"This entire tradition is ridiculous, and you know it, brother!" Lyn exclaimed. Didn"t he tell her the other day that this was all for show? To make her look like a legit candidate for the throne? What is he doing adding more?

Andrew sighed, "Indeed, it is ridiculous."

"Then.."

"However, Lyn, this is for your own good. How do you expect people to take you seriously if we only chose those who have expressed an interest in you? You have to consider other people."

"Then, Kazuya and Rhys. Both of them put them on that list." Her gaze didn"t waver as she said those words. Her brother must have understood what she was saying since he appeared troubled. "I"m choosing just like you said, so you can"t complain about it."

"You"re becoming so unreasonable, did he teach you this?"

Lyn cursed inside her head, why does eldest brother always blame Kazuya for her behavior? Is it because she"s talking a lot more now? It"s true before Kazuya came here she would meekly obey his orders. But that didn"t mean she accepted everything he did.

Before Lyn could say any more, the doors opened, revealing a man with long hair. "Ah! Mentor..." She hasn"t seen him for a while; this man always seems to be very busy. He has a bad habit of disappearing too, but for longer periods of time. n.o.body can track him when he disappears.

Ralph smiled at her and turned to her brother, "Prince Andrew, do you mind if I borrow your sister?"

"Please take her away."

Her eyes twitch in annoyance. Why is he making it sound like she"s the one at fault? How annoying. Lyn marched up to mentor and grabbed his arm as she pulled him away. After walking for a few minutes, Lyn let her mentor go and spoke up.

"Mentor, I"m not happy at all," Lyn said as she puffed her cheeks up in annoyance. The two of them were out of earshot by now.

Ralph chuckled, "I can tell. But you have to understand your brother Lyn."

"What is there to understand? I haven"t even told him I want the throne properly, and yet he"s already making these decisions for me."

"I understand that it is difficult for you to accept. But your brother has been making preparations for you to get the throne for a very long time now. At least with this, you"ll have a solid foundation. The men who proposed to you are people of high caliber and standing in the Empire."

High caliber, huh? "I"ve never wanted that," Lyn mumbled.

"I know," Ralph nodded. "But this is the way things work in the Empire."

They don"t have the right to make their own decisions. Lyn understood full well what he wanted to tell her. It was still difficult for her to accept, though. "I apologize for throwing a tantrum."

A chuckle pa.s.sed Ralph"s lips, "It"s quite alright. Why do you seem to be in a bad mood?"

--

Earlier

"Lyn, I need to talk to you."

"Yes, Kazuya?" She turned towards him. The entire morning she spent it catching up on her studies. So they hadn"t been speaking much despite him being in the same room as her.

The eyes that he looked at her with were far away, clouded with thoughts she could not begin to guess at. "… Your feelings for Rhys aren"t as gone as you think…"

She froze. Every fiber of her body felt paralyzed. She was aware that her heart was speeding rapidly, and that her fiance could undoubtedly hear it, but there was nothing she could do. This was the reason for this distance lately, for the shadow in his gaze…

"Lyn, I know that part of you is attached to him. I know that you"ve chosen me, but I still think you should rethink things."

Lyn looked at him, dumbfounded, "What are you saying, yesterday we..."Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

"I was too impulsive. I was delighted and got caught up in that happiness. While this may not be easy for you, but… I think, perhaps, it is time you learned the entire truth."

"The truth?" Her brow furrowed now. What truth could he be referring to? What was untrue in her life right now, other than her own heart?

"Rhys, and you..."

Lyn shook her head, "There is no Rhys and me, Kazuya. It"s only us two," she was outraged and stood up. "I don"t care about this truth nonsense. I"ve already chosen to be with you, and you alone. I want to marry you, not over some political benefits, or even to spite my brothers. I want to marry you, because I want to be happy with you."

Kazuya suddenly burst into laughter, causing her to blink in surprise. "That really is a straight forward confession."

-

Present

Lyn relayed the events from earlier and sighed. "I don"t understand why Kazuya is so insecure, mentor." After that talk they had, Lyn thought that the two of them finally reached an understanding. But it turns out that wasn"t the case at all. While things ended in a smooth note, she still felt unhappy about it. Why does Kazuya think about such pointless things?

"More than anything, I just want to be happy with him. To me, the throne is important, yes. But even if I don"t get it, as long as I can marry Kazuya ..."

Ralph ruffled her hair; his smile seemed brighter than usual today. Lyn looked at him suspiciously, "Mentor, are you planning something strange again?"

"Now, now, what could you possibly mean by such words?"

So he really is planning something.

"Whatever your thinking mentor, please drop the ridiculous idea, okay?"

"More importantly, just now, you added Prince Rhys to your list of candidates..."

"Don"t misunderstand. If I just asked for Kazuya alone, my eldest brother wouldn"t allow it."

"So, you"re using sir Rhys as a cover-up?"

"In a sense, yes," Lyn mumbled. "This kind of news would make him happy, and maybe for a while, he will stop hara.s.sing me too. I"m going over to Kazuya right now, so he doesn"t misunderstand anything." The only way for her brother to include Kazuya on that list is for her to do something like this. Her brother valued people who have a use to him. "I want brother to realize that Kazuya does have a use."

The moment the brother determines that Kazuya is useful is the moment she has won.

"Your eldest brother is a very complicated man Lyn. Other than you, I don"t think there has been anybody who has tried to understand him. Most people wouldn"t dare to do so."

"I know," and she really did know. "Eldest brother is carrying a very heavy burden on his shoulders. People hold so many expectations towards him."

And those expectations that have taken shape are the main reason for his distress. But, that didn"t give him the excuse to use his power to dictate over other people"s lives.

"Happiness, why is it so hard to obtain? I"m aware that as n.o.bles we can"t ever be free, but why can"t we find happiness in this cage?"

"Princess Lyn, your an unusual one. The main reason I took you in as a disciple was because of your unique traits."

"What do you mean by unique traits?"

"How to put it," Ralph paused to think for a moment before he said. "Your values are very different from the people living in this era. Most people would regard that as a bad thing, but I do not think so at all. I think it is a blessing, a real gift."

"Gift?"

Ralph nodded, "There are not many people who are willing to fight back with your eldest brother like you did just now."

"How is that special, that"s just arguing?"

"You may not see how important it is now. But in the future, I"m sure you will realize it. After all, these days, people blindly obey those who have power. They do not question a single rumor, and even those who rebel hesitate to attack because of the consequences. You don"t care about any of that, and fight for your belief."