The Third Prince Of Darkness

The wedding night progressed rapidly. After announcing our engagement, we thanked some nobles who came to congratulate us and then took our seats. Roxanne and Avanne are probably here too, but I have no idea where they are in this crowd. When I sat down at the table, my mother and Isabella were the most surprised. Luckily, they calmed down when I told them I would explain everything later.

I don't really know how everyone else reacted to this, and honestly, I don't really care. The only people who matter are my family, and I'll tell them everything later, anyway.

Thus, the night moved quickly, and ambassadors from other countries, as well as princes and princesses from neighboring kingdoms, congratulated the newlywed couple. An envoy from the Kingdom of Alpshar also offered their respects with great courtesy.

After all, Alpshar is currently busy maintaining hierarchy and order in the south, and it seems they will be dealing with internal uprisings for a long time. Of course, since Alpshar is an unpredictable man, he could unexpectedly stabilize his country.

But even if, by some miracle, he manages to govern his kingdom perfectly, the southern kingdom will probably not want to wage war for at least a few years. But it's impossible for a person to be a perfect ruler... I suppose.

As the newlywed couple left the hall for their wedding night, I glanced at Lady Umala's glowing face. How sad... She probably thinks Yavein is her prince on a white horse or the love of her life, but unfortunately, after tonight, he will become her greatest fear. If what Evangeline said is true—and she has no reason to lie—then the second prince, Yavein, is a man prone to violence.

Prince Yavein abuses women, and the reason he does so is that of a rather disgusting cause.

Evangeline told me about a conversation between herself and one of Prince Yavein's concubines the other day. The concubine's face was bruised and battered. Curious, I asked Evangeline why Prince Yavein only abuses the women he's with. According to her, the women who spend the night with Prince Yavein are never satisfied.

And for a prince who has been told all his life that he is perfect, Yavein's ego took a severe blow because of his impotence in bed. Ultimately, the penis of a prince who couldn't satisfy women to begin with had become completely non-functional after these events. In other words, Prince Yavein is impotent.

He's a vile man who blames the women he's with for his inability to perform. After all, his ego, inflated like a balloon throughout his life, couldn't bear to be punctured. Indeed, Prince Yavein is a psychopath who believes he is perfect. So, if his penis is small or fails to function, in his mind, it's entirely the woman's fault for being incompetent.

Outwardly, he projects the image of a kind and powerful prince, but inside, this man is a madman.

Without a doubt, this first night would be Umala's worst night, at least until her true savior prince arrives. Of course, I'm not going to burst into their bedroom now, and besides, Umala needs to be in a position where she needs my help. I've never thought of myself as a good person, and especially in this new life, I know that being good would only lead to a painful death for me.

Therefore, everything I do is driven by my dreams and my loved ones. This is why I would use Umala's suffering tonight for my own gain... Perhaps this is why I'm a bad person, or maybe I'm just a disgusting person who only thinks of his interests... But in the end, if I don't have to stand on the sidelines and watch the people I love die, it's worth it.

At least I'm not naïve enough to think the world is all sunshine and roses.

I took a deep breath, stood up, and before leaving the ceremony hall, I grabbed a glass of wine and walked to my room. For now, the only thing I need for my plans to work is time.

••••

The next morning, the entire Asina royal family, except for me, set off. My excuse for staying another day in the Tamerid capital was, of course, the upcoming engagement with Evangeline. So, as the Asina royal family departed at sunrise, I continued to rest in my room.

Later, I had breakfast with Evangeline, and then we discussed the future engagement and wedding between me and Evangeline with the First Empress of the Tamerid Empire.

All these meetings went smoothly, and night fell once again. And it seems that one night was not enough for Umala to accept that her prince on a white horse was actually a psychopath. Fortunately, when I woke up the next day and went through my usual routine, there was a knock on my door. A smile spread across my face.

I dismissed the servants who had brought my breakfast, opened the door, and found Umala standing there.

Activating my acting skills, I put on a gentle smile.

"Sister? Do you need something?" I asked in the kindest tone possible.

Umala flinched slightly at my polite tone and gentle words. "I just want to talk to you," she whispered.

I opened the door fully. "Of course, come in," I said.

As Umala walked in, I noticed that she was walking a bit oddly, which was normal. Emperor Matteon had likely ordered Yavein not to hit Umala's face to avoid breaking the alliance because of his unusual "hobby." Indeed, there was nothing on Umala's face, but she probably had bruises and scars all over her body. Also, Yavein wouldn't let Umala see a healer to prevent his "hobby" from being discovered.

In such a difficult situation, Umala had no choice but to come to me, the only person she knew in this foreign palace. As she took a seat on the couch, I closed the door and sat across from her. Now I needed to say something that would ignite her heart, which was about to explode.

"What do you want to talk about, sister? Also, you're a newlywed; shouldn't you be on a romantic getaway with your husband right now?" I asked.

My words caused her hands to tremble slightly, and her strength faded. Her gaze fixed on the floor, her lips quivered, and tears began to stream down her face. Seeing that my choice of words was correct, I sighed. But by this time, I had already stood up and sat next to Umala. She suddenly turned and clung to me tightly, burying her head in my chest, crying loudly and with deep sobs.

"Shh, it's okay. It's over," I whispered soothingly, stroking Umala's back.

As Umala's tears slowed down and her sobs grew louder, she finally lifted her head from my chest and looked at me. "I'm sorry," she said, gesturing towards my chest. My chest was wet from Umala's tears.

"It's okay. Now, will you tell me what upset you so much?" I asked.

Umala looked at me for a while, and then quickly stood up. Fortunately, I gently grabbed her wrist just in time.

"Where are you going, sister?" I asked.

"I don't want to talk about anything," Umala said, but she didn't resist my hand holding her wrist.

It seems that I need to work a bit more to break this girl's will and make her trust me. Sometimes there are some issues in the plan, just like now, but that doesn't mean I'll give up. I stood up and cradled Umala's arm, looking into her eyes.

"Listen to me, my sister. I have to return to Asina tonight. And how can I leave you in this state? Tell me what happened and let me help you. After all, even if we're not very close, you're still my sister, and you're part of my family. I want to help you," I said, stroking her arm.

"But why? I used to hate you! Why are you treating me so well now?" she asked.

The answer is simple, actually, Umala. You're a useful tool, but of course, I can't tell you that.

"Because we all make mistakes. Even I was wrong when I attacked my brother Lugoar when we were children. But above all, we are family. And now that I've grown up, I can't ignore anything that harms my family," I said, and that was actually true… for my actual family, of course.

"But what if I tell you that someone stronger than you hurt me? What will you do then?" she asked, her eyes filling with tears again. I guess Umala is more sensitive than I thought. And I suspect that she hated me because of Fiona. That's why winning her over will be easier than I anticipated.

"No matter what, I will help you, sister. After all, you're my family," I said.

Umala's tears began to flow like a river, and she leaned on my shoulder once again. This time she wasn't resisting; she wasn't trying to hide the pain inside. As I gently hugged her, I stroked her head and tried to calm her down with soothing words. I had anticipated that Umala would be in such a fragile state, but I still needed to think about how to turn this to my advantage.

In my mind, I was trying to devise the best strategy for the challenges we would face in the future.

After a while, Umala wiped her tears and began to speak in a weak voice. "Last night... Yavein... He's a really bad man..." she said. Her voice was filled with fear and shame. "I don't even want to tell you what he did to me, but I...

I didn't do anything... I didn't do anything to deserve this."

Upon hearing these words, I placed a fake expression of concern on my face and leaned in closer. "No matter what he did to you, you didn't deserve it, Umala. Now, tell me everything that happened, step by step. Okay? So that I can help you get through this, I promise."

With my words, Umala looked into my eyes for a while, then nodded and forced herself to recount what had happened last night. As I had already suspected what had occurred, I wasn't surprised. What did surprise me was that Umala shared even some private details. It seems that Umala is already in the palm of my hand. If this toy becomes more valuable in the future, I might approach her differently.

In short, according to Umala, on the first night with Prince Yavein, he experienced impotence. Even thought Umala tried to help her with her hands and mouth, but nothing changed and when this happened, Prince Yavein suddenly turned into a different man. Umala said she endured hours of violence that night, and the same thing happened the following night.

She even showed me some of her scars, and indeed, she had some serious bruises on her body.

"Take this," I said, handing Umala a healing potion.

"No! He mustn't find out that I told someone about my scars," Umala said.

"Don't worry, Umala. That man won't come near you anymore," I said.

"But how? What are you planning to do, Ethan?" she asked.

"Do you remember your wedding night? That night, we announced our engagement to Evangeline" I said.

For some reason, my words made Umala momentarily sad. This was completely normal. Until that moment in her life, the only man was Yavein, and after spending a hellish time with him, she came to me. I began to help her like a saint, and that's why she placed me in a different category than all other men. So if I push a little now, I might even have a chance to get Umala into bed.

Even though she's my half-sister, I could still succeed, but there's no need for that.

"Yes, I remember" Umala said in a low voice.

"She will help you. Later, go to Evangeline and tell her about your situation. I'll make sure she helps you" I said.

"But how? Even Evangeline can't help me" Umala said.

"Don't worry. Evangeline is stronger than you think and has probably already prepared multiple strategies to defeat Yavein. She doesn't have any reason to help you, but I will talk to her" I said, standing up.

"Now you need to leave, Umala. If Yavein becomes suspicious, it will be much harder for me to save you," I said.

Umala stood up and wiped away the tears from her eyes. Then she hugged me tightly again. "Thank you, brother. I will never forget this kindness," she said, clinging to me with her whole body. I reluctantly returned the hug, and when Umala finally calmed down, I let go of her. When I looked into her eyes, I saw a kind of gratitude and...

desire? Maybe it would be easier than I thought to get her into bed.

"Don't worry, I'll sort everything out. The only thing I need from you is to do whatever Evangeline wants, okay?" I asked.

Umala nodded vigorously. "I'll do whatever she asks" she said.

"Alright, now go without raising any suspicion" I said, and Umala nodded and moved towards the door. She adjusted the tear stains on her face before opening the door and then stepped outside.

After she left, I smiled, seeing that even the little pink kitten watching us from the window had gone. I wondered what the sweet pink kitten was thinking before I went to bed to rest.

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