Her father died in front of her eyes. Her siblings were either killed or raped. Not many of them escaped. The temple was burned, and her home was gone. And all of this stemmed from the struggle between the two princes for the throne. This was a real family destruction. Even the strongest person would harbor resentment, not to mention Sophie, who was just an underage girl.
She hated the two princes, and she also hated Emma and the Queen, who were also members of the royal family.
"I don't want to share the stage with the wild dogs of the royal family."
If this had happened more than ten days ago, the Queen would have been furious. But now the Queen was living under someone else's roof. She ignored Sophie's words and focused on eating the food on the table. She was an adult, and it would be beneath her to stoop to the level of a little girl.
However, Emma did not have such a good temper. She had always been arrogant. Although she appeared very gentle in front of Liang Lidong, she might not have been treated as well by others. Moreover, she was very sensitive. She had always felt that Sophie was the same as her, that they both had ulterior motives towards Betta.
"Who's a wild dog? You don't even have a home. You're the wild dog."
As soon as this almost like a shrew cursing in the street came out, not to mention the Queen, even Kail and Alice stared at each other with their eyes wide open. In their understanding, Emma was a saintess, elegant, calm, and beautiful. But they did not expect her to curse, and it seemed to be quite unpleasant.
Kail and Alice did not understand, but the Queen understood very well. She understood her daughter's mentality at this time … Beta was too outstanding. Except for being a little mysterious, he was perfect in every aspect. Such a man easily attracted women. She could see it, and so could her daughter. This girl named Sophie also had a very good impression of Beta.
Women could usually be elegant and calm, but if they encountered other women who came to steal their men. Especially when they thought that they were the mistress, any woman would be angry, and most of them would tear off their usual elegant disguise in anger.
Women were not much more civilized than men when it came to fighting over feelings.
The Queen continued to pretend that she did not hear it. She continued to eat the seemingly ordinary but actually delicious breakfast in her bowl. She now admired Beta more and more. He obviously looked like a noble young master, but she didn't expect his culinary skills to be this good.
However, while she ate, she secretly pricked up her ears. She wanted to see how her daughter and Sophie were faring. In her eyes, these two girls were clearly fighting over family and personal grudges, but in her eyes, they were actually fighting over a man.
She opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but Liang Lidong slammed the table and said angrily, "What's with all the noise? Eat your food. If anyone says anything else, put your bowls down right here. Don't make a fuss. Eat your food. Go out and stay outside. "
Liang Lidong rarely got angry. In the eyes of outsiders, he had a good temper, but everyone knew that the more good-tempered a person was, the more serious his temper would be when he got angry. When he slammed the table, not to mention the two girls who were arguing, even Kail and Alice felt anxious.
In fact, part of it was due to the talent of 'Noble Temperament'.
The two girls immediately shut up and sat back in their chairs, although they were still glaring at each other. However, the tense atmosphere from before was no longer as tense as it was just now.
The Queen let out an 'oh' in her heart, thinking that Beta seemed to be very good at this kind of scene where the two girls quarreled.
Seeing this, Kail's heart skipped a beat. He looked at Alice. Then he fell into deep thought.
Although the atmosphere was a little strange, everyone still finished breakfast. Although Sophie was still very sad, she was a professional after all, and she was not weak. Her control of her mind was far better than that of ordinary people, so she could hold back her hatred of the royal family. She and Emma shared the stage with the Queen.
Liang Lidong waited for everyone to finish eating, and after the Queen removed the dishes from the table, he asked, "Sophie, you sent the second prince away through the secret passage, right?"
Sophie's expression turned ugly at the thought of the second prince's hateful face. She glared at Emma and said, "That's right. I personally sent him away through the secret passage. That damned bastard. He didn't even leave a hundred people to help Father. If he had left some people behind, maybe …"
Liang Lidong waved his hand. "It's not that I'm partial to the second prince. The second prince's subordinates are almost all cavalry. In that situation, they would have been killed before they had a chance to act. No matter how many people were left, they would have ended up the same. And this is your father, Archbishop Arnold's own choice. It has little to do with the second prince. Your enemy is not the second prince, nor is it Emma or the Queen, but the first prince. Only when he is dead and the second prince comes to power can your father's wish be realized, and his death will be worthwhile. "
Although Liang Lidong didn't hear the deal between Arnold and the second prince, it didn't stop him from guessing why the Temple was involved in the struggle for royal power. Anyone with the slightest sense of politics could guess.
However, there was someone who could not guess it. Kyle asked with a confused expression, "I feel that Archbishop Arnold doesn't like the second prince very much. Why did he have to stay behind to help the second prince? He even put the entire temple on the line."
Sophie's face darkened, and she heaved a long sigh.
Kail was a very righteous and good boy. He rarely saw such things, so it was normal that he couldn't guess. Liang Lidong explained to him patiently, "The Nether God Church is a very low-key church, but Archbishop Arnold hopes to spread the glory of the Nether God, and it's a good idea to get the support of the king and the nobles. So, he made a deal with the second prince. If the second prince becomes king, he will support the Nether God Church's missionary activities in Hollevin."
Kail nodded, indicating that he understood. Alice looked at the Hero affectionately. She liked Kail's pure temperament.
"Since the second prince is out of the capital, we have to find him first." After a pause, Liang Lidong said, "But the second prince is in a bit of a precarious situation. He was forced out of the capital. Although he didn't lose anything on the surface, his reputation has been discounted. The nobles who were watching on the sidelines will be more inclined to the first prince's side. If the second prince doesn't have a backup plan, things will be difficult."
…
…
As Liang Lidong said, the nobles in the capital were now aware of the matter.
The second prince was forced to flee the capital. In the eyes of those who were observant, this matter could be extended to many special meanings.
The first prince was sitting on the throne in the council hall, listening to the blood-covered commander report to him about the battle last night. He listened quietly and nodded from time to time. Gradually, the furrowed brows on his irritable face smoothed out.
The commander in charge of last night's operation kept his head down. A small part of the blood on his face and body was the enemy's, but most of it was his own. Although they were stopped by a strange spellcaster last night and many soldiers were killed and wounded, it didn't affect the overall situation. Then, they caught a coward from the Nether God Church and had him lead them through a secret passage, chasing the second prince out of the city.
They thought that they had bitten the second prince's troops, but the enemy turned out to be a surprise attack. Although their numbers were more than twice that of the second prince's troops, the combat power of the cavalry was too strong on the plains and in the wilderness. Half of their soldiers were killed or wounded, leaving only fifty or sixty cavalrymen, and then they let the enemy go.
This was a very failed battle, so the commander felt that he was doomed. However, he wasn't afraid of dying himself, but he was afraid that the first prince would implicate his family and people.
In the end, he heard the second prince laughing from above.
"Not bad, well done. I'll remember your achievements, and I'll transfer another thousand-man infantry regiment to you. You'll continue to chase after that traitor, understand? "
This commander was born a commoner. Although he was very talented in commanding small-scale battles, he didn't know much about political considerations. He didn't know why he would be rewarded even if he was defeated, but it didn't stop him from being overjoyed at escaping death. "Yes, Your Majesty, I will fight to the last drop of blood."
"Very well, go and do your work."
The commander kowtowed heavily, then turned around and strode out of the meeting hall.
The first prince looked around at his trusted aides, and finally his eyes fell on two people, one tall and one short, standing side by side. "Edward, take four hundred cavalrymen and scout the outskirts. If you find the traitor's whereabouts, don't go and fight. Just stick to them, and send someone to inform the commanders of the other troops to surround them."
The short warrior shouted "Long live the king," and turned to leave the meeting hall.
"Alphonse, take another six hundred infantrymen and be responsible for assisting your brother. Even if you can't kill the traitor, you must force him to run for his life, understand?"
The big Heavy Armor Warrior nodded and also left the meeting hall.
After giving all these orders, the first prince leaned against the back of the throne and looked at the blue, patterned ceiling of the meeting hall. He softly hummed a nursery rhyme … When he was a child, his father often hummed this nursery rhyme to coax him to sleep. He remembered it very clearly.
He loved and respected his father, which was why he wanted to poison him to death. His father planned to give the throne to his second son, and even Emma had a chance, while the two brothers were excluded.
How could Ignatsu, who was of foreign blood, and Emma, who was of commoner blood, have the right to the throne?
Everyone thought that the first prince's mother was assassinated by an enemy country's assassin, but the first prince knew very well that his mother was executed by his father … because his mother gave birth to a younger brother, and that younger brother was not of his father's blood.
At that time, the first prince was already twelve years old. He didn't have the ability to save his mother, but he secretly hid his younger brother. Then, he allied with the relevant forces of another party and exchanged a commoner's baby for him, saving his younger brother's life.
Now that the situation was becoming more and more favorable for him, he decided that after he truly ascended to the throne, he would bring his younger brother over and make him a regent.
Thinking of the day to come, he let out a low, happy laugh.