Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"GLENN, please take the queen and the baby away from here," Mona said in a serious voice. "Manu will protect your family."

Manu, who was already holding the sleeping saint in his arms, nodded when their eyes met. "I won't let any harm befall the new saint and his parents."

That was a relief to hear.

Glenn, on the other hand, carried the sleeping Queen Brigitte in his arms. "I'm sorry for leaving this to you, Lady Roseheart," he said in a voice full of remorse. Then he bowed his head towards her. "Please be safe, my lady."

Mona smiled and nodded. "Go."

Manu and Glenn didn't have to be told twice– the two immediately ran out of the room while carrying precious people in their arms.

Now Mona was left in the room with William and Delwyn…

… and the giant spheres of divine power, of course.

"Nydia, I trust you," Mona said, kissing the top of the rose-gold staff while muttering a short prayer since she needed all the support that she needed. After that, she opened her eyes. "William, Delwyn, I'm going to borrow Genevieve's power– so get ready."

William and Delwyn looked calm as they nodded. "We're ready, my lady."

That was what she needed to hear the most.

Now that she was relieved, she stabbed the end of the staff on the floor– the impact creating a magic circle that she didn't need to draw since she could just naturally do it with her weapon.

The huge magic circle on the floor lightened up, causing the spheres of divine power to fly.

"Genevieve," Mona said, calling the goddess' name firmly and clearly. "Come out and lend me your power!"

A gigantic hand then appeared and grabbed the spheres of divine power effortlessly.

***

<"WE FINALLY met,"> the baby girl said while looking at Neoma. "Have you been well, Neoma, my lovely baby?">

Huh???

Neoma pointed a finger at herself. "How am I your "baby," baby girl?"

Jeno and Paige looked at her with a confused look on their face, so she felt the need to explain.

[They can't hear the baby, huh?]

"The baby called me her "lovely baby,"" Neoma explained to her "children." "Why do I feel like someone played a reverse uno card on me and now, I'm the one being adopted instead of the other way around?"

Jeno and Paige just got confused even more.

And so was she.

"Baby, why are you claiming me as your "lovely baby?"" Neoma asked, confused. She didn't feel any threat from the baby girl. But she wanted to clear up the misunderstanding. "My parents are still alive. My father is Emperor Nikolai de Moonasterio, and my mother is Matriarch Mona Roseheart."

It wasn't like it was a secret.

Everyone knew who her parents were, even the enemies.

<"I know exactly who your parents are, baby,"> the baby girl, who kept calling her "baby," said. <"That's exactly why I'm saying you're my child.">

"How is knowing who my parents makes me your child?"

<"Because any child of Nikolai is my child, too,"> the baby girl said, smiling warmly at her. <"If I didn't meet a tragic end, you would have been my stepdaughter.">

Neoma felt her heart drop to the floor when she realized who the baby girl might be.

Her head was screaming it was impossible.

However, she followed the whisper in her heart.

[If I was going to be her stepmother, then she could have been my stepmother.]

Only one woman could have been her stepmother then.

"Empress Juliet?" Neoma asked nervously. "If your soul belongs to Her Majesty, then who is the Empress Juliet in the Royal Palace right now?"

***

NIKOLAI was in an awkward position.

He was in his bedroom because he suddenly coughed up blood again.

Geoffrey Kinsley, his current personal knight, was horrified after he saw it. Hence, the Paladin convinced him to take a rest in his room since he didn't have any scheduled audience for today.

However, he wasn't used to not working, so he brought some documents to his room.

He asked the servants to bring him tea, but much to his surprise, the one who brought him tea was Juliet.

Even Geoffrey wasn't able to stop the former empress.

Since he felt sorry for Juliet, he decided to accept the tea that she had brewed for him. Moreover, he thought it was high time for them to finally talk.

But not in his bedroom.

"Lady Sloane, let's move to the drawing room," Nikolai said, standing up. "It's not right for us to…"

He trailed off, strength escaping his body for some reason.

Then, the next thing he knew, he was already plopped down onto the sofa. To be honest, his mind was suddenly in a mess that he couldn't understand what was going on. All he knew was it was Juliet who helped him lie on the sofa because he couldn't move properly.

"Your Majesty, you must have been tired," Juliet said, her hands on his chest. "Let me help you relax…"

For some reason, Juliet's touch made his skin crawl.

He tried to summon his Soul Beasts, but to no avail.

Heck, he didn't even have the strength to speak. Moreover, his eyelids were getting heavier. He knew that he was about to faint at any time now…

[No, this can't be happening–]

"Your Majesty, pardon my intrusion."

Whatever it was that put Nikolai in a weird trance disappeared when the door suddenly burst open.

Even Juliet, who was almost on his top, looked surprised by the intrusion.

"Lady Sloane," Hanna said, greeting the former empress with a smile. The young lady sounded polite. However, her green eyes were burning with suppressed anger. "Just what do you think are you doing to my father-in-law?"

Nikolai was surprised to hear that from Hanna.

[This is the first time she called me 'father-in-law.']

Juliet immediately got off Nikolai and stood up with an embarrassed look on her face. "It's not like that, Lady Hanna," she explained shyly. "His Majesty just suddenly lost his strength. I was just helping him lay down for a moment."

He couldn't deny what Juliet said because it was true.

After all, he really did lose his strength.

It was probably because his Moonglow was decreasing. He even coughed up blood earlier. To be honest, fainting wouldn't be strange in his current condition.

Nikolai, who regained some of his strength after Hanna arrived, stood up. "Lady Sloane, I'd like to have a private conversation with my daughter-in-law," he said. "Let's talk next time."

Juliet, who couldn't meet his gaze, nodded politely. "Please take care, Your Majesty."

After saying that, Juliet left the room quietly.

Hanna, who looked worried about him, approached him carefully. "Your Majesty, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Nikolai said, then he looked at Hanna carefully. "Hanna, why are you here?"

It wasn't like his future daughter-in-law couldn't go to his palace.

However, Hanna was a proper noble lady. She wasn't the type to enter someone else's bedroom. Especially the emperor's bedroom just like what Juliet just did.

And that was weird.

[In the past, even if we were married, Juliet had never entered my room without my permission. So I can't believe what she just did.]

Was it because Juliet lost her memories?

"Your Majesty, to be honest, Nero asked me to stick with you like glue," Hanna said worriedly. "It seems like Nero is suspicious of Lady Sloane."

Nikolai pinched the bridge of his nose. "And I'm starting to feel the same way, too."

***

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