Reborn as the Third Prince: To Build and Conquer my way to Royalty.-Chapter 40: Unwanted guest

Lucas Von Astrodial, the eldest son of the Astrodial family.

Because of his origin—not only as the first son but also as the son of the first queen—I always rooted for him to take the throne.

When describing Lucas, words like "nice" and "hardworking" are often used regularly.

This was because, growing up, Lucas made sure to build a good reputation with the people in power:

The five great commanders, ruling different factions of Verdenez’s military power.

Members of the royal table, consisting of the six great dukes and other political power figures within the king’s court.

Even some of the foreign nobles from faraway kingdoms.

Lucas Von Astrodial had built a reputation with all of them.

At this point, it was as though he were already king.

Sylus was not the same—not in the very least.

He was viewed as a bastard, the child of the second queen who came to steal the spotlight.

In this world, it wasn’t rare for kings or people in power to marry multiple wives; in fact, it was seen as a show of power.

So why did so many people hate Queen Elizabeth for marrying the king?

That was a question Sylus never got the answer to.

Considering Martin banned anyone from ever mentioning his first wife, the question was a bit difficult to bring up out of the blue.

But from the deep research he did, he was able to get a few stories on the first queen.

Her name was Layla Astrodial.

Apparently, she was the daughter of a noble family that descended from a long line of influential merchants.

She was said to be smart and beautiful—so beautiful that no one in the entire kingdom could measure up to her.

How beautiful can one person be?

Because of her attractiveness, she was able to make people like her right off the bat, without having to do anything.

This made her the most loved person in the kingdom, alongside her Mystero, Elizabeth.

Something led to another, and people began to realize the king was pulling away from the queen.

They were barely shown in public together anymore, and even more strangely, people claimed to have seen Layla walking in the middle of the night, screaming someone’s name.

Guards would be seen hurling her back to the castle as she cried out,

"Let **** into my world; I want him in."

The locals claimed Elizabeth drugged Layla in order to get with the king, saying it was all part of her plan.

Rumors spread even more when Elizabeth got married to the king.

With those rumors came hatred as well.

Sylus was soon well aware of his situation, and while people may have liked him, there were some who despised his existence as a whole.

So much so that a cult was formed solely to destroy every product he had ever made.

In the end, Sylus’s support for the throne was far more delicate.

...

Completing his daily morning reading, Sylus made his way out of the library, only to find Zani waiting at the entrance, holding a cup of water.

"How long have you been standing there?" Sylus asked as he closed the door.

Zani extended the cup of water toward him.

"I didn’t want to disturb your studying, and I knew you must have been feeling thirsty as well."

A bad habit he’d developed over the years was that he tended to forget to do other things when he was deep into studying.

As he looked at the water, Sylus felt the dryness creep into his throat in an instant.

Acting quickly, he grabbed the cup from her.

"Thank you."

And then he started chugging it down.

Something about the scene made Zani smile, her hand still stretched out to take the cup once he was done.

Pulling the cup away from his lips, the water settled into his throat, and while he was dehydrated, he didn’t really feel refreshed.

Sylus handed the cup back to her.

"This would’ve been better cold."

"My apologies. The spring water was warm this morning."

"Hasn’t it been warm for the past week or so?"

"Yes, it has. Perhaps it’s due to the weather—it’s barely rained."

Sylus shook his head as he began to walk away.

"What we need is a refrigerator."

"Another invention, my lord?"

Sylus didn’t respond, as he wasn’t planning to build anything for the kingdom—at least not now.

Any new ideas he had would be used in his own territory; his father could handle his kingdom by himself.

"Just a thought."

He said with a smile, trying to find a way to tease Zani.

However, fate had other plans for him.

The moment he turned the corner of the hallway, he was shocked to see who he had run into.

On the left side was Erica, her face lit with joy and happiness, alongside her Mystero.

And opposite her was the one person he considered his true enemy—Lucas.

At first, he thought he was looking at someone else. Then he took a closer look.

Those dark, hollow eyes—void of warmth and matching the shade of his jet-black hair—could only belong to one person.

His brother.

His demon of a brother.

Sylus clenched his fist.

Lucas stood there in sharp military attire, the rich brown fabric tailored to perfection, hinting at both authority and privilege. The uniform clung to him with a rigid elegance, emphasizing his commanding presence. Atop his head sat a regulation cap, tilted just enough to allow stray strands of inky hair to fall across his forehead, softening nothing about the cold, calculating look in his eyes.

This was what he turned into after leaving the castle for so many years?

Time sure goes fast.

He looked even hideous now.

They both stared at each other, as though neither of them wanted to say anything.

The silence was awkward, making even Erica uneasy, as she could not tell what she was supposed to do.

Finally, Lucas spoke, his voice chilling and cold...

"It seems my little brother has forgotten how to speak."

This chapter is updat𝙚d by f(r)eew𝒆bn(o)vel.com