They're not even human anymore; those wicked women can cry even more miserably.

"You can punish me however you like, but I beg you, spare His Highness."

With His Highness's noble status and proud nature, how could he allow her to be spanked in front of everyone?

As a knight, I should protect her.

It all happened so fast that she hadn't even had time to react before Violet was already trying to escape, only to be caught and punished by Char.

Aphrodite's kneeling and begging for mercy was a devastating blow to Violet.

She forgot all about being shy and immediately looked up at Afu.

"Afu, don't beg him!"

Her little face was flushed, still tinged with shame and indignation, but her eyes were full of heartache.

How could she possibly beg Char to let her go?

Afu is my best friend and my closest sister!

Although the two are of different social statuses, she is a very important person in Violet's heart.

She couldn't accept the mere thought of asking Char for help, let alone the idea of ​​Char taking her place in punishment.

I don't mind getting hurt, but I don't want my most cherished best friend to have to grovel and fawn over others!

Seeing that Afu was still kneeling and not moving, Violet's face turned red with anger.

"Afu, I command you, rise and do not beg him!"

There was a faint hint of crying in their voices.

Aphrodite pursed her lips, looking at Violet with heartache.

As a knight, how could she stand by and watch her lord be bullied?

The king humiliates and the minister dies!

She remained kneeling, her gaze earnest as she looked at Xia.

Please, don't embarrass His Highness like this.

If you let her go, I'll take full responsibility.

I can accept any punishment, no matter what it may be.

Afu's meaning was clearly conveyed to Char through her eyes.

Violet's eyes were a little red.

"This is an order! Get up, don't beg him!"

The voice was cold and imposing, filled with the oppressive aura of someone in a superior position.

Violet had almost never spoken to Aphrodite in that tone.

Afu bit her lip, disobeying the princess's order for the first time.

Violet's eyes reddened even more, and she was almost in tears.

She glared sternly at Afu, trying to use her status to put pressure on her.

The shame and indignation of being punished in person, the loss of identity.

These were no longer within Violet's considerations.

Two best friends who care about each other have disagreements, conflicts, and dissatisfactions arising from their drastically different attitudes toward Xia.

It was clearly a two-way relationship, yet they kept going in opposite directions.

In Violet's eyes, Char is the villain she must defeat.

So no matter how obedient they appear, they are only lying dormant.

She would fight back whenever she got the chance.

This was exactly the effect Afu wanted to achieve: to allow Char to hone her into a qualified king within a controllable range.

But seeing her princess suffer, she couldn't help but feel heartbroken and wished she could take her place.

His Highness is indeed very capable, but he is not suitable to be king.

A qualified king not only needs to be capable, but also needs to win the hearts of the people.

At the very least, even just for show would be fine.

Just like when Char invited His Highness to distill together.

Aside from myself, who among those present is not of noble status and outstanding in their own abilities?

As a member of the Seven Shields Academy, they often hold a higher status than even the kings of smaller countries.

Doing these things that are considered lowly tasks, so that the people will submit to the king from the bottom of their hearts and believe that the king will protect them and stand on their side.

When the people spontaneously support the king because of his approachability, this is the heart of the people.

But His Highness doesn't understand.

If one displays arrogance when governing the people, it will only provoke resentment among them.

Afu saw everything, but had no way to express her suffering.

My dear prince, he is actually doing this for your own good.

His Highness may not understand these things now, but in the end, he still changed.

She stayed and did the work of a servant, even learning to use reverse psychology to turn the tables on others (though she failed).

She witnessed firsthand the princess's transformation, from being incomparably proud and naive to learning to lie low.

She is no longer as arrogant and cold towards those around her as she used to be.

Such a prince would certainly be good, but he would be too far removed from the common people.

But now, she has become more gentle, learned to lie low, and started doing some jobs that she used to dislike.

The previous provocation was so obvious, yet His Highness fell for it.

But after being fooled, she quickly learned the same way to fight back.

Without Char's trials, Her Highness would have suffered many more setbacks before gaining these experiences.

It was precisely because she saw tangible results that Afu became even more convinced of Char's abilities.

I believe that with Char's help, Your Highness will become even better.

He didn't feel that his request to Char was servile or an insult to his dignity.

Clearly, Aphrodite is much more mature than the naive Violet.

Aphrodite understood these things perfectly, but Violet did not.

All she knew was that even her most cherished older sister could be harmed by bad people.

She absolutely cannot allow this to happen!

What does it matter if I suffer a little hardship or punishment?

But the things and people I cherish, I absolutely cannot!

Therefore, after failing to get Afu to stand up for her the first time, she chose to take full responsibility; when she knew that her seat might implicate her best friend, she chose to lie low and endure.

But now, she kneels before the wicked, humbly begging.

Violet pursed her lips tightly, ignoring the pain in her back.

But is it really so?

She thought she was only thinking of her best friend, but she didn't expect that her friend would also be harmed by bad people.

However, they were completely unaware of their own possessiveness.

As long as I'm the one being bullied by Char, I'm fine.

Aphrodite gazed at Violet with deep affection, yet with unwavering resolve.

The kneeling position remained unchanged.

She knew that the princess was in the wrong, so Xia's punishment of her did not violate the contract between them.

But she couldn't bear to watch His Highness suffer.

Therefore, I persisted.

However, Violet's strange possessiveness and sincerity towards her best friend made it impossible for her to accept the fact that Afquier asked Char.

One was kneeling, the other was lying down. Both were in a subordinate position, yet they were going in opposite directions because of their different choices.

That's how rifts grow little by little.

Xia looked at the two people who were locked in a silent stalemate and felt a slight headache.

Sure enough, the driving force of fate is still strong.

Even with my intervention, it was unavoidable.

Because of the stalemate, Char had already released Violet, but she hadn't noticed.

Afu looked at Xia gratefully and got up to help her up.