Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

NEOMA glared at Nero who sat on the armrest of her chair.

Her twin brother was in his Spirit form. But she could still feel and touch his body as if it was his physical body.

"Neor Roseheart de Moonasterio, I remember telling you that you can't leave the palace," Neoma said, frowning. "The emperor and the acting emperor can't be at the same place at the same time. What's the point of being the acting emperor if you're here, too?"

"My physical body is in the palace, so I didn't really leave," Nero reasoned. "Lewis is currently guarding my body, so if something bad happens to me, blame your "son.""

She glared at him. "You little piece of shi–"

Oops.

She covered her mouth with her hands when she remembered that Ruto was sitting across from her. Of course, she was aware that Ruto didn't mind her cursing. But he had lost his memories, and she didn't want to shock him with her foul mouth.

[Although I'm pretty sure I already cursed in front of Ruto before…]

Nero just gave her a weird look before he turned to Ruto. "You're still here?"

"You rude little punk," she scolded Nero. "Why are you talking that way to Ruto? He's our host. Plus, his family opened the Cyran Temple for us."

Again, Nero ignored him. "I already gave my congratulations on your engagement, Lord Stroganoff. I'd like to talk to my twin sister in private, so can you scram already?"

She was about to scold Nero again, but Ruto beat him to it.

"Prince Nero, I am not engaged to Phoebe Willows so your congratulatory remark is unnecessary," Ruto said calmly, then he stood up. "However, I know my place so I won't overstay my welcome."

Okay, she swooned.

[We love a calm and mature man who can handle a brat like Nero in a polite way.]

"I'll take my leave now," Ruto said politely, then he turned to her. "See you later, Princess Neoma."

"Well, I see you when I see you," she said, shrugging.

Ruto smiled faintly as if he took her words as a challenge. But he turned serious again when he faced Nero. "Ah, Prince Nero. I heard a rumor that says you'll announce your official engagement soon."

Neoma didn't bat an eye and just went back to eating her ice cream.

[I mean, it's nothing new. Everyone in the empire already acknowledges Hanna as the Crown Princess. So, I'm not surprised that the news reached the East Continent."

Nero raised an eyebrow at Ruto. "What about it? Are you going to congratulate me for my engagement, too?"

"I'd like to do that, however…" Ruto said, pausing for a moment to smirk. "I'm not sure if I should congratulate you for getting engaged to Lady Hanna Quinzel for political reasons, or for getting your heart entangled with Miss Dahlia."

Neoma almost choked on her ice cream. [RUTO DID NOT JUST–]

But he did!

It was so funny to hear Ruto roast Nero calmly that she burst out laughing, not caring a bit even though she sounded like a dying hyena.

[Ruto will still like me anyway.]

Nero, on the other hand, stared at Ruto coldly.

[Oh, Baby Pumpkin. You can dish it out but you can't take it, huh?]

Ruto, who had a triumphant look on his face, bowed to them and excused himself politely before he left quietly.

She was still laughing her ass off when, all of a sudden, she remembered something.

[Wait... Ruto knows Dahlia?]

Most of all, Ruto was aware of Nero's past relationship with Dahlia? Judging by what the royal chef earlier, it also sounded like he knew that Nero and Dahlia had already met in this lifetime.

It seemed like only Neoma was truly wiped away from Ruto's memories.

[Fucking hell.]

"As soon as I become the emperor, I will ban Ruston Stroganoff from stepping foot in the West Continent," Nero declared, and it sounded like he was still annoyed by the roast that he had received from Ruto earlier. "I will also revoke his dual citizenship."

"Yeah, good luck with that," she said, rolling her eyes because she wouldn't let Nero do that to Ruto if ever her twin brother was serious about his threat. "Anyway, why are you here? You could have just called if you wanted to talk."

Nero turned to her and stared at her face. "The video-capturing devices don't justify your beauty. Looking at you in person is much better."

"Understandable, your reason is justified."

He laughed at her response, then used the top of her head as an armrest.

[Argh!]

"You already met Preston Willows," Nero said. "What do you think of him? He's weak, isn't he?"

"If we're talking about combat skills, then I'd say he's weak," she said. "There must be a reason why you put him in your roaster, though. But to be honest, I don't get it. Your mind these days is too twisted for my understanding."

"Preston has a useful skill," he said, ignoring the last part of what she said. "The fairy he commands can turn flowers, leaves, and even tree branches edible."

"Yes, it's pretty useful."

"That skill can be useful on the battlefield."

"Huh?"

"Food supply is one of the most important things in a war," he said bluntly. "Of course, our empire is rich, so we can provide for our knights if a war breaks out. However, anything is possible in a LONG war. Preston's ability to turn mundane things edible would be useful then."

She felt shivers down her spine. "Nero, why are we suddenly talking about war? We live in a peaceful generation, you know?"

He looked at her with a blank look on his face. "Do we?"

She could only gulp as a response.

[The look in Nero's eyes is crazy. I mean, I know that he's not sane most of the time. But I can tell that, at this moment, he's already looking at a distant future.]

"Nero."

"What?"

"Use that big brain of yours to stop a war from breaking out," she said sternly. "I don't want it. When a war breaks out, the poor and the common people suffer the most. So, avoid it at all costs."

"I can't promise you that, Neoma."

"Nero–"

"The Twelve Golden Families already returned the Emperor's Decree to our family," Nero said, cutting her off. "We now hold the absolute power over the nobles and the common people, Neoma."

Okay, that was shocking to hear.

"Is that the news that you want to tell Papa Boss and Mama Boss in person?" she asked with knitted eyebrows. "That you've retrieved the Emperor's Decree for the Royal Family?"

"I didn't retrieve it for the Royal Family," he said bluntly. "I did it for you."

"Why would I need the Emperor's Decree?" she asked, then she held her shoulders. "These tiny shoulders of mine are already heavy with responsibilities. I don't want another burden, thank you very much."

"Neoma, do you know what your problem is?"

"I have a lot of problems," she said. "A whole day isn't enough to list them one by one–"

"You can be short-sighted sometimes," he said, cutting her off again. "Neoma, sometimes you have to see the bigger picture, too."

She couldn't refute her twin brother's words.

[Fuck, he really knows how to poke at my weaknesses.]

"Don't worry about it, Neoma. There's a reason why we were born twins," Nero said, then he patted her head. "I will do the things that you cannot do because you're too kind for your own good."

That didn't make her feel better, so she just changed the subject.

"Should we go to Papa Boss and Mama Boss?" she asked. "I'm sure they already know that you're here."

"Ah, I'd like to but I can't stay in this form for so long," Nero said, then he stood up. "I just wanted to ask you about Preston Willows in person, since I'm thinking about whether I'd summon him in the palace or not."

"Don't worry about that," she said, then she smirked. "I already invited Lord Preston to the palace."

His eyes went wide, then he glared at her.

Hah!

Now she felt better.

"I like Lord Preston," she said, grinning. "He introduced yourself as your "child." Unfortunately, I know that you won't raise him kindly. So, I want to be the cool aunt who'll raise him with love and care. I don't want an innocent child like Lord Preston to get corrupted by the darkness of your heart, Nero."

He just rolled his eyes. "Do what you want."

"Hell, yeah, I will."

"I will ensemble the official members of my Order soon," he said seriously. "So, as soon as you return to the empire, you can take Lewis Crevan with you."

She did a fist pump in the air. "Finally!"

"Are you that happy to be with Lewis again?"

"My precious son definitely suffered after serving a little tyrant like you," she complained. "My poor son. Will it kill you to treat your nephew kindly?"

He tilted his head to one side, confused. "My kindness is only reserved to you."

"Right, I shouldn't have asked."

Nero was about to say something, but he suddenly closed his mouth and fell silent as if he was listening to something that only he could hear. "I really need to go."

"What happened?" she asked nervously.

"Kyle Sprouse has escaped."

"I see," she said, then she waved her hand. "Go and deal with it. I don't want to handle anything related to Kyle Sprouse."

"I know," Nero said, then he wrapped his arms around her. "Come back to the empire as soon as possible, Neoma," he said, and it sounded like a light threat. "I don't know how long I'm going to stay sane without being physically close to you."

"Don't be dramatic, Nero," Neoma said while patting his back. She knew that Nero wasn't being "dramatic," but she didn't want to spoil him too much. "I'll return when my business here is done."

***

NEOMA was about to return to the temple.

But to her surprise, she saw Ruto waiting for her at the entrance of the garden. She didn't feel his presence again, so she was a little pissed.

[Yep, he definitely grew stronger again.]

Stronger than her, at that.

[Goddammit.]

However, her irritation melted right away when she saw that Ruto looked down for some reason. She could guess what made him upset, though.

"Don't mind what Nero said earlier," Neoma said, consoling Ruto since she didn't want to see him sad. "He heard about your engagement from Lord Preston. But he knows that you didn't agree with that. He just wants to annoy you."

"Princess Neoma, now I know that I put you in a bad light," Ruto said, his voice full of regret. "I should have made it clearer that I won't marry Phoebe Willows before I approached you before. Now I'm ashamed to stand next to you in fear that you become the center of a nasty rumor because of me."

She knew that she told Ruto that they should spend time apart.

However, she didn't like that he was feeling guilty for getting close to her. It wasn't like they did anything wrong in the first place.

[Lord Levi should be the one who feels ashamed for setting up Ruto with a child.]

"Ruto," she said, addressing her by his name this time. "You literally saved the world in your past life."

He knitted his eyebrows as if he was confused. "What does it have to do with this conversation?"

"You saved that world in your past life so you were rewarded greatly in this lifetime," Neoma said proudly, then she put a hand over her chest. "I'm your reward, so don't be ashamed to claim me as yours when the time is right."

For the first time in her life, she saw Ruto turn as red as a red chilli paste.

[Gosh, I'm so smooth like butter.]

***

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