NOVEL NEXT chapter 187
Chapter 187.
Mutual Manipulation
“Why so quiet? Are you feeling ashamed?”
Unaware that Valentina could have easily knocked him out with a single punch, the young prince Elliot, now capable of taking down a hundred of him, believed he had won, his expression growing more smug.
“Well, that’s only natural. You were able to resolve the incident just because you happened to not be on the scene, and you’re just a bit older. If I were in the same situation, I could definitely do better.”
Elliot truly believed Valentina was left speechless by his words, so he kept talking, becoming more absurd, and in the end, he even tossed his hair with a sense of pride.
It made it seem as if he were the hero who resolved the resurrection of the demon race.
But in reality, he was the only royal among the children who had been taken hostage.
In just a few short sentences, Noah had unraveled the character of this minor role that had little presence in the original story.
To put it bluntly, he was just a delusional young prince.
Both his age and personality were thoroughly juvenile.
What did he mean by “the same conditions”? What exactly did those conditions include?
Did he think that if the location and age were the same as Valentina’s, he could solve the problem? What about factors like level, gender, appearance, or whether he had Noah’s help—were those not conditions?
In any case, Noah could view the delusional young prince as a joke; he didn’t find him repulsive, but it was definitely impossible to expect Noah to help him out.
—
There are no elements that would make others want to help him.
“Ah, forget it. Even if you can’t, my dear brother will take care of all those demon tribes that intend to harm our country, right? Veronica.”
Seeing Valentina remain silent, the self-absorbed Prince Elliot, who was both provoking and praising the crown prince, tossed the topic to his sister standing nearby.
The little princess, who had been quiet from the start, awkwardly watching her twin brother’s profile, nodded in agreement:
“Mm, mm, my brother will definitely manage.”
“Haha, right? Then let’s go, Veronica. Sister Dilia is still waiting for us. Continuing to delay is just a waste of time.”
Noticing that his twin sister shared the same thoughts as him, the little prince’s mood visibly brightened.
He ignored Valentina and took the lead, walking towards Noah and Valentina’s direction.
The little princess hesitated for a moment but quickly caught up, not saying anything to Valentina.
As the little prince and little princess passed by Noah, he simply watched the two without doing anything.
It wasn’t until they had walked past that Noah turned to Valentina and spoke again:
“You really can endure, can’t you? Being talked down to by someone younger, don’t you feel anything, Your Highness?”
“…It’s not that I feel nothing. Elliot is quite adorable.”
At that moment, Valentina, still watching the two pass by, smiled as she answered Noah’s question.
However, her strange evaluation made Noah’s mood sour instantly.
The villainous queen could certainly tolerate her subordinates, but only if they were her own people.
This kind of tolerance towards her rebellious brother was hardly a wise move; wasn’t she just a naive and pure heroine who would be betrayed by those around her?
So Noah, feeling a bit disgruntled, replied:
“I really didn’t see it, Your Highness. Your taste is quite terrible. In terms of cuteness, isn’t your sister a thousand times cuter than your brother?”
Although Prince Elliot was an undeniably handsome young man, Noah didn’t find him cute at all; the clearly more refined little princess was far cuter.
“Veronica is certainly cute, but their cuteness is completely different. Elliot behaves appropriately for his age; isn’t that cute?”
Valentina deliberately withdrew her gaze from her brother and turned back to Noah, a somewhat scheming smile appearing on her lips.
— What a good boy Elliot is; I must make good use of him to attract more of your divine attention, dear God.
Of course, the princess would never voice this thought.
“Hah, if that thing is cute, then I must be cute too. But if you mean cute like a Chihuahua, then I do agree.”
Noticing the malice hidden in the princess’s smile, Noah thought it was directed at the little prince and began to smirk again.
It really wasn’t Noah’s fault for being dull; mainly, Valentina indeed harbored ill intentions towards the little prince.
To her, the arrogant brother was merely a tool to bring her closer to Noah, something to be used and discarded, not even worth comparing to a Chihuahua.
However, Noah suddenly saying something like “I must be cute too” nearly made the princess lose control of her expression.
From any angle, Noah had no elements of cuteness; he looked like a carefree young man, wild and unrestrained.
—
But since he could say such a thing, it seemed that Noah’s charm was at least a little bit present, if not zero.
“Hey, Your Highness, what kind of look is that? It’s like you’re barely holding back laughter. If it’s so uncomfortable, why not just laugh out loud?”
Feeling somewhat underestimated, Noah shot Valentina a somewhat rough and wild grin.
He even let his gaze drift to her legs, giving off the impression that he wanted to forcibly remove the black stockings she was wearing.
“It’s not a look; I just think you’re very lonely and pitiful. How about it? Are you envious that I have family?”
Seeing Noah prepared like this, the princess, who was very much wanting Noah to forcibly remove her black stockings again, naturally mimicked his way of speaking, a mocking smile on her lips as she glared provocatively at Noah, yearning to be attacked by him.
“Ha! Your Highness, you’ve got it wrong! I’m not lonely at all! I have you here, and as long as you’re around, I’ll never feel bored!”
Noah shot back with the same mocking smile without a second thought.
His intention was to imply that Valentina was merely a toy to please him.
But in the princess’s ears, all she heard was the phrase “I have you here,” which sounded almost like a confession.
Coupled with Noah’s strong expression at that moment, it made her heart race, and her cheeks flushed with color.
To avoid exposing herself, the princess had to quickly turn away from Noah and leave alone, all while suppressing a laugh as she said,
“…This is just terrible.”
“Ha! So that’s a compliment then!”
Since she was holding back, the gritted teeth and anger felt no different.
Noah didn’t take it to heart, feeling proud of his victory once again.
—Heh, heh❤ The divine one truly needs my company! How could the divine one say such an embarrassing thing so nonchalantly? It almost made me unable to resist pouncing on him to strip off his clothes!
Fortunately, there were no other people in the corridor ahead; otherwise, they would have seen the princess’s flushed face, her eyes filled with an almost crazed affection, a cute (?) expression.
—