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Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

Bab 1: LOVE ME TO DEATH

[FIRST LIFE]

[MY PSYCHO twin brother killed me in my first life.]

She was born Princess Neoma, the twin sister of Crown Prince Nero. They were the children of Emperor Nikolai de Moonasterio– the ruthless ruler of Moonasterion Empire.

[Nero inherited the "psycho genes" from that dude!]

After their mother died from giving birth to her and her twin brother, their scumbag of a father abandoned them in the Luna Palace.

The servants in their residence showed obvious preference for Nero since he was the crown prince. Thanks to that, she grew up jealous of her brother. And because of her growing hate for him, they grew distant.

When she was five years old, she accidentally saw an assassin posing as a maid put poison in her brother's food. But because of her envy, she didn't tell anyone. The crime was only exposed when Nero's power awakened because of his deteriorating health.

When Emperor Nikolai heard about Nero's "awakening," he took interest in her brother and moved him into Blanco Palace– the residence that every crown prince in history had used.

Nero, who held a grudge against her for keeping her silence instead of helping him when he was being poisoned, abandoned her in Luna Palace despite her pleads to take her with him. When the emperor came to take Nero with him, their father didn't even look at her once.

And so, she spent many lonely years in Luna Palace. The servants practically ignored her and only gave her the bare minimum care that she needed while growing up.

That kind of treatment broke little Neoma.

***

WHEN Neoma was twelve years old, she was finally able to escape Luna Palace when Duke Rufus Quinzel, the emperor's cousin on the mother's side, adopted her.

That was the time she found out that only the servants in Luna Palace knew about her existence. The rest of the empire thought that Nero was the one and only child of the emperor. To keep it that way, her douche of a father asked Duke Quinzel to take her in.

[But I thought living as a duke's daughter is better than being treated like shit in the palace.]

The duke and his wife Duchess Amber Quinzel lost their eleven-year-old daughter the year before they adopted her. When the duke discovered her existence because of Nero's slip of tongue, he talked to the emperor and suggested that instead of keeping her in the palace, it would be better for her to grow up as a duke's daughter.

She would later find out that it was actually the duchess' idea.

[Anyway…]

The servants in House Quinzel treated her better than the servants of Luna Palace did. For the first time in her life, she felt that she was a princess. Even the duke was kind to her. After all, he was her biological uncle.

But the duchess was the problem.

[She treated me like a replacement for Hanna, her late daughter.]

Neoma was forced to dress, talk, act, speak, and even eat like how Hanna did when she was still alive. If the duchess didn't like something that she said or did, she would tell her that "Hanna wouldn't do that.�� To please her new mother, she surrendered her own identity and lived as a dead person's replica.

But she endured because she liked the comfortable life that House Quinzel provided her.

The duchess may only see her as Hanna's replacement. But Duke Quinzel genuinely cared for her and thanks to him, she was able to breathe a little in that household.

Still, Neoma felt lonely.

***

SIX years later after Neoma became "Lady Quinzel," she received a marriage proposal from Lord Rubin– the heir apparent of Duke Samuel Drayton.

She was eighteen then and the young lord was only two years older. Aside from that, he was also known in the empire for his "pretty" face and good manners. So when the duke and duchess encouraged her to accept the proposal, she did.

That was the biggest mistake of her life.

She didn't know that Duchess Amber made a deal with Lord Rubin. If the lord married her, then the duchess would adopt Lady Regina Crowell, the daughter of a poor baron. According to Lord Rubin, Regina was a childhood friend that he wanted to help rise up in society and have a better life.

She sympathized with Regina because she, too, had lived in misery before she was adopted. And she wanted her new friend to have the same fortune as her.

[I was stupid to believe then that Rubin and Regina were only "friends."]

Too bad she only discovered the two's indecent relationship when she was already crazy in love with Rubin. She was willing to accept his affair with Regina because it was only natural for some lords to have a mistress.

But then, she found out that Rubin and Regina were planning to kill her a month after their marriage and make it look like an accident. And once she was dead, Rubin would marry Regina who would soon have the status that would allow her to stay with him.

After all, once her marriage with Rubin was registered, Duchess Amber would officially adopt Regina.

[Rubin used Duchess Amber for his plan.]

So the story went like this: Duke Drayton wanted Rubin to marry her, a duke's daughter, instead of Regina who was only a baron's daughter. Rubin didn't want his father to kill Regina so he sent a marriage proposal to her.

But what Duke Drayton didn't expect was the deal Rubin made with the duchess.

Neoma told Duchess Amber about Rubin and Regina's evil scheme. But the duchess didn't believe her. She even accused her of being jealous of Regina.

That was when she realized that Regina had already brainwashed the duchess. The bitch acted like the perfect replica of Hanna– something that she had failed to do over the years. Because of that, Duchess Amber believed that Regina was the "reincarnation" of Hanna.

[The duchess' mental health wasn't stable then and Regina was a goddamn actress.]

She tried to ask for Duke Quinzel's help but the duchess had cut off her communication with him. That was the time that her adoptive father rarely went home because he was busy being Nero's swords master.

And so, Neoma felt helpless.

***

NEOMA knew that she would be killed if she didn't do something to protect herself.

She might have been abandoned by her estranged father and brother, but she was still a de Moonasterio and the twin sister of Nero. During her lowest moment, she remembered the forbidden book that she read in the shabby library back in Luna Palace.

According to that book, a pair of twins born in the de Moonasterio family was a curse. That was because royal twins like her and Nero could bind their lives together if a proper spell was used– a forbidden spell that would unite their life forces forever.

[That means if one of us dies, the other will die as well.]

She thought that if her life was connected to Nero, then he and the emperor would be obliged to protect her. They had to if they didn't want the crown prince to die with her. It was funny how desperate she was to live even though her life was pathetic. Maybe it was because she didn't want to die unloved.

And so, with that in mind, she sought and threatened a Black Witch that could perform the forbidden spell.

Unfortunately for her, Nero found out about her plan…

… thanks to Regina.

[That bitch hired an assassin to spy on me!]

Nero, who was already known as a violent prince during that time, came to kill her. But it wasn't just because she wanted their life forces to be tied together. He told her that he would take her life as punishment for "touching the wrong woman."

Apparently, the Black Witch that she threatened to perform the forbidden spell was the woman that Nero was obsessed with. If she remembered it right, the Black Witch was called 'Dahlia.' She didn't know that her brother was crazily in love with that woman.

And just because she threatened Dahlia, Nero stabbed her in the heart with the sword that their father, Emperor Nikolai, gave to him as a present when he was officially declared as heir apparent to the throne.

[It felt like both my father and my twin brother killed me.]

Nero killed her as if he was just killing another insignificant enemy. His eyes didn't show an ounce of emotion as he watched her slowly die of blood loss.

["I only gave you a quick and painless death because you look like my female version. I don't want to see my face writhe in pain," Nero told her as he was leaving, his voice void with emotion. "You should be grateful that you have a generous older brother, my poor little sister."]

That wasn't the worst thing that happened while she was dying.

She hated the fact that Regina showed up at her last moments just to mock her.

["It's so easy to manipulate everyone around you, Lady Quinzel," Regina said with a smirk that she wanted to rip off of her ugly face. "Rubin, Duchess Quinzel, and now His Royal Highness Prince Nero." She laughed softly while shaking her head. "It was so easy to turn them against you because they never really loved you, Ne-o-ma."]

Neoma vowed to herself that she would rise from the dead just to kill that bitch.

***

[SECOND LIFE]

UNFORTUNATELY for Neoma, she didn't get reborn as Neoma de Moonasterio.

But luckily, this time, she was born into a loving family.

[The only thing I can complain about is the fact that my parents named me 'Neoma.']

Anyway…

Her parents in her second life were both famous celebrities.

[My mommy is a seasoned anchor while my daddy is a veteran actor.]

Thus, she grew up in the spotlight.

The memories of her unfortunate past life were vivid to her. So she promised herself that she would change and do anything to be loved in her second life.

She tried her best to be a lovable child. Since her mental age was that of an adult, she grew up as a "smart kid" that was adored by many. Eventually, she became a famous child star that everyone in the country loved.

But she didn't want her fame to get into her head so when she started high school, she took a break from the entertainment industry. She focused on her studies until she finished college.

After that, she went back to acting.

But after a few years, she decided to quit as an actress to be a vlogger on a site called WatchMe. She became famous for her "mukbang" series. Many were awed by how she could eat large quantities of food without getting fat.

[My metabolism is fast, y'all.]

Eventually, she gained 9, 999, 901 followers.

[And here comes trouble.]

She organized a countdown party with her other vlogger friends to celebrate her milestone once she reached 10, 000, 000 Specs (this was what subscribers of WatchMe were called). When she reached 9, 999, 999 Specs, she drank three glasses of coconut wine– a challenge from one of her subscribers.

Neoma died of coconut wine poisoning.

***

[THIRD LIFE]

WHEN Neoma opened her eyes, she was back as Princess Neoma de Moonasterio.

A three-year-old Neoma to be precise.

She could tell that she was three because of the untouched strawberry cake on the table. It had three candles. That was how simple their birthday celebrations were at Luna Palace.

"N-Neoma, I-I'm sorry."

Neoma turned to the crying little boy sitting beside her on the floor.

[How pretty!]

The boy had platinum white hair, big ash gray eyes, and pale skin. He was tiny but his cheeks were chubby– the kind that would entice anyone to pinch them.

[Who's this super duper cute baby boy?!]

"I-I'm sorry I ate your strawberries," the boy said in tears. "D-Don't be m-mad at me…"

Her hands automatically moved to gently pinch his cheeks. She gasped at how soft and smooth his skin was.

[What a blessed baby!]

"W-What are you d-doing, s-sister?"

She froze at that.

[""Sister.""]

Her eyes widened when realization dawned upon her. She let go of the round cheeks as if she was burned.

[This cute little angel is Nero?!]

She was shocked because it had been a long time since she saw her psycho brother's baby appearance. What stuck to her were his cold eyes when he stabbed her emotionlessly. He looked so demonic to her at that moment that she forgot that he was once a cute little baby, too.

[How tragic. This adorable brother of mine will turn into a psycho killer someday. And he would even end my life…]

WAIT!

They were still babies right now. She could still change their future! If she became a good sister to Nero, maybe he'd learn to love her. And if they grew up as very close siblings, her survival rate might increase.

[Our father listens to Nero. If my twin brother becomes fond of me, then he might ask the emperor to bring me along with him at Blanco Palace!]

Maybe making Nero grow fond of her wouldn't be enough…

[Then, if that's the case, I have to make this little boy depend on me until he thinks that he can't live without me.]

Now she could put her acting skills to good use.

"Brother, Neoma isn't mad at you," Neoma said in an annoyingly childish voice. And yes, she spoke in the third person to act cute. [Well, I am just as cute as Nero.]

Like her twin brother, she also had platinum white hair, round ash gray eyes, and milky white skin. And yes, her cheeks were just as chubby. Thankfully, even if the servants were rude to them, they still fed them well.

"Neoma likes Brother more than she likes strawberries," she continued, still acting cutesy. It seemed to work because Nero already stopped crying. "What Neoma owns belongs to Brother as well," she said. Then, she held his tiny hands with her tiny ones. To end him, she gave him her most charming puppy dog eyes. "Does Brother like Neoma, too?"

His face lit up. Then, he nodded eagerly. "I like you, too, Neoma."

"Neoma is happy!" she said in an exaggerated happy voice. Then, she hugged her brother. "Brother, I heard that it's the job of an older brother to be kind and caring to his little sister. Does it mean Brother will take good care of Neoma forever?"

"O-Of course," Nero said in his small but determined voice. Then, he gently tapped her back with his little hand. "I will protect you forever, Neoma."

Neoma smirked at that. [That's right, Brother– you have to love me to death this time!]

***

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