Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

[WILLIAM did a number on Lewis, huh?]

Neoma, before she lost consciousness, forced her soul out of her body. Just before she fell asleep, she remembered she could move in her Spirit form because she was a Roseheart. As soon as she felt William's presence nearby, she ran away to check on her "son."

[After all, the fact William came only means Lewis and the foxes lost to him.]

"Lewis," Neoma said, then she squatted down beside her "son" who was lying down on the snow with his eyes closed. "Are you hurt?"

Even when she was in her Spirit form, she knew he could see and hear her.

But Lewis couldn't touch her since her "son" wasn't blessed with the ability to interact with souls in a physical way.

"I'm not hurt," Lewis said, then he opened his eyes to look at her. "I'm just embarrassed."

"Because you lost to William?"

"It was over as soon as he got serious," he said as he got up. "William is stronger than the Paladins combined."

"Well, he lives up to his name as the Grand Spirit," she said with a shrug. "Too bad he wastes his power on hunting down de Moonasterios."

Her "son" nodded in agreement with her. "He didn't have the intention to kill me. If he did, I would have been dead by now. Probably."

"But the fact you survived after William went serious mode speaks volumes, Lewis," she said while checking on his condition from head to toe. "I understand most of your injuries were transferred to William, but it's still amazing how you survived in one piece. You barely have scratches on you."

"William knocked me out in one hit," he said, slightly pouting. "But I survived thanks to your shield, Princess Neoma."

She smiled widely. "William didn't notice I covered your entire body with my Coat?"

The Coat was the first layer of defense in the Divine Field Technique that the former Saint Dominic Zavaroni taught her in the past.  It was the type of Holy Barrier that would cover the entire body of the user.

But she put a twist in it.

She actually covered Lewis with her Coat instead of using it for herself.

"Mr. Zavaroni said I can't use more than one of the Divine Field Techniques at the same time," she said. "But he didn't tell me I can't use it on me and on another individual simultaneously. I thought it would work, and it did."

"Still, I'm not a fan of your bad habit of acting on your whim," he said while shaking his head. "I'm just grateful your bizarre ideas work most of the time because you have the talent and the guts to pull it off."

"Woah, Lewis," she said while shaking her head. "You talk a lot these days, but only to nag me."

"Because Princess Neoma is dense."

"Does it have anything to do with our topic?"

"Yes," he said firmly. "I realize you won't get things unless I spell it out for you."

"I'm not dumb."

"I said you're dense– not dumb."

[Look at this brat and the rude tone he uses on his mother.]

"Gosh, someone remembered to wear their smarty-pants today, huh?" she complained, then she stood up and changed the topic. She had a feeling she'd lost the argument if she carried on. After all, Lewis was really acting like a smartass. "Where are Queen Lisica and Lord Rustin?"

Lewis stood up before he answered his question. "They were beaten by William's Familiar," he said. "The two probably went back to hell. Don't you think it's a waste to borrow them from the Grim Reaper when they failed to do their job? You made a deal with the Grim Reaper that guards the Eight Hellgate in order to borrow Lisica and Rustin, right?"

Lisica and Rustin already belonged to Hell, so borrowing the two for her own benefit came with a price. The last time she borrowed the two, 'Eight' (the Grim Reaper) asked him for souls in return.

This time, the Grim Reaper's request wasn't that hard to give.

"Eight only asked for a huge amount of Darkness in exchange for lending Queen Lisica and Lord Rustin to me. Apparently, it's like vitamins for Grim Reapers," she said while stretching her arms. "I already asked Paige to take care of it since there's some Darkness left in the temple before we left Valmento. I'll collect it from her later."

"What's your next move now, Princess Neoma?"

"I'm going back to fight William and Delwyn in my Spirit form," she said. "Since those old dudes are both Spirits, I figured fighting them in this form would make our three-way battle more interesting."

"Should I accompany you?"

"Nah," she said while shaking her head. "Look for Xion and rescue him. He sent a distress signal earlier, so he probably encountered an enemy. The mist is still hiding our location, so we can assume Jeno is safe. But knowing him, I'm sure he's going to find and rescue Xion, too."

Her "son" nodded in agreement.

Xion and Jeno fought a lot, but both were the types of people who wouldn't abandon a friend.

"Juri and Greko may try to follow us, but I'm sure the Paladins wouldn't let them leave the palace," she continued, her mind was now busy trying to figure out what the people around her might be doing at the moment. "The Paladins would probably insist on coming here to rescue me. I told Juri to cooperate with them, so she'd definitely back down and listen to the adults."

"Then we can assume the Fletcher Twins would be here any moment," Lewis continued, and it amazed her how quickly he caught on. "Jeanne Audley couldn't leave the palace because her ability is needed to keep the Royal Family locked up, after all."

"I don't know what the Fletcher Twins' abilities are since Papa Boss sent them for an away mission for years, but I'm sure they're capable," Neoma said, then she waved at Lewis. "Anyway, I'm going back to my battle, so take care of your siblings," she said while her soul was slowly fading. It was one of the things she liked about being in her Spirit form– she could teleport using her will. "Contact me if things get worse, Lewis."

***

"WHAT DO you mean you trapped Mona in your ice to keep her safe?"

"I was summoned by Gavin Quinzel back then," Delwyn began his explanation. "During that time, I already felt he was being backed up by a powerful elf. I could have told Mona about it, but I figured she didn't have enough power to fight the enemies then. Moreover, it happened after Mona locked you up because you were being a dumbass."

William scoffed at him. "Stop calling me a dumbass before I cut your tongue off."

"But I'm telling the truth," he insisted. "You're the strongest among the Spirits Mona owned back then. How could we win over an elf backed up by a god without you?"

"Mona had the Light Spirit back then, and she's just as strong as I am."

"But Roseanne, the Light Spirit, couldn't have won against the God of Eternal Darkness," he reasoned. "Fortunately, they thought I wasn't loyal to Mona so they came to me and roped me in their plans."

"They weren't wrong, though," William scoffed at him. "You never really listened to Mona."

"I only follow orders that sound fun," he said with a shrug. "But Mona had become a boring person ever since she became Nikolai de Moonasterio's lover, especially when she got pregnant. I get that she was being careful because she already had precious people to protect. But I like reckless people who act on their whims."

That reminded him of Little Mona.

[Did she say her name is Neoma de Moonasterio?]

Whatever the young princess's name was, he had to admit he liked her personality. He had a feeling there would never be a dull moment with Little Mona. To be honest, he didn't like bright people with a strong affinity for Light.

That was why he didn't get really attached to Mona, although he genuinely cared about her. But her previous master's daughter was different.

[There's something about Little Mona that draws me to her. Although she's bright and has an affinity to Light, just like her mother, she isn't completely kind or pure. There's darkness inside her– literally and figuratively. Moreover…]

"Little Mona is like a ticking bomb," Delwyn concluded. "I think I'd get along with her better than I did with her mother."

"Are you crazy?" William snapped at him. "You know why I wanted that filthy bug dead–"

"Do you know why I trapped Mona in my ice?" he asked, cutting the Grand Spirit off. "Because during that time, I already felt the presence of the Fire Dragon in her child's soul. Fire is my weakness, so I'm sensitive to anyone and anything that has a fire element in them. That's why I could tell right away that Mona's child would be born with a Fire Dragon as her Soul Beast. But you're saying you want to kill the person who could free Mona from my ice." He poked William's chest with his finger. "You're the one who's crazy, William Roseheart."

"I heard the filthy bug's Fire Dragon is already in the care of the Moon Priest," William said stubbornly. "I can just put the Fire Dragon under my control once the filthy bug dies."

He was about to say William's obsession with Mona was irritating.

But he was surprised when he saw a flying "boomerang" (a familiar curved blade, to be precise) behind the Grand Spirit. It seemed like William didn't feel it as well because the curved blade hit his back.

William groaned in pain. "Goddammit!"

Delwyn immediately looked for the unconscious Little Mona. The child was still lying on the snow unmoving, but the Death's Scythe had gone missing. Moreover…

[Her soul isn't in her body!]

He was too absorbed in his conversation with William that he didn't notice it, and it was definitely the same case for the Grand Spirit.

It was too late for them to realize it, though.

Delwyn smiled bitterly as blood trickled down the side of his mouth, a sharp staff piercing through his stomach. It was the staff of the Death's Scythe, and only one person could wield it at the moment. "Little Mona," he said, then he turned his head to see the young princess in her Spirit form. "Your mother never played dirty."

"Well, I'm not my mother," Little Mona said while laughing like a little villainess. "I can't really play fair when I'm fighting two of my Mama Boss's former Spirit Guardians, you know?"

Ah, as expected.

Delwyn laughed softly. "I guess there will never be a boring moment with you, Neoma."

"You're weird, Delwyn," Neoma said while laughing. "You call by my name right after I stabbed you!"

***

NEOMA quickly pulled the staff out of Delwyn's bleeding torso when she felt the ominous presence behind her.

She put on a Wall around her when she turned her back on the Ice Spirit, then she blocked the curved blade using the staff of her Death's Scythe. As soon as the staff and the curved blade made contact, Skewer returned to her scythe form.

"You filthy bug," William, who suddenly appeared right in front of her face, snarled at her. His hand was raised as if he was ready to punch her, and that hand was covered with a bluish light. It was Mana in its liquid form, so it looked like his hand was inside a water balloon. "You should have kept pretending to be unconscious if you wanted to live."

"That's not my style, Uncle Scumbag," Neoma said while laughing, then she swung her Death's Scythe. "Skewer, spear form!"

The Grand Spirit jumped and stood on the staff, then he quickly ran on it as if he was running on a bridge to close the distance between them.

Ah, shit.

[He's so light I don't even feel his weight even though he's using my Skewer as a bridge!]

She had no choice but to drop her weapon, then she covered her whole body with her Mana– especially around her hand.

Yes, she answered William's punch with a punch of her own.

When her knuckles collided with William's, a tremendous impact ensued. It was enough to make the ground shake. But at the same time, the mist covering the snowy mountain suddenly disappeared.

The mist disappeared, so Jeno might be in danger as well.

Neoma gasped when the realization hit her. "My children…!"

***

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***

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