CHAPTER 71: HALF HIDDEN TRUTH (1)

Luke put the page back into the document and then put it in his inventory, saying, "I’ll keep it."

Of course, Shen had no authority to refuse, so he chose to keep his mouth shut.

"Still, there’s something I’m curious about, uncle," Luke said with great curiosity.

"What is it?" Shen asked, taking a sip from the glass of water on the table.

"Even though he killed my mother, why did the Mad Emperor leave the north to me?"

Shen paused for a moment when Luke asked this question. He was taken aback by what he had heard and stared into Luke’s eyes for a few seconds.

"What did you say?" Shen asked. The young Duke had set aside the respect he should have shown to the Prince of Hiera and began speaking to him as if he were not a prince at all.

Luke paused for a moment at his uncle’s sudden change and said, "As I said, the north, the thousands of kilometres of land that used to be the village and covers the northernmost point, was left to me as an inheritance."

Shen paused with his mouth open at what he had heard. The young duke’s eyes widened.

"The Mad Emperor... left the north to you?" he repeated. Even though Luke himself had spoken the words, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

"Yes...you didn’t know?" Luke replied, then pulled out the deed he carried in his inventory and handed it to Shen.

When Shen saw what was written on the deed, he saw paragraphs detailing the independence of the northernmost point, who the entire region belonged to, and many other things, as well as the signatures of the Mad Emperor himself, Liam Hiera.

It was a massive deed consisting of twenty-six parchments. Every detail of the entire region, spanning thousands... tens of thousands of kilometres, was written in the documents and parchments that served as deeds.

"I can’t wrap my head around it. I don’t know why Liam Hiera did this. I’m sure he left something for the princesses in his will, but because he hated you, but... this is madness..." Shen muttered.

Of course, it was very strange. Many people had questioned how Luke could have lost his prince title and still managed to build a city, especially on the Hiera Continent.

Everything was now clear.

Liam Hiera had secretly given this region to Luke.

Neither Moneta nor anyone else could have known about it.

Why had he done that?

"Perhaps... out of pity? Could he have done it because he felt sorry for you?" Shen wondered.

"You said it yourself, uncle. Liam Hiera hated me, even though I wasn’t born yet, didn’t he?" Luke muttered.

Of course, Luke knew the truth of the prophecy, but he was also aware of how low people could sink.

Liam may have done all this because of his greed. Perhaps he knew about the prophecy and had lost his mind because he was not the person the fairies, dark elves, Ancient Dragons, and Ancient Phoenixes were waiting for.

After all, in the twenty-odd years he had been emperor, Liam had done many things. In addition to the visible crimes, there were many invisible crimes, according to what Luke had learned from Shen.

The Mad Emperor had most likely fallen from the throne because of his greed... It would have been normal for him to lose his mind if he had known about the prophecy.

Luke knew exactly who to ask about this. He had nothing left to ask his uncle, so Luke stood up.

After returning the twenty-six parchments he had handed to his uncle Shen to the document file, he stood next to the chair where his uncle was sitting.

Shen naturally stood up. The young duke was not the kind of person who would sit while the Prince of Hiera was standing.

When his uncle Shen stood up, Luke did something he had probably never done before and hugged him without hesitation. Shen, of course, had not expected such a thing.

"Thank you... You are smart enough to understand why I love you, but... I realise that I have been unfair to you. I don’t expect you to forgive me, uncle, but I still hope that we can become more than just Hiera and Moneta’s bond, but truly uncle and nephew."

After saying these words, Luke began to walk calmly and then left the room.

He wanted to tell Zoey what he had learned.

Shen remained behind, and at that moment, someone emerged from his shadow.

He was a bald man with red hair, parts of his face tightly covered with a cloth, wearing only black clothing, with knives visible beneath his body.

This man was none other than Duke Abraham of the Freley Duchy. He was also Cilla’s father.

"You didn’t tell Young Master Luke everything, Shen... As your nephew and my prince, he has the right to know everything," Abraham said calmly.

When Shen heard these words, he looked out the window of the meeting room and, watching the heavy snowfall, said:

"I can’t cause him any more pain, Abraham... To be honest, I thought I was going to die today... After all, my nephew, whom I thought hated me, had summoned me to his command, but... What happened was unexpected."

"At least not a single lie came out of your mouth, young duke... That’s something worthy of respect," Abraham had said.

"Hah!" Shen laughed and added, "I’m nothing but a pathetic man who couldn’t even protect his own sister, who couldn’t even protect her from a knife stuck in her throat, let alone poison! There’s no need for what I did to be worthy of respect... I just need to make sure it doesn’t happen again!"

These words revealed what Shen hadn’t told Luke.

Shen was lucky. No dark elves or fairies were wandering around nearby... the two of them were completely alone.

Otherwise, saying that Luke would be very angry with Shen, even hating him and burning him in dragon fire, would be a small punishment expressed in words.

"I must protect him... I must protect Luke; we must protect him," Shen muttered as he headed toward the door of the room.

"Not just His Majesty Prince Luke, but all the princesses," Abraham added, stepping back into Shen’s shadow.