Harriet grabbed his stomach and laughed out loud. On the other hand, Nikilâs face twisted in dismay.
âWhy are you laughing? Was my assumption that wrong?â
âNo, it makes sense. Thatâs why itâs so funny that youâre wrong.â
Harriet wiped the tears from his eyes as he struggled to stop laughing. Meanwhile, Ibec glanced between Leona and the emperor with a peculiar expression.
âFather, please have a seat.â Ibec formally spoke to the emperor.
The emperor nodded indifferently before looking down at Leona who was in his arms. Leona gazed back.
âI can get down now.â
Leonaâs red eyes reminded the emperor of the empress. He thought carefully that they were really quite beautiful. She doesnât seem to be scared of him and for some reason, he couldnât treat her like all the other princes.
âDid you want to be put down?â
The emperor holds the struggling Leona and chucks her on a chair.
âHey, Daddy!â
Leona whines as her back hits the chair. But she doesnât cry and turns around to smile innocently at her father.
âSorry, I canât help it. I just hurt my back. Hug?â
Hiick. All the people gathered inhaled out of shock. Leona didnât notice and just reached out her hands towards the emperor.ďżź
âI guess youâre still weak.â
The emperor muttered when she pulled his cloak towards her. Everyone was astonished. Fluffy hair, soft white skin, pink cheeks and two big eyes were facing the emperor. Lips like cherries are formed into a pout as her nose twitches like a bunny. As a bonus, her limbs were chubby like marshmallows. ďżźInstead of frowning, the emperor touched Leonaâs cheek and settled her gently back into her seat. For the first time the emperor is nurturing someone. The attendants exchanged surprised glances.
âYou there.â
âI have a name.â Harriet grumbled
âDo you think father finds rabbit cute?â
âMaybe.â
âHow cute does he find her?â
âDefinitely cuter than you.â
âHmm.â Nikil smiled brightly. âFather and I seem to have something in common. Iâm glad.â
However there is an arduous atmosphere as some people were being ignored. The second prince Ibec narrowed his eyes as the approach of the other princes and family members were ignored. The newly arrived siblings were hesitating awkwardly. But Ibec, from start to finish, only observed quietly.
âFather has never looked at someone like that.â
Looking back, the emperor never showed care towards his children.
âWhat is different about her?â
Now itâs not just Nikil and Harriet but also the emperor who embraced that beggar.
âShould I kill the princess today?â
After all, someone with the emperorâs care is rather dangerous. In the end, the emperor still shouldnât care too much about the fight for succession so he should get her today. Ibec clenched his fist. He was a prince who inherited the emperorâs powers. His breath became deeper.
âPrince, please sit down.â
Ibec woke up from his trance and hurried towards his seat.
âToday is the day of his highness, the second princeâs, birthday. WeâŚâ
The voice of an attendant could be heard giving a formal speech but Ibec couldnât concentrate. He was sitting across from the 12th princess, Leona who was busy staring at the table-wear.
âIs she aware that I put the poison on her fork?â
Ibec wondered for a moment.
âNo. It canât be.â
The poison has no colour or scent. It was made to be invisible. Ibec watched Leona carefully as she grabbed her fork before she dropped it on the floor.
âHow can she know.â
Ibec was confused as he knew that Leona was only 3. What he didnât know is what she was truly thinking at that point.
âIs this fork made of silver? I wonder how much I could sell it for?â
ďżźThe princess who was planning to make money didnât know. She only eagerly reached for the fork with money on her mind. The emperor sat at the head of the table and Leona was sat next to Nikil across from Ibec. Leona realised that she must be hated for holding onto the emperor when she noticed Ibecâs intense stares.
âIâll get you later.â
Leona laughed and then reached for the eggs in a hurry. She was hungry after all. But because of the lack of power in her hand, the fork fell onto the floor.
-thud!
Ibec slammed his fist onto the table. The attendant was interrupted in the middle of his speech but Ibec didnât care as he focused on Leona.
âIf poison doesnât workâŚâ
Without thinking, he decides to make a hasty move.
-Hwiik!
Ibec used his thumb and index finger to whistle. Immediately a strong wind blew as hidden assassins leapt out of the shadows.
âOh!â
âBe careful!â
Assassins shoved the guards and attendants to the side.
âKill the Princess!â
Ibec raised his hand to point at Leona. A three year old that canât even resist should just die. Ibec smiles and turns away with a sense of victory until his eyes catch the emperorâs.
ââŚâ
He suddenly felt as if he had made a mistake.
***
âOh!â
âBrother! Why are you doing this!â
The emperor already expected the 2nd prince to plan a surprise attack but he decided not to warn anyone about this pathetic attack. As usual, the merciless emperor did not care. However, without realising, he had already moved to deflect the attacks towards Leona and the arrows bounced to the side.
âAh?â
Leona stared in surprise.
âFather?â
Ibec was equally surprised as he stared in shame.
âThatâŚâ Ibec struggled to form a question.
The emperor took a deep breath before responding.
âThe girl came without her sword. Itâs in the rules of succession that each successor should have a sword by them.â
âThisâŚâ
Ibec glanced at Leona. She had come here alone and was attacked in the absence of her sword.
âI didnât notice.â
The assassins that were targeting Leona quickly retreated to his side. Ibecâs eyes seemed as if they were now trying to find another victim.
As if he was thinking, âitâs too hot. I want to find someone to hit with ice.â
Either way, he quietly accepted that there was nothing he could do to Leona for now.ďżź Ibecâs assassins were left to target the rest of the members as maids and some royals were running away desperately. Even then, the emperor just blinks.
âWhat a crazy, heartless guy.â
Leona thinks as she watches the emperor sit still whilst his kid was busy trying to kill his other children. Leona pulled onto the emperorâs sleeve.
âDaddy.â
The emperor wouldnât move so Leona leans towards him to say,
âHelp Nikil.â
Nikil was busy being pushed back by Ibecâs assassins. Leona frowned as she saw his bloody wounds and twisted leg.
âPlease help.â Leona murmured again.
This time, Harriet intervened.
âNo princess.â
She saw a rarely seen stern expression on his face.
âYou canât get involved in the fight for succession.â
âSo why can only I be rescued?â
âNikil has his sword.â
I looked at him in disbelief.
âIt died. See over there.â
I looked to where Harriet pointed and a dead knight could be seen. Leona sighs in anger.
âThat bastardâŚ! I have to kill him!â Nikil desperately tries to reach Ibec. But with the crowd of assassins, he couldnât even reach him.
âAargh. I really like Nikil. I canât throw him away after all.â
In the end, itâs not easy to have such a powerful ally who can use the power of the sun god. So Nikil was not allowed to die. Nikil fell back with a pierced shoulder. I just promised myself that I wouldnât show my power, butâŚ
âI should help Nikil escape. Would a fire arrow be enough?â
Nikil desperately wielded a sword with light power to attack Ibec and at the same time an ice arrow flew towards him from an assassin. If he was hit by the arrow he would probably die but at the same time a babyâs voice was heard.
âFire-â
Moreover, it seemed familiar.
â-ball.â
-bang!
A huge fireball obliterated the arrow and hit the assassins.
Read Latest Chapters at wuxiaworld.eu
âOh!â
Ibec flew away and barely survived. Nikil turned his attention to one place. The same was true for the emperor and Harriet. They all stared at Leona who still had red energy flowing from the tips of her fingers.