Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"YOU SHOULD rest," Ruto said while looking at her. "I'll stay here and help Lord Manu stabilize Prince Skylus' divine power."

"Let's talk later, too," Neoma said while turning her back on her man. "We also have a lot of things to talk about, Ruto."

She was headed towards the door while Trevor was walking quietly behind her.

And then it happened.

Neoma's world suddenly spinned.

Huh?

[I can't faintâ€" I have so many things to do!]

WILLPOWER.

Thanks to Neoma's willpower and awesomeness, she managed to catch herself before she fell to the floor.

She did that by rejuvenating herself to get rid of her dizziness.

Thanks to Grandma Aruna, she learned how to heal light injuries. Fortunately, she could apply the same technique to herself.

[As a royal princess, Grandma Aruna couldn't trust anyone in the palace during her time. Not even the physician in charge of her health. Hence, she secretly learned how to heal herself using our Moonglow. That was the technique that she passed down to me.]

Heh.

The de Moonasterion women were really awesome people.

["Thug princess, they must be disappointed."]

Huh?

Neoma suddenly became conscious of her surroundings because of what Tteokbokki said.

That was when she realized that Ruto and Trevor were standing in front of her, and the two looked like they were about to catch her.

[Ah, they must have thought I was about to fall.]

"I'm fine," Neoma said, smiling proudly. "I got dizzy for a moment, but I fixed myself so I'm fine now."

Trevor withdrew his waiting hands as if he was embarrassed. "I forgot that you're Princess Neoma for a moment."

Heh.

Ruto also withdraw his hands from their awkward position, but soon placed a hand on Neoma's head. "I'm going to pour some divine power into you, so try not to reject it."

"It's not needed, though?" Neoma said, confused as to why Ruto would share his divine power with her. "My Moonglow is overflowing."

"That used to be the case, but I wonder why your Moonglow is a little low these days."

Ah.

Neoma felt a chill down her spine when she remembered that she was currently using her excess Moonglow to hide her short lifespan. She thought nobody noticed that her Moonglow was low, but she should have known Ruto would notice.

[He's like a ghostâ€" he knows everything.]

"Princess Neoma is just probably tired because she's been busy these days," Trevor said as if he was making an excuse for her. "Moreover, she's trying to hide her Moonglow so people wouldn't notice that she's a de Moonasterio. Her existence is supposed to be a secret for now."

Whether Ruto believed it or not, she couldn't tell.

[Gosh, I didn't know my man is good at having a poker face.]

"Is that so?"

That was only Ruto's response to Trevor's explanation.

[Ah, I'm still not used to this side of Ruto.]

"It's done," Ruto said while removing his hand from the top of her head. "You should rest in the meantime, babe."

Okay, Ruto calling her by their cheesy endearment made her heart flutter.

[I know that straight couple are so annoying, but forgive us this time. Even though 'babe' is cringe-y, I still like hearing Ruto call me that way.]

"I'll try to rest if I have some free time," Neoma said, waving at Ruto. "See you later, babe."

Ruto just nodded politely in response.

She knew that her man needed to assist Manu and Dahlia to stabilize Skylus' divine power, so she didn't hold him back more than she already had.

Neoma left the room quietly with Trevor.

And, this was really a cliché thing to say, but only then did she release the breath that she didn't know she was holding back.

"That was nerve-wracking, Trevor."

"Huh?" Trevor asked, confused. "What was nerve-wracking?"

"The moment Ruto noticed that my Moonglow is unusually low right now," Neoma said, then she put a hand over her chest. Gosh, her heart was beating loud and fast against her chest. "I thought I'd be caught."

She already cut-off her link with Tteokbokki's mind, so the Soul Beast wouldn't be able to hear her conversation with Trevor.

Hence, she didn't hesitate to bring up the talk about her lifespan to her chingu.

"Ruto is the last person I'd want to know about my shortened lifespan."

Suddenly, Trevor coughed as if something was stuck in his throat.

"Hey, what happened?" Neoma asked worriedly while patting Trevor's back. "Are you alright? Should I summon Soju and ask for some drinking water?"

The demon boy just shook his head and avoided her gaze.

[Aha! This punk is hiding something from me.]

"What is it?" Neoma confronted Trevor while glaring at him. "Spit it out while I'm still asking nicely."

"It's nothing, my Moon Princess," Trevor said, his body already already turning translucent. "Go and take some rest, Princess Neoma. I'll find you later."

She wanted to grab the demon boy and shake him until he confessed to her.

But Trevor was faster than her.

Neoma clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I wonder what that punk did this time."

***

"HANNA was returned home?" Nero asked Duke Quinzel for confirmation after His Grace delivered the good news. "Is she safe and sound?"

Duke Quinzel smiled and nodded. "That's right, Prince Nero. Hanna is unharmed."

He knew the duke wouldn't come to his palace so early in the morning, unannounced, if it wasn't important.

Moreover, he knew that the duke would only come to him to talk about Hanna.

Hence, as soon as Melvin informed him of Duke Quinzel's sudden visit, he immediately asked his secretary to bring the duke to his private tearoom. Of course, the duke's visit would remain a secret for now.

"I'm relieved to know that, Your Grace," Nero said. "I'm glad that Hanna is safe."

To be honest, he was surprised to know that he cared about Hanna as much as he did.

[I thought she was just a puppet fiancée to me.]

When the Empress Dowager and the Twelve Golden Families chose Hanna as the future Crown Princess, he didn't protest.

Hanna was the highest noble lady in the empire.

Moreover, House Quinzel was the best noble households in terms of power, wealth, and influence.

[They have it all.]

"Duke Quinzel, may I know how you found Hanna?" Nero asked carefully. "Hanna is the future Crown Princess. We kept the fact that she was kidnapped from the people to avoid mass panic."

But, to be honest, Nero and the Empress Dowager agreed to keept it a secret because they didn't want to ruin the preparation for Calyx's birthday.

[If we announced that Hanna was kidnapped, then we would be forced to stop preparing for Calyx's birthday banquet. After all, it wouldn't look good for the Royal Family to have a grand celebration while the future Crown Princess was missing.]

"Even so, that didn't mean I don't care about Hanna," Nero added. "And now, I'm curious as to how my fiancée made it back home safely. Of course, I'm glad that she was unharmed. I'm merely curious, since the pirates are known to be vicious."

"Your Royal Highness, my daughter is the Quinzel Princess," Duke Quinzel said, smiling proudly even though his remark sounded a little unrelated to their topic. "Hanna wouldn't die at the hands of mere pirates."

Ah.

It was the duke's way of politely telling him not to meddle with their family affairs.

"I understand. I'll back off for now since I'm not yet officially a part of your family since I'm still not married to Hanna," Nero said while nodding. Then he sipped his tea before he spoke again. "Moreover, I believe that House Quinzel will punish the kidnappers accordingly."

If Hanna had already returned, then it only meant that Duke Quinzel had already caught the culprits.

[Duke Quinzel loves his only daughter so much that he won't let this incident slide.]

"When can I visit Hanna, Your Grace?"

"We will send you a formal invite soon, Your Royal Highness."

"I see," he said, nodding politely.

He thought that was the end of their conversation.

But Duke Quinzel simply sipped his tea leisurely, as if he was letting him know that there was something else that they needed to discuss.

"Is there something else, Your Grace?"

"I have a favor to ask, Your Royal Highness."

Oho?

It was rare for the duke to ask anyone for a favor, hence he was curious.

"What is it, Your Grace?"

"Regina Crowell."

"The late Commander Gavin Quinzel's illegitimate daughter? Regina QUINZEL."

"She's not my older brother's daughter so she's not a Quinzel, Your Royal Highness."

"She's not?" he asked, his eyes opened wide a bit from shock. "But I thought you did a test to verify that she's the late commander's daughter."

"Your Royal Highness, please remove Regina Crowell from our family registry. Quietly and as quickly as possible."

Yes, it was something that Nero could do.

To add a member in a noble household's family registry, the approval of the crown was needed.

[And it falls on my responsibility.]

It was Nero who approved Regina Crowell to become Regina Quinzel, and now the duke was asking him to remove Regina Quinzel from the Quinzel's family registry.

"Quietly and as quickly as possible, huh?" Nero asked, smirking. "Are you ordering me around now, my future father-in-law."

The duke smiled "kindly." "I'm striking a deal with you, Your Royal Highness."

"What deal?"

"I'm declaring war against House Drayton soon."

Nero gasped loudly. "But why?"

Duke Quinzel's smile turned sinister. "Because the Draytons crossed the line they shouldn't have."

***

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