Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"LET'S GO home, Papa Boss," Neoma said, smiling at her father. "Mama Boss and Nero are waiting for us."

"I don't know what I did to deserve a wonderful daughter like you," Papa Boss said while wiping the tears off her face. She didn't even realize she was crying until her father did that. "Neoma, my forever little princess…" Her father smiled warmly at her. "I love you so much."

"Neoma, my forever little princess… I love you so much."

Okay, usually, Neoma would find it cringe-y.

But she almost her Papa Boss. Hence, instead of getting embarrassed about hearing her father say he loved her, she actually felt touched.

"I love you, too, Papa Boss," Neoma said softly. "That's why I can't accept your abrupt death."

Papa Boss looked conflicted. Obviously, he was happy with what he heard from her. However, it looked like he was also sad after getting reminded that he lived because of his daughter's sacrifice. "Neoma, I will treasure my life even more now," he promised her. "I will devote my life to our family."

She smiled and nodded, but that smile vanished when she felt a chilling presence behind her.

Even before Papa Boss and the Soul Beasts could react, a gigantic hand already grabbed Neoma by the waist and lifted her.

"No!" Papa Boss yelled, jumping up to follow her. "Neoma!"

She wanted to assure her father that she would be fine, but the surroundings suddenly changed and Papa Boss disappeared from her sight.

The next thing she knew, she was already sitting on a golden cube chair.

A floating teapot was pouring tea onto the floating teacup in front of her.

[Everything here is… gold.]

The gods who summoned her before brought her in a plain white room with white cubes all over the space.

This place, however, was made of gold.

"Gosh, I can already tell that the owner of this place is very greedy," Neoma said, then she grabbed the teacup and inspected the content. After bringing the teacup near her nose, she confirmed what it was. "Latte."

"It's my current favorite drink."

A man sitting on the golden cub across from him said.

Long and wavy white hair, brilliant ash-gray eyes, pale skin the same color as the white robe he was wearing.

If the man wasn't moving, she would have mistaken him for a statue.

[Oh, god. He's so handsome. But…]

"That's an awful crown, good sir," Neoma said, frowning. "That looks like the crown in B*rger King. You should fire the person who designed your crown."

The man looked at her with a blank look on his face.

"I'm sorry, but your crown looks ugly, good sir," she said, sighing while shaking her head. "It ruins your beautiful aesthetics."

"Then would you like to design the new crown for the future empress of the Great Moonasterion Empire?"

Ohh.

"Your words are sus, good sir," she said, then she sipped the latte. She could recognize if the drink was harmful to her or not. And she was confident that it wasn't bad for her soul. "May I know who the gentleman might be?"

"I don't remember my name anymore."

"Gosh, so sus."

"You may call me the 'First Emperor,' though."

Okay, that almost made her spit out her coffee. "Good sir, you're the first emperor of the Great Moonasterion Empire?"

"That's correct."

"Then you're the biological son of Lord Yule and Grandma Roxana?"

The man smiled and nodded. "That's right."

She gasped out loud. "Daebak. I'm talking to a historical figure."

"Historical figure?" he asked, laughing. "Well, you can say that."

"I'll get straight to the point because I don't want Papa Boss to get worried about me," Neoma said in a serious tone. "Why did you summon me, Grandpa?"

Everyone related to Neoma was a grandpa and a grandma to her.

She knew that it was the wrong title to call her ancestors, but she felt more comfortable referring to them that way.

Fortunately, the First Emperor didn't seem to mind what she called him.

"Neoma de Moonasterio, I'll tell you how many years you have left after sharing your life span with Nikolai de Moonasterio."

To be honest, she wasn't interested to know.

However, she was going to wage war against the crows soon. She needed to know how many years she had left in order to make a long-term plan.

[I still need to become the empress, after all.]

But dealing with a fossil– er, an ancestor meant she should be super careful.

"That would be a very useful piece of information," Neoma said carefully. "However, I know you wouldn't give it for free. What do you want in return, Grandpa?"

"Nothing."

"…"

"Nothing."

Oh, the First Emperor answered twice when she fell silent.

"Shocking," Neoma said after she got over her shock. "I didn't expect that. I'm used to powerful entities summoning me to ask me for a favor. I'm not sure if I can believe Grandpa right now."

"Let's just say that you've already paid in advance," the First Emperor said. "To be precise, your "children" did me a favor."

"My "children?"" she asked, confused. "They did you a favor?"

"Unconsciously, that is," he said. "My mother, Roxana, gave you an island, didn't she?"

She nodded. "I haven't been to the island yet, but my "children" are using it as a hide-out."

"That's right," he said, nodding. "And they've been diligently cleaning my memorial ever since they came to the island."

"Grandpa's remains were buried in that island?"

"Correct," he confirmed. "I'm grateful to your "children" for maintaining the cleanliness of the island. They may not know it, but the way they took care of the island gave me strength. That's how I was able to summon you here, Neoma."

She smiled proudly. "Aren't my "children" lovely?"

He chuckled and nodded. "And that's exactly why I'm giving you a reward."

"I'm ready, Grandpa," she said, turning serious. "I'm ready to hear how many years I have left."

"Five years."

Okay, she almost choked on her saliva because of shock. Not because of how little time she had, but because of how bluntly the First Emperor said it.

[Gosh, Grandpa has no filter.]

And she liked that.

"Okay," Neoma said, then she sipped her coffee. "Thank you for telling me, Grandpa."

"That's it?"

"Five years is enough to achieve my goals," she said. "I'll leave the rest to Nero after that."

To be honest, the fact that she had a short life even in this lifetime hardly surprised her.

[Even if I didn't share my life span with Papa Boss, I only had ten years left to live. I think I was only in my twenties when I died in the first timeline. And that was also the case when I lived in Nabi's body.]

"Why does it look like you've already resigned yourself to your grim future?" the First Emperor asked curiously. "Are you fine with the fact that you only have five years left to live?"

"This is already my third life," she said. "The first one was full of misery, the second one was full of happiness. And the current life is a mix of the two. I wouldn't have any regrets as long as I accomplished my goals."

"Don't you want to be with your loved ones longer?"

"Of course, I want to," she said, laughing softly. "Grandpa, even though I've accepted the fact that I have a few years left to live, it doesn't mean I won't find ways to live longer. I'm simply saying that I won't despair just because I found out I only have five years left."

The First Emperor let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that you have that kind of mindset," he said, nodding approvingly. "Since you are my blood, I'm certain you have a noble goal in mind."

"Yes, that's obvious," Neoma said, smiling. "I'm going to marry Ruto and live like a true lady of leisure. Since Ruto and I are both financially stable, I believe it will be possible to live a life without working."

"What is Ruto?"

"He's a wonderful person, Grandpa!" she said, upset by the fossil– er, grandpa's question. "He's Ruston Solfrid Stroganoff. He has pretty purple hair, attractive dark purple eyes–"

"Lord Levi's divine son?"

"Yes," Neoma said proudly. "That's my man."

"Are you his concubine then?"

"Excuse me?" she asked in disbelief. "How am I Ruto's "concubine?""

"But I heard Lord Levi's divine son is going to marry the Goddess of Beauty?"

She dropped the teacup in her hand.

But before it hit the floor, it disappeared.

Even without seeing her own reflection, Neoma could tell that her eyes were now glowing red.

Ruto was marrying the Goddess of Beauty?

[There's a Goddess of Beauty?!]

"Is the Goddess of Beauty more beautiful than I am, Grandpa?"

The First Emperor looked at her, surprised. Then he laughed. "That's your question? Are you not going to ask about the Goddess of Beauty's marriage with the divine son?"

"Grandpa, I'm aware many women are trying to covet my man because he's husband material," she said, shrugging. "But I have faith in Ruto."

"Oh, dear. What if he betrays you in the end?"

"Then I'll kill him."

Once again, the First Emperor laughed. "Neoma de Moonasterio, since you made me laugh today, I'll give you another present."

"What is it?"

"I'll teach you everything you need to know about the demonic power inside you."

Yes, that would be very useful.

However…

"Grandpa, answer my question first."

"Huh?"

"Who's more beautiful?" Neoma asked, then she pointed a finger at her face. "Me or the Goddess of Beauty?"

And the First Emperor's joyous laugh echoed in the entire space.

[I'm serious, Grandpa.]

***

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