“Father fell into deep despair after the passing of *** who had accompanied him for many years.”
“He and ***—who was also ***’s twin sister, and my mother—mourned together at the vigil that night. Ten months later, I was born.”
“When Father learned of my existence, he seemed to have tried to bring Mother and me to live in the Royal City.”
“But Mother refused. She took me back to the countryside and decided to raise me on her own.”
Just a few short sentences were enough to make Luo Ye’s CPU overheat.
This ‘***’—was it the Queen, or perhaps one of the concubines?
No, it probably wasn’t the Queen. There was no news in his memory of the Queen’s passing, so it was most likely a concubine who died, leaving the King devastated. At the vigil, he met his late concubine’s younger sister—his sister-in-law—and, swept up in the atmosphere, the two naturally ended up ‘commemorating’ together?
Was this kind of ‘commemoration’ even proper?
No, it was obviously not proper.
Otherwise Anna wouldn’t have been born…
Wait, why does this plot feel so familiar?
A concubine dies, and the King gets together with her younger sister.
Alicia dies, and he gets together with Anna.
According to this logic, Anna and Alicia are biological sisters.
Crap, Luo Ye suddenly remembered what Anna had said before he was killed—
“His Excellency Luo Ye, I suppose I’ve also helped you leave behind a chance to have His Highness’s child…”
So this is what she meant?!
Anna is the King’s illegitimate daughter, and possibly Alicia’s sister. From a genetic perspective, if Anna’s child were to do a paternity test with Alicia, the results would be over 99.9%—it could indeed be called Alicia’s child…
Your biology is way too good for your own good!
Luo Ye couldn’t help but cover his face, suppressing the urge to complain, and hurriedly kept reading.
“My foster father was a hunter in the countryside. He took Mother and me in.”
“But good times didn’t last. When I was three, a Magic Beast Horde swept through the small town. My father, being a hunter, naturally took up the role of the town’s protector.”
“Even though there were members of the Knight Order of the Royal Capital sent from nearby cities, the number of Demon Beasts in the horde was overwhelming, and the town fell into a desperate struggle.”
“Demon Beasts infiltrated the town.”
“To protect me, Mother hid me away and left the house herself, luring the Demon Beasts away.”
“After the battle, Mother went missing. Father and the knights searched for three days and nights but couldn’t find a trace of her.”
“Most likely, Mother has left this world, but neither Father nor I could accept that outcome.”
“Father instantly seemed to age by more than ten years. I inherited his skills and became a hunter myself, learning everything he knew.”
“Later, Father also passed away from a serious illness. I wasn’t able to find a suitable doctor for him.”
“I left the town, and on my journey through the world, I met the person who changed my life.”
“Princess Alicia.”
“She was so beautiful and so gentle, never looking down on me, even though I had lost both my parents.”
“I liked her so much. But she was leaving, and I longed for our next meeting.”
“I want to see Her Highness the Princess so much…”
“I want to see Her Highness the Princess so much…”
“I want to see Her Highness the Princess!!!”
“If I go to the Palace… will I be able to see Aili-chan?”
“Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan Aili-chan…!!!”
!!!
A chill suddenly ran down Luo Ye’s spine, making every hair on his body stand on end.
He seemed to see a scene:
A stunning blonde girl with amethyst eyes, crawling on the floor like a golden retriever, casting a shadowy figure in the darkness.
Click—
At that moment, the unexpected sound of a door opening echoed.
Originally, Anna had been regretful that she couldn’t have lunch with Alicia, and that she’d lost her hair clip. But since Alicia had forgiven her, she was in a good mood as she pushed open the door—only to instantly sense another presence in the dorm room.
She jerked her head up and saw someone holding her diary. Her expression immediately turned fierce, ready to subdue the intruder in an instant.
Magic gathered in her hand, forming a sword. In her mind, she rehearsed the image of running her blade straight through her opponent’s chest.
Anna’s instincts screamed at her to attack immediately, but when the other person spoke, the tone brought her back to her senses.
“I advise you not to do that.”
Luo Ye closed Anna’s diary and placed it on the table, turning around with an unflinching, commanding gaze.
“?!!”
Anna’s expression instantly shifted to one of terror. She quickly withdrew her exposed magic, and only when he turned to address her did she realize that standing before her was Luo Ye—the Sage’s successor, Magic Division Top Student, and even Princess Alicia couldn’t take the top spot from him.
How could he not notice her quietly circulating her magic!
While Anna was still stunned, Luo Ye shot her a sidelong glance and slowly spoke, “I know what you’re thinking, but I can only tell you this…”
In Luo Ye’s ink-black eyes, for a moment, it was as if countless solid crystals were reflected, a profound darkness sweeping through the entire room, pressing down upon her: “Don’t think any further.”
In an instant, a vast, abyss-like magic power seemed to silently radiate from him. Time itself stopped, and the world before her eyes turned black and white, as if he had frozen the entire space with his will alone.
Magic could reach such heights?!
Anna’s legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed in front of Luo Ye.
“Why… are you here?”
Her greatest secret had been discovered, and by someone she had no chance of defeating right now. Anna’s mind was thrown into chaos. Forcing herself to remain upright, she asked in a panic, “Did you see everything…?”
“Hm?” Luo Ye was a bit confused by Anna’s reaction.
Just now, Anna’s movement as she entered was so smooth that he’d realized there was no way he could hide. And it was impossible to explain that he hadn’t meant to read her diary—doing so would only confirm he’d broken into the girls’ dorm. The image of being run through by a sword was still vivid in his mind. His brain was nearly fried, but then he remembered he could rely on his status as a teacher to overawe Anna.
But why did Anna look so flustered and aggrieved?
In Luo Ye’s impression, Anna was always decisive, full of her own ideas, and quick to act—otherwise, she wouldn’t have killed him in reality.
But now, why did she look like such a bullied victim? If anyone should be panicking, it should be him!
Could it be that Anna at this age hadn’t been tempered by society yet, and was especially easy to fool?
Luo Ye was puzzled, but to Anna, his bewildered look was like that of a righteous judge who had found evidence, with eyes as deep and calm as a still lake.
Under that gaze, Anna felt utterly exposed, as if all her secrets had been laid bare.
Her shoulders trembled, her body shrank back, and finally, she couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed to her knees: “Teacher Luo Ye, I… I…”
Warm tears slid down her cheeks, soaking the backs of her hands where they pressed to the floor. In her heart, a tiny version of herself demanded:
So what if your secret was discovered? Are you going to give up on Alicia and run away with your tail between your legs?
No, never!
She didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay by Alicia’s side!
Anna suddenly looked up, her tear-reddened eyes glaring at Luo Ye.
“Why are you here… You shouldn’t have seen this. I get it now—it was you who took my hair clip and broke through the protective formation on my room!”
“Breaking into the girls’ dormitory and invading someone’s privacy—even if you’re the top student, you’ve seriously violated Academy rules!”
Anna pressed her lips together tightly, glaring at Luo Ye, still trying to resist. The contents of her diary were something she absolutely could not allow anyone else to know—they were the outpouring of her feelings for Alicia, her emotional anchor day and night. This was the one thing she would never allow to be defiled by others…
But Luo Ye only lowered his gaze and saw through her thoughts, shattering them mercilessly.
“Do you know why I was looking for Alicia just now? It was to discuss the marriage contract between us—this marriage contract, personally decreed by His Majesty.”
Anna’s pupils shook violently, and she was left frozen on the spot.
“That’s impossible…” she instinctively tried to protest.
But Luo Ye cut her off.
“There’s nothing impossible about it. The engagement will be announced tonight, and by tomorrow, the entire Royal City will know.”
“At such a critical moment, your status as an illegitimate daughter, your very existence, is a stain His Majesty cannot allow to be revealed.”
“If His Majesty finds out that you, a stain, have your eyes on his precious daughter, have sullied the heroine of this marriage contract, and have even become the Princess’s Bodyguard…”
Luo Ye raised his hand and slowly drew it across his neck in a meaningful gesture.
“You know what would happen. I don’t need to say more, do I?”