Volume 3, Chapter 63 – Miss Blood Butterfly

After carefully reviewing the intelligence provided by Moxiao, Xue Tian’ao’s attire, words, and actions could be said to mimic the “ideal spouse” in Miss Yu’s heart. Believing his acting skills were superb, Xue Tian’ao intended to rely on this mixture of tenderness and dominance to boost her favorability in one fell swoop.

Little did he know, the words Moxiao told him were meticulously crafted by Xiao. Every action Xue Tian’ao thought would increase her favorability actually stimulated Yumo’s nerves. Whether it was his clothing, the hall’s decor, the delicacies on the table, or his “self-assured” words and “domineering” gestures, without exception, they all made Miss Yu increasingly annoyed.

Xue Tian’ao’s words about drawing a line with his harem made Yumo feel even more sick. Compared to a womanizer, Miss Yu despised irresponsible scum even more. Thinking that such a man was the Chosen Son and would one day unite with a child as lovely and kind as Mengxi made Yumo’s blood boil.

Consequently, when Xue Tian’ao performed a self-righteous wall slam, a shadow uncontrollably cast over Miss Yu’s pretty face.

“You… you’re quite disgusting…”

Yumo, who had originally wanted to maintain some fake courtesy, completely lost interest in pretending and gave Xue Tian’ao an unceremonious eye-roll. Truth be told, Miss Yu hadn’t planned to be so direct since her current identity was the eldest daughter of the Blackrose Family, and she didn’t want her words or actions to damage the relationship between the family the children had built and the Chosen Son.

Therefore, after speaking coldly, Yumo felt a bit of guilt in her heart. However, recalling her previous conversation with Xiao, her heart calmed down.

On the other side, Xue Tian’ao froze in place upon hearing those words, especially the word “disgusting”. Miss Yu’s reaction completely exceeded his expectations. Instead of seeing her blushing and cute, he was directly labeled “disgusting.”

‘Disgusting.’

Ever since he gained this handsome appearance and became the Crown Prince, when had anyone ever spoken to him like that?

This word momentarily reminded Xue Tian’ao of some unbearable memories, causing his fists to clench tightly. A flash of displeasure surfaced in his azure eyes. However, considering he still needed to win over the girl before him, he suppressed the urge to lash out.

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Yet, his heart remained filled with confusion.

‘What? Her reaction… isn’t right?’

There was no joy, only disgust.

Didn’t this Blood Butterfly like domineering types? Could it be that Moxiao’s intelligence was “erroneous”?

Xue Tian’ao furrowed his brows deeply. However, he was a cunning man after all. Realizing his current performance was actually unappealing, he immediately deactivated his overbearing president mode and returned to his usual gentle and refined gentleman persona, putting on a very innocent look.

“Miss Yu, those words seem a bit inappropriate. Did I… do something to make you unhappy?”

“…”

However, Miss Yu merely gave the “confused” blonde man a faint glance before ignoring him, silently lowering her head to eat the dessert on the table.

After a few seconds of silence, Miss Yu spoke slowly. Her words were not an answer to his question but a new inquiry.

“Laro Antalov, Libok, and Viscaul—I remember these people always served by your side when you were still the Crown Prince. Why haven’t I seen them lately? I heard they were assassinated. Does Your Majesty know anything about this?”

“Hmm? Laro and the others?”

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Hearing this, although Xue Tian’ao’s expression remained unchanged, his heart trembled slightly. After all, those former “brothers” of his had already been eliminated because their paths diverged.

Laro Antalov, Libok, and Viscaul were all individuals with A-rank value. They had undoubtedly provided great help to Xue Tian’ao, but due to conflicts regarding the former Emperor and the royalist faction, the three ultimately chose to leave him and head for the Red Lotus Leaf Empire.

In Xue Tian’ao’s eyes, this was undoubtedly an act of betrayal. At the same time, Xue Tian’ao could not allow these A-rank individuals to go to an enemy country. What if they chose to help the Red Lotus Leaf Empire against him in the future? To prevent this, he had dealt with them privately.

Xue Tian’ao tended to destroy anyone of high value who did not belong to him.

This wasn’t a major issue, so why did this young lady suddenly mention it? This caused a flash of solemnity to cross his eyes, but he had to keep up the act.

Immediately, Xue Tian’ao put on a heart-wrenching expression. “Sigh, to be honest, they disappeared during a secret mission. I am also very worried about them, as they are my good brothers. After they vanished, I sent out countless Royal Knights to find them, but even now… there is still no news. I wonder where they ended up…”

At this moment, Xue Tian’ao truly looked like a good superior worried about his subordinates.

Unfortunately, Xue Tian’ao’s performance elicited almost none of the expected reactions from the black-haired girl. She just continued eating her snacks quietly, her small mouth opening slightly as she casually uttered an “Oh.”

Seeing her reaction, Xue Tian’ao’s brow furrowed.

‘She… couldn’t have found out something, right?’

Before he could think for long, the black-haired girl, who had been simmering with anger, spoke again. A faint red light flickered in her deep blue eyes.

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“In addition, Your Majesty, there are actually quite a few things I’m curious about. Including the funerals of the imperial family members, the Soul Crystals, the handling of the Southern nobles, the extraction of raw materials for Magic Fission Bombs, the tragedy of the Calvido family… I’ve noticed Your Majesty has been quite busy lately. Besides preparing for the Coronation Ceremony, you’ve had so many other things to do.”

Miss Yu’s words sounded full of admiration, but to Xue Tian’ao’s ears, they were thick with mockery.

At this moment, the Emperor of the empire retracted the smile from his face, his expression gradually darkening. These were undoubtedly the things he was desperately trying to hide. Although Xue Tian’ao believed these dirty deeds were necessary for the empire’s stability and strength, he knew that once these events were exposed, his reputation would suffer a devastating blow, and his popular support might even collapse.

At this moment, Xue Tian’ao was certain that the black-haired girl before him indeed knew many of his secrets.

‘I handled it so well, yet she still found out? It seems I underestimated the Blackrose Family’s intelligence system. A mere family from the Sadik Empire could actually find so much in the Sky Dome…’

Come to think of it, the explosion at Marquis Coveport’s Mansion was likely the work of the Blackrose Family as well.

Xue Tian’ao fell into a brief silence. A moment later, the Emperor suddenly broke into a smile of relief. Since she already knew, there was no need for pretenses. He would just lay his cards on the table.

“Hehe, I didn’t expect Miss Yu to know so much. Moreover, you asked me so directly. I wonder why?”

“It’s nothing. I was just curious and wanted to ask what Your Majesty is thinking. You are the Chosen Son, yet your actions, like creating ‘Soul Crystals’, don’t seem like something the Chosen One should do.”

“You really do know. But… what the Chosen One should do?”

Hearing this, Xue Tian’ao gave a disdainful smile. “Miss Yu, the responsibility of the Chosen One is simple: to save this world, eliminate the Abyssal Demons in the north, and bring peace to this continent. To achieve this goal, the sacrifice of a small number of people is essential. As for those ‘Soul Crystals’ you mentioned, if the sacrifice of a few hundred lowly lives can help shape a powerful seventh tier existence, why not? You should know that one powerful seventh tier is more useful than an army of one thousand.”

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“Sacrifice? Including your own siblings? The subordinates who once followed you? And those Southern nobles who were founding heroes of the country?”

“Siblings? No, they aren’t. They were merely unstable factors that could cause unrest in the empire. If they were still alive, they would likely have raised armies to rebel against my rule. Not kill them? Should I wait for a civil war? As for Laro and the others, rather than letting them defect to the Red Lotus Leaf Empire and threaten the Snownight Empire later, it’s better to let them rest eternally in their homeland. Additionally, the Southern nobles? They indeed had merits, but now they have become factors of instability. They must be eliminated. Fortunately, there were plenty of excuses. Plus, the national treasury was a bit empty, and the wealth they accumulated happened to save our finances, hahahaha.”

“Was it necessary to wipe them out completely? Not even sparing the children?”

“What else? Leave them as a future threat so they can come back for revenge?”

“You… are much more cruel than I imagined…”

Facing the black-haired girl’s string of questions, Xue Tian’ao felt a sense of being caught between laughter and tears. Even the look in his eyes as he watched Yumo carried a hint of disbelief.

“Hehe, cruel? But honestly, I really didn’t expect that you, the eldest daughter of the Blackrose Family, would care about such things. I am well aware that your Blackrose Family has done plenty of similar things within the Sadik Empire. Why have you suddenly started to pity foreigners? It’s quite unexpected, Miss Yu.”

With a playful smile, Xue Tian’ao slowly leaned down, bringing his face close to the black-haired girl’s.

“Oh, no… I should say… Miss Blood Butterfly~”

Yumo: “…”