Era of Light

Even if there were a few tall men and women standing in this luxurious master bedroom, it didn’t look crowded.

Xiu sat on the bed, looking normal. He answered whatever the doctor asked without showing any resistance. People who didn’t know still thought that the despite just now did not exist.

Only Alfred knew that the Crown Prince’s power was already lost in this room. He didn’t want to lose face by struggling needlessly. Moreover, based on the amount of information Alfred had, he glimpsed even more secrets——Xiu was nervous.

Alfred remembered that Xiu instinctively refused when he heard the word “doctor” while semi-conscious. Now he had no choice but to face the doctor directly, especially when the doctor touched him. His body would unconsciously tense up. Maybe he didn’t even realize that his gaze was fixed on the doctor’s hands movements all the time.

This made Alfred feel a little jealous.

The re-examination was completed soon. Xiu wasn’t seriously injured in the first place, and now he was basically fine. However, his recently reset arm still needed medication and rest.

Seeing that the doctor was about to remove the bandages and apply new ones, Xiu turned his attention to the doctor’s hands again. Alfred said, “I’ll do it.”

The doctor didn’t react at first and asked, “What, Your Highness?”

“I said I’d change the prince’s bandages,” Alfred said.

He replaced the doctor, and Xiu didn’t say anything. But when he took over, Xiu’s gaze indeed focused on his movements.

Alfred was finally satisfied. That’s how it should be. Whether it was taking care of him or dealing with him, Xiu’s attention should be completely on him.

After administering the medication and personally seeing the doctors off, Alfred was about to go back upstairs when his handheld vibrated in his pocket.

He picked it up and glanced at it. Instead of heading upstairs, he casually opened an empty room on the first floor and walked in, locking the door.

The communication was answered and Alfred was very friendly: “Good day, Your Majesty.”

The emperor on the other side was not as friendly. He just asked, “What have you done to Joshua?”

“Your news is really well-informed. I was just about to report to you.” Alfred said calmly. “I found out that he was related to the Crown Prince’s palace explosion and had abnormal contacts with people in the military. Isn’t this openly provoking our royal family? You are far away on the main planet, and the Crown Prince is injured and unable to handle matters. So I made the decision for you and the Crown Prince, and took him down.”

The emperor said sternly: “He provoked the royal family? I think you who is provoking me!”

The most valuable heirs of the three clans were currently on the XueLi Star. Alfred had just used this as a threat against the Emperor, and now, within two days, two of them had encountered trouble. Naturally, the Emperor regarded this as provocation and pressure.

Alfred said: “Don’t be so angry. Of course, I take your interests into consideration—I mean, isn’t there still one left?”

The Emperor was very angry, chuckled and said, “You want to harm him, do you dare? The High Priest, upon hearing that his son is in trouble, would only come to the Holy Golden Palace to disturb my ears. Duke Stone is not such a person!”

“That’s exactly what I said–I consider your interests,” said Alfred. “No matter how hot-tempered Grand Duke Stone is, he wouldn’t privately mobilize the Royal Legion to go to the border, would he? That would be rebellion, right? He may not be within my reach, but he can reach you. I am your son. If your son did something, naturally, he would come to his father.”

The Emperor said coldly: “Are you threatening me?”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Alfred said casually. “I even asked Austin to have lunch with me later. Is there anything else you need?”

This was urging the Emperor to make a decision. The emperor sneered: “I didn’t realize you were so impatient before.”

“Yes, I always pursue efficiency and directness,” Alfred said. “So, what do you think?”

“I can grant you the title of Prince,” said the Emperor. “I have already inquired, and there is only one month left before your birthday. It happens to be two years since your coming-of-age ceremony was not held. When you return to the main planet, I will host a birthday banquet for you and announce this matter.”

According to tradition, the coming-of-age ceremony at the age of twenty was an important birthday. Nobles would announce important changes to their children’s status and position during this ceremony. Alfred was exiled a month before his coming-of-age ceremony, so naturally he couldn’t have it. This would be in accordance with the rules and regulations if they organized a celebration and announced his appointment as a prince.

“Do as you say,” Alfred said.

The emperor continued: “Soon the cleanup work on each planet will be over. The royal family will issue an official statement. You should know what to say and what not to say. I don’t need to teach you.”

“Your Majesty, I want more than that.” Alfred smiled. “You only promised half the reward and expect me to work for you. That doesn’t seem right.”

The Emperor said: “If I were you, I wouldn’t be thinking about these unrealistic things here. Instead, I would take advantage of the Crown Prince’s recovery and quickly return to the main planet. Do you think your dear elder brother doesn’t know who plotted against him?”

Alfred froze for a moment and asked, “What?”

The emperor’s voice became lighter: “Why do you think I knew about Joshua’s incident so quickly? He is an adult, not a little baby who sends newsletters to his family regularly every day.”

And it’s technically difficult to achieve. The interstellar ether storms between stars were unstable, and it was not always possible to establish communication between two distant planets. It was necessary to check the current communication situation. On unlucky occasions, it was possible for two planets have no means of communication for a whole day.

“Of course the Crown Prince personally reported it to me.” The Emperor said, “What he told me was different from what you said. He said that he believed you harboured disloyalty towards him, attacked him, and framed the High Priest’s so, intending to provoke the relationship between the royal family and the High Priest’s family.”

Hearing this, Alfred seemed to have a hard time accepting it for a moment. He remained silent, only the sound of slightly heavier breathing could be heard.

The Emperor finally felt relieved. All along, what he feared the most was that once Alfred grew up, he would become the Crown Prince’s most powerful right-hand man. At that time, the Crown Prince’s position would be even more stable and unshakable. Now, before he even made a move, these two brothers started fighting among themselves. He was naturally happy to see this result, and was even willing to fan the flames.

“That’s it.” Alfred said after a while, “The Royal Legion is loyal to Your Majesty, and the Crown Prince has the command power. This is indeed a rule, and it is not easy to change it. I don’t want you to delegate power to me either. Just temporarily hand over the command authority from the Crown Prince to me.”

“Huh?” The Emperor carefully pondered his proposal. If it was to take away the Crown Prince’s authority, it didn’t seem entirely unacceptable…

“I don’t intend to seize the Crown Prince’s power. It’s just that the Crown Prince is injured and unable to manage his duties, so I will temporarily assume the command authority of the Crown Prince’s army. Currently, people are paying more attention to me, and I don’t want to go back to the main star at this time to steal the second prince’s limelight. But you see, if I have no real power in my hands and my elder brother continues to suspect me like this, I really dare not stay here. What do you think?”

If Alfred were given some authority, allowing these two brothers to have a fair fight… After weighing it for a moment, the Emperor agreed: “You are right.”

Alfred ascended the steps and successfully got what he had been planning for two years, but his face showed no sign of joy.

He pushed open the door of Xiu’s room, and just as he was about to make a sound, he noticed that Xiu had fallen asleep.

After a sleepless night due to his injuries—and taking time to file a complaint with the Emperor—Xiu finally couldn’t bear it anymore and fell asleep.

Alfred approached sleeping Xiu. With his eyes closed and motionless, Xiu looked like an exquisite and flawless piece of art, a beauty that could bring serenity to anyone who admired it.

He was a Crown Prince who had been meticulously crafted, approaching perfection in both appearance and demeanor, as if he were a finely tuned machine.

Alfred reached out and poked Xiu’s cheek, causing a small indentation on Xiu’s perfectly angled face.

Soft and warm, it was flesh and blood. He was also human.

Could anyone really play the role of a perfect elder brother for twenty years, starting from a young age? If he had only changed his mind when he was fascinated by power after reaching a certain age, did he just cast aside all those years of emotions so resolutely like that? Emotions don’t have an on-off switch. They couldn’t simply be turned off. How could Xiu be so cold-blooded and ruthless? Or perhaps……

But if Xiu refused to tell, Alfred couldn’t bring himself to ask because he couldn’t afford to take the risk. He couldn’t bear the price of making mistakes.

Now that he had entered the game, the outcome of this game affected the fate of too many people. Many things were no longer up to him.

He had always ridiculed Xiu like a robot. What could or could not be done was predetermined. Now, he himself was so tightly bound by the situation and his position, unable to act rashly.

Wasn’t everyone on this chess game like this?

The second prince never had a liking or talent for academics, but he just spent over 20 years of his life on them. Austin clearly possessed outstanding abilities, yet he could never showcase them because his father was jealous of the Emperor…

Commoners were compelled by the circumstances to make their livelihood, but they didn’t know the same was true for nobles. Everyone in the world suffered. Alfred had lived a carefree and reckless life for nearly twenty years until he tasted the bitterness of it after reaching adulthood.

Xiu’s mind was heavy, and even though he was extremely tired, he didn’t sleep well this time. When he woke up, it was a sunny afternoon.

There was no one in the bright room, but there was a tall figure that could not be ignored pressing against the uninjured half of his body. Strong long arms wrapped around his waist, his fluffy head rested on his shoulder, and his hair was tousled against his neck. The warm breath made the skin on his collarbone itchy.

It was so familiar that Xiu didn’t even have to lower his head to confirm it. When he was a child, Alfred didn’t like to take a nap. Sometimes when he got into a bad mood, he would insist on Xiu sleeping with him. During those times, he would curl up in Xiu’s embrace just like this

For a moment, Xiu really wanted to sit up and see how Alfred, who now stood nearly two metres tall, would look when curled up in someone else’s embrace.

But in the end, he did nothing. He didn’t struggle, nor did he speak. Instead, he allowed Alfred to sleep in his arms, as if he had never woken up at all, unaware of anything, and closed his eyes to fall asleep again.