Blood Assimilation

Moments later.

After Randy hurriedly left the scene, only four people remained standing there. At this time, the two guards stood aside as the two Royal siblings engaged with each other.

"As a Crown Prince, what were you doing interfering with my business? Moreover, why do you lower yourself in front of that peasant?"

"Helenia, do you have any idea who you're messing with? What were you thinking, confronting that person with aggression?"

"So what if I was? We are royalty, and he's nothing but a commoner, regardless of how talented he is. Why should I bow to someone like him? Shouldn't he be bowing in front of me?"

"You don't know who you're messing with, do you? Did you not see how he effortlessly defeated those Gladiators in the Coliseum barehanded? Did you think you could defeat him now that he had all his restrictions removed?"

"...No matter how powerful he is physically, he is only a single person. There's no doubt he is an amazing prospect with just that talent alone. When combined with his skills, he could probably deal with most people out there. Even so, what if he could defeat 20 people without using his skills? As far as utilizing the skills of warriors is concerned, aren't the Royal Guards trained to be superior to normal citizens in every aspect? Do you truly believe that they would lose to a random kid from nowhere? As a Crown Prince, are you doubting the strict training regime of the Royal Family's Royal Guards?"

"And how useful were your most capable guards when they confronted that person just moments ago, huh? Weren't they stopped by his mere aura?"

"That…"

"Helenia, I won't bother arguing with you on this matter. Just listen to me for once! Do not mess with that guy again, or you won't be the only one who suffers the consequences when you do. You might even implicate the entire Royal Family at that time."

"Tsk! How pathetic, Crown Prince! It seems you were scared senselessly by that guy's strange abilities. No doubt his murderous aura was terrifying, but that said nothing about his combat power. Also, don't call me by my name in public. Just refer to me as Crown Princess when you see me next time."

"...You not only stopped calling me Royal Brother Lukkas, but you also want me to start calling you 'Crown Princess' instead of your name. What happened to my sweet little sister? Is this the fate of us siblings in line for succession to the throne?"

The Crown Prince had a painful expression on his face as he spoke these words, but the Crown Princess responded coldly.

"Don't talk nonsense in front of me. We both know that we are bound to be enemies in the future."

"...That aside, it doesn't matter if you don't want to listen to my words, but you should've felt his uncanny murderous aura yourself. I don't even know how many people he had killed to amass such a dense murderous aura. He also used an incomprehensible power a while ago, before you arrived. Despite my best efforts, I was powerless and helpless to stop that power, and in the end, I was affected by it. I couldn't move for a while because of that. That was the case despite standing a considerable and safe distance away. That is all I have to say to you… Take care of yourself, Helenia."

Having spoken his mind, he reluctantly left his little sister alone after observing her unchanged expression, which was still full of disdain for him. Whether she heeded his warning or not was up to her. He deeply cared about his little sister, but she seemed to think less and less of him as she grew up.

Most of this was due to the Royal Throne Succession competition. As for the other reason? Due to the influence and unanimous opinion of some members of the aristocratic circle, she had been selected as a favorable candidate in line for the throne. Even though according to tradition, the previous successors were all men, they still chose his little sister to compete for the throne.

This was partly due to him not wanting anything to do with being a king or a ruler. He wanted to pursue other things, such as fighting on the front lines as a soldier and promoting peace with other races without relying on his political background. He hoped to one day convince other races by using his identity as a regular human that carried no burdensome authority, such as a sovereign of humans.

He firmly believed those things were more meaningful than being a political figure and ordering people to do his bidding for him. As such, he was viewed with contempt by the majority of the aristocratic factions for not acting like a proper Crown Prince of the nation.

He was seen as a failure and a disgrace to the Royal Family. Even so, he refused to give up on his goals.

Even if his once lovely little sister hated him, or if the entire world disliked his approach, he would still see it through to the end. Because the current world, which was full of many tragedies brought about by the unending war, was not safe for anyone to live in peacefully. Only when true peace was achieved would he think about anything related to the throne or his identity as Crown Prince.

…

After he left, the Crown Princess's expression finally changed into a deep frown. She thought back to the strange phenomenon she and her entourage experienced on their way to meet Randy. They had been tailing him in the distance since he departed the Coliseum by himself.

"Don't tell me that guy was the one responsible for that phenomenon that halted our movement briefly by freezing our joints and blood circulation?"

The Crown Princess muttered her thoughts out loud with a pondering expression. Then, upon further thinking, she thought that it was not a coincidence that Randy was nearby but not in their line of sight at the time when it happened.

Though she thought that it could also be the machination of someone attempting to harm her, she believed that was impossible as she was still alive. After all, if someone truly wanted to do something to her, they would have already done it then.

However, nothing happened to them despite the sudden attack on them. It was as though they were not the target of the attack. Instead, they just happened to be caught up in the attack as they were close by.

Then, who was the target of the attack? Was it her brother? No, it should be someone else!

Judging from the conversation her brother had with Randy, she could deduce that the two of them hadn't fought each other. Instead, it seemed as though they had only just met. Randy was also the only one they saw when they finally caught up and arrived at the intersection of the alley. There was no trace of her brother or anyone at that point.

'If what my brother said was true, then that guy was fighting someone and the residue attack was what we had been caught up in. In that case, did he kill whoever he was fighting without leaving behind any trace of their corpse? What kind of power could do such a thing?'

The more the Crown Princess thought about it, the more frightened and fearful she became of the possibility that Randy might be someone scary than she thought. She believed that he had a terrifying power that was unheard of in people of his level of strength.

At the same time, her entourage wore a look of shock on their faces. They, too, thought that it was possible for Randy to be the cause of that phenomenon, especially after experiencing his murderous aura up close.

'What a terrifying person! I shouldn't get involved with him anymore!'

The entourage thought to themselves in reflection of their previous careless actions. While they reflected, for once, the Crown Princess also decided to heed her brother's warning.