"Well, I feel that it's a pity... But if she is in love with another man, then I don't see why I should have a problem..." Alexi Ethren muttered with a wry smile on his face.
'Of course, you would feel pity! Natalya is a true gem!' Davis inwardly scoffed.
'It seems like the Third Prince had his eye on Natalya but didn't make a move... Is it due to other reasons?' He vaguely thought before he imperceptibly shook his head.
Princess Isabella suddenly flew away in a direction, heading towards the southeast direction, back to their residence.
"I see... Then we bid you farewell." Davis clasped his hand and looked towards Agis, "It is proper for you to leave her safely in the Conferred Queen's residence rather than me taking her away..."
Abruptly, he disappeared right in front of their eyes, showcasing his ability as a hidden protector.
Alexi Ethren narrowed his eyes, 'This protector is enormously powerful... I couldn't even sense his Essence Gathering Cultivation, meaning that he is at least at the High-Level of Law Sea Stage...'
Agis Stirlander blinked before he deeply bowed at his new benefactors. Without them, he felt that he would have enormously sinned, let down the Third Prince, and even implicated his family.
Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened.
"Agis..."
A voice suddenly echoed.
"Yes, your highness?" Agis Stirlander quickly responded as he moved his clasped hands towards the Third Prince.
Even now, he was still willing to be punished.
"What if I said that I was interested in your first granddaughter?"
Agis Stirlander's expression became difficult. He swallowed his expression and changed it into a solemn one, "I'll have to listen to my granddaughter's wishes then..."
"Ahh... It's a pity... I should have made known my intentions to you the moment I noticed her dazzling self..." Alexi Ethren shook his head as he felt that he lost his chance.
"Explain what happened here to the local authorities, Agis..."
He looked into the distance, towards the central direction as he took a deep breath. He then flew away from the residence.
'In any case, I don't even know if I will be alive after the coronation of the next Emperor, but in the off chance that I might be still alive, I thought I can pursue my future with her but who would've thought that she would be snatched away from me before I could even end up dead...'
Alexi Ethren didn't feel good, being framed, having his potential woman taken away from him.
He couldn't help but inwardly sigh, 'However, it seemed that her heart was already taken, hence, I probably never had a chance to begin with unless I forcefully bent her will...'
'Then, what if I...'
His expression suddenly became scary.
'Alexi! You aren't that scum to think like this!'
His scary expression then became calm before a gentle expression filled his face. He no longer felt bothered about Natalya's matter but felt killing intent rise against his second brother.
'Keith, if it is really you, then don't expect any mercy from me!'
======
In the Royal Palace of the Second Prince, Keith Ethren.
Inside the cultivation chamber where a Low-Level Emperor Grade Concealment Formation and a Peak-Level King Grade Defensive Formation was placed, Keith Ethren gritted his teeth in anger.
He spat some blood to the side as he cursed once again for the nth time, "That miserable wretch! I curse that she gets violated by some stray Magical Beast!"
He placed his hand over his ribs, trying to heal it through circulating a pill's essence in his body. He had already consumed a Peak-Level King Grade Medicinal Pill that even had an effect on bones but it was so slow that his injuries kept flaring up again and again.
Since he was at the Eighth Stage, the medicinal pill was not up to par even though it was topnotch.
Fortunately, due to his acute senses and instant reaction to threat, he was able to block the Conferred Queen's punch to his abdomen, preventing her from destroying his organs. Only his ribs were injured, mostly shattered to chunks of bones but it still held his organs in place.
"How dare that wretched woman try to sneak attack me!? If I ever get to have revenge, I swear that I will have her fed to the pigs!!!" Keith Ethren screamed, forgetting that it was a woman he couldn't hope to match with his status.
Suddenly, a shadowy figure flew inside the chamber and arrived beside him.
"Your Highness, this is bad! You have been somehow found out!"
"What!?" Keith Ethren exclaimed before he flinched from extreme pain! He felt the vibrations of his own voice tingling the shattered bones.
"How?" He hoarsely asked in pain.
"It's probably the Conferred Queen's protector! His Soul Sense is really strong for even me to elude, so he must've been able to see through your disguise and the illusion I placed on you...."
Keith Ethren became aghast as he gritted his teeth in distress. His mouth almost urged him to spit another lump of blood that gathered in your throat.
His lips quivered as he could no longer maintain his arrogance or his optimistic view for the future, "What should I do now!?"
The shadowy figure quickly took out a pill and handed it over, "Quick! Swallow this pill! Right now, they have no evidence that you are the one who appeared! As for your undulations that spread in that residence, I made sure to confuse them with my illusion, so they will not be able to match your undulations with their senses."
Seeing that Keith Ethren remained stunned, the shadowy figure urged, "Quick! If you are still in good shape, the Conferred Queen will not be able to attest that it was you, the Second Prince since your highness will not have any injuries after you consume this pill!!"
Keith Ethren's expression changed as he grabbed the pill with force and threw it into his mouth. The pill entered his throat and at the same time, its essences started to dissolve in his system and flooded his broken ribs.
As he circulated the pill essence around his ribs, it started to heal with visible results, depicting its prowess! However, he discovered that a bit of essence started to break away from his control and head towards his dantian which was near.
The essence instantly reached his dantian before he could even react!
"You! What pill is this?" Keith Ethren asked with a pale expression as he widened his eyes.
"What do you mean!? It's an authentic medicinal pill of Low-Level Emperor Grade! Do you think I will give it to your highness if you weren't useful to us!?"
"You think I'm blind!? There's a conditional poison hidden in this medicinal pill you bastard!"
*Pui!~*
Keith Ethren spat out a mouthful of blood the next moment but it was not from the poison but his injuries, "You will pay for this!"
"Hahaha!" The shadow figure laughed jeeringly, "Go ahead! Since you understand that this is a conditional poison, why don't you try being rebellious against me, against us? The Flowing Mist Sect?"
Keith Ethren gritted his teeth in extreme anger, however, he ignored the person in from of him and continued to heal as soon as he could. The fact that he had become a near-slave existence to the Flowing Mist Sect didn't constitute for his reason to turn chaotic.
Instead, he had many ideas swirling in his head as he was prepared for this scenario!
He had bought plenty of Poison Attributed Cultivation Manuals for scenarios like this in the past and read numerous books on different types of poison!