Two-Faced Princess

“In a sense, that’s true. The royal daughter knew him as if she had looked into his palm.”

“Hmm…”

Apollonia was lost in thought.

The more she heard about the prisoner, the more strange she became.

It was a pity that she was chained and confined.

Apollonia decided to ask one more important question.

“So, what does Paris plan to do with her?”

Caelion shrugged.

“I didn’t assume that far.”

The answer came out sooner than she thought.

“No matter how far Paris is, isn’t it too much?”

Three people had gathered together in the Star Palace’s secret room for the first time in a long time.

Caelion, Uriel, and Apollonia were discussing Evangeline’s situation while drinking fruit tea containing Uriel’s favorite ice.

Although Caelion, who didn’t like cold drinks, grumbled about it a few times.

“That’s the way he is.” Leaning against the sofa, Caelion spoke without hiding his hatred. “Paris did a similar thing with prisoners from other defeated countries.”

Uriel also nodded but his face did not show much emotion.

He must have seen this kind of work since his childhood.

They recited Paris’ message among the soldiers.

“For the Knights’ Swordsmanship Competition, the prize would be Rajan Kingdom’s third princess.”

That’s probably the best punishment he can think of. He’s not very smart, but he’s good at bullying others.”

“What is the prince’s reputation among the knights and soldiers?”

“It’s split up. I hate those who persistently follow Paris, but many soldiers thanked him for it.” Caelion explained.

“Thankful?”

“The war ended quickly without casualties and the enemies surrendered eventually. However, everyone was reluctant because that woman is a witch.”

“That’s understandable. Paris fought an unnecessary battle to feed his ego just to get the title of the ‘God of the battlefield’. How childish of him to demand he be called as the ‘lion with a sword’. The war also happened due to father’s excessive demands for tribute.”

“It might be good if someone who doesn’t hate the princess wins her, but——”

“It’s not going to happen.”

Uriel, who was quiet, interrupted Caelion.

“Why do you think so?”

Apollonia also thought that Uriel’s conclusion was correct.

He was rarely wrong when he was sure of something.

“The purpose of this competition is to humiliate the princess.”

Clear-headed men would never participate and even if they did, they would just roughly finish their turn.

“The rest of the participants will be people like Gareth Ripper, who have a dark heart for princesses, or those people who wanted to look good in front of the Crown Prince.”

Caelion thought for a moment and nodded.

“Uriel is right.”

“That’s what Paris wants, right?” Apollonia asked with a frown. “Give the royal daughter to the most vicious knight.”

She felt responsible for all this because Caelion and Uriel had brought Evangeline according to her command.

Of course, what was more important than compassion and morals was to snatch her from Paris’ hands and convince her to cooperate with her.

“I heard something different, though.” Uriel said. “Today, I heard from one of Paris’ close aides that he is going to take part in the competition.”

“The person who planned to give the prize himself wanted to claim the same prize, too?”

“Yes. If someone else wins, she would be free of him. But of course, Paris thinks no one else would win against him. Something like that.”

In Apollonia’s mind, her hatred of Paris grew a bit.

“He wanted to watch her struggle to escape from his clutches.”

“Yes.”

“And as far as I know, Paris——”

Apollonia realized something and smirked.

She knew best about what was in her stepbrother’s head.

He was not a man who forgot defeat and it was worth knowing that he hated Caelion and Uriel until now for defeating him in the hunting competition championship.

“He wants to participate in the competition himself, right?”

Uriel and Caelion paused to ponder her words.

Soon, Caelion slowly opened his mouth.

“He wanted to get rid of his shame for losing against this Rajan princess. Sister is right.”

“He would release the game he just caught, and then catch it again after giving it a bit of hope. Paris enjoyed playing this since childhood.”

Paris couldn’t end Evangeline’s suffering with just one tournament.

He would hold a contest, raise his reputation, and try to persecute her slowly with his own hands again.

“If the competition goes well, it will be easy to reacquire Evangeline as the prize.”

Uriel glanced at Caelion and said. “What if Caelion wins the competition?”

He wasn’t just going to win by himself.

In order for Caelion to make a name for himself in the entire empire, Uriel would be playing the role of his shadow to make him stand out even more.