Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

[THIS IS a little awkward.]

Hanna was waiting in Neoma's room while the royal princess was taking a bath when Dahlia arrived.

Apparently, the Black Witch also wanted to talk to Neoma.

"If Princess Neoma is still in the bathroom, then I'll take my leave first," Dahlia said awkwardly, avoiding her gaze. "Lady Hanna."

Hanna gathered her courage before speaking. "You don't have to leave, Miss Dahlia," she said as calmly as she could even though she was nervous. Then she politely pointed at the sofa across from her. "We can wait for Princess Neoma together."

"Will that be alright, Lady Hanna?"

She only nodded her head lightly.

"Then please excuse me."

Dahlia then sat on the sofa across from her in silence.

Hanna felt awkward even though she didn't do anything bad, and it wasn't like Dahlia did her wrong either.

[This is weird.]

She didn't like feeling that way, so she finally broke the silence.

[Let's face this head-on.]

"Miss Dahlia, I am currently Prince Nero's fiancée," Hanna said as carefully as she could. "It hasn't been announced officially yet, but people already consider me as the Crown Princess."

She would only be officially declared as the Crown Princess once she married Nero.

[Nero and I planned to break up before, but the plan changed when Nero forgot about Neoma. The crows would have tried to kill me if I broke up with him, so I stayed with him.]

And honestly?

[I wanted to stay with Nero.]

"I'm aware of that, Lady Hanna," Dahlia answered carefully. "Everyone in the empire knows."

Hanna clenched her hands. "Are you aware that Nero is looking for you then?"

The Black Witch nodded her head slowly. "It doesn't matter, though. I know my place."

"If you don't mind my asking, do you have the memory of your past life?"

She already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it directly from Dahlia.

"I've seen snippets of my life with Prince Nero before as his wife," Dahlia answered honestly. "I don't want to live that kind of life again, Lady Hanna. So please believe me– I have no intention of getting in your way with Prince Nero."

"That's not what I want to know, Miss Dahlia."

"Then…?"

"I have feelings for Nero."

"Oh."

"But I have no intention of forcing my feelings on Nero," Hanna said in an honest and calm voice. "Once he's back to his senses, I'm going to confess my feelings for him and make him choose between us."

Dahlia obviously panicked. "Lady Hanna, I already told you that I have no intention of getting back together with Prince Nero just because we were married in my past life."

"I can't stay with a man who's in love with someone else," she said calmly. "If Nero says he'd forget about you and start to sincerely try to like me back, then I will stay with him and give him a chance. But if he continues staying obsessed with you, then I have no choice but to let him go."

Dahlia fell silent for a moment before she spoke again. "Why are you saying this to me, Lady Hanna?"

"I'm trying to say that if you also have feelings for Nero, then you don't have to conceal your feelings for my sake," Hanna said bravely. Her chest was actually tightening painfully at the moment, but she hoped it didn't show on her face. "Miss Dahlia, at this moment, I'm only engaged with Nero because I'm the best noble lady in the empire. Nero doesn't love me."

"Lady Hanna…"

"I'll return to the empire soon, and Nero's coming of age ceremony is near," she said carefully. "Once that happens, people will push for our wedding. I'm giving you the chance to stop our union, Miss Dahlia."

Dahlia closed her eyes tight. "Lady Hanna, to be honest with you, I don't know what I feel for Prince Nero at the moment. My past self loved him too much. Hence, every time I think about him, my past feelings for him flood my system." The Black Witch opened her eyes as she clutched her chest tight. "I don't know if the love I feel for Prince Nero is my current feelings or not."

"I see," she said, nodding. "Then I'll give you enough time to figure out your feelings, Miss Dahlia."

The Black Witch looked hesitant. "Thank you, Lady Hanna."

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can be friends with you, Miss Dahlia," Hanna said, smiling apologetically at the Black Witch. "I respect you as a person and as Neoma's friend, but I can't treat you like my friend. Not now, at least."

Dahlia looked hurt, but she quickly hid her feelings as she bowed towards her. "I understand, Lady Hanna."

***

NEOMA didn't want to listen to Hanna and Dahlia's conversation.

But the bathroom she was currently in was adjacent to her bedroom.

She had sharp hearing, so she could hear the two ladies talking while she was in the tub and enjoying a bubble bath.

Of course, she could have used her shield to block the noises.

[But Hanna and Dahlia would know, and I don't want to interrupt their serious convo.]

"Gosh, Nero. You're handsome, but you have a worse personality than me," Neoma whispered to herself. "I can't believe you have two amazing ladies fighting over you."

<"You're one to talk, Princess Neoma.">

It was Mochi, the Wind Spirit in the form of a white bunny.

"What do you mean by that?"

<"You have your own harem,"> Mochi teased her. <"You have Ruto, Lewis, Trevor, and even Jasper Hawthorne.">

"I don't have that kind of relationship with Lewis, Trevor, and Jasper oppa. Plus, I don't think they like me as a girl– except maybe for Trevor. And my conscience is clean because I never led Trevor on," she said defensively. "I only flirted with Ruto since we have mutual feelings. I'm different from my indecisive twin brother who can't let go of either Hanna or Dahlia."

<"Whatever makes you sleep at night, our little princess.">

Neoma glared at Mochi playfully. "Gosh, fine. If being charming and seductive is a sin, then I plead guilty."

***

"IS IT really the Fourth Elemental Guardian?"

"It's cute and tiny."

Neoma smirked while watching Hanna and Dahlia gush over the duck that was sitting comfortably on her bed.

Right now, the three of them were in Neoma's room.

Hanna and Dahlia were already waiting for her when she was done taking a bath. Fortunately, the two weren't acting awkward.

[They're not acting friendly either, though.]

Anyway…

[Trevor is busy breaking Brigitte unnie and Uncle Glenn's curse in order for the two to remember me. I think my children are preparing a feast for me. According to Paige, all of them learned how to cook delicious meals because they know I'm a big foodie.]

"It's definitely the Fourth Elemental Guardian," Neoma said confidently. "It has the same vibes as Veton, Lord Kingston, and Lapiz."

[And it's strong– very strong.]

She just didn't want to say it out loud because it seemed like the duck was trying to hide its own strength.

[But it can't fool my eyes.]

<"I like this place. This pretty girl smells like old money, too.">

The noisy duck was talking about Hanna.

<"But this young Black Witch… hmm… she's dirt poor. What a shame that one of the Elemental Guardian Tamers is a commoner…">

The judgmental duck was talking about Dahlia this time.

"Ya," Neoma called out the duck while looking at it with sharp eyes. "If you have nothing nice to say, then keep your damned mouth shut."

Hanna and Dahlia looked at Neoma with a surprised look on their faces.

The duck, on the other hand, looked terrified all of a sudden.

"Everyone on this island is my people," Neoma warned the duck. "And an insult to my people is an insult to me. Just so you know, I don't take insults lightly."

Hanna and Dahlia turned to the duck with a blank look on their faces this time.

Her girls were both sharp, and it wasn't like Neoma was being discreet. Hence, it was easy for Hanna and Dahlia to figure out that the duck insulted one of them.

<"I'm sorry…"> the duck said between sobs. <"I didn't mean to insult the lady. I was just blinded by my greed for money…">

Neoma could tell that there was a deep story as to why the duck was obsessed with money, hence she decided to let it slide. "Alright. As long as you reflect on your behavior, then all is good." She turned to Hanna and Dahlia. "The duck apologized for being rude."

Hanna and Dahlia's expressions both softened up.

[See? My girls are nice.]

"Anyway, I feel disrespectful by calling you 'duck,'" Neoma said. "May I know your name and gender?"

<"I'm a male, Princess Neoma,"> the duck said, speaking politely to her now. <"The humans who took care of me called me 'Duckie.'">

["Pfft. Thug princess, the humans who named the duck is trying to compete with you for the 'most awful naming sense' title."]

Of course, Neoma just ignored Tteokbokki's taunting.

"Is that your real name?" Neoma asked carefully. "Can we call you that?"

<"You can call me that for now,"> the duck said. <"I'll ask my owner for a new name later.">

"Do you already have a new owner?"

<"I have a candidate in mind.">

"I see," she said, nodding. "Then we'll call you 'Duckie' for now."

<"Thank you, Princess Neoma.">

"Anyway, I heard you wanted to gather the Elemental Guardian owners," Neoma said, sitting beside the duck. "I'm going to meet Lord Kingston later and make him my official Elemental Guardian. After that, let's meet up with Ruto in the Royal Capital. Then you can tell us why you need us to gather."

Duckie nodded his head politely. <"I understand, Princess Neoma.">

"Very well."

"Are we returning to the empire now, Neoma?" Hanna asked curiously. "What are we going to do next?"

Neoma put a hand on Hanna's shoulder. "We're going to take back Duke Rufus and Duchess Amber first from Regina Crowell's clutch."

Hanna looked relieved with what she said. "When are we leaving?"

"The sooner the better," she said, then she turned to Dahlia. "Of course, you're coming with us, Dahlia. Is that okay with you?"

Dahlia smiled and nodded. "Of course, Princess Neoma."

"Great," Neoma said, clapping her hands. "I'm thinking of moving in a small group for now, so give me time to choose who's coming with us."

***

"LADY HANNA, have you seen the fox basta– I mean, Lewis Crevan?"

Hanna, who was walking by the beach, smiled apologetically at Jasper Hawthorne (who looked very upset) and shook her head. "I haven't seen Lewis, Lord Jasper. Have you tried looking for Neoma? I'm sure he'd be with her."

"Oh, right. That fox basta– I mean, Lewis Crevan is practically Princess Neoma's shadow," Lord Jasper said, slightly bowing towards her. "Thank you, Lady Hanna."

After that, the young duke already left.

And when Jasper Hawthorne was completely out of sight…

"You can come out now," Hanna said, turning around. "I feel bad for lying to Lord Jasper."

The shadow that Hanna used to hide Lewis 'melted,' revealing the handsome fox who looked mischievous at the moment.

[Thank goodness we weren't caught by Lord Jasper.]

It helped that it was a moonless night.

Hence, her shadow and the darkness of the night dulled Jasper Hawthorne's usually sharp senses.

[This is why you can't win against a Quinzel during the night.]

Hanna crossed her arms over her chest. "What did you do to make Lord Jasper upset?"

"I stole– borrowed some of his butterflies."

Her eyes widened in shock. "You did what?"

Instead of answering, Lewis just pulled out a magical pouch out of his pocket.

[It's probably a device made by Lady Paige.]

Lewis opened the pouch, then several glowing butterflies came out.

[Beautiful…]

The butterflies were shining with what seemed like golden dust, after all.

"They're beautiful, Lewis," Hanna said, smiling while watching the butterflies. "But how come I can sense your Mana in them?"

And the butterflies' golden light was similar to Lewis' golden eyes.

"I crushed one of my Mana Beads and turned them into gold dust," Lewis explained. "Then I poured the golden dust in Jasper Hawthorne's butterflies. Rest assured, the golden dust won't harm the butterflies, and they'll return to normal later."

"I see," Hanna said, nodding. Then she turned to Lewis with curious eyes. "But why are you showing them to me?"

"I like butterflies."

"I know."

"When I'm down and Princess Neoma isn't around, I look for butterflies to feel better," Lewis explained softly. "I thought I'd share the joy of watching butterflies with you, Lady Hanna."

She laughed softly. "Do I look that sad to you?"

He shrugged. "You can also enjoy watching butterflies even if you're not sad."

"Ah, I probably look miserable to you," Hanna said, laughing while shaking her head. "But thank you." She looked up to watch the beautiful golden butterflies flying around them. This time, her smile was genuine. The tightness in her chest earlier also disappeared. "You're right, Lewis. Watching butterflies can really make you feel better."

"I'm glad," Lewis said in a whisper. "Sadness doesn't suit you, Lady Hanna."

***

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