Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

[HE'S GONE MAD.]

That was Dahlia's first thought after hearing Prince Nero ask all the Soul Beasts there to be his new Soul Beasts.

The only person in history to gain more than two Soul Beasts was His Imperial Majesty Emperor Nikolai. It was the very reason the current emperor was hailed as the strongest man in the empire.

[Is Prince Nero trying to surpass his Imperial Father…?]

"Do you know how many Soul Beasts are here, you arrogant Crown Prince?" the supposedly fake Nero Roseheart asked. "Are you saying that you can free us by making us your Soul Beasts– all at once? Is your soul as huge as your ego?"

The fake Nero Roseheart made a valid point.

As far as Dahlia knew, the Soul Beasts were called that way because they lived in the soul of the de Moonasterio they served.

The emperor had the highest recorded number of Soul Beasts born within a single person.

"Well, why don't we both try to find out?" Prince Nero asked, smirking while crossing his arms over his chest. "Let's see if absorbing your poor souls all at once would kill me or not."

[How can he wager his life like that when he's the Crown Prince?]

"P-Prince Nero, there's no record of a de Moonasterio possessing more than five Soul Beasts," Dahlia said nervously when she couldn't keep her mouth shut anymore. "It's ridiculous that you're even suggesting to absorb all the Soul Beasts here. Moreover, I'm sure you can feel their hostility. You'll never know what they might do to you once they enter your soul. Can't you see how dangerous your proposition is?"

"It's only dangerous if they have any intention of accepting it," Prince Nero said casually. "But those poor souls don't really want to leave this Cage."

Huh?

The fake Nero Roseheart flinched as if he was surprised that Prince Nero had seen through him.

And that made her wonder.

"The male Rosehearts were turned into Soul Beasts against their wishes. After becoming one, a Soul Beast has to stay in the Cage and wait for a de Moonasterio with the same "soul wave" as them to be born," Dahlia wondered out loud. "That sounds like a sad cycle, so why don't they wish to be saved?"

"I couldn't care less, honestly," Prince Nero said in a tired voice. "But how do you save people who do not wish to be saved?"

***

NERO didn't get the chance to ask his parents about the Cage and the Soul Beasts because it was a sensitive topic for them.

[After all, it was the incident that took the late Empress Juliet's life.]

But he had always wondered about one thing.

"My father, my mother, the late Empress Juliet, and William," Nero said, his sharp gaze focused on the fake Nero Roseheart. "The four of them were strong enough to break this Cage and free all of you. But they failed, and the late Empress Juliet even lost her life here."

It was ridiculous, to be honest.

The strongest man in the empire.

The Grand Spirit.

The Daughter of Nature.

Those three failed to save the late Empress Juliet?

[That has always sounded fishy to me.]

"As far as I know, even Neoma of the first timeline had barely survived the Cage with Commander Yoan," Nero said, approaching the fake Nero Roseheart with slow strides. "That's unbelievable. Those two destroyed the Upper World together. How could they not destroy the Cage?"

"We don't wish to be saved by people with even a drop of de Moonasterion blood in them," the fake Nero Roseheart said, growling. Then he grabbed Nero by the throat. "And let me show you why, arrogant Crown Prince."

The fake wasn't strangling Nero for real.

It was just a futile attempt to intimidate him.

But it looked like the fake Nero Roseheart had to touch him in order to show him some memories of the past.

Nero laughed at the fake's face. "Fine, be my guest– show me your deep resentment."

***

BLERGH.

Neoma finally reached the last step of the Stairway to Hell.

She thought she had already seen the darkest side of humanity. But she still wasn't prepared to witness the atrocities that the last emperor had committed.

Watching the horrible memory almost made her throw up.

That was probably because she felt attached to the victims this time.

The male Rosehearts.

[My poor ancestors.]

Neoma had to watch the emperor whose name she couldn't remember literally hunt down the captive male Rosehearts as if he were hunting animals.

The worst part?

That damned emperor wasn't alone.

He brought the high-ranking nobles of the time to hunt down the captive male Rosehearts.

And they hunted their victims in the most ruthless way.

[THOSE FUCKING LOWLIFES!]

But that wasn't the end.

After the unnamed emperor and the high-ranking nobles successfully hunted down the captive male Rosehearts, they chopped up the victims…

… and ate their flesh.

BLERGH.

Neoma covered her mouth when she almost threw up again.

Those goddamned monsters…!

<"Thug princess, I can't take this anymore!">

Since Neoma's emotions were very unstable at the moment, she failed to stop Tteokbokki from breaking the seal.

Her Soul Beast came out…

… and he came out as Crimson– the God of Wrath– in his human form.

[Fuck.]

"All de Moonasterios in the world should die!" Crimson, who was obviously out of his mind and was on a rampage, grabbed Neoma by the throat and lifted her. "You must die to pay for your ancestors' atrocities!"

Neoma grabbed Crimson by the arms weakly. "I'm sorry, but I'm already dead so you can't kill me again."

***

DAHLIA gasped when the Soul Beasts in hiding earlier suddenly appeared one by one.

Wolves.

Giant serpents.

Wyverns.

Foxes.

Gorillas.

Those were just some of the beasts that came out of their hiding places.

The Soul Beasts approached them slowly, just like how a predator would approach their prey.

Worse, Dahlia could tell that the Soul Beasts were there to kill Prince Nero.

The Crown Prince just stood there, frozen on the spot while his eyes were hazy. It was clear that His Imperial Highness' consciousness was somewhere else. Hence, he wasn't in the right condition to fight or even defend himself.

[I have to protect Prince Nero!]

"The Black Witches were also victims of the de Moonasterios, so we won't hurt you, child," the fake Nero Roseheart said. "I'll send you back to where you came from."

"N-No, I can't leave the Crown Prince here," Dahlia said while shaking her head firmly. "I have the duty to protect Prince Nero."

"It's too late for that, child. As you can see, the Crown Prince is in a trance. He'll definitely lose his mind after seeing the atrocities that his ancestors had committed in the past. Hence, we'll stop him–"

"Who's going to lose his mind?"

Dahlia gasped when Prince Nero, who was obviously back to his usual arrogant self, spoke as if he wasn't in a trance just a moment ago.

"What did you do? How could you snap out of it easily?" the fake Nero Roseheart asked, shocked. "Did I fail to show you how–"

"Oh, I saw it clearly," Prince Nero said indifferently. "I saw how one stupid emperor and his nobles feasted on the flesh of the male Rosehearts that they hunted down like animals."

What?

Dahlia almost threw up just after hearing what the Crown Prince said.

[But why does he look fine after witnessing such a cruel incident? And it happened to his ancestors…]

Prince Nero's stoic face gave Dahlia the chills.

"You saw it and you're fine after that?" the fake Nero Roseheart asked in disbelief. "How? Even Nikolai de Moonasterio reached his breaking point after seeing that…"

Pfft.

Yes, the Crown Prince laughed.

"Why would I lose my mind while watching strangers die?" Prince Nero asked in a bored manner, tilting his head to one side as if he was genuinely curious as to why the fake Nero Roseheart couldn't believe his reaction. "As long as it's not Neoma, I don't care who dies and how they die."

Oh.

Dahlia felt a chill down her spine, a curse leaking out of her mind even though she wasn't used to swearing.

[Prince Nero… is a cold-hearted bastard…]

***

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