Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

[THEY TOLD me the royal princess is at her weakest today because of her period!]

Calyx Dalton was enraged.

He couldn't melt the stupid ice sphere that he was trapped him. The fact that the royal princess managed to create a powerful ice sphere like this using a fake Soul Beast was very insulting to him. If she had used her real Soul Beast, the Fire Dragon, would his blue flame lose as well?

"That can't be!" Calyx complained while punching the wall of the ice sphere with his fists covered with a blue flame. His punches didn't even leave a crack, though. That frustrated him even more. "I'm supposed to be the perfect de Moonasterio!"

He stopped banging his hands on the wall when he realized it was futile. Moreover, he must conserve his energy. There was no air inside the ice sphere. He could only last this long because of the breathing technique that he learned from his aunts and uncles.

[Am I inferior to the royal princess because I do not have a Soul Beast?]

According to his family, it wasn't possible for his soul to produce a Soul Beast because half of him was a de Luca.

[I think it's also the reason why no child was conceived when the crows sent de Luca females to the de Moonasterio males in the past. It only worked when they tried a different approach, and I'm the result of that experiment.]

But although he was born safely, he was incomplete because he didn't have a Soul Beast.

He really didn't understand why, but if he remembered it correctly, it had something to do with the oath that the de Moonasterios and the patriarch of the Rosehearts made in the past. Unfortunately, he couldn't remember what the oath was because he wasn't interested in that.

After all, he was already contented with the elusive White Lion.

[It's the symbol of the emperor. The Knight Order that serves His Majesty, my father, is named after the legendary White Lion. I was looking forward to showing off my Elemental Guardian to the royal princess, but she didn't give me the reaction I wanted from her!]

"She's so arrogant," he lamented to himself. "The White Lion hasn't allowed anyone to be his master after Nero Roseheart died. I am the White Lion's new master after a long time! It's supposed to be the testament to my worth as a de Moonasterio and yet, the royal princess didn't even bat an eye. She just looked at the White Lion as if it was just a majestic yet ordinary beast!"

That lame reaction got on his nerves.

It was as if the royal princess was saying, "so what if you got the White Lion?"

That was what her reaction told him.

"I was really looking forward to seeing the royal princess look at me with envy!" he complained while stomping his feet on the ice floor. "Nothing is going my way today!"

He shut his eyes and slammed his forehead against the ice wall.

[I need to get out of here fast before Headmaster Salvatore declares the royal princess's win. It's not like they'll wait forever for me to come out of here. I can only hope that the White Lion buys me enough time.]

But his biggest concern at the moment was the fact that it was getting hard for him to breathe.

The breathing technique that he learned could only do so much.

[I must leave now before I faint.]

Should he just use the method that Lord Callisto and Uncle Helstor taught him?

He didn't want to use it because the technique was physically painful to execute. But it wasn't like he had the luxury of being stubborn now after he realized that the royal princess was something he shouldn't take lightly.

[It was a mistake to underestimate the royal princess.]

He opened his glowing eyes. "It's time to get serious."

After taking a deep breath, he pulled out the short staff that he hid in the inner pocket of his maroon jacket. Then he poured some of his divine power into it. After that, he cut his palm with his nail and let the blood trickle down the end of the staff.

A few moments later, the staff grew into a halberd– a polearm– that was taller than him.

The end of the halberd was a long thrusting spike, and the back spike was a blade shaped like the crescent moon. There was another crescent moon blade on the other side.

Hence, the halberd was called 'Twin Crescent Moons.'

Lord Callisto de Luca, the greatest blacksmith of his time, created the halberd himself. It was one of the series of weapons that His Excellency made with the purpose of killing the de Moonasterios.

[Don't worry, royal princess. This weapon was altered with Uncle Helstor's help so it wouldn't kill you. You'll be in so much pain, though.]

He held the halberd's handle with both hands, then he used the long spike to poke the ice wall. The long spike was infused with Lord Callisto's divine power. Thanks to that, a single poke was enough to crush the ice sphere.

It started with a single, long crack. Then it spread all over the sphere until it collapsed. Finally, he broke free– and remained suspended in the air thanks to Wind Charm that Uncle Raven provided for him– as the ice sphere was broken into thousands of tiny pieces.

The sound it made was similar to hundreds of glasses breaking at the same time.

No wonder the majority of the crowd was looking up at him. Thanks to his sharp eyesight, he could see the awe and disbelief on their faces. He didn't care about other people, though. His eyes immediately landed on Emperor Nikolai.

[Father…]

His father wasn't looking at him.

When he followed the trail of the emperor's gaze, he found himself looking at the royal princess, who was pinned to the ground while struggling to get away from the White Lion mauling her arms.

[She's starting to be an eyesore.]

But he was relieved to see her struggling against the White Lion. It seemed like what his family had told him was true: the royal princess was at her weakest at the moment.

That, or perhaps she had used up too much of her Mana by creating an ice sphere.

[According to the information our family received, the royal princess's real Soul Beast is a Fire Dragon while the real Crown Prince owns an Ice Wolf. In order to deceive the people, the royal princess used an Ice Spirit that could copy the appearance of Prince Nero's Soul Beast.]

He descended the ground by deactivating the Wind Charm hanging by his wrist. The bracelet had three strings, and the one on top snapped. It meant he could only use the Wind Charm twice.

"Move," he told the White Lion firmly.

The White Lion had no choice but to obey him.

As soon as the majestic beast stepped aside, he stepped on the royal princess's shoulder to keep her in place. He looked down at her– no, he wanted to look down ON her.

He thought he would see the royal princess in a pathetic state.

But despite looking rugged, she remained looking so dignified.

That irritated him to no end.

Just how?

How could she still look so arrogant despite being in a disadvantageous position?!

[Is it the clear and fierce look in her eyes? The majestic aura around her? Or is it the way she carries herself with confidence no matter what the situation is?]

"I wanted to be good to you since you're my little sibling," he said, smiling. But he was pretty sure that his smile didn't reach his eyes. "But you're not acting cute. I don't like kids who don't know how to respect their older siblings."

The royal princess just looked at him as if she was unbothered by his taunting.

But that look bothered him so much.

[Should I just kill her?]

As soon as his bloodlust began leaking out, a thicker bloodlust mixed in the air.

It gave him the goosebumps.

When he turned to where the thick and heavy bloodlust was coming from, his eyes met a pair of glowing golden orbs.

[Lewis Crevan, the Silver Fox…]

The way Lewis Crevan looked at him coldly sent chills down his spine.

[If I try to kill the royal princess for real, he will attack me.]

Hah.

What a fearsome, loyal dog.

<"Calyx!"> It was his Uncle Raven's voice ringing in his head through mental telepathy. <"Watch out!">

His foot that was stepping on the royal princess's shoulder snapped.

He had to swallow a painful groan when the bone in his foot broke when the royal princess grabbed and squeezed his foot to lift it off of her.

[That monstrous de Moonasterio strength…]

He had a sturdy body too since he possessed the same blood, so he was shocked that the royal princess managed to break his foot despite being at her weakest.

A scary thought crossed his mind as he jumped away from her.

[Just… just how strong would the royal princess be if she was in her prime condition?!]

He landed on his left foot while using the halberd as a cane to support his injured right foot. But since it was just a light injury, it would heal on its own.

One of the gifts that he received from his de Luca blood was the ability to heal fast.

Of course, it only applied to light and shallow wounds.

[Does the royal princess have the same ability?]

After all, she stood up just fine despite her bleeding arms.

The White Lion's claws weren't just sharp– they also had a unique ability. If he remembered it correctly, the White Lion's claws had the ability to make the flesh they cut go numb and heavy up to the point that the victim could no longer move.

[But she's moving just fine.]

"You're using an enchantment that blocks our voice," the royal princess said while walking towards him leisurely. "It probably comes with a trick to cover our mouth too so that people wouldn't be able to read our lips."

The royal princess was right, but he didn't confirm it.

He had the urge to step backwards because he felt like he was a prey that was about to be caught by a predator, but his pride didn't allow him to move an inch.

But how did the royal princess do it?

[She's walking leisurely as if she's just having a stroll in the garden and yet, the aura around her is terrifying.]

There was no bloodlust or hostility coming from the royal princess.

She was just straight up… intimidating.

"You enjoy talking shit in the middle of a fight, right? Fine, let's talk for a minute," the royal princess said arrogantly. "Consider it fanservice."

Fanservice?

[What does it mean?]

"I realize you have some sort of noise cancelling enchantment since you wouldn't stop talking bullshit about us being siblings," the royal princess said when she stopped in front of him, and only a distance of an arm's length separated them. "Hey, you punk. I know that you have de Moonasterio blood in you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oho?"

"You also told me that you have three aces up your sleeves. Apparently, I can no longer touch you once you revealed those three secrets," she said in a bored manner. "The first one is the White Lion, right?"

He frowned. [Yeah, but you didn't look surprised.]

"Your second ace is probably revealing your de Moonasterio blood in front of everyone during this match," the royal princess said. "You're using enchantment to change your hair and eye color, aren't you?"

He flinched. [That's, indeed, my plan…]

She raised an eyebrow at him while shaking her head. "Hey, I'm good at acting. Do you want me to act surprised once you reveal your true identity?"

He didn't understand what she was trying to do now, so he just glared at her.

The royal princess then gasped aloud while her eyes went wide. "You're a de Moonasterio?" she asked in an exaggerated, shocked voice. "You're my brother?"

After her acting, she laughed.

Ah, he got it now.

[She's making fun of me.]

"Do you want me to act surprised or betrayed…"

The royal princess trailed off.

Then, much to her surprise, big fat tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks while her expression looked so sad and devastated.

"You're a de Moonasterio? I'm not the First Star?" the royal princess asked in a cracked voice, as if she was truly heartbroken. "Then what will happen to me now? Brother, must we really fight just because of the throne?"

He'd admit that if he didn't know better, he'd get carried away by her acting.

That was until the royal princess laughed like a madwoman while wiping the tears off of her face with her hands.

The way she laughed was unbefitting for a monarch like her.

[She looks like a demon!]

The royal princess looked scary at the moment, but he refused to cave.

"You're trying to intimidate me by acting like you don't care, aren't you?" he asked, then he smirked at her. "Once I reveal that I'm a de Moonasterio, your position as the 'Crown Prince' will be threatened."

"So what?"

[Ah, there goes her nonchalant attitude again that I'm starting to hate.]

"I wholeheartedly do not give a fuck, even if you're a de Moonasterio or not," she said. Although she was laughing, he could tell that she was serious. "Even if you turn out to be my father's biological son by some cruel joke from the gods, I still do not care. I assure you– my mother, my twin, and especially my father do not care as well."

He knew that he shouldn't be affected by the royal princess's taunting, but he still did.

It hurt so bad.

He was raised to be Emperor Nikolai de Moonasterio's perfect son. Even though he loved his family, he had always craved his father's affection.

After all, his entire family– the de Lucas– truly adored the de Moonasterios.

To be honest, he wasn't greedy for the throne. He was only willing to join the succession war for the sake of the de Lucas. He'd like to repay them for raising him well, after all. But he had no personal desire to become the next emperor.

However, there was one thing that he must get at all costs.

[I crave Father's love and to achieve it, I must become his perfect son.]

The crows wanted him to be the emperor's only son.

[Personally, I want a big and complete family. I'm even willing to embrace the twins as my siblings. However, the royal princess is making it hard for me to accept them.]

"Even if the crows successfully push me and my twin out of the succession line, my father's love for us won't disappear," the royal princess said. "You're unfortunate, though. After all, even if you become the Crown Prince, Father will never love you. He won't even spare you a glance."

He considered himself a benevolent person.

He didn't like fighting with his family members.

He was also sincere when he said he wanted to treat the twins as his siblings.

But at that moment, his chest was filled with an ungodly amount of rage. For the first time in his life, he wanted to kill a person so bad.

He clutched his chest tight while panting hard.

[Calm down, Calyx. The arrogant royal princess doesn't know that the third ace is the real reason why they can't touch you after this match.]

And the third ace was the key to his father's heart.

Thanks to that thought, he finally calmed down.

"We've talked enough," he said sternly. "Let's stop– argh!"

He once again fell victim to the royal princess's surprise attack.

Before he could even finish his sentence, the royal princess threw an ice spear at him. If he didn't move in time, he would have had his heart stabbed. But since he was able to move his body to the side, the ice spear missed his heart.

He didn't have the time to relax because the royal princess suddenly lunged at him.

This time, he was prepared and he didn't need the White Lion's help.

He gripped the handle of the halberd tighter, then he positioned himself to time his movement with the royal princess's attack. His plan was to stab her once she was close enough.

[Huh?]

His thoughts trailed off when he saw that royal princess coughed up a huge chunk of blood…

… mixed with some dark substance.

[Is that… Darkness?]

He didn't have the time to figure it out because he noticed that the royal princess fainted.

Ah, finally– an opportunity.

He smiled, then he didn't hesitate to stab the royal princess in the stomach with the long spike of the Twin Crescent Moons. Then he sent the "gift" that they prepared for Her Royal Highness.

The repercussions were quick, though.

As soon as he released the "gift," he felt his insides burn. He had felt that sensation countless times while Lord Callisto was training him under Uncle Helstor's command. He had gotten used to the pain, but it didn't hurt less.

[Endure, Calyx de Luca de Moonasterio,] Calyx reminded himself. [You have to do this to teach your younger sister a lesson she won't forget.]

***

<"DON'T MOVE, Lewis Crevan.">

Nikolai ordered the fox boy using mental telepathy.

But he knew that Lewis wouldn't listen to him, so he physically restrained the boy with his Moonglow. It was something that he could do by concentrating on a single person. The more powerful the individual was, the harder it was to restrain them, though.

Fortunately, he was still stronger than Lewis Crevan so he was able to paralyze him from where he stood.

<"That's a part of Neoma's plan– calm down.">

Although he said that to Lewis, it was also his way of telling himself that everything was still according to Neoma's plan.

If he could, he would kill that young crow right there, right now.

But he had to remain calm, since the crowd was already panicking.

Of course, most of the people there weren't pleased to see their precious Crown Prince stabbed like a piece of steak. The admiration that the majority had felt towards Calyx Dalton earlier had turned to hostility. As loyal followers of Yule, the devotees probably felt protective of the Crown Prince.

Unfortunately, there were still some people who enjoyed seeing the Crown Prince suffer while cheering on Calyx Dalton in secret.

[I'll remember your faces.]

He didn't have the time to dwell on that since he saw Headmaster Salvatore making his way to the stage.

"Stop," Nikolai said, his voice amplified by magic– making everyone flinch after hearing his cold voice. "Do not disturb the match, Headmaster Salvatore."

The headmaster looked up at him with a worried look on his face.

"But too much blood has been spilled already in this match, Your Majesty," Headmaster Salvatore argued. "It's the academy's responsibility to protect the students–"

"Don't make me repeat myself, Headmaster," Nikolai said in a cold, stern voice rendering the headmaster– and everyone who had realized he was in a sour mood already– speechless. "The match will only end if one of the contenders is unable to fight anymore– which is not the case."

***

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