the past was always rather nostalgic for me.

even now, i still remembered how karwenz had never been a good student.

the mist kingdom wasnt very wealthy back then. however, the royals homework was even more intense because of it. civilization, politics, economics, diplomacy, and endless homework on such topics. i always felt such a headache about the workload. to make things worse, karwenz only cared about playing around.

karwenz had thick skin and wasnt afraid of getting a beating. besides, the royal tutors wouldnt dare to hit him too hard since he was a prince. it was quite normal that he often cut class. i was the one who had to bring him back every time.

no matter if he was on the roof of the royal palace, or in a corner of the barracks, or even in the garden of some nobles daughter, i would always be able to find him really quickly, as if i knew where he was by the way, wasnt it quite early for him to already be a womanizer at that age?

ha, only her words are harsh. i can easily get through everything by acting slightly pitiful and pretending to be cute.

i felt rather helpless. perhaps this was why karwenz was always so well liked despite being so naughty.

whenever noble daughters passed by, they would always squeeze karwenzs face and joke around with him while even letting him touch their bodies. but if the same noble daughters saw me, they would always respectfully curtsy to me and then run away quite swiftly.

even though we have the same face, why is there such a difference in treatment? i also want to act cute so that i can touch their bodies ahem, i mean get along well with my citizens.

however, reality was quite cruel. karwenz became a famous playboy, and got to enjoy life while causing trouble all the time. meanwhile, i only had boring knights and even more boring politicians around me.

even though i clearly worked far harder and was so much more serious in my studies, and my grades were good, maybe it was due to my adult mind and not wanting to pretend to act cute that i wasnt as good at making connections with others.

even now, i still recalled how when i told karwenz this, that he looked at me sympathetically for quite a while, and then said

no, its just that our future king roland doesnt understand others hearts at all.

at that time, i intended on using a fist of brotherly love to properly teach him what understanding others hearts was all about. i then discovered that i wasnt actually able to beat him in a fight, so i then used the tactic of telling kelly, karwenz says that he wont be punished as long as he acts pitiful, and is even laughing about how easy you are to fool. that was my way of teaching karwenz how sly adults could be.

and so, karwenz really did become pitiful, as he was forced to make up double the number of classes that he missed. kelly and i both watched to make sure that he didnt cut class. karwenz didnt get a single chance to cut class that entire month.

however, even now i still recalled what karwenz told me afterwards. this was something that he had only said once.

roland, your way of thinking resembles exquisite gears, filled with wondrous calculations and set mechanisms, treating each persons limits and efforts as a definite on paper. although its all quite logical, it really makes me feel uncomfortable. as a ruler, calculating so much doesnt actually have that much meaning. the entire country will be yours in the future. all you need to do is satisfy others at certain times. youll have the best food and clothing, and you can order others to do what you want because of their beliefs.

this was his advice to me as my younger brother. although i listened to his advice and tried to change myself, an adults personality really wasnt that easy to change.

still, this caused me to change my opinion somewhat regarding karwenz.

he wasnt brainless. he was simply too lazy to use his brain most of the time. with an older brother to deal with the responsibilities for him, he was more than happy to shamelessly act as a carefree second prince. perhaps acting like such a character was also actually the most peaceful way for the royalty, so that ambitious political schemers wouldnt be able to find anything to help them make trouble.

of course, habits would be quite difficult to change. karwenz indeed became rather brainless after not using his brain for quite a long while.

however, he would often have flashes of inspiration at critical moments. he would always see the critical point regarding the situation. sometimes, i would ask for his opinion as well, and make fun of his instinct for being like that of a wild creatures. yet, he would always respond with the same mysterious sentence.

thats because i understand others hearts, but you dont.

i would then prank him using various methods without giving him any way to vent, as another lesson to teach him how vicious human hearts could be.

however, it seemed that i was the one who was on the losing end this time.

that damned karwenz, i fell into his trap.

human nature was about satisfying others desires? i felt that was only sophistry. however, karwenzs really simple scheme that used his understanding of others hearts had managed to shake the entire world.

sophocles was the god of evolution, so he desired evolution. thus, karwenz gave him evolution.

the god of holy light was nothing more than the source of orders puppet. thus, karwenz gave him a reason to step into a trap.

as for me, karwenz had likely identified my weakness already that i wasnt on guard against those closest to me perhaps elisa wasnt even the only candidate he had in mind. perhaps he had previously treated reyne so well all in consideration for today. he then unhesitatingly gave up on reyne simply because elisa had already agreed to cooperate with him.

my schemes were typically incredibly complex. i would take advantage of the overall situation and gradually lead my enemy into my trap. my schemes were both hidden and out in the open.

my personal feelings? that would be meaningless compared with the overall situation.

karwenzs tactics were incredibly simple. all he did was have critical individuals do critical things. just a few things were more than enough to give me such a huge headache.

perhaps i had been so passive recently because deep in my heart, i was still unable to view him as my mortal enemy.

karwenz had made plans of critical importance with elisa helping him. since she understood me so well, it was also understandable why i had been forced into such a passive situation.

karwenz also indeed possessed something that would truly motivate elisa. even though i knew what that was, i was unable to promise her the same thing.

what a major investment. having so many demons invade the fire elemental plane was for the sole purpose of luring me into this trap?

we both agreed that this would be worth it if it can avoid the worst possible outcome.

elisa continued to fill my wineglass as she unhesitatingly spoke more words of betrayal. perhaps she had long since expected that this day would arrive.

i felt even more of a headache now. i was no idiot. since they wanted to restrain me right now, that could only mean one thing we had all misjudged karwenzs progress. right now had to be the critical moment for karwenz opening the door to the dimensional barrier!

it wasnt like what we surmised at all, that karwenz still needed to gather more chaos girls to create a cynthia to give him the power to open the door.

karwenz attacked amelia solely to give me the mistaken impression that his preparations were still incomplete. just by looking at elisas current expression, i knew that he had long since completed his preparations.

this scamming tactic of combining truth with lies wasnt karwenzs typical style. in fact, this looked far more like a typical tactic that i would use.

i now knew who was the one constantly scheming against me behind the scenes. elisa hadnt appeared in front of me for so long, which meant that i would keep worrying about her rather than being on guard against her. should i be exclaiming how elisa had already surpassed me in scheming?

the wineglasses were now empty. elisa casually waved her hand and filled her glass again.

she wanted to pour more wine, but i took back my empty wineglass.

there isnt much time.

i sighed as i got up and unsheathed my sword.

thats right, there wasnt much time left. their actions was a message that every minute here would increase the probability of opening the door to the dimensional barrier. even if i had to fight someone so dear to me, i wouldnt be able to stay here.

roland, im only doing this for your own good.

i know. im really grateful to you.

i silently brought out my dawn holy light sword. this was my choice.

the sword hummed slightly, exposing the confusion in my heart. perhaps i had never expected that one day, i would have to draw my sword on the one i always viewed as a daughter that i wanted to protect so much.

roland, you dont understand others hearts.

elisas words were calm. her tears were also calm. however, this time, i was unable to wipe away her tears for her.

yes, i truly apologize. perhaps ill never be able to understand others hearts in my lifetime.