Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"AFTER all the fuss about "seducing" me, you're suddenly dumping me?"

"I know, right?" Neoma agreed with Ruto because she knew that her request to break up was too abrupt. "I'm serious, though."

"Why?"

"As you can see, I'm currently imprisoned– I don't have time to date."

[Not that we've gone on a proper date yet.]

"You practically put yourself there."

"If you're going to play mind games, you must confuse your enemies first," she said, shrugging. "Obviously, the crows have the upper hand because the Empress Dowager has the authority to give the final verdict during the trial. Hence, they must be out of their wits at the moment. And that's what I'm aiming for."

"You're aiming for the moment they make a mistake after you got them overthinking?"

"I knew you'd get me," she said, proud of Ruto for being on the same wavelength as hers. "The crows will hide their dirt that they're afraid of getting revealed. We just have to keep an eye on them."

"And who's going to do that while you're here?"

"Do you know that hawks have one of the sharpest eyesight among all animals?"

"Ah, so the Quinzels," Ruto said, then he paused for a moment before thinking. "Is Hanna Quinzel the one you chose to take your place while you're here?"

She laughed because she suddenly found her situation funny. "To be honest with you, I got myself arrested on a whim. I mean, revealing the fact that I deceived the empire was a part of my plan– but only as a last resort. I didn't expect to use that card this early."

If Nero didn't show signs of turning into a tyrant, she wouldn't do this.

[But here we are now.]

"I need to protect the empire not because I give a shit about it, but because I don't want the citizens to suffer under Nero's dictatorship," she said, sighing. "I know, I know. It's bad for me to think the worst of Nero, especially after he released all his pent-up resentments against me and our parents. Even so, it doesn't change the fact that he's not suitable for the throne at the moment."

She took action immediately because Nero's coming-of-age would be a few weeks from now. It was also the moment the Crown Prince would be granted the right to seize the emperor's throne.

"Do you know what's scarier than a man with a loose screw?" Neoma asked, but she also answered her own question. "A lunatic with ABSOLUTE power."

"That's Prince Nero, indeed."

"It's not his fault that he's mentally ill, but he still should be held accountable for his actions," she said, combing her hand through her hair since her bangs. She clicked her tongue when she realized that she didn't know what she looked like while talking to Ruto. He couldn't see her face, yes. Even so, she still wanted to look pretty. "Aish. I should have surrendered after taking a bath. That damned twin brother of mine didn't even give me a change of clothes."

"Do you want me to get you out of here?"

"Aigoo, the offer is tempting, but I have to turn you down. I can't let my ex-boyfriend do that for me."

Ruto let out a sigh. "I am not your ex-boyfriend."

"Ohh… do you not want to break up with me?"

"We don't have a relationship to begin with, so why would we break up?"

"Huh? What do you mean we're not in a relationship?" she said, knitting her eyebrows. "We held hands! Hugged! And we even danced! I don't do those things with a friend." She stood up and walked towards Ruto. Then she grabbed the prison bars while looking at him coldly. "I know I'm the one who pursued you, but this is too much."

To be honest, she was a bit distracted.

[Wow, Ruto smells so good that I don't smell the bad odor here anymore.]

"If we're not in a relationship, then we wouldn't need to break up."

"…"

Pfft.

Okay, that completely melted her anger.

"The green flag Ruto I know is mature, so I tend to act childish with him because I want him to baby me," Neoma said, smiling while shaking her head. "But your childish side is cute, Ruto. It makes me want to baby you. We should have used 'baby' as our endearment to each other instead of 'babe.'"

"Please don't call a grown-ass man 'baby,' Princess Neoma."

It was Lewis who complained from next door.

[Is it just me or Lewis' vocabulary is getting crass little by little? I should probably stop cursing in front of my children and only speak nice words around them.]

"The fox is right," Ruto said, frowning. "Calling me 'baby' is a little…"

"Fine, I won't call you 'baby,'" she said, pouting. The meaning of 'babe' and 'baby' wasn't different, so she didn't really get why it was such a big deal to the boys. "Anyway, I'm serious, Ruto. You're not my babe anymore, so don't speak about our personal relationship if you got summoned to the court to testify."

"Ah, so you're breaking up with me because of the upcoming trial?"

"Ruto, you're an important figure in the Eastern Continent," she said in a serious voice. "Plus, you represent the Sun Goddess. You can't get dragged into a trial that's bound to be messy. Not yet, at least. So, if ever you got summoned to the court, don't say we're dating. I already broke up with you anyway."

"…"

"Ruto, answer me."

"I'm not obligated to answer you, am I?"

"Aigoo. Red flag Ruto is showing his ugly head again."

"I already know I'm ugly by your standards."

She gasped, her eyes opening wide. "Hey, that's not true. You know I don't mean it literally! I'm just saying that your red flags are not… nice."

"You don't have to worry about your ex-lover's feelings."

Wow.

Ruto was really sulking.

[His immature side is really something…]

"Stop making me want to baby you, Ruto."

Ruto ignored what he said as he pulled a single-stemmed red rose from his sling bag. It was definitely a magic pouch since it was too small to store the long flower inside. "Here."

Neoma was confused, but she accepted the rose.

And then she finally realized what the rose was for.

"The foul odor here disappeared," Neoma said, amazed that it suddenly smelled like roses in the entire underground prison. "Thank you, Ruto."

"I'll bring you food later."

"Why not now?"

"This place isn't suitable for you to eat your dinner," Ruto said, then he turned to his side. "What took you so long?"

"I don't want to hear crap from Princess Neoma's EX-LOVER," Trevor, who suddenly appeared beside Ruto, said cheerfully. And yes, the demon boy's face was beaming with happiness. "Princess Neoma, I agree with your decision to break up with the damned chef. You did well. Good job. I'm so proud of you. Your big brain is really amazing!"

"I hate to say this, but I agree with Trevor."

It was Lewis, who was obviously listening to their conversation.

Neoma rolled her eyes at Trevor and Lewis who were suddenly ganging up on Ruto. "Why are you late, Trevor."

"Sorry, my Moon Princess," Trevor said then he snapped his fingers. "I need you to step out of that little prison cell for a moment." He turned to his other side. "You, too, Lewis."

BANG.

She flinched a little when the loud banging sound shook the entire underground prison.

It was because Lewis kicked the door, sending it flying until it hit the wall. Of course, the wall almost collapsed because of the impact.

Lewis turned to Neoma after stepping out of his prison cell. "Should I kick your door open, Princess Neoma?"

"No need," Neoma said, letting go of the prison bars she was holding because the entire door was slowly vanishing– all thanks to Trevor's sorcery. "Are you alright, Lewis?"

Lewis just nodded politely.

Neoma then stepped out of the prison cell. "So, what are you going to do, Trevor?"

"A room make-over," Trevor said, using modern words again. "A princess deserves to stay in a princess-style room, no?"

***

"FORGET it, Raku," Sanford said while stretching his arms. "As long as Princess Neoma doesn't escape from prison, let them do whatever they want."

To be honest, he had no idea what was going on underground.

[Prince Nero just asked as to guard the door leading to the basement. Working too hard doesn't suit me.]

"This power…"

It was rare for Raku to speak, so he listened to his friend intently.

"They're all strong."

"Right?" Sanford agreed with Raku. "We'll probably die if we fought them."

"I'm not afraid to die if it's for Prince Nero."

He couldn't help but smack Raku's back a little too hard. "I don't think Princess Neoma is the enemy here, so there's no need to fight her or her people. Value your life more, will you?"

"But Prince Nero saved my life…"

"So serve him well while you're alive. You're useless once you're dead."

Raku fell silent for a moment as if he was thinking, then he nodded. "Alright."

"Good," Sanford said, patting Raku's back encouragingly. "That's why let's just ignore Princess Neoma's crazy antics. Her Royal Highness scares me more than the monsters around her."

***

HANNA had many things to do, so she prepared herself to have a whole night of strategic meeting with Lord Jasper and Neoma's "children."

[Yes, I asked Lady Paige and the others to stay with us while Neoma is in jail.]

She asked the servants to bring Lord Jasper and Neoma's "children" to the drawing room first. Of course, she also politely asked Lord East, the Azure Dragon, to bring Count Kyle Sprouse to the underground prison.

Hanna was headed to her bedroom to change into comfortable clothes when her mother– who arrived home first– greeted her with a pale look on her face, she immediately knew that her plan for tonight was already foiled.

[Ah, I'm suddenly anxious.]

"Hanna, sweeties, we have guests," her mother said nervously. "Esteemed guests."

Her mother's expression made her nervous because they were not expecting any esteemed guests tonight.

"Alright, Mother," Hanna said, hiding her nervousness. "Please lead me to them."

***

"AH, THIS is life," Neoma said while having tea. "Now I feel like I'm on vacation."

Her dirty and shabby prison cell had turned into a majestic and clean room– thanks to Trevor's sorcery.

Now, her room had its own bathroom as well.

After taking a bath and changing into a decent white nightgown with a silk robe, she ate the dinner that Ruto cooked for her. Then she had tea in the lounge area of the room to help her digest her meal well.

Of course, Lewis' room was also "renovated" the same way.

Her "son" was also done taking a bath and changing into more comfortable clothes, and was now standing behind her chair like the knight that he was.

[And yes, Lewis ate with me earlier.]

Trevor and Ruto had gone out to talk while Neoma and Lewis were talking, though.

[I don't know what Trevor and Ruto talked about, though.]

"Don't forget to brush your teeth before you sleep."

"Okay," Neoma responded to Ruto who was already getting out of his seat. "Are you already leaving?"

Ruto nodded at her question. "I'll return tomorrow morning to bring you breakfast."

"Aww," Trevor said sarcastically. "You're too sweet for an EX-LOVER, my friend."

Gosh, this demon boy…

"Thank you for the dinner," Lewis said to Ruto even though her "son" didn't mention a name. "Good night, Princess Neoma's ex-lover."

Ruto just let out a sigh.

Neoma could only shake her head before drinking her tea.

[So childish.]

***

"ALL OF US agree that a trial must be held," Rufus, who was leading the meeting among the representatives of the Twelve Golden Families, said firmly. "But not all of us agree that the trial must be open to the public."

That was the conclusion they arrived at during the emergency meeting.

He didn't like the current situation, but he did his best to keep his calm.

[Hanna told me I must convince to open the trial to the public for Princess Neoma's sake. Unfortunately, it's not easy to do…]

"Why should we open the trial to the public?" Marquis Vincent Lennox asked sternly. "We're going to discuss the Royal Family's shameful act during the trial. The public doesn't need to see that."

"For once, I agree with Marquis Lennox," Duke Arman Winchester, the head of the Noble Faction, scoffed. "What do the peasants know about the law anyway? They will just see the trial as a form of entertainment."

Naturally, members of the Noble Faction shared the same opinion.

[Only Count Seant Dankworth and Marquis Lawford Gibson agreed with me to open the trial to the public.]

"We must quickly end the trial, too," Marquis Frank Balasco said. "The commoners will only get in the way."

"I'm more interested in Mona's daughter," Marquis Russell Spencer, Lady Mona Roseheart's obsessive admirer in the past, said while grinning. "She's not going to receive death punishment, is she? If so, perhaps the Royal Family could marry her off to m–"

"If you finish that sentence, I'll kill you," Rufus threatened the perverted marquis in a cold voice, his yellow eyes glowing menacingly. "Princess Neoma is the one and only royal princess of the empire. Moreover, Princess Neoma IS my niece. If you disrespect Her Royal Highness once more, I will not let it slide."

Marquis Spencer smirked, but it was obvious that Rufus' threat scared him.

"Stop it," Count Emerson Zachary, Marquis' Spencer's close friend, said. "Duke Quinzel, the majority always wins. Only you, Count Dankworth, and Marquis Gibson agreed to open the trial to the public. Your side already lost in votes."

Rufus turned to the Northern Lords. "But there are four more people here who haven't voted yet."

"That's right," Marquis Gibson, who was gently trying to wake up the sleeping Count Dankworth, agreed with him. "Let them vote."

Duke Winchester scoffed. "Since when did the Northern Lords get involved in the state affairs? I'm certain they'll just say they're on the neutral–"

"Let's open the trial to the public."

It was Count Tyler Lucchesi, the de facto leader of the Northern Lords, who said that.

The entire conference hall fell silent.

Of course, they were shocked since this was the first time in a while that the Northern Lords took a stand!

[I heard Princess Neoma was in the North recently...]

Could the royal princess have a hand in this?

"The Northern Lords wish to open the trial to the public," Count Lucchesi said in a firm voice. "Our votes count, don't they?"

***

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