astello Temple) died.

[How did Calyx Dalton tame the White Lion?!]

Neoma took a step back in disbelief while remembering what she had told her Mama Boss before she left the palace.

["Plus, I have a plan. Me– I am the plan."]

That was what she had said then.

[Mama Boss, the plan is now fucked up.]

***

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