Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

[HANNA became a pirate…]

Neoma was confused.

And anxious.

Her hand moved of its own accord to twirl her fingers around the strands of her hair.

Ah, yes.

She drank a potion to make her hair longer, then she put on a simple dress before she met Nero. Since her twin brother had the memories of his first life, he would be confused if she appeared in front of him in her disguise as the Crown Prince.

[Anyway…]

Based on what Nero had just told her, it seemed like Hanna of the first timeline didn't bother to hide her identity. The female pirate who had black eyes and green eyes who mastered the Shadow Manipulation Technique unique to the Quinzels?

That could only be Hanna.

[But if that kind of rumor spread across the empire, there was no way Duke Quinzel wouldn't hear about it…]

Wait.

"Nero, how old do you think you are right now?"

Nero raised an eyebrow at her, but he thankfully answered her question. "Eighteen."

Ah, so his past memories that clashed with his present memories came from when he was eighteen years old.

[It's probably a few months before he hunted me down to kill me.]

Plus, it was around that time that she discovered Rubin's illicit affair with Regina Crowell.

[I tried to ask for Duke Quinzel's help back then to punish Rubin and Regina. But Duchess Quinzel had cut off any form of communication I had with the duke. And if I remember it correctly, it was also the time Duke Quinzel rarely came home.]

It was because Duke Quinzel was busy being Nero's swordsmanship mentor during that time.

And…

She clutched her head when she suddenly got a splitting headache.

[There was something else. I know that Duke Quinzel rarely came home during that time because he was busy teaching Nero swordsmanship. But he was also busy with other things then. Wasn't it the time the duke was sent to several territories to fix the dispute among some lords?]

"Hey," Nero said while looking at her strangely. "What's wrong with you? I'm getting a headache just looking at you."

"Nero," Neoma said firmly. "At this time, is Duke Quinzel busy being your mentor?"

Her twin brother scoffed. "What do you mean he's busy being my mentor? Sure, he teaches me swordsmanship and shooting from time to time. But he

Don't you know that Duke Quinzel practically lives in Firtha? There's even a rumor that the duke is planning to buy the entire port village."

Firtha?

The port village known as… as…

[I know what kind of port village it is, but my brain can't remember!]

"Many people think the duke has gone crazy," Nero continued, still scoffing. "What would he possibly gain from owning a port village rumored to be home to a vicious crew of pirates?"

That was it.

Firtha, home to an infamous crew of pirates.

The female pirate dubbed as the 'Shadow Queen.'

[He knows.]

The Duke Quinzel of the first timeline knew that Hanna was alive.

It was the reason why His Grace rarely came home during that time.

[Duke Quinzel was busy… busy spending time with his real daughter.]

But why didn't the duke tell Duchess Amber that Hanna was still alive and she returned to the empire as a pirate?

"Didn't you know that?" Nero asked her in a taunting voice. "Isn't Duke Quinzel your adoptive father?"

She was in a bad mood already, so Nero mocking her didn't sit well with her.

"Nero, are you dumb?" she snapped back at him. "The female pirate you're talking about has the same hair and eye color as the supposedly dead Quinzel Princess. And Duke Quinzel has been spending time in a port village known to be that pirate's home."

His face hardened.

"Have you connected the dots, or do I need to spell it out for you?" she asked sarcastically. "For a Crown Prince, you're pretty slow."

Nero wasn't slow, though.

The Nero of the first timeline just didn't care about things like that.

Moreover, she knew that he wasn't in the right state of mind at the moment.

[He hasn't even questioned yet why I'm here at the palace when I was supposed to be adopted by the Quinzels.]

"You– you're being too arrogant," Nero growled, then he moved fast to grab her by the collar. "Do you think I'd let it slide just because you're my twin sister?"

'Twin sister.'

That wasn't the first time that she heard that since she was a twin. But when she heard those two words in her head, she heard them from a familiar yet also strange voice.

<"Come to think of it, you're like my twin sister.">

Hanna?

She was pretty sure that it was Hanna's voice, but it sounded mature in her head.

[An older Hanna…?]

She didn't meet Hanna before Nero stabbed her. Then, had they met, it could have happened after she was supposedly revived during the first timeline.

"You–"

She was distracted when Nero suddenly let go of her collar while having a bewildered look on his face.

"I haven't hit you yet," Nero said. "Why is your nose already bleeding?"

Huh?

Her hand moved to touch the space between her nose and upper lip. Much to her shock, she felt the warm, sticky liquid that could only be her blood.

[What the…]

And the next thing Neoma knew, everything already went black.

***

NERO was surprised when Neoma Quinzel suddenly fainted.

But he was even more shocked when his body moved on its own. He stood up fast to catch his estranged twin sister in his arms before she fell to the floor.

[Huh?]

Since when did he care about her?

[I was told all my life to ignore my twin sister and pretend she doesn't exist…]

He froze when that thought crossed his mind.

Who told him to ignore Neoma? Why couldn't he remember?

His messy thoughts were distracted when the doors of his room suddenly burst open.

"Lu," he called the person who entered his room rudely with knitted eyebrows. "Why do you also look younger?"

"Shut up," Lu growled at him, his golden eyes glowing menacingly. "What did you do to Princess Neoma?"

'Princess Neoma?'

Did Lu just call his twin sister 'princess?'

He was distracted from his jumbled thoughts once again when, all of a sudden, Lu moved to snatch Neoma away from him.

[What the…]

It happened so fast that the next thing he knew, Lu was already carrying his twin sister in his arms.

Protectively.

"I came here as soon as I felt Princess Neoma's Mana weaken," Lu said in a low, angry tone. "But I didn't expect to see this. Why is Princess Neoma's nose bleeding? Did you hit her?"

Lu's attitude snapped him out of his trance.

"Have you gone mad?" he growled at Lu. "I know I'm usually lenient to you, but how dare you talk to me that way?"

Well, the fact that Lu spoke in long, complete sentences was already a shock to him.

[He would just usually say 'yes,' 'no,' and 'annoying' to me.]

"What's happening here?"

He clicked his tongue when his father arrived.

But his annoyance was soon replaced by confusion when he noticed the woman walking beside his father.

Pink hair.

Light blue eyes.

The face that somehow resembled him and Neoma despite their strong de Moonasterio physical traits.

[Roseheart…]

What was their mother's name again?

"Mona…?" he whispered to himself.

"Nero, don't call your mother by her name like that," his father scolded him. "If you disrespect your mother again, I will not let it slide."

Mona Roseheart held his father's arm as if she was calming him down.

Nero, on the other hand, was confused.

[Mother is still alive…?]

Come to think of it, why was Neoma in the palace in the first place?

[And everyone is younger…]

He already noticed that even he was younger than he was supposed to be. But for some reason, his brain didn't question it.

Not until now.

[Argh.]

He felt a massive headache incoming.

"Nikolai, Neoma's head is bleeding," Mona Roseheart said worriedly while looking at his twin sister. "Lewis, let's bring my daughter to her room first."

Lewis nodded politely as a response.

"Nero," his father called him sternly. "What happened to your sister?"

[Ah, this is annoying.]

His mood turned sour, and his bloodlust leaked out.

"Father, everything annoys me," Nero said coldly. "Can I kill more scumbags?"

His father let out a frustrated sigh.

Then, the next thing he knew, his father was already standing in front of him while covering his eyes with his hand.

"Sleep, Nero," his father said. "And you'll be confined until you settle down."

***

<"AREN'T WE like twin sisters now since my parents adopted you?">

Neoma couldn't help but stare at the older Hanna in front of her.

[Wow. Hanna is so pretty. And she pulled off the pixie haircut perfectly.]

Yes, that was how short Hanna's hair was.

But since her face was small, the hairstyle suited her.

[Even her outfit looks very different now.]

The Hanna in the current timeline was the definition of a perfect noble lady whose wardrobe only consisted of pretty and colorful dresses.

But the Hanna of the first timeline wore a loose linen shirt with vest, trousers, and combat shoes– all on earth color. And even though Hanna wasn't that tall, she was able to pull off that get-up. Plus, the way she carried herself was mesmerizing.

[A true queen.]

Anyway…

She was conscious, but she knew that she was remembering a part of her forgotten memory through a dream.

How did she know that?

[Simple: I'm currently on a pirate ship.]

She was possessing the body of the Neoma of the first timeline. But unfortunately, she couldn't speak or move according to her will.

[All I can do is scream in my head like what I'm doing now.]

<"I already have a twin brother– I don't need a twin sister,"> Neoma of the first timeline said in a slightly cold voice. <"And your parents only adopted me to be your replacement.">

<"Princess Neoma…">

<"Let's not talk about our family, Hanna. I want to know who revived you. Is it the same person who revived me after Nero stabbed me?">

Ohh.

As expected, she really was revived after Nero stabbed her.

[But the memories of my first life ended after I "died" at my twin brother's hands.]

<"I was revived and raised by the Devil, Princess Neoma.">

She gasped even though Neoma of the first timeline didn't react.

[Hanna was revived and raised by the Devil in the first timeline?!]

<"I ended up as a pirate because the Shadow Beast I wanted to own lived in the ocean,"> the Shadow Queen explained. <"You were revived by another person, Your Royal Highness.">

<"Who?">

<"The person who brought you here.">

<"Commander Yoan?">

It was Ruto who revived her then.

Why wasn't Neoma surprised anymore?

[Argh!]

Neoma clutched her head tight when a splitting headache hit her again. And for some reason, Ruto's image flashed in her mind.

[Ruto, you're making me nervous again.]

***

RUTO clutched his head tight when he suddenly felt like his skull was being broken in two.

To say that he was having a headache would be an understatement.

Since the pain distracted him, his foot slipped when he landed on the branch of the tree– causing him to fall down to the ground ungracefully. He didn't have the luxury to be embarrassed. In fact, he couldn't even move while he was sprawled on the ground.

His head was killing him.

Perhaps literally.

[Neoma…]

The princess's image in his head was starting to get blurry…

[No…]

He shut his eyes tight while trying to engrave Neoma's face in his mind.

[It can't be…]

"Yoan!" Sienna yelled, then she knelt down beside him. "What happened?"

"Neoma…" Ruto said while suppressing a painful groan to come out of his mouth. "Neoma regained an important fragment of her memory. And…" He opened his glowing eyes, then he looked at Sienna with pleading eyes. "And I'm starting to forget a huge portion of my memories of Neoma."

***

"WAKE UP, Yoan!" Sienna shouted worriedly when Yoan fainted. She couldn't help but grit her teeth in frustration. Although she told herself earlier that she would finally stop hating on Neoma de Moonasterio, her resolve was broken the moment Yoan's life was put in danger. [Neoma de Moonasterio, Yoan already told you not to remember your first life because it isn't the right time to do so yet!]

Yoan said that a huge portion of his memories started to disappear.

It only meant one thing.

[Neoma gained a vital memory during the time she was revived in the first timeline. And it was probably connected to Yoan heavily.]

Her thoughts were distracted when Yoan groaned lowly.

Then, thankfully, he slowly opened his eyes.

She smiled in relief– but that smile soon disappeared when she noticed that his eyes were unusual.

The left eye remained dark purple.

But Yoan's right eye turned glowing red.

[Ah…]

If it was like this, then she wasn't sure if Yoan's memory loss would be temporary or not.

"Sienna?" Yoan asked in a cold voice when he got up, then he looked around. "What are we doing here? Isn't this one of the forbidden regions in the West Continent?"

"We're here to save Empress Juliet," she said, although she was a little nervous around THIS Yoan.

"Why are we saving Empress Juliet?"

That question gave her the chills.

[He already forgot…?]

"Father told me not to meddle with the affairs of the de Moonasterios," he said, and he was definitely talking about the 'God Among Gods' and not Chef Morton Stroganoff. "Let's head back to the East Continent."

Huh?

Wouldn't he even ask why he tried to save the empress in the first place?

[As expected, this Yoan only listens to his divine father. But…]

"You promised her," Sienna said carefully. "You promised Neoma de Moonasterio that you'd bring back Empress Juliet to the empire."

"Neoma de Moonasterio?" Yoan asked, his face and voice voided of emotions. "What does the abandoned princess have to do with me?"

***

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