Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"I SHOULD have ripped that foul mouth of yours apart, you pathetic old bastard," Drystan said angrily as he followed the Ancient Devil to the balcony. "I was curious as to what you wanted to say so I let you talk. Had I known you'd be spouting nonsense, then I would have beaten you to a pulp."

"We both know you can't beat me to a pulp," the Ancient Devil said, obviously in a sour mood. "This is getting boring now."

[Ah, there it is.]

Drystan recognized the Ancient Devil's empty eyes even though the old bastard was using a different shell now.

[That's the look of someone who has already lost his purpose in life.]

Tsk.

"Hey, if you're so bored out of your mind, then why don't you just tell me how to kill you?" Drystan asked. He was dead serious. "I'll happily put you to eternal rest. Since you're a bastard who committed heinous crimes, I'm sure your soul will end up under my custody."

The Ancient Devil let out a tired sigh. "Has it never occurred to you that the reason I don't want to die is because I don't want to spend eternity with you? I know that you'll be the one to judge my soul once I die, and that already sounds like a chore to me."

"Hey, I think my personality is better than Helstor."

"And why are you suddenly bringing up the God of Eternal Darkness in this conversation?"

"Because I know that only that horrible bastard could offer something that will pique your interest," Drystan said bluntly. "You never took sides during the war that happened in the first timeline. But, this time, you joined hands with Helstor. And we all know that the God of Eternal Darkness is supporting Callisto de Luca."

Callisto de Luca and the crows were Princess Neoma's enemies.

"You've been quiet all this time, so why are you acting like a menace now?"

"Well, I didn't know before that Helstor was such a fun person to hang out with," the Ancient Devil said, grinning. "Moreover, he can help me retrieve the ability that I lost in the past timeline."

An ability that he lost in the past?

[This old pathetic bastard has so many outstanding abilities that even gods in the Upper World envy, so I can't tell which one of them he's talking about.]

CRACK.

Drystan's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sound of the cuffs around the Ancient Devil's body breaking.

[Ah, he got out of them faster than expected.]

Drystan braced himself to suppress the Ancient Devil again, but he froze on the spot when the Ancient Devil snapped his fingers.

And, just like that, the "sky" suddenly turned dark.

Then it rained.

The "raindrops" were Darkness made of Darkness. It wasn't harmful, though. However…

"Bastard," Drystan cursed when he saw the raindrops turning into a jelly-like substance. "You're really dead set on trapping us here, huh?"

***

HMM?

Ruto was a bit surprised when he came out of the Eternal Flame's domain and realized that Drystan had left his territory.

"His Majesty left for the Underworld, Divine Lord."

It was Iris, Drystan's right-hand man.

"Why did Drystan go to the Underworld?" Ruto asked with knitted brows. "What happened?"

He was nervous because Neoma's preserved body was in the Underworld.

[Lewis and Hanna Quinzel are there, but the two are still children…]

"The Ancient Devil appeared in the Underworld, Divine Lord."

"What?"

"But he's not there for Princess Neoma. Apparently, the Ancient Devil's goal is to prevent Princess Hanna from returning to the palace."

It took him a moment to get the gist of what was happening.

[Neoma said the throne has chosen Dahlia to be the next empress instead of Hanna Quinzel, and then the Ancient Devil showed up in the Underworld just to prevent the Crown Princess from returning to the palace?]

Ah.

"So, the Ancient Devil has joined hands with the crows."

"My king suspects that the Ancient Devil joined hands with Helstor and not necessarily with the crows," Iris explained. "What are you going to do now, Divine Lord? Will you head to the Underworld to help them?"

"I'd love to, but I only have one body. Hanna Quinzel and Lewis won't be harmed as long as Drystan is there."

Of course, he was also worried about Neoma's preserved body.

But if the Ancient Devil was only there to prevent Hanna Quinzel from returning to the palace, then he wouldn't touch Neoma.

[I just hope Drystan is enough to stop the Ancient Devil if the latter starts to act funny.]

"Where are you headed, Divine Lord?" Iris asked curiously. "I thought you were going to head straight because Princess Neoma is there."

"I have to put my faith in Drystan for now," Ruto said firmly. "I need to follow Neoma's direct order first."

[And that is to save Prince Nero.]

***

"IT WILL take a while, Your Imperial Majesty. In the meantime, please decide who among you would go to the Underworld with me. We'll leave as soon as I open a portal."

Nikolai nodded at what Gin said.

[Gin is the demon cat that belonged to Nichole's group in the past.]

Fortunately, the humanoid cat was under Duke Jasper Hawthorne's custody at the moment. Hence, they were able to bring Gin to the palace quickly.

"Your Imperial Majesty, please allow me to rescue my daughter."

It was Rufus.

Nikolai summoned his cousin to his office and informed him of what was going on in the Underworld.

[Of course, he deserves to know the truth.]

Nikolai, instead of replying to Rufus right away, turned to Gin who had his hands firmly pressed on the floor. "How many can you take with you?"

"I can only crack a small opening since the Ancient Devil has sealed all the entries to the Underworld, Your Imperial Majesty," Gin said, not even looking at Nikolai. But it was okay since the demon cat was concentrating hard. "Hence, please make the group as small as possible. Two people is ideal, but I think I can accommodate up to four people."

"Alright. Let's stick with a small group," Nikolai said, then he turned to Rufus. "Rufus and I will go."

The demon cat didn't respond.

Rufus, on the other hand, gasped out loud. "Your Imperial Majesty, I appreciate the fact that you are willing to save my daughter. But as a duke of the empire, I cannot let you leave the palace when Your Imperial Majesty is the only member of the Imperial Family left in here at the moment."

His cousin's concern was valid.

At least one member of the Imperial Family had to stay in the palace at all times. Even so, it wasn't the right moment to worry about that.

"We can't underestimate the Ancient Devil," Nikolai said. "I want to personally make sure that the Ancient Devil won't be able to harm our daughters, Rufus. Don't forget that Neoma is also there."

Rufus was about to say something, but they both paused because of the sudden change in the air.

And then Commander Ruto suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Your Imperial Majesty," Ruto greeted him with a bow. "Is it true that Prince Nero gained a Spirit God named 'Larissa?'"

Nikolai was confused by Ruto's random question, but he responded right away. "Yes. What about it?"

"Then Prince Nero is in danger," Commander Ruto said bluntly. "Larissa is the Goddess of Fertility."

"Is the goddess an enemy?"

Commander Ruto's face turned dark. "It's the goddess who killed mine and Neoma's child in the past, Your Imperial Majesty."

[What…?]

***

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