Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

Chapter 51: I PICKED UP A (POTENTIAL) FIANCé?

DOMINIC Zavaroni opened his eyes the same time the light of the candles around the prayer room was suddenly put out.

He was offering a prayer to Yule, the moon god, for the royal prince’s safe trip back to the Royal Capital when he felt an ominous aura in the air. He was certain that the evil somehow entered the Royal Capital despite the divine protection around it.

“Princess Neoma,” Dominic whispered to himself. “I need to see the royal princess.”

***

“MEN and their audacity,” Neoma said while shaking her head. “Do you think I’ll marry you after you almost ruined my pretty face?”

Trevor smiled, then he touched the cut on her face.

She flinched because it stung.

But only for a few seconds. When the cut completely disappeared, the devil immediately pulled his hand away from her face.

.....

“I’m sorry for hurting you, Moon Princess,” Trevor said, his purple eyes still shining brightly. “If I need to kneel and beg for your forgiveness, I’ll do it.”

“Even if you kneel and beg for my forgiveness, I will still not accept your marriage proposal,” she said bluntly. “You’re not my type.”

“What’s your type, then?”

“A normal dude,” she said without missing a beat. “A devil like you will surely make my life more difficult.”

“I’m not the devil. It was just you who assumed that I am the devil,” he said. “Actually, I’m the Devil’s Grimoire.” He made a finger gun and pointed the tip at his temple. “All the spells in the book are in stored in here.”

“That’s worse than being the devil,” she said. “I heard that the Devil’s Grimoire is sought-after by dangerous people. If I marry a person like you, I will never have a peaceful life.”

“I’ll kill them all.”

“What?”

“I’ll kill all those who seek me,” he said with a charming smile. “Don’t worry, Moon Princess. You’re safe with me.”

She raised a brow at him. “Why do you want to marry me?” ????????????????ℯ????d. ????????????

“I fell in love with you.”

“B*llshit.”

He laughed loudly. “You’re the kind of woman with high standards, aren’t you?”

“Yes, and I deserve it,” she said confidently. “I know my worth so I won’t settle for less.”

He just laughed it off. “Yeah, I’m not in love with you,” he said, his purple eyes turning dark as his aura turned into bloodlust. “But I need you for my freedom. If I form a contract with a human like you, I’ll finally be free from this hellhole. But the contact I need is the kind of contract that binds a man and a woman together.”

“A wedding contract, I assume.”

“Impressive,” he said while nodding his head.

“What will I gain if I married you?” she asked. “You can’t even grant me two wishes, you stingy devil-like man.”

“I can’t break the rule even for you, Moon Princess,” he said with a shrug. “But I can tell you why the foxy boy beside you is being targeted. I’m sure the information that I have will also benefit the empire.”

“Still not tempting enough for me,” she said. “Step up your game, Trevor. Aren’t devils supposed to be good at seducing humans?”

He raised a brow at her while giving her a lazy smile. “You want me to seduce you?”

Okay, her mouth suddenly went dry.

[That lazy smile is... sexy.]

Gosh, she suddenly felt thirsty.

“I don’t get seduced,” she declared proudly. “I do the seducing, dude.”

[And there goes his sexy lazy smile again.]

This time, he even tilted his head at one side while licking his lips quickly. “Oh, yeah?”

“Stop flirting with me,” she complained, then she swayed the giant scythe until the curved blade was sitting prettily below his chin.

Much to her annoyance, he just smirked and raised his hands in surrender.

“I will not form a contract with you,” she said seriously. “I’ve seen enough romantic movies with fake dating and contract marriage tropes to know where this could lead to.”

“You speak nonsense, Moon Princess,” he said but his voice sounded amused. “Is it because you were born in a different world during your second life?”

Okay, that surprised her again.

[He even knows that?]

“Are you tempted to accept my offer now?” Trevor said with a smirk. “Or should I “seduce” you more, Moon Princess?”

She swallowed hard.

[Don’t give in, Neoma de Moonasterio. You’ve also seen enough horror shows to know that forming a contract with a devil only brings tragedy.]

Well, technically, Trevor wasn’t a devil.

[But at this situation, he definitely looks like one.]

She was about to say something when all of a sudden, the ground shook hard and all the mirrors in the room started to break.

She lost her balance and dropped the scythe on the floor. When she thought she was about to fall flat on her face, she felt a protective arm around her waist. When she turned to her side, she found Trevor holding her close to his body. “Hey-”

“I’m sorry for touching you without permission,” Trevor said, then he looked up at the dark clouds. “It looks like your father is here to fetch you, Moon Princess.”

She gasped, then she looked up at the dark clouds and noticed that even those are getting “cracked.” That made her realize that the clouds weren’t real clouds. It seemed like the ceiling was just “painted” with a dark sky.

“F*cking royal family and your nasty temper,” he whispered.

“Bruh, I can hear you.”

He turned to her with a smile. “You can’t be offended by the truth, Moon Princess.”

She tried to open her mouth but she realized that if she snapped at him, she’d only prove him right.

[Well, I know that I have a nasty temper but I don’t want him to be right about me.]

“Moon Princess, say goodbye to your pretty form,” Trevor said with a sickeningly “sweet” smile. Then, he covered her eyes with his hand. “Now, it’s time for us to be back as adorable little kids again.”

Did it mean she’d lose her lovely form and regress back as a tiny princess?

[No... no!]

Neoma wanted to complain but she suddenly fell sleepy.

[F*ck.]

***

NIKOLAI watched as South, the flaming Vermillion Bird and one of his Soul Beasts, breathed fire into the Alphonse Library. The flame of his phoenix was different from ordinary flame. He was certain that the library would burn down in just a few minutes.

“Your Majesty, please don’t burn it down!” Marquis Alberts begged.

“The children are still in there, Your Majesty!” Count Thompson added. “Do you not care about the royal prince.”

Nikolai turned to the count and marquis behind him.

The two lords and their servants were being held back by Glenn and the royal knights that created a barrier around him.

“The royal prince will survive,” Nikolai declared, then he turned to the burning library. He was confident that Neoma wouldn’t die from that. [After all, she’s my child.]

He froze when he realized what he just said.

[I just didn’t say that, did I?]

“Princess...?”

He turned to the foxy boy who had the audacity to stand beside him as if they were equal. He noticed that the child was looking ahead with wide eyes.

When he followed the foxy boy’s gaze, he found the royal princess...

... and Neoma was in the arms of a boy that seemed to be around her age.

Nikolai didn’t know why but he was irked by the unpleasant sight.

[Who is that insolent boy?]

***