Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

NIKOLAI clicked his tongue as soon as he realized that Neoma wasn't in Levi's territory anymore.

He met the god's red eyes, then he clicked his tongue again.

After that, he turned his back on Levi to leave. What was the point of staying there if his daughter wasn't there anymore?

"No wonder Neoma de Moonasterio is so rude," Levi said mockingly. The God Among Gods was sitting on a white throne– the only piece of furniture in that boring, white room. "You, the de Moonasterios, really lack manners."

Nikolai faced Levi and raised an eyebrow at him. "Let me share with you what Neoma used to tell me in the past: respect is earned, not imposed."

Levi raised an eyebrow at him. "Is the fact that I'm the God Among Gods not enough for your daughter to respect me?"

"Maybe if you didn't bully her, she would have shown you basic courtesy."

"And when did I "bully" that wild child of yours?"

"You were sprouting nonsense about how Neoma doesn't deserve Ruston Stroganoff, weren't you?"

"I thought we were on the same page, Nikolai de Moonasterio," the god said. "You don't want your precious daughter and my son to end up together, do you?"

"That's right," he admitted. "However, it's not because my Neoma is lacking. It's your son who's not deserving of my daughter."

"How is my son not deserving of your daughter?" Levi complained. "Yoan– or Ruston Stroganoff for you– is my one and only divine son. He's THE God Slayer, and he's being followed by exceptional individuals. Moreover, he was born as a human in a family treasured by the Sun Goddess. Whether he chooses to stay here or live in the Upper World in the future, he'll thrive."

"Ah, I agree that Ruston Stroganoff is indeed an exceptional individual," he said. "He's good enough to be the commander of the White Lion Knights. But unfortunately, he's not good enough to be my son-in-law."

The god smirked, his eyes turning a deeper shade of red. Obviously, he wasn't happy with what Nikolai had said about his so-called "divine son."

He wasn't done yet.

"Neoma is the one and only royal princess of the Great Moonasterion Empire, and she's also destined to be the first woman in history to sit on the throne," Nikolai said smugly. "Moreover, her existence in the entire world is relevant. You gods can't even live in the Upper World just because you don't have clean air to breathe anymore." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Your world literally needs my daughter's breath to survive– that's how important Neoma is. And you expect me to be amazed by your one and only divine son? Hah! Even if you give birth to more divine children, none of them would compare to my daughter."

"I can tolerate your disrespect towards me because I'm a benevolent god," Levi growled lowly. "However, I won't tolerate any disrespect towards my precious son."

After saying that, the God Among Gods released his bloodlust directed at Nikolai.

Argh.

The amount of bloodlust that hit Nikolai almost made his knees buckle.

Almost.

Now he understood how Levi managed to bring someone like Mona to her knees. Obviously, the title 'God Among Gods' wasn't a mere fancy title.

However, he countered the god's bloodlust with his own bloodlust while standing straight.

He refused to fall to his knees in front of Levi– not after the damned god made Mona fall to her knees. As if that wasn't enough, the damned god also insulted his precious daughter. After reminding himself of how Levi treated Mona and Neoma, his bloodlust intensified.

Soon, the wave of his bloodlust that hit Levi caused his throne to crack all over.

Then Nikolai stepped forward and stomped his foot on the floor.

This time, the floor cracked and those long cracks spread quickly.

Levi didn't simply receive his attack, of course. The god's second wave of bloodlust exploded and hit the walls– creating long cracks that mirrored how he destroyed the floor earlier.

[At this rate, this room will explode.]

He was worried that the outside world might be affected. Of course, he knew that Mona was very capable of protecting herself. However, he didn't want to risk it. But when he was just about to end their confrontation, Levi beat him to it.

The God Among Gods coughed up a huge chunk of blood, causing the god to withdraw his attack.

Thus, ending their confrontation just like that.

"It's rare to see a god bleeding like that," Nikolai said, then he raised an eyebrow at Levi. "Are you dying?"

"I don't know."

"What?"

"Gods don't die easily– especially not from a disease," the god explained. "However, as you can see, I'm affected by a disease that also affects the other gods living in the Upper World."

"What kind of disease could make a powerful god like you cough up blood?"

"This is the effect of the air pollution in the Upper World."

He was surprised to hear that.

Not that he cared about the gods suffering from air pollution. However, he had a bad feeling about this…

"The situation in the Upper World isn't looking good," Levi said while wiping the blood off of his mouth with a white handkerchief. "The gods who are affected by the air pollution are getting impatient now to replace the current Aether that provides air in the Upper World." He burned the bloody handkerchief with a flicker of some violet flame. "Nikolai de Moonasterio, you know that your daughter has the potential to become the next Aether, don't you?"

Nikolai's jaw clenched. "You can all drop dead for all I care– but I assure you, I will never let you exploit Neoma in any way." He smirked bitterly at Levi. "Moreover, do you think my daughter is the type that you can force to do something she doesn't want to do?"

***

"CHILDREN, Neoma's presence has already disappeared from here," Mona said to Neoma's "children," smiling. "Would you look for her? I don't think she's in the Cyran Temple anymore."

The children looked surprised, but they all nodded politely.

To be honest, she was also surprised when she felt Neoma's presence disappear. But she knew that her daughter had returned to this world safely. It was just that Lord Levi didn't send Neoma back to the Cyran Temple.

Her daughter was near, though.

[However, I don't have the luxury to look for Neoma myself.]

"We will take our leave now to find Princess Neoma then," Paige, the leader of the group when Neoma and Lewis weren't around, said. "Take care, Lady Roseheart."

After saying that, the children bowed to her respectfully before they left silently.

[As expected of Neoma's "children," they have sharp senses.]

The children obviously felt that they had a "guest."

"You may come out now, Lady Yngrid."

A burst of orange flame suddenly appeared in front of Mona.

Then it slowly took the form of a person.

A woman, to be precise.

Finally, Lady Yngrid had appeared in front of her.

"Good evening, Lady Roseheart," Lady Yngrid greeted her politely. "First of all, I would like to apologize for failing to protect your family. As the matriarch of House Solfrid and the Guardian of Cyran Temple, I am ashamed." She bowed her head. "I deeply apologize for what happened."

"It's alright, Lady Yngrid," Mona said gently. "I understand. I don't think Nikolai and I could have stopped Lord Levi from summoning Neoma to his territory. So please raise your head."

Lady Yngrid raised her head and faced her again, but she still looked guilty. "Lord Levi treasures Ruto a lot," she said. "He treasures him more than my husband and I do. Thus, he can be overprotective most of the time. I'm sure he summoned Princess Neoma to ask her to stay away from Ruto. I feel bad for Her Royal Highness."

"Please don't feel bad for Neoma, Lady Yngrid," she said, smiling and shaking her head. "I'm sure Lord Levi can't intimidate my daughter. I know that I shouldn't say this as her mother, but Neoma could be pretty rude to people who rub her the wrong way. Although I wish my daughter could be a little calmer and more patient, I'm still glad that she knows how to stand up for herself."

"I see. That's a relief to hear then."

"I think we should worry more about Nikolai and Lord Levi," she said, then she sighed. "Nikolai is also overprotective of our daughter. I don't think he'd be ready to accept the fact that Neoma would get suitors later. He absolutely hates the idea." She shook her head. "I'm sure Nikolai would speak ill of Ruto, so I apologize in advance, Lady Yngrid."

Come to think of it, Nikolai and Lord Levi were both bad– bad at expressing their (excessive) love for their children.

Lady Yngrid gave her a look full of sympathy. "It's alright, Lady Roseheart. I completely understand."

She smiled at her, but she turned a little more serious than she was earlier. "But Lady Yngrid, you share the same sentiments with Lord Levi, don't you?" she asked carefully. "You also don't want my Neoma to end up with your Ruto."

"It's not because I don't like Princess Neoma as a person. I just don't want Her Royal Highness and my son to focus on each other at the moment, since both of them have duties they have to fulfill."

She was relieved to hear that.

[I don't know how I'd react if Lady Yngrid says she doesn't like Neoma as a person.]

"I believe that Princess Neoma and Ruto shouldn't get too serious about each other for now. However, I'm not good with words," Lady Yngrid said worriedly. "I'm afraid that I may have hurt both Ruto and Princess Neoma when I talked to them before. You know me, Lady Roseheart. Most of the time, I can't read the room."

She knew Lady Yngrid way before she got married to Lord Morton Stroganoff.

[Lady Yngrid was so famous when she was young that even the nobles from the East Continent knew her. However, her reputation wasn't good back then. She was known as "snobbish." But I know that it's only because she's reserved, and she doesn't talk much.]

"Lady Yngrid, would you like to have tea with me?" Mona asked, smiling. "I think Nikolai and Lord Levi don't need us to wait for them here."

Lady Yngrid smiled, then she nodded. "I'd love that, Lady Roseheart."

***

"NIKOLAI DE Moonasterio, you don't want your daughter to end up with my son, do you?"

"That's right," Nikolai said, then he crossed his arms over his chest. "To be precise, I don't think anyone in this world will be good enough for my daughter."

He felt gutted after saying that.

There was a small voice in his head yelling at him that Neoma would hate him again if he continued acting like a tyrant (that he used to be). To be fair, he was just saying all of that half-heartedly. In the end, he knew that he wouldn't and couldn't stop Neoma from pursuing her happiness.

However, until Neoma became a legal adult, it was his right as her father to protect her.

"The reason why I don't want Neoma de Moonasterio for my son is because she has too much power over him," Levi said, then he sighed. "In this lifetime, I'm one hundred percent certain that Yoan will choose Neoma de Moonasterio over the world. And I can't let that happen. The world would collapse if my divine son chooses your daughter."

He raised an eyebrow at the God Among Gods. "Why will the world collapse if Ruston Stroganoff chooses Neoma?"

Levi smiled bitterly. "Because the God Among Gods must live in solitude."

Nikolai knitted his eyebrows. "You're planning to make your own son live a miserable life as the next God Among Gods?"

***

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