[Vol. 7] Chapter 225: The Prince and the Princess
In the end, Gladys stepped back, though surprised, after the princess clearly asked her to do so.
She probably never imagined that one day, that proud, arrogant prince, who always acted above everyone, would lower his head and make such a humble request to someone not even part of the royal family.
As the door closed behind her and she turned to face him, the look of disbelief still lingered faintly on the mercenary girl's face. On the surface, Carinvega appeared calm, but deep inside, she had just as many questions as her knight.
Just as Xiluo had said, there were no attendants in this room either. It was a private meeting with only two members of the royal family. The princess sat on the sofa, just about to take a sip of tea to calm herself after the strange feeling earlier. But before she could relax, Xiluo’s tired voice came again.
"Heh... Even in a one-on-one meeting like this, you show no fear or caution. As expected of you, little sister. You really saw everything clearly long ago, didn’t you? I guess this invitation of mine didn’t surprise you at all?”
“...?”
Wait a minute... Why would she need to feel fear or be on guard around her own brother?
She tilted her head slightly without thinking. The red-haired young man in front of her was mumbling all kinds of strange things with a sad expression, but Carinvega didn’t understand a single bit of it. She quickly drank the rest of her tea, though it barely had any taste left, then set down the cup and gave a polite little cough.
Situations like this, where she was completely misunderstood, weren’t new to her. In fact, she was almost used to it by now. So she didn’t act strangely or suspiciously. Instead, she kept a calm and thoughtful look on her face and cautiously asked,
“So, Brother... did something happen to you? Why are you in this state?”
From what Carinvega knew about her brother, he never went anywhere without at least two personal guards. That wasn’t just for safety, it was also about keeping up the appearance of a proper prince.
As for Xiluo himself, he always cared a lot about how he looked in public. To put it simply, he was someone who really valued his image. He would never let others see him looking weak or helpless. But now…
The girl with heterochromia eyes looked at the red-haired young man sitting casually on the sofa across the table with a bit of surprise in her gaze. Her eyes moved back and forth over his plain clothes, clearly noticing the faint signs of bruises and scrapes on the fabric. He must’ve gotten into another fight. But what confused her was why he came to see her like this, without even taking time to clean himself up.
The dark circles under his eyes were very noticeable. It seemed like he hadn’t been sleeping well lately. Ever since the conference started, Xiluo had practically vanished, like he disappeared from the world. Carinvega had tried to visit her brother a few times when she had the chance, but his guards always said he wasn’t home. Looking back now, it was obvious, he had been avoiding her on purpose.
“Something happened to you, huh… Heh, you already know, so why bother testing me?”
He let out a soft laugh. “Well, I was planning to speak honestly with you anyway, so a bit of small talk won’t hurt.”
The tall, red-haired man lowered his head slightly, resting his chin on his hands. His calm, sharp gaze met Carinvega’s slightly mysterious heterochromia eyes, as if trying to read something from them. But because she had no idea what he was getting at, her expression stayed completely innocent and confused. In the end, he could only let out a sigh and give up.
“Those eyes… what a strange pair of eyes. Even though we share the same blood… I really don’t know where such frightening schemes came from. Sometimes, I even wonder, maybe the real Carinvega died long ago, and you’re just some kind of monster pretending to be her.”
“Eh?!”
The princess gasped softly in surprise, but before she could feel too flustered or anxious, Xiluo gave a bitter smile and shook his head again.
“Alright, alright… even now, trying to make excuses like that would just be pathetic and shameful for the name of Frederick. Carinvega… I admit it. I’m not as good as you. I’ve lost, and that’s the truth. I came here today just to understand, how big the gap really is between us. What your true goal is. That’s all.”
“Um… Brother, you’re…”
“Let me explain first, Carinvega. You should already know why I always act arrogant and reckless in front of others, why I’ve done so many things that people think are foolish, and even left the capital to come to this academic city for so-called ‘further studies’.”
The prince spoke softly. It sounded less like an explanation and more like he was talking to himself.
“We are the children of the Lion. The name ‘Frederick’ doesn’t just stand for brute strength, it also means having the wisdom to rule the world. Only those who have both strength and intelligence can hope to inherit the highest scepter and become the next great Emperor.”
“But you also know what kind of man our father is. He’s still in his prime. Even among all the emperors throughout history, he stands out as one of the strongest. If nothing goes wrong, he'll probably rule for another fifty or even a hundred years.”
“The king of the lion group would never allow anyone from his own tribe to threaten his rule, not even his own children. Before you grew up and started gaining fame, I, being a few years older, was considered the most outstanding and respected among our many siblings. Everyone thought I had the best chance of becoming the next Emperor.”
“Carinvega, you know the meaning of the [Lion’s Ring]. The strong rule over the weak. That ring isn’t just for us, even Father has one. In other words, if either of us becomes strong enough, he would have to face the threat of being overthrown.”
“In fact, Father became Emperor the same way. Back then, he defeated all his rivals and forced our aging grandfather to step down. That’s the natural law of survival of the fittest. Of course, he’s now wary that the same thing could happen to him.”
“That’s why, once I realized what was going on, and started noticing how the Intelligence Bureau was planting more and more spies around me, I decided to change my image right away. In front of others, especially in Father’s eyes, I began acting like someone unfit to compete with him. Arrogant, reckless, short-sighted. As long as he believed I was just a little lion who couldn’t possibly threaten the true lion king, I would be safe.”
As he watched Carinvega’s expression turn more and more shocked, like she was seeing him for the first time, Xiluo paused for a moment. Then, as if realizing something, he gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and continued speaking on his own.
“You know, little sister, I’ve been watching you for a long time. You were born with heterochromia eyes, a child said to be blessed by fate. But for the longest time, you always seemed so ordinary. I used to think you were just a normal person. Even when you first made a name for yourself at age twelve, when you managed to escape that assassination attempt all on your own, I still thought it was just dumb luck.”
“You’re truly amazing. No matter how I tested you, you always pretended to be weak, with no ambition or cleverness. You kept using ‘luck’ to hide your true abilities. And by the time people finally started to notice something was off, the [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus] had already become a name known all across the world. The way that happened was so incredible, it still shocks me even now.”
“Even that old man, our father, was fooled by you for a while. That’s something I could never do, something I could never copy.”