Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

[A few minutes earlier…]

"HE FELL asleep," Neoma said while staring at Skylus who suddenly fell asleep after telling her his cruel prophecy. Now she felt guilty. "Did I scare the baby saint when I scolded him?" She slapped her mouth with her tiny hand. "Gosh, I shouldn't have done that. Me and my foul mouth."

"Neoma, stop hurting yourself," Ruto said, scolding her slightly. "It's not your fault that the new saint fell asleep suddenly. It looks like he just exhausted his divine power because he revealed a prophecy to you. Since only a small amount of divine power is left in him, revealing a prophecy won't be easy for him."

"I see," she said, sighing. "I feel bad that the baby saint's divine power is limited now. On the other hand, I'm amazed that he could still receive prophecies even in his state."

"The saints serving the Moon God have always had the power of a prophet," he explained. "It's a gift innate to them."

"Oh."

Come to think of it, the former saint Dominic Zavaroni prophesied that she would become the first empress of the Great Moonasterion Empire.

"Our Ruto is so knowledgeable," she praised him while gently pinching his cheeks. "Do you also have a grimoire like Trevor?"

"Yes, I do."

"Huh?"

"Trevor Kesser is the Devil's Grimoire. The de Moonasterios have the Royal Grimoire," Ruto explained. "Lord Levi has the Divine Grimoire that he passed down to me when I became an adult in my previous life."

"Oh," she said, surprised. "I was just actually joking. But I didn't expect that you also have a grimoire."

"The Divine Grimoire is only accessible to God Slayers since the book contains the secrets of killing gods. It also helped me find the weakness of the Upper World in the past," he explained casually. "I would lend it to you if I get my hands on it this time again."

"But I'm not a legit God Slayer."

"You will be one," Ruto whispered as if he didn't want her to hear. "Soon."

"Huh?"

Their moment was interrupted when they heard a soft knock on the door.

A moment later, Uncle Glenn entered the room.

"Princess Neoma, Lord Ruto, thank you for looking after my son," Uncle Glenn said. "Did he fall asleep?"

"Prince Skylus revealed a prophecy to me, Uncle Glenn," Neoma reported to the king. "Revealing the prophecy took a toll on his body, so he fell asleep."

Of course, the king looked like his heart dropped to the floor out of worry.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty," Ruto assured the king. "The prince will recover by just sleeping. His life isn't in danger."

"Please trust Ruto, Uncle Glenn," she said.

Uncle Glenn let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you for the assurance," he said, then he turned to Skylus who was sleeping in the crib peacefully. The king smiled before turning to Neoma. "Princess Neoma, Monik has fallen asleep."

Hearing that made her feel bittersweet.

[Once Monik wakes up, she'll wake up as the Light Saintess without the memories of her past life as Empress Juliet.]

"Your Majesty," Ruto said while looking outside the window. "You have an uninvited guest."

Neoma frowned.

[My competitive side isn't happy that Ruto can detect the presence that I can't.]

Uncle Glenn carried Skylus in his arms very carefully. "Lord Ruto, let's put the babies in my wife's room first– Lord Manu is there."

['Babies?']

Neoma pointed a finger at herself. "I'm not a baby, Uncle Glenn."

The king just smiled before heading towards the door.

"You're a baby, though," Ruto whispered while following the king. <anno data-annotation-id="50d014f1-c64c-afeb-02f0-17f8a815b782">"My baby."</anno>

"That's so corny, Ruston Solfrid Stroganoff," Neoma complained, covering her face with his hands to hide her goofy grin. "Let's hope no one calls the FBI on you."

***

"WE DON'T have a portal in this place."

"Whoever cast the teleportation spell is highly skilled," Ruto said while heading to the Frozen Woods with King Glenn. They personally surveyed the area where he felt the strange energy coming from. "We are expecting Neoma's children, but if it was them, then they should have used the official portal that is connected to the Quinzel Estate."

Before they left, Neoma sent a message to Paige Avery instructing the group to head to the Quinzel Estate after returning to the Royal Palace.

Duke Rufus Quinzel would then guide the "children" to use the portal.

Hence, it was weird that a presence was trying to get into the Royal Palace of the Hazelden Kingdom in a strange way.

"Could it be the crows again?" King Glenn asked worriedly while holding the scabbard attached to his hip. "I swear if it's them again…"

At that moment, the two of them felt it.

A swirl of blue light appeared right in front of them– a portal.

[It's the type that is often used in long-distance teleportation.]

"An old man…?" King Glenn asked when a stranger stepped out of the portal. "Who…"

Ruto knitted his eyebrows when he recognized the soul inside the "old man." "You," he said, then he grabbed the "old man" by the collar. "What are you doing here?"

***

[Present time…]

AS A part of Neoma's education, she had to study the entire history of the de Moonasterios.

Of course, that included studying the lives of the previous monarchs.

There were portraits of former emperors, empresses, princes, and princesses in the Royal Archive. Hence, she thought she'd recognize Princess Aruna de Moonasterio since she had memorized the faces of her ancestors.

However…

[What is this? The portraits don't justify Princess Aruna's beauty! Is she more beautiful than me?]

For the first time in her life as Neoma version 2.0, she felt insecure.

[Neoma Roseheart de Moonasterio, this isn't the right time for you to think about useless things!]

"How did I not know that you're a de Moonasterio in disguise?" Neoma asked, horrified. "Did I become a weakling ever since I stepped foot on the island?" She pulled her hair out of frustration. "Que horror! I need to train again to be the very best like no one ever was!"

"Princess Neoma, calm down," Brigitte unnie said while fixing her hair that she messed up because of her dramatic ass. "Your Royal Highness isn't weak."

"For normal people, you are not weak," Aruna de Moonasterio said while looking at Neoma as if she was sizing her up. "However, for a de Moonasterio, you're pretty average."

Neoma gasped, clutching her chest tight. "This is the first time in my life I heard someone call me 'average…'"

"Your Royal Highness, I don't think you're here just to criticize Neoma," Ruto said sternly. "And I believe Your Royal Highness owes Neoma an explanation as to where the "children" are."

"That's right," Neoma said. "You didn't hurt my children, did you?"

"The children are safe," Aruna assured her. "Currently, they're already near the border of the Western Continent. They'll be late since the illegal portals that Jasper Hawthorne used were all closed. Moreover, the other legal portals are currently full. Many people are trying to get into the East Continent, after all. To be precise, people are rushing to Leoflor Island to check if the Darkness that swallowed the Lawless Jungle has really disappeared. I can't be late, so I created my own portal to get here after I heard you're currently staying in Hazelden."

Ah, so that was why Paige said they might not make it in time.

Neoma raised her eyebrow at her ancestor. "Then, Princess Aruna, why didn't you bring my "children" with you when you used a portal?"

"My portal can't be used by living people," Aruna explained. "You know I'm no longer human, don't you?" She put a hand over her chest. "I'm just a Spirit with a limited time in this world."

"If Your Royal Highness only has a limited time in this world, then you're not here to play," Neoma said, then she gulped hard. "Do you also have a job for me?"

[I mean, every special being I come across asked me for a favor…]

"Wait," Manu said while eyeing the ancient royal princess. "Are you really Aruna de Moonasterio?"

Huh?

Neoma was confused. But come to think of it…

[Ruto said the face belongs to Aruna de Moonasterio. Is he saying that the soul inside didn't belong to the ancient royal princess?]

OMG.

"Aruna and Arche de Moonasterio were the first royal twins born in the de Moonasterion history," Manu said, raising an eyebrow. "Upon their death, it was discovered that the twins had a special ability that they kept a secret from everyone else when they were still alive."

"What ability?" Neoma asked curiously. "Is it something that I'm allowed to know?"

"Why not? It was exposed a long time ago, anyway," Aruna said, then she turned to Ruto. "I believe the gentleman here is also aware of that secret. Please feel free to quench Neoma de Moonasterio's curiosity."

[Gosh, why is Princess Aruna talking like an old man?]

Wait.

[She IS old.]

"According to the deleted records from the Royal Archive, Princess Aruna and Emperor Arche de Moonasterio were the first pair of twins born in the Royal Family," Ruto said carefully. "And after the royal twins' death, it was revealed that they had the ability to switch souls with each other."

"Daebak," Neoma said in disbelief, speaking Korean because she was impressed by the plot twist. Then she remembered when Manu asked if the person in front of them was truly Aruna de Moonasterio. Only then did the realization hit her. "Then, are you Princess Aruna or Emperor Arche de Moonasterio?"

"I am Arche de Moonasterio," the ancient monarch said. "This is the second time we've met, Neoma de Moonasterio."

Huh?

[We already met?]

So many things had happened recently that Neoma couldn't remember events that had happened a few years ago.

"It doesn't matter whether you remember our first meeting or not," Arche de Moonasterio said, then the former emperor raised his hand. "Come here– I'll teach you how to draw the power of the Moon properly."

What?

Was she going to have a training arc again???

The next thing Neoma knew, she was already floating in the air while headed towards the former emperor.

Arche opened his arms as if he was about to catch her.

But Ruto caught Neoma and carried her in his arms instead.

"Neoma is in a vulnerable state right now, Your Majesty," Ruto said, changing how he addressed the ancient monarch now that they knew it was actually Arche and not Aruna de Moonasterio. "Can a baby handle the training? Moreover, why are you in a rush?"

"Because we don't have time," the former emperor said. "Neoma de Moonasterio has to be prepared before we face Aruna."

Neoma knitted her eyebrows. "You're tagging along, Your Majesty?"

"Of course– Aruna is the reason why I'm here," Arche said, sighing. "That brat needs a scolding."

[Is Arche the <anno data-annotation-id="2c42b29a-e624-a9ea-a2d0-0a8f700ad490">oppa</anno>?]

***

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<annotations style="display: none;"><ol class="tinymce-annotation-container"><li data-annotation-id="2c42b29a-e624-a9ea-a2d0-0a8f700ad490">older brother</li><li data-annotation-id="50d014f1-c64c-afeb-02f0-17f8a815b782">Triple C attack: CRINGE. CORNY. CHEESY. HAHAHA</li></ol></annotations>",