Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"THE EMPRESS Dowager received divine punishment…"

"Then it means the Empress Dowager lied!"

"A fake?!"

Neoma could hear the nobles talking in loud voices.

She should be satisfied to know that most of them had finally realized that the fake Empress Juliet was a fake, but she wasn't.

Although she said it was already 'game over,' it wasn't really.

[Not everyone believes in gods, so I must back up the truth with some solid evidence that they can't refute.]

"I know you are all confused because five years ago, my father verified that the Empress Juliet who returned with Calyx was the real Empress Juliet," Neoma said. "But we were also tricked. Fortunately, we met the soul of the real Empress Juliet."

A loud collective gasp was heard.

But one voice stood out among the rest.

"You met the soul of the real Empress Juliet?!"

Neoma turned to the owner of the voice and found Kyle Sprouse trapped inside an egg-shaped nest made of vines. "I would have been more inclined to answer your question if you spoke respectfully to me, Count Sprouse."

Who in their right mind would call a royal princess 'you?'

Well, even if the count didn't want to address her as a princess, he could have addressed her as a lady.

[Or, at the very least, use a polite tone.]

"I'm not so arrogant to demand you to respect me as a princess," Neoma continued. "But at least speak properly to me as another human being."

Even in Korean culture, it was important to be mindful of your speech.

[I mean, I curse a lot. But as a proper princess and a decent human being, I still speak politely to people I don't like in a formal setting.]

Kyle Sprouse' face turned red as if he was embarrassed. "I apologize for my rudeness, Princess Neoma. I was so overwhelmed by my curiosity that I lost my mind for a moment. But I'm really dying to know about the real soul of Empress Juliet that Your Royal Highness mentioned."

Hmm?

To be honest, she was kind of surprised that Kyle Sprouse believed her right away.

[It's probably because of Goddess Alethea.]

Even so, she thought Kyle Sprouse was so close-minded that he wouldn't believe anything that Neoma would say about the fake Empress Juliet.

[I guess his faith in gods is pretty intense.]

"I'm about to talk about it even if you didn't ask, Count Sprouse," Neoma said indifferently. "Please wait. The late Empress Juliet has a separate message for you."

Kyle Sprouse' face beamed.

Neoma almost let out a villainous laugh upon seeing the hope in the traitor's face, but she held back.

[Go ahead, Kyle Sprouse. Fill your heart with hope– so there's more for me to crush later.]

Neoma tore her gaze away from Kyle Sprouse to focus on the on-going trial. "Is the fake Empress Dowager still alive?"

Hanna, who was the highest-ranked after Neoma within the current group, responded. "Yes, Princess Neoma," she said, addressing Neoma formally in front of an audience. "The fake Empress Dowager has sustained severe burns all over her body, but she survived the Divine Punishment."

"Thank you, Lady Hanna," Neoma said. "Then we should proceed with the next step to prove that the Empress Dowager in front of us is really a fake." She turned to the audience and found the person she was looking for. "Duke Hawthorne, please bring the Royal Archmage out."

Jasper oppa was with Uncle Glenn's family, and he had Duckie with him.

[Gin is here, too, in his human form.]

Jasper oppa bowed towards her respectfully. "As you command, Princess Neoma."

After that, Jasper oppa patted Gin's shoulder.

Then Gin pulled out a dice from the pocket of his pants and threw it on the floor. After hitting the ground, the dice turned into a door.

The door then opened on its own, revealing the person behind it.

"It really is the Royal Archmage…"

"Isn't it rare for Royal Archmage Barlowe to show up in public? She was always in the Royal Tower…"

"Well, the Royal Archmage has to be here since she was the one who verified the fake Empress Dowager's identity five years ago."

"Can we still trust the Royal Archmage?"

"It's not like she can lie since Princess Neoma is using Godess Alethea's power…"

"Right."

The loud "whisperings" came to a halt when Abigal Barlowe left the door and entered the courtroom with her held high.

[Yeah, you did nothing wrong, Lady Barlowe.]

"Welcome, Lady Barlowe," Neoma said politely. "I'm sure you were already briefed about why I summoned you here."

[I was the one who asked her father's Soul Beasts to kidnap the Royal Archmage, after all.]

"Thank you for inviting me here, Princess Neoma," Abigail Barlowe said in a serious tone. It looked like the Royal Archmage was a bit annoyed. Perhaps it was because of the fact that she was tricked by the fake Empress Dowager. "I heard that the Empress Dowager that I verified five years ago, turned out to be a fake."

[Ah, so the Royal Archmage was indeed pissed because of that.]

And rightfully so.

"You weren't the only person who was tricked, Lady Barlowe. Even my own father was deceived and verified the fake Empress Dowager's identity five years ago," Neoma said. "Hence, we're also responsible for this mess."

The Royal Archmage looked touched by what she said.

"Fortunately, I was able to get some evidence after encountering the cult that supports the fake Empress Dowager," Neoma said, addressing the audience and looking at the hidden camera in Hanna's brooch. She wanted the people watching the trial outside to feel included, after all. "It was also the place where I found the real Empress Juliet's soul."

This time, even Calyx and the fake Empress Dowager looked shocked by what she said.

Hmm?

[They don't know that Empress Juliet's soul was stuck in their mansion?]

Or maybe because they were shocked she found it?

She didn't have time to dwell on that, though.

Neoma avoided looking at the Griffiths because her heart wasn't ready to look at Monik while she was talking about her previous life. "I kept the shell of the barrier that protected Empress Juliet's soul for years."

To be honest, she was kind of nervous about suddenly getting Divine Punishment.

After all, it was the reincarnation of Empress Juliet that she found in the egg-like barrier and not just her soul.

But it didn't happen.

[Perhaps because it's true that Empress Juliet's soul was inside the egg.]

"I believe the cult used that to deceive your senses," Neoma said, then she turned to Trevor. "Lord Kesser…?"

Trevor nodded in understanding, then he pulled a storage box out of thin air. He opened the lid and pulled out a glass case where the "egg shells" were kept properly. "Here you go, Princess Neoma."

"Thank you, Lord Kesser," Neoma said when she received the glass case from Trevor, then she faced the Royal Archmage. "Lady Barlowe, the egg shells are embedded with the late Empress Juliet's unique Mana and a piece of her soul. I believe the cult used these to deceive our senses when the fake Empress Juliet's identity was verified five years ago."

"I will check the shells, Princess Neoma. Thank you," Abigail Barlowe said, then her sharp gaze fell on the fake Empress Dowager. "Then I shall compare it to that fake's physical aura and Mana."

Neoma nodded, then her gaze finally landed on her next target. "Now, shall we confirm whether Calyx Dalton is really my father's son or not?"

Calyx smirked at her haughtily. "I am a de Moonasterio."

No Divine Punishment fell on the crow bastard.

Hence, the nobles got noisy again.

"Prince Calyx wasn't punished…"

"He's a de Moonasterio, then…"

"Does he not know that his "mother" was a fake all along?"

Hmm.

Calyx smirked, obviously delighted that the nobles still accepted him as a prince.

However…

"I didn't ask whether you're a de Moonasterio or not, Calyx Dalton," Neoma said coldly. "Let me repeat my question: are you Emperor Nikolai de Moonasterio's son or not?"

And that was when Calyx lost his smile…

… followed by releasing his bloodlust directed at Neoma.

Oho?

The next thing Neoma knew, her arm was already blocking the dagger that Calyx tried to stab her with– causing a huge ruckus, of course.

Neoma laughed at Calyx's sneak attack. "So, you have chosen death?"

***

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