Sophia barely managed to control herself from smashing the table to pieces, or maybe it was the summoning brand on her soul, which made her restrained to a certain degree. She stood up, put both of her hands on the table, and declared with all the disgust she could muster, "YOU SHOULD NOT BRING THAT UP AGAIN, YOUR HIGHNESS."
It was almost like a pleading warning, and for some unknown reason, the 3rd phase powerhouse felt a sense of distant foreboding on that declaration. She felt a silent sense of danger from the girl who had not even stepped onto the Seeker’s Path yet. She nodded reluctantly, a sense of respect and submission donned on her mind out of nowhere, "I apologize, I didn’t know, it was such a sensitive matter for you."
She continued in a serious tone, "But please understand that I have no ill intent towards you. After all, that would do more harm to me than good. Because I need you, not as you are now, but in the future, in exchange, I can help in some matters for the time you remain here, before the start of the academy."
Sophia’s displeased frown remained, but there was a calculating gaze in her eyes as she asked, "And what might that be?"
Larissa placed a hand on her chin, as if thinking about something, then she revealed the thoughts that formed in her mind, "If I’m not wrong, the concubine will try to hold an engagement ceremony between you and the first prince."
She took a pause as the bloody red eyes of the summoned valkyrie glowed in a dangerous intensity, the atmosphere turned intense once more, but she continued, "Since, every valkyrie has always formed a romantic relationship with the next king, it would cement the position of the first prince as most optimal candidate for being the next king, diverting the attention of the nobles from his obvious lacking qualities."
Sophia chuckled and said with a mirthless smile, "And let me guess, you’re solution to that is to get engaged with your son? Lucien Suncrest?"
But before the summoned valkyrie could rage further, Larissa put her hands forward, gesturing for the valkyrie to stop. At the same time, she explained further to quell the misunderstanding, "While I did want to suggest that idea, but seeing you are so against it, I will find another way to stop that from happening. Because believe it or not, I still have a lot of influence within the palace, while the concubine can only ride on the coattails of our mighty king, if not for that, she is but a useless, overly arrogant wretch from the streets, nothing more and nothing less."
Sophia visibly eased upon that revelation, "And?"
Larissa Suncrest leaned forward, her expression turning cold, "You must promise me to protect my two children and my nephew Ken Dusker."
She asked her in annoyance, translating the statement to her own words, "You are basically asking me to help Lucien become the next king."
But the first wife of the king shook her head, "No, you only need to protect them until a certain period, when Lucien becomes strong enough. I have faith in my son; he can do everything else from then on without the need for any help."
She nodded, understanding her intent. Prince Lucien was indeed the most capable among all the princes and princesses by far without a doubt. However, she had a particularly high sense of disgust for the one named Ken Dusker, because of his almost undisguised, lustful gaze towards her. It made her stomach churn in disgust. Just 6 months of her being within the cruel mental prison named the royal palace had transformed Sophia into something far different than what she usually was.
Something far cruel and monstrous, or maybe that’s how she was always supposed to be, she did not know. She did not know for sure. After a deep contemplation, she found herself with no choice but to agree to that deal; she nodded to Larissa. But the woman asked her again, "I need a word, Sophia Evercrest, not just a simple nod, but a proper promise."
Sophia uttered the words, "Okay, I promise I will protect them, as long as you hold your end of the bargain."
But the very moment she said that, something churned within her soul, as if a hidden mechanism had activated; she could feel her heart tightening involuntarily. Then a string of knowledge flowed into her mind automatically. She instinctively understood what happened—looking at the king’s first wife with chilling hatred. Updates are released by novel·fire.net
But Lumina’s mother cut her off. Showing an unapologetic smile, "Sorry, little one, like I stated just now, empty promises are useless, and take that as a lesson as well. The summoning brand has more functions than you think. Any promise you make of your own volition with anyone carrying the royal blood will transform it into a binding vow. This could be heavily misused against you as long as you did not know it."
"Because even though you are by default obligated to protect any royals in the face of danger. It’s a restriction with terminology that is too vague; it is something that could be easily bypassed. With some tricks."
"But now that you know of it, you can be careful and never make the same mistake. Luckily for you, I have to keep my end of the bargain, because I have no choice in the matter. The binding effect placed on you right now is simply an assurance from my end that you shall truly keep your word."
"So, from an objective point of view, you have suffered no loss, and I genuinely do hope that you can protect my children and my nephew. Although you are all similar in age, your strength will soon far surpass theirs. And that is precisely what I am counting on."
Sophia was still glaring at her hatefully, but the words she said weren’t wrong. In a way, this was far better than being unknowingly used by that other bitch, but she didn’t like any of it, either way. She got up from the chair and left without saying anything. And the other women at the table remained seated with a mysterious smile on their lips. She spoke to herself in an inaudible whisper,
"Sorry, son, but this is the best I can do, since you are the most capable prince, and the only one truly qualified to ascend the throne. The more she remains in contact with you, the more she will ease up on you. And because of the manipulative nature of the summoning brand on her soul, she will fall in love with you as well."
Time passed, and just like the words said by Larissa Suncrest, the murmurs about the engagement between Luther and Sophia were silently nulled; the first wife of the king kept her word; Sophia had no idea of how, though. By now, she was able to identify the number of people on the sides of the two women. It was like a mental and political warfare between the two. It was quite a typical scenario, actually. One was the first wife and the real queen, but unfavored by the mighty king, while the other was a concubine, officially unqualified, but favored by the king.
Since this world was ruled by strength more than anything, most royals and nobles had no choice but to support and aid the inauthentic concubine, while some who greatly respected and followed tradition and rules still seemed to support the first wife. As for the king, although he favored his concubine more, he did not personally intervene in the matter; instead, he watched the two women fight with silent amusement. As for his children, he did favor his first prince, Luther, the most, without a doubt.
One year had passed since she had been summoned into this world, every second of which was like a mad torture, separated from the one she loved dearly, the only one who truly cared for her selflessly. Being a slave to the mighty king in this utterly alien new world, shoved into the royal politics, being constantly harassed, tortured, and insulted. She was almost about to be forcefully married to another man, which was the worst, which made her want to die, for the first time in her life. Even she did not know how she had managed to survive this long period, which felt longer than anything she had ever experienced in her life.
Her life previous to this, in which she only received coldness and disregard from her parents, now felt like a sweet haven compared to here. But thankfully, it would soon come to an end. It was time for her and all the princes and princesses to enter the academy and go through the trial to become a Seeker—the valid power holders of this world.
She had also strangely become close to the 4th Prince and the 5th Princess. Especially, the princess. Since she was a kind soul and truly treated her like a friend, with no alternative motive. Lucien knew of the agreement between Sophia and his mother. But some of the good qualities of Prince were that he never looked at her with obvious lust, at least not openly.
His character, compared to that of other royal heirs, was much more acceptable. Sophia had come to another agreement with the prince. After spending close to a year in the palace, she had to come to have a good grasp of the politics, the state of humanity, and the dynamics between each of the great and minor kingdoms.