THE CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG

TO NIKOLAI was about to catch Neoma who started to fall from being suspended in the air.

But all of a sudden, the foxy boy appeared and caught his daughter instead. Then, he jumped backward while carrying the unconscious royal princess in his arms. Then, he glared at him as if to warn him not to touch Neoma.

[He's still alive?]

Not only that. He also noticed that the foxy boy's chest wound was starting to heal on its own. Ah, he almost forgot that the fox clan had fast regeneration.

[Why is this fox boy so loyal to the royal princess?]

And apparently, it wasn't only the young boy.

In the blink of an eye, the red dragon– that has now returned to its "regular size"– stood protectively in front of the royal princess. The red dragon looked very weak and very scared and yet, it looked like it wanted to protect Neoma at all cost.

[She has already received her Soul Beast's loyalty?]

Neoma de Moonasterio was a force to be reckoned with, huh?

"I won't hurt the royal princess," Nikolai said, then he turned his back on the children and the Soul Beast. "I'll have the royal doctor check on her."

When he left the training ground, Glenn returned to his side.

"Ask the royal doctor to check on the royal princess and the foxy boy," he told the knight.

Glenn blinked in surprise. "You no longer intend to kill the child, Your Majesty?"

"The royal princess will rebel against me again if the foxy boy dies," he said while shaking his head.

"I understand, Your Majesty."

"Take care of the royal princess and her servants," Nikolai said while walking away from the knight. "I'll check on Nero."

Glenn bowed politely in his direction. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

***

"YOUR ROYAL Highness, how do you feel?"

Neoma was greeted by an old woman with a gentle face when she opened her eyes. She blinked several times before it registered to her that she was back in her room. Glenn, Alphen (the head butler), and Stephanie (the head maid) were also there.

She hated it but she remembered every single thing that she did when she was super angry a while ago.

[God, I wish I was drunk to have an excuse for my stupidity!]

"Your Royal Highness?" Glenn asked worriedly. "Are you alright?"

Neoma forced herself to smile and act like the lovable prince that she should be. "I'm fine, Sir Glenn. Thank you for asking," she said cheerfully. When she tried to get up, Alphen and Stephanie were quick to assist her. After she was comfortable in her place, she turned to the old woman and smiled at her. "May I know who you are, Madam?"

The old woman bowed politely at her. Now that she was looking at her properly, she realized that the old woman had gray hair and blue eyes. Also, the stranger was wearing a white and blue uniform that she had already seen somewhere. "Greetings to the First Star of the Great Moonasterion Empire," the old woman greeted her. "I am Judy Hammock, the Healing Sage that His Majesty chose to look after you, Your Royal Highness."

"You can relax around Madam Hammock, Your Royal Highness," Glenn said cheerfully. "The madam is one of the few people who know your secret."

Ah, that was probably why His Majesty had chosen a female doctor for her.

[So, the sc*mbag knows how to be considerate, huh?]

"I'm relieved to know that," Neoma said with a smile. "Please take care of me from now on, Madam Hammock."

The Healing Sage smiled warmly at her. "How are you feeling now, Your Royal Highness? You coughed blood a while ago because your Mana started to overflow. Your little body wasn't able to handle the huge amount of Mana that you released. Thankfully, when your Soul Beast returned in your body, it became easier for me to seal your power again."

"Is that the only reason why my body suddenly acted that way, Madam Hammock?"

"Yes, Your Royal Highness," the old woman answered. "Do you suspect other reasons for what happened to you?"

She nodded, then she clutched her chest tight. "I think my twin brother's life is in danger. Do you have news about Nero's condition?"

"My deepest apologies but I do not know how His Royal Highness is doing right now, Your Royal Highness," Madam Hammock answered with a bow.

"His Majesty is in contact with Duke Quinzel now, Your Royal Highness," Glenn told her. "We'll know about Prince Nero's condition soon."

She just nodded at the knight's report.

[I hope you're okay, Nero.]

She gasped when she remembered another person that she should be worried about. "How about Lewis?"

"Lewis is alive, Your Royal Highness," Madam Hammock said with a smile. "Right now, the fox boy is resting in my private hospital."

"That's a relief," Neoma said, then she smiled sweetly at everyone around her. "May I request everyone to leave the room now?"

***

"I BROUGHT the prince to the saint, Your Majesty."

"How's Nero's condition?" Nikolai asked his cousin Rufus. "Did it get worse?"

Right now, he was in his office.

He was talking to Rufus Quinzel via Virtual Call using the golden pocket watch in his hand. Because of that, he could clearly see his cousin's face in the round mirror inside.

"I haven't heard from the saint yet," Rufus said. "We're lucky that His Holiness just came back from the temple. We can safely assume that Nara– I mean, the prince– will be fine."

"I see."

"How about the royal princess?" the duke asked. "I don't know why but before Prince Nero lost consciousness, he asked me to check on Her Royal Highness."

"The royal princess is safe now."

His eyes widened in shock. "So, something bad really happened to the princess? Twins' telepathy is scary. Your Majesty, your children are awesome."

He didn't want to comment on that.

"Call me after the saint is finished checking up on the royal prince," Nikolai said. "I need to check on the royal princess.��

Rufus smiled cheekily. "Your Majesty, are you trying to be a decent father now?"

He just hanged up on his stupid, nosy cousin.

***

NEOMA could finally breathe properly now that she was alone in the room.

Luckily, the adults agreed to let her rest without their supervision. She needed privacy for what she was about to do.

"Tteokbokki," Neoma whispered while gently tapping her chest. "Come out."

[I can't,] Tteokbokki answered in her head. [My body is too weak to move. I need to take a long break to recover my strength.]

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

[Somehow, I am], the red dragon said. [But I will never do that again. If you want to have yourself get killed, don't drag me to it.]

"Tsk," she complained. "You can't even roast a white tiger for me."

[Shut up, thug princess], Tteokbokki whined. [What do you want from me?]

"I need you to come out and hit me in my head," she said firmly. "I want to forget every single thing that I did a while ago. Come on, hit me with your tail or something, then give me amnesia!"

A silence ensued.

Then, came the Soul Beast's roaring laughter.

[You're really crazy, thug princess!] Tteokbokki said in an amused voice. [I'll gladly hit you with my tail but it can't erase your memories, you know?]

"You'll "gladly" hit me?" she asked in a menacing voice. "Come out and let's see if you can do that, you douche of a donkey–"

"Language, princess."

Neoma almost choked on her saliva when she heard the emperor's voice. When she turned to the direction of where the voice came from, she saw His Majesty leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. "Papa, you should have knocked first. Practice what you preach. Plus, eavesdropping is unbecoming of the emperor."

Hah! It felt good to throw his words back at him.

"Normally, I would have," His Majesty said. "But I heard your interesting conversation with your Soul Beast."

Speaking of her Soul Beast, that scaredy-cat Tteokbokki already cut off their mind connection.

[I'll deal with you later, you ketchup-colored donkey.]

Right now, she had to deal with the fact that His Majesty had already seen her real nature.

[Well, I guess I don't have to pretend now.]

"Is this the real you, Neoma de Moonasterio?" His Majesty asked with a smirk. "A foul-mouthed princess with a nasty temper who can't even respect her own father."

"Respect is earned, not imposed," she said. Of course, she was afraid for her future now that her real self was exposed. But she didn't want to go down without a fight. Being the most bashed online celebrity in her second life made her snarky, you know? "If you want me to respect you, how about you try and become a decent father first?"

She wouldn't be this brave if she didn't have Plan B.

Of course, it's a bum to start all over again. But to be honest, it was a huge relief that she didn't have to suck up to the sc*mbag anymore.

"Hearing those words from a child makes my skin crawl," he said with a scowl. "I really hate children who act too mature for their own age."

She just smiled sweetly at that. "Your Majesty," she said formally, dropping her "cutesy daughter" act now. "If you can't treat me like your child, then should we just become business partners?"

His Majesty's brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean by that, Neoma de Moonasterio?"

Neoma's smile turned sickeningly sweeter. "Please allow me to present a business proposal that will both benefit us, Your Majesty."

***

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