The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix's Novels Also Desires Happiness

”That was so cool.”

”What did you say?”

”Just now.”

Muen sidled up with a sly look and rubbed shoulders with Celicia.

”That whole ’I absolutely won’t let bread prices go up’ thing. Cool as hell, okay.”

”Shut up.”

”Oh.”

The street outside the royal palace was empty now—so empty and so silent it was scary. Even the palace not far away seemed to have stopped fighting. Everyone had shifted their attention to that battle between Albert and the Indra King.

”Quick, go to the escort! Protect His Majesty the Emperor!”

The two of them watched coldly as a pot-bellied noble came huffing over with a squad of guards. Excitement was plain on his fat face, like the moment he joined in, the whole fight would end, the Indra King would be routed, and he’d claim some enormous merit for himself.

”These guys only move fast at times like this.”

”We should be glad they’re enemies, not teammates. But enemy or ally... if this keeps up, the Indra King definitely won’t be able to hold out much longer.”

Muen stared at the Indra King in the distance, who was falling deeper and deeper into a disadvantage, and sighed.

”So what now? That kind of thing has me totally stumped too. It’s not like the two of us—one at fourth tier, one at fifth—can go challenge him to a duel.”

It really was worthy of the title King’s Sword: the peak of a Crowned One, plus the imperial legitimacy of the Emperor of the Empire. Right now even the army didn’t dare move rashly, and a lot of people would probably flip to Albert because of it. If Muen were in Albert’s position, he honestly wouldn’t even know how to lose.

”First... let’s sort out the logic,” Celicia said flatly.

”Sort out the logic?”

Muen turned back, stunned. ”Is there even a point to sorting anything out now? Albert already has the King’s Sword. Even if we know his schemes and calculations, it doesn’t matter, does it?”

”What Albert is like obviously doesn’t matter. But there are things that matter right now.”

Celicia lowered her gaze to her pale arm.

”For example... the most fundamental question. Who is our real enemy, exactly?”

”Our real enemy... isn’t it the Inner Council? Albert?”

Muen frowned, even more confused.

Celicia didn’t answer. She kept staring at her arm, holding her breath and focusing, like she ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) was doing something.

Very quickly, whether it was an illusion or not, Muen felt the chill that had always hung around Celicia beginning to fade.

”What are you—”

”Just trying to seal off the Divine Favor of the Goddess of Ice and Snow,” Celicia said softly.

”You can do that?”

”This Divine Favor has been with me since birth. I’ve never sealed it before, but all these years of working to control it weren’t for nothing.”

The moment she finished speaking, Muen felt the cold aura around Celicia vanish completely. In that instant, she seemed to go from that ice witch back to an ordinary girl.

Only the ice-lake in her eyes stayed perfectly still. It seemed that detached, cool temperament wasn’t because of the Divine Favor at all—she was simply like that by nature.

”Why are you doing this, exactly—”

Muen was still trying to make sense of it when his gaze suddenly tightened.

Because with Celicia’s chill completely gone, blood-red patterns abruptly surfaced on the pale skin of her arm. At the same time, he heard it clearly—the sound of blood flowing. Like the blood in her veins was surging at an extreme speed.

An unhealthy flush began to rise on Celicia’s cheeks, and her breathing grew unsteady.

”This is—”

Muen went pale. He quickly leaned in and helped Celicia regulate her breathing. She’d only just started to recover from her injuries—this would definitely damage her body.

”So it really is like that.”

Supported by Muen, a flicker of pain passed through Celicia’s eyes, but her lips curved into a faint smile.

”Looks like my guess was right.”

”What is this?”

”Blood-Surge Syndrome.”

”Blood-Surge Syndrome? I’ve never heard of it...”

”It’s a blood disorder—extremely rare. People who get it can’t control the vital blood in their bodies at all. It surges madly and won’t calm down. In the later stages, the blood inside can even pierce the skin and seep out onto the surface... it’s normal you’ve never heard of it.”

Celicia paused.

”But if I tell you Pink Bear has the exact same condition, you’ll understand.”

”So this means... it’s the royal family’s curse?”

Muen’s pupils shrank.

”Yes. The royal curse.”

Celicia turned her wrist, composed as she examined the condition that had tormented Pink Bear for decades.

”It’s one part of the royal curse—or rather, one of its most terrifying derivatives. That’s why it could turn the greatest genius the royal family has had in a thousand years into that ghostlike mess who reads porn all day and scratches his butt, and even has to wear that ridiculous suit every single day, wobbling around everywhere.”

”I thought that suit was some kind of special hobby of his...”

”He really does love that sort of thing. But that Pink Bear suit, as ridiculous as it looks, is a genuine ancient relic. It helps him seal away his blood aura. Otherwise, decades ago, he would’ve died with every last drop of vital blood drained out.”

”But... if it’s a royal curse, why is it showing up in you?”

Muen’s expression grew even heavier. ”Didn’t you say it before? In every generation of the royal family, only the most outstanding person gets cursed. And in your generation, the one who got cursed was Albert.”

”I did say that. But the sense of wrongness I felt from the King’s Sword earlier made me start doubting it. So I guessed... the one who got cursed wasn’t Albert. It was me. I’m the most outstanding person of this generation of the royal family.”

Celicia answered quietly. Her beautiful face didn’t show even the slightest emotional change at that self-praise.

”As for my imperial brother Albert, it’s simple... he just has a congenital brain disorder.”

”...”

Muen opened his mouth and then, suddenly, didn’t know what to say.

”Before, I thought this was just an aftereffect of being rejected by the King’s Sword... Heh. I didn’t expect it to really be like this. Now everything makes sense.”

Celicia smiled. The smile was a little eerie.

”I’m the one who was cursed, but because I was born with the Divine Favor of ice and snow, it suppressed the curse. So even I never realized. That’s why I was confused just now. And now, I understand...

Why that sword refused me.”

”Why?”

Muen asked at the right moment, puzzled.

”If the King’s Sword chooses the suitable heir to the throne, then no matter how you look at it, you’re the better choice. Why would it refuse you?”

”Because it’s afraid of me.”

Celicia clenched her hand. Frost condensed again, and the blood-red patterns were rapidly driven away.

”It’s afraid that I—protected by this extremely low-probability Divine Favor, free of the curse’s shackles—will become the next Emperor. It’s afraid of me. It hates me. So it doesn’t choose me...

So, back to the question from before. Our real enemy isn’t the Inner Council, and it’s not even Albert, who doesn’t realize he’s already become a puppet...

It’s the King’s Sword. It’s the ugly half-body beneath the ten-thousand-zhang radiance of imperial power!”

”It’s the rules themselves, woven by the First King a thousand years ago!”

”The King’s Sword is the very source of the royal curse!”