Ch.314Kingdom of Teres (4)

Queen Maria entrusted Lara to me and immediately returned to the Kingdom of Teres. I suggested she rest for a day, but she declined, saying time was urgent.

I couldn’t help feeling bitter as I watched her leave for the Kingdom of Teres, which was in a volatile situation. Meeting the wrong man had put even such a morally excellent person in a difficult position.

If King Fredrick had cleanly admitted his mistakes, Queen Maria wouldn’t have ended up like this. Not that she was perfect either.

As she had admitted her fault as a bystander, she may have pitied Adelia but never directly extended a helping hand.

Moreover, she merely watched from afar despite knowing her children were bullying Adelia. No matter the circumstances, that was still wrong.

Besides, as I mentioned during our conversation, the Kingdom of Teres was already out of my hands. What remained would depend on Fredrick’s choices.

It seems Queen Maria intends to persuade Fredrick, but whether she can break his stubbornness remains to be seen. After all, Fredrick was someone who had confirmed his kill in front of everyone.

It was an experience that gave me much to think about. I wielded power for Adelia’s sake, but I wonder if it’s right for even someone like Queen Maria to be sacrificed.

King Fredrick is certainly devoted to his family and showers them with affection. Adelia simply wasn’t included in that circle.

Originally, I was just watching a fire from across the river, but I realized that wielding the pen carelessly could harm innocent people.

‘It’s like watching stocks rise and fall because of someone’s tweet.’

As someone wisely said, “Social media is a waste of life,” I should probably refrain from sending letters.

Unless it’s a special case like now, excessive use would only earn me criticism and harm those around me.

But realizations aside, I’ll keep watching the Kingdom of Teres. As Queen Maria said, if they overcome this crisis, the kingdom will grow stronger.

King Fredrick may have character flaws, but he’s been ruling well, which is why the people think highly of him. This mess only happened because he touched the taboo of “censorship.”

If he sets aside his pride and clearly acknowledges his mistakes, the people will surely understand. He might face some criticism, but he needs the country to maintain his throne.

“Lord Xenon.”

“Yes, Princess Lara. What is it?”

“Is Xenon your name, or is Issac your name?”

Before anything else, I needed to take care of Teres’s conscience (Lara). I gave her a puzzled look as she stared at me with wide, bright blue eyes.

I pondered the intent behind her question for a moment before understanding its meaning.

“Issac is my real name. Xenon is my pen name as an author. I would appreciate it if you called me by my real name, Issac.”

“Can I call you Issac?”

“Whatever makes Your Highness comfortable.”

“Then, big brother Issac?”

“… …”

I was momentarily speechless at the unexpected “big brother.” Lara took advantage of my surprise, smiled brightly, and spoke familiarly.

“I’ll speak comfortably too, so you should treat me casually as well.”

“Uh… yes. I understand.”

“Don’t use formal speech. Can you call me casually?”

“…Alright.”

When I readily agreed, Lara revealed her joy with a full smile of pearly white teeth. She exuded the air of a late-born child who had grown up surrounded by love.

One might call it immaturity, but I found it endearing rather than annoying.

Moreover, Lara didn’t seem to know much about “Xenon” yet. More precisely, the power that the name Xenon carried.

Perhaps to Lara, Xenon was just an author who wrote interesting novels. I bent slightly to meet her eye level.

“Do you read the Biography of Xenon too, Lara?”

“Of course! I don’t think there’s anyone in our country who doesn’t read it!”

“Then do you know how famous the Biography of Xenon is?”

“Since so many people read it, it must be extremely famous, right?”

Lara answered while placing her index finger on her cheek. I gave an ambiguous smile at her response.

Royalty and nobility like Lara receive various forms of education from a young age to maintain dignity.

So even at 15, she should show some maturity, but there was none of that. In other words, those around her must have treated her like a precious treasure.

Or perhaps this was just her natural personality. Whatever the case, it didn’t matter as long as she maintained a good relationship with Adelia.

“Big brother, who did you inherit that hair from?”

“I inherited it from my father.”

“Can I touch it just once? I’ve never seen red hair before.”

Thanks to her personality, we became close quickly without any awkwardness. She showed particular interest in my red hair.

Her chirping like a lark was endearing too. She really was cute.

Lara then touched my hair with her hands and exclaimed with genuine admiration:

“It’s really soft. Who takes care of your hair? It must be big sister Adel, right? She used to brush my hair a lot in the past.”

“Really? No wonder she’s good at brushing hair. Then starting tomorrow, will Adel brush your hair too?”

“Yes! Did you hear that, big sister? You have to brush my hair starting tomorrow too!”

In response to my question, Lara nodded vigorously and spoke to Adelia. Her tone was impressively full of expectation.

Faced with eyes that were impossible to refuse, Adelia smiled wryly and nodded. Lara bloomed with happy smiles.

Does she like Adelia that much? I asked her as she continued to play with my hair.

“Do you like Adel that much, Lara?”

“Yes!”

“Why?”

“Everyone was too busy to play with me, but big sister Adel did. She read me books, walked with me in the palace garden… anyway, she played with me a lot.”

There was a reason she blindly followed only Adelia. Hearing her answer, I shifted my gaze to Adelia.

Adelia was also smiling, perhaps recalling one of the few happy memories from her hellish palace life.

Her affection for family probably extended to everyone, not just Lara. Without looking far, she had also showered Hyria with affection.

Only to receive horrible humiliation in return due to his inferiority complex. As for Laos, I heard he disliked Adelia one-sidedly from the beginning.

“By the way, big brother Issac. Are you also a hidden royal like big sister Adel?”

“Huh? Why suddenly ask that?”

“You just seem like you might be. First, you have red hair and golden eyes. Your face is even prettier than mine.”

I’ve been called handsome many times, but never pretty. Still, a compliment is a compliment, so I didn’t take it negatively.

“I don’t know about the rest, but I inherited my face from my mother.”

“Oh, really? Anyway, you’re really not royalty?”

“Absolutely not. My father was also a commoner who was elevated to nobility.”

That’s what I said, but I do have my doubts sometimes. As Lara suggested, I might not be a hidden royal, but perhaps a descendant of a hero.

The reason is our family’s unusually strong physical capabilities. Our basic physical specs are far removed from ordinary people.

My father is needless to say one of the top three experts in the Empire, and Dave and Nicole are skilled enough to join the Navy Knights.

Even I, who was considered the least talented, just had a delayed growth spurt, but developed admirably considering I only received basic training.

Of course, I do have overwhelming divine power to consider. But even accounting for that, my physical specs are still remarkable.

‘As for mother…’

Let’s skip over mother. As the saying goes, “like husband, like wife,” it’s not strange that mother’s strength increased. If she were weak, she wouldn’t have been able to endure the nights.

Anyway, I have investigated the red hair. It’s extremely rare to the point that only our family has it.

It would make sense if we were descendants of a specific tribe, but there’s nothing like that. There’s no related description in books or even in the Racial Wars that produced numerous heroes.

‘Grandfather was also physically strong, so is there really something to it?’

Father’s martial arts and physical training methods were taught by my grandfather, whom I’ve never seen. Over time, father passed these martial arts down to me and my siblings.

Moreover, unlike most knights who use swords, our family uniquely uses “battle axes” as our main weapon.

It makes sense given our inherent strength, but it’s still a distinctive martial art. Even Nicole, who looks delicate, carries around boulders.

Just thinking about this far sparks inspiration. A tribe whose records have completely disappeared for specific reasons—it would be a lie to say I’m not interested.

In fact, even the elves’ “fusion” had its records destroyed due to its dangers, only to resurface recently.

Of course, I won’t include it in the Biography of Xenon right away, but rather in a sequel. Adding settings carelessly risks complicating things.

“Does that explain it? Neither I nor my family are anything more than ordinary nobles.”

“I see. I thought you knew because you’re Xenon.”

“I don’t know everything just because I’m me. Contrary to what the world says, I’m neither a sage nor a prophet. I’m truly just an ordinary author.”

“An ordinary author who makes prophecies and saves the world? Mom said lying is bad.”

“… …”

Lara, either tireless or full of curiosity, continued asking questions one after another. I answered each one carefully.

As we spent time like this, dinner time approached. Since we needed to provide Lara with indoor attire, it seemed best to end the conversation here.

“Let’s end our talk here for now. We need to have dinner and give Lara some clothes. I wonder if we have suitable clothes for Lara?”

“I’ll look for some, sir.”

“Thanks for your help.”

“Oh, right. Big brother Issac.”

“Yes?”

Just as I was about to get up, Lara called my name. I turned to look at her, and she spoke with sparkling eyes.

“Can I sleep with big sister Adel tonight? I want to sleep with her after so long.”

“Hmm…”

I pondered this request, which was filled with deep love for Adelia. Adelia’s work hours were ending soon, so if I gave permission, they could sleep together.

I looked at Adelia with an expression asking if that was okay. I was willing to allow it if she was fine with it.

But surprisingly, Adelia was hesitating. Normally, she would have just nodded, but she seemed restless.

Seeing her behavior, I immediately understood. At least not today.

The reason was very simple. Until yesterday, Marie was here, but today she’s gone. In other words, an opportunity to have me to herself for a while.

Although she couldn’t express that feeling directly, she was showing it through her actions.

“Sorry, I don’t think that’s possible today.”

“Huh? Why not?”

I answered Lara, who looked more puzzled than disappointed. I didn’t forget to wink slyly.

“She’s planning to sleep with me tonight.”

“Ahem.”

At my answer, Adelia blushed and cleared her throat.

“…Oh my.”

While I don’t know about other education, Lara must have received proper sex education, as she covered her mouth with her hand.

Time passed after that.

[King Fredrick’s shocking confession: I have a hidden child.]

Whether Queen Maria’s persuasion worked or not, Fredrick finally swallowed his pride.