"Phew—"
Shaking the thought of Mephistopheles's dragonfall out of his mind, Faust decided not to ask for the time being and reached out to push open the doors to the bedchamber.
It was the same warm, dim study as always, the only difference being that the smell of medicine was even stronger, causing Faust to cough involuntarily.
"Good day, Father."
The prince of Qingxi took two steps forward to greet the old man lying on the sofa.
The old king, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them and glanced at the prince.
"Faust... my child, what is it?"
The king slowly sat up straight and said, "I heard you stayed with Viviana for quite a while, lingering for several months. Didn't you dislike that girl? You even broke the engagement for it, embarrassing me and my old friend."
"What do you mean I don't like her? I like her very much!"
Faust was quick to deny it. Regardless of the past, if anyone said he had no feelings for Viviana now, the prince of Qingxi would get aggressive!
"It's only because this affection is so important that I couldn't accept the arranged marriage so hastily. I couldn't comfortably inherit the friendship of the previous generation into our own. We had to spend time together in person to clarify our own hearts."
"I see. It seems you have thought it through."
Faust's excuse was so elegant that the old king accepted it, clapping his hands as he said, "Good. Viviana is a fine child. A portion of the Qingxi throne originally belonged to the Roselin family. Alas, if they were still alive back then, we shouldn't have been the ones to bear the name of Qingxi."
Seeing that his esteemed adoptive father was about to start reminiscing about the bitter past and the glorious days of old, Faust knew that if he let him continue, it wouldn't stop for several hours.
In the past, to gain his father's favor, the prince would have listened attentively, but there were more important matters now. Thus, Faust immediately interrupted:
"By the way, regarding the throne... Father, there's something I want to discuss with you."
"What is it?"
"I... cannot become the king of Qingxi."
Thud—
Hearing this, the old king slammed his palm onto the desk, and the precious marble table immediately shattered into pieces.
Faust's eyelid twitched at the sight. Truly a legendary warrior; even though he was old and frail to this extent, his casual explosive power was not to be underestimated.
The king braced himself against the armrest and stood up, his crimson eyes, like those of an old hawk, staring straight at Faust.
"Child... what did you say?"
"I do not plan to ascend the throne."
Under his father's displeased gaze, Faust braced himself and explained, "But this does not mean I am abandoning the leadership of the Qingxi Kingdom. It's just... for a certain reason, it is better if I don't actually become the king, but instead remain as the prince regent."
Wasn't this redundant? Faust's current power was equivalent to that of a king. What difference did it make without that crown?
But the difference was massive. Besides his constitution as 'the one loved by witches' designated by Mephistopheles, his status as a 【prince】 was his most valuable asset.
The king of Qingxi did not know this, but he frowned as a thought occurred to him.
"Is this... His Excellency's intention?"
"You could say that."
Faust boldly pulled Mephistopheles's banner. To the traditionally minded king of Qingxi, a fairy was no different from a deity; a fairy's endorsement was a divine decree.
The fairy contract was just too useful.
Sure enough, upon hearing it was 'the fairy's revelation,' the king's expression softened instantly. He sat back down, returning to his posture of a lethargic old man.
Faust continued, "Also... I might be away from the country for long periods. Therefore, I intend to share authority with my royal sister. During the months I was away previously, it was she who helped handle governmental affairs. I've looked them over; she is perfectly capable of the job."
This was also an unexpected surprise the prince had discovered recently. He had thought Yusewood, who always seemed disinterested in state affairs, was actually so skilled at administration.
Not only that, but for the projects Faust was concerned with, the silver-gray haired princess had even left suggestions.
How should he put it? It was as if he had written them himself; the train of thought was virtually identical. This effect could not have been achieved without long-term observation and reflection.
Yusewood had never given a positive evaluation of the drastic reforms the prince had implemented. More precisely, she had been cynical and sarcastic about almost everything Faust did.
Criticisms like "so opportunistic, utterly hideous," "you are drowning in power, sinking too deep," or "shameless and vulgar man, is your mind filled with nothing but monkey-like desires?" almost bordered on personal attacks.
He hadn't expected her private research to be so deep. He didn't know why.
The old king stroked his white beard and chuckled knowingly.
"I see. What the fairy Excellency is guiding you toward is the path of the heroic king."
Heroic king?
Faust hadn't thought that far ahead. His proposal to go out was more about leaving a backdoor for himself, because logically, if he stayed in the Qingxi Kingdom forever, he would essentially be stuck within the framework of the 【Cinderella】 script.
The best way to add variables to the script was to do things he originally never would have done.
The king said with a sage-like air, "Child, what do you think is needed to lead a kingdom's rise?"
Faust thought for a moment and replied, "Training the army, encouraging production, reforming the system, expanding trade routes, and being tactful in diplomacy?"
These were all things Faust had worked hard to do. Governing a large country was like cooking small fish. Although the Qingxi Kingdom was not large, governing it was not easy at all. For ten years, the prince had worked his heart out every day to make this small country, which had been independent for decades, thrive.
"Those are indeed one path. But if that's all there is, Qingxi will never truly be independent. Child, do you think I am a sage skilled in governing a country?"
Of course not. On the contrary, as a king who started as a warrior, even though this esteemed adoptive father had studied hard, his governance of the country over the decades was quite difficult to evaluate.
To put it nicely, he ruled through inaction, letting the world govern itself!
To put it bluntly, he achieved nothing. He was busy, but no one knew what he was busy with.
The old king said calmly, "There is another way, and that is to ascend to the peak of the 【hero】's path. To achieve great deeds with charisma that can unite hearts, invincible martial prowess, and the luck of being chosen by fate."
"To advance in the occult, some heirs to the throne leave their realms to explore demon lands, fight adventures, and punish evil—perhaps even achieving a legend under a fairy's guidance to be sung by the world."
"This is the heroic king of gifted kingship, ruling the realm with one's absolute power and charisma."
In short, the great power resided within oneself.
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