37 True Lionel is Here (1/2)
”The heavens have eyes! They have not abandoned my family!”
The Emperor stood up and roared with laughter. James and Peter, Lionel's two older brothers, had wry smiles on their faces, while Lionel's face was deathly pale. The third test had ended, and the results had been spectacular.
Darius had once again single-handedly dealt with a spirit in a most spectacular fashion. The Emperor had a smug grin as he returned to his seat.
”Lionel, my son, accept your fate! Haha!” The Emperor's laughter was like the sound of death creeping closer and closer for Lionel.
'My life of luxury! Gone!'
Lionel did the best he could to prevent himself from wailing in misery, lest he lost even more face. Rarely did his plans end up blowing up in his face especially in such a spectacular fashion. Thanks to Darius's efforts, he was now in the running for Emperor directly in competition with his sister. His sister was still the favorite by a long shot, but this result forced him to act the part of a prince.
Gone were the days he could fool about. Gone were the nights he could disappear where and when he pleased. Gone were the days he could come up with random excuses for skipping training…
As Lara and Lionel were twins, their talents were not far apart. In fact, Lionel knew quite well that he could best his sister in terms of talent for battle, even at that very moment despite his consistent skipping of practice. He just did not want it to be revealed. In truth, Lionel was already a Spiritknight. He had chosen to find himself his own Dantian in an attempt to convince his father that he was not qualified for the test and thus have the Emperor help him find a substitute. Under normal circumstances, becoming a Spiritknight before the test disqualified one, but the Emperor would have none of that. He had forced Lionel to swallow a pill that temporarily made one a normal human again, much to the latter's chagrin.
Lionel was neither a coward nor was he untalented, but he had managed to fool his family into believing otherwise. Now, his years of effort had been thrown down the train by an unassuming hick from the countryside. Now, he had to reveal his true talents. If not, his life would become even harder, and the reason for that was sitting right next to him.
Contrary to what most might think, the one most unhappy at the current turn of events was not Lionel, but his eldest brother James!
Lionel was a wastrel, so James had not seen him as a threat… until now.
The only person who had noticed James'd true intentions was Lionel himself. Despite his lazy nature, there was no doubting the boy's cunning nature. Part of the reason he had intended to bow out of the race for the throne was his understanding of his brother's unrelenting avarice.
Lionel was content with not having to look after his own neck. However, he had now no doubt entered James's radar. James was greedy, but it was Peter who was the real problem.