Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"MONA ROSEHEART, my precious son has it all."

Mona almost rolled her eyes when Lord Levi, the God Among Gods, began gushing over Ruto. [Lord Levi called him 'Yoan,' though.]

'Yoan' must be Ruto's divine name.

She also remembered that when Neoma had a high fever, she kept on mentioning Ruto and 'Yoan' interchangeably. But she deduced that Ruto and Yoan were the same people because of the things that her daughter said when she was in a delirious state before.

"My precious Yoan is handsome like me," Lord Levi said. His face remained looking bored, but his voice was full of enthusiasm. "He's powerful like me, too. But thankfully, he didn't inherit my poor traits. After all, my son is diligent and kind. Thanks to that nice and dependable personality of his, he got a bunch of talented and incredible individuals following him."

Oh, god.

[Here's another father who dotes on his child too much.]

Lord Levi reminded her of how Nikolai doted on their children, especially on Neoma.

"Since my son has everything, I want him to end up with someone worthy of him– someone who has everything, too," the god continued. "Not someone like Neoma de Moonasterio."

"I'm not saying this because I want Neoma and Ruto to end up together. It's not for me to decide anyway," Mona said, then she slowly stood up even though every inch of her body was protesting. But she refused to continue kneeling in front of Lord Levi when the god had nothing good to say about her daughter. "But my Neoma isn't lacking either."

"Your daughter has everything except humility."

"My daughter's lack of humility doesn't make her a bad person," she argued. She couldn't deny that Neoma was arrogant, but it wasn't like her daughter's arrogance hurt innocent people. "To be fair, her arrogance stems from her vanity. And Ruto knows that well. If your son has no problem with it, then your opinion on my daughter's arrogance doesn't matter."

She hadn't been with Neoma for long, but so far, she hadn't heard or seen her daughter boast about things in order to offend innocent people.

Neoma would just often praise her beauty, or annoy her enemies on purpose.

[Maybe I'm just being biased, but I don't think Neoma's arrogance is that bad.]

"I am Yoan's divine father," Lord Levi insisted. "I have the right to choose his future partner. And I'm saying that I do not like Neoma de Moonasterio for my one and only son."

"Well, Nikolai also thinks Ruto doesn't deserve our daughter."

"Excuse me?" the god asked, obviously offended. "It's the other way around. Your daughter is too wild for anyone to handle."

"Why are we talking about Neoma and Ruto's relationship, Lord Levi? Both of our children are still underaged. Although it's natural for royal and noble children to get married early, Nikolai and I have no intention of forcing Neoma and Nero to enter a political marriage."

"You know that the Sun Goddess is my little sister, don't you?" the god asked. "Only a select few humans know about my connection to the Sun Goddess. Since you're special, I know that you're aware of that."

"I've heard it before from the Cosmic Tree. What does it have to do with our conversation, my lord?"

"I chose the woman who serves my sister's temple to give birth to my divine child because I wanted him to be the Sun Goddess' successor," Lord Levi said. "I intend to make Yoan the future Sun King."

'Sun King.'

To be honest, she wasn't surprised.

[It's clear that Ruto is raised to be the future Sun King.]

"Being a Divine Monarch is a status given to humans that gods choose to rule over their domain in the human world," the god explained. "It means Yoan will soon rule over the East Continent, and he'll have the same status as a god in the future."

"But a God Slayer cannot be a Divine Monarch since a God Slayer should only answer to you, Lord Levi," she said, confused. "If Ruto becomes the Sun King, then he will be obliged to answer to the Sun Goddess."

"I can always choose another person to be the new God Slayer."

She had a bad feeling about it.

[Only the God Slayer has the authority to kill gods, but Neoma has killed a minor god and she wasn't punished for it.]

"Lord Levi, you're not thinking of making my daughter the new God Slayer, are you?"

"Of course not," the god said. "I only turned a blind eye when she killed a minor god before because Yoan, back in his first life, shared his authority as the God Slayer with Neoma de Moonasterio. He hasn't taken it back yet, so I do not have the right to punish your daughter."

Ah.

So that was what happened.

"But now that Yoan has forgotten about your daughter, all the rights that he shared with her will soon disappear," Lord Levi said. "Once my son gains full authority as the God Slayer, the gods who broke the rules while my vision was blocked would get punished."

"Your vision was blocked, too, Lord Levi?"

"The air in the Upper World has become so polluted that our visions were blocked."

She clenched her hands tight.

[If the air in the Upper World has become that polluted already, then that means the gods will soon be in need of a new Aether…]

Neoma must be protected at all costs.

"I'll raise my son as the God Slayer for now, and as the Sun King later," Lord Levi said. "But my son can't do any of his jobs properly because he was always worried about Neoma de Moonasterio. I can't stand it anymore, so I summoned you here to let you know that I will never accept the little princess as my daughter-in-law."

"Are you telling me to tell my daughter to stay away from Ruto?"

"Precisely."

"I won't do that."

The god frowned. "Mona Roseheart–"

"I know that it's our job to guide our underaged children," she said, cutting him off. "But Neoma and Ruto are both adults inside. They have memories of their past lives. Thus, only the two of them know what's best for them."

Lord Levi scoffed. "Their little love story ended tragically in the past."

She already deduced that much.

When Neoma had a high fever, she kept on calling Ruto (and sometimes she would refer to him as 'Commander Yoan). Aside from that, her daughter had also said some sad things that made her realize how awful her life was in the first timeline.

Of course, she kept the things she had heard from Neoma a secret from Nikolai and Nero.

[Neoma's secrets aren't mine to share.]

If Neoma wanted them to know about her past with Ruto, she would let them know. As long as her daughter was mum about it, then Mona would keep her mouth shut, too.

"Lord Levi, Neoma and Ruto are both aware of what transpired between them in the past," she said firmly. "If they still want to be together despite everything, then we do not have the right to get in their way."

"Are you saying that I do not have the right to be involved in my son's life?"

"Don't twist my words, Lord Levi," she said sternly. "I'm telling you that you do not have the right to make decisions for Ruto– especially when it comes to his private life."

"His private life? That's funny. Last I checked, I'm still his divine father."

"As parents, we don't own our children," she said firmly. "Lord Levi, Ruto is your son. He's not a puppet. If you want to raise someone who will always follow you blindly, then I'll just gift you a talking and walking magical tree."

The god opened his mouth to speak. But in the end, not even a word came out. He just looked at her with a bewildered look on his face.

In short, Lord Levi was rendered speechless.

"Neoma and Ruto don't have a romantic relationship yet, and they aren't even talking about it as far as I know," she said. "Neoma and Ruto are both mature individuals. They know that they shouldn't focus on their relationship yet because both of them are physically young. It's not nice to see a seventeen-year-old boy forming a romantic relationship with a thirteen-year-old girl, after all."

She let out a frustrated sigh.

"And to be honest, does Lord Levi think that Neoma and Ruto have time for reach other?" she asked while shaking her head. "My daughter is busy carrying out the tasks that your fellow gods have put on her tiny shoulders, while Ruto is busy clearing the path for my daughter. Don't you feel bad towards the two children, my lord?"

"Exceptional individuals like my son and your daughter are bound to become instruments of gods for the greater good," Lord Levi said. "Every person in the world has a role to fulfill. It just so happened that Yoan and Neoma de Moonasterio's duties are greater than an average person's."

"I would agree with you, but then we would be both wrong."

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm, Mona Roseheart."

"Then don't spout nonsense, my lord," she said sternly. "As adults, shouldn't we be ashamed that we're putting our hopes on children?"

"An individual's potential has nothing to do with their age," the god said sternly. "Even newborn babies have an important task awaiting them."

"Are you talking about the future saint of Astello Temple?"

"Mona Roseheart, I'll be honest with you– I do not have the full memories of the first timeline," Lord Levi said. "Like anyone else who is aware that this world has regressed based on Yoan and Neoma de Moonasterio's will, I only have snippets of how the first world ended."

She didn't expect that.

[If Lord Levi, the God Among Gods, doesn't have his full memories, then it's safe to assume that the same is true for the other gods.]

"Gods are supposed to keep their memories even when the world regressed, but Yoan found a way to break that rule," Lord Levi said. "And I have a feeling he stabbed me in the back in order to accomplish that. Who knows? Maybe my son even killed me in the first timeline since he has the authority and the power to do that."

That surprised her.

The god said it like it was nothing.

"It looks you're wondering why I don't resent my son for what he might have done in the past," Lord Levi said. When Mona just nodded, he explained. "I already told you that my son has everything– and that includes my life. My position as the God Among Gods doesn't exempt me from being slain by the God Slayer."

The god had a point, but…

"Why?" she asked curiously. "Why do you value Ruto that much, Lord Levi?"

The god smiled, his eyes sparkling with life for the first time. "Because only Yoan could give me what I want."

Of course.

Gods would never care about someone without gaining anything in return.

"I genuinely love my son, Mona Roseheart," Lord Levi said, as if he could read her mind. "That's why I will give anything and everything to him– except Neoma de Moonasterio."

Ah, they were back to square one.

"Lord Levi, I already told you that I won't meddle in Ruto and Neoma's personal lives," she said firmly. "I trust them."

"I should have summoned Nikolai de Moonasterio instead of you," the god said in a remorseful voice. "I'm sure he would have agreed with me."

"Even if Nikolai agreed with you, he wouldn't help you separate Ruto and Neoma on purpose, my lord."

Well, to be honest, she was aware that Nikolai had some "evil schemes" to separate Ruto from Neoma. But she knew that the emperor wouldn't dare to execute it unless he wanted Neoma to start calling him 'scumbag' again.

[Although in retrospect, I wanted to see and hear Neoma curse at Nikolai since I've only heard it from Nero's stories.]

"My lord, if you have nothing else to say, then please send me back," Mona said politely. "I do not have the authority to kill gods, but I have the right to banish them for breaking the Divine Oath they made with Genevieve."

"You don't need to worry about that," Lord Levi said, then he snapped his fingers. "The God of Recollection has already been taken care of."

***

WHEN MONA came to be, she found herself literally lying down in the palm of Genevieve's floating giant hand. It was still suspended in the air, and when she took a look below them, the pair of red orbs that were quickly shrinking in size greeted her.

It wasn't the only strange thing, though.

She also noticed that each red eye had a lightning bolt shaped like an arrow pierced through the pupils.

[Lightning bolt…]

<"He's here, Mona,"> Genevieve said to her using mental telepathy. <"Lord Levi's son.">

She stood up and turned in the direction of where a strong divine power was coming from.

And there he was.

Ruto was suspended in the air while holding an antique bow that was slowly turning into fine pieces of dust.

The scene gave her goosebumps.

Ruto had changed. He seemed out of reach now. Especially the detached look on his face.

[And his power… has he always been this powerful?]

When the boy turned to her, she felt the urge to bow and kneel in front of her as if she was facing Lord Levi again. But thankfully, she managed to stop herself from doing that. She didn't like being forced to bow and kneel to people.

[Neoma didn't explain things in full details, but she told me Ruto may have already forgotten her.]

"Greetings, Lady Mona Roseheart," Ruto greeted her politely, then he bowed to her. "I apologize for stealing your prey from you."

"Oh, it's alright," Mona said. "I do not have the authority to kill him, anyway."

"Thank you for your understanding, Lady Roseheart."

She just smiled as a response to that. "Ruto, after you clean up here, are you going to watch Neoma's match?"

"Yes, Lady Roseheart."

She was surprised to hear that. "Ruto, do you remember who Neoma is in your life?"

"Apparently, I lost half of my power because of her," Ruto said indifferently. "Sienna told me I need to see Princess Neoma in order to gain my full authority back."

Oh.

Mona felt heartbroken for her daughter.

[Ruto doesn't remember Neoma yet.]

***

IT BECAME a two-on-two match.

Delwyn (in his wolf form) versus the White Lion.

Then Neoma versus Calyx Dalton.

[Fuck, this is bad.]

Neoma didn't expect that her "self-destruction" would cost this much. And controlling Delwyn's ice was harder than she thought, too.

Ice daggers.

Ice swords.

Ice spears.

She had used different types of weapons made of ice, but they were all weak.

Every time Calyx Dalton's halberd– that he would call 'Twin Crescent Moons'– her ice weapon would instantly break. As a result, she was pushed back further and further until she almost fell out of bounds.

She had to push the crow psycho back by creating a Dome.

Then she stepped forward while the long spike of Calyx Dalton's halberd was poking her Dome continuously while laughing like the crazy bastard that he was.

Blegh.

She, on the other hand, clutched her stomach as she coughed up another chunk of blood.

[Fucking hell.]

When Calyx Dalton poked her stomach with that pretty weapon of his, a huge amount of Darkness entered her body. The Darkness was currently trying to melt her internal organs. Thus, she kept on coughing up blood.

Although she was in excruciating pain at the moment, she realized one thing.

[This is identical to the "curse" that almost killed Nero in the past.]

Yes, the "curse" that took Trevor eight years to heal.

But the "curse" in her body was weaker than what Nero had received when they were children. That, or maybe her "self-destruction mode" was helping her get through it.

[I thought the "curse" that Nero received before came from the Devil?]

But then again, the Devil was also a Darkness attribute user. Maybe the "curse" was something that Darkness attribute users could master.

Her thoughts were cut off when Calyx Dalton stabbed her Dome with the halberd's long spike. And just like that, her barrier broke into hundreds of pieces like a fragile glass. Once again, she coughed up blood.

[Fuck…]

"Your Royal Highness, this is getting boring," Calyx Dalton complained. "Isn't it about time for you to get serious in the match?"

[Listen to what this little piece of shit is saying…]

She was serious.

Ever since the start, she had taken the fight seriously. But her "self-destruction mode" and Calyx Dalton's underhanded trick were literally destroying her internal organs and soul literally. If she was an ordinary person, she would have dropped dead already.

[If I could make a surprise attack again while he's busy running his mouth, I would. But I'm almost at my limit.]

And so, she decided to talk in order to buy herself some time to recharge.

"Shut up, you minor villain," Neoma said while wiping the blood off of her mouth. "Main characters have to lose at the beginning of the match to make the fight more exciting."

"You really say the most random things at the most inappropriate time," Calyx Dalton said while laughing. "Your Royal Highness, I truly admire you, and I don't want you to hate me. Should I lose on purpose?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your Royal Highness's goal is to win and become the student representative, right? But if you lose this match–"

"Who said I'm losing?" she snarled at him, cutting him off roughly. "Don't insult me, punk."

Calyx Dalton looked at her as if she was a pitiful, small animal shaking in front of a predator.

Of course, she was insulted. However, that was the reality of her situation.

She didn't want to admit this, but she was seriously losing the match.

And this was the most embarrassing moment of her third life yet.

[Goddammit.]

"Let's get this done and over with," Calyx Dalton said, then he mouthed her the words that made her skin crawl. "Prin. Cess. Ne. O. Ma."

Ah, the crow psycho already knew her name?

And he knew that she was just Nero's proxy all this time?

Oh, fuck.

That realization sent a shiver down her spine.

She would have fallen into her Lunacy state again had she not heard her savior's voice in her head.

<"Neoma, my precious granddaughter, everything is ready.">

Neoma smiled, then every energy inside her body exploded at the same time: her Mana, her Moonglow, her Darkness attribute, and her LIGHT ATTRIBUTE.

The explosion caused a thick cloud of smoke to leak out of her body– clouding her from everyone's eyes. But, in just a few moments, a fancy pure white Death Scythe emerged from the crowd's view.

"Skewer!" Neoma yelled, laughing as she finally got a hold of her favorite weapon. "Let's butcher some crow psycho today!"

***

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