Royal Secret: I'm A Princess!

Neoma raised an eyebrow when, all of a sudden, the pair of floating red eyes in front of her had turned into Phoebe Willows.

It was neither a hologram nor an apparition– it was a real person.

[Did Goddess Astrid teleport Phoebe Willows from the Eastern Continent? Or was the child already in the Imperial Capital?]

Either way, Neoma was sure of one thing.

[The Goddess of Beauty is currently possessing the child\'s body.]

"I\'m not here to seek your help," Phoebe Willows said in an arrogant voice. But, clearly, it was the Goddess of Beauty speaking. "I haven\'t stooped so low to ask for a mere human child\'s help."

"I\'m not a mere human child, though," Neoma said bluntly. "I\'m the Visual Goddess."

Of course, she said that on purpose to annoy the hell out of the Goddess of Beauty.

[It\'s not like I hate Goddess Astrid. But it\'s fun to tease her. After all, she\'s the only woman in the world who can rival my beauty~]

"I\'m the Goddess of Beauty."

Hmm.

If it was an ordinary situation, Neoma would have replied \'I know.\'

But she noticed that the Goddess of Beauty wasn\'t done speaking yet.

[No, it sounds like she\'s going to give me a warning.]

"All the children in the human world born with pretty faces should be careful," Astrid said in a serious tone. "I know beauty is subjective. However, this time, I\'m talking about beauty as flashy as yours. Races that are known for their beauty must be particularly careful as well."

There were only two races known for their beauty.

[The elves and the mermaids.]

Oh, the fairies, too.

[But the fairies are elusive, so humans rarely see them.]

"Although I hate it when people say someone is more beautiful than I am, I still think it\'s a shame if all the beautiful children in this world disappeared," Astrid said, crossing her arms over her chest. "As you already know, the major gods locked up in the Upper World cannot move at the moment. Hence, I leave it to you, Neoma de Moonasterio."

Gosh.

[I knew it. Gods don\'t pay me a visit just to see my face.]

"What do I get in return if I get rid of the fucker who has a bad intention towards beautiful people?" Neoma asked bluntly. "If I encounter that person, of course, I\'ll deal with them. But if you want me to get out of my way to hunt them down, then it\'s a different matter. Although I wish to save all the beautiful people in the world, my priority is to keep the empire safe."

In short, she was done working for free.

[Thankfully, I\'ve already accepted the fact that I cannot save everyone–]

"Lewis Crevan is beautiful, isn\'t he?"

"The fuck?" Neoma said, reacting violently because she was really protective of her first "son." "Are you saying that person would target my "son" for his face?"

"Don\'t bring Lewis Crevan when you go and clean up the domains of the gods who were here earlier," Astrid warned her. "And make sure he\'ll stick to someone with a strong Darkness attribute. I\'m fond of that child because he\'s the most handsome Silver Fox born in this world, so take care of him well."

"I\'m taking care of Lewis really well, thank you very much."

"Very well," Astrid said. "Take care of this child as well, and I\'ll give you a reward later."

Huh?

The Goddess of Beauty didn\'t say anything else.

And, at that moment, Phoebe Willows suddenly collapsed.

Trevor, who was stretching his arms while yawning, obviously had no intention of catching the poor girl.

Hence, Neoma quickly caught Phoebe Willows in her arms.

[Whew.]

"Trevor, you really don\'t care even if someone dies in front of you?"

"Not unless it\'s you or the people you care about, my Moon Princess~" Trevor confirmed shamelessly, then he looked at Phoebe Willows with cold eyes. "But you don\'t like that child who tried to seduce the damned chef, do you?"

Aigoo.

[I should teach this brat to have compassion towards other people. If I die, I\'m sure he\'d stop caring about my loved ones, too.]

She should have done that earlier, though.

[Let\'s try it.]

"I heard Preston Willows is still in the palace since he\'s acting as Ruto\'s aide," Neoma said, sighing while shaking her head at Trevor\'s apathy towards strangers. "Bring Lady Phoebe to her brother for me, will you?"

Trevor smiled and snapped his fingers, causing Phoebe Willows\' body to float in the air. "If it\'s what my Moon Princess wants, then I shall obey you~"

The shift in Trevor\'s mood was quite worrisome.

[Scary bastard.]

***

NEOMA was on her way to report to her Papa Boss and Mama Boss\' palace when she remembered something that might help Nero and the others.

[If I remember correctly, Nero\'s fanboy is also an ice user.]

That fanboy would be Preston Willows, of course.

[Ruto said they need as many ice users as they can find. I should recommend Preston Willows. But, then again, Ruto may have already included the child in the list.]

"Neoma."

Tsk.

Neoma turned around and frowned when she faced Ruto. "I hate it when I don\'t feel your presence, Ruto…"

She trailed off when she finally got the full view of her ex-man.

Then she gasped softly.

[Is he wearing a knight\'s uniform?]

It wasn\'t just a simple knight\'s uniform.

The golden eupalettes on his shoulders and the gold decorations all over his top were all symbols of his high rank.

Especially that shining White Lion Crest on his chest.

"Omo, omo," Neoma said, surprised. "When did you become the Commander of the White Lion Knights? Why is there no ceremony?"

Ruto looked neat and nice.

But now that Ruto was wearing his knight\'s uniform...

[My ex-man is hot, isn\'t he?]

Well, most men in uniforms were hot.

[Ruto in this fit hits different.]

Neoma could clearly see why Neoma of the first timeline fell for Commander Yoan.

"Since we\'re in an emergency, His Imperial Majesty decided that there\'s no need for a ceremony," Ruto explained indifferently. "The emperor just signed all the necessary documents for my appointment, then he sent a memo to all Orders of the Royal Knights."

Ah, so Papa Boss had finally tricked Ruto into becoming the Commander of the White Lion Knights.

[Thank you, Papa Boss, for showing me Ruto in this fit.]

"It\'s a shame that your appointment was rushed. Papa Boss has always wanted you to become the Commander of the White Lion Knights."

"I won\'t be the commander for long."

"Huh?"

"This is only a temporary position," he cleared. "I\'ll step down as soon as the war is over."

Hmm?

Neoma tilted her head to one side. "Do you think Papa Boss will let you quit when he finally got you to accept the commander position?"

"Well, what can the emperor do if I suddenly disappeared?"

Ouch.

She knew that Ruto could do that if he wanted.

And that made her sad.

"Then you\'re going to disappear on us after the war?" Neoma asked, not bothering to hide the sadness and disappointment in her voice. "Are you going to abandon me again?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind," she said, shaking her head before she changed the topic. "Trevor and I have finished negotiating with the gods who went here to seek for my help. We\'re going to have a "tour," but we estimated that we\'ll be back in two days."

Actually, Trevor initially estimated that they would need three days.

But Neoma insisted that they must deal with the minor gods\' problems in just a day. Then deal with the mid-level gods the next.

[We can\'t afford to be gone from the palace for so long.]

Of course, that meant Neoma had to push herself again in order to finish the job quickly. But she knew she\'d be fine.

[Using my ability as a premium air purifier has never exhausted me in the past.]

"Neoma, I think you\'ve misunderstood something."

"What did I misunderstand?"

"I\'m not going to abandon you."

Okay, that melted her heart.

After all, she still had a soft spot for Ruto.

"Even if you died and got dragged to hell, I\'ll follow you there."

Neoma avoided Ruto\'s scrutinizing gaze. "I don\'t know what you\'re talking about, though? I know that you all know that I still have three years left in my lifespan."

"The speech you gave before probably gave your people a heart attack," Ruto said disapprovingly. "You practically said that you were willing to die in this war as long as you bring the enemies down with you."

Damn.

Did it sound like that?

"Neoma, I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

Ruto\'s gaze as he looked into her eyes became warm, warmer than usual. "If you\'re going to die, then kill me first. I want to die with you this time."

Pfft.

It was touching, but also funny.

"I don\'t think I can kill you even if I tried," Neoma said, shrugging. "I can\'t even see your weakness."

"Then I\'ll tell you."

"Huh?"

"I\'ll tell you how to kill me," Ruto said, extending his hand to her. "Come here, Neoma."

As if her body was conditioned to follow Ruto\'s words, her hand automatically reached for his.

[Wait, no…]

It was too late, though.

When Ruto grabbed Neoma\'s hand, he gently pulled her closer to his. Then he leaned down and whispered in her ears.

That would have been a romantic scene had he whispered sweet nothings to her.

But no.

Ruto really told Neoma how to kill him.

In. Complete. Details.

[Is he crazy?!]

"And that\'s how you kill me," Ruto said, then he stepped backwards and looked at her with a satisfied look on his face. "Easy, isn\'t it?"

"Are you crazy?!" Neoma yelled at him. She really hated raising her voice. But she was really, really upset. She already almost lost her mind when she discovered the weaknesses of her loved ones. Hence, she didn\'t need Ruto to be added to the list. "Why would you tell me how to kill you?! What if I suddenly woke up one day and decided to commit genocide?!"

She smacked Ruto in the chest with her free hand because he was still holding her other hand.

Damn.

Ruto\'s chest felt solid under her touch.

That was kind of distracting.

"I already told you, Neoma," Ruto said in a serious tone while looking at her warmly. "I\'m going to die with you this time."

Ah.

That was when the realization finally hit Neoma.

[Ruto knows I\'m dying soon…]

***

NOTE: I posted the previous chapter incompletely. I just realized when I checked now. This is supposed to be the other half of the previous chapter. I\'m so embarrassed. The previous chapter ended awkwardly.

Expect two chapters later. ^^

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