Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!-Chapter 854 A BEAUTIFUL NIGHTMARE (5)

[MY BODY feels lighter now.]

Neoma was a bit impressed when Lord Levi purified her body.

[As expected of the God Among Gods.]

"I've purified the Darkness in your body," Lord Levi said in a tired voice. "I didn't expect that the Darkness you absorbed was that powerful. It's a miracle that you're still alive after consuming such poison in your body."

She didn't want to admit this, but what the god said scared her a little.

After all, it was like a confirmation that the Darkness that she consumed was really poisonous.

She almost killed her baby.

[I should be more careful next time.]

"Consuming Darkness isn't safe for my baby," Neoma whispered to herself, touching her belly protectively. "I guess it's the right choice to extract my baby from my womb and let Lady Larissa take care of him."

"Him?" Lord Levi asked as if he was surprised. "Your child is a boy?"

"The gender of the baby isn't something that I chose."

"It's surprising," Lord Levi said. "After all, you're a Roseheart and the Rosehearts only give birth to females."

Hmm.

[I think I've heard something like that before.]

Neoma tried to look for her mother in the past, but not even her father– Duke Rufus Quinzel– told her about her mother when she asked.

Yoan asked her before if she wanted to know why her mother disappeared.

But she opted not to know.

[After all, during that time, I didn't have the luxury to stop moving and listen to stories about my family.]

Moreover…

"I think the fact that the Rosehearts can only give birth to females has been proven false already by the birth of my twin brother."

"Ah, right. Nero de Moonasterio," Lord Levi said, nodding. "I almost forgot about your twin brother because he didn't do anything remarkable despite being a powerful de Moonasterio."

"How can Nero do more remarkable things when Yoan killed him early?"

The God Among Gods wasn't able to say anything.

To be fair, Yoan didn't directly kill Nero. The commander just extracted the young emperor's Roseheart– causing him to lose to the Third Calamity that hit the empire.

It was a shame that Nero died just when they were starting to get close to each other.

[I did forgive him when he killed me because I didn't have the energy to hate anyone after I got revived.]

Neoma's thoughts were interrupted when Lord Levi suddenly stumbled.

She moved her hand out of reflex, and the two little moons that she named 'Lunar' and 'Eclipse' appeared.

The two little moons then supported Lord Levi.

"Was it exhausting purifying the Darkness inside me, Lord Levi?" Neoma asked indifferently. "If something as small as this can already make you tired, then does it mean you've grown weak?"

"Don't be cheeky," Lord Levi said sternly. "I'm still powerful enough to kill you and Yoan at the same time if I want to."

"But you won't because you love your divine son so much."

"I can kill you."

"But you won't because Yoan loves me so much," Neoma said cheekily. "I know that you believe Yoan won't disobey you, but let's see if he will still remain the little goody two-shoes you think he is if something happened to me and our baby."

Lord Levi scoffed. "Is that a warning?"

"It's just a friendly reminder that you have to treat me and my baby well," Neoma said, smiling cheekily at the god. "Father."

The god looked startled when she called him 'Father,' but she pretended not to notice.

"By the way, I have a question," Neoma said, changing the topic. "If you can purify the Darkness in me, why couldn't you purify the Darkness that's causing air pollution in this world?"

"My divine power isn't enough to purify the air pollution here," Lord Levi said. "But I was able to clean the Darkness that you consumed because it has already been weakened by your divine power."

"I see. My divine power is stronger than yours, Father."

"Again, don't be cheeky."

Pfft.

It was funny how Lord Levi looked so offended when she said her divine power was stronger than his, but he didn't care that Neoma called him 'Father' again.

[Is he finally warming up to me?]

"Father, thank you for purifying me," Neoma said politely, slightly bowing her head towards the god. "Let's get along well from now on."

Lord Levi just frowned, but he didn't turn her down.

[Maybe we can really get along well this time.]

***

LORD LEVI talked big, but he had to enter a temporary deep slumber in order to recover.

Neoma felt a bit guilty after hearing the unfortunate news.

"Don't worry, young princess," Larissa assured her when the goddess noticed that she fell silent after hearing the news about Lord Levi's health condition. "Lord Levi just needs to take a nap for a year or two."

A year or two of sleeping definitely sounded too long for a "nap."

But Neoma had to remind herself that gods had a different perception of time from humans. She still found it strange, though. After all, she lived longer than a human as a new god.

"I'm not really worried about Lord Levi," Neoma said while staring at the portable stone tab in her hands. "I'm more worried about Yoan."

Yoan would usually send her a message of survival every day.

But it had been a while since he last sent her a message.

[I told him about the deal that I made with Lord Levi and Lady Larissa, but he hasn't even seen my message yet.]

"Then do you want my son to help you?"

"Your son?"

Lady Larissa looked surprised that she didn't know who her son was.

[If Yoan was here, he would have scolded me already. He told me many times to memorize the names and the faces of the gods in the Upper World. But I'm too lazy to remember every single god here. And I'm not really interested in knowing the gods' affairs, too.]

"Hayden, my son, is the 'Messenger of Gods,'" Larissa explained with a proud smile on her face. "My son is also the patron who helped the first human who invented the communication devices used by humans."

Ah, so that was why the Goddess of Fertility sounded so proud.

[Hayden's accomplishment is indeed very vital to the advancement of the human race.]

"If you want, I can summon my son here and ask him to deliver a message to Yoan."

"Ah, you don't have to do that, Lady Larissa," she said while shaking her head. "I couldn't possibly make the Messenger of Gods deliver a personal message for me."

Well, that was just an excuse.

In reality, she didn't want anyone to hear the message that she sent to Yoan.

"Are you sure, young princess?"

Neoma nodded, then she turned to the portal that finally opened in front of them. "We need to head to the Spirit World, don't we?"

Larissa smiled and nodded. "Tara, the Queen of the Spirit World, is a good friend of mine," she said. "She will help us extract your Sapling safely."

***

"WELCOME to the Spirit World, Larissa and Neoma de Moonasterio."

Hmm?

Neoma couldn't believe that the fairy in front of her was the Queen of the Spirit World.

[Even for a fairy, she still looks tiny. Moreover, there's a strange gloominess around her. She looks like she'd drop dead any minute now.]

"I apologize for my current appearance," Tara, the Queen of the Spirit World, said in a weak voice. "I just got back from healing the fairies in the human world."

"Is it that bad?" Larissa asked worriedly. "I hope the fairies living in the human world are safe."

Ah, right.

Neoma remembered Yoan saying that the same air pollution in the Upper World seemed to have spread to the human world, too.

But, according to the commander, the Darkness in the human world was manageable.

[It's none of my business, though.]

"Fortunately, I managed to save them," Tara said, smiling despite the tiredness on her face. "Thank you for asking about my children, Larissa."

The Goddess of Fertility just smiled as if she was relieved.

[They seem to be good friends.]

To be honest, Neoma felt a little bitter while watching Larissa and Tara's interaction.

The closest thing to a female friend that she had when she was still in the human world was the Pirate Princess.

And that Pirate Princess was Hanna Quinzel, the child that she replaced.

[Hanna Quinzel is a foolish one who died because she saved me from my Lunacy.]

"Is it alright for us to be here, Queen Tara?" Neoma asked bluntly. "It looks like you need to rest. I hate to impose on you when you look like you're about to croak at any moment."

Tara looked shocked by her bluntness.

Larissa "coughed" to conceal her laughter. "Tara, please don't be upset. The young princess is just worried about your health."

Not really, but Neoma just kept her mouth shut.

"Ah, I see. Thank you for worrying about me, Princess Neoma," Tara said, her face lighting up a bit. "But don't be. I'm really fine, young princess. Moreover…" The queen paused, then she pointed at the giant tree behind her. "Only I can wake up the Sentinel Tree."

***

IT WAS weird to sit on the root of the Sentinel Tree.

Not that it wasn't comfortable.

Despite how big and wide the root was, it still felt as soft as a mattress. In fact, she was getting drowsy already even though she was just sitting there.

"Here, young princess."

Neoma automatically extended her hands when Larissa handed her a pair of white gloves. "A Divine Item?"

"They are," Larissa said, smiling while nodding her head. "Those are the gloves I use to help women have a safe childbirth."

"And you're giving them to me because…?"

"Because I figured you wouldn't let me touch the Sapling in your womb," the goddess said. "So, please extract the Sapling using your own hands. Once you wear the gloves, you can literally pull the Sapling out of your womb. It's a safe method for you and the Sapling."

Neoma checked the Divine Item first.

After confirming that it was authentic, only then did she wear the pair of white gloves. Then instructions on how to use them flooded her mind.

[Ah, it's simple.]

Neoma touched her belly with her gloved hands, and her gloved hands passed through her body as if a portal suddenly opened up in her stomach. It didn't hurt, so she didn't react.

It felt a little weird, like her hands were suddenly submerged in cold water.

Fortunately, it only took her a few seconds to finally pull out her baby from her womb.

It was a small pure-white bean.

[This is why children created by gods are called 'Saplings'– they look like small seeds.]

"Please hand me the Sapling, young princess," Larissa said gently while holding a white towel in her hands. The white towel was a Divine Item, too. "The Sapling needs a new home while it's waiting for you."

Neoma hesitated at first, but she didn't want her baby to die after getting extracted from her womb.

Hence, she put her baby on the towel that Larissa was holding.

"Take care of my baby well," Neoma said, her voice sounding like a threat instead of a request. "What should I do next?"

"Sleep," Larissa said, smiling so wide that her red eyes turned into little crescent moons. "It's time for you to enter your ETERNAL slumber, Neoma de Moonasterio."

Ah, dammit!

Neoma tried to stand up and snatch her baby from Larissa, but several roots suddenly attacked her and wrapped themselves around her body.

And then the roots sucked out all her life force very quickly.

She quickly lost the strength to fight back.

Eventually, Neoma closed her eyes without knowing that she was getting buried alive by the gods who betrayed her.

***

NEOMA, the one in the current timeline, clutched her head and shut her eyes tight after seeing the tragic memory that Vitu showed her.

So, she extracted her precious baby from her womb using her own hands.

All because she was na?ve and stupid enough to trust those fucking gods.

And that damned Queen of the Spirit World.

"I'll kill them," Neoma said, growling. When she opened her eyes again, she could feel that they had turned glowing red already. "I'll fucking kill them all even if they haven't done anything yet in this timeline!"

*** 𝚋ｅｄｎ𝚘𝚟ｅｌ.ｃｏ𝚖

RUTO FELT a shiver down his spine when the red flame of the Eternal Flame suddenly grew bigger.

And he wasn't the only one who felt that way.

"Ah, the little princess has lost it," Drystan said nervously while stepping back from the Eternal Flame. "It reminds me of the first time I met the little princess in the past timeline."

Ruto let out a sigh while clenching his hands tight. "We have to brace ourselves once Neoma comes out."

Because Neoma might end the world once again.

***

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