Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

<"SHE ALSO smells like old money, but the scent of expensive jewels on her is stronger. Little old money bastard, you have great friends.">

Of course, Jasper knew that the duck wasn't ordinary since it was a talking duck.

But he was more amazed by the fact that the duck could smell money on people.

[Lady Paige used to be a noble before her family met its downfall. Hence, she would 'smell' of old money. Moreover, the Averys were known for their jewel hearts. That's probably why the duck could smell expensive jewels on her.]

"Lord Jasper, the duck is making loud noises," Lady Paige commented. "May I know what the duck is saying?"

"He's saying that you smell like expensive jewels, Lady Paige," Jasper answered politely. Yes, the duck said it was a male. "And the others are nonsense that will only sully my lady's ears."

Lady Paige chuckled.

<"I'll charge you for humiliating me again, you little old money bastard!">

[Is 'bastard' the only curse word he knows? In that respect, then Princess Neoma is more creative. Her Royal Highness knows all the curse words in the world.]

<"How long are we going to walk? I'm already tired. And hungry!">

It hadn't even been five minutes since they entered the portal.

The reason why Jasper and Lady Paige chose the castle on the cliff (the children's old secret base) as a meeting place was because it had a portal directly connected to the island (the children's new secret base).

But, of course, only Lady Paige could open and close the portal.

[Hence, Lady Paige had to come and fetch me herself. I heard she was on the floating island before coming here to get me. It just goes to show how great Lady Paige's teleportation skills are now.]

The most complicated form of teleportation was creating portals that could send multiple people from one location to another in the shortest time possible. It all depended on the skills and Mana level of the person who created the portal.

That was why Lady Paige was impressive.

[The 'Teleportation Ticket' that I used earlier brought me from the Royal Capital where my estate is located, to the Southern border. And now, we're using a portal to get to the island from the castle in the South where we had come from earlier.]

The portal that they were using right now was similar to a long hallway.

Except that the surroundings were stunning.

<"Little old money bastard, this portal makes me feel like we're walking underwater!">

The noisy duck was correct.

After all, the portal had an impressive design that was based on Princess Neoma's favorite place in the other world.

[I think it's called 'aquarium.']

The ceiling and the walls were made of glass. Hence, they could clearly see the different types of fish swimming around. Lady Paige designed the portal based on the 'aquarium' that Princess Neoma would often describe to them.

<"Finally, I see the end!">

After more than thirty minutes of walking, they finally saw the end of the portal.

All of a sudden, Lady Paige blocked their way.

To be precise, the mage blocked the duck's way while looking at it with cold eyes.

Jasper just quietly watched and listened.

"Mr. Duck, every single person on the island at the end of the portal is important to me," Lady Paige said in a cold voice. "If you do anything funny, I'll kill you right away." She turned to Jasper. "Is that alright, Lord Jasper?"

"Of course," Jasper said immediately. "You don't have to do it yourself, Lady Paige. Since I was the one who found the duck, I'll be the one to kill it if it becomes a threat to our people."

Lady Paige looked satisfied by his answer.

The duck, on the other hand, was obviously not pleased.

<"You little bastards! If you don't trust me, then why did you bring me here?!">

"Lord Jasper, what is the duck saying?"

"He's asking why we brought him here when we don't trust him."

"Isn't it obvious, Mr. Duck?" Lady Paige asked, scoffing. "You're here as emergency food."

Jasper had to stifle his laughter as the duck cried out dramatically.

<"I'm not food, you cruel bastaaards!">

***

HANNA could feel her heart beating erratically.

[Neoma is finally coming back.]

Hence, right now, they were gathered in front of the cabin house. It was where the portal would appear later.

[By 'us,' I'm talking about Neoma's "children" and the Griffiths family.]

Hanna greeted Queen Brigitte, King Glenn, Princess Monik, Prince Skylus, and Prince Claude earlier. The Griffiths family arrived through the floating island with Xion Redgrave. Apparently, they were with Paige Avery earlier.

But the mage had to leave the floating island midway to fetch Duke Jasper Hawthorne.

Paige Avery and the young duke eventually arrived using a different portal.

That was when the mage announced that Neoma was already on her way to the island with Trevor.

The news put everyone in a good mood.

[Even Queen Brigitte and King Glenn who don't remember Neoma yet look excited.]

But the most excited person out there would be…

"Lewis," Hanna said, smiling while looking up at Lewis. "How do you feel now that we're about to see Neoma in the flesh?"

The fox boy didn't have to answer verbally.

After all, the way Lewis' (handsome) face beamed was enough for Hanna to know that he was really, really, reaaally HAPPY at the moment.

[If 'happy' was a person, it would be Lewis.]

"I'm happy that we'd be reunited with Neoma soon," Hanna said, and she wouldn't get tired of smiling for today's happy occasion. "But I think I'm happier to see you this happy, Lewis."

"Princess Neoma is and will always be my happiness."

Aww.

[To be honest, I can't name the love Lewis has for Neoma. Sometimes, I think it's romantic. But most of the time, I think it's something deeper and more meaningful than romantic love. It's probably an emotion that only Lewis and Neoma would know.]

After all, Hanna knew that the bond Lewis and Neoma had was very strong.

"Everyone, they're here," Paige Avery announced. The mage tried to be calm, but the excitement in her voice was very obvious. "Our Princess Neoma is finally here."

Hanna held her breath.

And after what seemed like an eternity, the portal finally opened its door and revealed the most beautiful girl that everyone had seen in their lives.

***

"I'LL TELL His Majesty and Lady Roseheart that the damned chef called you 'babe.'"

Neoma glared at Trevor. "Gosh. Are you proud to be a snitch?"

Trevor glared back at her. "His Majesty and Lady Roseheart said you can't have a boyfriend until you're an adult."

"I'm legally an adult here."

"Twenty is the age considered as an adult in Korea."

"We're not in Korea, duh."

"Even so, I'll snitch on you," Trevor said, scoffing. "I'll also tell them that you're chasing after him even after he rejected you already."

"Let's see if you can still talk if you're already dead," Neoma warned the demon boy. Of course, it was just a threat that she had no intention of executing. But that didn't mean she couldn't beat Trevor until he was half-dead. "Trevor, everyone knows I have a nasty temper so don't test my patience, okay?"

"Whatever."

Neoma thumped her fist against her chest to console herself from the stress that Trevor was unnecessarily giving her.

[Should I knock him out?]

"P-Princess Neoma, let's just take a look at the beautiful fish around us," Dahlia, who was obviously trying to put her in a good mood, said. "This portal is amazing. It's like we're surrounded by fish tanks."

Okay, that immediately put her in a good mood.

Neoma smiled proudly. "Paige, my "daughter," made this portal. She based the design on the aquarium I often visit…" She trailed off when she locked eyes with one fish on her right side. "Aigoo, what an ugly fish."

"It's a monkfish, Princess Neoma," Dahlia said, her eyes sparkling. "I think it has its own charm even though it's not visually pleasing."

Now Neoma was sure Dahlia had bad eyes.

[No wonder she fell for Nero…]

It was a joke.

After all, she had almost the same face as her twin brother.

"We're here," Trevor announced lazily when they were only a few steps away from the end of the portal. "I see that everyone has come to welcome you, my Moon Princess."

Neoma, before she knew it, was already running towards the end of the portal.

[My family…]

As soon as Neoma stepped out of the portal, the first person that she saw was the first member of her family.

[My son…]

Lewis was running towards her.

Huh?

[Is that ridiculously tall and handsome man really our Lewis?!]

She knew what adult 'LU' looked like during her first life. Her son still looked the same. But, for some reason, Lewis looked one hundred times more handsome than she remembered!

[What a crazy glow-up.]

"Lewis, congrats!" Neoma said cheerfully. "You inherited my beauty genes– aw!"

She was forced to stop talking when Lewis suddenly hugged her.

[I did not expect that.]

She actually slowed down and stopped because she knew Lewis didn't like physical contact.

Hence, she was surprised when the fox boy suddenly hugged her tight.

And since she didn't expect that, she instantly lost her balance.

Before Neoma knew it, she was already lying down on the sand while Lewis was on top of her– his face buried against her neck.

[Dear diary, I wasn't prepared…]

Neoma then laughed when she remembered a precious memory. "This reminds me of our first meeting, Lewis," she said while rubbing Lewis' back. "I woke up with you straddling me and calling me a 'princess.'"

"I missed you very much, Princess Neoma."

Oh.

Her neck was suddenly wet with warm liquid.

Neoma cupped Lewis' face and gently lifted it to see him. "Why are you crying, my dear son?"

"I'm not crying," Lewis said in a cracked voice, his cheeks wet with tears. "And I'm not your son, Princess Neoma."

[There you go– Lewis' famous catchphrase.]

"I missed that," Neoma said, smiling. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck. "And I missed you, too, Lewis."

***

Please ADD my story to your LIBRARY to be notified when an update is posted. Thank you! :>