The boy could only lower his head, not daring to answer. It was not that he did not want to admit it, but the moment he admitted it, his father would bear the charge of treason. Yet in the end, Riven had still underestimated the ugliness of human nature. Before he could even react, the emperor's blade had already viciously stabbed into his father's body.
"Father!"
And at the same time, painful screams also came from where his mother and younger brother were. Hearing his family's flesh being torn apart little by little, their bones being broken inch by inch, Riven could no longer endure such torment. In despair, he recited the spell. The next second, a terrifying magic array shrouded everyone's heads like a descending evil spectre. Yet at this critical moment, his dying father suddenly grabbed his son's sleeve. Using the very last of his strength, he stopped Riven's attack.
She was the true princess, gentle and kind. Yet because of her black hair, she was bullied by the arrogant and manipulative fake imperial princess, wearing the shabbiest dress. When they first met, Riven even mistook little Lodi for a balloon that had accidentally drifted into the forbidden area. But only later did he learn that the one he had picked up was actually the little princess of an enemy country, and she, just like him, possessed world-shocking magical talent.
Looking at the girl's eyes full of longing for knowledge, Riven seemed to see his former self from those years. Equally gifted beyond compare. Equally spirited and high-spirited. And likewise so innocent that it made one's heart ache. This made Riven subconsciously treat little Lodi as his own younger sister. He placed all the guilt he had carried for his family over these years onto the little princess. But even so, he still could not forgive the person he had once been. If back then he had hardened his heart and killed that shameless emperor, would his family perhaps not have died so miserably in agony?
But in this world, there is ultimately no medicine for regret. Under his father's restraint, Riven gave up the attack, but his mercy was rewarded only with the emperor's ever more excessive cruelty. In the end, kindness still lost to vicious malice. Watching his loved ones fall one by one into pools of blood, tears covered the boy's cheeks. But no matter how hoarsely he cried out his apologies, those departed family members could never hear him again.
Yet all of this was still not the end. After committing every possible evil deed, the despicable royal family even framed the duke's death on Riven. Overnight, that spirited young boy lost everything. He also went from being Fulman's ace, praised by everyone, to becoming a madman reviled by all. The feeling of falling from heaven into hell was nothing more than this.
Riven, not yet even twelve years old, was forced to wear shackles weighing hundreds of pounds. He was imprisoned in a pitch-dark basement with no light of day. And this imprisonment lasted for a full three years. Every single day and night of those three years, he tossed and turned in sleepless, guilt-ridden nightmares, until he met little Lodi. This innocent and kind girl stumbled by chance into his life. Like a warm little sun, she slowly, little by little, soothed the scars in his heart.
Riven truly treated the little princess as his own younger sister. So how could he bear to let the one he treasured most leave his side? But since the girl had a reason she had to go back, then this time he would be the one to go find her. The young man gently curled his lips into a smile. They would definitely meet again.
Meanwhile, the little princess had almost finished resting as well. She once again recited the spell to return home. The surging airflow instantly rose and churned from beneath her feet. The next second, the girl was teleported to another place. She wearily looked around, but did not see Lowina anywhere. Instead, a strange white-haired man slowly sat up on the bed.
The little princess had recited that spell: as long as at that very moment someone was thinking of her, she would be able to teleport to that person's side. But the girl never expected that she would be teleported to such a place. The magnificent decorations revealed the noble status of the room's owner. The little princess's heart rose to her throat as well.
She mistakenly thought her magic had failed again, so she prepared to quietly slip away before the owner of the room woke up. But the person on the bed suddenly sat up. He pleaded painfully for the girl not to leave. Those affectionate eyes seemed to be looking at someone else through her.
The little princess froze on the spot. That familiar white hair and those green eyes. Even though the two had never met, she knew the person on the bed was her father. In an instant, all her grievances welled up in her chest. She never expected that the person who missed her most would actually be the father who had always ignored her.
But what the emperor said next was like a bucket of cold water poured over the little princess's heart. The name the man called was her mother's. So it turned out to be nothing more than her own ridiculous wishful thinking. It seemed that her parents must have loved each other deeply back then. So her father must hate her, the one who had caused her mother's death.
She only wanted to escape from the man's side as quickly as possible. In panic, she avoided her father's touch. Using the little magic she had left, she once again recited the teleportation spell. The emperor instinctively drew his sword. The little princess trembled all over in fright. She practically leaped into the spatial rift in a blind panic. Fortunately, this time she was finally teleported to her destination.
Meanwhile, the crown prince also sensed the unusual fluctuation of magic. That familiar feeling made him certain that his sister had returned. He could not suppress the trembling of his hands. But in his heart, his emotions became even more tangled and complicated. At this moment, he had no idea how to face the younger sister he had wronged for ten years.
Was he supposed to admit that he was just a sensitive and selfish bastard, and that for the sake of an absurd prophecy he had hurt the person who cared about him the most? And after doing so many wrong things, was he still to shamelessly tell his sister that he actually loved her? How could he possibly say such words out loud?