Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

SANFORD coughed up a huge chunk of blood after getting kicked in the stomach by his idol, Lewis Crevan.

[Yeah, I don't mind dying this way.]

You may be wondering how he got into this situation, huh?

To be honest, he didn't really know.

He and Raku just followed the crazy– er, crazily amazing Crown Prince when he suddenly bolted out of the Callisto Hall.

They arrived at the Luna Palace, but Prince Nero forbade them from following him further.

[The Luna Palace has been empty ever since Lady Hanna left the palace a year ago.]

He thought their boss was just going to have a rendezvous with the Black Witch that the Crown Prince had been searching for all this time.

But shit started to get dangerous in an instant.

Sanford could tell that Prince Nero and the Black Witch were fighting. Just when he and Raku were about to stop the Crown Prince from going crazy, Princess Neoma appeared in the sky– flying with her beautiful wings made of roses.

["Hello, my nephews! Leave Nero to me. Fighting!"]

Those were the weird words that Princess Neoma said while flying past them.

Sanford was almost enchanted, but he didn't forget that his job was to protect Prince Nero. But just when he was about to stop Princess Neoma, he just found himself flying after getting kicked in the stomach.

Even Raku was stopped by the growling White Lion.

[And here we are now.]

"Hah!" Sanford slowly stood up while wiping the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand. "You're a knight, Sir Crevan. Why use your feet to attack when you have a perfectly nice sword–"

Lewis Crevan's glowing golden eyes shut Sanford's mouth in an instant.

[This isn't the appropriate time to think of this, but fuck. Lewis Crevan is so freaking handsome. Whoever said Rubin Drayton is the most handsome young man on the continent has clearly not seen Lewis Crevan yet.]

"You stand, you die."

What the fox said was a little incomprehensible.

Even so, Sanford's survival instinct commanded him to sit down and shut his mouth.

[Scary bastard…]

"Raku," Sanford called his friend while patting the space next to him. "Come and sit next to me. This fox bastard is scaring me."

Raku, who was about to attack the White Lion, turned to him with a confused look on his face.

"Yes, we're not fighting them."

Raku knitted his eyebrows.

"No, it's not because we're inferior to them," Sanford said, answering the questions in Raku's face one by one. When the half-dragon frowned at him, he explained. "My gut feel is telling me that Princess Neoma isn't a threat to Prince Nero. You trust my instinct, don't you?"

Raku looked at him for a moment, then he sighed before dragging his feet towards him. Then the half-dragon sat next to him. "Fifteen minutes."

"I hear you, my friend," he said while patting Raku's shoulder, then he turned to Lewis Crevan. "You heard our dragon friend here, Sir Crevan. After fifteen minutes, we're going to follow Princess Neoma and stop her from approaching Prince Nero– by hook or by crook."

Lewis Crevan, whose golden eyes were still glowing dangerously, tilted his head to one side 'innocently' while gently patting the White Lion's head. "Death wish?"

Sanford could only laugh awkwardly.

[Sir Crevan probably thinks we're weaklings.]

***

NEOMA gave Nero an axe kick before she descended.

And her attack was strong enough to knock her twin brother unconscious. But she could tell that he wouldn't be down for so long.

"Run," Neoma said as she turned to Dahlia. "Nero will lose it again if he sees you."

"Princess Neoma, he's not Prince Nero at the moment," Dahlia said worriedly as her feet landed on the ground. "He acts like the Emperor Nero of the first timeline. I believe his memories of his past life flooded his system. Hence, he couldn't differentiate the past from the present in his current state."

Ah, so the situation was worse than she expected.

[But 'Emperor Nero?' Of course, I expected Nero to become the emperor in the first timeline. I wonder what happened to Papa Boss, though? I can't remember anything about Papa Boss, aside from the fact that he was still alive before Nero killed me.]

"Princess Neoma?"

"Ah, sorry for spacing out," she said. "Thanks for telling me Nero's current state, Dahlia. You should leave before he wakes up."

"But I have something urgent to report to you, Princess Neoma. It's about Prince Skylus…"

"I know, but only I can stop Nero from going insane so I must take care of him first," Neoma said in a serious tone. "Hence, I want you to go to Ruto and report the situation to him. Let him know that I will trust him to take charge until I return. Can you do that for me, Dahlia?"

She wasn't neglecting Trevor and Skylus' situation.

Unfortunately, she was the only person who could stop Nero at the moment. Hence, she had no choice but to depend on Ruto.

[I'm sure he'll make the same decisions that I would.]

"I understand, Your Royal Highness," Dahlia said while nodding firmly. "But if I'm not satisfied with the decision that Lord Ruto makes, am I allowed to oppose him? Although I'm grateful to Lord Ruto for protecting me for quite some time, my loyalty still lies with you, Princess Neoma."

Aww… she was touched.

[Dahlia is such a loyal friend.]

"Of course. You may do that, Dahlia," Neoma said, nodding. She could separate her being a girlboss from her being Ruto's babe. "I told Paige and the others to stay in the hall to protect our allies. If you disagree with Ruto's decision, feel free to consult with Paige. Tell her that as the vice-commander of my Order, I give her full authority to deal with the matter regarding Skylus."

To be honest, she should leave the entire matter to Paige's hands.

[But we need Ruto's help since the situation seems dire. He'll definitely help because as the representative of the Sun Goddess, he also has the duty to protect the Moon God's new saint. He may not do it for me, but he will definitely do it for the sake of his duty.]

Dahlia seemed satisfied with Neoma's decision, as she smiled and nodded. "As you command, Princess Neoma."

After saying that, the Black Witch left quietly.

And as soon as Dahlia disappeared, Nero stirred to life.

[The question is…]

Was this Nero the normal Nero of the 'Emperor Nero' of the first timeline?

[Why did the memories of his first life suddenly flood his mind?]

Neoma observed Nero quietly as her twin brother stood up while clutching his head tight as if he was having a splitting headache.

The sight made her worry, of course.

[Nero…]

"You're really a de Moonasterio," Nero said, raising his head to glare at her. "Your brute strength proves it."

Oho?

[It's the current Nero!]

Fortunately, her twin brother's eye color had also returned to normal.

[His eyes aren't glowing red anymore, and he looks a little calm now.]

"I held back a lot, hence your skull didn't split open," Neoma said carefully. "Nero, do you remember why you're here instead of the hall?"

Nero fell silent for a moment before he stood properly, then he combed his fingers through his slightly disheveled hair. "Ah. I remember sensing Dahlia's presence. Then I felt like my sanity snapped. I don't recall anything else– aside from the fact that you dropped a kick on me since it's the last thing I remember clearly."

Ah, so her twin brother didn't remember when he acted like the Emperor Nero of the first timeline.

[I wonder if it's a good thing?]

"Where's Dahlia?" Nero asked impatiently. "I need to speak to her."

Neoma let out a frustrated sigh. "Leave Dahlia alone, Nero. Please stop obsessing over her. For fuck's sake, you're already committed to Hanna. Don't be so indecisive."

"Who gave you the right to nag me?"

"I'm your older sister."

Nero gave her a dire look before he laughed bitterly. "I won't deny that Hanna has been my source of comfort these past few years," he said, his voice sounding hollow. "Even so, I still felt empty. During the moments I thought I would lose my mind from boredom, snippets of the strange yet familiar memories I have with Dahlia would keep me company. You're asking me why I can't choose between Hanna and Dahlia? THIS is the reason, my dear twin sister."

She felt a shiver down her spine at how angry Nero sounded when he called her "dear twin sister."

"There was a void in my heart that only Hanna's physical closeness and Dahlia's fleeting memories could fill," Nero said, his voice full of hate. "I've always wondered what the cause of the void was– but now, I finally realized it." He clutched his chest tight. "You abandoned me, didn't you? You, Mother, and Father… you all abandoned me."

Neoma let out a shaky gasp, her chest tightening as Nero looked at her with pure hatred. "Nero, it's not like that. Once you regain your memories–"

"The fact that I don't remember anything makes me feel insane!" Nero yelled, his eyes turning glowing red again. "I don't remember anything, and yet I feel the pain and the emptiness in my chest every time I think of you and our parents! If what you said about Calyx being an enemy was true, then why did you leave me behind with him?! Why did Mother and Father take only you with them?!"

"We didn't want to leave you behind, Nero," she said in a cracked voice, clenching her hands tight until her nails dug deep into the skin of her palms. That was the only way to stop herself from hugging Nero. She knew it would only aggravate him more, so she kept her distance. "But we were left with no other choice. Someone has to sit on the throne–"

She realized that she chose the wrong words to say when pain crossed Nero's eyes.

[No, he misunderstood–]

"And that 'someone' was me. I guess I wasn't loved enough by my own family– and that's probably why I crave the love and affection of two different women," Nero said, obviously dismayed. Then he smirked at her sullenly, his red eyes gleaming viciously. "Neoma Roseheart de Moonasterio, I hate you– you, Mother, and Father… you all disgust me."

Right then and there, her heart broke as much as Nero's heart did.

For the first time in a while, Neoma's tears silently fell from her glowing red eyes– and her eyes changing color because of how much she hated herself at the moment.

[I've hurt Nero…]

And it was an irreversible mistake.

***

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