140: NO TEA, NO SHADE, JUST FACTS

NO TEA, NO SHADE, JUST FACTS

NEOMA was relieved that she was able to beat Jasper Hawthorne.

But she wouldn't have done it if she didn't know the true nature of his poisonous butterflies. To be honest, it was all thanks to the memories of her first life.

In the past, when Nero and Jasper Hawthorne clashed, the duke tried to poison Nero with his butterflies. But it didn't work, not even his body control technique. And it was all because, for some reason, other people wouldn't be able to command the blood of the royal family.

Both of us were saved by Papa Boss's blood.

"It's a shock that Prince Nero has a twin sister," Jasper Hawthorne, leaning against the wall while catching his breath, said. "I just realized that I could be charged of treason for physically assaulting you, Your Royal Highness."

"Nah," she said while shaking her head. "I'm not officially registered as a member of the royal family. But my father will probably kill you if he finds out that you know the royal secret now."

"You're the one who voluntarily revealed your secret to me, Princess Neoma."

She laughed it off. "Well, you already know that I'm a fake. Might as well reveal to you that I am a princess. Plus, I genuinely want to build an alliance with you with trust as a foundation."

"You speak of trust but you have many secrets that you intend to keep from me."

"You're older than me so you have to be more patient and more understanding," she said while trying to give him the cutest look that she could muster at the moment. Well, mentally, she was older than Jasper Hawthorne. But she already decided to act as his little sister. Might as well start now. "Oppa, I will literally die a gruesome death if I spill the tea."

"You'll die a "gruesome" death?"

"Yes, oppa. The palace isn't a safe place for a royal princess– official or not," she said while nodding her head. "But if you really insist to know, I will tell you everything you want to know about me. As I said, I am desperate to have you on my side."

She was betting on her memory of the Jasper Hawthorne that she knew in her first life.

The young duke in her previous life was known as a man of honor. In fact, Jasper Hawthorne asked Nero for a duel in the past because his crazy twin brother committed some sort of hate crime that she couldn't remember anymore. After all, in her previous life, Nero was so infamous for all sort of bad things that he did– like abusing his power as the Crown Prince.

  The Nero in my first life was batshit crazy.

"Don't be stupid," Jasper said, then he stood up despite the severity of his injuries. Then, he flicked her forehead with his fingers. "If it's going to cause you your "gruesome death," then you must absolutely not tell me anything that I don't need to know."

She pouted while touching her forehead. "But you're the one who keeps on shading me for keeping secrets from you."

"That's when I didn't know your circumstance," he said, then he scratched his cheek as if he was suddenly embarrassed. "But now that I know your situation better, then I will no longer insist on knowing how you discovered my family secret."

She smiled and nodded.

I knew I could trust my Jasper oppa.

"Oppa, can I ask for another favor?" she asked while giving her a puppy dog eyes look. "Can you please not tell your butler that I'm a princess? It's fine if he knows that I'm a fake. But it will make me feel uncomfortable if another person finds out that I'm a girl."

"I don't have any intention to tell any other soul about the fact that you're a princess anyway," the young duke said. "After all, it's not my secret to tell."

Okay, that may or may not have made her heart skip a beat.

Jasper oppa is really a big brother material!

"Thank you, oppa," she said. "We'll talk about Mount Kimbro later but for now, let's go to Madam Hammock first. And let's bring your butler as well."

His brows furrowed in confusion. "Why are you talking like you're certain that my butler needs medical assistance?"

"Because he fought with Lewis."

"Are you implying that my butler is inferior to your personal knight?"

She smiled and shrugged. "I'm just stating a fact, oppa."

The young duke opened his mouth to complain but both of them stopped and turned to the door when they heard it creak open.

She smiled at the sight that greeted him, while Jasper Hawthorne's jaw fell open.

After all, Lewis entered the hall while dragging an unconscious, bruised, and bleeding Tate. On the other hand, her son was unscathed– save for some footprints on his uniform.

"Princess Neoma," Lewis said in a surprised voice when he saw her. "Hurt…"

Her son's surprise didn't come from the fact that she was back to her original appearance. His son was obviously shocked to see some burn marks all over her body. It wasn't that bad though. Her skin just suffered from a first-degree burn.

Well, maybe it was bad. But she was used to it because every time she used Tteokbokki's scales as her "shield," she would always suffer from some burn.

Anyway, aside from that, she also received some little dotted marks all over her skin from the time Jasper Hawthorne's butterflies sucked her blood. The marks didn't hurt, and she was sure that Madam Hammock's ointment would get rid of it easily.

"I'm fine, Lewis," she assured her son. "I'm not hurt."

Lewis obviously didn't believe her. He just turned to Jasper Hawthorne and gave the young duke a murderous look.

Which looked funny to her because between her and Jasper Hawthorne, it was obvious that the young duke had suffered more severe injuries. She won the fight but since she got hurt, Lewis probably still wanted to kill the person who hurt her.

"Lewis Crevan," Jasper Hawthorne said in a warning voice. "Isn't it overkill?"

Lewis casually threw Tate in the young duke's direction. "That. Monster."

She let out a sigh while shaking her head. Why does Lewis talk that way to other people even if he's capable of speaking in complete sentences now?

Jasper Hawthorne seemed to get what Lewis said though. "Oh. I can't believe that Tate still lost even though he used his transformation technique," he said while looking at Tate's pitiful state. Then, the young duke raised his head to look at Lewis. "Did you use the power of your tails, Lewis Crevan?"

Lewis just ignored Jasper Hawthorne to turn to her with a worried look on his face. "Princess Neoma, I'll bring you to Madam Hammock."

Now her son was speaking properly.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the young duke scowl. Before the tension between Lewis and Jasper Hawthorne got worse, she decided to meddle.

"Calm down, boys," Neoma said cheerfully. "Let's all visit Madam Hammock first."

***

"WHAT DID you say?" Nikolai asked Kyle who just got into his office to report an urgent matter. He was still in a meeting with Rufus and Glenn when the count arrived. And Kyle's report was giving him another headache. "Who did Neoma and the fox boy beat up?"

Kyle sighed before he repeated himself. "Princess Neoma beat Duke Jasper Hawthorne, while Lewis Crevan almost killed the duke's butler called Tate. Currently, the four of them are in Madam Hammock's infirmary while receiving treatment, Your Majesty."

He let out a frustrated sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Nero and Hanna Quinzel were with Neoma at the Castillo Hall. Were they involved in the fight?"

"No, Your Majesty," the count said. "Prince Nero and Young Lady Quinzel only served as a lookout. The young lady also used her Veil of Darkness to hide the fight going on inside the hall."

Rufus looked relieved to hear that his daughter wasn't directly involved in the fight.

"Kyle, who won?" Glenn asked cheerfully. When he, Kyle, and Rufus turned to him at the same time, the naïve knight blinked as if he was confused with their reaction. "Why? Am I the only one who's curious about the fight's outcome?"

Tsk, sometimes he wondered how Glenn became the vice-commander of the White Lion Order. He could be so immature and carefree at times like this.

"Now I'm also curious," Rufus said, then he turned to Kyle. "So, who won?"

Kyle, sighing in defeat, shook his head before he responded. "Princess Neoma and Lewis Crevan both won the fight splendidly."

"As expected of our Princess Neoma," Glenn and Rufus said at the same time.

Nikolai, on the other hand, rolled his eyes. "Let's end this meeting now," he said, then he stood up. "I'll go and see Neoma and the young duke."

***

"REGINA, what are you looking at?" Rubin asked when he saw Regina spacing out. But when he followed the trail of her gaze, he saw Duke Rufus Quinzel at the entrance of Madam Hammock's residence. He also saw Hanna Quinzel who greeted her father. Confused, he turned to Regina. "What's so interesting about the Quinzels?"1

Right now, they were on their way to Madam Hammock's infirmary.

When they got to Blanco Palace a while ago, the servants told them that the Crown Prince was in Madam Hammock's residence. Since Regina really wanted to see the royal prince, he went to the infirmary even though he wasn't sure if they would be permitted inside.

"I'm quite jealous of Lady Hanna Quinzel," Regina said with a sad smile on her face. Then, she turned to him. "Duke Quinzel is known for being a doting father. I wonder what it feels like to have a father like that."

His heart went out to Regina.

After all, her father wasn't the greatest father out there.

"Don't worry about that, Regina," he told him. "I'm still powerless as of now. But once I become a duke, I will treat you really well. I'll spoil you more than how Duke Quinzel spoils his daughter."

She laughed softly. "It would be nice if that happens, Rubin. But didn't your father say that he will only pass his title to you if you marry the girl that he chose for you?"

He flinched at that reminder.

"Come to think of it, you haven't told me yet who the girl that you're supposed to marry was," Regina said, obviously curious. Then, she gave him the adorable face that he couldn't resist. "Rubin, please tell me who your almost-fiancée is."

Rubin gulped hard. It was supposed to be a secret of House Drayton. But he found it hard to say 'no' to Regina.

Should I tell Regina that my almost-fiancée is the hidden royal princess?

***

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