Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

A STRAIGHT punch.

Hanna couldn't help but smile after punching the puny Shadow Beast who dared to growl in her face. Of course, the cheeky creature was summoned by Regina.

It was a Shadow Beast shaped like a bear that towered over her. But, despite the huge size, it disappeared after just one punch. The same thing happened when she punched the shadow shaped like a giant wolf.

"Do you think your measly Shadow Beasts will stand a chance against me?" Hanna asked calmly while approaching Regina Crowell now that her low-class Shadow Beasts were gone. "Have you forgotten I'm the Shadow Queen?"

"You're supposed to be weak already to the point that you the only shadow you can summon is your own shadow," Regina said in disbelief. "How did you remain strong…" She trailed off, the realization dawned upon her face. "You knew you were being poisoned."

"I thought you were keeping an eye on me," Hanna said in a mocking voice. "How come you missed the fact that I belong to the academy's Gardening Club?"

Regina Crowell didn't attend the academy, but Calyx Dalton and Rubin Drayton did.

[She should know that the Gardening Club deals with poisonous plants.]

Regina's eyes widened a bit when the realization probably hit her. "Sandie Morrisley…!"

Sandie Morrisley was the 'Poison Queen' and also the current president of the Gardening Club.

[I'm the vice president.]

"You knew from the start that I'm trying to poison you, and yet you drank every poisoned tea I served to you," Regina said coldly. "You did that because you were confident Sandie Morrisley could save you."

"That's right," she said confidently. "We easily figured out what kind of poison you were feeding me. Hence, we made an antidote that will nullify the effect of the poison in my body."

"Then you were just acting when you were "sick?""

She laughed softly. "Did I fool you? I can't help it if I'm good at acting. After all, I learned from the best."

Of course, she was talking about Neoma.

[If it's about scamming– I mean, acting, then nobody can't beat Neoma in her own game.]

"Lady Hanna!"

Hanna's thoughts were interrupted when Lady Paige suddenly yelled her name. It was too late for her to move, too.

In just the blink of an eye, Regina Crowell was already in front of her.

The crow grabbed Hanna's shoulders.

Unfortunately, Regina Crowell was shorter than Neoma. Even so, the crow still towered over Hanna.

[Why is everyone around me so tall?]

"Didn't I tell you that you weren't the only person who got stronger these past few years?" Regina asked, smirking. "Now I'll let you experience what I did to Neoma de Moonasterio five years ago."

Five years ago?

[Could it be…?]

"Argh!" Hanna clutched her chest tight when she suddenly felt as if her heart was being squeezed painfully. "Are you turning me into a child?"

Neoma said before that it seemed like Regina Crowell wasn't herself when she turned her into a child before.

But right now, Regina looked confident.

Hence, it could only mean one thing.

[This crow wench already mastered that unique ability of hers.]

Regina smiled haughtily. "To be precise, I'm turning back time for your physical body."

Ah, so that was why Neoma suddenly turned into a baby before.

Hanna smiled despite the pain in her chest. "Did you hear that, Lady Paige?"

Regina, who seemed to have forgotten for a moment that the mage was also in the same room, flinched.

[Got you, Regina Crowell.]

"I heard it loud and clear, Lady Hanna," Paige, who was standing behind Regina, smiled. "Everything is going according to plan."

***

"A FIRE THAT protects and doesn't burn," Neoma said while nodding. "Of course, it has to be pink."

Every golden shelf in the Royal Treasury was now covered in pink flame.

It was still Tteokbokki's red flame, of course.

She just asked her Soul Beast to "dye" the flame pink. It was possible thanks to Trevor's teachings.

"I didn't know that our fire could be used this way," Tteokbokki said in full awe. "Thug princess, getting beaten up by Princess Aruna was worth it."

"Totally worth it, my boy."

Grandma Aruna had the fire attribute as well.

But instead of using it to burn things to ashes (just like what Neoma had been doing all this time), Grandma Aruna's flame was used as a shield.

[Grandma taught me this technique~]

Neoma's pink flame would only burn people or things that would touch it from the outside. Everything from the inside was safe.

But the trick was really simple.

[I put a Dome to cover each shelf before I created a 'Dome of Fire' over the shield.]

The hardest part would be the part where she had to maintain the fire burning even after leaving the place.

And that was the technique that Grandma Aruna taught her.

[The 'Unquenchable Flame.']

As long as Mana was flowing in Neoma's body, then the pink flame wouldn't get extinguished easily.

"Thug princess, will you be alright, though?"

"And what do you mean by that?"

"I'm not sure, but I think you're getting… weak?"

Neoma turned to Tteokbokki with knitted eyebrows. At first, she thought her Soul Beast was just messing with her. But when she saw the concerned look on his face, she realized he was being serious. "I don't understand what you're talking about, though?"

She was playing dumb to hide her nervousness.

"It's really weird," Tteokbokki said while observing her closely. "This reminds me of the time you coughed up blood when you used your rose wings in the Astello Temple."

The Soul Beast was talking about the day Trevor discovered her shortened lifespan.

"You're still very strong, of course. But every time you use your power, it feels as though you're getting… weak?"

Uh-oh.

To be honest, she was using her excess Moonglow and Mana to cover up the fact that her lifespan had shortened significantly.

By doing so, she became more conscious when attacking now.

[I used to go all-out because, well, I don't know what "moderate" means. But now, I make sure there's enough extra Moonglow and Mana in me to hide my lifespan.]

"Thug princess, are you hiding something from me?"

The thing was she was able to hide the truth from Tteokbokki, thanks to Trevor.

["Don't worry about your Soul Beast, my Moon Princess. Before I confronted you about your shortened life span, I blocked Tteokbokki's presence so he wouldn't hear our conversation. Hence, he didn't know what we talked about that day."]

Now she would do the same every time she and Trevor needed to talk about her lifespan.

It was easy to do that since she could block Tteokbokki anytime she wanted anyway. Just like when she wanted to be alone or when she needed to use the bathroom.

"You're overthinking, Tteokbokki."

"No, you're definitely hiding something from me," Tteokbokki said firmly. "I know you won't tell me what it is even if I asked, so I'll just investigate on my own."

"Do whatever makes you happy, Tteokbokki," Neoma said, acting tough and nonchalant even though she was nervous inside. To avoid Tteokbokki's "interrogation," she just pointed at Nero, who was on the floor, and changed the topic. "Carry Nero, then let's get out of here."

***

"LEWIS, attack."

Trevor said that half-heartedly thinking that Lewis would just curse at him.

But, much to his shock, his "son" actually attacked Calyx Dalton.

[Woah, I'm touched. Does Lewis finally recognize me as his "father?"]

"Dream on," Lewis said when he ran past Trevor as if he could read Trevor's mind. "I just want him dead."

Trevor stifled his laughter. "By all means."

"Insolent punks," Calyx Dalton said while shaking his head. "You dare attack the Great Moonasterion Empire's First Star?"

"Not first," Lewis said, then he gave Calyx Dalton a flying kick. "Fake star."

Calyx blocked Lewis' kick with his arm, then he tried to grab Lewis' leg with his other hand.

But Lewis' white fox tail suddenly appeared and slapped Calyx in the face.

The fake star was sent flying while cursing under his breath.

Melvin Luchesshi, who was standing behind Calyx Dalton earlier, simply stepped aside instead of cushioning the First Prince's fall.

That action made Trevor grin.

[Prince Nero's "children" doesn't like Calyx Dalton.]

Calyx Dalton easily got on his feet though. This time, the fake star summoned his Moonglow as if he was ready to fight for real.

Lewis, on the other hand, had his three white fox tails out now.

Trevor was preparing to fight as well when, all of a sudden, the ground shook hard.

It was followed by the incredible Mana and pure divine power that appeared on one spot, making everyone stop what they were doing and turn in that direction. It was the spot where the platform and the throne should be. But they disappeared along with Princess Neoma and Prince Nero earlier.

And there, just like that, they reappeared.

No– SHE emerged like the empress that she was meant to be.

Princess Neoma came out of nowhere sitting on the throne covered in pink flame.

Everyone– yes, including the bastard Calyx Dalton– looked mesmerized. After all, everything was pretty: Princess Neoma, the throne, and the pink flame.

[The throne already chose Prince Nero, yet it can't still reject Princess Neoma.]

Trevor's laughter broke the silence in the throne room. "Princess Neoma always has to have a grand entrance, huh?"

"Neoma de Moonasterio."

It was Calyx Dalton who dared to address Princess Neoma casually.

Princess Neoma raised an eyebrow at the fake star. "It's 'Neoma Roseheart de Moonasterio,' Calyx Dalton."

"It's Calyx de Moona–"

"Oh, come on. Have some originality, Calyx Dalton," Princess Neoma said in a taunting voice. "But then again, what can I expect from the FAKE "First Star" other than to copy me– the original visual?"

Were they talking about Princess Neoma's beauty?

[I don't mind talking about it, but it was so random…]

Lewis could only shake his head, but his gold eyes were sparkling while looking at his princess. "Princess Neoma doesn't take Calyx Dalton seriously. I mean, who would? Definintely not me."

Calyx Dalton, who obviously heard Lewis' taunting, looked offended.

Trevor couldn't help but laugh at Lewis and Princess Neoma's savageness. "Like mother, like son!"

***

NEOMA, who was sitting on the throne covered in pink flame, looked at Calyx Dalton carefully while ignoring Trevor's funny comments.

She was relieved to see that Lewis and Trevor were both safe, so she was calm.

[I don't see Grandpa Kingston and the ice phoenix, though?]

Fortunately, she could feel that the White Lion was still alive and kicking. So she wasn't really worried.

[Trevor will give me the full report later anyway.]

Calyx stared back at her with cold eyes. "What are you looking at?"

"You're lucky I can't kill you yet," Neoma said. Unfortunately, unless the curse was completely broken, she had to keep Calyx Dalton alive. "But from this moment, I will make your life a living hell, you damned fake who doesn't have a personality other than being obsessed with MY twin brother."

***

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