Reborn as the Third Prince: To Build and Conquer my way to Royalty.-Chapter 48: No hope for equality.

With grace, Sylus leaped down from the small hill and landed safely on the ground.

Once he regained his balance, he began brushing the weeds and dirt from his clothes that he had gathered along the way.

’Having the Adon Vale in the forest at night is so unnecessary. Tsk, I hope Zani can handle herself back there.’

Oh?

Sylus finally looked ahead.

There it was—the sword Sylus was meant to take in order to win the Adon Vale.

It was plunged into the rock and surrounded by multiple lanterns to accentuate its shape and golden color.

But that wasn’t all that caught Sylus’s attention.

Seated on that very rock was his brother, Lucas.

On the ground, near his feet, about three dead soldiers could be seen.

"You know, you didn’t need to kill them. Witness or not, Father wouldn’t have cared less if either of us died tonight," Sylus voiced out.

A small chuckle left Lucas’s mouth, his head still lowered to the ground.

"Is that what you think? Would Father stand idly by and watch his favorite son get murdered? You really have no idea."

Sylus didn’t say anything.

"Can you imagine how it felt when I was born? Hmm? Want to take a guess?"

Lucas now raised his head, though the lack of sufficient light hid his features.

"I was the talk of the family. I, Lucas Von Astrodial, the first son of the royal family with the Chaos Star blessing. Everyone knew I was meant for greatness; my star was far different from Father’s. I could shatter a glass with my thoughts alone, rip fruits with a flick of my finger."

He continued, pulling the blade from the dead soldier’s head.

"Everything was going well for me, even after Erica was born. My mother would always say, ’You are the prince of this nation; you should pave the way for your siblings.’ I alone was meant to carry that obligation.

So, where did it all go wrong? Mother fell into a coma from an unknown cause, and soon after, you were born."

Lucas stood up, playing with the sword as he strode around the place.

"The new star—the one who was born with the rare blessing—the special one. The one Father looked at with so much adoration and expectation. Haha, funny really. For as long as I have known him, I have never seen him look at anything the way he did at you."

"Are you sure you didn’t just misinterpret it?"

Sylus joined in, taking opposite steps away from Lucas.

Lucas chortled, resting the blade on his shoulder as he moved.

"Oh, I am sure, alright. Father constantly rang it in my ears, saying how I should teach you everything you need to know to become king. You? King? I was meant to be that, so why did Father suddenly have so much faith in you being one? It was all because of that damn star of yours. How lucky you are!"

Sylus shrugged. "Is that why you hate me? Tried to kill me? Because your old man didn’t give you as much attention anymore?"

"You were an outsider. A bastard! How could someone like you have inherited the Star of Catalyst? I should have gotten that. I was the first to come into this world, not you!

Do you have any idea how shameful I felt? I had to enter the academy to run away from the likes of you—only for people to walk up to me, telling me how you, the third prince, made a new company for the family."

’Your little brother is amazing. Oh, when are you going to do the same? Isn’t Prince Sylus taking care of everything?!’ How is it my fault that you got the better star?!"

That explained a bit as to why Lucas never showed his face back home ever since he left for the academy.

Being honest with himself, Sylus sort of understood what Lucas was going through.

Was it sad? Yes.

But it’s just how the world works.

No one is truly equal.

Humans would often tell themselves otherwise, as a way to protect their already flimsy egos.

If I work hard enough, I’ll catch up to this person.

If I had more time, I would have done better than him.

There were often times the homeless people around him would say heaven never creates one person above the other.

But is that really true?

While we are all equal at birth, circumstances may differ with time, be it inheriting a star with more potential than another, or perhaps having the best tutors at an early age.

Even then, someone with more talent could seize that away in the blink of an eye, just like that, and nothing could be done.

You could argue that hard work could cover the distance, but then you’d be leaving out the factual detail that even those with natural talents can work just as hard.

Equality fades with time—a fantasy.

To Lucas, Sylus was the luckier one in the family, and just the same, lower nobles saw Lucas as the lucky one in the kingdom.

At the end of the day, aspiring to rise above others is understandable, but developing a disgusting mindset to cope with failure is not.

That is why Lucas could never earn Sylus’s pity, not in a million years.

"Would you have me surrender my star to you because you feel you are more deserving?" Sylus asked.

"Yes." There was no hesitation in Lucas’s voice, "I alone deserve Father’s praise; I deserve the throne. I have worked harder than you, far more than you can ever comprehend."

"Okay, I agree. You may have my star."

Lucas was taken aback by the sudden concession until Sylus continued:

"And in return, you’ll give it to the next person, who worked harder than you but isn’t standing where you are. They deserve it more—they worked harder. So they should have it."

"Don’t screw with me! Why would I—"

"Why would I give my position to anyone? Correct? I’m glad you think that way. That’s exactly my response to you.

Why would I give my star to some like you?"

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