Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

NEOMA should have known it.

Nero was alone all these years.

He was lonely.

He was angry.

[Mama Boss, Papa Boss, and I abandoned Nero.]

Even if she argued that they had no choice but to leave, it wouldn't change the fact that they still collectively decided to abandon Nero because someone had to sit on the throne.

We thought Nero would be fine alone.

[I forgot to care about Nero's emotional stability and mental health.]

And the worst of all…

[I overestimated Nero's love for me.]

"Nero, I'm sorry–"

"I don't need your apology," Nero said bitterly, cutting her off rudely. "I want you to suffer."

Neoma could only clench her hands tight.

[He's really angry…]

The hate-filled gleam in Nero's red eyes was only getting sharper as time passed by. "Did you say Father and Mother would be returning soon?" He smirked condescendingly. "Perfect. I'll punish Father for abandoning his duties, and I will make sure that the empire will never recognize his marriage with Mother."

"Father and Mother aren't married yet," Neoma said, calling Papa Boss and Mama Boss formally because Nero didn't remember her pet names for their parents. "They didn't get married because they wanted you to be a part of the wedding ceremony. Hence, they held off the wedding indefinitely."

In Korea, Nikolai and Mona Ramsay were married.

But the documents were fake.

[Mama Boss and Papa Boss didn't want to hold a wedding ceremony without Nero in it.]

"Am I supposed to be touched?" Nero asked, laughing sarcastically. "Do I need to feel grateful that they held off their wedding ceremony because they wanted me to be a part of it?"

He suddenly stopped laughing.

It was scary how all the emotions on Nero's face suddenly disappeared all at once.

"Listen to me carefully, Neoma," Nero said, the anger on his face visible. "I will seize the throne as soon as I come of age officially. And once I become the emperor, I will punish our father for abandoning his duties just to elope with our mother. Killing them is no fun, so I will banish them to the poorest village of the empire. Of course, I'll do it after I seal their power. What can they do after they lose the power that makes them great?" His mouth twisted in a very cruel smile. "I can't wait to see the great Emperor Nikolai and Lady Roseheart starve to death."

"Nero, I understand that you're mad at us. You have the right to feel that way," Neoma said, her voice starting to get cold. Although she recognized the pain that she caused Nero, she couldn't just stand there and listen to him insult their parents. "However, wishing our parents harm is crossing the line."

"Hah!" he said, obviously unaffected. "Our father killed his own father to seize the throne. Ever since time immemorial, it has always been normal for the de Moonasterios to kill each other. Father should have been prepared to be killed by his son after he killed his own father. After all, it's a vicious cycle that will never end."

"No, that vicious cycle will end in our generation," she said firmly. "We will end it, Nero."

"'We?'" Nero asked, laughing AT her. "Neoma, what power do you have as a mere princess?"

Ah, yes.

[This is the Nero that I know from the first timeline.]

"Are you being arrogant because you have the Cosmic Tree as a backing?" Nero scoffed. "The Cosmic Tree is dying. She's not as relevant as she used to be. Moreover, I have the entire Spirit World as my backing. Compared to the Cosmic Tree, the Queen of the Spirit World, who also happens to be the Fairy Queen, is more important and powerful."

As expected, that damned Queen Tara really had her eyes on Nero.

[I should have taken care of Queen Tara and William as soon as I returned.]

"Ah, you also have Hanna by your side."

Her gaze towards Nero became sharp.

"Hanna is my fiancée," Nero reminded her arrogantly. "The Quinzels are mine to use."

"Don't speak like Hanna is just a tool, Nero."

"It's 'Prince Nero,' to you," he said indifferently. "Stop talking to me as if we're on the same level. I'm the Crown Prince, and you're nothing but a mere princess."

She clenched her hands tighter to stop herself from talking back because once she opened her mouth, she might hurl things at Nero that would definitely make him hate her more.

[He's not in his proper mind, so I should just suck it up in the meantime.]

"As soon as I become the emperor, I will marry you off," Nero continued spitting hateful and hurtful words at her. "Since you have a pretty face, I can sell you off at a high value."

Neoma just remained quiet because Nero's threat didn't scare her.

[As if I'd sit back and allow him to sell me off.]

"But I guess you have to stay alive first before I get to sell you," Nero said, looking at her without an ounce of affection on his face. "I heard there's an organization that only comes out every time a royal princess is born. Apparently, it's the same organization that supposedly killed our aunt, Princess Nichole, in the past. But clearly, they failed since you crashed the banquet with our aunt's Soul Beast."

This time, Neoma could feel her palms bleeding as her nails dug deeper into them. Of course, she was offended that Nero was talking so lightly about the cult that tormented Aunt Nichole and the countless royal princesses throughout history.

[Nero isn't in his sound mind right now. Even so…]

"It's an evil cult and not a mere organization," she said bitterly. "And what would you do if I tell you Calyx is a key member of that fucking cult?"

"What does it have to do with me?" Nero asked, laughing as if he was truly enjoying mocking her. "That "evil cult" only goes after princesses like you. If Calyx gets rid of you for me, then I'll thank him from the bottom of my heart. I'll even give him a reward."

Haaah.

Neoma combed her fingers through her hair while heaving a long sigh. "Nero, shut the fuck up for a moment," she warned him, then she walked towards her twin brother. "I know that an apology isn't enough to make it up to you. But, Nero, there's still a line that you shouldn't cross, even though you're angry at me and our parents."

Nero, who seemed like he wanted to prove that he wasn't afraid of her, didn't move an inch from his spot. "I thought I already told you to watch how you speak to me?"

"I'll speak this way to you as long as you're acting like an asshole."

He frowned, but this time, he didn't retort.

"And, Nero, are you stupid? The evil cult is known for getting rid of royal princesses, but they're also known as extremists who put their chosen prince on the throne by all means. They threw away our grandfather when they no longer find him useful," she said, stopping right in front of Nero. "They also began treating our father like an enemy when Father didn't listen to them."

"So what–"

"Shut the fuck up and listen to me first," she said, cutting him off rudely. "It's true that Calyx is fond of you. But how long do you think you'd stay in the crows' favor? Once they no longer need you, they'll throw you away–"

"Just like how you and our parents threw me away?" Nero asked sarcastically, cutting her off rudely, just like how she cut him off earlier. "Don't worry, my dear twin sister. I also won't let Calyx steal the throne from me. I'm quite fond of him, but I'm not stupid enough to let my guard down around him."

She hated how Nero was fond of Calyx, but at least, her twin brother was still greedy for the throne.

[Haaah.]

She wanted to focus on Nero's emotions and mental health as his twin sister, but as the royal princess, she also had the duty to ensure that Calyx wouldn't be able to steal the throne.

"Let's stop here for tonight, Nero," Neoma said in a tired voice. "We've already hurt each other enough."

If they continued with their hurtful conversation, they might end up fighting physically.

[I don't have the patience of a saint. Although I recognize I'm in the wrong, I still can't let Nero talk shit about our friends and family.]

"You're not the one who gets to decide whether this conversation is over or not–"

Neoma covered Nero's mouth with her hand. "Enough," she said sternly. "This conversation is over."

Nero grabbed her wrist quite roughly to remove her hand from his mouth. "You dare to touch the Crown Prince's face–"

He was forced to stop talking because of what she did next.

Neoma wrapped her free arm around Nero's waist and pulled him closer. "I'm sorry for making you feel alone and lonely for five long years, Nero," she said softly, closing her eyes and pressing her forehead against his shoulder. Thanks to the heels of her boots, she stood taller than usual. "You can hate me all you want. Just don't speak badly about Mama Boss and Papa Boss, okay?"

"'Mama Boss?' 'Papa Boss…?'"

"That's what I call our mother and father," she explained while gently patting Nero's back. "Nero, I won't blame you if you still resent us, even after you regained your memories. We will never abandon you again. Just promise me that you won't self-destruct, hmm?"

Her twin brother flinched, and his grip around her wrist also loosened up.

She took it as a chance to pull her other hand from his grasp. Then she wrapped her newly freed arm around his waist. Simply put, she was hugging Nero with both arms now.

Fortunately, Nero didn't push her away.

[Why did he suddenly fall silent when he was so angry a moment ago?]

Oh, well.

It was good for her, so she just hugged him tighter.

"My arrogance caused you pain, Nero. I will never stop apologizing, but you're not obliged to forgive me if you don't want to," Neoma said, hugging Nero tighter. "However, please remember that I will also never stop loving you. It's my turn to love you to death."

Nero grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her away from him. Surprisingly, he didn't look mad. His face was red, as if he was embarrassed, though. "Aren't you embarrassed for being so sentimental?"

"I am," Neoma admitted, shrugging. "But expressing my love for you is more important than my embarrassment."

He scoffed, his face hardened once again. "As I said earlier, talk is cheap. And whatever you do, I will never forgive you or our parents."

"And as I said earlier, you're not obliged to forgive us– but know that we love you."

Nero just frowned, then he turned his back on her. "I'll make you regret loving me then, Neoma," he said bitterly. "Let's head back to the banquet."

Of course, her twin brother wasn't talking to her.

Sanford and Raku, her "nephews," appeared behind Nero. The two bowed towards her politely before following their master quietly.

Then, just like that, Nero and his "children" disappeared.

[It was a painful encounter but, at least, Nero won't go berserk anymore.]

"Are you alright, Princess Neoma?"

"No, I'm not alright. But I don't have time to cry, so I'll schedule that later," Neoma said, turning around to find Lewis and Kingston waiting for her. "Let's head back to the banquet, too."

***

"THERE'S nothing we can do to change the outcome," Ruto said to Dahlia and Neoma's "children" indifferently after hearing the Black Witch's report. "Neoma already lost the game tonight."

As expected, no one was happy with his response.

Dahlia and Greko looked like they were about to cry.

Xion Redgrave, Juri Wisteria, and Jeno Dankworth glared at him. Only Paige Avery remained calm.

[As expected of Neoma's vice-commander.]

They were still in the hall.

To be precise, they were on the first floor's balcony while talking.

Of course, he and Paige Avery made sure that their conversation was protected.

[Hanna Quinzel decided to stay inside and block Calyx Dalton for us.]

Even Jasper Hawthorne, the Quinzel Couple, and the Griffiths remained inside in order to take the attention away from our group.

"Don't look at me like that," Ruto said, sighing. "Dahlia said that Trevor's group is on its way back. They have an "extra baggage" with them, but the important thing is everyone is safe."

"Lord Ruto, do you mind telling us why you think the best course of action is to stay still?" Paige asked carefully. "I can tell that we've been utterly blindsided, but I don't agree that we should just accept defeat without putting up a fight first."

Dahlia and the "children" nodded in agreement.

"Trevor is with Prince Skylus, and he's the petty kind who hates losing," Ruto said. "The fact that he didn't fight back even though he could only mean the situation required him to give up. If that's the case, then we can assume that Trevor is following Neoma's creed."

"Princess Neoma's creed…?" Paige asked, confused. It took her a moment before her eyes opened wide. "There's no mission worth dying for."

Dahlia then covered her mouth when she gasped. "That means Lord Trevor's group encountered a really dangerous situation."

Ruto nodded, then he looked up at the night sky. "The crows used their brain this time, huh?"

***

"I ALMOST fell asleep while waiting for you to return, Princess Neoma~"

Ah, fuck it.

Neoma was so pissed to be greeted by Calyx when she returned to Callisto Hall.

There was not a single guard there.

"Your eyes are red," Calyx teased her playfully while walking towards her with little hops. Yes, he was walking like a child. "Did you cry after fighting with Nero? Nero came back a little while. He looks pissed, so Lady Hanna is currently comforting him~"

Lewis stepped forward and used his scabbard to stop Calyx from approaching her further.

"Lewis Crevan, your bloodlust is oozing~"

"So?"

"I see– you inherited your master's rudeness~"

Lewis just ignored Calyx's taunting.

[Good boy.]

Neoma patted Lewis' shoulder to let him know that she'd take it from here. "What do you want, Calyx Dalton?"

"You're still calling me a 'Dalton?'"

"Should I call you 'de Luca' then?"

Calyx shrugged casually. "Nothing I can do if you can't still accept me as a de Moonasterio. I don't need your approval, anyway. As long as Nero recognizes me as his precious older brother, your opinion won't hurt me."

She didn't want to let Calyx show her emotions, so she maintained a poker face. "Is it alright for the fake star of the night to be out here? Your birthday party isn't over yet, is it?"

"Of course, it's not. The night is still young," Calyx said playfully, then he offered his hand to her. "That's why I'm here to pick up my date for the rest of the night."

Lewis immediately drew his sword, but…

Calyx turned to Lewis with glowing red eyes. "If you pull that sword out, Prince Skylus will never make it here alive."

Lewis froze in shock, his golden eyes opened a little wider than usual.

Neoma then grabbed Calyx by the wrist, her own eyes turning glowing red like the fuckface. "What did you do to them?"

Calyx laughed, and when he turned to her, his eyes returned to normal. "It was just a joke, princess," he said. "Prince Skylus will have the grand entrance that you planned for him. However, I added a twist."

"What do you mean…"

She was forced to stop talking when a spark in the sky caught her eye.

To be precise, it was a bright light that came from the portal that opened right above the Callisto Hall.

Since the roof was still open, everyone inside the hall could probably see it.

Tteokbokki, in his adult dragon form, flew out of the portal.

Trevor and Lord Manu were both standing on Tteokbokki's back. The Moon Priest was holding Skylus in his arms…

… and another little boy with rosegold hair.

[Who is that gremlin?]

But the extra baggage that caught her attention the most was…

"Regina Crowell," Neoma growled lowly. "What is she doing there?"

"Surprise!" Calyx said cheerfully while laughing at her reaction. "Do you think you're the only one capable of planning a grand entrance?" He tilted his head to one side, his eyes turned glowing red again. "Have a taste of your own medicine, Princess Neoma."

Goddammit!

[I've been had…]

***

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