Free and Unfettered 12 Teaching Him A Lesson

"Crown prince, won't you stay and keep this imperial older brother company?" Deltan said, quickly driving his seahorse forward to block her.

"Or is the Crown Prince so timid that he won't even stay to talk with his elder brother?"

The retinue around him burst into laughter and mocking jeers, causing the eldest prince's mocking grin to grow.

The common folk watched as the eldest prince humiliated the crown prince. Even mere servants and guards dared to join in since they knew what kind of person the crown prince was. Timid and cowardly, even if he suffered a wrong, he would only go back and hide in his residence like a tortoise retreating into its shell.

Hidden, Shade could only grip his fists in anger at the jeering. He wished he could take out his sword and slice everyone who was mocking the crown prince into pieces, but without his master's order, he wasn't allowed to move. Knowing his master's temper, should he move without his say, he would probably be cast aside the next moment.

Nine's lips quirked into a gentle smile, causing Shade who was watching in the shadows to shiver at the sudden coldness that assaulted him. Deltan, who had been watching Nine closely was stunned. When had his cowardly younger brother ever smiled like this? As stunned as he was, he failed to recognise the sense of danger that his senses tried to warn him of.

Ever so gently, but quick as a whip, Nine reached out and grabbed the eldest prince's hand, still so stunned that he failed to react in time as his mind was completely blank.

"Elder brother, your younger brother will accompany you to a spar, okay?"

Deltan nodded dumbly, causing a smirk to appear on Nine's face. The chill radiating from her eyes stunned the surrounding watchers. Was this still the same timid and incompetent crown prince? Why did they feel like he was a whole different person?

Nine silently triggered the transportation spell, bringing herself and the dense eldest prince with her. She simply couldn't understand how someone so stupid could have survived so long.

The moment they completed the teleportation, Nine flicked away his hand like she had held something disgusting.

She had teleported them to the top, out of the water. Nine casually dried herself off using a rune. Deltan, who hadn't expected to leave the water, was instead soaked like a drowning rat. He looked pathetic with his hair strewn messily and covering his face, and his cloathes soaked in water. His white cape dragged on the floor as his red clothes hung off his bony body.

Nine hid a sadistic laugh at the stunned expression on his face.

"Eldest Imperial Brother, do you want to dry yourself off first?" she asked, faux politely.

Deltan suddenly returned to his senses at the question, his face flushing angrily as he glared daggers at her.

"You're doing all of this on purpose," he hissed, dropping all cordiality, not that there had been much in the first place.

Nine widened her eyes in false innocence. "Whatever are you talking about, dear imperial brother?"

He continued to glare at her as he angrily stabbed his finger on the rune upon his clothes, drying himself off with as much speed as possible whilst using twice as much magic needed for the necessary action. He couldn't stand the way his younger brother acted like he was doing him a favour as he waited by the side.

Deltan seethed as he felt his rage hit a new level. When had he ever felt this angry ever before? Why did Imperial Father like his younger brother so much? He liked him so much that he had made him the crown prince on the day of his birth. When had Imperial Father ever shown him such favour? Imperial Father had been visiting the crown prince's residence everyday after he went missing for just two days. Didn't he come back just fine? It wasn't like he had suffered any injuries or died.

"Ha," he laughed. "An incompetent and cowardly crown prince like you must be why Imperial Father made you the crown prince. As useless as you are, you won't ever threaten his position."

Nine raised an eyebrow at this laughable leap of logic he was showing. She felt like he suddenly went on a tangent after his own thoughts angered himself. For a twenty-year-old, he was quick to anger and even quicker to run his mouth. He was rather immature, maybe because he had always been relatively safe inside of the city. Even when he left, it was only when he brought around a whole retinue of servants and guards.

Suddenly, she lost interest with dealing with him. Right now, he sounded more like a spoilt brat rather than the eldest prince of a kingdom.

Looking at the way the crown prince looked at him like he was bored after watching a monkey perform for him, Deltan just about exploded in rage again.

"Hey! Your older brother is talking to you!"

Nine looked at him expressionlessly, and was about to let him off for today. As she turned her back towards him and crafted the teleportation rune in her mind, she was stopped in her tracks as he said his next words.

"Are you a coward? You said you wanted to have a spar with me, but you're running away now? I guess you're the same coward and incompetent as before. I can be rest assured now."

Emboldened when his younger brother stopped trying to run away, Deltan continued his taunting.

"Angry? If you're angry then come and beat me up," he said, letting out a harsh laugh.

Nine's lips curled into a smile as her eyes glinted coldly under the gentle sunlight. This little fool really didn't know when to stop. Looks like she had to teach her stupid older brother a lesson in humility before she lost any sleep over it. How could she let such an idiot continue to be related to her? She had to correct this as soon as possible.

Since he wanted to spar so badly, then she would accompany him till he cried and begged for mercy. There had been some theories she'd thought of lately that needed a couple of guinea pigs for testing. How nice for one to send itself to her doorstep. How could she not accept? To think she had been so kind-hearted earlier and trying to send away a tester.

Chapter end