Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

[Three years ago…]

"NEOMA, the Ancient Devil has already eaten most of my positive feelings for you."

Hearing that from Ruto broke Neoma's heart, but she didn't let it show. "Should I return there?"

Right now, Neoma was sitting in front of her vanity mirror. But instead of her reflection, she was looking and talking to Ruto. Yes, that mirror was a communication device that Trevor created with blood, sweat, and tears.

[It's not an exaggeration. Trevor might be one of the best Sorcerers out there, but it's still not easy to create a communication device that could link two different worlds together.]

But Trevor succeeded, proving that he was a genius.

"The door is incomplete yet, but I think Trevor could make it work if he's just sending me."

The door wasn't totally open yet.

Hence, using it might be risky even if it was just one person.

[But I'm willing to take that risk for Ruto.]

"It's too dangerous to use a door that's not even fifty percent complete," Ruto said while shaking his head. "I can't let you take the risk. Moreover, even if you get here, it's not like I'll magically recover all my feelings for you."

"Ouch."

"I'm sorry, I'm just stating our reality."

"Have you given up on us?"

"Of course not," Ruto said while shaking his head. "I have no intention to let this relationship fail."

Neoma smiled, satisfied by Ruto's response. "You sound confident. Do you have a plan?"

"I'm thinking of hiring you to seduce me."

She laughed, thinking that he was joking.

But Ruto remained serious.

"Oh, for real?" Neoma asked, surprised. "You want to hire me to seduce you?"

"That's right," Ruto said while nodding. "Although I'm aware I should pay the price for receiving the Ancient Devil's help in the first timeline, I still don't want to live this life without loving you, Neoma."

Aww, she was touched to hear that.

Of course, she would admit that it was a little cheesy. But considering their dire situation at the moment, she couldn't and didn't want to dwell on trivial matters. She wanted to savor each moment she had with Ruto.

"So, I want you to seduce me," Ruto continued. "I have faith in our feelings for each other. Even so, I know it won't be easy for us to make this relationship work."

Yes, it wouldn't be easy.

Neoma was the most confident with her face– but Ruto didn't remember what she looked like anymore.

And her personality…

"Once you forget all the positive feelings you have for me, it would be difficult for me to seduce you because I'm aware I don't have the best personality out there," Neoma said hesitantly. "You won't remember me later, so I'm afraid you'd be turned off by my arrogance, vanity, and selfishness. I know you embraced all my ugly layers because you love me, but would it still stand true once you lost your feelings for me?"

"I'd lie if I said the way I see you wouldn't change," Ruto confessed softly. "Even so, I'd still like to give it a try. I don't want to give up on you, Neoma. So even if it's selfish on my part, please let's make this work." He gave her a pleading look. "Please."

"You don't have to beg, you know," she scolded him lightly. "I'm not hesitating because I'm scared of failing– I'm only hesitating because if I seduced you after you lost all your positive feelings for me, I'm afraid I'd turn into a toxic male lead."

He knitted his eyebrows. "Toxic male lead? What do you mean by that?"

"Most romance novels have toxic male leads, especially in the romance fantasy genre," she explained, pouting. "They don't take a 'no' for an answer, they're very pushy, and more often than not, they harass their partner just to get what they want."

"It's fine with me, even if you turn into that kind of person."

"Really?" she asked, still pouting. "But I always preach about how 'no' is a complete sentence. If I come on to you strongly even after you rejected me, then it would be me harassing you. It would make me a hypocrite because I always advocate for respecting your partner."

"Neoma, at times like this, you ought to be flexible."

"Hmm?"

"You wouldn't be forcing yourself on me because you have my permission to seduce me with any means necessary," Ruto said, chuckling while shaking his head. "Neoma, set aside your moral compass for now because our case is special. I'm going to forget all my love for you against my will. If that happens, I'm sure my divine father would also meddle."

"Lord Levi?"

He nodded before explaining. "Lord Levi hates the idea of us ending up together. Hence, I have a feeling that he will mess with my memories of you even though I'm already losing my positive feelings for you."

Oh, she wouldn't put it past Levi to do something as horrible as that.

"If that happens, you will lose me completely if you stay passive just because you wanted to cling to your principles, Neoma," Ruto said in a sad voice. "Are your principles more important than me?"

Ouch.

Ruto was calling her out a little too bluntly.

[He has a point, though. Our case isn't normal, so I have to be flexible. After all, I don't want to lose Ruto.]

"Are you sure about this, Ruto?"

"I've never been so sure in my life until this moment, Neoma."

"Gosh," she complained lightly. "Are you sure it's okay with you if I act possessive of you even though we wouldn't have a clear relationship after you lose your love for me?"

"Yes, I'm fine with that."

"Is it okay if get jealous and go batshit crazy on the girls who try to lay a finger on you even though you wouldn't belong to me by then?"

"I will always belong to you even if I don't remember it."

"Tsk," she clicked her tongue, hoping to stop her foolish grin from coming out. "What if I really go crazy and lock you up in a room with me?"

Ruto smiled playfully at her. "I think I'd like that, and it might even help me retrieve my feelings for you faster."

"Gosh, are you a pervert?"

"We just look young, but our mental and soul ages are old enough for us to talk about "perverted" things."

Neoma laughed softly at Ruto's teasing. "You're not holding back anymore, are you?"

"I don't have the luxury to hold back," he said while shaking his head. "We're running out of time."

Ruto was right.

They were indeed running out of time.

"Then I will seduce and claim you even if you no longer remember that you belong to me," Neoma declared boldly. "But I will do it in moderation because I don't want your future self to hate me, Ruto."

"Alright, I trust you," Ruto said, then he paused for a moment. "Then should we make a contract?"

"A contract?"

"I'm afraid to forget this moment if my divine father decides to mess with my memories," he explained. "If that happens, then I'd like you to have some solid physical proof that I gave you permission to seduce, claim, and own me in any way you want."

Okay, that made her blush.

[But I like it.]

"Let's call it a Love Contract," Neoma suggested. "We have to sign it with our signature and blood, and let's seal it with a piece of our soul."

It sounded gruesome, but that kind of contract was normal in their world.

[I also signed that kind of contract when I worked for Papa Boss back when I was a baby.]

"I'll ask Trevor to make a device that could deliver the Love Contract to you."

"That sounds like a good idea," he said while nodding. "I also need to physically touch the contract."

"Why?"

"I'll cast a spell on it."

She knitted her eyebrows curiously. "What kind of spell?"

"A spell to ensure that the future stupid version of myself wouldn't be able to get rid of the contract and say 'no' to our agreement."

She waited for him to explain more, but he didn't say anything else.

[Just what is Ruto planning this time?]

To be honest, she felt a little nervous for the future Ruto who might get punished by his past self for something that he didn't wish to happen in the first place.

[Ruto is always lenient and understanding to me, but he can't do the same for himself.]

"Don't be too hard on your future self, Ruto," Neoma scolded him lightly while shaking her head. "In the first place, you had to pay a hefty price to the Ancient Devil for my sake."

"Even so, I will never forgive my future self if he hurts you in any way."

"I have a nasty temper, but I can be patient for you."

His face beamed at what she said. "That's sweet."

"It's true," she said, laughing. "You sacrificed a lot for me, Ruto– now and then. It's my turn to give you the love you deserve."

"Then I'll leave it to you," Ruto said, smiling warmly at her. "Please make me crazy in love with you once again, Neoma Roseheart de Moonasterio."

"I'll drive you crazy, Ruston Solfrid Stroganoff," Neoma promised him confidently. "So crazy we might end up burning the world once again."

***

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