Chapter 42

"We are friends, right?" Luo En asked softly, "At least, that's what I think."

Andre looked up, a flash of complex emotion crossing his eyes: "Of course, I think so too."

"Then, if there's anything bothering you, feel free to say it." Luo En's tone was calm and sincere:

"I dare not say I can definitely help you with anything, but at least I can listen. Sometimes, after saying some terrible things out loud, it can make people feel much lighter."

Andre sighed again. He put down his teacup and clasped his hands together, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"I don't know where to start..." He finally spoke, his voice carrying a hint of rare vulnerability: "This matter... is too complex."

Luo En waited patiently without urging. He knew that at such a moment, the best way to comfort someone was to give them enough time.

"Do you remember when we were chatting last month, you mentioned Trish, and my reaction was unusual?" Andre spoke again.

Luo En nodded: "I did notice, but it wasn't convenient to ask at the time."

This reaction hadn't happened just once or twice. Every time that girl, who had made a comeback from a hunter's daughter to a middle-level apprentice, was mentioned, Andre's emotions would fluctuate.

"As for Trish, I saw her once at the herb shop half a month ago." He continued calmly, maintaining a proper sense of distance: "She looked very busy."

"Yeah, as a disciple of Lady Corinna, her status is not low now."

Andre's tone carried an indescribable emotion, his lips pressed into a straight line:

"Remember when we first gathered in the Black Fog Forest? Back then, she was still very..."

His voice grew lower and lower, a flash of nostalgia and bitterness in his eyes.

Luo En didn't pick up the conversation, just listened silently.

He had a premonition that the other might be about to reveal some long-hidden secrets.

"I once..." Andre hesitated, his fingers subconsciously rubbing the buttons on his lapel:

"I once wanted to approach her, wanted to pursue her. Back then, I hadn't been in the Black Fog Forest long and still held some silly thoughts from the kingdom."

Luo En raised an eyebrow: "You pursued Trish? Seriously?"

"Don't look at me with that expression." Andre rolled his eyes: "I am, after all, the Thirteenth Prince of the royal family. You know how many noble ladies sent me secret glances back in the capital."

"And then? Were you rejected?" Luo En asked straightforwardly.

"Of course I was rejected." Andre laughed at himself:

"The wording was quite direct—'I came here to change my destiny, not to relive the miserable life of the past. You royal nobles who have been pampered and spoiled, you'd better not provoke me.'"

"Tsk tsk, that's a harsh blow." Luo En couldn't help but laugh: "So you were heartbroken and recognized reality from then on?"

Andre punched Luo En in the chest hard; he knew his attack was painless to the other:

"Finished laughing? That's right, it was only then that I truly recognized the rules of this world—no matter where you are, the weak are only fit to look up to the strong. Here, no one cares which prince of the royal family you are; they only look at how strong you are."

"But this is actually only a small part of the problem..." He continued, his voice getting lower:

"In fact, those guys who sent me to the Black Fog Forest never hoped for me to become a qualified wizard apprentice."

Luo En raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

"The royal family had long since given up hope on my mental power aptitude."

Andre gave a bitter smile: "The real purpose of sending me here was to use the abundant extraordinary resources here to cultivate my knight aptitude."

"Knight aptitude?" Luo En was a bit surprised.

"Yes, my talent in knight cultivation is far better than my mental power."

Andre explained: "The royal family's plan is for me to become a guard knight for their key investment target, and incidentally break through to become an official knight here."

His voice suddenly became extremely painful: "And that so-called 'key investment target' is Trish, whom I initially wanted to approach."

Luo En finally understood part of this complex relationship, but he felt that Andre's pain seemed to have deeper reasons.

"Trish rejected you, which made you feel embarrassed, I can understand." Luo En said softly: "But this doesn't seem enough to explain your current state."

"Because things got worse!" Andre shouted this sentence:

"My plan to please Trish failed, and now they have started demanding that I follow another female apprentice—Cynthia."

This name made Luo En frown slightly: "Sorry, I don't seem to have ever heard you mention this person."

"She came to the Black Fog Forest ten years ago." The blond youth's expression became like a dry field that hadn't seen rain for months:

"She is already a high-level apprentice now, although she only just got promoted."

His fingers were clenched tightly, almost digging into his flesh: "Cynthia... her reputation is extremely poor. She always toys with her servants in her spare time, especially those handsome young men."

The blond youth's face was extremely painful, and he made a drill-rotating gesture with his fingers joined:

"This crazy woman likes some very... special ways of playing, such as using thorn-ball grass to probe the sensitive parts of those men... It is said that she 'consumes' one servant on average every year."

Luo En gasped upon hearing this, faintly feeling phantom pain coming from below. He began to understand the source of Andre's pain.

The royal family actually demanded that he serve such a person; this was almost equivalent to sending him out as a male pet, and the most lowly type at that.

"Does the royal family know about this?" Luo En asked cautiously.

"Of course they know." A flash of anger and despair crossed Andre's eyes:

"But they don't care. In their eyes, to be able to exchange for the support of a high-level apprentice, what is a mere Thirteenth Prince who is not favored?"

His voice was almost choked: "Luo En, I don't know what to do. I have always hoped to rely on my own efforts to escape this fate, but..."

"But your progress is not fast enough." Luo En took over the conversation: "And my breakthrough gave you a glimmer of hope."

Andre nodded, complex light flickering in his eyes:

"I originally hoped to form a stronger alliance with you, but even if you become a primary apprentice, your influence and strength are far from enough to contend with a high-level apprentice."

"So you have been hesitating whether to tell me this."

Luo En suddenly realized, "Because you weren't sure if I could help, and you weren't sure if I was willing to risk offending a high-level apprentice for this."

Andre nodded powerlessly: "I know this is very selfish, but I really don't know what to do."

(End of this chapter)