Abuse of Power (6)

The third prince didn't expect that it would turn out this way.

He had crushed other disciples who had offended him, some of them were also his younger brother's former roommates. On all occasion, he had dominated them all, driving them to the pit of despair.

And yet, out of all people, it was William who had forced Elias to make a move.

That bastard, he was really getting all chummy with his younger brother, huh?

"Fourth brother, it seems that your uncivilized mutt had made a mess in my dorm. What do you think you can compensate me with?"

Alongside his mocking grin, he'd also sent a bone-crushing pressure toward Elias.

However... the recipient of his pressure didn't even flinch. He showed the third prince an amiable smile, his eyes curved up slightly.

"Third brother is a kind and generous person. I apologize on this fool's behalf. I hope that you can pretend as if nothing had ever happened today."

Jonathan wanted to puke blood. Half of the fifth floor had been wrecked, and he wanted him to just forget everything?

"Please~?"

"Ugh."

He really did spit out blood. Ah damn, that smile...

"T-this bastard, he'd injured my men," Jonathan pointed to the four youths sprawled on the side. Besides, Elias had leaped from the lower floor. He should know the situation below.

"Third brother, this fool is still an innocent kid."

'Please be lenient.'

The hidden meaning was perfectly conveyed to him. No matter how much the third prince wanted to be stubborn, his own conscience couldn't deny what Elias had said.

William was indeed just an inexperienced rural boy.

Because he had broken one of his men's leg, Jonathan had unknowingly went overboard, brutally attacking the kid's soft spot without mercy.

"...Fine. Let's just settle at that."

He lazily waved his hand, conveying that William was allowed to go.

He still didn't like him. This didn't mean that they would stop becoming enemies. However, for today's incident, he'd be the bigger man and let it slide for once.

"Many thanks, third brother. I'll send you oranges later."

"...Why oranges... hey, wait, what are you doing?"

"Hmm? Carrying him, what else?"

"'Carry- just leave him here! I'll get my men to kick him out later!"

"Don't be a worrywart, I'm already middle-rank elementary stage, I can handle this much."

"It's not about your cultivation, isn't it? I'm saying-"

William felt like he was wandering in the clouds. He felt that someone had put his arms around their shoulder, hoisting him up as they dragged him away. Elias and Jonathan's voices were growing hazier and hazier.

In the end, he closed his eyes, finally succumbing to his exhaustion.

---

'Hmm...'

He was in pain. Other than the stab wounds left by the third prince, the fatigue from fighting his way through the entire five floor had finally returned with a vengeance, making him ache all over.

He remembered that he had fought the third prince out of rage. In the end, it seemed that that roommate of his had saved him once again.

'He carried me out of that place, huh...'

His head was laying on a soft pillow right now. The slightly elevated height made the aching less painful. Perhaps Elias had brought him back to their dorm, and he was left to recuperate on his bed.

'It's... comfortable...'

Hmm? If he remembered correctly, his pillow was as hard as rock, though... did Elias switched it? He was a prince, his accommodation should be better than William's, right?

'...'

He got a bad feeling, so he opened his eyes in a haste.

The sun was shining brightly above in the blue sky. Shielding him from its glare, casting a shadow on his face, was Elias.

"Oh. You're awake."

He was looking down over William with a bored expression, as if saying that he was tired of waiting.

Eh, wait, this position...

William abruptly tried to sit up, but the sudden movement hit his head like a gong, causing him to grow dizzy. He felt a pair of hands touching his head, slowly guiding it back to that soft pillow he'd been perusing just now.

"Your injuries aren't healed yet. Don't move too much. Let your dantian circulate your qi more."

Since William was finally awake, he could feel his qi coursing through his meridian even without his command. Every time they passed an area where he was wounded, the pain subsided ever so slightly.

His old master said that cultivators recover unnaturally fast. So this was the reason!

"Say... I..."

"Hmm?"

"...Thanks. For helping me again."

Was it the third time now? It felt like his debt to the fourth prince was growing bigger and bigger.

"Don't be so reckless next time."

And said benefactor responded nonchalantly, as usual.

After a moment of silence, he continued.

"I hope you won't fight with third brother anymore."

"...Impossible."

That bastard prince dared to involve innocent bystanders in their conflict. He was exactly the type that William hated the most. Even if they didn't end up as enemies, they still can't become friends.

They were just that incompatible.

"That evil bastard... I definitely won't forgive him!"

"Hmmhm. Evil, is it~?"

Elias gently stroked the boy's hair, as if soothing a small child.

Ah, dangerous. Even though he didn't want to admit it, William was slowly getting addicted to this feeling...

"Let me tell you a story."

The prince turned his gaze to the distance.

"Have you ever heard the saying that being born into royalty is a living curse? From the moment that third brother entered this world, he was immediately faced with an assassination attempt. He only managed to survive because his mother, the second concubine, was clever enough to switch the baby in the crib at the last moment.

First brother had been competing with the more talented second brother by the time that third brother was able to understand the world around him. He was seen as mere hindrance by the two, another rival in the road to the throne. Whether third brother liked it or not, he had no choice but to be wary of the people around him. Every servants or playmates close to his side could be the next traitor that wanted to take his life. That, was his life for the past thirteen years."

"..."

'What about you?'

William wanted to ask, but he felt his tongue going numb, as if he didn't want to hear the answer.

Hadn't the fourth prince cursed with an accident that destroyed his cultivation? Wasn't that proof enough of the darkness of the royal family?

Instead, he asked another thing that had puzzled him thus far.

"Why are you defending him? Hasn't he done a lot of bad things to you?"

That bastard had a hand in poisoning him, pushing him into the lake, even blackmailing his roommates to antagonize him. And yet, this idiot could still talk so calmly in front of him. Was that all just a front?

For his question, William was rewarded with a gentle chuckle.

"He's not a good guy, is he?"

Jonathan Harwell was a petty, arrogant, black-bellied person. He was quick to judge, and even quicker to lose his patience over the smallest infraction.

However, he also never crossed that imaginary line that separated him from the truly immoral. He never inflicted permanent injury on his victims, and any setback they received in the academy was artificial at best, not to the point of destroying their future.

While he treated the people around him at arms length, never seeing them as equal, he also treated his underlings as his precious belongings, protecting them at the sight of trouble. It was also this trait that made him a bit too eager to mess with William, as a form of revenge for one of his men.

"That still doesn't excuse his behavior! In the first place, if he didn't send his men to disturb me, that guy wouldn't get injured! It's not my fault!"

"You're correct. It's all third brother's fault. You and your friends are just victims."

However...

"Even with all his faults, I still believe that third brother is not 'evil'."

William went silent, unable to fully comprehend everything that Elias had just said. Perhaps sensing his frustration, the prince didn't say anything else, pulling them back to the comfortable silence at the start.

"...I still can't see him that way."

After a few minutes, William finally responded, to which Elias gave him a knowing smile.

"Do you know why third brother confront you in the roundabout way? Why he bothered to harass your friends instead of coming to you directly, even though he has the strength to do so?"

'Because he's a coward.'

That should had been Wiliam's reply, but now, he didn't truly feel that it could explain everything sufficiently. Thus, he closed his mouth and waited for the answer.

Satisfied with his respond, Elias continued.

"The most painful thing is not the wounds on your body, but losing people that you cared for the most. Third brother knows this well... because he had experienced it too many times in the past. The people you call friends, if they retreated from your life after the slightest inconvenience, can you still call them your friends?"

Finding acquaintances were as easy as breathing. As long as you act nicely, people would flock to you like moths to a flame.

However, finding true friends who would stick with you through thick and thin? That was the true challenge.

Because ultimately, nobody could predict where a person's heart lies.

"That's why... this time, when you've found those who will stick with you to the very end, please cherish them as if they're your greatest treasures. Alright, your healing is almost done. Get up."

He suddenly pushed William up to a sitting position. And then, he grabbed his arm and made him stand up.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Aren't you curious as to why I could knew that you were in third brother's dorm at that time?"

Without continuing his words, Elias began to drag the boy down the path. William quickly noticed that they were going toward the gate separating the inner disciple and outer disciple areas.

Suddenly, William had an epiphany.

"Wait. Don't tell me..."

Standing with their heads lowered around the gate were Sean, Gilbert, Cecily, and the two spear-users, Duncan and Mace. Their training robes were drenched in sweat, perhaps because they had been waiting under harsh the sun for so long.

When they noticed Elias guiding William through the gate, they quickly raised their head, waves of relief flashing in their eyes as they saw that their friend was okay. However, the bloodied spots on William's robe made them flinch.

"You guys..."

William was about to say something when he was pushed from behind, propelling him to crash on the group. When he turned around, he saw Elias closing the gate with a mischievous smile.

An awkward silence ensued.

"Uh, I..."

"We're sorry!"

The group of five dropped onto their knees at the same time.

"Guys?! Don't-"

He quickly rushed to help them stand up, but Gilbert raised his hand to stop him.

"We're sorry, William... we... we were afraid. However, that didn't excuse us from deliberately ignoring you. If we're really friends, we should've stayed with you no matter what."

"We're... cowards... so pathetic..."

Each of them mumbled something similar, their voice washed up with shame.

"If... if you're angry with us, then I understand. We won't bother you anymore, but... please accept our apologies. This is all that we can do right now..."

William clenched his fists, his lips tightened from his emotions. With each steps that he took, Gilbert could feel his own heart pounding harder. Finally, he was right in front of the kneeling boy, his cast-down eyes shielding his intention.

"I wasn't angry. I was just hurt. And you're a bit wrong there. Apologizing isn't the only thing that you can do, right now."

William raised his fist into the air. And then, he swung it down, aiming toward Gilbert's face. The boy closed his eyes, bracing for impact. He knew that he'd deserved it.

However, the punch never fell.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a smiling William, offering him a handshake.

"Let's start from the beginning, one more time. Friends?"

Friends.

Closing together into a tight hug, the six children finally came back together. Perhaps, this time, with their bonds stronger than before.

---

The fourth prince leaned on the wall right beside the gate, waiting until William finished his little reunion. Even though he couldn't hear what was happening on the other side, he had a feeling that everything should turn out fine.

"Enjoying your little friend game?"

At that moment, an arrogant voice called out to him.

"Oh, hey, evil brother~"

"Oh? I thought that I'm not evil to you?"

"For the respected third prince of Heavenly Blessing to have a hobby like eavesdropping... What a surprise."

"Tch."

Appearing without his entourage, the third prince quickly closed the distance between them, standing mere inches away from Elias, as if wanting to block anyone from seeing him.

"I don't like that kid."

"I can see that."

Jonathan sighed.

"Why are you so fixated with him?"

"Hmm... hard to say. If I have to make it into words, perhaps, it's because... I feel that he could help me achieve my goal."

"What goal? The throne?"

Elias smiled at him.

"I'm not interested with the throne. You know that."

The third prince suddenly leaned closer, pinning him on the wall.

"If they know about him, then second and fifth brother will think that you're trying to make your own faction. I can't allow that. I can't predict what they'll do next."

"Such a worrywart."

Placing a finger on the third prince's lips, Elias gave him a slight smile. Understandably, the third prince wasn't too happy with that attitude. He hastily pried the finger away from him.

"...Fine. Do what you want. Just... keep yourself safe. That's all."

He gave him a pat in the head. And then, he whispered, using his qi to suppress his voice so that only the two could hear it.

"Don't forget my oranges... eighth sister."

"Hmmhm."

He walked away, leaving the fourth prince by his own device.