Royal Secret: I'm A Princess!

[I FAINTED again.]

When Mona woke up, she found herself in a familiar bedroom this time.

It wasn't the room that she used in the Spencer Estate a while ago. She was certain that the room she was currently using was the one Nikolai owned in his villa.

["Mona."]

Mona closed her eyes when she heard Roseanne's soft and gentle voice in her head. She talked to the Light Spirit mentally. Although she was currently alone in the room, she knew that Nikolai might come by any minute so she wanted to be careful. ["Roseanne, what happened?"]

["The children almost went wild when you fainted,"] Roseanne said in a slightly exhausted voice. ["I sent all of them back to the Spirit World. I blocked all the entrances in your body so they wouldn't be able to reach you unless I lift my restrictions. Should I allow them to return to your body now?"]

["No, let them cool their head first,"] she said. ["What happened to William?"]

It was the first time that she used the Ice Spirit. Out of all the Spirits that she owned, the Ice Spirit was the only one that didn't have the ability to speak to her. It also didn't have its physical form. Thus, the Ice Spirit remained as a mark on her wrist.

Although it was embarrassing to admit, she couldn't control the Ice Spirit properly. Hence, she needed Roseanne's help every time she had to use it.

["William was able to escape and judging by the portal that he summoned, he probably went back to his territory,"] Roseanne explained. ["He might be able to break the ice once he reached his territory. But once the ice melted and touched his land, the melted ice will lock him up inside."]

People usually think that when they were stabbed by the Ice Rose, their body was going to be frozen.

But that wasn't how the Ice Rose worked.

The true power of the Ice Spirit would work once the ice melted on its own. The person stabbed by the rose would be locked up in the place where the ice melted.

[I'm sorry, William…]

She felt guilty that she had to use her power to seal William. But she didn't have a choice since she needed to protect her baby. At least until her child was strong enough to protect herself from the Grand Spirit.

Still, her heart remained heavy.

William was still her Spirit after all.

["Don't be too hard on yourself, Mona,"] Roseanne consoled her. ["You used the weakest Ice Rose to seal William so he won't be locked up forever. Once you or other powerful Summoners called for him, he would be free. But I'm not just certain if there's a Summoner who's more powerful than you in the continent."]

She laughed softly at Roseanne's faith that she was the strongest Summoner in the continent. But her laughter died soon. ["I will free William when the time is right."]

["I know you will,"] her Light Spirit consoled her once again. ["Nikolai is here. I will visit the children in the meantime."]

By "children," Roseanne meant the other Spirit Guardians.

["Thank you, Roseanne."]

["You're always welcome, Mona,"] Roseanne said. ["See you later."]

She didn't get the chance to respond to the Light Spirit because the door opened and Nikolai entered the room. He looked surprised when he saw her already awake.

"You're awake?" Nikolai greeted her, then he sat on the bed and touched her forehead gently. Then, he frowned. "You have a slight fever."

"It's normal," she said. "I always get a slight fever every time I use the Ice Spirit."

"We should head back to the Royal Capital as soon as possible," he said as he pulled his hand away from her face. Then, he held her hands. "I'll ask Madam Hammock to give you the best medicine to rejuvenate your body."

"I'll be fine after a good night's sleep."

"Are you still upset with me?"

That random question almost made her chuckle. Well, she couldn't blame Nikolai for suddenly asking that. After all, she was acting cold towards him.

"I'm not upset," she said. "I'm mad."

Nikolai let out a deep sigh, then he looked at her straight in the eye. "I'm sorry, Mona," he said in a voice filled with guilt. "I am truly sorry."

[Alright, he took the bait.]

It was true that she was still upset. But she wanted to use this opportunity to move freely without fighting with Nikolai. It wasn't like he could accompany her later because he was the emperor. In short, her plan to protect her baby didn't include asking for Nikolai's help.

"Nikolai, if you're truly sorry, then grant me a wish."

He frowned again. After all, he knew her so well that he probably already knew what she was going to ask for. "Mona–"

"Allow me to leave your side in the meantime," she said firmly. "If you can't give me that, then let's end our relationship."

He looked shocked by her declaration. When the shock disappeared, it was then replaced by hurt. He was now looking at her as if she just betrayed him. "Mona, how can you speak about ending our relationship so easily?"

"Of course, it's not easy for me," she said, then she carefully wrapped her arms around her stomach. "But our child is more important to me than our relationship."

"Mona–"

"I will find the Nameless Royal Princess," she said, cutting him off on purpose to not give him the chance to make her change her mind. "She knows a way to send us to another world."

"You're talking about that again."

"Do you think our daughter will be safe if we fight against the gods of this world?" she asked, then she shook her head. "The Nameless Royal Princess is correct– the only safe place for our daughter is the other world that she knows."

"Are you going to leave this world with our daughter once you find a way to do so?"

She looked at him straight in the eye and nodded. "Yes," she answered with all honesty. "I'm ready to leave everything behind. And I won't allow you to stop me, Nikolai."

He looked hurt by her words.

"However," she said, her heart couldn't stand seeing Nikolai hurt. "You're free to go with us, Nikolai. I know that it won't be easy for you to leave everything behind because you're the emperor. That's why I won't pressure you to come with us. And I will give you enough time to make a decision."

He looked less hurt now, but there was still a glint of pain in his eyes. "How long?" he asked weakly as if he had already given in. "How long are you going to leave my side to search for a way to leave this world?"

"I don't know how long it will take me, but I intend to find the answers I'm looking for before my stomach swells up," she said. Since her chest was heavy for acting cold to Nikolai, she softened up her heart and held his hands. "Nikolai, I'm not asking for your help because I know that you are busy as the ruler of the empire. So let me do this. I'm not weak."

"I know that you are not weak, but that doesn't mean that I won't worry about you. Especially now that you're pregnant," he said, then he let out a long sigh. "Mona, at least let me provide support for you."

"What kind of support?"

"I can't leave the palace but I can send Gavin to accompany you in my place," he said seriously as if he wouldn't let her turn his offer down. "He's the only person that I can trust you with, Mona. After all, he's the strongest Paladin that I have."

Oh.

There was no way that she would reject that offer.

When the Nameless Royal Princess mentioned that she could find her where darkness was, she instantly thought of Gavin Quinzel. After all, the commander's Shadow Manipulation Technique had Darkness attributes. Since her attribute was Light, she didn't know much about it.

"That's perfect, Nikolai," Mona said, relieved that she would be accompanied by a reliable person like Gavin Quinzel. "I think Gavin will be a huge help."

"I'm glad if that's the case. I want you to return by my side as soon as you can," Nikolai said, then he gently placed a hand on her stomach. "I trust Gavin to keep you and our daughter safe."

***

MONA put down the book about the Darkness attribute in her hands and turned to Gavin Quinzel.

As of right now, the two of them were in the private library in the Quinzel Estate.

When she asked the commander about the Darkness attribute, he invited her to read some helpful books in the library owned by his family. But ever since they arrived there, she immediately noticed one thing: Gavin Quinzel was nervous.

[Gavin and I fought a war together in the past but I've never seen him nervous in the battlefield. I wonder why he's acting this way right now.]

Come to think of it, the commander was yet to tell her what happened after she fainted back in the Forest of Impurity. Moreover, she didn't get the chance to hear what caused him to faint. If she remembered it correctly, she saw him fighting with an entity back then.

"Gavin?"

Gavin, who was standing across from her with a round table between them, flinched before turning to her. "How can I serve you, Lady Roseheart?"

"Do you have something you wish to tell me?" Mona asked seriously. "I'm here to listen."

He froze for a moment, then he let out a deep sigh. "Lady Roseheart, there's a reason why I didn't report what happened at the Forest of Impurity after you fainted. I lied to His Majesty and said that I fainted as soon as you were taken by the black tree."

Ah, she knew it.

But she wasn't mad at Gavin. He wasn't the type to keep a secret from them without a proper reason. Hence, she waited patiently for him to continue with his "report."

"The entity that I fought back then…"

She slowly nodded her head. "I saw the entity. Were they an elf or a fairy?"

"He was an elf," he said softly as if he was afraid that someone might hear him. "Lady Roseheart, the elf claimed that he was a Messenger of a god."

She gasped loudly, a chill went down her spine immediately. "A god?"

Gods don't usually meddle with human lives directly.

But a Messenger of God appeared at the Forest of Impurity? That was a big deal!

"Which god is it?" she asked nervously. "Which god sent the Messenger our way?"

"It was the God of Eternal Darkness, and he sent a message to me through the elf," Gavin said, then he gulped. "Apparently, the God of Eternal Darkness is the true god that the Quinzels serve and not Lord Yule."

To say that she was shocked would be an understatement.

Even though she was still upset after learning the grim future that was awaiting her unborn daughter because of the gods in the Upper World, she was still overwhelmed by the fact that a god seemed to be involved with the Nameless Royal Princess.

Just the thought of it gave her the chills.

[A god is still a god.]

But aside from that, it was shocking to know that there was a possibility that the Quinzels were serving a god who wasn't Lord Yule. After all, the ducal family was known to be devout followers of the Astello Temple.

"Gavin," Mona said, then she swallowed hard. "Did you just casually reveal your family's dark secret to me?"

***

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