BRIGITTE gulped hard when the "baby monsters" finally finished devouring the assassins.
The "baby monsters" were indeed smaller than an average wolf, but their appearance looked scarier because they looked like they were born from darkness. The monsters' fur looked like little spikes. Moreover, their drool was actually similar to acid.
And the "baby monsters" were growling at them now.
"M-Mommy," Claude cried, clinging to Brigitte more. "They're coming at us…"
"Don't worry, Claude," Brigitte assured her son, pointing the gun at the "baby monsters." The gun was loaded with Mana bullets that their kingdom had developed with the help of the empire. "Children, cover your ears and close your eyes."
However, just before she could pull the trigger, her stomach suddenly hurt badly.
It was as if the baby in her womb kicked her.
As a result, Brigitte accidentally dropped the gun and clutched her stomach tight.
"Mommy!" Monik cried worriedly. But despite her daughter's worry, she still stood in front of them and raised her hands. Then a semi-transparent barrier appeared in front of them. "Don't worry, Mommy! I will protect you, Claude, and our baby sibling!"
Brigitte raised her head just in time to see the "baby monsters" lunging at them.
Monik's barrier looked pretty sturdy, but she was still worried. It wasn't like she didn't trust her daughter. But any proper mother would always choose to protect their child and not the other way around.
[And why do I have a feeling that I can these monsters?]
"Stop!" Brigitte yelled at the baby monsters. "Go away!"
Huh?
Did she just ask the baby monsters as if they would just leave like that?
However, for some reason, her voice sounded more commanding than usual.
EEERRRKKK.
That was the weird sound the baby monsters produced when they suddenly froze mid-air as if they were caught and strangled by an invisible force.
The acid-like drool of the baby monsters didn't touch them, thanks to Monik's barrier.
But that barrier was slowly melting away.
[Monik's Mana isn't that strong yet…]
Brigitte immediately carried Claude in her arm, then she grabbed Monik using her other hand.
She was about to run away with her children when the doors suddenly burst open.
"Your Majesty, we apologize for the intrusion."
"And for being late."
Brigitte was relieved when she saw the Fletcher Twins arrive and slay the baby monsters right away. She immediately used her hands to cover Monik and Claude's eyes.
But her relief soon disappeared when she noticed the twins' state.
Wyatt and Warren Fletcher were both covered in blood, and they had injuried all over.
[They were late because they must be fighting other assassins outside…]
That made Brigitte worry.
Ever since the Fletcher Twins became their unofficial guards, she had never seen them this hurt. And it wasn't the first time that there had been an attempt on her life.
[This only means the assassins this time were pretty strong.]
"Your Majesty, are you and the Royal Highnesses hurt anywhere?"
Brigitte shook her head at Warren's polite question. "No, we're fine. How about you? Both of you look hurt."
"We're fine, Your Majesty," Warren said. "It just looks worse than it is because of the blood."
"Even so, you need to be treated," Brigitte insisted. "I'll call the doctor."
"Your Majesty, we do not have time for that," Wyatt said in an urgent voice. "We received a direct message from His Imperial Majesty– and His Imperial Majesty summons Your Majesty and Your Highness to the empire."
"Glenn– I mean, His Majesty King Glenn also sent a message," Warren added. "His Majesty said he'll be here to personally pick you up."
Something serious definitely happened.
[And it's obviously related to my family.]
"I understand that it's urgent, but I'm still the queen responsible for my kingdom and my people. Hence, I cannot leave Hazelden just because His Imperial Majesty summoned me and my children," Brigitte said firmly. Of course, she was aware that this whole thing must be connected to the Darkness swallowing the sky at the moment. Even so, as the queen of Hazelden, she couldn't abandon her people. "Please inform His Imperial Majesty and my husband that my children and I won't be leaving Hazelden until I properly handed all the important tasks to the Council."
***
[REANIMATED CORPSES?]
Xion went to a village near the mountain where the 'Death Camp' was built in the past while following the strange traces of Darkness that he found.
[This is near the mountain where Princess Neoma rescued Greko.]
Unfortunately, he was already too late when he arrived there.
The residents were already dead.
Based on the signs that he saw, the people there were definitely poisoned by Darkness. However, they should all be dead by now.
[So, why are they still moving?]
At first, the reanimated corpses were moving mindlessly.
However, as soon as those things 'smelled' him, they began to come at him. Obviously, with the intention of harming him.
No, to bite him, perhaps.
After all, the reanimated corpses were trying to bite him.
[Why are they acting like they've become beasts?!]
Xion tried to kill the reanimated corpses with his poisoned daggers, but it didn't work.
He also tried to cut off the heads of those things.
But, much to his shock, Darkness in gas form oozed out of the severed limbs. Then, like a thread, the Darkness moved to re-attach the disengaged limbs to the main body.
[Tsk.]
Xion got distracted while watching the entire thing unfold.
It was because he was recording it with the device that Paige invented.
But his distraction caused him a lot.
A reanimated corpse bit him in the neck.
If Xion wasn't quick enough to behead the corpse, then his neck might have already been broken.
[Argh!]
He was bleeding too much, and the blood that came out of his wound was black.
[Poison…]
Now, all the reanimated corpses around him seemed to have lost their minds as they lunged at him as if they finally found food after starving for a long time.
[They have all completely lost their humanity.]
Xion actually wanted to fight more and find a way to kill the reanimated corpses.
However, he heard Princess Neoma's voice in his head.
["There's no mission worth dying for."]
Right.
Xion then pulled out the 'Emergency Portal Ticket' that Paige gave him, then he tore it immediately.
***
NEOMA looked at Dahlia carefully before opening her mouth. "Dahlia, I received a direct message from Lord Yule."
That was the first thing she told her secretary after breakfast.
She didn't want Dahlia to get indigestion, so she decided to talk about Yule's message while they were having tea in her office.
[I need to talk to Hanna after this.]
"Did Lord Yule say something about me, Princess Neoma?" Dahlia asked nervously. "Is it related to the Calamities that will soon hit the world?"
Neoma tilted her head to one side. "How did you know?"
"The Stars warned me about the Calamities," the Black Witch said, her face turning red. "And they also said I n-need to be with P-Prince Nero."
Ah, right.
[I almost forgot that Dahlia can hear the Stars.]
"Lord Yule told me that only you and Nero can destroy the Third Calamity, so the two of you must stick together from now on," Neoma said, then she watched Dahlia flinch. She let out a sigh. "But you don't have to do it if you don't want to."
Dahlia's eyes widened in shock. "B-But it was Lord Yule's order, Princess Neoma."
"I only listen to my ancestors when I want to," she said. "Don't worry, Dahlia. I'll take responsibility."
She knew that the entire world was at stake here.
Even so, Neoma would never force Dahlia to do something that she didn't want to.
[I only enjoy drama if the ones sufferings are people I don't like.]
"Thank you for saying that, Princess Neoma. But I'm fine. I'll do it," Dahlia said determinedly. "I want to help Your Imperial Highness save the world– even if it means I have to stick to Prince Nero."
Pfft.
[Dahlia absolutely hates the idea.]
"If that's your decision, then I'll respect it," Neoma said, nodding. "Let's talk to Hanna later."
Dahlia nodded, but she looked pretty nervous when Hanna's name was brought up.
"Hanna isn't narrow-minded," Neoma assured Dahlia. "I'm sure she'll understand."
The Black Witch was about to say something, but stopped when Neoma suddenly stood up.
[This sensation… a portal?]
Paige created 'Emergency Portal Tickets' for all of them.
As its name suggested, it was a one-time use portal that would bring the user directly to Neoma's palace. If she wasn't at the palace, then the user would be brought to her bedroom or office, where a huge trace of her Mana was scattered on purpose.
But if she was in the palace, then the user would be brought in front of her.
After all, the portal ticket was created to follow her Mana.
Dahlia gasped when a portal– a space filled with blue lights– opened up out of thin air. "A portal…?"
Neoma immediately rushed to the portal when she saw a body falling out of it.
Then she caught Xion in her arms just in time before the assassin hit the floor.
[Gosh, why is this child so light?!]
Of course, there was no way in hell a well-built grown man like Xion was "light."
Neoma just forgot that her strength as a de Moonasterio was monstrous.
"P-Princess Neoma," Xion called her name weakly, his eyes barely opened, and his neck bleeding badly. Worse, the blood gushing out of the wound was black. "Reanimated corpses… Darkness…"
"Shh. You can give your report later, Xion," Neoma said gently. "It's okay to take a rest. You're safe now– you're safe with me."
Only then did Xion close his eyes.
Neoma, on the other hand, clenched her jaw as her big brain worked double time.
[Reanimated corpses? Darkness? As in zombies created by Darkness?]
***
"SO, LORD YULE asked you and Dahlia to work together to destroy the Third Calamity?"
Nero didn't want to admit this, but he actually felt nervous while watching Hanna's reaction.
["Tell Hanna after breakfast. Don't give her indigestion. Plus, whatever Hanna's reaction would be, just accept it."]
That was Neoma's advice to him, so Nero brought up the topic while having tea with Hanna.
"Alright, I understand," Hanna said, putting down the teacup on the saucer. "Dahlia is Neoma's secretary. There won't be strange rumors even if people see the two of you together."
"I have no intention of getting alone with Dahlia," Nero said. "Hence, can I ask you to stick to me until we destroy the Third Calamity?"
To be honest, he was nervous.
He would understand it if Hanna rejected his request.
Fortunately, his fiancée looked calm.
"Nero, I–"
Hanna was forced to stop talking when the door suddenly burst open, and Melvin entered the office in an urgent manner.
"Prince Nero, Princess Hanna, I apologize for interrupting your conversation," Melvin said in a hurry while bowing his head in apology. "Prince Nero, Lucien and Alucard have returned from their away mission. Both are in critical condition."
Nero knitted his eyebrows. "What?"
"They are poisoned by Darkness, Prince Nero," his secretary said worriedly. "Please purify them. And…"
"And what?"
Melvin gulped hard. "Lucien and Alucard brought a reincarnated corpse with them… and it's acting like a savage beast."
Nero and Hanna immediately stood up.
"Lead the way, Melvin."
***
[FUCKING ZOMBIES.]
Neoma confirmed that the 'reanimated corpses' that Xion mentioned before fainting were indeed similar to zombies.
[Zombies controlled by Darkness, to be precise.]
She confirmed it with Trevor and her "children" while watching the video that they recovered from Xion's device.
"It's impossible to kill them even if you behead them, huh?" Trevor commented while watching the video. "My Moon Princess, these zombies are very different from the zombies in the movies we've seen back in the other world."
"I know, right?" Neoma agreed. Then she turned to Xion who was currently sleeping on the bed. She gently patted the sleeping man's hand. "You did well, son."
After she purified the Darkness that poisoned Xion, she left Xion's the treatment in Greko's capable hands.
And now, Xion was out of danger.
[He's still sleeping because he needs to recover his strength.]
"I've heard low-level necromancers could reanimate corpses, but this is the first time I've seen reanimated corpses without their puppeteer," Juri commented. "Usually, you can "kill" reanimated corpses if you killed the necromancer. But how do we do that if there's no puppeteer?"
Everyone fell silent because of Juri's question.
Then their thinking time was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Princess Neoma, it's me– Melvin Lucchesi."
Neoma turned to Lewis.
Her "son" then nodded politely before opening the door for Nero's secretary.
"Princess Neoma, please help Prince Nero," Melvin, who looked as pale as a ghost, said. "His Imperial Highness' divine power was depleted."
Neoma knitted her eyebrows. "What could possibly eat up Nero's divine power?"
***
IT WAS a fucking zombie.
Neoma followed Melvin to the underground prison in Nero's palace.
Since she wanted to be low-key to avoid attention from the people working in the palace, she only brought Lewis with her.
"Neoma, you're here."
It was Hanna, and she looked very concerned while holding Nero's shoulders while Nero was slumped in a chair in front of a prison cell.
And inside a prison cell was a zombie that looked like a middle-aged man.
As expected of a zombie, it was loud and making gibberish noises while walking around the prison cell mindlessly.
[It looks calmer than the ones who attacked Xion.]
Neoma looked back and forth between Nero and the zombie. "Did Nero try to purify the zombie?"
Hanna nodded, her face still filled with worry. "Nero was able to purify the poison that harmed Lucien and Alucard. But when Nero tried to purify the reanimated corpse that Lucien and Alucard brought here, his divine power was depleted."
"It's like pouring water in a broken jar," Nero said weakly, then he looked up at her. "Don't try it. Let's consult Mother and Father first."
"Mama Boss and Papa Boss are busy talking to the world leaders since they're about to declare war on Helstor and the crows officially," Neoma said, then she walked towards the prison cell where the zombie was. "Instead of purifying it, I'll try to burn it to ashes. In most zombie movies, zombies are weak to fire."
Of course, no one understood her reference.
Neoma didn't have time to explain, so she just raised her hand with her hand facing the zombie. "Tteokbokki, burn the zombie to ashes."
<"I know what a zombie is, so let's go!!!">
Gosh.
Tteokbokki now talked like Trevor!!!!
Neoma wanted to scold Tteokbokki, but he did a good job creating a huge fire ball that instantly burned the zombie to ashes…
… or not.
Hmm?
Tteokbokki's flame was hot enough to burn anything in just a few seconds, but why was the zombie still fine?
The reanimated corpse wasn't even reacting despite being engulfed in fire!
Moreover…
"Argh!" Neoma yelped, clutching her raised arm tight while trying to stop her body from releasing more flames. "Stop, Tteokbokki!"
<"I can't, thug princess!"> Tteokbokki cried. <"That thing is absorbing my flames!">
***
NOTE: PLEASE CHECK MY KOFI PAGE (just g0ogle kofi sola_cola). I've posted a Q&A portion.
Here are the questions that I answered:
1. WHAT INSPIRED sola_cola TO WRITE ROYAL SECRET: I'M A PRINCESS? (hehe i'm not a hater, oki?)
2. WHY ISN'T LEWIS THE MALE LEAD? (i'm so sorry)
3. WHY IS RUTO THE ML? (defending Ruto with my life, lol)
4. WILL WE GET TO SEE MORE OF NEOMA'S FIRST LIFE? (chuckles nervously)
5. WHO WILL NERO END UP WITH? DAHLIA OR HANNA? (wiggles eyebrows)
6. WHO IS sola_cola's MOST FAVORITE CHARACTER ASIDE FROM NEOMA? (wink, wink)
7. WHO IS sola_cola's VISUAL INSPIRATION FOR NEOMA? (please don't judge my type haha)
8. WHAT TO EXPECT DURING THE LAST ARC? (smiles innocently)
9. MESSAGE FOR OUR DEAR READERS <3 (:'>)
10. SERIOUS QUESTION FOR THE READERS (please answer honestly~)
Hope you visit my page, and donate coffee if you can. Hehe. Thank you. <3
***
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