Royal Secret: I'm A Princess!

LEWIS WAS a fox.

A nine-tailed fox, to be precise.

Their race was known to be 'beasts' that would ravage their enemies with their claws.

Hence, many people raised an eyebrow at him when he picked up the sword. He even became a Sword Master. Even Lisica and Rustin, the ancient Silver Foxes that trained him in the past, told him that he didn't need a sword.

That foxes just needed their bodies as a weapon.

But Lewis loved the sword, and Princess Neoma encouraged him to be a Sword Master.

That reminded him of the conversation that he once had with the Imperial Princess when they were children…

["You wanna learn swordmanship?"]

["Knight. Sword. Legit."]

["You think you can only be a full-fledged knight once you learn swordmanship?"]

["Yeah."]

["Then go for it. Why are you hesitating?"]

["Fox body. Weapon. No weapon other needed."]

["Who said that foxes only need their bodies as a weapon?"]

["All."]

["Don't listen to them. Just do what do you want. Although punching the living daylights out of your enemy is satisfying, stabbing and cutting their limbs are also fun. So, go ahead and learn swordmanship. And since you chose to pick up a sword, might as well become a Sword Master while you're at it."]

Lewis couldn't help but smile at the old memory.

It wasn't easy to be a Sword Master, but Princess Neoma asked him to be one. Not because the Imperial Princess was looking down on Sword Masters, but because she had that much faith in Lewis.

There was no way he would disappoint Princess Neoma, so he worked hard under the training of the White Lion Knights who were in charge of him when he was a kid.

And now…

Lewis looked up, staring at the silver light that his sword emitted.

The silver light came at the tip of his sword, and then it shot up into the sky. It glowed for a few moments before the straight line disappeared. But the silver light didn't vanish— it simply enveloped the blade of his sword.

Now, his sword was glowing in silver light.

"We're ready, Commander Lewis," Paige said confidently. "We will send you our combined Mana as soon as you attack!"

Lewis just nodded without looking back at his siblings.

And then he swung his silver sword, a boomerang-shaped aura coming out of the blade.

***

IT WAS OVER.

Paige's knees buckled as soon as she confirmed that everything was over now.

[We won.]

But they were all exhausted.

In fact, only Lewis remained standing.

[But if you look closely, you'd see that Lewis' entire body was shaking.]

"Good job, Commander," Paige said weakly. "You did well."

And it wasn't just mere lip service.

Lewis proved that he was the strongest Sword Master in the empire with just one swing of his silver sword.

The aura that his sword produced slashed the fake Commander Ruto.

Hence, the fake commander was now slowly vanishing.

"You did well, too," Lewis said in a small voice. It was obvious that he was catching his breath. "We all did."

They sent their combined Mana to Lewis, and his silver sword absorbed it.

As a result, their final attacked became stronger than expected.

Paige could tell that every single one of them felt proud.

[And rightfully so.]

"You all did well, children."

It was the fake Princess Neoma.

Oh?

All of them was surprised when the fake Princess Neoma stood next to the fake Commander Ruto…

… and then the two illusions held hands.

Ohh.

"You passed the test," the fake Princess Neoma said with a smile on your face. "You did well when you created a fake Neoma to fight the Abyss that took Ruto's form."

That was when the realization hit Paige.

They should have known!

"The Abyss should have taken Princess Neoma's form because the Abyss copies the strongest person in their target's memories," Paige said. Everyone then looked at her, so she explained further. "But the Abyss took Commander Ruto's form as if it was already programmed to be Commander Ruto."

A collective "ah" was heard.

Her siblings finally realized what she had just realized.

"You're right," the fake Princess Neoma said. "To be honest with you, the real Neoma and Ruto already owned the Abyss in the previous timeline. Ruto came by recently and returned the Abyss' memories. And then Neoma asked the commander to make it so the Abyss would take his form in order to test you all."

That made Paige gulp nervously. "Then we would have failed the test if we didn't come up with the idea of making Princess Neoma's illusion?"

"Neoma wasn't worried about that since she raised you all to think outside the box," the mirage of Princess Neoma said while clapping her hands. "Congratulations, children. You earned the right to join your precious princess in the upcoming war."

The war.

Everyone flinched at the word.

[We almost didn't join Princess Neoma in the upcoming war. Thank goodness we passed the test!]

"See you later," the fake Commander Ruto said. "You all did well."

The mirage of Princess Neoma smiled and waved at them.

And then the two illusions finally disappeared.

Only then did all of them let out the breath they didn't know they were holding.

Then…

"Lewis!"

Their brave and strong Commander Lewis suddenly fainted.

***

NIKOLAI was shocked after seeing how Neoma used Vespera, the Black Phoenix, to attack the Red Dragon (in his human form).

Was that the reason why his daughter asked his Soul Beasts to protect the Garden of Life?

To protect the Garden of Life, his four Soul Beasts created a 'Field Isolation.'

It was technique that covered the garden in a bluish light coming from the Soul Beasts' pure divine power.

Although the garden could still be seen physically, it was already in another world.

To be precise, the Garden of Life was already in the dimension where the Soul Beasts lived.

Fortunately.

"Oh, dear."

Nikolai heard Mona, and he could only clench his hands in agreement with his wife's shock.

Everything around them was burnt and turned into ashes.

Yes, even the villa that they just borrowed from the Queen of the Spirit World.

[Neoma didn't even use the Eternal Flame— she only used Vespera's black flame.]

However…

[I don't remember the Black Phoenix being this strong!]

So strong that even the Red Dragon, who was supposed to be immune to fire, was burned.

[Neoma… how did you train the Black Phoenix?]

***

NEOMA didn't want to use the Black Phoenix because it was one of her secret weapons against Helstor.

But she didn't regret it.

Seeing Crimson on his knees with a shocked look on his face was satisfying.

The God of Wrath was probably confused as to how he was burned by the Black Phoenix.

"What did you do?" Crimson asked in disbelief while glaring at Neoma and Vespera who had already returned to his Black Phoenix form. "My flame should have been stronger than the black flame!"

"I would explain, but you're not Tteokbokki," Neoma said, pointing Skewer at her Soul Beast. "Now, give me back my brother."

***

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