Royal Secret: I'm A Princess!

"ARE THE CROWS still unaware that the current Crown Prince is actually the royal princess they're looking for?" Neoma asked Manu suspiciously. "It seems like every divine being already knows I'm a girl. I feel like the crows are already aware of my royal secret, too."

"Little de Moonasterio, don't underestimate Lord Yule's protection," Manu said sternly. "His eyes were stolen, but it left little of a dent to his divine power. It was just inconvenient to lose his godly sight, though. But even without his original eyes, my lord could still see things he needs to see."

"Wow," she said bluntly. "If Lord Yule is doing fine, I wonder why he still asked me to find his real eyes for him."

"It's for your own good, of course," the Moon Priest said bluntly. "Lord Yule and the other gods on our side are doing their best to hide you from the crows. Even the Devil is helping you by covering your tracks. All you have to do is to be extra careful and less wild. And stop picking fights with higher beings. You'll blow your own cover."

She pouted, but she still nodded. "Okay."

"Oh," the Moon Priest said, surprised. "I didn't expect you to agree with me easily."

"I already learned my lesson," she said. "I became more arrogant because I killed a minor god. I was wrong to think that I could handle the Sun Priestess."

"Uh-huh."

"And I value my physical appearance– I don't want to get roasted again," she admitted. "What would I do if I pissed the Sun Priestess or some higher being again and you're not there to heal my wounds? I can't let my arrogance destroy my beauty."

"Vain much, aren't we?"

"My Ruto sacrificed his face to keep mine flawless," she said, feeling bittersweet. Bitter because she was reminded of Ruto's letter, and sweet because Ruto was Ruto. She just couldn't hate him. "I don't want his sacrifice to go in vain."

The Moon Priest just looked at her blankly.

"Papa Boss told me it's up to me whether I'd let Tteokbokki go with you or not," she said, changing the topic. She had no intention of talking about Ruto with a person she didn't trust. "I believe the correct choice is to let you take care of my Soul Beast, my lord. But I want to hear his opinion first. If Tteokbokki doesn't want to go with you, I won't force him."

"You really care about your Soul Beast, don't you?"

"I consider Tteokbokki my younger brother," she said. "So, don't put him in danger."

"I care about the Soul Beasts more than I care about the de Moonasterios."

"That's not something the Moon Priest should say, but you do you," she said. "Ah, my lord. I've been wondering. We need Tteokbokki to be an adult, right?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"I remember when I fought my Papa Boss when I was a baby," she said. Not really a baby. She was probably five years old back then? "If my memory serves me right, Tteokbokki was furious then. He grew the size of a building, then he breathed fire. He could change his size if he wants to."

"First of all, being an adult dragon has nothing to do with their size since they could shrink or grow in size whenever they wanted," the Moon Priest explained. "Moreover, even a baby dragon could breathe fire, but it would still differ from an adult dragon's Fire Breath."

"What's the difference between a baby dragon and an adult dragon if they could both change in size and breathe fire? Except for the quality of the fire they produce, of course."

"I'm assuming you're asking what makes a dragon an adult."

"Yes, my lord."

"Like us, Soul Beasts have Cores, too," the Moon Priest explained. "Once a baby dragon turns into an adult, his Core would shrink until it disappeared?"

She blinked in surprise. "I assumed it would get bigger."

"That's a common misconception," Manu said. "But a dragon, especially a fire dragon, is different. Dragons are beings who are well-adept to magic out of all the mythical beings in this world. Once they reached their adulthood, a mere "container" like a Core would burst because it wouldn't be enough to hold their great power."

She tilted her head to one side. "Huh? Tteokbokki is that amazing?"

The Moon Priest let out a sigh. "Nikolai de Moonasterio has a water dragon. Didn't your father teach you anything about dragons?"

"My Papa Boss and I just have gotten closer recently. We used to have a strictly professional business in the past," she said. Argh, she was reminded that she had a fight with her father yesterday. "Anyway, the books I read about dragons before didn't have the stuff you just told me about, my lord. It just says that a dragon could possess one powerful attribute."

"Throw those books away– I'll give you something better later."

"That would be nice, my lord," she said. "By the way, you haven't told me about the method you're going to use to raise Tteokbokki faster."

"I will tell you, but on one condition: if I say I can't answer your questions, don't push it."

"I knew it would be like this," she said, then she sighed. "But since I'm the one who needs your help, I will accept your condition."

"I'm not being stingy. I'll answer the questions I could answer," the Moon Priest said. "But there are things I cannot share with you even if I want to. After all, I don't want to be punished. You remember what happened to Lord Yule, don't you? They forced my lord to enter a deep slumber because he said things he shouldn't have."

"Oh, right."

"Even the Cosmic Tree was forced to sleep because she did things she wasn't supposed to do," the Moon Priest added. "You know about the Cosmic Tree, don't you?"

She nodded. "The Cosmic Tree is also called the World Tree. Apparently, it holds the secrets of the world. But the books I've read couldn't describe it properly since according to the author, only a select few have seen the Cosmic Tree in person. And those people were tight-lipped."

"Then you should ask Mona Roseheart about the Cosmic Tree after you save her."

Her eyes opened wide. "My lord, are you implying my Mama Boss has already seen the Cosmic Tree?"

"You're really clueless about your mother, huh? I wonder what kind of threat little Nikolai made to make everyone stop talking about Mona Roseheart," the Moon Priest said, then he clicked his tongue. "Anyway, your mother is known as the 'Daughter of Nature.' Moreover, the Cosmic Tree practically raised Mona Roseheart like her daughter."

She covered her mouth when she gasped softly. "Mama Boss is such a cool person. I really admire and respect her even though I haven't met her yet."

"You're "cooler" than your mother."

"Huh?"

"Little de Moonasterio, I will now tell you the plan," Manu said seriously. "I will enter your memories and bring Crimson to your first life's timeline."

"Can you please elaborate, my lord?"

"Like I said earlier, your Soul Beast grows old with your physical body and therefore, Crimson would only reach adulthood once you turn eighteen years old. But you don't want your mother to wait for that long, do you?"

"Yes, I don't want my mother to wait for that long," she said while carefully nodding. "But I don't understand how my lord would raise Tteokbokki into an adult dragon in three years." She pressed her chin gently while thinking. "And is it possible to enter the memories of my first life?"

"The memories of your first life would only serve as a door for me and your Soul Beast to enter the world where you lived during that timeline," Manu explained carefully. "The world where one individual has spent their previous life in is called 'Dead World.' It still exists the same time your current life does."

"That's kind of similar to parallel worlds."

"We call it 'Dead World' here," the Moon Priest said. "I'm going to that world and raise Crimson with the First Life Neoma. Time flows differently in that world, so even if I stay there for a decade, only three years would pass by in this world."

"I didn't have a Soul Beast in my first life," she said worriedly. "I couldn't awaken back then. Will that be alright?"

Manu looked at her weirdly, then he shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

It looked like the Moon Priest was hiding something.

[It's probably something I shouldn't learn.]

Neoma was about to ask something else when she felt a powerful impact hit her chest. "Oh," she said as warmth spread through her body. "Tteokbokki is back."

"Good," Manu said, then he stood up. "Let's begin."

***

"THUG PRINCESS, are you throwing me away?!"

Neoma wanted to tease Tteokbokki because he was so cute in his baby dragon form. But at the same time, she was pissed because he was yelling at her. [Well, I already expected this reaction from him.]

"Why are you leaving me to the Moon Priest?" Tteokbokki continued to complain, and he even put his cute paws on his hips(?). He was standing at her office desk while trying to look intimidating. But honestly? Tteokbokki just looked cute. "I worked my butt off for you, and now you're throwing me away?"

Neoma covered her ears with her hands. She couldn't understand why Tteokbokki had to yell when she was just sitting in front of him. "I'm not throwing you away. I already explained to you the situation, so why are you acting this way?"

"Hmph!" the Soul Beast said, then he plopped on the table while glaring at her. "I don't want to go, but since I'm interested in meeting Mona Roseheart, I will."

"Why did you throw a tantrum when you're going to agree with me, anyway?"

"You do it all the time, too."

She just rolled her eyes at him. "I didn't know you were interested in meeting my Mama Boss."

"Your mother is a celebrity!" Tteokbokki said excitedly. "When you told me to find the kid you met when you got lost last time, the Spirits I encountered along the way were nice to me when they found out I was the Soul Beast of Mona Roseheart's child. I found the Cosmic Tree faster because of their help–"

"Hold up," she said, cutting him off. "Why did you mention the Cosmic Tree?"

"Thug princess, sometimes you seriously amaze me– and I'm not being sarcastic," her Soul Beast said. "I described the tree you saw to the Spirits I met while looking for the child. Most of them didn't know what kind of tree it was, but the ones who knew were certain it was the Cosmic Tree."

"So, you went to the Cosmic Tree?"

"I may be a Soul Beast, but I'm still not worthy to meet the great Cosmic Tree," Tteokbokki said with a huff. "I could only get near to the entrance of the garden. The child who looked like you turned up and talked to me for a moment."

"What did you talk about?"

"Hmph! That child made fun of my name!"

She laughed softly. "Why would she make fun of your name like she knows what it means?"

"She does!" her Soul Beast insisted. "She said 'tteokbokki' is a food! How dare you name me after food, huh?"

Her smile vanished. "She knows it's tteokbokki is a type of food?"

"She also uses strange words like you," Tteokbokki added. "She calls you 'Neoma unnie.'"

Unnie?

It was a Korean honorary title used by females to address their older sisters, or females older than them.

[How come a Spirit of this world speaks Korean words?]

She got the chills. "Tteokbokki, what else did she say?"

Tteokbokki suddenly turned serious. "The little girl said the Cosmic Tree will wake up later. And when that time comes, she wants you to save her."

"Then does it mean she doesn't want to meet me yet?"

"She said it's not yet the right time."

"Argh," she complained. "Does she want me to die of curiosity?"

"Humans say knowledge is power, but I say too much knowledge is bothersome," Tteokbokki declared, then he pointed his paw to her. "Thug princess, you already have too much on your plate, so forget about the child for now. She said she'll come to you once the time is right anyway."

Neoma smiled, then she opened her arms and hugged Tteokbokki despite his complaints. "Tteokbokki, if Lord Manu is harsh on you and you can't continue with the training anymore, just come back to me," she said gently. "I will create a way to save my mother without needing an adult dragon's Fire Breath."

"Why are you suddenly being extra nice?" Tteokbokki complained in a shy voice, then he gently patted her arms with his paws. "I'm also lazy like you, so I'll run home as soon as things get super hard for me."

Neoma laughed while hugging Tteokbokki tighter.

***

[AWKWARD.]

Neoma avoided her Papa Boss's cold gaze, then she closed her eyes and put her hands on her tummy. Right now, she was lying down on her bed comfortably, like what Manu told her to do earlier.

Only her Papa Boss, Lewis, and of course, the Moon Priest were in her room at the moment.

"Lord Manu, all I have to do is sleep, right?" Neoma asked Manu to be sure. "I don't have to think about my first life or something?"

"Yes, that's correct," Manu, who was probably standing beside her bed, said. "All you have to do is fall asleep. When you wake up, your Soul Beast and I will be gone. Have you properly said goodbye to Crimson?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Alright," the Moon Priest said. "Don't forget about the method I taught you about creating a temporary Soul Beast."

For the last three days, Manu gave her a quick course on how to create a temporary Soul Beast. He also left some items to her she just hid in the storage of her Lynx Ring. To be honest, she wasn't happy with that.

She was a Roseheart, and creating a Soul Beast (albeit being a temporary one) didn't sit well with her.

"I'll think about it, my lord," Neoma said vaguely. "Should we begin now?"

"Alright," Manu said, obviously ignoring his hesitation in creating her own Soul Beast. "I will enter your memories now with your Soul Beast."

"Neoma," her Papa Boss said, then she felt her father cradle her hand. "I'll stay until you wake up."

Neoma almost cried, touched by her father's unexpected warmth. [Papa Boss, I'll apologize to you later.]

"Me, too," Lewis said softly. "Good night, Princess Neoma."

***

[IS IT over?]

Neoma had regained her consciousness already, but her eyelids still felt heavy, so she didn't want to open her eyes yet. Plus, she could feel a big and warm hand holding hers tightly. She remembered her Papa Boss holding her hand before she fell asleep earlier.

But why did it feel different now?

"Neoma, I know you're already awake."

She gasped and opened her eyes quickly when she heard the unfamiliar, yet familiar voice of a man.

Purple hair, dark violet eyes.

The face of the man sitting beside her on a bed while holding her hand was very familiar. It was one of her most favorite faces in the world. But why did it look older now?

And why was he wearing a Paladin uniform instead of a chef's uniform?

[Wait, we're in bed?!]

"What's happening here?" Neoma asked, confused. "Ruto?"

"Who's Ruto?" the man asked, his eyebrows knitted. "Are you thinking of another man while we're on a date?"

"Huh?"

"What?" the man asked, then his face turned red as if he was suddenly embarrassed. "Is this not a date? Am I getting ahead of myself, my lady?"

She almost choked on her saliva. Seeing the man's embarrassed face made her feel embarrassed, too. Was this a dream? Ah, whatever.

[Let's just play along with it.]

"Who am I?"

"Is this a game?" the man asked while laughing softly. "You're registered as Neoma Quinzel. But soon, you're going to use my name."

She let out a fit of fake cough. "Excuse me?"

"Uhm, have you forgotten that you approached me and made a deal with me?" the man asked, confused. "We're going to have a contractual marriage for you to gain power and–"

"Hold up," she said while raising a hand. "Who are you?"

Was this really the Ruto she knew?

"My lady, it's me," the man said, then he put his free hand on his chest. "I'm the new commander of the White Lion Knights– Yoan Stroganoff."

"Yoan…?"

Neoma gasped, then she let go of the man's hand to clutch her head. She closed her eyes tight and let out a scream as she experienced a splitting headache. It felt like she would suddenly lose her mind when, all of a sudden, she realized she was reliving a part of her first life.

She didn't know how she knew, the realization just suddenly hit her.

Ruto was the commander of the White Lion Knights in her first life?

[But why couldn't I remember it until now?]

***

SIENNA, the Sun Priestess, dropped the glass of water to the floor when she heard Yoan's ear-piercing cry from the other room.

She immediately ran to him, only to find him writhing in pain on the bed. He had his eyes closed, and his hands clutching his head tight. His scream was full of agony, and the tears at the corners of his eyes were proof that he was in terrible pain.

[This is the first time I saw Yoan in this state in this lifetime…]

Thus, she was too stunned to move.

"Sienna!" Ruto yelled in a desperate voice. "Someone is messing with Neoma's memories!"

"W-What?"

"Her consciousness has drifted to the sealed memories of her first life!"

She gasped when she heard that.

"She met me," Yoan said, his voice still desperate but weaker now. "She met me as Yoan, the commander of the White Lion Knights."

Sienna clenched her hands tight. "That's a big problem, my lord."

***

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