Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

[REFRESHING.]

Long and warm bath, check.

New pajamas, check.

Hot chocolate with marshmallow, check.

Neoma would have called it a perfectly relaxing time if her Papa Boss, who was sitting on the sofa across from her, wasn't glaring at her.

[Gosh, why is he angry again?]

"Papa Boss, I only asked if you wanted Ruto to become your son-in-law because you seem so fond of him," Neoma said defensively. "He told me that you shared Nero's secret with him, and you want him to become the next commander of the White Lion Knights. So I wondered if you like him to the point you'd accept him as your son-in-law."

"Heck no," Papa Boss, who rarely cussed, said in an irritated voice. "I share important national affairs with Ruston Stroganoff only because he's useful. Moreover, he's the youngest Elemental Guardian master in both the East and West Continent, so I want to tie him down on our continent by making him the next commander of the White Lion Knights."

"Uh-huh," she said, amazed that her father said the same things Ruto said.

"But that doesn't mean I want Ruston Stroganoff as my son-in-law," her father said, then his jaw clenched. "He doesn't deserve you."

"Papa Boss, you just said Ruto is the youngest Elemental Guardian master–"

"So what?" her father cut her off, then he sipped his tea. It was amazing how pissed her Papa Boss looked, but he still sipped his tea as elegant as ever. "He still doesn't deserve to be your husband."

"Papa Boss, I'm the one who's going to choose my husband."

Dark aura suddenly seemed to come out of her father. "Do you like Ruston Stroganoff or what?"

"I just respect and trust him a lot, Papa Boss," she said sincerely. "He has been a huge help to me."

"Then let's leave it at that," he said bluntly. "Don't grow your feelings for Ruston Stroganoff. I don't care if you're an adult mentally. As long as you're physically a child, you're not allowed to date."

"I don't have any plan to date yet," she said, then she pouted as a complaint. "But this is unfair, Papa Boss. You're so strict with and yet, you let Nero choose his fiancée already."

"It's a Crown Prince's duty to choose his future Crown Princess early."

She just let out a puff because she already knew that.

"Let's stop talking about this," her father said, then he quickly changed the topic. "While you were sleeping, Paige Avery gave me a detailed report of what she encountered when she entered your consciousness."

"Oh."

"Paige Avery wanted to report to you first, but I forced her to report to me first," her Papa Boss said. "She's not yet a member of your Order officially, so she's still obligated to prioritize the emperor's order over yours."

"Papa Boss, don't make Lady Avery hate the de Moonasterios even more."

"You're my daughter, so I have the right to hear the report, too. And Paige Avery knows that."

She just rolled her eyes at her father. "So, what did Lady Avery say?"

Her Papa Boss let out a sigh.

It was a frustrated sigh, and now her father looked very annoyed. But she knew that her Papa Boss was angry at someone else.

"There was an elf who helped Mona in the past when we didn't know that Gavin Quinzel was a traitor yet," her Papa Boss explained bluntly. "That elf and Gavin Quinzel worked together to deceive Mona and me. Moreover, that elf is the Messenger for the God of Eternal Darkness."

"Eternal Darkness?" she asked curiously. "Does it mean the elf is a Darkness attribute user?"

"Yes," her father confirmed. "That elf was the one who helped Gavin Quinzel cross over the other world. But he disappeared the day Gavin Quinzel disappeared in this world."

"Uh-huh."

"And Paige Avery encountered that same elf when she entered your consciousness."

"Excuse me?"

"Lukas, the Messenger of the God of Eternal Darkness, was occupying a part of your soul all this time."

She almost dropped her mug after hearing that. "That's so fucking creepy. I'll kill that damned scumbag! How dare he…" She hugged herself when she shuddered. "Gosh. Just thinking about a male residing in my soul gives me the creep."

"It's a shame Paige Avery failed to kill Lukas," her Papa Boss said. "But Paige Avery managed to drive him away. I don't usually praise people I just met, but that young mage is impressive, Neoma. Lukas is the Messenger of the God of Eternal Darkness. There's no way he's an average elf. Moreover, the fact that he managed to hide his presence all this time is a testament to how strong he is. And yet, Paige Avery successfully banished Lukas on her own."

She smiled proudly while listening to her father praise one of her "children."

[I'm awesome, so my "children" are naturally awesome as well.]

"Papa Boss, did Lady Avery say why that damned elf hid in my soul?" she asked. "What's his purpose?"

"You wouldn't like what you'd hear, so try not to get too angry," her Papa Boss said before he answered her question. "Apparently, Lukas was eating at your negative emotions."

She grabbed the back of her neck when she felt her blood pressure rising. "I'm gonna rip that bastard apart limb from limb."

"I'll support you with that, Neoma," her father said. "For now, it's a good thing Paige Avery discovered Lukas before it's too late. Thanks to that, we also discovered that Darkness could be created from negative emotions. Paige Avery also discovered that Darkness is consumable, and once you consume it, you could copy the ability of the person who created the Darkness."

"If Paige Avery just discovered that, does it mean you're not aware Darkness could be created from a person's negative emotions?"

"Yes, we're not aware," her father admitted. "After all, we're taught that Darkness couldn't be created by man. Moreover, as Yule's descendants, we are considered as children of Light. It's not like we're forbidden to mingle with Darkness. We're not just naturally inclined to do so."

"But the fact that our enemies know something we don't is a problem," she said. "We should learn more about the Darkness attribute, Papa Boss."

"Paige Avery seems interested in conducting a deeper study about the Darkness attribute," her father said. "Ah, she also mentioned meeting the Sun Priestess."

She clenched her hands tight. "Huh?"

"Why do you look angry, Neoma?"

"Papa Boss, do you know Ruto serves the Sun Goddess?"

"Ruston Stroganoff again?" her father asked, and now he looked more pissed than her. "Of course, I know that. He's from the East Continent, and he only arrived here at the West when he was three years old. But even though his father is from the West, their family chose to serve the Sun Goddess instead of Yule. What about it?"

"I just found out Ruto is working with the Sun Priestess," she said. "Are you also aware of that, Papa Boss?"

"Yes," her father said. "I heard Ruston Stroganoff and the Sun Priestess were raised together as siblings."

"Tsk," she said, clicking her tongue again. "I'll ask Lady Avery later about the Sun Priestess later."

Her Papa Boss just nodded. "So, what did you and Ruston Stroganoff talk about? You kept getting distracted because of anything related to that boy. I'm starting to think that you're interested in him, Neoma."

She sipped her hot chocolate while avoiding her father's gaze.

[Papa Boss is uselessly sharp.]

"I'm just amazed by Ruto's strength, Papa Boss," she said. She didn't want Ruto to get on her father's bad side, so she was being careful with her words. "Plus, he told me some serious stuff, Papa Boss."

"Serious stuff?" her Papa Boss said, then he raised an eyebrow at her while smirking. "Ruston Stroganoff didn't say anything about taking responsibility for you or something, did he?"

She tried so hard not to flinch.

[Papa Boss's intuition is so scary.]

But it wasn't the time to talk about something like that.

"Papa Boss, Ruto asked me to relay a message to you," Neoma said carefully. "It's about the missing remains of the late Empress Juliet…"

As expected, the look on her Papa Boss's face instantly turned devastated.

[Ah, my father really cares about the late empress.]

***

"YOUR MAJESTY, is something the matter?"

Nikolai sipped the booze in his glass without turning to Geoffrey Kinsley.

He was in his office at the moment. To be precise, he was sitting on the chair that he moved next to the window to watch the crescent moon outside. Geoffrey Kinsley, one of his Paladins, was standing next to him as his guard.

"Ruston Stroganoff seems to be aware of the whereabouts of Juliet's remains," Nikolai said, surprising his Paladin. "He asked me to stop looking for it."

"Does it mean the Sun Goddess also knows the whereabouts of the late Empress Juliet's remains all this time?"

"That's the only way for Ruston Stroganoff to know," he said. "But seeing that he asked Neoma to convey the message to me instead of directly saying it to my face, I can tell he's trying to avoid the subject. It must be a forbidden topic."

The gods could convey messages to their representatives. But that didn't mean the representatives were allowed to talk about it to other people.

"What should we do, Your Majesty?" Geoffrey asked worriedly. "Do we just trust Ruto's words?"

"We can't ignore Ruston Stroganoff's words," he said. "His words are often words by the Sun Goddess. Moreover, we've been looking for Juliet's remains all these years. The fact we haven't found it yet could only mean we're not supposed to find it yet."

"Shall I ask the Fletcher Twins to return, Your Majesty?"

Wyatt and Warren Fletcher were the twin Paladins that he sent out for two missions: First, to gather the people Nero wanted them to find. Second, to look for Juliet's remains.

The Fletcher Twins were almost done with their first mission.

But they hadn't made progress with the second one.

"Tell the Fletcher Twins to stop looking for Juliet's remains," he said to his Paladin. "Ruston Stroganoff promised to bring Juliet's remains back to the palace once the time is right. If Yule didn't help me find Juliet's remains, it only means its whereabouts fall under the Sun Goddess's jurisdiction. I will entrust it to Ruston Stroganoff then."

[I just don't understand why Ruston Stroganoff only told me now.]

That child was indeed strange.

"I will contact the Fletcher Twins later, Your Majesty."

He just nodded, then he finished the booze in his glass before he spoke again. "Are the twins done with their first mission?"

"The last time the Fletcher Twins sent a report, they said they found all the people Prince Nero asked to find," Geoffrey Kinsley reported. "But according to the twins, they're having a hard time dealing with the Black Witch. It seems like the Black Witch is giving them unreasonable demands."

The Black Witch.

Until now, he couldn't understand why Nero needed a Black Witch. The Black Witches had been banned from the empire a long time ago. It was something that he couldn't change easily. But since his son asked him for a favor, he couldn't simply ignore it.

So, even if it was dangerous to bring a Black Witch to their side, he still decided to trust his son.

[I will support Nero and Neoma.]

After all, he wanted to be a good father to his children this time.

[Moreover, I can see that both Nero and Neoma could become good leaders in the future.]

Nikolai raised an eyebrow at that. "Tell the twins to come back," he said. "And if possible, bring the Black Witch here in secret."

***

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