Chapter 3: CROCODILE TEARS

NEOMA believed that a woman's tears could be used as a weapon.

So she cried– loud.

[Just like how babies my age would cry.]

Nero obviously looked startled when she cried. "N-Neoma, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?"

"Brother is scaring Neoma," she said in a shaking voice. Gosh, sometimes she could really surprise herself with how good she was at acting. "Brother's face looks scary. Neoma doesn't like it."

Nero looked like he was suddenly slapped back to reality. It seemed like he was also surprised by his sudden change of attitude. "Oh, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry," he said. Then, he touched her cheek. When he smiled, he returned to his usual angelic face. "Are you still afraid of me, Neoma?"

Neoma smiled and shook her head. Then, she put her little hand on top of Nero's hand on her cheek. "The brother Neoma knows is back."

***

WHEN Neoma opened her eyes, Nero's sleeping face greeted her.

[Ah, yes. We still shared the same bed at this age.]

But they had separate play and study rooms because their schedule were different from each other. They were only together during breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sleeping time.

[In my past life, Nero would sleep on the other side of the bed with his back turned on me.]

But right now, he slept on his sides to face her.

[I didn't expect to change our relationship this easy.]

Well, in the past, she was gloomy and aloof. She harbored hate against her twin brother so she was very bitter to him. And as a result, Nero grew distant from her.

But when she came back in time, she acted like how she was in her second life: cute, lively, and very positive. She was a ball of sunshine. Thankfully, her attitude changed when she was born into a loving family.

So technically, she wasn't really faking her bubbly personality now.

But every time she wanted to capture Nero's attention, she would switch to her "actress mode." She had been doing that for a year ever since she came back in time.

[Luckily, it's easy to change a child's heart.]

Still, Nero's action a while ago scared her for real. She saw a glimpse of the craziness that he had displayed in her past life.

[Was it possible that his mental health problem started in childhood?]

Gosh, now she suddenly felt protective of him. She had a bad history with him but that was already in the past. They have a good relationship now so she didn't have a reason to hate him. Plus, she wanted to get along with him this time.

[Most of all, my mental age is older than Nero. I should protect my brother. I'll make sure that he won't grow a psycho as he did in the past.]

"Neoma?" Nero asked when he opened his eyes. Then, he smiled at her. "The royal doctor said you had a light fever a while ago. But he made a medicine that suits our body. How do you feel now?"

"Neoma feels better now, Brother," she said with a smile. "Thank you for taking care of Neoma."

He just smiled. "I already fired your nanny. She'll be replaced by the head maid."

That was a surprise.

In her past life, Stephanie (the head maid), was in charge of Nero. Well, the old woman eventually became her nanny when Nero was transferred to the Blanco Palace. Thanks to Stephanie, her life in Luna Palace became more bearable until Duke Quinzel adopted her.

She was only a bit shocked that Stephanie became her nanny earlier than expected. But maybe she should stop being surprised. After all, she was changing her destiny.

[Anyway, Stephanie is strict but she's better than the other maids here. Plus, in my past life, she was really unaware that I was being mistreated because she was too focused on raising the crown prince. But when she found out about how rude the maids in charge of me were, she fired them all.]

"Brother, will you be okay without Stephanie?" Neoma asked curiously. "She's your nanny, isn't she?"

"I'm a big boy now so I don't need a nanny. Alphen is enough," Nero said. 'Alphen' was the head butler that acted like her brother's secretary. "I'll make sure that you won't be bullied again, Neoma."

[Gosh, he's really changed.]

"Thank you, Brother," Neoma said with a big smile. "Neoma can't live without Brother so please stay as my guardian angel, okay?"

[In short, please don't turn into a nasty psycho, Nero.]

***

[NEOMA, five years old]

[GOSH, I'm so pretty.]

Neoma couldn't help but admire herself in the mirror.

Right now, she wore a cute pink sailor dress with white socks and black doll shoes. Her platinum white hair now reached her back. She decorated it with a flower crown that she made when she played in the garden a while ago.

She only stopped admiring herself when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," Neoma said, fully expecting Nero to come in.

She wasn't wrong.

When the door opened, Nero came inside with a gentle smile on his face.

Ever since she told him that she didn't like his "scary face," her twin brother never showed his anger in front of her again. And she was making sure that it wouldn't happen even though she wasn't looking.

"Neoma, are you ready?" Nero asked when he was walking towards her. "It's time for lunch."

"Yes, Brother," Neoma answered with a smile. "Neoma is ready."

He offered his hand to her. "Let's go."

She held his hand and let him guide her out of the room.

They were followed by Stephanie and three other maids. There were also two knights behind the maids that served as their personal bodyguards.

[But they're weak. I remember them dying easily when the palace was attacked.]

That was why she couldn't entrust her life to the low-level knights in Luna Palace. For the past year, she did nothing but improve her Mana control. She would ask Nero to tell her about his magic class so she could copy what he learned.

So far, she could make little "airwaves."

Her thoughts were cut off when they reached the dining hall.

The knights helped them sit on the little chair on top of the big chair. When their food had arrived on the table, her twin brother turned to the maids.

"You may leave now," Nero said with a smile. "We feel uncomfortable when you watch us eat. We'll just call you if we need something."

"As you wish, Your Royal Highness," Stephanie said while bowing.

Then, everyone left them alone.

[Finally.]

"Let's eat," Nero said while switching their plates. "You really like my food, don't you?"

"Yes, Brother," Neoma said while nodding eagerly. "The maids don't let me eat meat because they said I can't be fat."

That was true.

Her diet was harsher than Nero's. Only a small portion of meat was served to her and she was forced to eat a salad every freaking meal time. She was only five years old!

[The standards for princesses in the empire are highly impossible.]

When she told Nero that she wanted to eat his food without the maids knowing so she wouldn't be scolded, he came up with that plan. Every meal, he would ask the maids and the knights to leave them. Then, he would switch their plates.

"It's so yummy, Brother," Neoma said after she ate a portion of his steak. She wasn't lying. Nero's food was always superb compared to hers. "Thank you for giving Neoma your food."

Nero smiled and patted her head. "Once I become powerful enough, I will make sure that no one could tell you what you can and can't eat anymore."

She just smiled at that.

To be honest, there was a reason why she slyly made her twin brother switch their plates.

In her past life, this was the year Nero was poisoned.

Unfortunately, she couldn't remember the face of the assassin who posed as a maid in the palace. And so, she decided to eat the food Nero was served instead.

She was confident that Nero wouldn't let her die anyway. Plus, in the past, the food poisoning caused her twin brother's power to awaken. She was risking her life for the chance to awaken her power before Nero did.

[I need to be powerful enough to protect myself.]

She stopped thinking about it when her heart suddenly thumped against her chest hard. It was so painful that she dropped her fork and steak knife. Then, she clutched her chest tight.

"Neoma?" her twin brother asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"My chest…" Neoma said. She was in too much pain that she forgot to speak "cutesy." For the first time since she went back in time, she actually felt fear for her life. "Nero, it hurts…"

Nero looked shocked while looking at her. At first, she thought it was because she called her by his name. But when he spoke again, she realized that it wasn't the thing that caused the surprised look on his face. "Neoma, your eyes turned red…"

***

"YOUR MAJESTY!"

Nikolai raised an eyebrow at Glenn– his personal knight– when he rushed in his office with a bewildered look on his face. "What is it that caused you to forget your manners, Glenn?"

"My deepest apologies for raising my voice in your presence, Your Majesty," Glenn said while bowing low. When he told the knight to rise, he looked up at him with a distracted look on his face. "We have received an urgent message from the Luna Palace."

Luna Palace?

Ah, right. He had children there. And he almost forgot about them.

"One of the twins has awakened," his knight informed him. "Your Majesty, your child must be a genius to have been awakened this early."

He wasn't the least surprised or interested to know that. "Even though his mother is nothing but a lower noble, the royal prince still has my blood. Why are you so surprised, fool?"

"It wasn't the royal prince, Your Majesty," Glenn said while shaking his head. "It's the royal princess who has awakened her powers."

Nikolai wouldn't lie– that news stunned him. "The royal princess awakened before the royal prince?"

Now that was unprecedented.

***

Please ADD my story in your LIBRARY to be notified when an update is posted. Thank you! :>