Inside the luxurious and historically rich royal palace, the flickering flames in the fireplace cast shifting shadows on the faces of the two brothers.
"An answer?"
Grus was stunned when he heard his brother's response.
"Yes, an answer."
Elia leaned back on the sofa, holding a tall wine glass, staring blankly at the amber liquid swirling inside.
"When we were young, I noticed that our father favored you more."
"No matter how hard I tried or how well I performed, I never received a single compliment from our father with a smile. But you, even when you made mistakes, our father would pat your head with a smile and say it was okay."
"Brother, I..."
Grus opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Elia's raised hand.
Elia continued.
"I used to think that I wasn't good enough. If only I were good enough, good enough to help our father, I would get the praise I longed for."
"So, I spent nights studying the kingdom's history and delving into languages and etiquette, sacrificing sleep. I endured physical injuries while training in swordsmanship and building my body."
"Finally, at the age of fifteen, I used my eloquence to secure a trade deal with the Kingdom of Rubnil, bringing immense wealth to the Prince's royal family."
Elia's gaze shifted from the ornate ceiling to Grus's face.
"During that time, I saw radiant smiles on the faces of everyone in the royal family. I was praised by all, and those royal nobles called me the Star of the Prince's Kingdom."
"I walked into this palace full of pride, expecting to receive a compliment from our father. But to my surprise, I was greeted with a resounding slap."
A bitter smile appeared on Elia's face as he downed his wine and refilled his glass halfway.
Grus's face showed deep regret, "Brother, I'm sorry, our father..."
"Our father called me a cunning illegitimate child, saying that all I did was to gain the support of the people and the nobles to overthrow you from the throne."
"He said my schemes would never succeed because the throne of the Prince's Kingdom would never go to a lowly maid's son."
Elia laughed softly, "How ridiculous, I never intended to take the throne from you. My dream was simple, just a word of praise from our father, a smile, a look of satisfaction."
"Even when my mother, who continued working as a maid after giving birth to me, died, I was still striving for our father's recognition."
"Even when our father was on his deathbed, I did not feel an ounce of anger when he declared that the throne would pass to you."
Elia stood up and walked to the large window overlooking the city of Prince, seeing columns of smoke rising in the distance.
"I ignored the guards' objections and rushed to my father's bed, recounting all my efforts over the years, humbly pleading for a word of recognition."
"Our father did not speak, but I read the answer in his eyes."
Elia turned around and said, "His answer was bloodline."
He spread his arms wide, "In our father's eyes, the most important thing in this world is the royal bloodline. Only those with the legitimate royal bloodline can inherit the throne, not because you look like him."
"Only because your mother was the acknowledged queen, and my mother was a lowly maid."
"But he didn't know that five years ago, ten years ago, I could easily have overturned his so-called bloodline rule and taken control of this country."
"But I didn't do that. I wanted to know, what governs this world?"
"Is it the bloodline inheritance that our father believed in?"
"Is it the wisdom that can easily persuade others?"
"Is it the power that suppresses all opposition?"
"Or is it the predestined fate?"
"Grus!"
A mysterious smile finally appeared on Elia's delicate face as he walked briskly to his brother and knelt down to embrace him.
"Soon, I will get the answer I want. Let's witness it together."
Suddenly, a long black whip appeared, striking Elia's face.
Elia smiled faintly, "Justice will triumph over evil. The navy, representing fate, has arrived."
He rolled away from Grus, slapped the ground, and leapt to the window sill.
A figure of a peacock appeared beside Grus, cautiously eyeing the smiling Elia, and drew a key from a black pouch on its leg.
"How did you get the handcuff key?" Grus asked in surprise.
"Apart from the special Sea Prism Stone handcuffs, most other handcuffs use the same key."
The peacock quickly explained, and while Elia didn't make a move, it bent down and unlocked Grus's handcuffs.
Sea Prism Stone is a special material in this world that, like seawater, weakens ability users upon contact.
The higher the purity of the Sea Prism Stone, the more it weakens the ability users.
Hence, it is considered an extremely important strategic resource worldwide.
However, Sea Prism Stone is incredibly hard, comparable to diamonds, making it difficult to craft items from it.
Therefore, most Sea Prism Stone handcuffs are not very pure and use the same key.
The Sea Prism Stone chains fell from Grus's wrists, and he sighed in relief, quickly warning, "Be careful, there are some powerful ability users hidden in this palace, they are my brother's allies."
After warning the peacock, he quickly looked towards Elia, but he had already disappeared without a trace.
This discovery made the peacock's heart race.
"It seems that Prince Elia is not weak either. Never mind, we have completed our mission. We should leave now and contact the naval branches to eliminate the pirates of this country."
Just then, the entire hall began to tremble violently.
Boom!
The burning fireplace exploded, and a thick white substance shot out, like a chameleon's tongue, towards the peacock and Grus.
────────────────────────────────────
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san]."
"Power stones if you like them"
"If you want an early access join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"