CH 71

King Edmund made a public announcement that the lost third prince had been found. 

This new third prince happened to be the mysterious masked man who had forcefully brought Prince Kyle, the second prince, to the court, leaving the entire empire’s powerful army powerless against him. Both the imperial citizens witnessing this scene and Prince Edward, who was present, found it hard to believe this coincidence.

Prince Edward gazed tenderly at the heavily wounded and disheveled Prince Kyle on the ground, then cast a complex and expectant look at the indifferent Si Huaixi. Hesitatingly, he asked, “Father, wasn’t my younger brother supposed to have died a long time ago? And yet, you’re saying he was lost and…?”

The underlying meaning was that King Edmund had fathered illegitimate children with other omegas while hiding it from Queen Vanessa.

King Edmund creased his brow and scolded, “He is your mother’s son, not deceased as you believed. There were some unexpected circumstances that delayed his discovery.”

Prince Edward’s eyes flickered with astonishment, and he looked at Si Huaixi with a gaze that carried more genuine doubts and concerns.

Queen Vanessa had suffered a mental breakdown due to the presumed death of his younger brother. Now he was being told that he was actually alive. What on earth was going on?

Prince Kyle looked at King Edmund and Prince Edward with a vacant and uneasy expression.

He had thought they had come to rescue him from this cruel demon, but now this demon turned out to be his father’s son. Then what was he?

In that moment, Kyle felt that the pain of his broken leg was nothing compared to the numb emptiness of having his heart hollowed out. As his mother had said, the only people he could trust were his mother and his uncle, Humphrey.

His father, Edward, and Queen Vanessa were all a group of deceitful liars! They had never truly treated him as family. Edward had humiliated him by breaking his leg, and his father treated a son he had never met with more kindness than him, the second son who had grown up adoring his father by his side. Queen Vanessa’s pretended kindness was only meant to drive a wedge between him and his mother!

Kyle’s eyes gradually filled with sinister jealousy and hatred. His body trembled, and his heart twisted in extreme resentment towards his so-called family.

“The trial continues. I have no interest in your royal family,” Si Huaixi said calmly, rejecting King Edmund and turning his gaze towards Chief Justice Bruce, whose calm eyes concealed hidden ripples, as if waiting for something explosive.

King Edmund’s face darkened slightly as he looked at his disheveled second son on the side. If he allowed Si Huaixi to continue seeking revenge, the moment the judgment was made, Kyle would die by Si Huaixi’s hand.

Although Edmund was not satisfied with the second son born to Queen Katie, he certainly did not want the Odysseus royal family to descend into internal conflict.

After a moment of deep thought, King Edmund declared in a resounding voice, “As the King of the Odysseus Empire, Edmund Odysseus, I feel deep guilt for the civilian soldiers who sacrificed their lives in this incident, caused by my failure to educate a second prince who is selfish and disregards the empire’s interests… In order to make up for my mistake, I hereby announce that Kyle Odysseus will be expelled from the royal family. I request Judge Bruce to pass judgment on Kyle Odysseus as an ordinary citizen of the empire!”

“Father?!” Prince Edward furrowed his brow and exclaimed.

He felt a hint of confusion and puzzlement at his father’s abandonment of Kyle. If Queen Katie and the Basalom family behind her were to learn of this, it would cause significant trouble.

King Edmund, with a hidden meaning in his eyes, gestured for Prince Edward to remain calm. Prince Edward seemed to have grasped something and furrowed his brow without saying another word.

As for Prince Kyle, who had thought he had long been abandoned, he remained numb and desperate, not uttering a word.

He knew very well that even if the verdict was reached, he could not escape death. This demon had come to avenge Pei Zhaozhou on his behalf, and the entire empire was powerless against him. How could he possibly compete with this demon?

Kyle had long harbored a deep-seated fear and inferiority complex towards Si Huaixi, but at the same time, he felt intense hatred and unwillingness to easily give up his family.

The trial continued.

Chief Justice Bruce sentenced Kyle Odysseus to death, and the execution was scheduled to take place in ten days.

He was the first member of the Odysseus royal family to receive the death penalty.

Prince Kyle, the Second Prince, was taken to prison with a lifeless expression.

The once esteemed Second Prince had now become a prisoner at the bottom, with his fair, golden hair covered in dirt and filth. His dull blue eyes lacked any vitality, and his legs, rendered useless, prevented him from walking upright. He had to be dragged along by the prison guards.

Upon witnessing this scene, Crown Prince Edward’s face immediately darkened. His previously quick pace came to a restrained halt, and he stood beside King Edmund with a gloomy and heavy expression.

King Edmund showed no concern for what would befall Prince Kyle next. Instead, he turned to Si Huaixi and said, “Would you like to visit your mother? Vanessa wishes to see you.”

Si Huaixi glanced at Kyle, who was about to face the death sentence, and his sharp gaze gradually became cold and dim, as if he had lost his fighting spirit and become silent and indifferent…

Nevertheless, he nodded in agreement.

He, too, wanted to fulfill the original owner’s final wish. What kind of family did the original owner never forget and desperately seek to find? And why was he cast away to a remote and desolate star?

They arrived at the palace.

Si Huaixi finally met the birth mother of the original owner, Queen Vanessa.

Queen Vanessa’s clear, emerald-green eyes shimmered with tears, and her gentle and watery disposition exuded maternal love. It was evident that she cared deeply for this lost son of hers. Her hands, trembling with excitement and nervousness, seemed as though they wanted to embrace Si Huaixi, but she attentively noticed his resistance to the approach of strangers and halted her steps.

“You must be Si Huaixi, right? I am your mother, Vanessa. After losing you for so long, I have finally found you.”

Si Huaixi looked at this beautiful and gentle woman, and there was no trace of falseness in her sincere and concerned gaze. If it were the original owner in this situation, perhaps he would be moved by the scene of being reunited with a loved one.

But for Si Huaixi, without Brother Pei, the meaning of this world was merely a temporary dwelling, devoid of any emotional attachment.

His visit to the palace was only to fulfill the wishes of the original owner’s body, to go through the motions. The people he truly cared about and who cared about him had long departed from this world.

“Can you tell me why I was abandoned?” Si Huaixi asked decisively.

Faced with Si Huaixi’s distant and indifferent expression, Queen Vanessa hesitated and struggled, her fingers gently twirling her falling strands of hair. She looked at Si Huaixi with a gentle and remorseful gaze and candidly said, “It was an accident. After giving birth to you, I lost consciousness due to physical exhaustion. Your father, King Edmund, took you out of the delivery room, but because you were born with a weak constitution, the doctors said you were congenitally inadequate, lacking glands. After multiple unsuccessful resuscitation attempts, they concluded that you had died…”

“We all believed you were dead, and Katie, the Queen Consort, handled matters regarding your remains. It was the karma of our past lives that harmed you. But you didn’t actually die. When Katie arranged for the royal tomb, you came back to life. However, she… still abandoned you.”

Upon learning that the original owner was not intentionally abandoned by their biological parents, Si Huaixi felt that the original owner’s soul could find some solace. However, the instigator behind all of this should receive the punishment they deserved.

“As for that Katie, how do you intend to deal with the person who abandoned your child?” Si Huaixi asked with a piercing gaze.

Queen Vanessa’s eyes momentarily flickered, her beautiful brows furrowed with worry, and a bittersweet smile appeared as she said, “I will do my utmost to make up for the pain and suffering you endured.”

Si Huaixi’s brows furrowed coldly. “So, you have no intention of dealing with that person?”

Queen Vanessa’s heart was filled with guilt, making her speechless. Tears welled up in her emerald eyes as she choked out, “I can give you everything, but I am ashamed towards Princess Katie. Now that Kyle has been sentenced to death, she is going to lose her only son, just like I once lost you, Si Huaixi. I find it difficult to bear the thought of Katie facing further punishment…”

King Edmund looked at Vanessa, tormented by their shared situation, with compassion in his eyes. He knew it was his fault and not something Vanessa should bear.

With a solemn expression, King Edmund interjected, “We cannot disclose the grudges of the previous generation to you, but I, as the King of the Odysseus Empire, promise you that I will personally bear all the guilt. Under the conditions allowed, I can fulfill any request you have.”

With a sense of guilt, Vanessa turned to Si Huaixi and said, “No, it’s just my selfish plea. It was our negligence that caused you to suffer so much. I don’t expect you to forgive us… You are truly exceptional, and if you are willing, you can deal with anyone in the empire. I only beg you to let Katie have some peaceful days to heal after losing Kyle.”

Si Huaixi had no desire to decide whether the original owner should forgive anyone. He remained indifferent to everything, even to his blood relatives. He wondered if the original owner’s soul would feel sorrow.

Seeing Si Huaixi’s cold and indifferent gaze, and his silence without objection, Vanessa thought he had acquiesced to sparing Princess Katie. A gentle smile appeared on her tender face.

In the palace, for nearly ten days, Si Huaixi truly experienced the care and love he had never received from any family.

Not only did his King father, but even his nominal elder brother, Crown Prince Edward, took turns visiting his chambers, discussing matters with him, and compensating for years of missed birthday presents with priceless gifts that were beyond description.

Precious mineral resource stars and high-value tourism development planets were given to him as pocket money in the billions of interstellar credits. They even planned to hold a ceremony to publicly announce his status as a member of the royal family to the entire empire’s media, but Si Huaixi declined.

Queen Vanessa, even more so, came to see Si Huaixi every day, her overflowing maternal love treating him as if he were still an innocent child.

She personally led him to explore the palace’s scenery and gardens, clumsily learned to cook and make soup for him from the chefs, and showed him the small clothes she had woven for him every year from his infancy to elementary school. Whenever touched, tears would stream down Queen Vanessa’s face, as if burdened by guilt for the past.

Gradually, King Edmund grew discontent with Si Huaixi receiving too much attention from Queen Vanessa. His possessive nature took hold, and he wanted to separate Vanessa from Si Huaixi.

Vanessa, facing her unreasonable husband Edmund in front of their child, blushed helplessly.

Her delicate, fair skin revealed no signs of her being a mother to two adult children, she appeared as a beautiful, young girl.

Vanessa glared at King Edmund with anger and then embraced her son, turning to Si Huaixi with a difficult and apologetic expression. “Sorry, my child. Your father needs to talk to me about something. I’ll come to you later. If there’s anything you need, feel free to talk to your brother Edward or the palace servants. I’ve already instructed them.”

“Mmm.”

Si Huaixi responded coldly and briefly, and Queen Vanessa had long grown accustomed to this child’s aloofness. But she believed that one day she would be able to influence him and bring him back wholeheartedly to this family.

After Vanessa left, Si Huaixi’s expression remained cold, and his silent pupils revealed no emotional fluctuations.

Only when he looked at the sleeve wrinkled by Vanessa’s embrace on his arm did a subtle hint of rejection flicker across his seemingly indifferent eyes.

Si Huaixi gazed indifferently at the rose garden not far from the palace.

In these past few days, although Queen Vanessa had shown him immense care and affection, even a discerning person could notice that she had cautiously mentioned Princess Katie a couple of times but ceased speaking upon seeing his deliberately cold expression.

Tomorrow would be the day of Prince Kyle’s execution.

This tender family game was nearing its end.

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