Chapter 11

“Respected Your Highness the Crown Prince, please allow me to ask, with due boldness, what crime did the waiter outside commit?”

Sykes let out a cold scoff, as though he had just heard a joke. Those standing nearby lowered their heads further. The bespectacled young man beside Sykes turned away, unable to watch.

“Saintess of the Church, know your place when you stand before royalty.”

Sykes strode forward. Slowly, he removed the black glove from his right hand, revealing a pale hand with sharply defined knuckles.

Bang!

In the next instant, his hand seized Ye Zheng’s slender neck and slammed her against the wall.

“Your Highness!”

The bespectacled young man rushed forward. As the prime minister’s son, it was his duty to assist the Crown Prince. The royal family and the Church maintained a delicate balance. Harming the saintess would give the Church leverage.

Moreover, the Crown Prince had removed his glove. That meant he intended to activate his SSS-level talent, 【Destruction】.

Sykes truly meant to kill Ye Zheng.

Yu Tianming was frantic, his glasses nearly slipping from his face. He had to stop the Crown Prince before the fragile healing-type saintess was strangled.

Disregarding propriety, he lunged forward and grabbed Sykes’s arm. Looking up, he saw the Crown Prince’s expression darkened beyond measure. Turning to Ye Zheng, Yu Tianming expected to see panic and agony.

Instead, her face remained calm and composed. One hand steadily grasped the wrist choking her.

“So this is the SSS-level talent, one of the rarest in the empire’s history. It’s far more powerful than I imagined.”

“Thank you for the lesson, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Sykes released his grip and flung Yu Tianming aside. His gaze lingered on the dark red marks blooming on the girl’s neck.

“Are you mocking me, Saintess?”

Yu Tianming lay sprawled on the floor, too stunned to protest. Adjusting his glasses, he stared in disbelief at Ye Zheng, who appeared unharmed aside from the marks.

Once the Crown Prince activated his ability, restraint did not exist.

【Destruction】 was passive, a conceptual ability. As long as Sykes subconsciously believed something could be destroyed, everything he touched would be annihilated.

Monsters. Buildings. Human bodies. Even abstract things such as memories.

Most ability users awakened around the age of twelve. Yet Crown Prince Sykes had possessed 【Destruction】 from birth.

The first time he activated it was within his mother’s womb. The infant’s restless desire to be born destroyed his own biological mother.

The emperor mourned briefly. Upon confirming Sykes’s unprecedented talent, he was joyfully proclaimed to the empire as an SSS-level ability holder had appeared once more after a century, and that the glory of the royal family would endure forever.

Born with the original sins of death and arrogance, Sykes fundamentally did not understand what mercy meant. He did not even comprehend affection.

Yu Tianming’s gaze fixed on Ye Zheng’s neck. Only at this moment did he notice that it was shrouded in a faint, watery radiance.

It was Ye Zheng who had used her own ability to block Sykes’s lethal power of【Destruction】.

Sykes kicked the half-dead youth on the ground, his dark gaze still locked on the girl who was rubbing her neck.

“Heh. Our luck is not bad. We actually found someone who can resist 【Destruction】.”

Yu Tianming hurriedly struggled to his feet. Even though Ye Zheng’s body was now marked with frightening red traces, her existence itself was already extraordinary.

He lowered his head and stared at his missing thumb. This was the punishment he had received years ago for angering Sykes. The golden-haired crown prince had merely brushed his thumb with a finger, and in the blink of an eye, he had lost it forever.

Ye Zheng’s expression remained calm and indifferent. “So, does His Highness the Crown Prince have some business with me?”

Sykes glanced sideways at Yu Tianming standing beside him. It had been this calculating man who proposed bringing Ye Zheng here.

Recently, the ants of the lower district had become increasingly restless. It was not appropriate for the imperial family and the church to continue their internal struggle at such a time, as it would only give certain lowly commoners an opportunity to exploit the situation.

The third stage of the ability competition had added a substitute member slot. Ye Zheng was both a member of the church and a student of the Royal Ability Academy. Moreover, she had always been gentle, obedient, and well-behaved, making her easy to control. Selecting her as a gesture of goodwill could not have been more fitting.

Sykes forcibly suppressed the violent desire surging within his eyes. His golden pupils gleamed with a startling brilliance.

Now it seemed that Ye Zheng differed somewhat from their expectations.

That only made things more interesting.

“For the third stage of the ability competition, join us.”

The crown prince put on his signature black gloves once more and extended his hand toward the girl.

Ye Zheng lowered her gaze to look at the hand that had just been choking her moments ago. Before she could respond, the system’s voice began screaming inside her mind.

『This is too dangerous! That man truly intended to kill you just now!』

The system had been so tense earlier that it could not even speak. It had nearly believed its host would truly die halfway through the story.

Fortunately, as the female protagonist, Ye Zheng had been given a minor special setting by the author. It conveniently allowed her to block Sykes’s 【Destruction】, though this was originally meant for Pei Xi in the future.

The system hoped that after this encounter, Ye Zheng would learn her lesson. Antagonists were not opponents who could be handled casually. According to the original plot, she had already joined the protagonist’s faction, so there should be no further off-plot interactions with Sykes.

“Very well, but I have one condition.”

Ye Zheng curved her eyes and smiled.

Sykes narrowed his dangerous golden pupils. “Speak.”

“No matter what crime that man committed just now, I ask that His Highness handle him according to the laws of the empire, rather than through private punishment.”

“As the future ruler of the empire, such conduct renders you somewhat unfit.”

The surrounding crowd gasped once more. Should this Saintess be called upright and courageous, or simply lacking in judgment?

Even the emperor himself would not dare point at this violent prodigy and accuse him of being unworthy of the throne.

“Unfit? That man was attempting to curry favor with me right before my eyes. Allowing him into the hunting grounds to please me was already an honor.”

“Since the Saintess disapproves, then take the man away.”

The attendants at the entrance immediately moved to comply.

“Your Highness is merciful. It was I who spoke out of turn.”

Having achieved her goal, Ye Zheng revealed a genuine smile.

“The Saintess truly lives up to the rumors. A kind and just little goddess.”

Sykes let out a laugh whose meaning was impossible to discern.

“I hope you perform just as well in the ability competition.”

Yu Tianming’s pupils trembled slightly. A sense of foreboding rose in his heart. He should never have made this suggestion. The crown prince was clearly holding a grudge against Ye Zheng for daring to challenge his authority.

Heavens. Would this not further worsen relations with the church?

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When Pei Xi and the others arrived at the banquet, the event had already reached its liveliest moment.

As a team from the lower district, the Cloud Soarers, who had been undefeated throughout the national competition, rarely found themselves feeling out of place. Everyone present was radiant and dazzling, like exquisitely bred ornamental fish, while they themselves felt like dull catfish that had accidentally wandered into a noble aquarium.

Fortunately, it did not take long before someone recognized them. A familiar opponent from the competition grounds, who could now be considered a friend, greeted them enthusiastically.

“Hey, you guys look even more upper-district than some of the upper-district people.”

“Wait, I am not discriminating. I genuinely mean it as a compliment. You all look great today.”

The seemingly careless boy scratched his brown hair. He was the captain of the First Academy in the upper district. Born into the upper district himself, he had once been saved by the Cloud Soarers during the competition. That experience had erased his prejudice toward the lower district and made him sincerely wish to befriend them.

“Isn’t this place beautiful? It is fine. With your strength, sooner or later you will make it to the upper district and enjoy days like this every single day.”

Pei Xi interrupted him helplessly. “We came because we heard that information about the next stage of the competition would be announced at this banquet.”

The brown-haired boy stared at him in disbelief and casually slung an arm around his shoulders. “You are dressed so properly today. Just relax and enjoy it. Do not think about depressing things like the competition.”

Pei Xi’s ears reddened slightly. They had only dressed this way to avoid standing out too much at the banquet.

The tall and straight young man, accentuated by his black suit, appeared exceptionally handsome. Suddenly, his expression changed. As if sensing something, he raised his head and looked toward the second floor.

“Thank you all for taking the time to attend.”

The gorgeous and arrogant voice carried no trace of humility or gratitude. The moment Sykes spoke, the entire hall fell silent, and the musicians hurriedly ceased playing.

The glamorous ornamental fish uniformly lifted their heads, submitting themselves to the crown prince’s condescending gaze, as though he truly were the master of this aquarium.

Pei Xi’s eyes darkened as he looked at the crown prince. There was not a shred of respect within them. Yet someone even more eye-catching than the crown prince stood beside him.

“No way. Why is the church’s Saintess standing next to the crown prince?”

“Have not the church and the imperial family always been at odds?”

The brown-haired boy exclaimed in disbelief. Pei Xi did not respond. His gaze had already grown distant and unfocused.

That was the legendary Saintess of the church. Her benevolence toward the lower district was widely known, and her beauty was praised throughout the nation, even though few had ever truly seen her.

“Ye Zheng…”

When Pei Xi murmured the name, disbelief flashed across his face.

Why did he speak her name so naturally? The moment he saw the girl with her loose black hair and flowing water-blue dress, he became certain that she was the mysterious church figure who had once saved him.

“For the third stage of the competition, Ye Zheng will join the Royal Ability Academy team. Let us cheer for our Saintess.”

Sykes spoke lazily, clapping his hands with casual indifference. Thunderous applause erupted throughout the hall. Pei Xi did not clap. He stood pressed within the crowd.

He stared motionlessly at the graceful figure on the second floor until the girl turned her obsidian eyes and glanced in his direction. A buzzing sensation filled the youth’s mind, as though the gears of fate, long stalled, had finally begun to turn.

✧✧✧✧✧

The moment Li Yixin returned home from school, before she could even open the latest chapter of “Throne of the Aberrant Realm,” her phone exploded with messages from her best friend.

“Aaaah, hurry and read the new chapter. Good news. Sykes finally appears.”

Li Yixin felt a rush of excitement. “Is my Xi-Sy CP finally taking off?”

Then confusion followed. “Is there bad news too?”

“The bad news is that the forums are exploding. A character suspected to be the female lead has appeared.”

Li Yixin could hardly believe it. Although her current favorite character was the recently introduced Zhao Mei, she had been shipping Xi-Sy for so long. If an official pairing suddenly emerged, she would collapse on the spot.

With trembling hands, she opened the latest update of “Throne of the Aberrant Realm.”

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Authors Note

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Working two jobs and earning popularity from both sides. A complete win.

To clarify in advance, the female lead will not belong to any faction. She will use both the protagonist’s and antagonist’s forces to achieve her own goals and will ultimately establish her own camp.

Also recommending my completed work, “The Real Thousand Gold is the Lord of Infinite Flow,” a female-friendly infinite flow novel.