Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

[I'VE ALWAYS wondered if the so-called demonic power inside me is caused by Skewer, or if I was born with it.]

Even her Papa Boss didn't know where it came from. But her father was adamant about hiding her demonic power from other people. Because apparently, the demonic power inside her was a Darkness attribute. And as a descendant of Yule, it would be bad for her image if that secret of hers got exposed.

[I'm a woman of secrets.]

And now, she felt like she was about to discover what her Darkness attribute was for.

Neoma gulped, her gaze fixed on the water snakes around her. "Uncle Scumbag, Delwyn, is it normal that I think these water snakes mades of Darkness look delicious?"

William coughed up a chunk of Darkness before he spoke. "No, it's not normal," he said while standing up. His whole body was now covered in bright light, and the water snakes that ambushed his body earlier had faded away. "But you've always been weird, so what's new?"

[Tsk.]

Her Uncle Scumbag was being sassy again, so that meant he had recovered. He was ambushed earlier, but he quickly subdued the Darkness.

[As expected of the Grand Spirit, of course.]

"It's definitely not normal to think that Darkness looks delicious. I'm a Darkness attribute user, but I find my own attribute disgusting," Delwyn, who was busy freezing the "water snakes" with his ice, said. Just like William, the Ice Spirit had quickly recovered after being ambushed earlier. "You have the Moonglow, which is one of the most powerful Light attributes in the world. Moreover, you're the daughter of the Daughter of Nature. Although Darkness isn't inherently evil, you still should feel the urge to purify it." He turned to her with a confused look on his face. "But you're saying you find Darkness appetizing?"

"This isn't the first time I've seen Darkness this close," she said while eyeing the "water snakes" around her. For some reason, she felt like the "water snakes" were scared of her at the moment? Could those things understand that she wanted to eat them? "But this is the first time I find Darkness appetizing. I want to eat it."

Delwyn tilted his head to one side, then he turned to William. "Is there something wrong with Mona's child?"

"Everything is wrong with that child," William said firmly. "Hey, you two. How about a temporary truce? The spirits of the mountain are crying for help since they're being eaten by Darkness. As the Grand Spirit, I can't ignore them."

"I can't ignore them as well, since the spirits here played with me before," Delwyn said, then he turned to her. "Neoma, did you hear that?"

She heard it, but her mind was already focused on something else.

[I seriously want to eat Darkness.]

Her heart was thumping hard and fast against her chest, and her stomach was seriously growling loud.

For the first time in a long while, she felt famished.

"I can't stand this hunger," Neoma said, then she clutched at her chest tight and closed her eyes. "I need to consume it now."

And when she opened her eyes, she realized she turned into a TREE?

[F*cking hell.]

***

"AH, IT'S a beautiful tree," Dahlia said while looking up at the beautiful tree with purple leaves. The branches and the trunk of the tree were black, and it actually complemented the pretty color of the leaves. She could also see the flower-shaped gemstones that looked like amethyst. Since it was already nighttime, the tree shined brightly. "As expected of the Great Moonasterion Empire's First Star."

The tree wasn't just beautiful– it was also amazing.

Half of it was pure, while the other half was corrupted. The purple leaves and flowers were pure because of the First Star's Moonglow. The branches and the trunk (and definitely the roots as well) were black because of her Darkness attribute.

It was a striking combination.

"She finally figured it out," she said softly, then she turned to her Familiar. "She finally figured out that for her, the best way to purify Darkness is to eat it, just like what we do, Lapiz."

Lapiz was a Spirit in the form of a baby Blue Whale– 18 feet in length, weighing 6k pounds.

[I call Lapiz my Familiar because I'm a witch, but people call her an Elemental Guardian.]

"Ah, Lapiz, don't eat too much," she said worriedly, then she gently placed her hands on the aquarium. "The crows probably don't taste good anyway, since they're rotten to the core."

Lapiz was currently inside a huge aquarium made from her Mana.

It was big enough for a baby Blue Whale, and it still had enough room for Lapiz to swim around.

The crystal-clear water inside the fish tank was actually the purified Darkness that Lapiz swallowed up earlier. After spitting it out, the Darkness had turned into a purified "water." It was actually Mana.

But once put inside the aquarium she made, the purified Mana would look like clear water.

"Spit him out now," she said to Lapiz gently.

Lapiz moved her head as if she was nodding as a response, then she opened her mouth and spat out the crow.

[Oh, he's still alive?]

When Lapiz spat out the crow that they caught earlier, she was pretty impressed to see that he was still breathing.

But unlike before, the man was just flesh and bones now. His suddenly skeletal frame was emphasized by his clothes that had become too big for him. Moreover, his face was sullen, and he looked severely malnourished– as opposed to his healthy disposition earlier.

"It can't be helped," she said while shaking her head. "Lapiz purifies Darkness by eating it, and Darkness is literally flowing in your veins, Mr. Crow."

Explaining was no use since the male crow was already unconscious and half-dead.

"Poor soul," she said sympathetically, then she touched the aquarium beside her. "Lapiz, we must go."

The enormous aquarium broke into pieces when Lapiz, her baby Blue Whale, whistled. But of course, the broken pieces didn't hurt her. They disappeared into bursting little lights even before the sharp pieces touched her body.

After that, the purified Mana that looked like sparkling water spread in the air. Lapiz needed to "swim." Even as a Spirit, a whale still needed "water" to live. That was one reason why she needed to purify Darkness that pose a threat to humanity.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Lapiz lowered her head.

"Good girl," she said while gently patting the Blue Whale's jaw, then she put flight magic on her to lift herself up and sit on top of Lapiz's head.

"Miss Dahlia, may we know where you're headed?"

The Fletcher Twins appeared in front of her.

Wyatt, the older and the calmer twin, was holding the poor assassin in his arms.

[Ah, thank goodness the First Star's assassin friend is still alive.]

Warren, the younger and the wilder twin, was holding the "malnourished" male crow by the neck.

[I still get a hard time feeling their presence.]

"Ah, you're here," she greeted the twins with a polite smile. "I'm sorry, but can you clean up after my mess? I need to go somewhere first before we head to the empire."

The Fletcher Twins told her she was being summoned by His Majesty, the emperor.

She was supposed to secretly enter the empire with the help of the twins. But the Stars told her to head to the Hazelden Kingdom first. Fortunately, Wyatt and Warren received an order from His Majesty to assist the "Crown Prince" in that kingdom.

[And here we are now.]

"Miss Dahlia, it's already bad enough a crow has found out about your existence," Wyatt scolded her lightly. "We can't have more people meet you."

The Black Witches had been banned in the empire long before she was born.

But because of the request made by Prince Nero to Emperor Nikolai de Moonasterio, the Paladins had sought her. Just this once, she was allowed to step foot in the empire. But of course, it must be done in secret.

[I shouldn't be revealing myself like this, but the Stars have guided me here to meet that person.]

"I can take care of it, Lord Wyatt," she assured him gently. "You know very well I can distort the memories of the people who meet me." She politely pointed to the male crow with her two hands. "I made sure Mr. Crow won't remember me once he wakes up."

Mr. Crow wouldn't completely forget about meeting "her."

[It's an ability slightly similar to the ability of the minor god known as 'Redgrave.']

But her power still worked differently.

Instead of her appearance and identity, Mr. Crow would remember meeting his worst nightmare. Thus, his brain and his system would only remember severe fear with the thought of her. And that would force him to stop thinking about her completely.

[This is how the Black Witches protect our bloodline.]

"Miss Dahlia, are you going to meet the "Crown Prince?"" Wyatt asked worriedly. "Must you really reveal yourself right now?"

"Yeah, in that condition?" Warren added, then he looked up at the beautiful purple and black tree that almost touched the night sky. "I doubt it if you could hold a proper conversation with the "Crown Prince" at the moment."

"Everything will be fine, so please don't worry too much," Dahlia said with a smile, then she looked up at the shining stars surrounding the full moon. "This is a meeting the heavens allowed to happen, after all."

***

REGINA barely dodged the aura that came from Lewis Crevan's sword.

[This shitty fox is switching from attacking like a beast to using aura as a Swordmaster.]

Whenever she would close the distance between them in order to use her Decay Technique, Lewis Crevan would use his brute strength to maul her without giving her the chance to touch him. But once she jumped away from him, he would draw his sword and attack her with its aura.

"Now I know why the empire hasn't given up on swords yet when the neighboring countries and nations have already switched to guns and explosives," Regina said as she landed on the branch of the tree she took refuge on to get away from the shitty fox. "For a beast like you, it's impressive to see you're already on your way to become a Swordmaster."

Swordsmen and Swordmasters were the types of people that could produce aura when using their swords.

The reason the Moonasterion Empire was a powerful empire was because their military power didn't rely on weapons heavily. After all, the people who ran the empire were born with Mana.

A person who could wield aura and/or use Mana was stronger than a batallion of knights who relied on weapons even if those weapons were infused with Mana stones.

"Prince Nero is lucky to have picked up a pet like you, Lewis Crevan," she said, taunting him on purpose to get a reaction from him.

But much to her disappointment, the shitty fox remained pokerfaced.

Instead of giving in to her provocations, Lewis Crevan just sent another wave of aura at her by swinging his sword.

She clicked her tongue as she grabbed the aura in the shape of a boomerang with her artificial hand. As soon as she closed her fingers around it, the aura turned into a cloud of dust. After all, her Decaying Technique worked on anyone and everything with Mana.

Yes, she couldn't turn non-Mana users and objects with her technique.

[Our enemies don't need to know that.]

"You're no fun, Lewis Crevan," she said, then she jumped to the other branch when Lewis Crevan came at her with his fangs and claws bared. "Hey, are you sure you want to waste your time fighting me?" she asked, then she pointed to the unconscious Jeno Dankworth on the ground. "I don't know what kind of potion you fed him, but he still might die at any moment."

After she ambushed Jeno Dankworth by releasing the 'Unholy Water' (Darkness in its liquid form) that her annoying brother lent her, the young lord fell unconscious right away.

But Lewis Crevan fed something to Jeno Dankworth. The Darkness that the young lord absorbed actually got purified. But the Unholy Water was still a poison to humans. A simple potion may purify Darkness, but it wasn't a the best way to get rid of all the toxins left in the human body.

The shitty fox didn't seem like he cared about his colleague though.

After all, Lewis Crevan ignored her warning and drew his sword again. It was obvious he was about to attack again. But the shitty fox froze when the ground shook, and a strong and chilling Mana exploded.

Both of them turned to the source of the unknown force.

[A tree…?]

It wasn't an ordinary tree, of course.

Purple leaves, flower-shaped amethyst, charcoal black branches and trunk.

"Half of it is divine power, while the other half is corrupted," she said, amused. "And it smells like Nature."

That tree was definitely the "Crown Prince."

"What a beautiful tree," she said, then she turned to Lewis Crevan who couldn't take his eyes off of the tree. His face remained poker-faced, but she saw a tiny glint of worry in those glowing golden eyes of his. "Lewis Crevan, is the rumored royal princess as pretty as that tree?"

The crows had long known a royal princess of this generation existed.

But the only question they had was 'where.'

That was until today.

The crows didn't enjoy flocking together. But they had to do it to spread news fast to the whole family. Any piece of information regarding the whereabouts of the royal princess they were hunting down was shared the fastest, naturally.

"Don't ignore me," she snapped at the shitty fox, who just looked at her with a blank look on his face. "I'm sure you've already met the elusive royal princess." She smirked at him while cracking her knuckles. "Is she prettier than me?"

"Everyone is prettier than you," Lewis Crevan, who spoke to her for the first time, said unabashedly. Then he pointed to his face. "Even me."

Regina's face turned cold. [I'll kill this shitty fox.]

***

Author's Note for this chapter: Neoma, Dahlia, and Regina have my heart. Kweens. I know y'all hate Regina, but as a character, she's pretty complex. The crows will take the stage in the next volume, so I'll bring her back as a worthy villainess. I'm excited about the next volume partly because I'll finally get the chance to reintroduce Regina properly. LOL.

Anyway, what do you think of Dahlia's character/entrance so far?

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