Royal Secret: I'm A Princess!

"Y-YOUR Majesty, i-is my H-Hanna really alive?"

"Yes, Hanna Quinzel is still alive," Nikolai said without turning to Amber Quinzel. He was now alone with the duchess in that room after Rufus left to catch the people who pronounced Hanna Quinzel's death. "The doctors who operated on your daughter are either incompetent to not notice the black magic, or they were the ones who put the black magic in your daughter."

Amber Quinzel, who stood behind him, gasped. "Your Majesty, are you saying that my daughter was attacked on purpose?"

"That's likely what happened," he said while taking off his gloves.

Even with the blanket covering Hanna Quinzel's body, he could still see how awful the child's state was. He almost didn't recognize the Quinzel Heiress.

If Neoma was there, she would definitely have a breakdown.

He already expected what kind of state Hanna Quinzel would be in as soon as he received the report about the bombing incident. Thus, he ordered Glenn to stay in the Royal Palace and restrain Neoma at all costs.

"I checked the Central Plaza before I went here," he said, then he put his hand on top of Hanna Quinzel's chest to absorb the black magic in her body. It wasn't as extreme or as dangerous as the one Nero had in his body, but it wasn't also light. But it was something that only he, the saint, and Healing Sages at Madam Hammock's level could get rid of. "Do you know the state of the other victims of the bombing, Amber Quinzel?"

"I don't, Your Majesty," the duchess said, calmly this time. It seemed like she had regained her composure after he assured her that Hanna Quinzel was still alive. As expected of the model noblewoman. "I'm ashamed to admit this but my daughter's life is the only thing that matters to me at this moment."

Understandably.

"But judging by how strong the explosion was, I can only imagine how many casualties this incident has caused."

That was also what he expected.

"That's what I found strange," he said. "If the explosion was as strong as that one, the people inside and near the establishment should have been blown up into pieces. But the only victims who died were the staff and the customers inside the café. The others outside, like the Black Hawk Knights waiting outside for your daughter, survived with non-life-threatening injuries."

After he absorbed the black magic from Hanna Quinzel's body, he gathered it in the palm of his hand. The black magic had taken the form of a black sphere the size of a round coaster.

This is high-level black magic.

He purified it by inserting a small amount of Mana equivalent to a drop of blood. As soon as his Mana touched the black sphere, it turned into white and vanished instantly.

Then, something strange happened to Hanna Quinzel's body.

"It's fortunate that the death toll isn't as high as I expected it to be," the duchess said in a hesitant voice. "But how could that happen?"

"It wasn't a bomb," he said while looking at the glowing marks in Hanna Quinzel's body.

"Then, what was that, Your Majesty?"

"Come closer and take a look at your daughter, Amber Quinzel."

"Then, please excuse me, Your Majesty," she said, then she stood beside him while leaving a decent and appropriate distance between them.

Amber Quinzel, upon seeing the strange glowing marks in her daughter's body, covered her mouth with her hands when she gasped. "Curse Marks…"

There were glowing "X" marks on Hanna Quinzel's forehead, chest, stomach, arms, and legs.

It was a miracle that the Quinzel heiress survived with her body still in one piece.

But maybe the fact that the earrings that Hanna Quinzel wore remained unscathed was the biggest miracle of all.

"Yes, those are Curse Marks," Nikolai confirmed while nodding his head. "And those marks prove that the target of the "bombing" attack is Hanna Quinzel."

***

'THE BEST way to get your revenge is to be happy,' Neoma thought to herself bitterly while sitting on the ground and hugging her knees close to her chest. Why did I believe that bullshit?

Well, deep in her heart, she had two reasons for believing that crap.

First, she obtained genuine happiness in her second life even without revenge. It wasn't like she had forgiven the people who had hurt her in her first life. She had simply forgotten about them because she was too happy spending a blessed life with her loving parents.

It seemed like she had gained a carefree attitude from that life.

When she returned as Princess Neoma de Moonasterio, she was adamant to change her fate. But admittedly, revenge was at the back of her mind since her survival comes first. How could she have her revenge when the "old version" of her Papa Boss wanted to kill her in the past?

But now she knew that all of those were just excuses.

She was done reflecting now.

Sulking or wallowing in self-pity wouldn't help her. Now that she had realized her mistake, it was time to fix it. The silence inside that "earth dome" that Sir Glenn trapped her in actually helped her clear her mind.

I won't let Hanna die.

There must be a way to bring Hanna back. If she was able to return in this lifetime, who could say that Hanna couldn't?

"Tteokbokki," Neoma called her Soul Beast, then she stood up. "Are you still alive?"

"Barely," Tteokbokki said in an exhausted voice. "The Azure Dragon isn't trying to kill me. But it's doing everything it can to prevent me from helping you."

"Keep the Azure Dragon occupied," she said. "I'll get out of here on my own."

"On your own?"

"I'm half de Moonasterio-half Roseheart," she reminded her Soul Beast. "If I can't win using my de Moonasterio power, I'll use my Roseheart Blood. I have business with the Spirit World anyway."

"Thug princess, don't tell me you're going to the Spirit World to retrieve the soul of your dead friend?!"

Of course, her Soul Beast would know her heart's desire.

"I've only summoned one Spirit so far," she said. "But I can feel it in my veins that my Roseheart Blood is wide-awake now. I think I can somehow enter the Spirit World, or at least talk to someone who can help me find Hanna's soul."

"Thug princess–"

"Don't worry about me, Tteokbokki," she assured her Soul Beast. "I'm not being arrogant this time. I'm just confident because I can feel my blood getting stronger at the moment."

"I'm not worried about you, thug princess," her ever tsundere Soul Beast denied even though she could feel the concern in his voice. "I'm worried about the Spirit World. Don't destroy it. You wouldn't want to make an enemy out of the ruler of that world."

"I understand," she said with a smile. "Thank you for worrying about me, Tteokbokki."

"Take care, thug princess," Tteokbokki said softly. "I'll deal with the Azure Dragon for you."

She just smiled again and nodded.

After that, the link in her mind between her and Tteokbokki was cut off.

Now that the silence that she enjoyed a while ago returned, she was able to concentrate and envision what she wanted to do.

She pulled out Mini Skewer from her pocket, then she used it to cut her finger. Like what Mochi had taught her, she closed her eyes and imagined what kind of Spirit she wanted to summon. To be precise, she created a Field in her mind.

Since she was feeling very confident with her ability right now, she decided to summon the ruler of the Spirit World.

She was well aware that it was too early for her to do that. After all, she only managed to summon one Spirit so far. But aside from the confidence flowing through her veins right now, she was also desperate. She didn't know how long Hanna had been gone in this world so she didn't have the luxury to hesitate.

Please, heed my call, she begged while creating an image of a beautiful garden in her mind. She didn't know what kind of being the ruler of the Spirit World was. But she wanted to think that they lived in a wonderful place with a lot of pretty and unique flowers. A fantasy forest, perhaps? Ah, she didn't know anymore. She just wanted to make it work. Please help me bring my best friend back. Please. Please. Please.

Her pleading was met with silence.

It seemed like that being disheartened affected the vision in her mind. After all, the beautiful garden that she created turned into a plain, green field. And strangely enough, all of a sudden, she felt like her body was being literally burned.

No, I'm not giving up!

She tried to envision the beautiful garden again.

But instead of turning into a garden, the green field turned into a barren land with dead trees and active volcanoes. She was suddenly reminded of Trevor's territory in hell.

Where the hell am I?

"How dare a filthy de Moonasterio summon me?!"

She flinched when she heard the angry, husky voice that seemed to literally shake the whole place. For some reason, she felt afraid of her life. Her instinct told her that she was in danger, so she opened her eyes instantly.

Yes, she woke up still trapped inside the earth dome.

But she wasn't alone this time.

A beautiful man with pale blue long hair and pretty dark blue eyes greeted her…

… and so was the curved dagger that was he mercilessly pointed at her neck.

"Aren't you being a little too rude?" she asked. She was afraid, but she didn't want to show it to the stranger. "Just who are you?"

"You're a de Moonasterio but you also have Mona's blood," the strange man snarled. "You're the child of my foolish master and that scumbag emperor, aren't you?"

She almost choked on her saliva.

So, she wasn't the first one who called her Papa Boss 'scumbag,' huh?

"Child or not, it's my duty to kill a filthy de Moonasterio like you."

Her eyes widened in shock not only because of the man's threat. It was also because of the fact that she finally recognized him.

After all, Mochi already warned him about a Spirit whose duty was to kill the de Moonasterios.

"W-William?" she asked in disbelief. "The Executioner of the de Moonasterios?"

"A de Moonasterio bug like you doesn't have the right to call my name," William said in a disgusted voice, his already deep blue eyes turning even darker. "If you call my name again, I'll cut off your tongue."

Okay, that ticked her off.

"Sure, I won't call you by your name," Neoma said brightly, then she smiled sweetly at the angry Spirit. "I'll just call you 'Uncle Scumbag' then."

***

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