Chapter 36: Good Intentions, Poor Decisions


    The man with pale green hair smashed his fist onto the sturdy wooden table, sending splinters flying as his fist bled, but he seemed too lost in his rage to care.


    "AAHH! Why! Why!!!"


    Almost everything in the room was already in tatters as he had stormed through it in a rage.


    "My hard work for all these years, gone just like that?! AHHHH!"


    ise clutched his head tightly, almost pulling out several tufts of hair as he screamed in frustration.


    His eyes were terrifyingly red, but they were not the eyes of a man in despair. They were the eyes of a wounded predator.


    "That bastard definitely yed me like a fiddle. He knew the royal family was protecting them but let me believe otherwise. But guess what, you fucking piece of shit, I''m not dead yet!"


    The green haired man took several deep breaths to calm himself down. He knew he couldn''t stay here for long.


    "Since I''ve already stepped on the royal family''s toes, I need to get out of the empire before it''s toote. As for that bastard leader of the justice envoys ahahaha. he thinks just because all my men are dead, he can rule over the streets of Moreen city alone?"


    The smile on his face was cold enough to send shivers down anyone''s spine.


    "As for where to go"


    ----------


    In the Knox family''s first lord''s mansion, a young boy in a brown three-piece suit was stomping his feet in anger.


    "It''s definitely her fault! They attacked us because of that pink witch, or else why did it have to be today?"


    "Shut the hell up, Tristan! Why can''t you learn how to control your tongue?!"


    The boy turned around in shock. "Even you, mom?!"


    Nadina sighed. "What do you think will happen if your dad heard? Besides, now that she has the third princess backing her up, you should be even more careful not to show your dislike."


    Tristan''s eyes were red with anger. "Why? WHY! You clearly hate her too, but now you want me to keep quiet."


    Unlike Evelyn''s mother Isabe, Nadina''s face was already starting to show signs of wrinkles. She never seemed to be able to put the worry of her son''s future out of her mind.


    "You''re not a baby anymore, Tristan. Adults don''t throw tantrums and show hatred on their face. If you hate her, you should make her suffer. But it has to be in a way that doesn''te back to bite you yourself, don''t you understand this much yet?"


    The young boy looked wronged.


    "B-But mom, what can I even do? She''s stronger than me because of that stupid egg, and even when I tried to rile the other ancient family children against her like you said, it didn''t hurt her at all!"


    Nadina sighed. She still remembered the day when her son hade crying to her,ining about being beaten up by that pink bitch daughter of Isabe. But even if she knew, what could she do?


    Not to mention the patriarch, even her husband seemed to favor that slut''s daughter more than their own son. The poor boy had no one but herself to look out for him, and she could only teach him all she knew before it was toote.


    "Don''t be stupid, Tristan. Some things take time to happen. The seeds you sow today, may sprout many yearster. Besides, the reason it didn''t work is mainly because she got lucky and passed the test. If she had failed, it would have been much easier to band them all together against her."


    Tristan gritted his teeth as he remembered his humiliation at the celebration. If not for Ryan, maybe he really would have to run away in shame.


    "It''s all because of that slut!"


    Nadina sighed. "Again with that attitude. Didn''t I say you should specially make a good impression on the Fulbright family''s daughter? They''re the strongest of what remains of the ancient families. If she ends up marrying you in the future, it won''t matter if you never got the chance to have a spirit physique."


    "B-But she mocked me! I tried to get close, but she just kept favoring the pink bitch!"


    Nadina''s mouth twitched as she tried to keep the irritation from showing on her face.


    "Did you badmouth her right from the start?"


    Tristan''s voice became meeker. "N-No, I talked about the Knox family and Moreen city like you said, I swear, mom."


    Whether he was telling the truth or not, Nadina could only trust her son.


    "Un. You should always take care of your first impression."


    "T-Then"


    His mother nodded.


    "It''s not your fault that Cecilia ended up sticking to that bitch. She''s probably the type of conceited brat who thinks no one else deserves her attention unless they are of an equal standing. Stupid bitch probably thinks it''s a waste of time talking to anyone who hasn''t seeded in the first ceremony."


    Tristan shook his fist in anger. "That''s so unfair! What about those who never even got the chance?"


    His mother smiled. "If you think it''s unfair, then do something to change it."


    The young boy pointed at himself in disbelief. "M-Me?"


    "That''s right. I''m tired of always thinking my child will always be behind because he didn''t get the right start, but I realized something today."


    Tristan didn''t think he could do much at all, however. Didn''t everything he try so far always fail in the end? Even he was starting to feel that maybe it was pointless, after all.


    "Mom?"


    "I realized that the talent of that little bitch didn''t matter at all in face of a strong enough force. If the third princess wanted to squash her to death, wouldn''t it be easy?"


    "B-But didn''t you say the third princess favors her?"


    Nadina smiled. "That is so. But she''s just the third princess. Aren''t all the royal family''s children going to the academy at one point or another? Make the right friends, Tristan. Be smart, and her strength and talent will be useless in front of your intelligence."


    Tristan seemed to brighten up instantly as he realized things may not be so hopeless after all. Didn''t he make friends with Ryan today? Even if he wasn''t as good as Cecilia, he wasn''t much worse.


    In fact, if the difference in age was disregarded, he was probably a little stronger.


    And in terms of family backing, even if the Reynolds family was worse than Fulbright, wasn''t it still much better off than the Knox?


    In the end, his enemy was Evelyn, not Cecilia. He felt that just this single rtionship alone would put him in a superior position.


    "As long as I can keep doing better than her like today, I''ll definitely show everyone how I''m better!"


    ----------


    Evelyn was relieved that the threat was so easily dealt with thanks to the timely arrival of her newfound puppet.


    Under ideal circumstances, she would definitely leash the third princess and all the forces she couldmand directly under herself, but she knew that would be a self-defeating move.


    As long as someone noticed that the third princess wasn''t quite ''right'', it may not take long for a major crisis to descend on both herself and her family.


    The longer that the third princess stayed with them now, the more likely it was that something could go wrong. So she clearly conveyed her intention through their ''link''.


    The Lavinian Princess clearly looked reluctant while leaving, and if the ''Royal Guardian'' wasn''t preupied with dreading his uing flogging, he would definitely be suspicious.


    Of course, his suspicions were harmless. Regardless of his strength, he was just a disposable pawn of the royal family, with no right to question someone like the third princess.


    But that didn''t rule out the possibility of him making it known to someone much higher up.


    So it was better to minimize such risk.


    Isabe looked a little lost as the royal carriage left and the elders got busy trying to restore the security of the mansion now that one of the walls had a huge hole.


    The young mother sighed wistfully.


    "To think I was hating them so much just earlier, and they end up saving our lives now."


    Evelyn frowned.


    "Let''s go back first, mom, there is something I have to tell you."


    ----------


    "What?! So the third princess she''s under some kind of charm?!"


    Evelyn didn''t exin everything to her mother in detail. It was enough for her to know that Bree had ended up injuring herself, and that the princess was no longer a threat.


    "Yeah"


    "But to think Bree would do something so stupid! What if something went wrong?"


    Evelyn sighed.


    "I think she was too emotional from the carriage almost running the two of us over, and when the princess started bullying me again, she just snapped. More importantly, you really don''t know of anything that can help?"


    The young mother sighed. "I wish I did she never tells me anything just ''Don''t worry'' this, ''I''ll take care of it'' that, ugh."


    Evelyn frowned as she realized she would have to figure out a solution on her own. Of course, she couldn''t say that to her mother. It would only make things worse.


    It was better for her to believe everything will be alright, given some time. Even if Evelyn wasn''t so sure herself.


    "I see Don''t worry, mom, I''m sure she''ll be fine after a while, okay?"


    Isabe''s eyes were slightly wet. "Ugh this stupid puppy!"


    The golden puppy in Evelyn''s arms whimpered pitifully, as if wondering why it was being scolded.


    The pink haired girl smiled and rubbed the golden puppy behind its ears, and the little thing quickly forgot all about its grievances and started to growl in joy.


    "Well, what''s done is done. Let''s just take care of her like this until she recovers."