Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

NEOMA smiled while sipping juice through the straw pressed between her lips.

Right now, she was sitting leisurely on a sunlounger while facing the swimming pool in front of her. Of course, she was under the shade of a cantilever umbrella (aka pool umbrella). The sun was already setting, but she didn't want to risk getting sunburned.

After all, she wore a thin sleeveless pastel pink dress that reached her mid-thigh. Plus, her long hair was tied into a messy bun– exposing her slender neck. She was showing that much skin without applying sunscreen, so she was trying to be careful.

[If it wasn't for my damned period, I would have jumped into the pool by now.]

When else could she enjoy this kind of vacation as Neoma?

She was finally done pretending as Nero, so she was now allowed to wear girly clothes.

[Plus, I already drank the potion that made my hair grow long. And the best part? I don't need to cut it anymore even if I was summoned to the palace later.]

She was so happy that she began to laugh like a villainess again.

Tsk.

[Why does my laugh sound sinister even though I'm genuinely happy?]

"Eomma, are you happy?"

It was Greko, and her maknae arrived with a tray of freshly cut fruits in his hands.

[Our maknae grew up fast.]

Greko was now ten years old. He lost his fat when he grew taller, and he wasn't bald anymore. In fact, his hair was now long enough to tie into a low ponytail. But, thankfully, his cheeks remained round like meat buns.

Neoma smiled sweetly at her youngest "son." "Yes, maknae. I'm really happy. When did you even start building my dream house for me?"

"We started this project two years ago, eomma," Greko said excitedly, then he put the plate of freshly cut fruits on the round table before he sat on the sunlounger next to hers while facing her. "We decided to give you a grand gift once you turn thirteen because we know that it would also be the time you'd quit living as Prince Nero, and start living your life as Princess Neoma."

She couldn't help but laugh merrily. "So you decided to build a villa for me in the middle of nowhere?"

It wasn't really "in the middle of nowhere," per se.

But they actually built the villa on a floating island hidden by clouds created by Jeno Dankworth himself.

The floating island was inside a transparent bubble-like barrier that didn't only serve as protection– but it was also the reason why they could breathe normally inside. Of course, it was created by Paige Avery– one of the best mages on the continent. The Light Mage was also the one responsible for keeping the island afloat.

[According to Paige, the island is floating right now. But it can also land and stay hidden even then.]

Juri Wisteria and Xion Redgrave were the ones responsible for building the villa. Juri was in charge of the design, while Xion was in charge of creating traps, emergency exits, and hidden weaponry in case of an invasion or surprise attacks by the enemies.

[No wonder Juri asked me before about my dream house. I just told her that I wanted a glass house with a pool in the front yard, and that my bedroom has to be pink at all costs.]

Greko, on the other hand, was the one who talked to the Fairy, Dwarf, and Elf Race to help them build the villa. Those three races were known to be hostile to each other, but they decided to work together in peace for Greko's sake.

[Greko, being the half-fairy that he is, built a connection to different races while traveling the continent for the past three years. I heard from his siblings that Greko has made so many friends now. Of course, he has human friends, too. But apparently, our maknae is particularly close to children of other races.]

"It was Lewis hyung's idea to give you a "retirement home," eomma," Greko said, grinning. "Moreover, the land below actually belongs to Lewis hyung. He bought it from His Majesty, since the land belongs to eomma's Papa Boss."

Ohh.

[Teamwork really makes the dream work.]

And it was really funny that the children called her dream house 'retirement home.'

[They make it sound like they want me to retire already even though I haven't worked that much yet.]

Wait, that made her sound like she was a workaholic or something.

"His Majesty also provided the materials needed to build the villa. The emperor also said that if you want, you can take Miss Stephanie and Mr. Alphen here to help you with your everyday chores," Greko added cheerfully. "And oh, Hanna noona was the one who filled eomma's closet with pretty clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry, and other accessories."

She was touched to hear that even her Papa Boss and Hanna were involved in her "retirement home."

"Brigitte noonim and Glenn hyung-nim also sent you a gift, eomma."

Her eyes went wide. "Even Brigitte unnie and Uncle Glenn?"

Greko smiled brightly at her. "Eomma, there are many people who love you."

Okay, those touching words almost made Neoma cry.

[What did I do to deserve these wonderful children?]

***

[I WISH Lewis was here.]

Neoma couldn't help but miss her son while having a barbecue party with her other children besides the pool. Her children invented the barbecue grill stand according to her description in the past, and they brought it to their villa.

[It will be hard to bring Lewis here since he's known as the Crown Prince's knight.]

Anyway…

Right now, Juri was busy grilling samgyeopsal and sausages.

Xion was busy cutting vegetables, and damn, his knife skills were no joke.

Paige was setting the table by just flicking her fingers. Yes, the mage was using telekinesis to make things move around while she was reading a book on the sunlounger.

Greko, her cute baby, was busy making iced tea.

Jeno, on the other hand, was busy answering her questions because her "son" just gave her a very interesting report.

"You saw Ruto at the academy?" Neoma asked nervously. Yes, she was nervous for some reason. Was it because what Calyx Dalton said about the baby she allegedly killed still bothered her? "What was he doing then?"

"The chef was watching the match," Jeno Dankworth said. "He was with a girl that I didn't recognize."

That must be Sienna, the Sun Priestess.

"They watched the match?" she asked curiously. "You said they were standing across from you. But when I swapped places with Nero, I didn't see them."

"Ah, they left after Empress Juliet appeared to stop the match."

Oh.

Her shoulders slumped.

"Jeno, did Ruto not ask anything about me?"

Her "son" shook his head. "We didn't even greet each other, Princess Neoma."

[Gosh, this kid is really unsociable.]

She was about to ask Jeno what Ruto looked like when he saw him. Did Ruto look sad while watching her? She wanted to know if Ruto had really forgotten everything about her.

But she was distracted by Jeno's stud earring that wouldn't stop blinking lights.

Obviously, it was a communication device.

"Why won't you answer the call?" she asked with knitted eyebrows.

"Ah, it's just my brother. Please don't mind it, Princess Neoma."

"Count Sean Dankworth?" she asked, then she smiled sadly. "Jeno, don't ignore your brother."

[You don't know this, but your brother is heartbroken since his beloved is already married.]

"It's not like I want to ignore my brother," the Marksman said while scratching his cheek. "But he wants me to go home."

"Why? Is there a family emergency?"

"Our vassal families are pressuring my brother to officially withdraw House Dankworth's support to Prince Nero, the current Crown Prince, so he wants me to help him deal with the vassals," Jeno said hesitantly. "It seems like most of the noble households are switching sides now to support Calyx Dalton, Empress Juliet's alleged son."

"Oh, I already see that coming," she said while nodding, not surprised that most of the nobles were already abandoning Nero. Those bastards never really liked the Crown Prince for having Roseheart blood, anyway. "I bet it's the same for Juri."

The Marksman nodded. "Juri already destroyed her communication device," he said, then he whispered. "I should destroy mine, too."

She laughed softly, then she patted Jeno's shoulder. "My son, Juri can do that because she's not the successor to House Wisteria. However, you're different from her. You know that your brother is planning to make you his heir, don't you?"

He sighed, then he nodded. "Princess Neoma, aren't you worried? The nobles are withdrawing their support to the current Crown Prince."

"Me?" she asked, surprised. Then she pointed at herself. "Worried about Nero? Why would I be worried about him?"

Jeno looked confused. "Princess Neoma, if the nobles abandon Prince Nero for Calyx Dalton, then Prince Nero will lose his power as the heir apparent…"

"You shouldn't be worried about him, Jeno," Neoma said, laughing. "Your Uncle Nero is a bigger lunatic than I am– a clever lunatic, that is."

***

"Y-YOU'RE giving up your position as the Crown Prince?" Calyx asked, shocked. "And you're "quitting" as His Majesty's son?"

Could a child even "quit" being his parents' son?!

Right now, he was in the tearoom with Uncle Raven, Prince Nero, and His Majesty.

Calyx thought that he had the upper-hand, but Prince Nero's announcement shocked him.

Nero sipped his tea before he spoke. "Yes, I'm here to hand my resignation to His Majesty as the Crown Prince and his son," he said, then he placed his teacup down on the saucer. After that, he smiled at him. "Congratulations, Lord Calyx. You're now the new heir apparent, and Father's only son."

This wasn't what he and the de Lucas wanted to happen!

Feeling lost and confused, Calyx turned to his Uncle Raven. But just like him, his uncle looked like he didn't know what to do with the unexpected turn of events.

It was never the crows' intention to kick Prince Nero out of the palace!

[The people that we wanted to get rid of are Princess Neoma and Mona Roseheart– not our precious Prince Nero!]

"Your Majesty," Calyx said to the emperor. "You're not going to dethrone Prince Nero, are you?"

Emperor Nikolai let out a sigh. "This matter is out of my hands now. More and more nobles are demanding Nero to step down as the Crown Prince, anyway."

How could the emperor be this cold to Prince Nero?!

[Is it because His Majesty favors Princess Neoma over Prince Nero?]

This wasn't what he wanted.

Calyx taking the throne was only an option if the crows deemed Prince Nero unfitting to be the next emperor. But the plan already changed when he realized that Prince Nero was truly the empire's Lesser Moon. They just wanted to pressure the emperor to accept him as his son in order to gain power as a royal prince.

[But I don't want to be His Majesty's only son– I want Prince Nero to be my little brother!]

***

Please ADD my story to your LIBRARY to be notified when an update is posted. Thank you! :>