Chapter 129: Tug of War
The practice ground in the palace was unusually noisy. Sigren frowned at the chaos. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“What is going on?”
“Y-your Highness,” the knights stammered, trembling at the sound of his voice.
Sigren ignored them and moved to the center of the commotion. There stood a girl and Kane Erez. The girl appeared to be no older than her mid-teens, with a doll-like appearance, wavy dark blonde hair, and light green eyes. At a glance, it was clear she was not an ordinary person.
‘Who is she?’
The girl was not one of the noble ladies Sigren knew. However, he could see that Kane Erez was struggling to speak with her. For a brief moment, Sigren could think of only one possibility.
“Don’t tell me she’s his ex?”
But Kane looked at least ten years older than her. If this assumption was correct, it would be better for the world if Kane Erez were simply buried. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Then Kane and Sigren’s eyes met.
“Y-your Highness.”
“It’s time for training. What are you doing?”
The girl next to Kane looked at Sigren with wide eyes and then greeted him.
“Hello, Brother.” She tilted her head and added, “How do you do, Brother?”
“Brother?”
The nickname felt unfamiliar to him. However, Sigren quickly realized that every younger sibling would call their older brother with it.
The girl smiled and responded, “Yes, that’s right. I am the first princess. Please call me Aria.”
“Ah…”
Sigren had been living in the palace for some time. He was aware that he had another half-sibling residing somewhere within the palace. However, this was the first time he had seen her face. From what he had heard, his half-sibling was born to a concubine from a lower noble family. However, because she was a princess, she was not in line for the throne. It was also said that her body was weak, which was why she never left the princess’s palace. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Only then did Sigren remember that Kane had originally been a knight in the princess’s palace. It turned out that the two were in a master-servant relationship, so Sigren quickly abandoned the idea of burying Kane.
He looked at the little girl. For some reason, when it came to his half-sibling, he felt nothing. To him, his only blood relation was with his mother.
“I apologize for interrupting your morning training, Brother.”
Aria looked at Sigren with a steady gaze, trying to overshadow her weakness.
“However, I’d like to talk to my former knight, Sir Kane.”
“You can take him with you for a while.”
As soon as those words left his mouth, Aria grabbed Kane’s arm.
It was definitely a bold move.
Sigren watched the two of them for a moment.
It was an open secret that the emperor was not one to shy away from women. However, it was also known that there weren’t many direct members of the imperial family. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. The reason for this was clear: the empress disposed of any women and children who were in line for the throne. For her, it was a concept similar to cutting weeds in a garden.
What was even more amusing was that the emperor didn’t care whether those women lived or died. He embraced a woman not out of special affection but simply because he felt like it, quickly forgetting about her afterward.
Sigren and his mother were among those people. Therefore, there was no way he would easily forget what had happened to his mother just because he was now accepted and had “blood ties” with them. He intended to repay everything with full interest—not in this current situation, but when the time came.
The backs of the two disappeared from Sigren’s view.
‘This is interesting.’
Kane Erez was not playing the role that Marquiz Erez, his father, wanted him to play. Could the relationship between the two be the reason?
Originally, among the five families, there were two that did not take sides with either prince. But now, it seemed that the heir of the Erez family was behaving ambiguously.
Sigren’s lips twitched as he considered some intriguing possibilities. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
***
I blinked, feeling strange. Recently, Sigren had been frighteningly docile.
“Because I made you cry twice.”
“I’m fine, really. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Crying didn’t always mean there was a problem.
However, it seemed Sigren thought differently. He had even apologized for fighting with me and had become remarkably gentle. He was turning into a pretty devoted lover. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
It still felt a bit unreal that he agreed to my request. “Be mine.” “Okay, I’m yours now.” Those words, no matter how much I liked the answer, also worried me. I felt satisfied yet strangely uneasy.
“Who are you writing to?” Sigren asked, glancing at the letter I was composing.
“Donna,” I replied obediently.
“Donna?”
“The academy researcher I met last time.”
“Ah.”
She was the representative of the research group, and I had been in touch with Donna ever since. I mentioned what I knew about the Darkness and monsters in broad enough terms that it didn’t raise any suspicions. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. I just hoped this could provide the researchers with a hint that would lead to meaningful results.
I kept wondering whether I should write about the voices I’d heard in the Darkness, but ultimately, I decided against it. There was a higher chance it was just a hallucination, especially since I had been half-corpse at the time. I thought it best not to confuse her with unconfirmed facts.
Sigren watched me write the letter with visible displeasure.
“You’re not going to do that again, are you?”
“What do you mean? Sigren, you should at least have some pride in my noble spirit of sacrifice. But don’t worry; I won’t do anything reckless anymore.”
From now on, I wouldn’t do anything unless I was sure it was safe.
“Why are you so interested in the Darkness?”
“Is it important?”
The reasons were too complicated to explain. I felt a sense of responsibility; the Darkness I created had turned out to be very threatening. Besides, it was also somehow related to Fiona. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Well, if not me, who could handle the Darkness?”
“If there’s someone?”
I grinned. “Who is more powerful than me, then?”
I doubted there was anyone else in the world who could do that except for Fiona.
“I am the greatest magician in this world,” I said jokingly. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“But I thought you weren’t interested in being that.”
“Right, it’s better to be modest.”
“I think you’ve passed the point of being modest, though.”
I murmured regretfully, “That’s something I really don’t want to hear from you…”
Sigren chuckled.
Neither of us was in a position to speak about being modest. The male protagonist, the final villain, the mercenary king, etc.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that most of the world’s main forces were concentrated in Heilon. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
It might be a little late to question this, but was it okay? There was no way there wouldn’t be a balance patch.
After worrying for nothing, I finally sent the letter.
***
Check out my Patreon to read advanced chapters!
