Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

Chapter 101: ENDLESS NIGHTMARE (3)

IF NEOMA counted correctly, this was the ninth time that she died by the hands of Nero.

Yes, her nightmare continued for nine more times since the first time. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t control her body in that dimension- or wherever she was. The fact that she didn’t have the power to change her fate in here was making her feel frustrated.

And if she’d be honest, she’d say she was starting to get depressed.

Reliving my awful first life again and again without break is starting to have a toll on my mental health.

She couldn’t help but think because she didn’t want to lose consciousness yet.

Right now, she was lying on the ground while facing the dark sky. She was literally bathing in the pool of her own blood after Nero left her to die. Ah, Regina Crowell was there a moment ago. After mocking her, that bitch left.

But it will happen again later, won’t it?

.....

She was trying to be strong by focusing on the things that she didn’t notice in the past.

For example, I began to notice that thing on the third “replay” of my awful life.

By “that thing,” she meant the huge black crow with sharp red eyes flying above her.

She had been racking up her brain since then while trying to remember which noble house had a black crow as a family crest. For some reason, she could feel that the black crow wasn’t an ordinary bird. She wasn’t sure if she was just being paranoid or not but still, she decided to trust her gut.

Unfortunately, only the same “scenes” that she went through the first time kept repeating again and again.

I can’t get another clue because of that.

And she was starting to get dizzy because of blood loss.

Nero was such a bastard in this lifetime.

He never once turned back to check on her after stabbing her in the heart. Well, she already expected that because even in her first life, he never stopped walking away from her. Still, she was hoping that something would change eventually even if she couldn’t even lift a finger on her own will.

Anyway...

The first few times that she experienced that, she cried in pain. But now that it happened for the ninth time, it seemed like her body had been numb from getting used to it.

But that event was unfortunately making her feel vulnerable- mentally and emotionally.

She didn’t want to admit this, but the thought of experiencing that lonely life and gruesome death for all eternity was scaring the hell out of her.

This is the first time that I feel this scared ever since I got reborn in this lifetime.

“I don’t want to be alone. Not even in my death,” Neoma whispered to herself. And when she closed her eyes, she felt the warm liquid from the corner of her eyes roll down her cheeks. “Mommy, Daddy, I’m scared...”

***

“THIS IS strange,” Gin whispered to himself while looking at the Marble that he stole from the fox boy a while ago. It still looked the same. But for some reason, he felt like the life force in stored in it was weakening. “Did I get the wrong Marble?”

“Perhaps it was replaced by a fake Marble when you weren’t looking?”

His eyes widened when he heard an unfamiliar voice.

When he turned around, he saw a white bunny with pastel pink eyes on top of Princess Neoma’s stomach.

He didn’t waste time and moved to attack the strange animal.

But much to his shock, he bumped into an invisible barrier that made him bounce off of it. Ah, it would be more appropriate to say that he was pushed by a violent gust of wind. He used his arms to protect himself from the impact.

The sleeves of his formal suit were instantly shredded into pieces, and his arms received several deep cuts that made him bleed badly.

Dammit!

He tried to run towards the tornado-like barrier even if it felt like the violent wind was ripping his arms off. But much to his shock, his body floated in the air. Then, a strong but invisible force sent him flying until his back hit a dead tree behind him.

Before it could even register in his mind, he was once again attacked by the violent gust of wind. This time, the wind knocked the breath out of him with an invisible sucker punch.

He coughed blood while falling on the ground.

To say that he was shocked at how fast he was knocked out by the little bunny would be an understatement. He couldn’t even get a chance for a counter attack because of how fast his enemy moved.

That bunny is so powerful. How come I didn’t feel it when it entered my territory? But when did it get here in the first place?

“It seems like the Devil isn’t picky with his people these days, huh?” the white bunny, who had the voice of a woman, said in a mocking tone. “Even a weak, little kitten like you can serve them now. I’d like to offer my condolences to the Devil’s standards.”

He was insulted but did he have the right to feel that way after he was beaten in the fight? Wait, would it even be considered a fight when he wasn’t able to make a single attack?

The little bunny played me like I was her punching bag!

“How did you enter my territory?” he asked while standing up with his hand clutching his stomach tight. He ignored the white bunny’s insults because they were true anyway. Moreover, he couldn’t refute it because if he did, he would only sound more of a loser. But most of all, talking to his enemy would play to his advantage. “Did you follow Princess Neoma?”

Yes, let’s talk for now and find the enemy’s weakness.

The white bunny clicked her tongue as if she was disappointed. “You didn’t really notice my presence? I’m here because I was hiding inside Princess Neoma’s soul.” She paused, then she laughed softly. “Ah, you also didn’t notice me when you were fighting the fox boy, did you?”

To say that he was shocked to hear that would be an understatement.

“You were there?” he asked in shock, then his eyes widened once again when realization dawned upon him. “Did you switch the fox boy’s Marble with a fake one?”

“What do you think, little kitten?”

“Impossible!” he insisted. “I took out the Marble from the fox boy’s body! You wouldn’t have the time to replace it!”

“Oops, busted,” she said playfully. “Well, I lied. I didn’t replace the Marble a while ago. The truth is...” She laughed softly before she continued. “I stole it from you just now.”

He froze on his spot.

Then, he immediately looked for the Marble in his clothes. God, he felt shivers down his spine when he realized that it was missing.

“I lied to distract you- to make you think that the Marble in your hand was fake,” the white bunny said in an amused tone. “When my wind attacked you, I had plenty of chances to steal the Marble from you while you were busy protecting yourself.”

His knees buckled until he fell on the ground. He was utterly defeated. By a bunny. Worse, he didn’t have the power to come at her because he knew that he couldn’t beat her. He chose his battles well, so he knew that he had to give this one up if he didn’t want to die. After all, he couldn’t even “read” the white bunny’s heart as if she didn’t have any weakness or fear. “Just who the hell are you?”

“My new master calls me ‘Mochi,'” the white bunny said. Then, when her little foot gently stomped Princess Neoma’s stomach, the Marble appeared. “You attacked the wrong person, little kitten.”

After saying that, the white bunny put her foot on top of the Marble and stomped on it. Much to his shock, the Marble was slowly absorbed by Princess Neoma’s stomach even if there wasn’t a hole in it. But the glowing silver-ish light on the royal princess’s stomach area suggested that the white bunny was using a spell to do that.

And it wasn’t just an ordinary spell- it was a high-level one.

“You weren’t in the equation, Miss Mochi,” he said while shaking his head. “The Devil planned everything well. But even them wasn’t able to predict the appearance of someone like you.”

“I like having a grand entrance,” the white bunny said proudly, then her body began to turn translucent. It was a teleportation spell that shouldn’t be allowed in his territory. But her strong power was able to break his barrier easily. “Goodbye, little kitten.”

“Are you leaving Princess Neoma here?” he asked in disbelief. “You have the ability to bring her out of my territory, Miss Mochi.”

“My new master doesn’t need me or anyone else to rescue her. Moreover, I already did my part as her guardian,” Mochi said with confidence. “It’s all up to Princess Neoma now.”

And just like that, the white bunny was gone.

He didn’t have the time to figure out what Miss Mochi meant by her last words when the ground started to shake hard.

Then, much to his shock, his territory began to crumble.

And then, Princess Neoma’s overwhelming Mana filled his territory until he could no longer feel his own Mana.

What a strong power...

“No,” Gin whispered in shock while watching his world literally crumble right in front of his eyes. “Just what did Princess Neoma do?”

***

“NEOMA, wake up.”

When Neoma opened her eyes, she expected to find herself inside the closet again. But much to her delighted surprise, she was greeted by a familiar, gentle face.

“Mommy,” Neoma whispered in a cracked voice. “Mommy...”

She was sure that the woman in front of her was her mommy in her second life.

But she looked a little different now. Her long hair was pinkish, and her eyes were light blue. Those weren’t her mommy’s hair and eye color in the past.

Then, it means...

“Are you my Mama?” Neoma asked, confused. “Are you Lady Mona Roseheart?”

To be honest, she didn’t know what was happening now.

All she knew was she was already tired from having to relive her awful first life again and again. Maybe the “mommy” that she was seeing now was only a hallucination. But you know what? She’d take that.

As long as I don’t die alone again...

“I am your mother, Neoma,” her mommy said gently as if she was confirming that she wasn’t a hallucination. Then, she smiled and gently touched her face. “It’s time to wake up from this nightmare now, my precious star.”

***

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