Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"ARE YOU hurt, Nero?"

"I did this to myself, Father," Nero said while buttoning up the new, crisp shirt that he had just worn. "I'll explain everything to you later."

He and his father were inside the royal carriage now, so it was safe for them to talk freely.

A royal family member wouldn't leave the palace without several changes of clothes. Thus, he was able to change into a new shirt. He and his father still had to show up to the public later. Hence, he changed his clothes to appear presentable.

"Where is Neoma?" his father asked worriedly. "Is your twin sister okay?"

"Neoma is fine– she's with her "children" right now."

His father looked relieved at first, but the concern on his face returned right away.

"How about your mother?" his father asked, and he actually looked more anxious this time. "I heard the palace was attacked."

"Mother took care of the intruder," he explained. "It was a god."

His father's eyes went wide. "A god? Your mother didn't kill it, did she?"

He shook his head. "Ruston Stroganoff appeared and took care of the god."

His father looked relieved. "That's a relief," he said softly. "After what happened, it's a miracle that your mother allowed you to leave the palace without her."

He slowly avoided his father's gaze.

"Nero."

"What?" he asked defensively.

"Look at me."

He was forced to look at his father because of his commanding voice.

His father frowned. "You didn't ask your mother's permission before you left, did you?"

"I didn't have the time to do so," he said defensively. "But I left mother a letter."

His father clicked his tongue. "Nero, you don't know this because you haven't seen your mother get angry yet. But I'm telling you now– Mona is scarier than me when she's mad," he warned him. "You better prepare yourself to receive your mother's wrath once we returned to the palace, Nero de Moonasterio."

"I can't imagine Mother getting angry at me or Neoma," Nero said nonchalantly. "You're just scaring me– but it won't work on me, Father."

***

"IT'S AN honor to finally meet you, Prince Nero."

"Yes– you should be honored," Nero, who was sitting on the chair while in the waiting area, said without even turning to the insignificant bug next to him. "When else will you get the chance to sit next to me with your head intact?"

Calyx Dalton laughed. "Are you saying that you'll chop my head off the next time I sit next to you on a different occasion?"

They were free to talk like that because aside from the two of them. Only Lewis and the old crow (Raven, if he remembered it right) were in the waiting area.

And they were there because despite the pandemonium earlier, the ceremony must go on.

Since Neoma won the match, the Crown Prince became the freshmen representative. His father, the emperor, would put epaulettes on his shoulder cape later. To be honest, he felt bad.

[I'll harvest the fruits of Neoma's hard work again.]

"Prince Nero, you're thinking of your twin sister even though I'm here with you, aren't you?"

"If you already know, then shut up," he said. "I can't concentrate on drawing Neoma's pretty image in my mind when you won't stop yapping about nonsense in my ear."

"Are you… for real?"

He let out a frustrated sigh. "Ah, I forgot that a birdbrain like you can't comprehend human language."

"At least look at me when you're insulting me, Prince Nero."

"If looking at my face will shut you up, so be it," he said, then he finally turned to the crow.

Calyx Dalton's face lit up as soon as their eyes met. "You look better than your twin sister."

"Then you must have poor eyesight," he said bluntly. "Anyway, you were mistaken earlier."

He tilted his head to one side. "What do you mean by that?"

"When I said I won't let you sit beside me with your head intact next time, I'm not talking about an ordinary seat," he said. "Calyx Dalton, there is only one throne for the Crown Prince and the future emperor. The moment you approach me while I'm sitting on that throne…" He pressed a finger at his throat. "You'll die."

"You're being unfair," the crow complained. "If you are that greedy for the throne, then why didn't you fight your twin sister for it?"

"Everything I have belongs to Neoma, so why would we fight over a stupid throne?"

"That's called favoritism," Calyx Dalton whined again. "I am your older brother. You and Princess Neoma are my younger siblings, so you should be kind and generous to me, too!"

"Calyx Dalton, I don't like my parents that much, so you can claim to be my father's son for all I care," Nero said coldly. "But I'm Neoma's one and only brother." He wrapped his fingers around his neck. "Know your place, you birdbrain."

***

"NERO de Moonasterio, congratulations for becoming this year's freshmen representative."

[Neoma, congratulations.]

Nero thought of his precious twin sister as his father, Emperor Nikolai, attached the pair of golden eupalettes to his shoulder cape.

It was the last part of the ceremony.

To be honest, he thought the atmosphere would be awkward after he made a scene earlier.

The pawn– er, the student who tried to expose the royal secret was summoned by his father earlier to one of the private rooms in the arena. He hadn't heard about what kind of punishment the student had received yet, but he had a feeling that his father had been lenient.

[After all, I've also committed a crime by exposing my torso to the public.]

However, because of that incident, everyone was reminded of how scary and powerful the emperor was.

[Ah, is that it?]

He was wondering why the people around him had been sucking up to him since earlier.

Now he understood.

He thought he would be ostracized because he heard that Neoma displayed violence during the match, and the people didn't like it. Moreover, there was also the "issue" regarding Calyx Dalton being a de Moonasterio and the son of the woman who could be the late empress.

[They probably changed their mind when they saw that the emperor treasures the Crown Prince a lot.]

His thoughts were interrupted when the audience clapped and cheered.

"You did well, Nero," Emperor Nikolai said after putting the golden eupalettes on his shoulder cape. "I'm proud of you."

He just smiled bitterly at his father.

[Neoma deserves all the praises– not me.]

His thoughts were interrupted when, all of a sudden, his father pulled him for a hug.

[Huh? Wait– what?]

Did his father really hug him in front of the whole academy?! The students, the teachers, the staff, and even the guardians of the students were still in the arena!

[Father, you're embarrassing me…]

"Neoma did well," his father whispered to him. "Neoma never fails to make us proud. Once we return home, praise your twin sister a lot."

Nero nodded, still feeling awkward that his father was hugging him in front of many people. "I will, Father."

***

"PRINCE NERO is shining, isn't he?"

Calyx smiled and nodded. "Prince Nero is shining."

The ending ceremony had just finished.

Prince Nero had received golden eupalettes from the emperor, while he had received a silver tie clip/bar– the symbol of him winning second place.

The ceremony ended after that. But instead of going home, he and his uncle were waiting in front of the arena for the carriage that would pick them up. After all, His Majesty had invited them to the palace.

[Mother is already there.]

"That's also how I felt the first time I saw His Majesty when he was still a Crown Prince," Uncle Raven said, then he patted his shoulder. "We, the de Lucas, are always drawn to the de Moonasterion princes and emperors. We can't help but adore them, no matter how infuriating they can be most of the time."

"But you killed some of the previous emperors in history."

His uncle gave him a mysterious smile. "Calyx, our love for the de Moonasterion princes and emperors has a time limit," he explained. "We adore the de Moonasterion emperor a lot. But once the de Moonasterion heir is born, we love the emperor less and love the Crown Prince more. That's how it is."

"Is that the reason why…" He trailed off, then he clutched his chest tight. "I feel more drawn to Prince Nero now?"

All his life, he craved the emperor's affection.

But the moment he met the real Prince Nero…

His thoughts were interrupted when two fancy carriages arrived and stopped in front of them. Then, much to his pleasant surprise, Prince Nero stepped out of the first carriage.

[It's the real Crown Prince!]

He noticed that Lewis Crevan was sitting beside the coachman and eyeing him coldly, but he ignored him.

<anno data-annotation-id="b112db13-11b7-c554-ac61-74c9b4a06eb2">[Why is Lewis Crevan here?]</anno>

Tsk.

He actually wanted to monopolize the Crown Prince today.

"I apologize for being late," Prince Nero said. But although he was apologizing, he sounded like he was giving an order. "His Majesty assigned me to escort Lord Calyx to the palace."

Calyx pouted. "Why are you speaking formally to me?"

"This is an official business, Lord Calyx," the Crown Prince said indifferently, then he turned to his Uncle Raven. "Mr. Raven, you may take the other carriage."

Uncle Raven bowed to the Crown Prince as a response.

After that, he and Prince Nero entered the carriage and sat on the couches across from each other.

The Crown Prince ignored him the moment the carriage moved, though. Prince Nero just kept on staring at whatever picture was inside the locket in his hand. His Royal Highness's face looked calm while doing that, though.

"Prince Nero, may I know what you're looking at?"

"Neoma's picture."

"Huh?"

"I'm looking at Neoma's picture because it calms me down," Prince Nero said without looking at him. "Without this, I would lose my mind and kill you on the spot. You should be grateful to Neoma that I'm letting you live another day."

Neoma, Neoma, Neoma.

Prince Nero just kept on talking about Neoma de Moonasterio only.

It was getting annoying now.

[No– I'm getting jealous.]

"Prince Nero, why do you like Princess Neoma so much?"

"Neoma is my only family."

"His Majesty and Lady Roseheart are still alive."

"I can live without my parents, but I can't live without Neoma."

His eyes went wide. "You… can't live without Princess Neoma?"

[Is that what family means?]

He liked his family very much, and he also liked his relatives. But they didn't feel the same for him. In fact, he knew a handful of his family members who would be happy once he died. And that included his favorite aunts and uncles.

He didn't resent them, though.

After all, his family motto was: 'Only the strongest deserve to live happily.'

In short, it was to kill or be killed. Thus, even though he liked his family very much, he wasn't that attached to them.

[But Prince Nero is saying that he can't live without Princess Neoma.]

That kind of family– no, that kind of devotion…

"But what if Princess Neoma betrays you, Prince Nero?" he asked curiously. "Princess Neoma loves herself too much. I'm pretty sure she can't love you as much as you love her."

"That's fine," he said. "My love is enough for the two of us."

His heart squeezed painfully, so he clenched his chest tight.

Calyx was born with everything, and his family provided him with the things he needed and wanted. Thus, he didn't grow up greedy. He grew up entitled, though.

Prince Nero's love for and obsession with Princess Neoma…

[I want it– no, I deserve it,] Calyx thought to himself. [I deserve Prince Nero's undivided love and attention more than Princess Neoma.]

***

[I FEEL like I got hit by a truck.]

When Neoma opened her eyes, she was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling.

She wanted to get up and check her surroundings, but every inch of her body hurt like hell. Only her eyes could wander around the room.

[Oh? This room is very pretty.]

It had pastel walls, and the dominant colors of the furniture were white and pink. It actually reminded her of her room back in Korea.

[Huh?]

She gasped when the realization hit her.

[Was I hit by Truck-kun and got isekai'd to another world?!]

Again?!

[Give me a break!]

She was about to curse the gods when, all of a sudden, the door burst open and she was greeted by her favorite people in the world.

"Eomma, you're awake!"

It was Greko.

[My youngest son!]

Juri Wisteria, Jeno Dankworth, Paige Avery and Xion Redgrave followed the maknae, then they all smiled and bowed politely to her. "It's been a while, Princess Neoma."

Only Lewis was missing from her "children."

To be honest, she was confused. She didn't even know where exactly she was at the moment. But despite everything, her heart swelled with joy.

Neoma suddenly felt emotional. "I've missed you, my children."

***

NOTE: As always, thank you for supporting me.

Can I ask a favor this month? Please purchase my privilege chapters. This might be shameless of me, but I suddenly got the greed to win WIN-WIN next month. I hope Royal Secret: I'm a Princess gets a high rank in WIN-WIN in order for Neoma to get more promotions here on Webnovel. I haven't ranked high recently, so I'm hoping to see Neoma up there once again. And, of course, it will only be possible with your help. :')

Let's boost our baby girl, juseyo.

If we succeed, I will update at least two chapters a day in August. :>

Thank you! <3

***

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<annotations style="display: none;"><ol class="tinymce-annotation-container"><li data-annotation-id="b112db13-11b7-c554-ac61-74c9b4a06eb2">Trust me, Calyx. Lewis is asking himself the same. Lewis doesn't want to be there, too. Haha.</li></ol></annotations>",