Royal Secret: I'm A Princess!

"LET'S PLAY a game," Neoma said confidently to the Goddess of Fortune. "If the coin flips in my favor, you'll do what I want."

The Goddess of Misfortune raised an eyebrow. "And if the coin flips in my favor?"

"Then I'll offer my services to you for free," she said, still unfazed. "I'm sure even you yearn for clean air to breathe. I bet you already know that I can give you that."

"The rumor about you being a living Aether has already spread in all worlds."

'In all worlds.'

[That's a scary thing to hear.]

"I've heard that gods— both minor and major— are all dying to get you to get rid of the impure air in their domains. Moreover, I've also heard that you ask for huge compensation," the Goddess of Fortune said. "And yet you're saying you're offering your services to me for free?"

"Well, deep inside, I'm a good person."

The Goddess of Fortune suddenly burst out laughing. "Little princess, if you're a good person, then Helstor might be a saint."

Wow.

Why the hell was she being roasted?

Neoma, offended, turned to Ruto for some emotional support. "Babe, I'm a good person, am I not?"

"You don't have to be a good person, Neoma," Ruto said bluntly while gently patting her head. "You're already fine the way you are."

"Bullshit."

"No good person commits mass murder or scam people whether it's justified or not, babe."

"…"

Ruto cleared his throat and avoided her sharp gaze. "You have pretty privilege so it's okay."

Only then did Neoma smile. "Right? My beauty justifies my wrongdoings, and I'm beautiful so I deserve to be forgiven."

Of course, they were only kidding around.

[Pretty privilege exists and I have it, but that doesn't justify all the wrongdoings I've done.]

Neoma also knew that she didn't deserve to be forgiven.

[But it's nice to hear Ruto say those things to me.]

"Children these days really say all the weirdest things."

Oops.

[As usual, I almost forgot about the Goddess of Fortune.]

"What's your decision, ma'am?" Neoma asked politely, pulling out a gold coin from her pocket. "Should I flip the coin?"

"Very well," the Goddess of Fortune said, nodding. "I will not use my power to make it fair, so let's test your luck, little princess."

***

NERO pulled out the sword after making sure that Helstor was hurt enough.

Calypso, the Holy Sword, was a weapon that was made to defeat both humans and gods. That was why it was the weapon that served as the Imperial Family's symbol.

[Because the de Moonasterios are known to be the gods among men.]

"Your Imperial Majesty is lucky that we're hidden behind Hanna Quinzel's Shadow Veil," Helstor said, sneering. "The citizens of the Great Moonasterion Empire will be disappointed if they saw you attacking an enemy from behind like a coward."

"Well, unfortunately for you, I'm good at keeping my image clean," Nero said, snapping his fingers. "Zeru, come out and grab the trash."

Zeru, his Ice Phoenix, appeared above Helstor.

And then his Soul Beast grabbed the God of Eternal Darkness by the collar using its claws.

"Hah!" Helstor scoffed at Nero. "Do you think you can contain me here?"

"Yes, I can."

The God of Eternal Darkness laughed as if he found what Nero said ridiculous.

However, his smile immediately vanished.

"What's wrong, Helstor?" Nero asked. It was his turn to laugh at the god's face. "You can't leave, can you?"

Helstor's face darkened while glaring at Nero. "What did you do?"

"Nothing. But you made a terrible mistake."

"I did?"

"You signed a contract with my twin sister, didn't you?"

"I read and checked the contract more than twice before signing it!" Helstor argued sternly. "This can't be happening because of the contract!"

"Are you stupid?" Nero asked, laughing. "Why would you sign a contract with the greatest scammer on the continent without, at least, using a device that checks if the contract was tampered or not?"

The God of Eternal Darkness looked flabbergasted.

[And I'm not done yet.]

"But then again, even if you used such a device, the one who made the contract was Trevor Kesser— the greatest Sorcerer in the world," Nero said, laughing at the dumbfounded look on Helstor's face. It made him want to annoy the god even more. "Your first mistake is thinking that Neoma is an honorable Imperial Princess, Helstor."

***

NEOMA'S ear was itching.

[Nero is probably talking shit about me again.]

Unfortunately, she didn't have time to worry about her twin brother talking behind her back.

Her eyes were laser-focused on the coin that she had just tossed in the air.

She couldn't control her strength that much, so the coin ended up getting tossed really high— high enough to start a conversation while waiting for the coin to descend.

"My lady, you choose first," Neoma said confidently. "Is it the crown or the lion?"

Those were the two sides of the coin— the crown and the lion that both symbolized the de Moonasterion Imperial Family.

"Brave of you to make me choose first, but I shall humor you, little princess," the Goddess of Fortune said, putting her hands on the hips. "I choose the lion."

"Very well," Neoma said, putting her hands on her hips— mimicking the goddess. "The crown is mine, and rightfully so."

The Goddess of Fortune just chuckled.

It was the end of the conversation anyway since the coin was free-falling from the sky fast.

Neoma caught the coin in one swift movement. "Moment of truth. Are you ready, my lady?"

The Goddess of Fortune nodded. "I am— I love games that test one's luck."

"Me, too," Neoma said, putting the coin on the back of her hand. "I love games that test my patience. If I lose here, I'm gonna go feral."

It was a joke that only Ruto found funny.

[My man is so supportive.]

"That's not good, little princess," the Goddess of Fortune. "One must learn how to accept losing gracefully. You can't win all the time."

"While I agree with you, my lady, I have to say that this is a battle I can't afford to lose," Neoma said, removing her hand covering the coin. And then she smiled. "I'm truly the main character of this world."

Ruto gave Neoma a small smile while gently patting her head. "Of course, you are."

"As you can see, it's the crown," Neoma said, showing the winning side of the coin. "Do you wish to contest the results?"

"No, I don't think you cheated," the Goddess of Fortune said. "I rarely lose in games that determine luck, so this is quite an interesting experience. You must be a very lucky person, little princess— enough to beat the Goddess of Fortune herself."

"Fortune favors the prepared," Neoma said, shrugging. "And I'm always prepared to win."

The Goddess of Fortune looked surprised by what Neoma said, and then she laughed. "You're right, little princess."

"Then do you officially accept your defeat, my lady?"

"Yes, I lost."

"Really? It's rare for a god to accept their defeat without throwing a tantrum."

"I favor people who don't solely depend on luck."

"That's great," Neoma said, smiling. "Then will you remove the curse on Nero's soul?"

The Goddess of Fortune curled her finger. "Bring the little emperor here."

Hmm?

[I wonder if this is the right time to switch?]

"Alright," Neoma said, pressing a hand on her ear. "Let me check on my baby brother first."

***

NERO stepped on the railing, the ice phoenix suspended above his head while still carrying Helstor as if it was holding onto prey that it didn't want to let go.

It was a perfect timing to get the people's attention first.

After all, the rain was already about to stop.

"Duchess Quinzel," Nero said, addressing Hanna by her formal title because they were at work. "Lift the Shadow Veil."

Hanna, who was standing beside him, bowed her head politely. "As you wish, Your Imperial Majesty."

Nero just nodded, and then he turned to Lord Maru and Prince Skylus— his focus on the young prince. "Your Royal Highness, we're going ahead with Neoma's plan now. Are you ready?"

Skylus nodded politely. "I'm ready, Your Imperial Majesty."

"Lord Maru?"

"I'm also ready, Your Imperial Majesty," Lord Maru said while nodding. "I know Lord Yule will forgive us for this scam."

"It's not a scam, Lord Maru," Prince Skylus protested. "Princess Neoma said it's called a 'white lie.'"

"My prince…"

Nero ignored Lord Maru and Prince Skylus' bickering when the Shadow Veil was finally lifted. "Everyone."

Just one word from him was enough to catch everyone's attention.

The people who were enjoying the rain all turned to him.

Of course, everyone was shocked to see Zeru— the gigantic ice phoenix— carrying what looked like a 'monster' in the form of a human.

[Helstor's human form isn't pretty, after all.]

And he planned to use that against the God of Eternal Darkness.

"Everyone, this is the false god that some of you worship after getting tricked into believing that the Moon God has already abandoned the empire and the Imperial Family!" Nero said, raising his voice to appear passionate about his speech. He pointed the pointed blade of Calypso— the Holy Sword— at the helpless Helstor. "Worshipping this false god will bring you nothing but tragedy!"

It was fear-mongering.

And it was the same tactic that Helstor and the crows did.

[We're just letting them taste their own medicine.]

"Worry not, my beloved citizens!" Nero said firmly. "I, Nero de Moonasterio— your emperor— will save your poor souls by striking down the false god!"

["Nice speech, bruh."]

Huh?

Nero was a bit startled after hearing his twin sister's voice ringing in his head.

Neoma?

["Let's switch, Nero!"]

***

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