Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"ARE YOU telling me to be a bachelor forever then?"

Hmm?

Neoma was a little surprised when she heard Ruto's response. "Does it mean you think you won't ever find a girl who's more beautiful than me?"

That was shocking.

After all, she thought Ruto had already forgotten her face. Moreover, he had also lost his physical attraction to her. Hence, she couldn't believe that Ruto still considered her the most beautiful girl in the world.

[Well, he didn't say that exactly, but whatever.]

Neoma was more excited about the fact that Ruto finally laughed and smiled.

[He's been grumpy ever since we met here.]

"I'm not sure why I said that," Ruto said, his precious smile slowly vanishing. "I heard that Princess Neoma is very beautiful, though. I guess you can say I'm merely stating the obvious."

That was bittersweet to hear.

She was glad to hear Ruto say she was beautiful, but it didn't feel genuine because he only "heard" it from other people.

[But I'm not in a position where I can complain about that.]

She was just grateful that, at least, she was the most beautiful girl in Ruto's eyes.

"I see," Neoma said, nodding and accepting his excuse. "Thank you."

"Huh?"

"For regarding me as the most beautiful girl in the world."

As she said earlier, Ruto DID NOT say that.

She exaggerated it a bit.

But, thankfully, Ruto didn't deny it.

[And because Ruto didn't deny it, it's now official: I'm the most beautiful girl in the world.]

It was childish, but she still felt victorious.

"You seem to be in a good mood now," Ruto commented. He was no longer smiling, but his face was brighter than earlier. "Have you forgiven me already for making you cry earlier?"

"Look at this punk," Neoma complained. "You knew you were the reason I cried earlier, and yet you didn't apologize." She paused for a moment after realizing her mistake. "Not that you owe me an apology. I'm just used to you spoiling me, but I guess I have to lower my expectations from now on to avoid getting hurt and disappointed."

"You have a strong mental fortitude," he commented, a little surprised. "I didn't apologize on purpose because I wanted you to hate me."

"In hopes that I give up on you?"

He nodded slowly. "I don't like making people cry."

"Then I won't cry because of you anymore."

[Well, not in front of you, at least.]

"You can't make me hate you, Ruto," Neoma said in a gentle yet firm voice. "I'm not sure how much of your memories were messed up by Lord Levi, but you loved me very much in the first timeline. And you still do, even now. You just can't feel it because the fucking Ancient Devil swallowed up your emotions."

Ruto let out a sigh. "You're very determined, aren't you?"

"Is there a reason why you're adamant about rejecting me– except for the fact that I'm annoying, of course?"

"You're not annoying."

"I'm not?"

"I ignore people who annoy me."

That made her happy, but she hid it well because she didn't want to get ahead of herself. "Then why are you making me hate you?"

"It was my divine father's order."

That made her frown. "What did Lord Levi say?"

"Catastrophes strong enough to end the world would occur if the two of us end up together," Ruto confessed indifferently. "Hence, my divine father ordered me to avoid you at all costs."

She smiled "sweetly."

[Welcome to the list of people I absolutely detest, Lord Levi.]

"And you're just blindly following Lord Levi's order?"

"I have no reason to disobey my divine father."

Ah, it made sense.

After all, Ruto's sole reason to defy Levi in the past was his love for her. And now that the Ancient Devil took away his emotions, he no longer had a reason to rebel against his divine father.

"Then I just have to give you new reasons to defy Lord Levi's order."

"What?"

"I told you– I'm here to seduce you," she insisted. "Once you fall for me, then you won't have any reason to follow Lord Levi's order anymore."

"Don't you understand, Princess Neoma? The world would get destroyed if we end up together."

"The world would still end if I lose you, Ruto."

"Huh?"

"I already have a record of setting the world on fire," Neoma said, dead serious. Even without looking at her reflection, she knew that her eyes had turned glowing red. "Do you think I won't and can't do it again?"

Ruto looked at her in disbelief. "You're going to burn the world if you don't… have me?"

Aww.

He looked pretty shy when he said that.

[Cute, but I need to remain serious.]

"I'm not saying I'd burn the world on purpose. But you know that de Moonasterios are crazy, don't you?" she said, shrugging. "Who knows what I'm capable of doing once I lost my mind after losing you?"

Okay, that sounded like a threat.

It wasn't cute anymore, so she'd stop here.

[For today.]

"Let's stop flirting for now."

Ruto looked genuinely shocked. "We were… flirting?"

"Of course, we were," Neoma said, smiling. "But it's time for us to work, so let's have dinner first before we go straight to business."

***

"I'M SORRY, but I only made food for me, Lord Ruto, and Miss Dahlia."

Neoma looked at Phoebe Willows indifferently.

[For someone who's apologizing, she sure doesn't look sorry at all.]

Right now, Neoma was in the dining hall of the temple with Trevor, Dahlia, Ruto, and Phoebe.

"I cooked dinner for the High Priest and the Holy Knights," Phoebe continued with her explanation. Then she cupped her face with a hand while acting like she was sorry. "Unfortunately, all the fresh ingredients have run out. Hence, I only managed to cook for three people…" She turned to Neoma and Trevor. "I'm sorry, Princess Neoma, Sir Trevor."

What a load of bullshit.

But since Neoma didn't care, she didn't react. In the first place, she didn't expect Phoebe Willows to make dinner for them.

"Princess Neoma, you can have my dinner," Dahlia said, flustered. "I'm not hungry anyway."

Ruto didn't say anything, but he definitely didn't look pleased.

[Aww. My man looks hot when he's pissed.]

For that, she was thankful to Phoebe Willows for acting like a third-rate villainess.

"It's alright, Dahlia," Neoma said casually. "Trevor and I brought our own food."

Dahlia still looked worried.

Neoma smiled and patted Dahlia's shoulder before turning to Phoebe Willows. "Lady Phoebe, thank you for making dinner for Dion and the Holy Knights. In return, Trevor and I will make everyone's breakfast tomorrow."

"Yeah," Trevor said, then he turned to Phoebe Willows with a sneer. "My Moon Princess doesn't eat food made by just anyone anyway."

Phoebe Willows' face turned red from embarrassment.

Neoma nudged Trevor in the stomach.

[Gosh, stop bullying the poor child.]

Trevor, who read her facial expression, just shrugged.

"Enjoy your meal," Neoma said politely. "Trevor and I will use the other table, since you might find the food we brought unpleasant."

[Most people find the smell of kimchi unpleasant at first, after all.]

Before anyone could react, Neoma and Trevor already moved to the next table.

She purposely chose the seat where she would have to turn her back on Ruto. It wasn't like she didn't want to see him. She was just afraid that she might end up staring at him while he was having dinner.

[I don't want to make him more uncomfortable than I already had.]

Hence, Trevor ended up taking a seat that faced Ruto's table.

[And Trevor looks smug for some reason.]

"Tteokbokki," Neoma said. "Come out and eat with us."

In just the blink of an eye, Tteokbokki materialized in his human form and sat on the seat next to Neoma.

"<anno data-annotation-id="72038b81-e68e-7d8e-44b0-9a7ff5e91cb9">Hyung</anno>, did you bring it?" Tteokbokki said excitedly. "I want ramen!"

Neoma clicked her tongue. "Are you not even going to greet me? And since when did Trevor become your "hyung?""

Tteokbokki turned to her with a knitted eyebrows. "Why do I have to greet you when we're always together anyway?"

"Look at this disrespectful little piece of shit–"

"<anno data-annotation-id="18b5f03d-fb19-d5b5-0b7f-2fe694930196">Noonim</anno>," Tteokbokki said, grinning after he cut her off. "I called you 'noonim' instead of thug princess, so don't be upset, okay?"

Tsk.

Ever since Tteokbokki had spent time as 'Tan' in Korea, he became a little… childish.

But since there was this glow of innocence on the Soul Beast's face, she found it hard to stay mad at him.

"Stop fighting, you two," Trevor scolded them, then he snapped his fingers. "Let's start eating now."

A picnic basket materialized on the table.

Then Trevor opened the lid and brought out things one by one.

First, a portable butane stove and a grill.

Second, marinated meats (chicken, samgyeopsal, and beef).

Third, the banchan (side dishes) such as kimchi, gimbap, lettuce, soybean sprouts, baby potatoes, fish cake, egg rolls, green onion pancake, and many others.

Lastly, utensils such as plates, chopsticks, spoons, forks, tongs, and scissors.

"Your storage device is really amazing, hyung," Tteokbokki said, then he began putting meat on the grill when it was hot enough for cooking. "Respect."

That was true.

Trevor storage devices were cool. They also served like a mini fridge. Hence, they were able to store food from Korea like marinated meats and banchan.

Neoma had her own storage device, too.

[I put all my skincare products in there.]

And the most amazing part?

[Tteokbokki has learned how to travel into different dimensions. And he found a door that leads to the other world. Unfortunately, he could only bring back items from the other world and not people. Moreover, it takes a lot of his strength whenever he does that.]

"Princess Neoma?"

She raised her head to meet Trevor's gaze. "Yeah?"

Trevor raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you going to leave that rude wench alone?"

"Of course not," Neoma said, scoffing. "Today marks the first day of my villainess era."

***

"ANNYEONG," Neoma greeted Phoebe Willows casually. "Let's talk for a moment."

She cornered Phoebe Willows when the child was about to go to the bathroom.

[I literally cornered her.]

Neoma stood in front of Phoebe Willows while the child was leaning against the wall.

"Is this about Lord Ruto? That's the only reason why Your Royal Highness would approach me," Phoebe said smugly. "I'm not doing anything wrong. You're not in a relationship with Lord Ruto, Princess Neoma. You don't have the right to tell me to make a move on him."

"I'm not here to do that," Neoma said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Because even if I don't threaten you, Ruto will never like you back."

"Excuse me?"

"Do you think picking on me will make Ruto like you?" she scoffed. "Phoebe Willows, picking on me only makes you look like an insecure bitch."

The child's face turned red. "Princess Neoma, your words are too harsh."

"Don't pretend to be classy now after the cheap trick you pulled earlier," she scolded her. "If you want Ruto to like you back, then start acting like a decent human being. Girl, stop acting like a 'pick-me girl.'"

Phoebe knitted her eyebrows. "A 'pick-me girl?' What is that?"

"A girl who puts down other girls just to get male validation," she explained to the child. "I'm telling you this. Even if I disappear from this world again, Ruto won't like you back if you continue acting like a bitch."

"I don't need your advice, Princess Neoma," Phoebe said coldly. "If you're done with your lecture, then I'm leaving."

The child tried to leave.

But Neoma made her ultimate move: the 'kabedon' aka wall slam.

She hit her hand on the wall and leaned down to meet Phoebe Willows' eye level. Since she was tall, she towered over the child who was forced to look up at her the entire time they were talking.

"Come out," Neoma said in a cold voice. "Stop messing with this poor child."

Phoebe knitted her eyebrows. "I don't understand what you're talking about, Princess Neoma…"

"Drop the act."

"What are you saying–"

"Are you afraid to meet me– the Visual Goddess, and the most beautiful girl in Ruto's eyes?"

Phoebe Willows' face suddenly turned grim, then she closed her eyes. And when she opened them again…

[Ohh, red eyes.]

Yes, Phoebe Willows' eyes had turned glowing red.

[The eyes of a god.]

"It seems like I've really lived a long life now," Phoebe said. Her face and voice remained the same, but it was obvious that there was a different person inside the child at the moment. "How dare a mere human like you give yourself a title similar to my title, the Goddess of Beauty?"

"How dare an old woman like you seduce a young man using a child's body, Lady Astrid?" Neoma retorted, addressing the Goddess of Beauty by her name. "Why don't you go and meet gods your age, Grandma?"

The shriek that Astrid let out broke Neoma's eardrums.

[Fucking hell.]

***

"DON'T."

Ruto raised an eyebrow when Trevor, the demon accompanying Princess Neoam, blocked his way. "Move."

If Princess Neoma and Phoebe Willows fought, he was afraid that the latter might get hurt.

[I know Princess Neoma's strength, so I know Phoebe doesn't stand a chance.]

"Don't worry, Princess Neoma and the child will only talk."

After the demon said that, they both heard a loud scream that echoed in the hallways. At the same time, a powerful burst of Mana exploded in the air– creating a skyquake.

"I don't think so," Ruto said in response, then he tried to walk past the demon. "You–"

"I heard your conversation with Princess Neoma earlier," the demon said, cutting him off. "The part about you falling in love with someone else."

"What about it?"

"Thank you for giving me a precious opportunity to win over Princess Neoma's heart, Ruston Solfrid Stroganoff," Trevor said, smiling while patting his shoulders. "If you can fall for another person, then Princess Neoma can also fall in love with another person– hopefully, with me."

The demon didn't say anything wrong.

But Ruto found himself clenching his hands as tight as the painful squeeze in his heart.

[Why am I feeling this way?]

***

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