Chapter 95: Two Brothers, One Impregnator

Adonis stared at the young man beside him and, for once, didn’t have a line ready.

Second Prince Cassius didn’t seem to mind.

He slipped a hand into his fur-lined black coat, fished out a small sack, and shook a few nuts into his palm.

"Hm. I have to say, I’m not very happy with this reception."

He tipped the nuts into his mouth and chewed.

Elegantly, somehow.

As a prince who’d been watched closely since he was a child it was not unusual that everything he did was elegant.

"I hope the rest of the family won’t greet me like this when they hear I’m back."

He smiled at his little brother.

Adonis set the bundles of fabric back down on the wooden platform and rubbed his hands on his sleeves.

"It’s not that. I just didn’t expect you to come home so calmly. After everything Father and the court did to you, if it were me, I’d have taken revenge—"

"For your own sake, I’d advise you to be quiet."

Cassius smiled sweetly.

"Hm?" Adonis innocently lifted his brows.

"I’ve heard from reliable mouths that you’re very smart and ruthlessly cunning. So do you really think I’m stupid enough to be manipulated with words that casual?"

Adonis looked at him with flat, deadpan eyes.

’Actually, yes. I did.’ ?_?

In the novel, Cassius was the most terrifying talent the royal family ever produced.

He awakened at birth. And from his very first breath, something about him felt wrong, sickening even. His magic was sinister, the kind you would call demonic, unlike anything the royal court or the great magic guilds had ever recorded.

He wasn’t merely talented. He was a genius.

And he wasted all of it.

He spent so many years sharpening his abilities that by the time he came back for his revenge, Lloyd and Leander had both fully awakened, and he ended up as a villain of the week.

Third-rate, garbage, blink-and-he’s-gone villain.

The kind of boss the heroes squeeze for some EXP.

He wasn’t like this, either.

The Cassius of the novel was loud and mouthy, an arrogant young master like the ones you find in every form of media.

This one was level-headed, and he was eating nuts.

’So of course I’d assume he’s stupid. Fine. I’ll fit him into my very busy schedule later. He’s probably just a distraction from the plot to keep me away from Pope Verdigris and the whole Holy Sword shenanigans... I won’t fall for it.’

Still, he wanted to be sure.

So he briefly used his [Eye of the Critic] skill.

And what he saw shocked him in a familiar way.

[Unindexed Character. No recorded narrative information in relation to the plot.]

Adonis took a small step back.

’Again?’

It was the same as Old Hershant. How could a character from the plot be unrelated to the plot?

Even characters like Alpis who were from side stories and other sequels of the original novel were indexed by the system and yet Cassius and Hershant weren’t.

’Is it because I changed the story again...? I guess that would make sense. But why now? What’s so special about today that he chose to come back?’

He didn’t know, but what he did know was that he couldn’t be complacent around this prince.

This was a different character entirely.

This was uncharted territory for him. In other words, the plot was still the same knife, but with all these changes, all these sudden inconsistencies, he didn’t know where it’d stab him from.

Adonis smiled very coolly.

"So, what brings you h—"

"I heard about the succession battle Father hosted."

Cassius cut in again, still tossing nuts.

"So now Big Brother Godfrey is second in line, I’d have never guessed that, not in a million years. He was always the least impressive of us, you know. Nothing much to offer in mana talent, and a church fellow on top of that. Nobles hate that."

He raised a brow.

"If Godfrey died, I think nobody would miss him. Wouldn’t you agree?"

His cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel’s.

Adonis squeezed his face.

"Honestly, I don’t see why that question matters. All I want to know is why you came back to—"

...Pop, a loud crunch swallowed the rest of his sentence.

Cassius never cared to listen when others spoke as long as he too had something to say.

"If I’m being very honest, I wanted you to be the one who wins, you see..."

Adonis narrowed his eyes.

"Why is that?"

The black-haired prince shrugged.

"Isn’t it obvious, Adonis? As your big brother, I really hope you succeed. Because from the bottom of my heart, and the depths of my soul... I desperately want to be the reason your failures."

His eyes were empty. Perhaps empty wasn’t even good enough of a word to describe them. They were black and lightless, and there was nothing behind them to be empty of.

Just total voidness and that vapid smile of his.

Adonis smiled back, just as coolly.

"Oh my, what a thoughtful brother. Isn’t that a little ambitious, though, for a man who isn’t even wanted by his own family?"

"I suppose we share that in common, little brother."

The evil on Cassius’s face vanished as he sighed helplessly and looked away.

"But that means nothing to me, you know."

He tossed another nut into his mouth.

"Maybe someone else would be hurt by being unwanted because of their monstrous talent. But I see things differently. To me, it’s more of a compliment than anything else. It tells me how special I am. So special that Father still finds ways to make sure I’m not the one standing at the front of the succession."

He turned back to Adonis.

"Isn’t that why he made you? The sole reason you were born, the pride Father takes in you... it all comes from me."

He flicked the empty shells away.

"And that thought gets me excited. I get to go up against a prodigy like you. The presumed greatest talent the royal family has ever produced, isn’t that right?"

Adonis tilted his head.

He didn’t say anything.

Cassius turned and started to walk away, then stopped as if he’d remembered something.

"Oh. Could you keep my arrival quiet for now? I don’t want Father panicking about it. What kind of son would I be if I gave him more to worry about?"

Adonis smiled.

"I can do that."

"Thank you."

The second prince walked off into the crowd, and the fur of his coat was swallowed by the festival colors.

Adonis kept smiling until he was gone.

Then the smile dropped off his face.

’That guy...’

Meanwhile, Prussia and the others arrived at the variety market in the commerce district.

It was packed.

Tonight was the Procession of Saints, and the whole city seemed to be buying or selling something for it.

Lanterns, ribbons, painted masks, roasted chestnuts.

There were voices overlapping in every stall.

Prussia looked around.

"Where do we even find a fortune teller?"

Noelle lifted a finger, smiling. "That’s easy. There are always a few along the roadside."

Alpis folded her arms and shook her head.

"Fortune tellers are all scammers. They just like making money off stupid nobles."

Noelle and Lloyd turned to look at her with their faces squeezed up, just a little.

They were both nobility after all.

Prussia, feeling heavily embarrassed, palmed her face.

"Uh... don’t mind her..."

Noelle gave Alpis a long, strange look, there was something about her arrogance she didn’t like. But more than that being around Alpis always made her feel a certain way.

It gave her the same feeling as being around plants and animals but much darker, in a sense.

She didn’t say anything.

She turned and walked into the sea of people, and Lloyd followed a step behind.

Prussia frowned down at the dragon girl.

"Why do you always have to be so rude to people? Respect is a basic part of human decency!"

Alpis clicked her tongue.

"Well, I’m not a human. The only people I respect are Master and Miss Prussia. Why should a dragon as old as me care how I speak to some random human? Besides, I don’t like her scent at all, she reeks of holy magic and reminds me of some bastard parasites whose names shall not be spoken!"

"Still..."

Prussia could have given her many reasons.

Like the fact that Alpis was a chaos dragon hiding under the noses of a nation that worshipped divine ones. If she provoked the church at her current strength, she would put both herself and Adonis in danger.

That was a good enough reason.

But Prussia just tilted her head and smiled warmly.

"Because if you respect me, then you should at least try to respect the people I respect. How about that?"

Alpis’s cheeks went a little red.

She looked away, arms still folded.

"...Fine. I can do that."

"Thank you."

Prussia’s smile grew.

That was when a voice called out from the crowd.

"Prussia! Over here!"

Noelle was waving from in front of a luxurious tent of purple and gold, with a wide smile on her face.

"I found one!"

"Coming!"

Prussia had barely taken a step when Alpis stopped.

Sniff.

Her little nose twitched.

Sniff... sniff...

"...I smell Master."

"Wait. Adonis is here?"

Prussia’s golden-brown cheeks pinked in color.