Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

HANNA clenched in hands in worry when Nero suddenly bolted out of the room in a hurry.

To be honest, she was getting nervous now.

[Both Prince Skylus' group and Lord Dion's group are running late.]

She felt like something bad would happen soon.

Hanna shook her head to get rid of her negative thoughts, then she stepped forward to follow Nero because she was worried about him.

But someone literally blocked her way.

"Prince Calyx," Hanna said, smiling since they were surrounded by other nobles. "It seems like you're having a great time."

"Oh, I am," Calyx said, smiling back at her. "All thanks to my sister's surprise visit. I was expecting her to come, but I didn't expect her to arrive in such a grandiose manner."

Despite the fake First Prince's vicious remarks, his overall demeanor remained calm.

[And that's making me anxious.]

"Are you complaining to me as a means to release your anger, Your Highness?"

"I'm not angry, though?"

She didn't want to admit this, but she could tell that Calyx didn't look as angry as she wished him to be.

[It makes me think he has a trick up his sleeve.]

"Lady Hanna, are you nervous?"

She maintained a calm expression to hide her anxiousness. "Do I have a reason to be nervous, Your Highness?"

"Of course, you do," Calyx said, laughing. "The REAL party is just about to begin, my dear sister-in-law."

Hanna may look calm outside, but she was honestly shaken inside.

"Sweetheart, you're there."

She felt relieved when her parents approached her.

Her mother and father greeted Calyx politely, but her parents stood in front of her protectively to shield her from the fake First Prince.

[I've calmed down a bit.]

Hanna undoubtedly felt safe with her parents, but she was still worried not only about what Calyx said.

[Nero, why did you suddenly leave the hall in a hurry?]

***

DAHLIA winced when Nero squeezed her arms a little tighter. "I know this is hard to believe, but please listen to me first, Prince Neroâ€""

Prince Nero grabbed her by the shoulders, his glowing red eyes still showing insanity. "I'll listen to you once we get home."

Dahlia didn't want to fight Prince Nero, but she had no choice.

She was forced to summon Lapiz and attack the Crown Prince.

The Blue Whale appeared behind her and threw a water bomb at Prince Nero.

But Prince Nero just smirked.

Then Zeru, the ice phoenix, appeared and howled, freezing Lapiz' water bomb until it became ice that was suspended in the air like a statue.

"Do you want me to freeze your pet to death next?"

She bit her bottom lip because Prince Nero was really capable of freezing Lapiz to death.

Hence, she had no choice but to order Lapiz to return.

The Blue Whale whimpered as if it didn't want to leave her alone with the unstable Prince Nero, but she ignored her Elemental Guardian's cries in order to keep it safe.

[I'll be fine, Lapiz...]

To be honest, she knew she could fight Prince Nero in a life-or-death situation.

But she didn't want to answer the Crown Prince's violence with violence.

[It will just be an ugly cycle if I did.]

"You're the one who should listen to me, my dear wife," Prince Nero said coldly. "The next time you run away from me, I'll kill all the servants who failed to keep an eye on you."

It wasn't the first time Dahlia heard that kind of threat from Nero, but she still shivered.

Was she being too naïve when she thought she could talk it out with the Crown Prince?

"Why are you giving me that look again?" Prince Nero asked, frustrated. "I'm not going to hurt you, Dahlia. So please don't look at me like I scare you."

"But you do," Dahlia said, her voice shaking a bit. "You scare me, Your Majesty."

'Your Majesty.'

That was how Dahlia addressed Prince Nero according to the memories of her first life.

[Is it still me, or is it Dahlia from the past talking now?]

To be honest, just like Prince Nero, Dahlia was confused at the moment.

[The memories of my past life are pouring in nonstop...]

"I will never hurt you, Dahlia."

"You have never hurt me physically, and I don't think it will happen in the future," Dahlia said. She had never once thought that Prince Nero was capable of hurting her physically. But physical violence wasn't the only type of violence in the world. "However, this is also violence."

She pointed at the hands gripping her shoulders.

Prince Nero's hands suddenly loosened until his arms dropped to his sides. His expression looked awful, as if he couldn't believe that he had hurt her.

"Threatening to hurt the people around me is also violence," Dahlia continued in a clearer voice. Her voice was still shaking a bit, but she sounded calmer now than she did earlier. "But do you know what the most violent thing you have done to me so far was?"

Of course, Prince Nero didn't respond. He just stood there while looking at her as if he was being gutted.

And rightfully so.

"Keeping me by your side BY FORCE is the worst form of violence that you have ever done to me, Your Majesty," Dahlia said in a soft voice this time. Soft and eerily calm, to be precise. "I stopped being happy the moment you locked me up in the palace like a doll trapped in a dollhouse."

"I just wanted to protect you, Dahlia."

"If you wanted to protect me, then Your Majesty should have protected me from yourself because you were the biggest threat in my life," she said while shaking her head. "The fact that you can't see how unhappy I have become scares me, Your Majesty."

Prince Nero's jaw clenched hard, his glowing red eyes were still frenzied. "Then tell me what will make you happy again, Dahlia."

"Can Your Majesty set me free?"

"Dahliaâ€""

"Let's get divorced, Your Majesty."

Oh...

Dahlia was surprised when tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks. That was when she realized that the one speaking was the Dahlia of the first timeline.

[I see...]

What the Dahlia of the past wanted was to divorce Emperor Nero.

But...

[But why does it hurt so much?]

Instead of wiping the tears off her face, she just clutched her chest tight.

[It hurts...]

She could feel her heart getting squeezed painfully, making it hard for her to breatheâ€" especially when she started sobbing like a child.

[I loved Prince Nero more than I thought...]

"Perhaps I really am a violent person," Prince Nero said coldly, the floor they were stepping on quickly getting covered in a thin layer of ice. The breeze also got colder as the Crown Prince's Mana continued to rise, as if his power was about to explode at any moment. "I'm sorry, but I can't give you what you want, Dahlia."

[Ah, he's about to lose his mind.]

If only she could erase Prince Nero's memories of her.

[I tried it before in the first timeline, but it didn't work.]

Dahlia had to flick her fingers and use a spell to levitate.

The entire palace was quickly getting covered in ice, after all.

"You just have to stay by my side and figure out how to be happy without leaving me," Prince Nero said threateningly, raising his hand. "We're not getting divorced, Dahlia."

After saying that, ice that was shaped as chains emerged from the ice covering the floor as if they aimed to tie her up.

Dahlia opened her hand and, soon enough, a wand that looked like a twig with pink flowers attached to it materialized. She grabbed it as soon as it appeared. "I see my words don't work on you in your current state, Prince Nero," she said, addressing the Crown Prince by his current title. She didn't want the memories of the first timeline's Dahlia to take over her emotions again. "Forgive me, for I must use violence against you this time."

She waved her magic wand, creating a wave of dark blue flame that immediately melted the ice chains aimed at her.

[This isn't enough to stop Prince Nero...]

Harming the Crown Prince was a grave crime, but she had no choice. She had to attack for real if she wanted to snap Prince Nero back to reality.

[Princess Neoma will clean up after my mess... I think.]

Dahlia was preparing for a spell that could knock out Prince Nero for a moment when, suddenly, the Crown Prince's Mana exploded.

She frantically created two, or three layers of shield to protect herself from the explosion.

[No... Prince Nero got stronger!]

When the smoke that appeared after the explosion began to quickly disappear, she saw itâ€" the pair of vicious red eyes that didn't seem like they recognized her.

[Ah, Prince Nero had completely lost it now...]

Dahlia actually froze in fear as Prince Nero's chilling bloodlust suffocate her.

She couldn't move an inch, and even her wand couldn't produce magic as if her power was suddenly nullified.

[No...]

The Crown Prince was just standing there, staring at her as if he was debating to kill her or not. And yet, his bloodlust was already killing her.

[I... can't... breathe...]

"Nero Roseheart de Moonasterio!"

Dahlia saw what happened next after hearing the voice that gave her strength.

Before Prince Nero could even raise his head, the heel of Princess Neoma's straightened leg descended onto the top of the Crown Prince's head like the blade of an axe.

[Ah, I can properly breathe again.]

***

NOTE: Sorry for disappearing for three days. I got super sick. Monthly period plus a slight fever/cold is such a terrible combination.

***

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