Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"WHAT a fool," Neoma said while looking at Emperor Nero's cold body, lying on the foot of the throne in the Cage. It was the dimension below the throne room, one that could only be accessed by the Rosehearts and the people they brought with them. "Didn't I tell you to wait for me?"

Of course, her twin brother didn't respond.

He couldn't, for he was already long gone.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" she asked bitterly, biting her lower lip to stop herself from crying. They were still in the middle of a war, so she couldn't afford to mourn for her twin brother. "You lived recklessly after Empress Dahlia died, hoping to die as soon as possible in order to follow her."

But Nero couldn't kill himself because Empress Dahlia, on her deathbed, told him to live on and protect the people of the empire.

Hence, her foolish twin brother lived like he didn't have anything else to live for.

"I wasn't enough for you to live on, huh?" Neoma said, smiling bitterly. "I thought we were already getting close. I thought you were finally acting like the big brother you were supposed to be. But you abandoned me. Again."

To be honest, she didn't expect a response.

Hence, she was surprised when she heard the familiar voice that echoed in the room.

<"I'm sorry, Neoma.">

It was Nero.

To be precise, it was her twin brother's Spirit.

Since Neoma had Roseheart Blood in her, she was able to see Nero's soul standing in front of her. "Are you sorry that you're leaving the throne to me when I already said I didn't want it?"

Now that Nero was gone, the throne had finally acknowledged Neoma.

The law dictated that a woman couldn't inherit the throne. However, now that the empire was in ruins, laws didn't matter anymore.

And the Moonglow that engulfed Neoma was proof.

<"I'm sorry for leaving you again, Neoma,"> Nero said softly. It was a tone that he rarely used because of his awful personality. <"You're right. As your older brother, it should have been my duty to protect you. But living in a world without Dahlia was too hard for me.">

Well, she couldn't blame her twin brother for that.

[After all, Nero and Dahlia made a binding vow.]

<"Happy birthday, Neoma.">

Right.

It was already past midnight.

The 24th of October, that was when they were born.

"Happy birthday, Nero. I wish for you and Dahlia to find each other in the Afterlife. Treat her better this time."

Nero just nodded, then he fell silent for a moment. <"I wish for us to be reborn as twins again, Neoma.">

"Are you trying to curse me?"

<"I promise to be a better brother to you the next time we meet again,"> Nero said, smiling genuinely at her. <"I will love you to death, dote on you until you get tired of me, and kill anyone and everyone in the world for you.">

Neoma rolled her eyes. "That sounds scary."

But she didn't hate the idea.

<"Are you crying, Neoma?">

"Shut up," Neoma growled at Nero while quickly wiping the tears off of her face. "I don't need you to love me the next time we meet– just don't die before me again, okay? You have to outlive me and you have to be happier than me."

<"Well, you have a point. We were born together, so we should also leave this world together,"> Nero said, his soul starting to vanish now. And he knew that. Hence, he smiled at Neoma for the last time. <"See you later, my baby sister.">

"I'm not a "baby,"" Neoma complained lightly, then she smiled at Nero's vanishing soul. "Let's meet again in the next lifetime, Big Brother."

As a birthday present for Nero, Neoma destroyed the throne with her own hands that night.

***

THE FOUR-year-old Nero woke up with tears in his eyes.

He had that dream again.

A dream where Nero and Neoma were both grown-ups already.

To be honest, it was a bad dream to him.

After all, the adult Nero and Neoma in his dreams didn't seem to get along with each other. Moreover, the adult Nero was mean to Neoma.

"I hate him," Nero whispered to himself. "How can he treat his twin sister harshly?"

[Older brothers should protect their younger sisters!]

"Brother, you can't sleep?"

Nero smiled automatically while watching Neoma rub her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?"

It was a good thing that he still shared the same room and the same bed with Neoma.

He would hate to wake up from a bad dream and not see his precious twin sister right away.

"It's not brother's fault that Neoma woke up, so please don't apologize," Neoma said sleepily. It was really cute how she still talked in third person. "Did you have a bad dream, Brother?"

He nodded. "I did, but I'm okay now since you're here."

Neoma grinned at him. "Neoma helps Brother forget his bad dream?"

"Yes, that's correct," he said, pinching Neoma's chubby cheeks lightly. "That's why you can't leave me alone, okay?"

"Gosh, this siscon…"

Hmm?

Nero tilted his head to one side. "What does it mean, Neoma?"

Sometimes, he would catch his twin sister muttering strange words to herself, thinking that he couldn't hear them. But since his senses were sharp, he could hear her just fine.

And every time he would catch her…

"Neoma is sleepy now, Brother," Neoma said, smiling brightly at him. "Let's go back to sleep, hmm?"

Look at his smart twin sister using her cuteness against him.

And it worked every single time.

"Alright," Nero said, tucking Neoma in bed. "Good night, my baby sister."

***

"BELATED happy eighteenth birthday, Neoma," Nero greeted his twin sister. "I still love you to death."

Neoma made a disgusted face. "Well, belated happy birthday to you, too. Thank you for loving me, but you should love me less from now on. You already have a fiancée."

He just smiled, and then he gathered Neoma in his arms.

His twin sister complained, but she didn't try to wiggle her way out of his embrace.

"I promised you that I won't die before you again, but you should promise the same, Neoma," Nero said, kissing her on the forehead. "That's my birthday wish."

"Gosh. Consider it granted then," Neoma said confidently. "I'm Neoma– I won't die early."

But the very next day, Nero witnessed Neoma die right in front of his eyes.

Haaah.

Nero's life as Neoma's twin brother wasn't easy, but he wouldn't have it the other way.

***

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our favorite psycho royal twins!

Neoma and Nero were born on the 24th of October, Year XXX. LOLOLOL. I'll post the collage I made for them in the comment section.

Anyway, Neoma and Nero are accepting kofi donations as a birthday present because their creator is too broke to buy them cake. Haha. JK... unless... *wiggling eyebrows*

I hope you enjoyed this special chapter.

And prepare your heart for Hanna's POV next.

***

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