Raised From The Wild-Chapter 360: Internal Conflict
Prince Ibarra turned his body to fully face the person who had just tapped his shoulder.
"What are you implying, Brother?" inquired the crown prince, his brow furrowing as he turned to Sapiro.
"Don’t you feel sorry for yourself? She is proclaiming to everyone that her father is Ibrahim, not you. She is completely disregarding your existence." Sapiro’s tone indicated that he empathized with his half-brother’s situation.
"Why should I feel guilty? She didn’t say anything wrong. After all, Ibrahim is her biological father, and he was the one who taught her archery. As for horseback riding, that was all her doing. I had no part in it. Just being recognized as part of her family is an honor in itself," Prince Ibarra stated with a sense of solemnity. Truth be told, when Amaya referred to him as just ’family,’ it struck a chord in his heart. Yet, hadn’t he committed numerous wrongs and taken a lot from his brother during his lifetime? He remembered when he stood in front of Ibrahim’s coffin, all the things he did went rushing back to his memory like the gushing water when a floodgate was opened. He was overwhelmed with guilt even though he knew that his brother had forgiven him. He couldn’t continue to wrong him, even in death.
Sapiro shot a nasty look at him before turning on his heel. His plan to drive a wedge between him and Amaya had backfired, catching him off guard. He needed to devise alternative methods to sow discord between the crown prince and the first princess.
He harbored a deep loathing for Ibarra, struggling to conceal his intense animosity behind a facade of politeness. As the firstborn, he believed he was rightfully entitled to the title of crown prince. He resented that his mother was merely a concubine, not the queen, but was it his fault that he was a concubine’s son? They should have waited for the queen to give birth to a son before letting a concubine do it. He felt that the Lireyan Law unjustly favored Ibarra and hated it.
’Damn that Law,’ Sapiro muttered under his breath. If he had the chance to change this law, he would not hesitate to do it. He was about to leave the entertainment hall when he noticed the dark expression on the Princess Consort as she watched her husband gaze at Amaya’s face on the screen with adoration. A smirk appeared on his face.
Ibarra’s attention was fully focused on the enormous screen as he watched his son Donello beaming with happiness while escorting Princess Amaya back to her seat. Observing the closeness between his son and Amaya brought him great joy. He couldn’t help but wonder how things might have been different if Ibrahim had been a sister instead. In that case, Ibrahim wouldn’t have needed to hide in the shadows and could have openly embraced their sibling bond.
Nelida approached Ibarra. She stood beside the crown prince with the demeanor of a queen and spoke in a sarcastic tone. "Look at the daughter that you favored, my Prince. She didn’t even acknowledge you when she was in the limelight," she said. "And as for your son, I don’t know what she did to make Donello adore her so much. He’s treating her better than his twin sister."
Prince Ibarra gazed at her with a cold, piercing stare. "Your son has more wisdom and vision than you and Danella. You ought to show Amaya greater respect. She is making significant contributions to our family. Without her, do you honestly believe that Donello would have a chance of winning in the archery?" Having spoken his mind, he turned and went over to where the king and queen were.
Princess Consort Nelida’s lips tightened into a thin line as she contemplated the situation. She couldn’t shake the feeling that her husband’s special treatment of Princess Amaya was due to her being Danaya’s daughter. This realization only deepened her resentment towards the princess.
"Why are you frowning, sister-in-law? Do you also find it unacceptable for the crown prince to favor Princess Amaya over his own daughter, yet she did not even acknowledge him?" Sapiro said sarcastically as he offered the princess consort with wine. Nelida accepted it and took a sip.
"Don’t you think that the First Princess is quite ungrateful? All she could think about in her moment of glory is Ibrahim." Sapiro spoke meaningfully.
Princess Consort Nelida raised her eyebrows as she studied Sapiro, who was gently smiling at her, but his eyes were glinting with malice. She could tell that Sapiro was cunning. He and she were the same kind of people, so she knew that was running in his mind.
"Don’t you dare to sow discord between me and my husband, Prince Sapiro. I know what you have in mind." Nelida’s voice was laced with anger.
Sapiro let out a quiet chuckle. "You can’t possibly fathom what’s going on in my mind, Princess Consort. My only concern is for my niece. Danella holds a special place in my heart; she’s such an endearing and affectionate girl."
Nelida, who was about to take a sip of her wine, paused. Instead, she began slowly twirling the glass, completely engrossed in her own thoughts. She fixed her gaze on the rich, crimson liquid, and seemed to forget the presence of Sapiro.
"Princess Consort, I feel sorry for you. No matter what you do, my brother will never love you. Danaya may be gone, but she still holds his heart. And now, this. Amaya is shining like a star. What will become of Danella?" Sapiro’s words were soft, but to Nelida, they felt like sharp, piercing daggers, cruelly stabbing her heart. Her fingers clenched tightly around the delicate stem of the wine glass, her eyes turning cold and stormy.
Nelida’s subtle shift in facial expression did not go unnoticed by Sapiro. A smug, contemptuous smile crept onto his face as he made his way out of the entertainment hall, only to suddenly collide with someone in the hallway.
"Brother, It has been a long time." Amaro greeted his half-brother with a grin. He had just come from the southern border of Lireya, where the king tasked him to work with the military to settle the growing unrest led by a faction of a rebellious group called the Lireyan Liberation Army. They hated the monarchy and wanted to end their reign.
"Why don’t we go to the poolside bar and catch up? You might not have received the news yet, but Father has assigned me to head the Intelligence Agency."
