The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

The people of the Obsidian Kingdom were quite unhappy with Raven being chosen to be the King of the Pearl Kingdom – now, not only did they have to share their Prince Raven with the Emerald Kingdom (which was still acceptable, because at least the Emerald Kingdom could claim to be the ones who discovered and developed and awakened Prince Raven's talents and taught him many things) – but also the Pearl Kingdom, which had never done a single thing for their Prince Raven at all. Instead, they had persecuted Prince Raven all his life, and now, when the whole world knew that Prince Raven was a genius and a heaven defying talent, they suddenly claimed him as their King and even the successor of the Moon Temple?! Wasn't it the Moon Temple that had tried everything they could to kill Prince Raven when he was born? If it hadn't been for General Aquila, wouldn't Crown Princess Pica and Prince Raven have been killed twelve years ago?!

The people of the Pearl Kingdom, however, were ecstatic – and when they saw how much closer Raven and Mana were to the people of the Obsidian Kingdom, they, too, rushed to make friends with the people of the Obsidian Kingdom.

The contingent from the Amber Kingdom, led by Crown Prince Mars and Princess Astra, finally turned up in the evening, just before the banquet was about to begin. King Orion didn't come – he simply sent a standard gift with his son, using the excuse that Prince Liam was still feeling unwell, so he didn't feel comfortable leaving his younger son alone.

Crown Prince Mars and Princess Astra were stunned when they found out that Raven had been crowned the new King of the Pearl Kingdom already.

"Congratulations," Crown Prince Mars said to Raven, who was sitting on the throne together with Mana. One could almost hear Mars gritting his teeth!

"Thank you," Raven said politely, looping an arm around Mana's shoulders and pulling him closer to himself in a protective manner.

Mana smiled sweetly at Raven and then turned to her older half sister and her fiancé. "Big Sister Astra and Big Brother in Law Mars, are you doing well? You two look so good together! The outfits are very well matched," she praised.

Princess Astra appeared to be mollified – and her gratitude for the love potion and the arrangement for the regular supply of love potions from Poison Expert Naver that she held towards Mana and Raven had not faded yet. Mars was being very good to her, and Astra was quite satisfied. Hearing Mana praise their outfits, Astra was quite pleased actually.

Crown Prince Mars looked at his pretty fiancée and his face softened. "My Astra was the one who designed these clothes," he said proudly. "She has very good taste." He pressed a kiss to Princess Astra's brow.

Princess Astra blushed, looking like a delicate flower.

"Big Sister Astra has always been outstanding and there is no one in the whole world who is better matched for Big Brother in Law Mars than our Big Sister Astra," Mana said, rolling her eyes internally. She wanted these two troublesome people to be so engrossed with each other that they would forget to create trouble for other people, especially for Raven and herself!

Raven, naturally, understood what Mana was trying to do. "Indeed, Mana is absolutely right," he spoke up. "Crown Prince Mars and Princess Astra are very well matched, and it is as if the heavens made you for each other," he added with a small smile.

Crown Prince Mars and Princess Astra looked at each other lovingly, clearly pleased by the compliments.

"Thank you," Princess Astra said. "Little Mana, you and King Raven are a good couple, too."

"Thank you, Big Sister Astra!" Mana said with a big smile.

Raven waved his hand and an attendant appeared immediately.

"Princess Astra of the Emerald Kingdom is my Big Sister in Law, and Crown Prince Mars of the Amber Kingdom is her beloved fiancé. Please seat them at the table of high honour and make sure that they are accorded every courtesy," Raven instructed.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the attendant said and led the happy Crown Prince Mars and Princess Astra away.

Raven and Mana shared a smile, both of them thinking the same thing. If some praises and platitudes could keep Crown Prince Mars and Princess Astra satisfied and away from their strange schemes towards Mana and Raven, they would happily indulge those two fools.

Raven and Mana were the stars of the banquet, and important people came up to them one by one to greet them and give them gifts.

By the time everything was over, it was actually quite late.

Head Sage Yue and Regent Prince Yuki, who had been the busiest people and had been working very hard all evening to welcome their guests and establish rapports with people from various countries and generate some goodwill for the Pearl Kingdom, came over to Mana and Raven when the last guest left.

"Father, Cousin Yuki – you have worked very hard today, thank you so much," Mana said as soon as she saw them. "Raven and I noticed that you were not able to eat much when dinner was served – would you like a small snack now?" she offered generously.

Mana's principles were very clear. When someone treated Raven well, she would be good to them. If they didn't treat Raven well, she would not even lift a finger to help them. Head Sage Yue and Cousin Yuki were really working hard to support Raven this time, everyone could see that. And since that was the case, Mana would put old grudges on hold. In any case, an amicable relationship with Head Sage Yue was perhaps the key to slowly heal some of the scars on Raven's heart, she thought to herself. Raven shone brighter than anyone else today, and Mana was very pleased to see it.

Head Sage Yue and Regent Prince Yuki looked very grateful.

Mana pulled out a box of chocolates and a few bottles of milkshakes. "If you don't mind, you can have some of these," she said. "Raven and I made them earlier."

Head Sage Yue knew what these were, and he happily accepted some. As for Regent Prince Yuki – it was his first time seeing these things, so he was very curious.

"What are these?" he asked curiously.

"That's chocolate – it is a sweet thing. And the beverage is milkshake, these ones are strawberry flavoured," Raven explained. He took a few minutes to explain the origins of both the products and how Mana had made them popular in the other four kingdoms.

"Wow, Cousin in Law Mana is so awesome, Cousin Raven!" Regent Prince Yuki praised, his light eyes wide and impressed.

Even though they had known him for just a day, both Mana and Raven had become quite fond of this cousin of Raven's. He was a clean and pure teenager, sincere and hard working. He held no malice for Raven, and he revered Head Sage Yue as his saviour. He also didn't put on any pretentious and false airs as the Regent Prince at all. Instead, he genuinely wanted to do something for the progress and development of the Pearl Kingdom.

"Try it, Yuki, you will like it," Head Sage Yue said to the youth.

Regent Prince Yuki immediately picked up a piece of chocolate and put it in his mouth. His eyes became as round as tennis balls as he absorbed the taste.

"This is so good! What heavenly concoction is this?!" he exclaimed. "How can there be such a delicious thing in the world!"

Mana and Raven laughed happily and gave him another box of chocolates.

Regent Prince Yuki looked like he really wanted to take it, but he still hesitated. "It must be very precious, isn't it? Is it really all right for me to have an entire box to myself?" he asked nervously.

"You are Raven's cousin and the Regent Prince of the Pearl Kingdom, aren't you?" Mana pointed out. "Even if it is precious, isn't it only right that we share it with our family members?" she asked. She actually wanted to give him a few more boxes since he liked the chocolate so much, but she was afraid that he might burst into tears if she did so.

Regent Prince Yuki looked at Mana and Raven and tears pooled in his eyes. "Thank you," he said gratefully. "It is the good fortune of the Pearl Kingdom that we somehow managed to get the two of you as our king and queen…" he murmured.

"Cousin Yuki, it is our good fortune that we have you in the Pearl Kingdom," Raven said honestly. "If it wasn't for you, there would be no way for me to accept the position of the King of the Pearl Kingdom.. You are the pillar of this country, and I am very glad that you are my cousin."