Cardin nodded, agreeing that Anette, having witnessed and resolved the situation, deserved to know.
“Including about my power,” Lucius added, pausing Cardin mid-thought.
“Of course, finding the root cause and solution is important. But I owe her a debt, and I can’t stand by if she’s in trouble. Unless it’s beyond my powers.”
Lucius had already tested his ability on Anette when he had accidentally accelerated her time by a week while passing her the purification stone.
Noticing Anette’s hair grow slightly longer when he used his power was an affirmation for him.
“If the Princess wants to return to her original form, I’m willing to use my power.”
To make her appear as an adult, he would need to fast-forward her time by over a decade. This would be a challenging task, even for Lucius, who had steadily honed his abilities.
Cardin remained silent, perhaps troubled by the thought or wary of his plans for Anette going awry.
Imagining Cardin’s sullen face behind the mask, Lucius gently patted his shoulder, only to hear a groan.
“Cardin?”
Lucius was startled to see Cardin clutching his shoulder in pain.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Did you get injured during a subjugation?”
“It’s not that.”
“What do you mean it’s not? If you’re in this much pain, it must be serious.”
The Alkan royal family, besides their powers, typically had exceptional strength and recovery abilities. This was true even for Lucius, who had a late awakening.
Thinking of Cardin’s exceptional healing abilities, Lucius suddenly looked alarmed.
“Did I misjudge my strength…?”
“No, it’s not you, brother.”
As Lucius was feeling relieved in the early dawn at the garden, he couldn’t let Cardin dig himself into another hole, so Cardin quickly confessed.
“Our Princess is much stronger than I thought.”
“The Princess? You mean the Princess did that?”
“Yes.”
Cardin confidently nodded, recalling the incident when leaving the garden. Ignoring Anette’s request to be put down and teasing her, Cardin ended up being hit hard on the shoulder by her surprisingly strong, yet adorably small, fist.
Remembering Anette trembling with embarrassment brought a smile to his face.
“She really hates being treated like a child. But it’s too cute.”
“Maybe she had trouble controlling her strength because she became a child?”
“I don’t think so. She’s just naturally strong. Our Princess can even tear apart monsters with her bare hands.”
“I’ve heard that rumor… but it’s actually true?”
Lucius had thought it was just an exaggerated tale. He knew the Princess was a renowned knight across the continent, but that seemed more a reason why a knight wouldn’t need to fight monsters barehanded.
Moreover, having met Anette, who looked thin and fragile, he couldn’t imagine her possessing such brute strength.
“Why are you so surprised? You knew the Princess was special.”
“That’s true, but…”
Lucius nodded in agreement, but his expression soured.
“Shouldn’t the Princess have been more careful?”
Until a moment ago, he considered Anette a benefactor, even ready to expend his life force for her. But the fact that she hurt Cardin didn’t sit well with him.
At Lucius’s words, Cardin shrugged.
“It’s because she’s never had such bickering with anyone before. She was so cute with her wide eyes when I said I was hurt… Wait, are you scolding our Princess now?”
Seeing Cardin suddenly defensive, Lucius couldn’t help but feel incredulous.
Seeing his annoying behavior, Lucius thought about how mischievously Cardin must have acted for the usually demure Princess to resort to using her fists.
Lucius grabbed Cardin’s shoulder tightly.
“Ouch, brother!”
“Stop overreacting. You deserve a scolding.”
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
