The Third Prince Of Darkness

I was underwater, my eyes closed. I felt bad this morning for some unknown reason. In my previous life, I had lived a modest and simple life, but now I was very distressed by all these intrigues and mind games. Sometimes, I had the urge to leave everything behind, escape from here, and live in a small cabin in a distant, snowy region. Of course, such a thing wasn't going to happen because I now had a family I had accepted here and a lot of work to do.

I lifted my head out of the water and got out of the tub filled with cold water. I entered my room naked and put on a piece of cloth. Then, after eating the last slice of cake left over from yesterday on the table, I got dressed. As the sweet cake melted in my mouth, I remembered Roxanne's state yesterday and noted in my mind that I would visit her today.

When the door to my room opened, a curvy woman with snow-white hair and blue eyes approached me with a smile on her face. This was my mother, and when I saw her coming, I opened my arms, and we hugged each other. Then she planted a kiss on my cheek and handed me the letter she was holding.

"This is a new letter from your big sister" she said.

I took the letter and placed it on the table. Violet and Kayle were currently at the Dragon Academy, and my sister Violet would send me letters almost every month. Of course, I would write letters in response to her, but for now, I would do this duty in the evening. Occasionally, Kayle would also send me letters, but I would receive one from her every three months.

According to what Violet said in her letter, Kayle constantly rewrote and erased the letters she was going to send to me, so there were hundreds of letters she didn't send. Honestly, I'm happy to have a good—actually, a very good—relationship with both of my sisters. In my previous life, since I didn't have a family, I always wanted to have a nice family.

Excluding my stepmother Fiona and her children, I can say I have a better family than I ever dreamed of.

"You haven't fixed your hair again, son! I told you before, as a prince, you must care about your appearance" my mother said as she gently grabbed my arm and sat me down on a chair.

"No need, mom, I can do it." I said, reaching for my hair, but my mother slapped my hand away, preventing me.

"Let me do it!" she said, puffing her cheeks.

Sometimes, I didn't understand what was going through that my stupid father's head. When he had such a sweet wife, he shouldn't even look at Fiona's face... instead, he had been staying at Fiona's mansion for days.

My mother took a comb in her hand and held my head from the back, fixing me in place. First, she nuzzled my wet hair back with her soft hands and then used the comb to style my hair. But she didn't know that I was silently singing a sad song from my old world in my mind to avoid looking at the two massive mountains in front of me.

"God, I wish I could be a child again and drink the honeyed milk from these two soft mountains! Oh, get a grip, Ethan! Get a grip... keep singing the song! 

~I am all alone in the bosom of the black night.

Somewhere far away the sun is rising

I know

I'm a branch of a dry tree, all alone

Somewhere far away, something is taking root

I see~"

When my mother finally finished her work, she looked at me with a smile that could melt any heart, as if she were gazing at a work of art.

"Ta-da! Now you have hair befitting a prince" she said, clapping her hands excitedly, with an expression similar to a child's reaction after finally riding a Ferris wheel.

When I stood up and looked in the mirror, I was amazed at how much a man could change with just a slight alteration in his hair. She had styled my slightly long hair backward in waves, revealing my broad forehead and handsome face. Indeed, a woman's touch could make a man at least three points more attractive.

"Thank you, Mom" I said.

"You're welcome, but make sure to pay more attention to your appearance from now on," she said, kissing my forehead. "I have to go now. There are a few things I need to take care of."

"Okay, see you later, Mom," I said, leaving the room a few minutes later 

I walked towards the queen's palace outside the inner palace and finally arrived at a large door. After knocking on the door a few times, I heard a sweet voice say, "Come in!" Smiling, I opened the door and approached Isabella's desk.

"Welcome, Ethan," said Isabella, giving a brief glance at her assistant. The woman placed a few papers and notebooks in her hands and then left the room.

"Is there something I can help you with? Or did you finally just remember your stepmother and decided to visit my room?" she asked sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, but I really had a lot of work to do. But I came here for one reasons" I said.

"Hmm, really?" Isabella asked, taking a sip of her steaming coffee.

"Yes. Actually, I need your help...",I said.

Isabella's lips curled into a mocking smile as she looked at me. "So, how can I help you, stepson?" she asked.

"I want to start a company, but it needs to be a secret" I said, causing Isabella to choke on her coffee.

*Cough!* "What? A company? Do you need money?" she asked.

"Yes, but no one should know I have a lot of money unless I want them to," I said.

Isabella raised an eyebrow, realizing I was up to something. "What's your goal, Ethan? You know I won't help you unless you're honest" she said.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you." Knowing she wouldn't tell anyone what I was about to say, I began to explain.

"As you know, there are many nobles who support Fiona's eldest son, and even her second son has more support than I do. I know you'll support me, but your father would never get involved in such a risky war. My mother's family can't help either, and in the end, I can say I have no supporters. So one of the things I need most to survive a possible throne war is money..." I said.

"Are you doing this just to survive?" she asked, with a mocking expression on her face.

I had forgotten how sharp this woman's mind was... I smiled at her and, as was now a habit, interlocked my fingers while looking at her.

"You caught me...! As you might guess, I'm not doing this just to survive. I'm very ambitious, and my dreams are as big as the demon ocean" I said.

"So, you want to be king, don't you?" she asked, her face lighting up with excitement.

"No, I want to be an emperor ruling over the entire continent..."

_____

When I saw that the story in the novel I read today advanced only twenty minutes over fifty chapters, I was truly shocked. Moreover, this novel was quite popular. By the way, I'm not entirely sure if the story in the novel lasted only twenty minutes over fifty chapters because when I stopped reading, twenty minutes hadn't even passed yet!

Please suggest me good novels! I realy need that now