Fool's Library

By then, God knows whether Gray will feel upset about having her nickname "Brother Last" taken away from her.

……

On the other side, Rust and Ophelia did not have as many inner dramas as Dean Yin.

"Also, I must apologize to you, Brother Luster."

Ophelia bowed again. "My previous willfulness led to a series of misfortunes for Miss Akxia... and even forced you to risk your life and take on a legend."

"Now that that incident has passed, it's over."

"I chose to betray the gravekeeper and risk my life to kill Noah... These were all choices I made according to my own will. I can't blame anyone else."

Luster shook his head. "Besides, if it weren't for His Highness providing me with the forbidden weapon, the Zenith Sword, I wouldn't have been able to defeat Noah's Avatar of Fertility so easily in the Netherworld."

"What I care more about is actually what is happening right now."

He stared at the girl in the dress before him and spoke softly, "So, Your Majesty is so eager to preside over my engagement with Hiltina this time..."

"Is it related to the gravekeeper who visited the imperial capital?"

"Yes."

Ophelia nodded, a hint of surprise flashing in her wine-red eyes: "I invited you here this time just to tell you this, I didn't expect that you, Brother Luster, already knew it."

"It would be much easier to explain it this way."

A hint of nostalgia appeared in her eyes. "Although my sister has long refused the royal family's resources and the name of Fresbegu... in the eyes of the other nobles in the imperial capital, I am my father's only heir."

"But in my father's heart, the heir to the Holy Sword, the future king... has always been my sister."

"In fact, the reason why my father buried the scabbard of the holy sword within my sister was to use the scabbard to subtly transform my sister's soul, bringing her and the holy sword's compatibility to an unprecedented level—"

"In this way, the heir to the throne will become the most powerful holy swordsman in the history of the royal family, as well as the most powerful queen."

Rast's heart moved slightly.

He recalled the gentle middle-aged man who looked no different from an ordinary nobleman, sitting by the warm fireplace in the Hailan Mansion.

Therefore, Aaron's action of burying the scabbard in Hiltina's body—

Some of this was due to the father's desire not to let his daughter get hurt, and he used Avalon to protect her...

How much of it comes from the mission and responsibility of being a king to train the strongest heir to the throne for the country?

All of this is difficult to distinguish for an outsider like Last, and even Aaron himself might find it difficult to tell.

"My father has always wanted my sister to abandon her paranoia and the ideal of being a 'Forest Ranger' that she inherited from her mother."

"Father believes that my sister, with such ideals, might become an outstanding noble lord, a flawless knight... but she could never become a perfect king."

"To become a qualified king, one must learn to make choices and understand the principle of 'saving some people requires sacrificing others'. Even though we are all human, the value of different people is not completely equal..."

"As a king, you must be prepared to choose to save those of greater value and abandon those of lesser value when faced with a dilemma like the trolley problem."

"If it were my sister..." Ophelia smiled. "She would probably step onto the tracks, sword in hand, without hesitation, to block the oncoming train."

"This is the disagreement between my father and my sister, and it's also the reason why my sister left the royal family and chose to join the Starry University, which is independent of the empire."

"And this time, the visit of the gravekeeper quasi-angel gave my father an opportunity—"

"It gave my sister an opportunity to compromise with him."

Ophelia's voice was no longer as clear and pleasant as before, but became a little quieter.

"My sister is such a proud, paranoid, and extremely self-centered person... She firmly believes in the path she's on and will continue to walk her own path, unmoved by any gossip or rumors."

"Even if there was a wall in front of my sister, she would probably break it down regardless of the consequences."

"But, even that kind of sister Wang had a weak spot in her heart—"

"That is you, Brother Rust."

She just stared at Rast.

"The gravekeeper's quasi-angel came to hunt you down, but my father had already planned everything."

"Sister, either you draw your holy sword or shoulder the mission and responsibility of being a member of the royal family."

"You can choose to refuse, but if you do that, I, without the Holy Sword, will be unable to fight against the Quasi-Angel. I can only watch as you, Brother Rust, become a sacrifice in the secret war."

"This is my father's conspiracy, forcing my sister to abandon her own ideals and inherit the throne."

"And with your life in danger, Brother Last, I have no choice..."

……

"Sure enough, that's how it is."

Listening to Ophelia's words, Rast's expression remained unchanged, he just nodded slightly.

What Ophelia said was very similar to what he had guessed.

The quasi-angel of the gravekeeper was coming for him, and His Majesty Aaron simply went with the flow and used it as a bargaining chip to force Hiltina to inherit the throne and become a qualified king.

From the perspective of the empire, this is undoubtedly the most top-level conspiracy—

Upright, yet with nowhere to escape.

"But why did Your Highness tell me this?"

"Strictly speaking, these things should be considered royal secrets. Is it really okay for an outsider to tell me?"

"Brother Rast, you are about to marry my sister. You are a legitimate prince of the imperial family, so you are not an outsider."

Ophelia smiled, but there was a hint of bitterness in that smile: "Another reason is probably because of my selfish feelings towards Sister Wang."

Her beautiful wine-red eyes drooped slightly, carrying an inexplicable complex color.

"Frankly speaking—"

"When I was little, I actually disliked and hated my sister."

"As early as I can remember, my sister left the palace and moved out to live alone. She would only come back to visit us occasionally."

"But even so, both my father and mother still miss my sister who left the royal family. They care about her life, safety, and development outside the royal family... They even talk about her same-sex friends, combat experiences, and advancements in strength. They talk about everything."

"Perhaps it's the natural instinct of young animals to guard their food... At the time, I was very dissatisfied with my parents' preference and extra attention for Sister Wang. I was clearly the child who stayed with them, my mother's biological daughter, but I didn't receive any more attention."

"At that time—I even had a very dark thought: what if my sister died outside, or suffered a setback, and returned to the palace in disgrace... Because that would prove that I was a better person than the princess."

There was a look of reminiscence in Ophelia's eyes.

"But later, as I grew up and began to receive the various imperial educations in the palace... I found that I actually admired and adored my sister more and more."

"The ministers and nobles in the imperial capital don't know the true story of our family. They're not fully aware of my sister's existence and simply believe that I'm the sole heir to the empire."

"Because of this, flattery, gossip...both genuine and fake, and with both good intentions and malicious glances, have been pouring in since I was very young."

"And in response to those expectations and ill will, I put on the mask called 'Little Swan of the Empire' and learned to transform myself into a flawless princess, a qualified heir to the throne."

"When facing different people, one must wear a personality mask that is appropriate and best suited to one's own interests; no matter what one does, one must carefully consider, prepare for the worst-case scenario, and have a plan for retreat; use thunderous punishment to instill fear in political opponents who harbor ill will towards oneself."

"I gave up my leisurely thoughts of butterflies and flowers. I couldn't make close friends with anyone my own age. I wasn't even allowed to develop feelings for my pets... because that would become a weakness for my enemies who were studying me so closely and trying to target me."

Ophelia watched the candlelight dancing in the silver candlesticks.

"I live like a mirror, reflecting the image of a perfect princess that meets others' expectations."

"The light reflected by the mirror was so brilliant that no one ever cared about the little girl named Ophelia beneath it."

"That's why my sister's figure appears so brilliant in my eyes."

"Her lifestyle is so dazzling, walking on the path of pursuing her ideals, unwavering by any external forces...And I am like a mirror, seemingly gorgeous and exquisite, but I have lived my whole life for others. Beneath that beautiful mirror, I am actually an empty shell."

Ophelia averted her gaze.

"And so, slowly, in addition to responding to the gazes of my parents, the ministers, and the nobles... a new goal also sprouted in my heart."

"That is to work hard to become a perfect princess and an impeccable heir to the throne."

"If I could become even more perfect, even more dazzling—perfect enough to make my father change his mind and choose me over my sister to inherit the throne..."

"Then, my sister won't have to face pressure from her parents or the royal family anymore, and will be able to pursue her dreams freely and unrestrainedly."

"I have always held this belief... and have come this far."

"but--"

She lowered her eyes slightly.

"Brother Luster, I must apologize to you."

"Even though I worked hard to become a mechanic, forcing myself to become more cunning and decisive, making those nobles afraid of me to the point of having nightmares."

"But in the end, I still couldn't resonate with the Holy Sword like my sister did. Of course, this might be because a soul as empty and lacking in self as mine couldn't possibly be recognized by the Holy Sword."

"sorry."

She whispered, "I failed to replace my sister, nor did I become the heir to the throne."

"Because of my incompetence, Sister Wang was forced by my father to give up herself."

"Your Highness, there's nothing to apologize for. After all, everything isn't over yet, is it?"

Luster looked up at Ophelia, which startled the latter.

Ophelia had thought she already knew enough about Luster through the live broadcast in Night World...

But it was not until she saw the other person's eyes at this moment that she suddenly realized that she had never truly understood the boy in front of her.

"Your Highness Ophelia—"

"We are accomplices."

Chapter 236 The Wedding, The Day of Drawing the Sword (Part 2)

"By the way, did you guys see the headline in the Star Daily?"

"Yes, I see... I never imagined that Hiltina was actually the first princess of the Granville Empire—"

"In fact, she is His Majesty Aaron's chosen successor, the future Empress of the Empire, and the next Holy Sword Wielder."

Although it was the end of the semester, at this moment, both students and professors at Starry University were completely distracted by a huge piece of gossip, and had no time to care about trivial matters such as final exams.

The Empire's First Princess, Hiltina von Fresberg, is about to get married.

His Majesty Aaron has already proclaimed to the world that on the day of the wedding—

That was the moment when Hiltina inherited the holy sword, which only past kings were qualified to wield, and was officially established as the future empress of the empire.

Although Star University is not affiliated with the Empire and maintains a relatively independent and detached status, its main campus is located within the Empire's territory and is adjacent to the capital. Many students choose to go to the capital for rest and entertainment during their weekends off, so they are naturally quite concerned about news from the capital.

Not to mention the female protagonist of this shocking scandal—who is from Star University... As one of the twelve seats on the round table on the Star Obelisk, coupled with the various rumors and gossip about her being a "strategy master" during her first year, Hiltina was already a well-known figure within Star University.

As a result, from student dormitories to the main library, from the Ruins Courtyard to the Ash Courtyard, almost all teachers and students were talking about similar topics.

"Although we only learned about Hiltina's background now, it's actually quite normal when we think about it."

"If it weren't for the fact that she was a princess of the empire, with resources supplied by the royal family, how could that 'conquest demon' have achieved such an outrageous record in her first year—that's simply not something a normal person could do."

"I wonder what kind of person the groom of this wedding, the lucky man who is about to become Hiltina's husband and the Imperial Prince, will be."

"However, to be chosen by the imperial family, he must be an extraordinary figure. To be able to subdue that 'Strategy Demon' is something most people wouldn't even dare to dream of."

The information released by the royal family to the public did not include any information about the groom's identity.

Therefore, most onlookers can only rack their brains and use their imagination to guess what kind of person this man who is about to become an imperial prince will be.

The impact of this wedding extends far beyond the Empire and Star University.

Instead, it caused a huge uproar throughout the entire Western Continent.

The Granville Empire, with its many titles such as "Kingdom of Knights," "Land Blessed by Dawn and Starlight," and "Divine Blessing," is one of the most powerful and prosperous nations on the continent, and its every move attracts the attention of the entire continent.

At this moment, with the news that the successor to the Holy Sword and the future Empress had been officially established, and with newspapers spreading throughout the continent, countless gazes, whether overt or covert, benevolent or malevolent, were all directed toward the imperial capital.

The Holy Kingdom of France, the Papacy, and the Alliance of Princes all sent envoys to the capital to witness the ceremony…

The wedding itself is not important to these powerful figures; what they truly want to witness is the deeper meaning behind the wedding.

The inheritance of the Holy Sword also signifies the succession of imperial power.

……

"Little Shia, you should know about the recent uproar... Little Tina's wedding."