The Shining Star Above The Heaven
Chapter 288: Doesn’t Want to Become His Weakness

Chapter 288: Doesn’t Want to Become His Weakness

Princess Loraine stood on top of the platform, while her guardian knight stood below to keep watch. Aldrey also stood nearby, slightly behind her, to give her space for her speech. The princess glanced at Aldrian once more for a split second before begun. She used her energy to amplify her voice so it could be heard by everyone in the plaza.

"People of Flamecrest City, over the past few days, we have faced unfortunate events that make us question the integrity of the higher-ups in our empire. Moments like these are truly disheartening for us, the orthodox cultivators who uphold upright morals in everything we do."

"For the past few days, many rumors and pieces of news have been circulating throughout the empire, spiraling into something that threatens our unity. As a representative of the imperial family, I do not want to see this empire fall into chaos because of news that might be exaggerated or untrue."

The people silently listening to Princess Loraine felt as though her speech resonated with their hearts, and they seemed to understand the subtle message behind her words.

"The imperial family will not allow unconfirmed news or malicious rumors to tarnish the name of the nobles of our empire. We are here to uncover the truth. I know many of you have been waiting for this moment. Is the news from the past few days true? Are the rumors true? Fret not—all of these will be answered now."

"After conducting several days of investigation within the Flamecrest family, the imperial family has finally concluded their findings. Based on what we have gathered, the Flamecrest family is innocent in the recent events—they are also victims of these unfortunate circumstances. Our investigation revealed that the devil accident that dragged the Flamecrest family is not as simple as it seems."

"We suspect this to be part of a larger plot by the devils to make us distrust one another and sow discord among us, allowing them to take advantage for their own benefit."

Murmurs spread among the crowd as people reacted to the announcement. However, a few individuals displayed different expressions, clearly displeased—some even wore darkened faces. Unbeknownst to them, one person had noticed their peculiar behavior, and they had already caught his attention.

"Got you," Aldrian thought as his senses picked up a few people in the crowd displaying expressions and emotions that contrasted with the others. Aldrian then looked at them one by one, and true to his guess, they were the real devils!

Aldrian then looked at Princess Loraine again. He was impressed by her performance and quite satisfied with it. With this announcement, the attention of the people would be redirected to the devils. This was not about the Flamecrest family harboring devils or betraying the people of the empire; instead, they would consider it merely a ploy by the devils.

"As for the details, let young master Aldrey explain them to you. Please listen to him, for it is also important to hear the Flamecrest perspective." Princess Loraine said before she stepped back to give Aldrey room to speak.

Once he was in front of the princess, he swept his gaze across the crowd, but then it stopped at one spot. For some reason, his attention was drawn to a young man standing beside an elf—a handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes.

Aldrian, noticing his father’s gaze directed toward him, was inwardly stunned.

"He doesn’t recognize me, does he?" Aldrian thought, making sure not to exude any aura or energy. To prevent something like his meeting with his mother from happening again, he had ensured to suppress everything from his body. However, his father’s gaze, so intently fixed on him, made him uneasy. Was all of this still not enough to make him unrecognizable to his father?

Sylphia, standing beside Aldrian, smiled in amusement as she noticed Aldrey looking at Aldrian intently. However, she soon saw Aldrey’s gaze shift to someone else, making Aldrian release a relieved sigh.

"I think your father’s instincts kicked in, and his gaze on you isn’t a coincidence," Sylphia communicated to Aldrian through voice transmission.

"Truly, a parent’s instinct is terrifying. I can feel that he’s curious about me," Aldrian replied.

After sweeping his gaze, Aldrey began his speech.

"The people of Flamecrest, I know that the news from the past few days has made you anxious, angry, sad, and filled with many other negative emotions directed towards my family, the Flamecrest. However, as the young master of the Flamecrest family, I am hurt even more by the fact that the devils have successfully carried out their plan within this city."

"We already know that some of the witnesses saw the devil that night, and it was one of the commanders in the Flamecrest family. He was one of my trusted people, one of our pride. I want to ask the people here: do you believe that someone like Commander Marcus really became a devil? With all of his achievements? Do you believe he would degrade to become a devil? Because, for me, the person who knows Commander Marcus, there is no way that man would have become a devil overnight," Aldrey shouted to the crowd.

Following that, some of the people started voicing their opinions.

"No, I still can’t believe that he became a devil."

"Yes, me too. I don’t believe Commander Marcus, the one we knew, could succumb to becoming a devil."

Many voices began to resound from the crowd, and this was the spark Aldrey had wanted to ignite. As one of his trusted men, he wanted to clear Marcus’s name, and the new information he had received a few hours ago was proving helpful. Thanks to the princess’s speech, which also touched on the devils’ plan, all of this would be easier to explain to the crowd.

"I got information from our investigation team that—"

In the midst of his father’s speech, Aldrian, still paying attention to the devils in the plaza, suddenly saw them separate from the crowd and head in different directions. Although they appeared to be going separately, they ultimately moved toward the same place, having chosen the same path. Aldrian then looked at Sylphia and grabbed her hand.

"Sylphia, let’s go. We’ll catch some rats."

Sylphia was stunned, but she still nodded and followed Aldrian. They walked normally, as Aldrian followed the same path the devils had taken.

Aldrey, still giving his speech, unconsciously glanced at Aldrian’s figure moving in the opposite direction. He felt a strange pull, as his gaze kept returning to Aldrian, even though he had never seen that face or recognized him. He could only set aside the strange feeling for now and continue his speech, planning to resolve his questions later.

Aldrian and Sylphia, having already left the plaza area, arrived at a narrow alley between two rows of buildings. They remained undetected by the devils, watching as the group entered one of the buildings.

Once they reached the front door, Aldrian looked at Sylphia.

"Do you want to experience battling someone with cultivation far stronger than yours?" he asked. "Although they’re hiding their cultivation, I can sense that two of them are at the low to middle Marquess stage, and four are at the low to middle Earl stage."

Sylphia was stunned. She looked at her lover and tilted her head.

"That strong? There’s no way I can catch all the rats of that caliber. Maybe I can handle some of the Earl stage ones, but the Marquess? No way I can face them."

"You don’t have to worry. Just battle to your heart’s content; I’ll be beside you. This is also a chance for you to train yourself. After becoming my lover—no, after you become my wife, I’m afraid there will be situations where you’ll have to face opponents like these guys without my presence."

Sylphia blushed heavily upon hearing the word "wife," but what he said also made sense. Aldrian’s enemies had always been stronger than him, yet he was able to battle all of them. There was a possibility that, in the future, his enemies might target her instead because they couldn’t defeat Aldrian. She didn’t want to become his weakness; she wanted to become one of his strengths.

Sylphia exhaled and put on a solemn expression, trying to hide her nervousness. This would be the first time she faced opponents much stronger than her—ones who were already beyond the scope of her strength.

Inside the Ivory Empire, she hadn’t encountered many bad guys, and even when she did, most of them were small fries, not much stronger than her—or even weaker. It was rare for her to face someone beyond her abilities, and when she did, her family always took care of them.

Now, Aldrian wanted her to face these people—those she normally couldn’t defeat alone with her current cultivation. It would be suicide for her to charge in by herself, but with Aldrian by her side, she felt confident that she could put on a worthy "show."

"Let’s go, I’m ready," she said.