Chapter 9
Royce still died.
Although since he had gotten orders from Kris this time, so he didn't deliberately provoke Dishang Huai. However, as a playboy scion who had power and influence, he didn't stop his daily activities of bullying men and harassing women. One day, he forcibly took a delicate and beautiful flower-like girl off the streets.
And unfortunately for him, this girl happened to be Cece, female supporting character 0 in "Other World Royal Odyssey".
Cece was the granddaughter of the Dishang family's old butler; essentially, a young maid of Dishang Huai's. She had grown up with him, always staying by his side and greatly looked up to him. When the protagonist left the Olay Empire to level up, she was the one who remained at home to take care of things and wait for his return.
She embodied the typical "virtuous wife and loving mother + childhood friend + little maid" trope common in these kinds of novels, a character born to be a member of the protagonist's camp. Although not a particularly outstanding character that would draw readers to fall in love with her, if a completely dependent character like her were to be bullied in the story, many male readers would fiercely clamour for the author to exact revenge for her.
Even though Royce didn't know Cece's identity beforehand, the degree of seeking death of his actions was almost the same as tormenting the old butler. As such, Dishang Huai who already had deep grudges against him still used his own concocted potion as he snuck into the Royce Mansion with the help of Blackie to save Cece and killed Royce in the process.
Ding Sheng was shocked. In the original novel, Kris was shocked by the fact that an unknown assailant killed her powerful and loyal lackey. But the current Ding Sheng was shocked by the power of the plot. Although his presence caused some changes in the details, the overall key trajectory remained unchanged.
This left him feeling uneasy, but it also strengthened his resolve not to break off the engagement. As a seasoned reader of male-oriented novels, he believed that while the plot was powerful, it must happen in order. As long as he didn't trigger the key plot points, the subsequent events wouldn't occur.
Compared to Royce, he still had an advantage. The prerequisite that triggered Royce's death was his evil deeds—especially looking at it now, it was the evil deed of bullying the weak and innocent. And there were many ways to accomplish his self-destruction. But for Kris, there was only one key junction in his path, and that was whether or not his engagement was annulled.
He had been contemplating this matter, looking obviously pensive even when he was studying in the library.
Dishang Huai, who was teaching him to draw a tier four magic circle, let go of his hand, took a step back, and asked him, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"
Despite his respectful and distant demeanour outside of teaching sessions, Dishang Huai couldn't deny a trace of concern in his heart.
This is not right; you'll only end up getting trampled more miserably this way. What she is doing now is all with ulterior motives. You're only using her to reassure your father about your marriage so that he can recuperate in peace; don't think of anything else…
He warned himself in his heart, but Dishang Huai couldn't help but break his own rules and make exceptions again and again.
(lilies: give in child, don't fight it ahahah)
"It's nothing." Ding Sheng seemed to be somewhat in a daze when he subconsciously blurted out the thing that had been plaguing him the entire day, "Royce is dead."
As the murderer, Dishang Huai naturally knew this. He also clearly knew exactly what kind of thoughts this man, who had been persistently giving him a hard time for a long time in the past, harboured towards Kris.
He put on a normal act like he had heard the news, but did not feel pity for Royce's death as he asked in a seemingly casual way, "Does his death affect you greatly, Your Highness?"
"Of course." The straightforward Ding Sheng was unguarded and voiced his true thoughts. Given that Royce couldn't escape death, he probably wouldn't be able to escape the fate of being sealed at the bottom of the icy lake, suffering day in, day out. Of course, he was greatly affected.
Adding more unnecessary details, he explained, "After all, he had been by my side for so many years. His sudden, untimely death naturally saddens me."
Dishang Huai moved closer, flipped a page of the book, and once again took Ding Sheng's hand, guiding it to draw, as he said distantly, "I didn't know You Highness was this sentimental and righteous."
Ding Sheng winced in pain, turning to glare at Dishang Huai accusingly, "Dishang, you're gripping too hard."
"I apologise," Dishang Huai said as he relaxed his grip on Kris and tried his best to calmly guide Kris to draw the magic circles as usual.
Shadows clouded his dark eyes; he was somewhat glad that he had killed Royce at that time. Indeed, whether in life or death, Royce was a detestable eyesore who only caused trouble.
The dark thoughts were fleeting, and Dishang Huai quickly snapped back to reality, feeling a chill in his heart. He stared solemnly at the lines of Kris' ears and cheeks. The girl's features were soft, her eyes clear, and she docilely let him hold her hand unguarded, allowing him to guide her hand to draw those mysterious and ancient lines on the parchment.
He suddenly realised how much time he had spent on studying wind and ice magic, even neglecting the ancient dark magic that once fascinated him so much.
He closed his eyes silently.
It was time he distanced himself from this princess.
Sooner or later, his incompetent self would be abandoned by her. And right now, he didn't have the right to do whatever he wants. One wrong step, one moment of indulgence, and he might very well be doomed.
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Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day!!
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~