Royal Secret : I'm a Princess!

LESSONS LEARNED THE HEARD WAY

Chapter 13

LESSONS LEARNED THE HEARD WAY

"PRINCESS," Lewis said, then he pointed a finger at her. "You."

"Yes," Neoma answered cheerfully. "Call me "Princess" when we're alone. Can you do that, Lewis?"

He slowly nodded his head as a response.

"Good boy," she said.

She tried to pat his head but for some reason, he suddenly backed away.

Then, much to her shock, he suddenly got down on his knees and bowed until his forehead touched the ground. She also noticed that his body was shaking.

"F-Forgive me, M-Master," Lewis said. "S-Sorry."

Her forehead knotted in confusion.

["Master?"]

That made her think that right now, Lewis was seeing another person instead of her. Was his trauma triggered because she tried to touch him? She wasn't sure because she never heard much from "Butler Lu" during her first life.

But she didn't need her memories of her past life to know that the poor boy was traumatized.

[Who was his former master again?]

She couldn't remember but she would find and punish them later.

"It's me, Lewis," Neoma said patiently. "I won't hurt you."

He still didn't budge.

She squatted down in front of him. "Lewis, I'm going to hug you."

It seemed like he understood that because he raised his head in surprise.

She used that as an opportunity to "attack" him with a hug. He didn't catch her though. Instead, he let himself fall until his back hit the ground. And so, she fell on top of him.

"Princess?"

[Ah, he's back to himself.]

"Yes, I'm your princess. Good job remembering my order," she told him. Then, she raised her head to look at him. Finally, he stopped shaking. "Are you okay now?"

He just nodded.

"I have a new order for you," she told him. "Forget about your old master."

He looked surprised by her order. "Forget?"

"Yes," she said firmly. "From now on, I'm your one and only master. If your bad memories start to pester you again, just remember my face."

"Princess? Face?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yes. I'm pretty, am I not?"

"Princess. Pretty."

"Very good," she said. "So whenever you feel sad, scared, lonely, or angry, just think about me. I'm sure my loveliness will make you feel okay."

"Princess," Lewis said. Then, his hand reached out to touch her face. "Lovely."

"Can I touch you, Lewis?"

Fear crossed his eyes for a while. But then, suddenly, it was replaced by determination. "Okay."

She slowly reached her hand to touch his hand on her face.

He closed his eyes as if he was trying hard not to react.

[Ah, he hates it.]

"Sorry," she said. Then, she let go of his hand and stood up. "It's okay now, Lewis. Stand up. We still have bullies to puni–" She stopped when she realized that the word "punish" might trigger Lewis's trauma. "I mean, we have children to teach a lesson."