Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

[Y'ALL, get yourself a man who can cook.]

"Ruto, did you really lose your memories?" Neoma asked suspiciously. "How come you were able to cook a sumptuous meal for me? All of them are Korean food, too. And delicious. Definitely delicious, especially the bulgogi beef."

Her Ruto prepared a hearty Korean breakfast for her, and she finished it all.

She didn't care if she appeared like a glutton in front of him. As a former mukbanger when she was still in Korea, she knew that she was pretty even when eating, anyway.

"I saw the recipe book in my room," Ruto explained while putting a slice of tiramisu cake on her plate. It was time for dessert now, and he prepared one of her favorite desserts for her. "Fortunately, the ingredients listed in the cookbook are available in the kitchen. I just followed the instructions listed. I'm glad that the dishes I made turned alright."

"Gosh, is there anything that CANNOT do?"

"Unloving you?"

She almost choked on her tiramisu cake.

Admittedly, Ruto's casual yet sincere indirect confession made her heart flutter. But she didn't like how it was easy for him to make her feel giddy. It made her feel vulnerable.

She felt safe with Ruto, but she still wanted to guard her heart more carefully.

"I thought our relationship would change drastically after you lost your memories of me," she commented. "However, it seems like losing your memories only made you more flirty."

"Is that so?" he asked, then he went back to his seat. "Apparently, I already anticipated that I'd lose my memories of you. Hence, I prepared a solution in advance by asking Sienna's help in advance."

"The Sun Priestess?" she asked curiously. "What did Lady Sienna do to help you?"

"According to Sienna, I asked her to bring me to you once I lost my memories."

She knitted her eyebrows. "And what would bringing you to me accomplish?"

"Apparently, seeing you once would be enough for me to fall in love with you at first sight. So, whether I remember you or not, it wouldn't matter since I'd still be wrapped around your finger," Ruto said in a casual yet genuine tone. "And it was true."

Again, she almost choked on her tiramisu cake.

[Flirty Ruto is bad for my heart.]

She didn't want to die from a heart attack, so she decided to lighten up the mood by joking.

"Gosh, you're such a simp," she teased him, her face was probably as red as gochujang at the moment. After all, she could feel her cheeks flush. "Ruto, are you a 'Neomaholic' or something?"

"'Neomaholic?'"

"People addicted to alcohol are called alcoholic, workaholic refers to people addicted to work, so 'Neomaholic' means you're addicted to me."

"Hmm," he said, nodding. "Sounds about right."

Oh, he didn't deny it.

[And he admitted it with a straight face.]

"Gosh, Ruto," she complained while fanning her face with her hands. "I don't know what to do with you."

"Love me back?"

She covered her (red) face with her hands. "Stop, <anno data-annotation-id="6b378cd3-3562-1543-b27e-8565ac621b00">juseyo</anno>."

Ruto let out a hearty laugh.

Oh, it had been a while since she heard him laugh like that.

So, despite her embarrassment, she still moved her fingers so she could take a peek at Ruto's laughing face.

As expected, her man was handsome.

[Are you telling me that I won't see his face for a long time when we just got reunited after three years of no contact at all?]

God, this world was really trying to drive her insane.

"Ruto, are you going to stay long in the Upper World?"

"It's been a while since I've ascended to the Upper World, so I can't tell," Ruto said, turning serious. "However, I promise that I'll hurry back to you."

Okay, that made her heart flutter again.

It was sad that they had to part when they just got reunited. However, she knew that the world would literally collapse if both she and Ruto neglected their duties.

[Damn this world for choosing youngsters like them as its saviors.]

"I'm not a patient person, so don't take long," she "threatened" him lightly.

He nodded. "Missing you will also make me go crazy, so I don't think I'd let myself get stuck in the Upper World longer than I needed to."

She smiled, satisfied by his answer. "Oh, I have a favor while you're in the Upper World, Ruto."

"What is it?"

"Do you think you can find the current Aether while you're there?"

"As far as I remember, the Aether is located in the center of the Upper World that's heavily protected by the gods," he explained. "However, I believe I can sneak in if you want me to do it."

She nodded. "I need you to relay a message to the Aether for me."

"Okay," he said. "What would you like me to tell the current Aether?"

"Tell them to endure," she said seriously. "Tell the current Aether that they can't die yet."

Ruto looked at her questioningly.

"I'll be brutally honest here, Ruto," she said seriously before she offered an explanation. "I need the current Aether to live as long as they could not just because I'm worried about them. To be honest, I need them to stay alive because once they die, the gods would definitely hunt me down in a heartbeat. Despite my arrogance, I know how to face reality. And the cruel truth is I don't think I'll survive if several gods attack me all at once."

Anger crossed Ruto's pretty dark purple eyes.

Of course, she knew that her man's anger wasn't directed at her.

[He looks like he's ready to murder the gods who would dare to harm me.]

However…

"Ruto, I know that you will protect me," she said. "Papa Boss, Mama Boss, Ruto, Lewis, and my other children will not let me die, too. But I'm also aware that once the gods set their eyes on me for real, a war will break out. I want to avoid it as much as possible because I don't want innocent people to suffer."

She hated to admit this, but she could see herself volunteering to become the next Aether if it meant saving thousands of innocent lives.

Hah.

She was so vain and arrogant when it came to her physical appearance.

But why couldn't she love her life the way she loved her face?

"Thus, I need the current Aether to hold out until I find a way to solve the problem within the Upper World's polluted air without me becoming their new air purifier," she said, then she let out a frustrated sigh. "Gosh, they're a lot older and more powerful than I am. Why am I the one who should solve the pollution in their world?"

"The gods like to solve their problems the easiest way."

"And the easiest way is to use me as an air purifier."

"It's the easiest and the most effective way," Ruto said, nodding bitterly. "Moreover, I believe that the Aether's breath not only cleanses the upper air that they breathe. Apparently, it also makes them stronger. Hence, they refuse to replace the Aether with a less effective method that would solve their problem."

"Well, I'm about to end their addiction to Aethers."

"I'll help you, Neoma," Ruto promised her sincerely. "I won't let you become the next Aether."

"I know that," Neoma said, nodding in agreement with Ruto since she had no plans to become the next Aether. Moreover, she also wanted to make sure that no innocent person would be sacrificed again just to cleanse the pollution in the Upper World. "Ruto, you go to the Upper World and deal with the annoying things up there that could end up causing trouble for us. I'll take care of the things here then."

Gosh, this world really needed Neoma and Ruto.

[Are we a power couple or something?]

***

"REGINA, I've finally found you again."

Hah.

Regina rolled her eyes, annoyed to see Rubin Drayton as soon as she came out of the Lawless Jungle.

Since it was a territory that not even the most powerful noble could simply enter, she had to meet the young lord in the little town outside the jungle. And it was so troublesome to come out of their hideout just to see his face.

"I told you not to find me if it's not important," Regina said, then she crossed her arms over her chest. "Why did you have to drag Rubin Drayton's body here? That young lord is as fickle as a flower."

"Rubin" smirked at her. "I'm not the young lord, though?"

Yes, because she was actually talking to Rubin's "other personality."

"Gavin," she said sternly. "I'm not playing with you."

"Don't call me by that stupid fake name," 'Gavin' said sternly. "Call me by my real name, Regina Crowell."

She really didn't want to.

However, the "person" inside Rubin Drayton was not someone she could mess with.

Her entire crow family believed that the stupid Calyx de Moonasterio was the perfect masterpiece because the boy inherited the de Moonasterio's physical traits. And if Calyx wasn't acting dumb like he would most of the time, then he could probably become a serious threat.

But Regina placed her bets on someone else.

And it was the reason why she needed Rubin Drayton all this time.

<anno data-annotation-id="889c026e-1a57-f8b7-44c1-ae1b669b8510">"Come out," Regina said, then she put a hand over Rubin Drayton's cheek. "Dilan Crowell."</anno>

***

NOTE: Hi. I posted some Nero-Neoma phone wallpapers on my k/o-fi account that you can download and use. You may visit my page: k o-fi .com/sola_cola (just remove the space). Or simply G*ogle k o-fi sola_cola. You may or may not buy me a coffee (donate). Thank you!

***

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<annotations style="display: none;"><ol class="tinymce-annotation-container"><li data-annotation-id="6b378cd3-3562-1543-b27e-8565ac621b00">Means 'please' in Hangul/Korean language.</li><li data-annotation-id="889c026e-1a57-f8b7-44c1-ae1b669b8510">ANOTHER POWER COUPLE, EVERYONE~!</li></ol></annotations>",