Reborn as the Third Prince: To Build and Conquer my way to Royalty.-Chapter 45: A sister’s assist.

"There you are, sister."

Erica continued to wave, a smile on her face, as she spoke from directly beneath the lantern, shedding light on her.

"I knew you’d take the west side of the forest. You sure do have a thing for risks."

As she spoke, the first thing Sylus noticed was the blue fan Erica was holding in her other hand.

Of course, he knew what that was; he just didn’t expect her to actually use it.

’So she’s planning to use her Blazer against me?’

Only the Astrodial family could make Blazer awakenings look like a walk in the park.

Erica awakened hers only a few months after Zani did.

Amongst all of them, only Sylus stood without one.

"How many monsters did you manage to kill? There were dead bodies just lined up on my way here." Erica kept a sinister smile on her face as she spoke.

Still keeping his hand inside his pocket, Sylus replied.

"What? You didn’t run into monsters of your own? Could it be that you’re here because you’re too scared of the dark? Eh?"

He covered his mouth teasingly.

"If I say yes, will you hug me?"

"Over my dead body."

Erica pouted. "Fair enough." Then she looked to the side, her expression dwindling drastically. "Brother is waiting for you at the heart of the forest. He wants only you there, and no one else."

"Whoo~ He wants a one-on-one, and here I thought he was going to get the jump on me."

"Apparently so. Doesn’t look like you’re planning to back down, either."

Sylus shrugged jokingly. "Oh, I have no problem avoiding combat altogether; just let me get the sword, and I’ll be out of there."

Erica sighed in response.

"Honestly, why did I have to grow up with two brothers anyway? This is such a pain." Her expression was a bit upset and flustered at the same time. "If I help you, will that be enough for you to win?"

Oh? She’s not here to fight him?

Sylus was sure Lucas sent Erica here to have her battle with Zani so he and Sylus could have their expected duel.

Even Zani was suspicious, constantly glancing around in case there was any incoming attack.

"Help me how?"

Erica replied, "What I’m saying is, Gilgath and I won’t get involved in your fight. Brother had his Mystero waiting to ambush Zani in the forest; if I were unable to stop her, I was to call for him, and he would step in."

"Ambush me?" Zani raised a brow.

"Instead of that, I’ll have Gilgath go with Zani so they can both battle the Mystero. Fair?"

Sylus wasn’t fully sure he trusted her words.

For all he knew, this might just be a trap.

"You realize if you do this, you’ll end up on Lucas’s bad side."

"I’m aware. Is it strange that I want you to win instead?"

Sylus scowled for a while, unsure of whether he should believe her or not.

Judging from what she said, it meant she had already spoken with Lucas before coming here, and they came up with the plan to have Terrance stay hidden in the forest to battle Zani as backup.

A thief who steals for a living will surely steal from you when given the opportunity.

Could he perhaps be jumping to conclusions?

Suddenly, he requested,

"Did you tell Lucas you weren’t supporting him, or are you doing this behind his back?"

At first, Erica darted at Sylus as though he had said something off-topic, and then later on, she smiled teasingly, her hand cupping her cheeks.

"Are you going to hug me if I answer?"

"Yes."

Caught off guard by his answer, Erica took a second to find herself, excitement hanging at her side.

"Yes, I did. I told him how I wish you two would get along. To tell you the truth, I intended to support him at the start. I never wanted you to participate in this stupid trial to begin with. I figured I’d get Brother to the sword; that way, no one gets hurt."

Erica grabbed her arm, the cold settling in. "But after he told me he wanted to kill you, I—I couldn’t stand the thought of it. He’s my brother as well, so I couldn’t hate him enough to fight him either."

She didn’t need to go further; Sylus already understood what she meant.

The fact that she wasn’t crossing anyone already changed the circumstances by a lot.

"You made the right choice."

Erica’s eyes widened, almost sparkling.

"There is no reason for you to get your hands dirty because of us. This is our battle, and we will handle it as we should. So you just root for the best winner, I guess."

"For the best winner? Hahah, that’s a weird thing to say."

Erica giggled.

Right, there was no reason for Erica to get entangled in it.

This is a battle between brothers—nothing more, nothing less.

Sylus glanced back at Zani. "What do you think? Does the plan work for you?"

There was a hint of discontentment on her face when she replied.

"I don’t think staying away from you is a good idea."

"There you go again, being a worrywart. I’ll be fine. Or perhaps you think I can’t win this fight?"

"Not true. I know very few people who are stronger than you. Prince Lucas is not one of them."

For a second there, Sylus almost burst out laughing.

If he hadn’t covered his mouth when he did, his laugh would have echoed throughout the forest.

"You’re right. No use arguing about it."

Now, he turned to look at Erica.

"I’ll be going now; try not to get yourself killed leaving this side of the forest. Monsters are all around the place."

Waving her hand, Erica replied, "I know, I know. Gilgath will protect me; you need not worry."

Taking a look at Gilgath, Sylus caught him nodding his head.

’I hope so?’

"All right then, stay safe."

With that, Sylus pushed further into the forest, Zani following beside him.

As soon as he was gone, Erica lay flat on the ground after making a loud, relieved grunt.

"Ahh~ the things I do for him," she blurted out.

Gilgath looked toward her.

"Are you sure about this, my lady? Don’t you think telling him Prince Lucas tried to kill you as well would have better prepared him?"

Unexpectedly, Erica only told Sylus half of the story.

The truth was, Erica was close to getting killed after she confronted Lucas for wanting to kill Sylus.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t assertive enough to battle him and win, despite using her blazers; as such, she went with another strategy, which was to help Sylus succeed in the trial.

She lowered the fan to the ground as she responded.

"If I do that..." Erica gazed at the night sky. "Then Sylus will kill him. He loves me that much."

"... " Gilgath glanced away. "Of course."

"You agree...?"

"Yes, my lady."

"Heheh~wait, I never got my hug. Typical Sylus."

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