He had come to the conclusion that if anything was important enough to move the Emperor, it could only be an oracle.
With the birth of the white tiger that the House of Penterin had so longed for, it was time to get serious about preparing for the Oracle.
To be honest, the Crown Prince hadn’t had much faith in the Trust until now.
Despite the fact that the oracle has been in the family for a long time, the royal family has never had a white tiger in their womb.
So even if he were to become Emperor and receive one, he would let it go out of his ear.
He would rather spend his time growing in power and strengthening his empire.
If the Dark One ever reappeared and caused a disturbance like the ancient battles, he vowed to go in person and crush him.
Of course, Nowton had been trained by House Penterin’s tiger god, Ganash, and his brother Anash, so he naturally believed in Anash’s sacrifice and strength.
But the fact that all the white tigers born to non-imperial families had died young made him doubt the whole idea of a white tiger.
He could not accept that a weak white tiger could be born into the Penthelin royal family, nor could he accept having a weak white tiger as his brother.
A Penterin had to be strong.
From a young age, Nowton had to survive assassinations and other threats.
Even in his human form, he was strong enough to kill assassins with his powers.
But how could a weakly born white tiger be expected to handle such danger?
Protection could only take her so far, and she would have to survive on her own.
But then something unbelievable happened.
It was when he was first commissioned as a commander by his father. Crushing rebels and their pirate allies in the southern Eskart Archipelago.
News came that a real white tiger had been born in the Penthelin Empire.
He was stunned.
A white tiger born at the cost of the life of his mother, Empress Brianna.
He didn’t care that it wasn’t a white tiger, but a normal tiger royal.
But he hated his sister for risking her life to give birth to a child that Empress Brianna refused to treat.
He was even more angry that she was a weak white tiger.
But when he heard that she hadn’t died as expected and was living well, his hatred turned to curiosity.
…… That’s a sister, too.
For the first time, the boy’s ‘interest’ in his sister grew into a maniacal need to meet her.
He took matters into his own hands, wielding his sword like a madman and devising brilliant tactics to clear the southern Escarpment Islands ahead of schedule.
As soon as he reached the capital, he rushed to the Empress Palace.
And there he met his sister…….
After a long moment of thought, Nowton called his lieutenant in a serious voice.
” Lord Talon, do you have a sister?”
“Yes, Your Grace. I have two younger sisters, twins.”
“……And are your sisters as pretty and lovely as these?”
Lord Talon’s mouth twisted into a smile.
He shuddered at the memory of his damned leopard sisters as cubs, when they were busy chasing, biting, and tormenting him on purpose.
“No. Not now, not ever.”
“I know. It must be because my sisters are exceptionally cute and brave, not because I’m weird.”
A satisfied smile tugged at the corners of Nowton’s mouth as he nodded in agreement.
“Lord Talon must be envious, my sister is so special.”
Earl Talon’s lips twitched.
“Haha. Water, Ron.”
Barely able to contain himself, he rolled his eyes.
This arrogant crown prince is crazy about the precious white tiger princess.
Count Talon had been serving the crown prince for a long time, and he was quite worried about Nowton’s combat skills but lack of character.
But now, when he sees him smiling at his sister, it gives him the creeps.
It was a far cry from the time when he had been infamous as a demon on the battlefield, especially when he’d bragged about himself from time to time.
He looked like an idiot with a screw missing.
“Oh, no. This is an opportunity. Thanks to the Empress, he has room to improve his character.
He thought that it was better for a crown prince with a broken character to realise family love and fill in the gaps in his character than to become emperor as he was.
In that sense, the birth of the Empress was truly a blessing.
To be honest, when I saw her, she was so tiny and cute that even Count Talon wanted to grab her by the heart and make a fuss over her.
I was especially impressed by the way she stood up to Prince Nowton without fear.
Perhaps it’s because she’s a Penthelin royal.
‘Or…….’
Count Talon asked cautiously, remembering something from his thoughts.
“But, Your Grace. The Empress hasn’t shown any signs of improvement since then, has she?”
“Indeed.”
Nowton quickly completed his duties as crown prince and went to see Juicy.
Juicy, with her tail erect, still seemed wary of him, but it was cuter to see that she didn’t hate him as much as before.
But as Count Talon had said, Juicy hadn’t shown any signs of improvement since then.
‘Why? I think I burned the Imperial Palace several times when I first awoke because I was uncontrollable.’
Thinking back to his days as a tiger cub, Nowton rubbed his chin and spoke gravely.
“Lord Talon.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
He always sounded so silly when he addressed me like that, but I don’t think…….
Earl Talon was afraid to be uneasy, Nowton said.
“Our Juicy must be a genius. She already knows how to control her powers. What can I say, she’s so cute and pretty and sweet and adorable, and she’s brilliant.”
‘……character education, character education.’
Leaving the stiffened Earl of Talon alone, Nowton smirked.
“Give me the crown, and I’ll give you the crown, so grow up, my dear.”
Laughing hysterically, he jumped to his feet, suddenly missing Juicy.
As she disappeared as fast as a ghost, Count Talon thought seriously.
Yes, it would be better to have an empress who is as calm as she is brilliant, as brave as she is courageous.
***
After juicy awakened, she was able to go out on the terrace.
Nowton had sternly reprimanded his bodyguards and handmaidens for allowing an eight-month-old tiger cub to live without smelling the fresh air.
“Kheung…….”
But as Juicy sat in a chair on the terrace, looking out over the woodland garden, a sigh escaped her lips.
She hadn’t been able to use her powers since then.
Since Nowton’s return, Juicy had been alone, trying to figure out how to use her powers.
But she couldn’t get any blue flames to appear, let alone make it snow.
When Sophie hugged me that day, telling me that the blue flame and snow were Anash’s powers, I was thrilled.
I couldn’t figure out how to use it.
I wanted to ask him how to use it, but there was no way or person to ask. I tried to calm down and feel the power flowing through my body.
All I could feel was my heart pounding in my silent body.
Would it come from anger?
So, when Juicy visits Nowton, the strongest water man in Huangsheng, she deliberately gets angry and glares at him and asks for his arm.
-Hahaha. Do you like your brother that much, cutie?
-Croak?!
But blood relatives didn’t help.
The sight of Nowton’s flushed face, so pleased with the attention he was receiving, made her feel pathetic instead of angry.
Prince Nowton was going through the same process as Emperor Litain.
Juicy shook her head at her growing obsession with me.
‘Are the entire Penterin family actually idiots? ……Why do they look at me like this? Like an idiot.’
Juicy rested her chin on her forepaws as she suddenly remembered Emperor Litain, who had long since left the palace.
‘I even think I miss him a little …….’
Her eyelids grew heavy and she closed her eyes.
***
“Ah, the white tiger.
Looking down from the top of the mountain, the white tiger was very large and beautiful.
As she stared at its back, Juicy suddenly made eye contact with it as it turned its head.
When she looked into his deep blue eyes, her heart dropped with a thud.
The white tiger didn’t say anything, just stared at her.
“Who are you?”
It was Juicy who broke the silence first, and human words came out of her mouth.
Startled, Juicy raised her hand.
Her eyes fell upon a small, immaculate child’s palm, short fingers, and wrist.
“Humanised?
Just then, as the white tiger turned and walked away, Juicy rushed after him.
“Where are you going!”
