Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

THERE wasn't a single chair in the Room of Truth but it didn't matter.

Hanna's father gathered the shadows of two of the pillars in the room. Then, he dropped it on the floor as if it was a log that fell on the ground. Yes, they sat on the shadows of the pillars as if they were ordinary benches.

Her parents sat side-by-side while she sat on the shadow pillar across from them.

"Mother, Father, what I'm about to tell you is a secret that may get our whole family killed if it leaks out," Hanna said seriously. "After all, this is a secret that Princess Neoma told me herself."

She addressed Neoma formally because of the gravity of the situation.

Even her mother and father turned more serious.

"But I have to tell you because it's not a problem that children like us can handle on our own," she continued. "Princess Neoma can't depend on His Majesty because Her Royal Highness believes that her relationship with His Majesty is quite feeble. But we're not like that. For that reason, I believe that we can depend on you, Mother and Father."

"Of course, you can depend on us," her father assured her. "Your mother and I will protect that secret with our life."

Her mother nodded firmly. "Please tell us the secret now, sweetie. My chest feels heavy right now because I was the one who brought Regina to our family."

Her father put his arm around her mother's shoulders and pulled her closer to his side.

"It's not your fault, Mother," she said to comfort her mother. "Regina Crowell planned everything from the start. She got close to you on purpose. We don't have proof but Princess Neoma and I believe that Regina Crowell has the ability to brainwash people." She clenched her tiny hands to calm herself down. "We also believe that she can use mind manipulation on people with abundant Mana like our family."

Her parents looked surprised by her revelation.

"Mind manipulation that works on higher nobles like us can be considered a high-level ability. To think that a child from a lower noble family could do that worries me even more," her father said worriedly. "But Hanna, how did Princess Neoma find out that Regina Crowell is out to get our family?"

She clenched her hands again until her nails dug deep into her skin.

Of course, she couldn't tell her parents about Princess Neoma's past lives. Thus, she needed to lie and make a believable story.

To be honest, she was confident to ask for three Anwir Pills because she knew that her parents wouldn't let her eat a second one. Yes, it was a part of her plan to only eat one pill from the start. Asking for two more was just to create a drama.

"This is what I was supposed to confess had I eaten the second pill," she lied calmly. It was scary that she could lie to her parents this way. She justified it by reminding herself that it was a 'white lie' to save her family. It was her duty as the Quinzel heiress to do so. "Mother, Father, Princess Neoma actually had a vision."

Once again, she lied.

"It was a lengthy dream, to be precise," she said, engrossing her parents even more. Judging by the way they looked at her while listening intently to every single word that she said, it was safe to assume that they believed her. "In that dream, I died when I was eleven years old."

Her father looked shocked while her mother covered her hands when she gasped aloud.

"Apparently, my heart burst from using too much Mana," she continued, making her parents look worse. "After I died, Regina Crowell brainwashed Mother until Mother adopted her as the new daughter of House Quinzel."

Her mother looked shocked by what she said.

That was the reason why she couldn't tell her parents that before that happened, Neoma was adopted into their family first. But she didn't want her mother to feel awful for the way she treated the royal princess in the past. Thus, she decided to omit that from the story.

"In that dream, Princess Neoma discovered that my heart burst from too much Mana because Regina Crowell attacked me," she continued. By this time, her parents looked completely devastated. "In short, Regina Crowell killed me to take my place. Unfortunately, the dream ended so Princess Neoma doesn't know what Regina Crowell's purpose is."

Both her mother and father looked too shocked to speak.

"I know it's hard to believe because it was only a dream," she said, nervous that her parents might find it hard to believe a dream. "But Princess Neoma and I got worried when Mother said that she met Regina Crowell just like in that dream…"

"If it's Princess Neoma's dream, there's no way we can't believe it," her father said, surprising her. "Lady Mona Roseheart, the mother of Princess Neoma, was known for her visions in the past. And we have a personal experience regarding the late Lady Roseheart's ability."

She blinked in surprise. "Really, Father?"

"I'm not lying, sweetie."

Her mother nodded in agreement. "When I met Lady Roseheart in the Royal Palace a few months after your father and I got married, she congratulated me for my pregnancy. But during that time, I didn't even know that I was already pregnant. Lady Roseheart also predicted that I was going to give birth to a little girl with abundant Mana but a weak heart. Then, she gave me a rare medicine that would eventually help you." Her mother's face turned red as if she was embarrassed. "I'm ashamed to admit this but during that time, I thought Lady Roseheart was cursing me to have a weak child. But when you got sick for the first time and no doctors or Healing Sages could relieve you of your chest pain, the only thing that saved you then was the medicine that Lady Roseheart gave me."

She was amazed to hear that story. "I didn't know that I owe Lady Roseheart my life…"

Her father smiled and nodded. "That's the reason why your mother and I swore that we will protect Prince Nero and Princess Neoma when Lady Roseheart passed away."

Oh, she also didn't know that.

All this time, she thought her parents were loyal to the Royal Family to atone for her uncle Gavin Quinzel's sins.

But now, she knew that their loyalty was because of Lady Roseheart.

"Princess Neoma may have inherited Lady Roseheart's ability," her father concluded. "For that reason, we can't ignore the dream that she had." Her father smiled at her even though his eyes were filled with worry. "Good job, Hanna. Your decision to tell us about that dream is a good decision. Now, we can protect you."

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry," her mother said, her voice filled with guilt. "I almost led you to your death…"

"It's not your fault, Mother," she said firmly. "The only person that we should blame here is Regina Crowell."

"Our daughter is right, darling," her father said gently to her mother. "I will arrest Regina Crowell and make her confess the reason why she's targeting our family."

"Please don't do that, Father," she pleaded. "I have a plan."

Both her parents turned to her at the same time. "What kind of plan?"

"I will let Regina Crowell kill me."

"Hanna!" both her parents yelled worriedly at the same time.

"My gut feeling tells me that Regina Crowell is going to try and kill me today," she said with clenched hands. "Mother, Father, I want her to do that but of course, I won't let her kill me for real."

This time, her parents looked really confused so she explained right away.

"I want Regina Crowell to believe that she almost succeeded in killing me," she said. "After that, I will pretend that I sustained a bad injury that will force you to send me to a temple in Gonora instead of an academy. I'm thinking of pretending to fall into a comatose."

"But why do you need to go that far, Hanna?" her mother asked, confused.

"Because I want Regina Crowell to lower her guard," she said. "If she lowers her guard once she believes that I'm practically dead, she will leave me alone for the meantime. After all, she can easily replace me if I'm in a vegetate state without having to kill me."

The look of protest was visible on her mother's face.

But on the other hand, her father was listening intently to her as if he could see what she was going for.

Father can see the bigger picture…

"Mother, if we make people believe that I am in a terrible state, you can come with me to Gonora without being criticized," she continued. "I doubt it if Regina Crowell will still go to Gonora after we made her believe that I'm barely alive. But if she does, then you can protect me, Mother."

"But if Regina Crowell decides to stay in the empire and tries to get close with me instead, then I will welcome her warmly," her father said, making her smile while making her mother frown. "Arresting Regina Crowell right now won't benefit us since we don't have evidence. Moreover, we don't know yet who's backing her up. But if we get close to her while she thinks that we don't know her real intention is, then we can investigate her discreetly. We will find proof of her evil intentions towards House Quinzel, then catch the group behind her as well."

She smiled and nodded. "That's correct, Father. Princess Neoma also doesn't want to let the enemies know yet that we're aware of their plans."

"I understand where you're coming from," her mother said worriedly. "But is it worth risking your life for that, Hanna?"

"Regina Crowell is an adversary that I need to overcome if I want to be the Quinzel heiress and the future Crown Princess," she said firmly while looking at her mother straight in the eye. "Yes, a long-term plan to catch and destroy Regina Crowell and her flock is worth the risk, Mother."

Her mother let out a deep sigh. "I can't stop you now, can I?"

She smiled apologetically at her mother. "But I know that you and father won't let me get killed."

"Of course, we won't," her father said sternly. "I will leave my shadow to you, Hanna. It will protect you whatever happens."

"Father, can I ask for another favor?"

"Of course, sweetie."

"Can you ask your shadow to temporarily seal your memories of everything that we've talked about in this room?" she asked while looking at her father straight in the eye. "I want your reaction to whatever might happen to me to be as genuine as possible."

"Hanna, even if we know what may happen to you, we will still lose our mind if your life is put in danger," her mother said, making her father nod in agreement.

"I know that, Mother, Father," she said. "But we don't know what Regina Crowell's exact ability is. I want to protect your memories for that reason."

Her mother and father turned to each other as if they were talking through their eyes. Then, her mother nodded. Only then did her father turn to her with a smile.

"We will do as you say, Hanna," her father said. "But please be more careful."

She smiled and nodded. "I will be more careful from now on, Father."

"Hanna," her mother called her softly. "If it gets too dangerous, it's okay to quit or give up for now. Your father and I will never let allow anyone to take you away from us."

That warmed her heart.

Hanna stood up, then she ran towards her parents who welcomed her in their warm arms. "Thank you, Mother, Father," she said, then she closed her eyes while savoring her parents' warm and gentle embrace. "I love you."

***

"AND THAT was the memories that I asked you to seal, Father," Hanna said after she returned her parents' memories. "Everything went according to our plan."

Her parents looked shocked by what she said.

Actually, they just didn't look shocked. She saw how her mother and father's face suddenly turn pale.

"What are you saying, Hanna?" her father asked in a panicked voice that she rarely hears from him. "You being blown up by a magic bomb weren't part of the plan."

She flinched, acknowledging the fact that her father was right.

To be honest, she didn't expect that Regina Crowell would use a magic bomb to kill her. She thought she would hire assassins to end her life or to force her to use her Mana just like what happened in Neoma's first life.

"Your shadow protected me, Father," she said in a hesitant voice. She was hesitant because she wasn't certain of what happened to her after a magic bomb exploded on her face. But now that she was no longer disoriented, her memories were starting to get clearer. "I think I remember your shadow hugging me, Father. It moved faster than my own shadow. If it wasn't for that, I think my body would have been blown up into tiny pieces."

She didn't expect that to happen but to be honest, the situation still favored her.

"Mother, Father, there are only a few people who know that I survived without a scratch and I want to keep it that way," she said thoughtfully. "We have to make other people believe that my legs were amputated and I am barely alive. In that way, Regina Crowell will think that she succeeded and it will be easier for her to enter our family given my condition." She smiled at her parents. "I'd like to think that what happened to me is a blessing in disguise."

"Hanna, please don't say things like that," her mother, whose face was as white as a paper right now, pleaded her with teary eyes. "We almost lost you…"

That made her feel guilty. "I'm sorry for speaking carelessly, Mother."

Her mother just nodded, her face still sad and worried.

Her father wrapped her mother in a tight embrace. "Darling, our Hanna is safe now."

Her mother nodded again even though she was still on the verge of crying. "Princess Neoma saved our daughter just like what Lady Roseheart did in the past."

"It seems like we're once again indebted to the Royal Family," her father said with a faint smile on her face.

"We're indebted to Lady Roseheart and Neoma, not the entire Royal Family," she gently corrected her father, surprising both her parents. But she didn't back down. "Mother, Father, I decided to follow Neoma until the end."

Once again, her parents looked shocked.

"I thought you'd follow Prince Nero," her mother said.

That remark made her blush.

"I know that Nero will follow Neoma anyway," she said. "But even if it isn't the case, I believe my heart will still follow Neoma."

She liked Nero and she had desires to be the future Crown Princess.

But she knew that feelings change, and so do ambitions.

Still, having said that, something in her heart was telling her that her desire to follow Neoma wouldn't waver. For some reason, she was drawn to the royal princess. And she wanted to be her source of strength.

"You're our one and only heiress, Hanna," her father said seriously. "If you choose to support Princess Neoma, we will follow you."

Her mother nodded in agreement. "We wouldn't hesitate to support the person that saved our precious daughter."

Hanna smiled, relieved that her parents accepted her decision without questioning her too much. "Thank you for trusting me, Mother and Father."

***

"NEOMA, why…" Nikolai began to say but he trailed off while looking at Neoma's sleeping face. His daughter was literally glowing at the moment. How come he didn't notice her Moonglow before? "Why do you have that?"

It was something that supposedly could only be possessed by the emperor and his heir.

Thus, Nero should be the one who inherited his Moonglow because his son was the real Crown Prince.

He felt a chill down his spine when realization dawned upon him.

First, Yule's Tears worked on Neoma. Now, she was emitting a glow that a royal princess wasn't supposed to have. Those things confirmed his fear.

Neoma is the chosen heiress to the throne…

His thoughts were distracted when he felt a pang in his chest. Then, the next thing he knew, he was already coughing blood.

To say that he was shocked would be an understatement.

"Neoma, you…" Nikolai said in a weak voice while covering his bloody mouth with his now blood-covered hand. "You're stealing my Moonglow."

***

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