Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

[On Neoma's 18th birthday…]

"FATHER, Mother, what do you think about me revealing the royal secret?" Neoma asked while having dinner with her parents. "If I find myself in a tight spot, I plan on revealing my royal secret. Not the one about me being a princess, but the fact that I pretended as Nero for so long."

Her Papa Boss and Mama Boss looked shocked, naturally.

She didn't want to ruin their nice family dinner that they were having at home.

Since it was her 18th birthday, Mama Boss cooked and prepared all her favorite Korean dishes. Her mother also personally baked two birthday cakes for her and Nero, even though her twin brother wasn't there with them.

And since Nero wasn't there with them, they never really celebrated any occasion lavishly.

"Neoma, did your mother and I do something wrong?"

Huh?

Neoma was confused by her father's question. She thought her plan shocked her parents. But that didn't seem to be the case. "What are you talking about, Father?"

Even Mama Boss looked anxious.

[Why, though?]

"There you go again," Papa Boss said nervously. "Why are you calling me 'Father' instead of 'Papa Boss?' Are you upset with me, Neoma? Let's talk it out."

Hmm?

"It's probably because you scolded Neoma for the dress that she wants to wear on Calyx Dalton's birthday," Mama Boss scolded Papa Boss, then her mother turned to her with puppy dog eyes. "You must have been so upset to hear your father complain about your dress, Baby Muffin. I'm sorry, I should have raised Nikolai better than this."

Papa Boss looked at Mama Boss as if he was offended. "Excuse me, Lady Mona Roseheart? You already raised me well."

"Oh, shut it, love."

Neoma couldn't help but laugh while watching her parents flirt– er, bicker cutely. "It's not like that, Mother, Father," she said. And she thought she saw her parents' hearts break a little, hence she immediately explained. "I just thought it was about time for me to address you properly since I'm an adult now."

Well, she had always been an adult inside.

But in this lifetime, she finally reached the legal age (in the empire, at least). In Korea, as of now, the age of consent was twenty years old.

[We're not Koreans, so I'm legally an adult now.]

Hence, she was now free to drink alcoholic beverages.

[Of course, not outside since my fake documents say I'm Korean.]

"Why would that matter?" Papa Boss complained lightly. "It's fine if you continue addressing us the way you do."

"I agree with your father, baby," Mama Boss said. "Of course, once we're back in the empire, you must address us formally in front of an audience since you're a princess. But in private, and in the presence of our friends, please feel free to call us 'Papa Boss' and 'Mama Boss.'"

Neoma smiled, happy that her parents felt that way. She actually wanted to keep on calling them the way she did, but she worried that she might be too old to call her parents 'Papa Boss' and 'Mama Boss.' "Alright, Mama Boss and Papa Boss."

Her parents smiled at her, satisfied.

"Mama Boss, Papa Boss, as I said earlier, I'm thinking of revealing the truth to the public if push comes to shove," Neoma said in a serious voice. "I know it will put Nero in a difficult position. Moreover, our family will definitely get criticized heavily for deceiving the empire. I might be even summoned to the court."

"We will get criticized, yes," Papa Boss said confidently. "But the Royal Family can't be arrested since we're exempt from the law."

Right, and it was thanks to sovereign immunity.

However…

"That only applies to the emperor and the Crown Prince, Papa Boss," she reminded her father. "The other members of the Royal Family can be put to trial. Though it rarely happens."

There were only a few instances where a member of the Royal Family attended the court, though. If she remembered correctly, the last time a de Moonasterio was put to a trial happened one hundred years ago.

Mama Boss covered her mouth with her hands when she gasped. "Neoma, don't tell me you're planning to attend court voluntarily?"

"That's the plan, Mama Boss."

"Neoma," Papa Boss said sternly, obviously displeased by her decision. "You don't have to do that. I will take responsibility since I was the one who forced you to pretend as Nero when you were younger."

"Papa Boss, I have to…"

"When a member of the Royal Family is put to trial, the representatives of the Twelve Golden Family become the judges," Mama Boss said worriedly. "And the most senior member of the Royal Family gives the final verdict. Neoma, you know that the fake Empress Juliet is currently the Empress Dowager, don't you?"

"Moreover, we can only depend of Rufus within the Twelve Golden Families," Papa Boss said, frowning because he was worried. "If you let those bastards judge you, they will definitely punish you severely. They will criticize Nero, but they will make you take responsibility in order to protect the Crown Prince. After all…"

Her father hesitated, but Neoma knew what he was going to say.

"I know, Papa Boss," Neoma said solemnly. "For the empire, the Crown Prince is more important than a mere princess. That's why I'm also aware that the court will try to put all the blame on me."

After all, the court couldn't punish Papa Boss.

[Even after he abandoned his duties, I don't think the Twelve Golden Families have the balls to punish Papa Boss. Plus, the crows will take this opportunity to get rid of me.]

"Mama Boss, Papa Boss, don't worry about me. I will definitely win the trial," Neoma said. She was confident not because she was being arrogant again, but because she was already prepared for this moment. "I'm more worried about Nero. Once I reveal that I was the "Prince Nero" who was crowned a few years ago, people will begin to doubt his capabilities as the Crown Prince. Even so, I have to do this." She looked at her hands, then clenched them tight. "After all, I'm not only Nero's twin sister– I am also the one and only royal princess of the Great Moonasterion Empire."

***

WHEN NEOMA told Mama Boss and Papa Boss that she would reveal the truth when push came to shove, she wasn't worried about how the crows would react.

She was prepared for that moment for a long time already.

[I knew the crows would use that truth against me and Nero someday, so I decided to reveal the truth in my own narrative.]

However, seeing the betrayed look on Nero's face hurt more than she thought it would.

Nero may not remember the time that she pretended to be him when they were children, but Nero wasn't dumb. Her twin brother knew that if she was telling the truth, then his position as the Crown Prince would be jeopardized.

And most of all, Nero's pride was probably hurt when he realized that all his previous accomplishments actually belonged to Neoma.

[I'm sorry, Nero.]

To be honest, the reason why Neoma decided to reveal the truth was to delay Nero's ascension to the throne.

Yes, that was the biggest reason and not Calyx's unexpected move tonight.

[If Nero becomes the emperor in that state, he'll become the tyrant emperor that he was in the first timeline.]

Hence, Neoma decided to treat Nero as an enemy in the meantime.

[I'm really sorry, Nero.]

"What the hell is going on here?" Duke Arman Winchester, the leader of the Noble Faction, demanded in an angry voice. As expected, the factions within the Twelve Golden Families had already grouped themselves. "Did we hear it right? The royal princess who suddenly appeared out of nowhere claimed that she pretended as Prince Nero in the past?"

"You and everyone in this hall had me correctly, Duke Winchester," Neoma said in a calm and clear voice, avoiding Nero's cold gaze to turn to the old duke. "When I was five years old, Nero was attacked by an assassin. He fell into a comatose state while he was under treatment, hence Father asked me to pretend as my twin brother."

Her explanation sounded simple, huh?

Even so, everyone still appeared to be in shock.

"Princess Neoma, what do you think you're doing?" Calyx asked sternly. "Claiming that you pretended to be Nero in the past without evidence–"

"Lady Sienna, Lord Manu, High Priest Dion," Neoma said, ignoring Calyx to face the Sun Priestess, Moon Priest, and the High Priest. "We already met in the past while I was posing as Nero, didn't we?"

"That's right," Sienna said right away. "Princess Neoma was posing as Prince Nero when I first met her."

"It was Lord Yule's will," Manu said in a calm voice that made him look extra trustworthy. "The Moon God even sent me here to assist Princess Neoma while she was posing as Prince Nero."

"When the first prophecy was given, Lord Yule was actually referring to Princess Neoma as the First Star," Dion said confidently. "Princess Neoma is the first daughter of Emperor Nikolai and Lady Mona Roseheart."

Look at how the tables had turned, huh?

Neoma faced Calyx lastly. "Lady Sienna, Lord Manu, and High Priest Dion have already spoken. The same people who verified that Lord Yule's divine message was real also verified the truth that I claimed, Prince Calyx."

That was the reason why she didn't ask Sienna, Manu, and Dion to lie.

She let the three verify the divine message as real because she needed them also to confirm that she was telling the truth.

"I'm afraid this isn't a simple matter, Princess Neoma," Calyx said, his annoying smile appearing on his face again as if he had found a way to attack her again. "You still have a lot of things to explain. And if needed, you might get summoned to the court for deceiving the empire."

"That's right," Neoma said, smiling and nodding. "But first, I'm going to explain to the people of the empire first."

Calyx was confused at first.

But the fake First Prince's confusion didn't last long when Vespera, the Black Phoenix in his human form, appeared beside Neoma.

[Perfect timing!]

"I have safely brought as many people as I could, Princess Neoma," Vespera said politely. "They're all waiting in front of the People's Palace."

Now everyone in the hall let out a collective gasp.

"The People's Palace…?"

"Who opened the palace's gates, though?"

"And the commoners are here… really?"

Neoma smiled while listening to the shocked nobles around her, then she faced Calyx while putting her heart-shaped sunglasses on again. "Shall we begin Round 2 of our little feud, my dear older brother?"

***

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