Reborn as the Third Prince: To Build and Conquer my way to Royalty.-Chapter 41: Beginning to the Adon Vale.

"Looks like my dear little brother forgot how to speak," Lucas uttered.

While his face was tranquil, it was clear he was trying to get to Sylus.

Erica, looking left and right, had begun sweating, contemplating whether to step in even though they had barely said anything to one another.

She was quite aware of Lucas and Sylus’s relationship.

Neither one of them could stand the other.

Although she didn’t know why, she knew if they were left alone, chances are they’d most likely kill each other.

Suddenly, Sylus spoke back.

"Pardon me, I was just a bit surprised to see you alive and well. I meant no disrespect."

Lucas glowered, a small grin tugging at the side of his lips.

"I heard you’ve been inventing some things while I was away. How responsible of you..."

"Oh, you heard? Are you sure you didn’t go looking yourself? Wait, were you also planning to be useful to the family? Dear God." Sylus covered his mouth, acting shocked.

This time, Sylus’s comment got to Lucas.

He frowned and smiled at the same time.

"Why would I need to do that? When I will soon become king?"

"I pray and hope you do that."

"I pray and hope you do as well."

"Being nice to me now?"

"You prayed first."

"Brother, you cheeky liar."

Everyone surveyed the scene, their faces pivoting back and forth, a weird look on their faces.

Zani’s fingers fidgeted, as if battling the urge to yank Sylus away from the scene.

Erica, on the other hand, shot Lucas a couple of peeks, clearing her throat to see if he would catch her signs.

It wasn’t new to see Lucas and Sylus arguing like children.

But that didn’t make it any less worrisome.

Tugging his arms, Lucas uttered,

"The Adon Vale will begin once I have spoken to Father. I really do hope you are ready, Sylus. I don’t care about your age; I will not be holding back."

Typical—Lucas had been looking forward to this moment, just as Sylus had.

When looking at it from a different perspective, he had the most chance of winning the second trial of the Adon Vale.

That said, Sylus was far more confident in his skills.

"You don’t have to worry about me; I can handle myself quite well."

After glaring at him for a while, Lucas sighed and then, with one final word,

"You don’t deserve the throne."

He walked away.

Leaving Sylus standing there, unbothered by his comment.

’I expected nothing less from you. You keep giving me a reason not to pity you.’

Meanwhile, relief had washed over Zani’s face.

"I really thought you were going to fight with the first prince," she uttered with one hand on her chest.

"Eh?" Sylus turned to look at her. "What made you think that?"

Erica chimed in,

"Well, this is the longest you two have spoken with each other; most times it usually ends with the guards separating both of you when it ends in a fight."

Not that she was lying.

There had been several scenarios where Sylus had defended himself from his brother’s murder attempts, and it had led to them physically clashing.

He never told anyone, so everyone just viewed it as two brothers fighting because they didn’t like each other.

Scratching the back of his head, Sylus muttered,

"Have a bit of faith, will you? That happened years back; we are more mature now."

Silence slipped in for a while.

And then Erica asked, her head facing the ground as if to hide her sadness,

"Brother..." she called out, "Are you going to kill each other? In the trial?"

Oh. This was what she was worried about.

The second trial of the Adon Vale was set to make the winner decide for themselves which territory they wanted to rule over.

Those who lose would be given a random place, regardless of the condition.

The thing is, the second trial was combat-based.

Meaning the chances of he and Lucas going into battle were very high—which also meant they could go all out without having to worry about not killing each other.

In truth, if they were to die in the Adon Vale, Martin would only view them as disappointments—nothing less, nothing more.

Erica must have read about it if she was this worried.

She was likely trying to be in a neutral zone, attempting to make sure both Sylus and Lucas don’t get harmed, even though she will also be in the Adon Vale.

Sylus thought about petting her head to calm her down like he always did to Zani; then again, this was Erica.

So instead, he placed one hand on his waist and replied,

"I don’t plan on murdering my own brother. I may not like him, but him being dead will ruin all the work I had to put in for years."

Erica was relieved to hear that, but at the same time, she had questions.

"Work? What do you mean?"

"..."

Sylus took the option to walk away, not intending to answer her question.

"S-Sylus—?"

All she could do was watch as he walked away, while Zani, following behind him, gave a bleak look.

....

It was evening.

Lucas had already spoken to his father and Elizabeth, which meant the Adon Vale could proceed as normal.

Martin did give the option for Lucas to rest for a few days since he had only just arrived at the castle.

According to Lucas—

"I don’t have any time to waste, Father; let’s get it over with."

Sylus had the same opinion as well.

Taking both his sons’ choices into consideration, Martin agreed for the Adon Vale to carry on.

The location was the Forest of RAK.

A large forest positioned beyond the city wall, it was expansive in size, almost as big as a fully grown city. It was ambiently silent as well, only giving way to the harmonious waterfall that echoed like thunderous claps.

The trees were massive in both shape and height, making the entire place look as though the sun was never out. And since it was evening, it looked even worse.

This was a place where it was stated over 500,000 witches died during the war; as such, their mana cursed the land, giving birth to monsters that took over the entire place.

Some also considered it an open dungeon, since adventurers would often enter the forest to hunt for these monsters and sell their cores to the guilds.

But of all things, the Forest of RAK was used as the second trial for the Adon Vale.

All around the forest were knights and spies, acting as surveillance to monitor the participants in case they were ever to do something that worked against the rules.

At the very front, up on the hill, Martin, Alfred, and Elizabeth stood, watching the event that was about to take place.

Behind them were numerous soldiers and a priestess.

From where they stood, they could see the forest.

But they were not just there for the scenery.

As the trial was thought to go, they were the finish line.

This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶