Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 275: The Banquet for Kael and Zora (Part-5)

"How bold. His Highness the Crown Prince has come personally, yet Prince Kael doesn’t even stand up?"

"This is truly lacking in propriety. Even if they were classmates at the Academy, and even if Prince Kael can stand up, this is still the imperial court."

Prince Damien’s eyes gleamed coldly, watching the scene. He had always hated Prince Kael, especially after that humiliating incident in the past, where his back was exposed to the public. To him, this was nothing but blatant arrogance.

"Prince Kael is really courting death," he muttered darkly.

Prince Kael, however, remained calm. His gaze rested on Prince Philip with cool indifference. "Does Your Highness have business with me?"

Prince Philip was just about to speak, but then Scarlet suddenly leapt up, unable to contain herself any longer. "Prince Kael, how dare you show such disrespect to His Highness?" she cried sharply. "You are only a prince of a side residence. To act so arrogantly before the Crown Prince, are you tired of living?"

Prince Philip’s heart jolted at once. He had been carefully choosing his words, trying to smooth things over. Scarlet’s sudden outburst made his scalp go numb.

He quickly glanced at Prince Kael, relieved to see that the man’s expression had not changed.

"Miss Scarlet," Prince Philip said coldly, snapping his head toward her, "this matter has nothing to do with you."

Scarlet’s eyes widened. She had not expected Prince Philip to reprimand her.

"Your Highness," she insisted, her voice sharp with eagerness, "Prince Kael’s behavior is a crime of disrespect. He should be dragged out and beaten fifty times!"

A faint smile curved Zora’s lips. She could see it clearly now. Prince Philip was here to make peace, and Scarlet was blindly rushing forward to ruin everything.

Prince Kael let out a soft, amused laugh. His eyes flicked to Scarlet, a trace of mockery glinting within them. "Oh?" he said lightly. "Miss Scarlet suggests that His Highness the Crown Prince wishes to have this Prince beaten fifty times?"

"I’m only stating the facts," Scarlet shot back, chin lifted high, her tone brimming with smug confidence. "With your rudeness, this is already a light punishment!"

Since the earlier humiliation she faced, she no longer put on any airs. And with her fiancé and the Emperor present in the court, she believed that she had grown confident.

And right now, she was convinced she had seized the upper hand. Watching Prince Kael remain calm only made her more eager to press forward, determined to make him taste humiliation.

Prince Philip’s heart, however, sank like a stone.

This woman was truly brainless.

He was trying to appease Prince Kael, yet Scarlet was charging ahead, shouting about punishing him. She was practically dragging him toward disaster.

Before anyone could react, a sharp sound then cracked through the hall.

Slap!

Prince Philip’s palm had landed squarely on Scarlet’s face. His expression was cold and disgusted as he glared at her. "Shut up. Didn’t you hear me tell you to stop? Who the hell are you to interfere in the matters of the Imperial family? Remember that you are betrothed to me, not my wife yet."

The entire hall froze.

Ministers stared, mouths hanging open, unable to believe what they had just witnessed. The Crown Prince had actually struck his own fiancée in front of everyone and further undermined her position.

"What’s going on with His Highness?"

"Why is he siding with Prince Kael instead?"

"This is unbelievable..."

Scarlet was stunned, her mind blank. Only the burning pain on her cheek told her this was real.

Shame and disbelief surged through her like heavy rain, drowning her in humiliation. First, she had been dismissed by Prince Kael, and now she was slapped by Prince Philip himself. She had become a laughingstock in a matter of moments.

Prime Minister Henry’s face darkened. He could not understand how things had spiraled into this.

"Your Highness..." Scarlet’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at Prince Philip. "How could you do this to me?"

Just then, the veil on her face slipped loose and fell to the floor, perhaps because of the force Philip used to slap her.

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.

Under the bright palace lights, Scarlet’s true face was laid bare for everyone to witness. Her skin, which had once been imagined as smooth and fair, was now covered with dense, ugly freckles that marred her features completely.

"So this is Miss Scarlet’s real face?"

"I heard she had some blemishes, but I never thought it was this bad."

"With a face like that, how could she ever be a future empress?"

"No wonder she’s been hiding behind a veil all this time..."

Whispers spread like wildfire, each one sharper than the last. Scarlet’s face flushed crimson as the cruel murmurs stabbed at her pride. She hurriedly picked up her veil and covered her face again, wishing she could disappear into the floor.

Even Prince Philip was shaken. He had known her condition was serious, but seeing it so clearly made his heart sink. How could he possibly marry someone like this and face the court and the world?

As if she wanted to speak the words of witnesses and her son aloud, Empress Penelope frowned deeply. "So this is Miss Scarlet’s true appearance," she said coldly. "With such a face, she truly cannot become a crown princess."

Emperor Alexander nodded slowly, his gaze turning stern as it settled on Prime Minister Henry. "Indeed."

Prime Minister Henry’s face drained of color. The Emperor’s displeasure was no longer hidden, and he felt it like a blade pressed to his throat.

For the sake of keeping his daughter’s position as crown princess, he had done everything he could to cover up Scarlet’s condition while secretly searching for a cure.

He had never imagined that tonight it would all be torn open in front of the entire court. With the Emperor’s temper, he knew he would not be let off easily.

Scarlet hurried back to her seat with Lyssandra, her head lowered so far it was almost pressed to her chest. Even so, she could still feel the countless gazes on her, sharp and merciless, stripping away what little dignity she had left.

Prince Philip ignored her completely. He turned instead toward Prince Kael, took a step forward, and bowed with a hand placed on the left side of his chest.

"Prince Kael," he said, his voice steady yet heavy, "I apologize to you for everything I did in the past."

Gasps rippled through the hall.

Prince Philip, the dignified crown prince, was bowing to Prince Kael?

"I was foolish and blind," Prince Philip continued without a care about his image, his head still lowered. "I insulted and humiliated you many times over the past three years. I ask for your forgiveness."

Even the second prince, Damien, who had been sipping tea nearby, choked so badly he nearly spat it out. He stared wide-eyed, wondering if the world had suddenly flipped upside down.

What made it even stranger was that neither the emperor nor the empress stopped Prince Philip. They sat there calmly, as if this scene were perfectly natural.

Prince Kael said nothing. He merely looked at Prince Philip with a cold, unreadable gaze, yet that silence alone was enough to make sweat bead on Prince Philip’s forehead.

"If you believe I cannot be forgiven," Prince Philip gritted his teeth and then said hoarsely, "then you may take my life. I only ask that you spare my father and mother. Even though they were at fault for not siding with you when you were being bullied, it is entirely because of me. And please do consider that Father still gave you everything that an imperial prince should have."

The hall fell into such silence that even a pin dropping would have been heard.

At this moment, everyone understood how serious the situation was. Prince Philip would never abase himself like this without reason. Philip wasn’t even asking for forgiveness for himself. He was asking Kael to spare his parents, in front of them, and neither Alexander nor Penelope was stopping him. That means Kael truly has the ability to deal with the emperor.

The conclusion was obvious and frightening for the spectators around.

They still didn’t know that the Emperor isn’t Kael’s real father. They only assumed that Kael’s mother might not be some commoner but from a powerful family that even the Emperor wouldn’t dare to offend.