Chapter 212: 211 is far from enough. Chapter 212: 211 is far from enough. “So, let me introduce myself again.”
In Luoqi’s room, the Princess seemed to be enjoying the current state of affairs as she smiled happily and spoke to Shane.
“I am Liyadella Mitra, though it’s something that will eventually be passed on to Luoqi, for now, I am tentatively the First Princess of the Kingdom and the first in line for the throne, so please kindly call me Liya.”
The First Princess of the Kingdom said this cheerfully, even winking at Shane with a playful look, undeniably cute.
“…I am Shane. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess.”
Shane responded with a mix of resignation and helplessness.
“Just call me Liya,” the Princess insisted, her voice playful and cheerful, “Don’t be shy. Since Luoqi has allowed you to call her by her nickname, I would be quite displeased if you treat me differently, you know?”
Hearing this, Shane felt like rolling his eyes but restrained from such casual behavior.
This was because the stern Female Knight standing behind Liya had been glaring at Shane all this while, silently warning him not to be disrespectful to Liya, which made Shane not particularly keen on provoking her.
Mainly because it’d be troublesome.
On the other hand, Liya, completely unaware of the situation, continued to tease Shane, insisting on being called by her name.
Unable to stand it any longer, Luoqi couldn’t help but speak up.
“Sister Liya, you are a Princess after all, please don’t tease others . If someone takes it seriously and thinks they can become close to you, and thus bothers you, Shanai is going to flip out again,” Luoqi sighed, her tone almost like she was the big sister here, lecturing her own sibling, “Also, there’s no need to talk about stepping aside eventually. You will always be the first in line to the throne, the future Queen of the Kingdom. Please don’t casually relinquish such things.”
Luoqi’s words didn’t make Liya feel defeated, instead, her cheeks puffed up.
“But all the Nobles in the Kingdom say you’re more suitable to be Queen than me,” Liya complained, “And with your terrifying popularity, everyone will support you. Nobody would support me becoming Queen.”
“Those are just others making assumptions,” Luoqi said indifferently, “As for myself, I have already told everyone that I neither want to go to the Divine World to become a resident there nor do I wish to inherit the throne and become the Kingdom’s Queen.”
“But isn’t that just your own assumption?” Liya looked at Luoqi and said, “Everyone thinks it’s just a whim of yours, and they are all waiting for you to come to your senses.”
“That’s really too bad because I have always been wide awake,” Luoqi replied without hesitation, “So, I’m still going to disappoint everyone.”
“You’re so stubborn. You used to always fulfill everyone’s expectations, no matter the situation. Why can’t you just listen to what everyone wants on such a big issue?” Liya let out a sigh, then turned to Shane, seeking support, “Lord Xi’en feels the same way, right? This woman is always so stubborn, isn’t she?”
Shane chuckled dryly, glancing at Luoqi’s indifferent face, and mentally rolling his eyes.
(That’s not stubbornness; she’s just scared.)
Even if Luoqi now appeared calm and collected, Shane knew she must be protesting vehemently inside.
Being a Princess who lived up to everyone’s expectations had already worn her out enough. If she really became Queen, or settled in the Divine World and lived among the Goddesses, wouldn’t that be a disaster for her?
If she became Queen, she’d have to bear even greater expectations and might be burdened with something like leading the Kingdom to become the number one in the world, which would surely make her implode.
And living among the residents of the Divine World, constantly maintaining an image among a group of Goddesses, not daring to reveal her real self, and unable to eat the sweets she loved, that would definitely drive the girl to a breakdown.
So, the Princess panicked, frightened, and didn’t dare to agree to these matters, right?
Shane saw through all the thoughts in Luoqi’s heart, and his gaze upon her became even more filled with contempt.
Luoqi seemed to notice what Shane was thinking, and stealthily glared at him, as if to say, “If you can do it, then you go ahead.”
Shane naturally wouldn’t indulge this young lady, and directly kicked her under the table.
Luoqi almost cried out, barely suppressing the urge with great effort, before indignantly returning the kick.
But Shane was prepared and caught Luoqi’s foot directly.
Now Luoqi was stuck, unable to move, gritting her teeth as she picked up her tea, pretending to drink a large gulp of it with exaggerated movements, startling the aloof female knight who stood behind Liyadella, whose name seemed to be Shanai.
It was Liyadella who watched the somewhat strangely behaving Shane and Luoqi, and although she didn’t notice the struggle unfolding under the table, she did sharply pick up on the occasional eye contact between the two and smiled happily.
She looked as if she found everything extremely intriguing and fun.
“Forget it, I can’t persuade you, anyways, with father and Aridia around, they’ll surely come to bother you about the throne,” Liyadella’s beautiful eyes shifted slightly as if calculating the right moment, she suddenly said, “However, I’m very interested in the relationship between you two. Can you tell me about that?”
Liyadella’s words not only made Luoqi pause in her tea drinking, but also caught the attention of the cold female knight named Shanai behind her.
Shane continued to play dumb, saying nothing to avoid collateral damage.
So, the question could only be answered by Luoqi.
“Sister Liya, can you please not be so curious?” Luoqi unusually adopted a tone of dissatisfaction in front of others, saying, “My relationship with Shane is very normal; we’re just friends who get along well, and I hope you don’t speculate and guess like those nobles do, let it be a favor I ask of you.”
It seems that the Princess had some self-awareness, very clear that her special treatment of Shane had already led many nobles to suspicion and even take some actions.
And if the nobles were behaving this way, Liyadella, being of the royal family, couldn’t be any different, not to mention that the person involved was her own exceptionally outstanding sister.
So Liyadella spoke very bluntly.
“Because Luoqi has never been this close to any male before, and I believe that it’s not just me and those nobles who are interested, father is certainly paying attention to this matter as well.”
Liyadella said, looking towards Shane with a meaningful tone.
“Moreover, I’m also curious, what is so special about an adventurer that has caught my sister Luoqi’s eye.”
“Don’t tell me it’s just because you defeated the likes of Beddo and Killian from the Old Demon Clan?”
“That level is far from enough to win my overly outstanding sister’s approval.”
Her words changed the atmosphere in the room somewhat.
It became tense, became subtly charged.