Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"I KNOCKED the young duke unconscious because I know he wouldn't trust me if I said I'll bring him to you," the old man explained. "I'm not good at expressing myself with words, so I knocked him out and brought him here to you."

Neoma observed the old man.

She could tell that he wasn't lying. Moreover, she could see that her Jasper oppa wasn't injured seriously. That was enough for her.

[I wonder why Jasper oppa is here, though.]

"Alright, Grandpa," Neoma said. "It looks like you have something important to tell me, so why don't you come with us?"

"Princess Neoma, I don't mean to question your decision, but can we really trust the old man?" Paige asked carefully. "Me and my siblings won't mind following your orders. But Your Royal Highness is about to bring a stranger to the lions' den."

She understood where the mage was coming from.

After all, the lions' den wasn't under their territory. If the old man turned out to be a dangerous person, then the lions' safety would be jeopardized.

She understood that, but still…

"I'll take responsibility if something bad happens," Neoma said in a serious voice. "Let's bring the old man to the lions' den."

***

NEOMA wasn't surprised when Sharon and the rest of the Lion Tribe welcomed her when she returned with the old man and her "children."

The grateful look on Sharon's face already told her that the lions knew what she did.

She wasn't surprised, though.

The 'Underground City' that the lions built to hide from the crows had huge, black tree roots where some houses were built. The black roots were the ones responsible for absorbing the Darkness seeping through the soil in order to give the lions clean air to breathe.

Hence, the roots had turned black and the air underground was starting to get polluted.

However, right now, the roots had turned to their natural color. Moreover, the air was cleaner compared to before.

[All's well that ends well.]

"Princess Neoma, thank you," Sharon said, kneeling in front of her with her head hanging low. "On behalf of the entire Lion Tribe, we thank Your Royal Highness for saving us and purifying the Darkness that swallowed our home."

The other lions followed suit and kneeled and bowed before her.

It was a little overwhelming.

[I mean, I only did what I had to because the baby trees were crying.]

"You really don't have to thank me," Neoma said in a solemn voice. "I'm just trying to return the favor since you saved my "son" Xion."

"Even so, if it weren't for Your Royal Highness, our home would remain the hide-out of the crows," Sharon said, then she raised her head and looked at her with sparkling eyes. "Most of all, Your Royal Highness also saved the lion's pride."

[Ah, she must be talking about Empress Juliet.]

According to Paige, when Sharon saw the "baby" inside the transparent egg the first time they returned to the lion's den with Empress Juliet, Sharon and the old lions recognized Her Majesty as the lion's pride.

She wanted to discuss more things with the lion, but she felt sleepy. It was hard to resist the drowsiness since she was in a baby's body right now.

"Paige."

"Yes, Princess Neoma?"

"The Darkness is gone, and I feel my connection to Nero improving. I guess we can send a message to my family now," Neoma said in a sleepy voice while rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. "Once I fell asleep, send a word to my Papa Boss about my current condition…"

***

[WOW, IT'S already morning?]

Neoma was a little surprised when she saw sunlight seeping through the window of the room.

[This baby body must have been tired.]

She wanted to talk to the old man, but it seemed like she had fallen asleep in Paige's arms since she was too exhausted last night.

"Good morning, Princess Neoma," Paige greeted her, then she handed her a small glass of water. "Have you slept well?"

"Uh-huh," Neoma said, then she sipped the water before she asked again. "Where's Jasper oppa and the old man?"

"Duke Hawthorne is resting next door, and Greko is with His Grace at the moment," Paige said, then she sat on the chair next to the bed. "Xion is guarding the old man in the other room. Juri is helping Miss Sharon prepare breakfast. And Jeno is outside while waiting for a reply."

"Reply?"

"As Your Royal Highness instructed last night, we sent a message to the palace as soon as you fell asleep," the mage said. "Sending a message through magical devices was difficult before because of the Darkness that blocks any kind of magic. But after Your Royal Highness purified the Darkness, I was able to send a message to His Majesty using my communication device."

"Good job," she said. "Then we must prepare to leave the tribe now."

"Will we be bringing Empress Juliet with us even though Her Majesty is considered the Lion Tribe's treasure?"

She nodded. "I believe Empress Juliet wants to meet Papa Boss and Mama Boss."

"I understand, Your Royal Highness. I'll prepare the necessary arrangements then," Paige said, then she paused for a moment. "How about the old man, then?"

"I'll talk to him later," Neoma said. "I want to check on Jasper oppa first."

***

JASPER wondered when everything went downhill.

He asked Lewis to leave the fox lady to him.

However, as soon as the fox boy left, Jasper encountered a problem.

Before he could deal the final death blow to Eloise, the fox lady, a white fox with nine white tails appeared. It stood in front of Eloise, who was plummeted to the ground, quite protectively.

Obviously, it wasn't an ordinary fox.

Moreover, the Darkness surrounding the nine-tailed white fox was too strong. The butterflies that were working hard to give him clean air to breathe were no match against it.

In short, Jasper would die if he got close to that thing.

<"Are you not going to attack me?">

It was the fox, and he could hear its voice in his head.

[I think it's a male fox.]

"I would if I could," Jasper said, shrugging. "But I don't want to die."

<"Interesting,"> the fox said calmly. <"Jasper Hawthorne, currently the youngest duke in the Great Moonasterion Empire. I was informed you were the one responsible for the destruction of the Death Camp.">

"It wasn't just me," he said. "Princess Neoma accomplished more than I did during that incident."

Princess Neoma was acting like Prince Nero back then.

However, he was informed that the crows were already aware of the royal princess' "scam." Hence, the truth came out of his mouth.

<"Even so, I didn't expect you'd cower to me easily. I came here fully prepared to fight you to death. Is your life that precious to you?">

"Of course, it is," he said. "If I die right now, Princess Neoma will be sad."

<"And that's more important to you than your honor as a man? Are you not afraid of getting called a coward for running away in a fight?">

"Princess Neoma always told us to choose our battles well," Jasper said, not falling for the fox's provocation. He didn't care if he was called a coward– he had heard worse than that. "No mission is worth dying for, so I'm retreating."

<"You're really a coward then.">

"I'd rather be a coward yet alive than brave, but dead," he said, smirking. "Moreover, this is not the end. Once I'm stronger than I am now, I can always find you again."

<"This is quite a letdown, but what made you think I'll let you escape?">

"And what made you think I don't have an escape plan?" Jasper retorted, then he snapped his fingers. "It's your turn to choose your battle now, Mr. Nine-tailed White Fox."

Eloise, the fox lady, screamed in pain when Jasper's poisonous butterflies attacked her.

[Ah, so she's still alive.]

He only attacked the fox lady with his butterflies, even though she was already down because he needed to escape. The white fox wouldn't stand protectively in front of Eloise if the fox lady wasn't important to him.

Hence, Jasper placed a bet on that.

Fortunately, it worked.

When the white fox ran to Eloise's side, Jasper used his butterflies to disappear.

And as soon as he ran away from the foxes, he followed Lewis.

He could trace the fox boy because he sent some of his butterflies for him to breathe properly.

Unfortunately, he was already too late.

When Jasper arrived at the inn, Lewis was already captured by Trevor. Unfortunately, he failed to save his "nephew."

Worse, he had to face the anger of the owner of the inn and the guests.

Trevor and Gin destroyed the inn, so why did he have to face the wrath of their victims? But since he was a duke, he had a noble pride to uphold. He was willing to compensate them when, all of a sudden, he was knocked out from behind.

And that was the last thing Jasper remembered.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the most adorable baby that he had seen in his life.

"Jasper oppa, you're awake?" the adorable baby asked in her cute baby voice. "It's me, oppa."

'Oppa?'

Only one person in this world called him that way.

Come to think of it, the baby had white hair, big ash-gray eyes, and pale skin.

Jasper's eyes widened in surprise. "Princess Neoma?"

***

NEOMA listened to Jasper oppa's explanation well.

Apparently, the young duke was sent to the island by Nero with Lewis.

However, Jasper oppa and Lewis encountered a fox lady who wanted to breed with Lewis.

[The audacity of the b*tch to look at my "son" with lewd eyes!]

She was already burning with anger then.

But something worse happened next.

"Trevor kidnapped Lewis?" Neoma asked through gritted teeth. "And he plans to use my "son" to lure me out?"

"That's right, Princess Neoma," Jasper oppa, who sat across from her, said in a voice filled with remorse. "I'm sorry for failing to save Lewis, Your Royal Highness."

"It's not your fault, oppa," she said while shaking her head. "It's my fault for being generous to Trevor and Gin. Had I known they would touch my precious "son," I would have sent them to hell the moment they showed up."

Now she truly felt betrayed by Trevor.

[Trevor, I turned a blind eye to you before because you were my chingu. But you shouldn't have touched Lewis. You of all people should know how much I treasure my "son."]

"Princess Neoma, may I know what happened to you?" Jasper oppa asked. "You turned into a baby…"

"I also don't know what happened to me," she said, sighing. Then she paused when she felt the sudden shift in the air. "We have a guest."

And that guest appeared in the blink of an eye.

Jasper oppa immediately stood up and drew his sword.

However, she remained calm since she easily recognized the uninvited guest. "What a pleasant surprise, Master."

Jasper oppa silently returned his sword to its scabbard after recognizing the Grand Spirit.

William, who was suspended in the air while covered with some bluish lights, scoffed after seeing her new appearance. "So, your children's report was true– you have really turned into a baby."

"It is what it is," she said, shrugging. "But why are you here? Are you with my family?"

"I was with Mona and Nero," the Grand Spirit explained. "I'll explain everything to you while we're on our way back to the empire."

"Oh, so you're our personal shuttle bus."

"I don't know what a shuttle bus is, but I guess that's an insult."

"No way," she denied. "A shuttle bus is a vehicle than can carry many people. It's super convenient back in my world, you know?"

"Then I'm not a shuttle bus," William said indifferently. "I can only bring one person with me since the distance between the East and West Continent is pretty vast."

"Oh, so I'm the only one you can bring with you?" Neoma asked, disappointed. "Aigoo, I didn't know my master is weak-ass."

***

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