That day, it was the high priest who had come to find him on his own initiative. He had even spoken with absolute certainty, saying that a dangerous person was lurking by the side of the princess of light. So the crown prince did not think twice before rushing to Lily's bedchamber. And just as the high priest had predicted, the moment he entered, he saw a man wrapped all over in a black robe chanting an attack spell.
At that critical moment, the crown prince instinctively stepped in front of his younger sister. The sharp blade of light pierced straight through his waist and abdomen. But even so, he was still raising a magical barrier for Lily. Later, that man fled toward the little princess's side palace, and he pursued him all the way to this area. Unfortunately, he failed to catch the assassin and instead fainted himself from excessive blood loss.
Thinking of this, the crown prince's heart ached sharply once again. He could be injured and bleed for Lily, yet he had left the little princess, who had taken care of him all night, behind on the spot. He clearly had two younger sisters, but because of his own favoritism, he had personally lost one of them. The crown prince's hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
In fact, he had long since placed little Lodi in a position just as important as Lily. But because of that damned bit of pride, he kept hurting the girl's feelings again and again. The man painfully grabbed his own hair. He did not dare think about those details from the past. But everything before his eyes was rudely reminding him just how much of a failure he had been as an older brother.
The crown prince deceived himself by thinking that if he had reached out his hand that day, even just once, perhaps his sister would not have left in disappointment. Perhaps she would have forgiven him. It wasn't that he had not seen the tattered clothes on his sister. It wasn't that he had not seen her face covered in tears. He had merely pretended not to see.
The man's nails dug deeply into his flesh. But this bit of pain was nothing compared with the pain in his heart. That child had gone hungry while taking care of him all night. Yet all he had given his sister was charity. He had even forbidden the girl from calling him brother. Call me crown prince. Yet that child still carefully held on to the few old clothes they had given her.
The crown prince could no longer tell whether what he felt at this moment was heartbreak or despair. He silently turned around. Now the only hope left was to find the magic book as soon as possible. Even if his sister still refused to forgive him after returning, he would definitely bring her back.
Meanwhile, the crown prince was still searching the world over for his sister. And in a distant Eastern kingdom, the little princess had already begun a sweet life with her new older brother. Riven gave little Lodi a magical garden blooming with lilies of the valley. The shy little flowers drooped their heads, as if softly telling the little princess in the language of flowers that she must be happy.
It was just that this familiar scene was far too similar, and in an instant it made the girl's nose sting with tears. More than once, she had envied the lily garden Lily had. She had also fantasized countless times that her brothers could give her one, too. Unfortunately, dreams were dreams after all, and they still shattered. So it turned out that it was not that she was unworthy of having one. It was simply that her family had never loved her.
She subconsciously touched the hairpin by her ear. But to her surprise, this gift, which was extremely important to her, was gone. The girl hurriedly looked around for it, but Riven gently patted her shoulder. He comforted the little princess and told her to eat something first. Then he took out the sandwiches he had prepared in advance from the basket.
During this period, the young man had already figured out the girl's tastes, and he was also very willing to take care of the little princess's daily life like a personal butler. Come to think of it, if his younger sister were still alive now, she would be about the same age as the girl. The young man's eyes as he looked at little Lodi were full of remembrance.
Just then, the little princess suddenly spoke. She asked curiously whether Riven's hands could be freed. Seeing how inconvenient it was for her brother to move, the girl really wanted to use magic to help him. Compared with the crown prince's cold words, this new older brother had never once despised her ominous black hair. He even protected her gently like a knight.
So in just a few short days, Riven's place in little Lodi's heart had already far surpassed that of those two heartless brothers. Because of this, the girl truly wanted to do something for the young man from the bottom of her heart. She touched her brother's wrist with concern. The rough shackles had long since rubbed that place raw with wounds.
If only she could help her brother. Thinking of this, the little princess suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Maybe the book contained magic to open the shackles. And she also wanted to use this opportunity to try the spell to go home one more time. So the little princess gently tugged at her brother's sleeve. With an obedient look on her face, she said she was going to look in the book for a way to unlock them.
But before she could turn around, Riven had already grabbed her wrist. A trace of slyness flashed in the young man's eyes. The little princess instantly felt as if her thoughts had been seen through. Yet before she could run away, Riven behind her had already spoken with a smile.
"You're not trying to fool me, are you?"
Hearing this, the girl stammered and shook her head. But the young man had already smiled until his eyes curved. Only then did the little princess realize that she had been teased. But joking aside, Riven once again seriously emphasized the importance of rest. Overusing magic was no different from overdrawing one's life. He could understand the girl's desire to go home, but there was no way he would hand over that magic book.
After saying that, the young man even blinked innocently. That irritating look of his made the little princess quite angry. Seeing the girl's lively expression, Riven also revealed a gratified smile. This child was already much livelier than when she had first arrived. It seemed that his efforts had not been in vain. The next second, the young man raised his hand and ruffled his younger sister's long hair.
Then he helplessly said that for the time being he did not want to remove the handcuffs, because if he did, some people would be afraid. He casually curled the corner of his mouth. Anyway, to him, wearing shackles for a lifetime was not impossible.
Riven said it lightly, but the little princess's heart suddenly clenched tight, and she loudly told Riven that he could not. He could not hide away and live like that. She knew what kind of despair it was to be feared by everyone. So she could not let her brother continue sinking into the mire. After spending these days together, she had already regarded Riven as her most important family. That was why she could not bear to see the young man tortured by the shackles.
The little princess looked at him with heartache. Her wet eyes looked as if she would cry the next second. This time it was Riven who was at a loss instead. He could only compromise and promise his younger sister that he would definitely not hide away and live. And sooner or later, his handcuffs would be removed. Only after hearing this did the little princess finally feel completely relieved.