Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 56: He is just here to tag along

Far from the suffocating chaos of the capital, the mountain roads stretched wide and clean beneath the sky.

Alder guided the carriage steadily along the path. Inside the carriage, Zora and Prince Kael sat side by side, the curtain gently fluttering with the wind as distant peaks rose and fell like waves on the horizon.

"Now that we’ve left the Imperial City," Zora said casually, "you don’t need to keep pretending anymore."

It was indeed uncomfortable to maintain that fragile disguise day after day.

Prince Kael smiled faintly, his gaze calm and unhurried. "If we encounter others in the mountains, my secret could easily be exposed."

He paused slightly, then continued, "Since we have chosen to put on a stage, we must perform all the way to the end. Otherwise, everything before this would be wasted."

He had already begun laying the groundwork in secret.

For far too long, he had endured in silence. For far too long, he had hidden behind that wheelchair, allowing others to trample over him, pity him, mock him.

Now that his legs had recovered, there was no longer any need to continue enduring.

It would not be long before he stood upright before everyone. But it needed perfect timing or else people would think that he was merely pretending for his entire life...

Noticing the dangerous glint that suddenly flashed through his eyes, Zora curved her lips into a knowing smile. "So... how exactly do you want me to help you?"

Prince Kael raised an eyebrow faintly. "You still need to ask?"

Moving through the martial world, disguise was an indispensable skill. Ordinary disguise techniques were crude and easily seen through, barely useful at all. As for true disguise arts that could reach the level of realism, they were said to have vanished a thousand years ago.

"Alright, you can leave it to me..."

Yet this little woman before him spoke of it with such confidence.

Zora nodded with a glint in her eyes and her lips curved up. "My disguise is not the kind you’re thinking of. You’ll see for yourself soon enough."

Hearing her tone, Prince Kael chuckled softly. "Since you sound so confident, I’ll let the great doctor demonstrate."

What he did not say out loud was that the glint in her eyes at that moment was far too mischievous. Experience told him that she was definitely plotting something unfavorable for him.

Soon, Zora lifted her hands and began to work.

Her fingers moved swiftly across his face, her movements precise and steady. Spiritual energy flowed silently as layer after invisible layer altered his facial structure. Even his aura subtly shifted under her control.

Black covered his eyes in exaggerated distress. "Master... the handsome face of Prince Kael has been completely ruined by you..."

White twitched at the corner of its mouth and silently concluded that in this lifetime, anyone could be offended—but their master was absolutely not among them.

On their wedding night, Prince Kael had dared to tease her.

Now came the reckoning.

Time passed slowly.

At last, Zora clapped her hands and stepped back with satisfaction. "Done. Perfect."

Prince Kael opened his eyes and instinctively touched his face. He accepted the mirror she handed him and glanced at his reflection.

The smile on his lips froze.

The man in the mirror was coarse and rugged. His skin was darkened, his features widened, and an enormous, exaggerated scar crawled across the corner of his mouth. The once peerless beauty was utterly gone, replaced by the rough face of a mountain bandit.

Yet beneath that shocking appearance... not a single trace of his real face remained.

Even he could not recognize himself.

"I guarantee that with this look, absolutely no one will be able to identify you," Zora said with a satisfied smile.

Though helpless at his current appearance, Prince Kael’s eyes darkened with deep astonishment. This disguise technique far surpassed anything he had ever seen.

If not for his own heartbeat, even he would have believed that the man in the mirror was a stranger.

"Darling’s disguise arts truly live up to their reputation," he said slowly, then added with faint amusement, "I just wonder if my own wife can still bear to look at me now."

For some reason, the moment his words fell, a subtle unease rose in Zora’s heart.

Before she could respond, the carriage finally came to a halt.

"Your Highness, Princess Consort, we’ve arrived at the waterfall," Alder’s voice came from outside.

Zora and Prince Kael stepped down from the carriage together.

As Alder lifted his head and saw the rough, scarred man walking beside Zora, his eyes widened instantly.

"Who are you?"

The mountain wind howled.

The waterfall roared in the distance.

Kael: "..."

Zora smiled, crossing her arms proudly.

*

For a moment, Alder truly thought his eyes had deceived him.

The carriage clearly hadn’t picked up any stranger along the way, yet now, standing beside Zora, was a rough, scar-faced man who looked like he had just crawled out of some mountain stronghold.

How could such a person appear out of thin air?

The smile in Zora’s eyes could not be concealed any longer.

"Alder," Prince Kael spoke calmly.

That familiar voice struck Alder like a thunderclap.

His eyes widened to their limit as he stared again at the rugged man before him, his brain utterly unable to catch up with reality. "Y-You... You are His Highness, Prince Kael Moonstone?"

"Yes," Zora replied with visible pride. "My disguise art is not bad, right?"

Alder’s mouth opened and closed several times before a strange, completely uncontrollable laugh burst from his throat.

"Hahaha... Your Highness... this... this is too much... Hahaha—"

He laughed so hard his stomach hurt, tears streaming down his face as he pointed at Prince Kael’s scarred face.

"Your Highness, you... You look absolutely hideous! Truly hideous to the extreme! Hahaha—!"

The mountain wind echoed with his tragic laughter.

Prince Kael’s narrowed gaze slid over with dangerous calm. "Darling, since Alder mocks me for being ugly, he must believe he looks far better than me. That won’t do. If I look terrifying, then he must look even worse."

Alder’s laughter froze instantly.

"Your Highness, no—wait—"

Before he could even finish his plea, Zora had already moved.

Her fingers flew like shadows, spiritual energy once again surging forward. In just a few breaths, Alder’s face twisted grotesquely. His cheeks sank, his nose flattened, his skin darkened unevenly, and a jagged scar appeared across his brow.

When it was done, the man who once looked fierce now looked so ugly that even the mountains might reject him.

Alder stared at Prince Kael.

Then he stared at Zora.

His heart shattered into powder.

"These two... they’re outright demons..." Invisible tears came out of his eyes...

At least now, standing side by side, Prince Kael’s terrifying appearance no longer seemed so extreme.

Too bad the price was his dignity.

Before Alder could continue grieving his ruined image, Zora had already turned her attention forward.

What unfolded before her eyes was a vast, breathtaking valley. Green mountains surrounded the land in layers, and at the far end, a massive waterfall thundered down from the cliff like a silver dragon plunging into the abyss.

Boom—!

The roar of crashing water shook the air, and fine mist drifted everywhere, cooling the air instantly. Under the bright daylight, the water vapor shimmered like scattered starlight.

Just standing here made one feel refreshed from the inside out.

"Darling, what do you think of this place?" Prince Kael asked.

Zora slowly nodded, genuine satisfaction in her eyes. "Very good. Even better than I expected."

"As long as the lady is satisfied."

She then swept a glance at the two disguised men behind her and waved lazily. "I’m going under the waterfall to cultivate. You two can do whatever you want."

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked straight toward the roaring waterfall.

Watching her back disappear gradually into the drifting mist, Alder finally couldn’t hold back any longer. "Your Highness... you’re really going to let Princess Consort cultivate alone under that waterfall? That place looks terrifying."

Prince Kael replied calmly, "She cultivates her own way. I cultivate mine. What’s the conflict?"

"Then what about us?" Alder asked weakly.

"We cultivate here."

Alder closed his eyes in despair. He finally understood.

The Prince had followed not to cultivate but simply because he couldn’t let her be alone.

As for him... he was just dragged along.