Luzurus had mulled it over again and again. In the end, what convinced him was what Clone No. 2 had said: "Even if you try to hide it, the truth will come out eventually." So he made up his mind—to tell king Nasubi everything.
"…What's the matter~ Hui?"
Nasubi was curious. It wasn't like his headstrong son to look this hesitant.
Luzurus hesitated. "…Father, did you know I've been in contact with the lower-level gangs?"
"I know~" Nasubi nodded without concern. "That's your decision. You're using them as leverage in the succession war. I won't interfere."
He thought his son was just here to confess his involvement with the underworld. To someone like Nasubi, head of the Kakin royal family, such a thing was barely worth raising an eyebrow.
He was well aware of the three major Kakin mafia families—Xi-Yu, Heil-Ly, and Cha-R—and the fact that Princes Zhang Lei, Tserriednich and Luzurus were each backed by one of them.
So he didn't take Luzurus's unease seriously. If anything, he was disappointed.
"So nervous over something so minor? Without the heart of a king, how can he ever carry the weight of the throne?"
But even as he dismissed his son's concerns inwardly, he noticed Luzurus hadn't relaxed. His expression remained stiff, even anxious. That was...odd.
"…Father," Luzurus finally spoke, voice dry as he swallowed hard under his father's steady gaze. "The Cha-R family I've been working with received shocking intel from the Xi-Yu family during their pursuit of the Phantom Troupe."
He raised a trembling hand and passed over a folded slip of paper.
"…It's about you, and the Third Prince. You should read it yourself."
Nasubi's face darkened as he took the note. Luzurus didn't wait to see his reaction—he turned on his heel and left at once, as if afraid just being nearby might get him caught in the blast.
Only when he was far away, tucked in the corner of the dining hall, did he let out a shaky breath.
"What'll happen to the succession war once he reads that…?"
He didn't say it aloud. He didn't need to. With his time spent working with Ronnel's clone, he'd come to understand how it operated—it didn't need spoken words to hear your thoughts.
Sure enough, a moment later, Ronnel's voice echoed in his mind:
"Isn't that what you wanted? Wouldn't speeding up the end of the succession war be for the best?"
Just like before, the particle clone communicated with him in the same way it had with Beyond.
"…But it won't backfire on me, right?" Luzurus asked, not hiding his skepticism.
"Don't worry~" Ronnel reassured him, gentle as ever. "I said I'd protect you, didn't I? You'll be safe."
Luzurus exhaled in relief. Still, the contents of the note replayed in his head. It was so absurd, so outrageous, he almost couldn't believe it.
He glanced toward his father—no, the King—reading the note, his expression growing darker with every second. Luzurus murmured to himself:
"Who would've thought… that Third Prince Zhang Lei is actually our half-brother?"
That's right—Third Prince Zhang Lei wasn't Nasubi's biological son at all!
[A/N: This isn't made up. ]
Zhang Lei was actually the son of the patriarch of the Xi-Yu mafia family, the very one backing him in the war.
Though the Xi-Yu patriarch was an illegitimate son of the previous king, he still carried royal blood in his veins.
That meant Zhang Lei, as his son, was also of royal descent. But Nasubi, unaware of the truth, had accepted Zhang Lei as his own and allowed him to participate in the succession war.
Zhang Lei had known the truth from the very beginning. Together with his real father, the Xi-Yu patriarch, they had carefully orchestrated this entire war from behind the scenes.
His mother, Tang Zhao Li, had only ever borne one child—Zhang Lei.
That made him and Luzurus only half-brothers in name.
When Ronnel first told Luzurus this, he had been floored. Utterly stunned.
How could their father—the great King Nasubi—have been so thoroughly deceived?
The whole thing was unbelievable… and yet, he couldn't deny the opportunity it presented.
So, with Ronnel's encouragement, Luzurus made the difficult decision to reveal everything.
What happens next? That remained to be seen.
Maybe Nasubi would fly into a rage and silence everyone who knew—but that would only happen after he dealt with Zhang Lei and Tang Zhao Li.
And even if he did turn on Luzurus afterward… he still had that mysterious guardian.
Luzurus had seen Ronnel's powers with his own eyes. He wouldn't have dared make such a move otherwise.
He might be impulsive, but he wasn't stupid. He wouldn't let himself be used as a pawn for nothing.
He'd calculated the risks and followed Ronnel's plan to the letter.
So now, Luzurus stood apart from it all—calm and detached—watching what came next.
He kept his gaze fixed on Nasubi.
His father's expression was growing darker and darker by the second. But after a few moments, it all vanished.
His face smoothed out. Calm. Blank.
Nasubi had mastered the art of the mask.
Even faced with a revelation that could shatter a kingdom, he showed nothing.
Luzurus couldn't help but admire that. He was still learning.
"That's the calm before the storm," he thought.
Nasubi wouldn't explode here. Not at a public dinner. That would only damage his dignity… and Kakin's.
But when the curtain dropped…
(T/N: This is only a theory about Zhang Lei's father, not canonical information. Below is the reason from the manga: he might be referring to Onior as his father either because he considers him his father and has a special relationship with him or because Onior (the Xi-Yu patriarch) is in fact Zhang Lei's biological father.)
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)