บท 4: From Prince to Pariah
The entire throne room went completely quiet.
Prince Vritra silently shook his head.
『This retarded prince will give me what I want.』
With his gelled black hair shining elegantly, he sipped his tea gracefully and looked at Prince Lumis with indifference, as if he were staring down at a rat stuck in a trap.
Clearly embarrassed, Prince Lumis stared at the ground.
His pale face showed his anger, and cold sweat dripped down his neck and forehead. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lift his head and give a suitable answer.
『If I lie and say I have no interest in her, it would reinforce my earlier statement but hurt Princess Luciana. I haven't even spoken to her yet, and I don't want her to lose interest in me. However, if I tell the truth and admit I'm charmed by her beauty, the king and every noble here will see me as a liar.』
Lord Ymnes sighed and gripped his staff tightly.
The old man expected something like this to happen if the young prince kept getting provoked by Vritra and, even worse, responding to his taunts.
『Hrmm, I cannot help you here, young prince.』
A heavy sigh left the elderly man's tired mouth──too much of his energy had gone into trying to keep the prince in check.
The onlookers watched in shock, all waiting for his response.
Princess Luciana lightly clasped her hands against her large, bouncing breasts and stared thoughtfully at the Deva royal.
The blonde-haired prince squeezed his fists tightly.
His handsome and angelic face turned red with pure anger, making him look increasingly stressed.
『Damn it! Whatever I say, this bastard will use it to his advantage. Wait──regardless of what I say… Haha!』
The stress and anger on his face waned.
『Then I'll just say nothing. The king wouldn't dare question me a second time. If he tries, I'll bring up that he's favoring Vritra, which is the equivalent of a slap in my face!』
Having made up his mind, the Deva Prince stayed quiet and walked back to his seat with confidence, shoulders held high.
"Silence is the best answer for a fool. An old but wise saying."
Those were the only words the Deva royal uttered.
All the nobles were impressed by the youth and charisma of this Deva. Even the king respected Prince Lumis for choosing to stay silent and avoid further confusion.
But… it wasn't over yet.
With his typical indifferent expression that didn't show any of his feelings, Prince Vritra started speaking.
"Well, isn't this great? He can't even give a simple answer."
The moment Prince Lumis heard this, his eyes went wide.
『Wh-, What is this bastard… trying to do──?!』
Sweat was already beading on the smooth forehead.
Vritra only glanced at the Deva and smiled.
"Nobles of Duranzia, you brag that Felmus is a good judge of character, but now he's thinking of forming alliances with a prince who can't decide between A or B."
The Asura royal shrugged.
"Maybe I should just leave with my entourage. Obviously, only a fool would ally with a king who can't see that Lumis is just a confused little prince who still smells of his mother's breast milk."
This immediately caused a loud murmur among the onlookers on both sides of the throne room. The nobles began to see the logic in what the Asura Prince was saying.
How strange? They found more sense in the words of an Asura royal than in those of a benevolent and honest Deva.
They realized that the Deva Prince's inexperience and indecisiveness would make him more of an obstacle than an ally in the future.
Why? Because it was common sense.
In a world where the threat of attacks or wars between nations was only a stone's throw, would forming an alliance with a weak prince be the best way to ensure their nation remains an untouchable fortress?
"Absolutely not!"
"Shhh, don't be speak so arrogantly! Remember, the king is still here. Even though we agree with what God Vritra is saying, we shouldn't make it too obvious."
"I guess you're right…"
"Hmm, how did we miss this? It's obvious that the prince lacks experience. Our great king doesn't even call him a god like he does with Lord Ymnes and God Vritra."
The nobles kept chatting among themselves.
They tried to keep it low-key, but it was obvious to everyone that they agreed with his statement.
"You go, Boss!"
Ghislaine, sitting in her chair, raised her fist and cheered.
Princess Luciana was unsure of how to react; she placed a hand on her chest and watched Prince Lumis with concern.
As for Prince Vritra? He was focused on his status screen, completely uninterested in the background commotion.
[Viscount Leeman has gained a good impression of you!]
[Baron Chowder is impressed by your charisma!]
[Countess Margaret is charmed by your confidence and incredible foresight!]
[Lumis Deva's animosity towards you has increased. Current Hatred Level: 4.5 stars]
(+20 More)
『Hmm, I still can't get his hatred level to 5 stars. But what's impressive is that the system didn't penalize me for Princess Luciana worrying about Lumis this time.
『That means, even though her current affection for him is still quite high, she's starting to doubt them because he was so hesitant to respond.
『Haha! In the end, a woman is never easily satisfied! I need to strike while the iron is still hot!』
With his teacup and saucer in hand, Vritra walked over to the head table and sat on it with his legs crossed.
He showed no respect for the Duranzia Royal Council seated behind the table or for King Felmus, who directly sat behind him, seeing nothing but Vritra's back.
Vritra was an Asura, a fierce god said to have destroyed several nations in the Hell Continent.
No human in that throne room had the power to make him step down!
"Felly, would you like to know what I think?"
It took everyone a moment to realize Prince Vritra was addressing their king.
"Did he just call our king… Felly?"
"F-, Felly? Hrmm…"
"Well, it's not like we can complain."
Even the pale and sweating Prince Lumis looked at the king in shock, surprised that he said nothing about the nickname he had just been given.
[You embarrassed Luciana's father in her presence: -25 Affection Points!]
The malicious smile on Prince Vritra's face widened.
"Please… tell me your thoughts, God Vritra."
There were loud gasps and heavy shock among the nobles, who watched with slackened jaws.
Prince Vritra didn't even acknowledge them.
He casually continued to spin his teacup by its handle in a fidget-like motion.
Then, his red eyes glared coldly at the stunned Prince Lumis.
『It doesn't matter the fortunate hand fate has dealt you, retarded prince. Right here, in front of everyone… I will bury you to the ground with my words alone!』
… Hahah~
The Asura royal chuckled softly.
As soon as he started to speak, everyone listened.
"The real truth… hmm. Maybe the prince isn't incompetent; maybe he's just weak-willed. He comes here, sees a beautiful woman like Princess Luciana, and immediately starts thinking of ways to spread her legs open and fuck her mindless.
"He claims he's only focused on forming an alliance with Duranzia, but he can't even answer a simple question about whether he has feelings for her. Hahah! It's laughable!
"Maybe he likes the princess, maybe he doesn't. For a weak-willed man, any woman is beautiful. Being a prince, he surely has plenty of beautiful women giving him sweet love in bed. Maybe that's why he's so arrogant. He spends all his time on women and nothing else, ha!
"While Princess Luciana is quite a beauty, she doesn't compare to the beauties in the Heaven Continent. I'm curious how anyone would see Prince Lumis as a good ally, let alone your king and his royal council.
"That young Deva is just garbage, lusting for one woman after another, relying on his family name, and stressing out a poor, old fossil, like Lord Ymnes. And now, because of him, here I am, publicly disgracing a great man like your king.
"So, ask yourselves… who's the real villain here?"
The throne room went silent.
Now, every noble looked at Prince Lumis the same way they used to look at Prince Vritra. They wouldn't dare speak out against a member of the Deva Family, but their stares made Lumis feel as if they were hurling insults and curses at him.
He felt like a pariah.
Even Princess Luciana didn't spare him a glance!
Old Ymnes, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at Vritra.
『Vritra, it's quite bold of you to insult His Royal Highness in front of this old man. It takes a lot to provoke me, and you've certainly managed to do just that.』
He was clearly irritated by the sight of the relaxed Vritra.
[Ymnes's animosity towards you has increased. Current Hatred Level: 3 stars]
[Lumis Deva's animosity towards you has increased. Current Hatred Level: 5 stars]
[Luciana sees logic in your words. Lumis Deva has lost 30 Affection Points!]
[Luciana feels Lumis Deva has made a big fool of her father. Lumis Deva has lost 50 Affection Points!]
[Luciana has grown slightly irritated of him. Lumis Deva has lost 20 Affection Points!]
[Luciana has started to doubt more. Lumis Deva has lost 15 Affection Points!]
(+ 4 More)
With a mild smile, Prince Vritra finally took a sip of his tea.
ของขวัญ
-- ได้รับของขวัญแล้ว สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง