Royal Secret: I'm A Princess!

[AN ANGEL, huh?]

Neoma couldn't say she was surprised.

She already met the Devil, and Trevor was a demon. Heck, her ancestor was the Moon God himself. Meeting an angel didn't surprise her anymore.

"Cool," Neoma said, then she gave Dion a thumbs up. "Your eyes are pretty, Dion. Thank you for showing them to me. It must have been uncomfortable to reveal your eyes like this."

After all, Lewis was also there.

But of course, Lewis looked like he didn't care about Dion's pretty eyes. In fact, her "son" looked bored out of his mind. That was his default expression, though.

"It's alright, Your Royal Highness," Dion said, then he took a peek at Lewis before facing her again. "It's not like Lewis cares about things that aren't related to Your Royal Highness."

Well, that was true.

"But is it okay for you to continue revealing your eyes like that?" she asked while looking around them.

The portal connected to the Hazelden Kingdom was placed in a cabin in the middle of the forest, so only the three of them were there.

[Gosh, now I know Valmento doesn't consider Hazelden as a friend.]

Valmento was a picky independent state that wouldn't open its door to just anyone. It was said that the further a nation's portal was from the town proper, the more estranged it was to the Holy Land.

Considering that the Hazelden Kingdom's portal to Valmento was outside the town proper, it meant the Holy Land didn't consider the kingdom a close ally.

[Heh.]

Of course, the empire's official portal was connected directly inside the Astello Temple.

There were other secret portals not verified by the Holy Land. It was how the rebels invaded Valmento before, and how Paige and Jasper entered the independent state unofficially.

"I can't hide my real eyes in Valmento because this state is filled with divine power, Your Royal Highness," Dion confessed later. "My eyes won't calm down because they are triggered by divine energy."

"Oh," she said worriedly, because it looked like Dion was really uncomfortable with his eyes. "Can I do something to help you?"

The Paladin nodded, then he got down on one knee to match her eye level. He was so tall that his neck probably hurt from looking down at her while talking.

[Well, my neck hurts from looking up at him while talking, too.]

"Your Royal Highness, the children Lord Yule looks over are called angels," Dion explained to her gently. "We stay in a place called Paradise. There, Lord Yule chooses the best two angels that would represent him in the outside world. One would be the Moon Priest, and the other would be the saint."

She beamed. "You were classmates with Lord Manu and Saint Zavaroni?"

Dion looked like he was holding back his laughter. "Your Royal Highness can say that," he said. "Once the Moon Priest and the saint were chosen, the angels would be required to return to our sleeping quarters. But I didn't want to sleep, so I escaped when Saint Zavaroni was released to the outside world."

"You escaped?" she asked curiously. "Dion, you're such a daredevil."

"I was young… and bored," the Paladin admitted as if he was embarrassed by the story of his youth. "Saint Zavaroni begged Lord Yule to let me stay in the outside world. I lost my wings and most of my divine power when I became "human." But at least, Lord Yule allowed me to stay here. The only condition he asked was for me to stay by the then Crown Prince Nikolai's side as his protector."

Oh.

That was probably how Dion became her father's Paladin.

But…

"I don't think Lord Yule made an exception for nothing. I mean, he probably treasures you. But I believe it was unfair for the other angels…"

Dion nodded, as if he understood what she was trying to say. "To be honest, I only figured out recently the reason Lord Yule probably let me stay in this world," he said. "The reason was probably my eyes. You see, Your Royal Highness, each angel's eyes are blessed with a gift."

"Oh, okay," she said. "So, what's your eyes' gift?"

"My eyes can see anything divine or blessed," the Paladin explained. "It applies to things and people."

"People?"

He nodded, then he politely pointed both of his hands in her direction. "I can tell at one glance that Your Royal Highness is a de Moonasterio because I can see your Moonglow."

"I see," she said, no pun intended.

Then she fell quiet when a thought crossed her mind.

"Ah," she said, then she snapped her fingers. "Then will you be able to identify the next saint if we see them?"

"I believe so, Your Royal Highness," Dion said confidently. "The glow of people chosen by Lord Yule differs from ordinary divine energy."

She beamed at that.

To be honest, she didn't care about finding the next saint because she thought it would be Nero's job. But after finding out she was actually the First Star…

She groaned when she was hit by reality. "Argh. So, it's my job to find the next saint."

"I will lend you my eyes, Your Royal Highness."

"Is something like that possible?"

"Yes, Your Royal Highness,"  he said. "May I hold your hand?"

"Why?" Lewis asked in a threatening voice. "You can't."

"I'm not asking you, Lewis," the Paladin snapped at Lewis. "Why are you the one answering anyway?"

"Being overprotective is Lewis's default setting, so please excuse his attitude," she said in defense of her "son." Then she gave her hand to Dion. "Why are we holding hands?"

"I'm going to lend my eyes to Your Royal Highness."

"Oh, nice," she said excitedly. "Would my eyes turn sparkly like they contain the universe in them, too?"

"I lent my eyes to His Majesty once, but His Majesty's eyes didn't turn like mine when he used my ability," the Paladin said. "Instead of turning sparkling blue, His Majesty's eyes turned glowing red, as usual. I guess it's because the royal family's Moonglow is greater than my divine power."

Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. "What a pity. But I guess it's better off this way. After all, you want your identity to be kept a secret, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have hidden your eyes all this time."

Dion nodded slowly. "Aside from the former saint, no one from the Holy Land knows I'm a fallen angel. I'd like to keep it a secret since I don't want to be directly involved with them."

"Alright, I'll keep your secret safe."

"I'm much obliged, Your Royal Highness."

"No problem," Neoma said, then she gently patted Dion's head. "You did well, Dion."

Dion gave her a faint smile. "Thank you for Your Royal Highness's kind words," he said, then he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the back of her hand. "Please allow me to lend you my eyes, Your Royal Highness."

***

"WELCOME TO Valmento, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince Nero."

Neoma smiled amicably to the young man dressed in an immaculately white knight's uniform standing in front of a fancy white carriage.

[He must be a Holy Knight.]

Thanks to Dion's eyes, she could now see people's divine energy. It came in the form of an orb surrounded by a bluish glow in the chest area– the part where the heart was supposed to be. The size of the orb depended on the amount of an individual's divine power.

[Dion's divine orb is as big as a tennis ball.]

On the other hand, the young Holy Knight's orb was as small as a ping pong ball.

"Thank you for the warm welcome," Neoma said in calm and gentle voice, pretending to be nice. "And I'd like to apologize for the sudden visit."

"Your Royal Highness doesn't have to apologize," the young Holy Knight said, then he bowed to her. "My name is Bram, and I'm one of the Holy Knights. I will be personally assisting Your Royal Highness while you're here at Valmento."

"Great," she said with a smile, then she politely pointed her hands in Lewis' direction. "This is Lewis Crevan, my personal knight."

Lewis bowed politely to Bram.

She only brought Lewis with her because Dion needed to take a nap. The Paladin's energy was exhausted after he lent her his eyes.

"Welcome to Valmento, Sir Lewis," the Holy Knight greeted Lewis politely.

In the empire, the knights were addressed by their title and last name, if a knight had one.

But in Valmento, whether a knight had a last name or none, they would be addressed by their title and their first name.

"Your Royal Highness, His Eminence is waiting for you in the Astello Temple. Your friends Lady Avery and Duke Hawthorne are also there," Bram said, then he opened the door of the fancy carriage for her. "Shall we go?"

Neoma smiled and nodded. "Alright."

***

[MY EYES hurt.]

Neoma was surprised to see High Priest Wellington's divine energy. The orb was probably as big as a volleyball, and it occupied his whole chest area.

[There's a reason why he's the High Priest, huh?]

"Welcome to Astello Temple, Your Royal Highness," High Priest Wellington greeted her politely. "It's been a while."

"That's right, Your Eminence," Neoma greeted the High Priest respectfully. "It has been a while, indeed."

Her gaze went past the High Priest.

Paige Avery and Jasper Hawthorne were standing behind His Eminence. The two bowed their heads to her as a greeting when they met her gaze.

[I'm glad the two of you are safe.]

"Your Eminence, I don't want to sound rude. But I'm in a hurry," she said when she turned to the High Priest again. "Shall we talk about the issue now?"

All the people in the tearoom knew about her royal secret anyway.

Bram, the Holy Knight that ushered her and Lewis to the tearoom, left already.

"Your Royal Highness, I believe you already know why I can't grant your request," High Priest Wellington said seriously. "It's true that we were wrong for confiscating the weapons from the rebels that attacked the Holy Land without reporting it to the empire. But I'd like it if you overlook the matter at hand. Just think of it as compensation for failing to protect us."

Oh, she was being gaslighted.

It was true the empire was supposed to provide protection for the Holy Land despite Valmento being an independent state. Still, being guilt-tripped didn't sit well with her.

"I believe the empire has properly compensated the Holy Land already, Your Eminence," she said with a smile on her face. "The weapons that you confiscated without the empire's knowledge belong to the royal family."

The High Priest looked surprised by her revelation. "How do those weapons belong to the royal family?"

"I can't tell Your Eminence the whole story, but I can tell you the main ingredient used to create those weapons came from the tree that the royal family owns," she explained, still smiling. "Moreover, I need those weapons to catch the culprit behind the terror attack that the Holy Land experienced not too long ago."

"Your Royal Highness–"

"I'm the First Star, not my twin brother."

The High Priest looked shocked by her revelation. "Your Royal Highness is the First Star?"

"Yes, my father said so," she said, then she combed her hand through her hair. "Is that a problem?"

"It's not like I don't trust His Majesty, but I want to make sure Your Royal Highness is really the First Star," High Priest Wellington said seriously. "Henrik, the captain of the Holy Knights, has the ability to know if a person is telling the truth or not–"

The High Priest was forced to stop talking when he felt the bloodlust coming from Lewis, Paige Avery, and even Jasper Hawthorne.

Ah, the three were offended in her place.

"Princess Neoma isn't lying," Lewis said coldly. "Your Eminence is implying otherwise."

She kind of felt guilty when Lewis defended her.

[I mean, I'm a big liar sometimes…]

"Ain't this funny?" Jasper Hawthorne said, but his voice wasn't amused. "In my understanding, it's the Holy Land that lied to the empire in the first place regarding the confiscated weapons. But now, Your Eminence is accusing Her Royal Highness of lying."

"Oh, dear," Paige Avery said in a disappointed voice. "Should I create a device that would determine if a person is lying or not?"

[Ah, these adorable humans love me a little too much.]

She was about to tell her friends to calm down when the door suddenly burst open.

"Your Eminence, is everything alright?"

It was the Holy Knights.

[They probably felt Lewis and the other's bloodlust.]

The man leading the Holy Knights was probably the captain. He was the only one who didn't have his full armor on.

[Woah, his divine orb is as big as Dion's.]

Blonde hair tied in a man-bun, full-beard, tall, and beefy. The captain looked intimidating because of his physique. But his green eyes were seriously pretty. His lashes were long and thick, too!

[Beefy guys aren't my type, but his eyes are captivating for real.]

"Everything is alright, Henrik," High Priest Wellington said, then he turned to her. "Your Royal Highness, this is the captain of the Holy Knights– Sir Henrik Benedict."

Benedict?

[Ah, that makes me think of yummy Eggs Benedict.]

"Henrik, you already know who this esteemed guest is, don't you?"

"Of course, Your Eminence," Henrik said, then he got down on one knee and bowed to her. "Greetings, Your Royal Highness. I am Henrik Benedict, the captain of Holy Knights."

"And I am Nero de Moonasterio, the First Star of the Great Moonasterion Empire," she greeted the captain, then she smiled brightly at him. "Am I lying or not, Captain Benedict?"

The captain looked surprised by her question.

Then he turned serious while looking at her as if he was assessing her. She didn't get offended, though. After all, the captain's eyes remained kind.

[There's a reason why Eggs Benedict is my favorite breakfast.]

Henrik smiled warmly at her. "It's an honor to meet the First Star of the Great Moonasterion Empire."

Neoma smiled back at the captain. [Yep, Eggs Benedict is good.]

***

"IT'S TIME," Bram said to himself cheerfully while cutting his arm with a dagger. He was alone in the same prayer room where he would often meet His Excellency. It was his hide-out, and that room was covered with Darkness so he wouldn't be caught. "It's time for the crows to make Prince Nero a hero of the continent."

His blood dropped to the floor generously because of the large and deep cut in his arm.

But instead of red, his blood was black.

When the liquid touched the floor, it turned into literal Darkness. Like flame licking the entire space, the Darkness quickly spread and swallowed up the whole room.

"Go," Bram whispered excitedly. "Swallow up everything except Prince Nero."

***

"GET AWAY!" Neoma yelled at Lewis, Paige Avery, and Jasper Hawthorne who tried to run to her side. "I can handle myself!"

She said that, but she was having a hard time breathing while being hugged to death by Henrik Benedict.

Everything happened too fast.

All of a sudden, Henrik's pretty green eyes turned all black as if he was possessed. Then the captain grabbed her and hugged her as if he wanted to break her bones. After that, she noticed a thick black liquid swallowing them up.

Her instincts were telling her it was Darkness.

The other Holy Knights behind Henrik Benedict were also covered by the same black liquid.

"Mochi!" Neoma yelled for her Wind Spirit. "Get us out of here!"

***

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