Chapter 3: The Reason Alice is No Longer Innocent

King Everton watched with interest the two figures confronting each other on the dueling platform. A dense atmosphere spread between them, causing many passing servants to pause and watch.

"Is this really okay, King Everton?"

Alice Pendragon, the girl hugging a teddy bear, is a formidable figure in the kingdom - the fourth princess of the Non-Aurelic Kingdom.

Currently, she tilted her adorable little head, uncertain whether Night Rain could withstand Bella's first assault.

"It should be okay, after all, that person's like a mouse."

The sudden voice made both the King and Alice turn around.

"Oh, Lelia, you're here too…"

"Um, good morning, Sister Lelia."

The simply dressed second princess rolled her eyes and, with hands on her chest, walked over.

"With all the commotion, how could I not come? My sister and my husband are involved."

"So, why the duel?"

Though she’d heard of the duel through servant gossip, she wasn't aware of the reason behind it.

"Post-dinner activity ... probably."

The King surely knew the whole story, but he expressed nothing, merely watching the stage with a wistful look.

“Do you take me for a fool? That person loves his leisure; doing something of this sort is completely out-of-character.”

“Perhaps it’s a change of heart, a confession to the Goddess and a resolution to mend his ways.”

Just what kind of person do you view your husband as, wondered the King as he took in his daughter’s openly contemptuous expression, a twitching at the corner of his eye.

"Muahahaha, I finally got you, Goddess of Fate Belladandi, let's see the color of your underwear…"

"!?"

"!?"

Both Alice and the King stared at Lelia, who suddenly uttered such sacrilegious words, holding her nose. Belladandi the goddess of fate? They'd never heard of her…

Anticipating their stunned expressions, Lelia covered her face with her hand.

"That's how he talks in his sleep. Do you really think a guy like that would confess to the Goddess?"

“He isn’t just not repenting, he is even harboring some terrifying ambitions towards a goddess we are unaware of.”

This lack of reverence amazed King Everton. This person had no boundaries! He wouldn't be surprised if Night Rain was struck by divine lightning right now.

"Big brother is so awesome; he even wants to see the underwear of the Goddess!"

In contrast, Alice's eyes sparkled with admiration. Just what kind of things is she admiring?

"Back to the topic, this duel, Lelia, Alice. Who do you think is likely to win?"

Both princesses' eyes lit up when the King proposed this question. Oh, how that sparkled hurt his eyes!

"Do we start betting?"

The way Alice echoed the sentiment drew the attention of most servants. They all looked at King Everton as if he were a massive ATM, with the sound of cascading coins echoing all around.

"Your stares are menacing..."

Wiping a bead of sweat from his brow, King Everton felt as if he had fallen into the wolves' den, the predatory stares making him tremble. But with so many eyes watching, it wouldn’t be becoming of him to chicken out. He is the king; he needs to be bold!

"Let's play this game as we usually do."

Pretending to cough, Everton projected an aura of imposing kingliness, a reminiscence of his days as the Lion of Gold on the battlefield.

"The odds will be the same as before, no changes. Now, place your bets. Will Bella win, or will the prince, whose mysterious background caused such a commotion at our wedding, triumph? Come on, place your bets."

The sound of clinking coins echoed all around.

Piles of gold were stacked on Bella's side, glinting brightly. As for Night Rain's side…

Please translate the following Chinese text into English:

Actually, it turned out better than expected, and it's quite popular too……

There were at least a few silver coins ——

“Huh, Everton, what's wrong?”

“Hmm, nothing, just got some sand in my eye.”

Alice, the little princess who was about to place her bet, asked when she noticed that Everton seemed off. Everton quickly wiped away a tear.

“Oh, I'll bet on Bella then…”

Before her tiny hand could even reach for the bet, King Everton grabbed it. Alice looked puzzled at her father.

“Alice…”

“What's wrong, Father?”

“How does your big brother treat you?”

“Hmm, big brother is very nice to Alice.”

With a pouting mouth, Alice answered, although still looking puzzled. At this, Everton beamed.

“In that case, shouldn't you be cheering for your brother?”

“Um, when the duel starts, Alice will definitely cheer for big brother.”

Alice tried to pull her hand away but found it impossible, her brows furrowed in distress, her lips pursed.

She already knew what King Sama was trying to do.

How dare he force Alice to deliberately lose money. Father is so terrible.

“Alice, your big brother is watching us. If you don’t support him, it will affect his mood, and then he won't treat Alice nicely anymore.”

King Everton, like a wolf wagging its big tail, had a despicable grin that made Alice want to throw her puppet at his face.

“Hmm…”

“Then I bet one thousand gold coins on Big Brother for Alice.”

If she was betting on Bella, it would be two thousand gold coins' worth. Hm, let's make it one thousand gold coins on Big Brother, but it still hurt.

Because Alice knew, this was just money she was throwing away.

However, seeing her brother looking over, Alice could only put up a brave face and encourage him with an internal grimace.

Oh, Alice's money……

Then, Alice saw her brother's brilliant smile and instantly felt a wave of happiness.

“My bet is on Bella, five thousand gold coins.”

At last, the final bettor, the second princess, Lelia, placed her bet, instantly shocking the common people around with the astronomical amount of five thousand gold coins.

Everton felt like banging his head against the wall.

“Lelia, you can't do this. He's your husband, how can you stoke the flames of others and ignore your husband’s SOS?”

What the hell are you trying to do, are you planning to trap your old man?!

“That’s a simple matter, I can always comfort him physically. I don't have the foolish hobby of knowing I’ll lose money yet continuing to bet.”

Lelia remained indifferent and had no intention of changing her mind, leaving everyone gasping at her comment.

‘Pacify with body?’

“Wow, it seems like our big sister is super proactive.” Alice's admiring gaze made Lelia proud, she stood with hands on hips, nose pointing to the sky.

“Hey, big sister, you have such a great figure, does brother enjoy the nights?"

A shocking topic made everyone, including the king and Lelia, look at the excited Alice in astonishment.

What the hell, what’s going on?

Why does the little princess know so much?

At this age, shouldn’t the girl be naive and romantic? It feels like the little princess is completely corrupted!

“Where did you learn that?”

Lelia, as Alice’s sister, had a blackened face, as did Everton, as Alice’s father.

Which rascal taught my innocent sister (daughter) such things and ruined her innocence?!

“Errr… I found it under sister's bed, it was written there…”

Scared, Alice's eyes filled with tears, she looked wronged as she pulled out a book without a cover from her pocket.

As for this magical operation, the servants were no longer surprised. Although young, Princess Alice already possessed her own armor.

“Huh? But there is no book under my bed?"Lelia looked at the book in her hand with a puzzled expression. She didn't have the habit of throwing books under the bed.

She casually opened it to find nothing but blank pages. There wasn't a single word.

"Alice, there's nothing written in it," Lelia remarked, "Are you sure you found it in my room?"

"Yes," replied Alice. "It's quite simple; you just have to trigger it with The Brilliance."

"Ah, I see."

Spurred by Alice's words, Lelia summoned a small amount of The Brilliance. Upon touching the book, it began to change.

"Wow, what a magical book! Words and pictures are actually appearing!"

With eyes widened in surprise, Lelia continued to gaze at the emerging illustrations. Even King Everton couldn’t resist leaning in for a better look out of sheer curiosity. The servants, however, had no choice but to stand aside quietly.

Watching a book with a princess and a king...

They didn't have the guts to do it.

As the pages turned and the illustrations fully materialized, Lelia exuded an intense aura, which could be very intimidating. King Everton furrowed his eyebrows, but his suspicious gasping indicated otherwise.

"Shouldn't this be banned from sale? It should only be available on the black market now," she commented, slamming the book shut with a frown.

Turning to her father with a chilling smirk, she said, "You seem to know a surprising amount about this kind of book."

Feeling sheepish, King Everton answered, "Well, I was young once, too."

Under the icy stare of his daughter, he nervously shifted his gaze towards the dueling platform.

"Speaking of which, those two have been standing there for quite a while. Why haven't they started yet?"