Chapter 132
Lucian’s breath caught for a moment, his composure faltering ever so slightly. Arthur’s words were a precise jab, and Lucian knew he was trying to provoke him. But instead of reacting, he simply forced the corners of his lips upward into a faint, unreadable smile. “Oh well,” he said lightly, brushing off the comment with practiced ease.
Arthur chuckled softly, leaning back in his chair, pleased with the reaction he thought he saw. “Our pasts may be different, but I think you’ll find we’re much the same.”
Lucian shook his head, his voice calm but carrying a quiet intensity. “No. What makes us different isn’t our pasts it’s our decisions. You live for power and conquest. You’ve convinced yourself that achieving the throne will somehow validate you. That if you show the world your strength, it’ll make up for the love you never had. You think power is the only thing that matters because love was never an option for you.”
Arthur’s smile wavered, his expression darkening slightly as Lucian’s words struck closer to the truth than he was comfortable admitting.
Lucian pressed on, his voice taking on a sharper edge. “But let’s be honest here. Your parents didn’t love you, I won’t argue that. But have you ever stopped to think… maybe you never gave them a reason to? Maybe you never even tried to love them?”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed dangerously, but Lucian didn’t stop.
“You were their child, Arthur. No matter what they did, you could’ve tried. You could’ve reached out. People even start loving their enemies if they spend enough time with them, so why couldn’t you try with your own family? But instead, you chose to hold onto resentment. That’s where we differ. I… I tried. I hoped. I thought love could change them, that if I just kept trying, they’d finally see me. And even when it didn’t work, at least I know I tried. You can’t say the same.”
Arthur’s smirk returned, sharper now, though there was a coldness in his gaze. “And what did all that effort get you, Lucian? Did they love you back?”
Lucian hesitated for a moment, the faintest flicker of pain crossing his face before he answered, a sad smile tugging at his lips. “At least I tried.”
Arthur’s laugh was low and cruel. “How noble. But that just makes you childish. Stupid, even. A complete fool.”
Lucian’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing, letting Arthur continue.
“You’re still the same pathetic little boy who thought love would solve everything,” Arthur sneered. “And look where it got you suffering, pain, rejection. You became a laughingstock, a failure. You’re nothing but a second-generation waste, riding on the coattails of your family’s name. You’ve achieved nothing on your own, have you?”
Lucian’s gaze darkened, his eyes flashing with a mix of anger and disappointment. But he kept his voice calm. “And what about you, Arthur? All that power you’re chasing what do you plan to do with it once you have it? You think marrying Avey will secure your place on the throne, but have you stopped to think what comes after that? Power without purpose is empty. You’ll find that out soon enough.”
Arthur’s smile widened, his arrogance filling the room. “Power is everything, Lucian. I don’t need love. Love is a weakness, a distraction. With power, I’ll never have to suffer like you did. Like I did.”
Lucian shook his head slowly, disappointment etched into his features. “You’re wrong. You’ll never know unconditional love. Real love doesn’t come with conditions you can buy or conquer. It’s given freely, without expectations. But you’ll never understand that. You’ve deluded yourself into thinking power can replace it.”
Arthur’s eyes flashed with irritation, but his smirk remained. “Deluded? Hardly. Power is the only thing in this world that matters. With it, I can have anything. Even if I fail, at least I won’t be a fool like you, wasting my feelings on people who’ll never care.”
“I pity you,” Lucian said finally, his voice quiet but firm. “You think power will fill the void inside you, but it won’t. It never does. And when you realize that… it’ll be too late.”
Lucian’s words carried a weight that made the air between them feel heavier. He exhaled slowly, his shoulders relaxing slightly as his expression softened, though the sadness remained. “I thought… I really thought that someone like you would understand. Someone who’s lost as much as I have, someone who’s grown up knowing what it’s like to be unloved.”
Arthur tilted his head, his expression unreadable at first, before a faint smirk began to curl his lips. “Understand?” he said, his tone laced with mockery. “Lucian, I don’t need understanding. I need results.”
Lucian’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t interrupt.
Arthur leaned back, his hands resting lazily on the arms of his chair as though he had already won. “I’ll buy all the conditions I need with my power,” he said, his voice smooth, confident, and cold. “Love, loyalty, admiration all of it. If it’s conditional, then I’ll make sure the conditions are in my favor.”
His smirk widened, a sharp, almost predatory edge to it. “And at least that way, I won’t have to suffer like you did. Even if I fail, even if it’s not true love, at least I’ll never be as pathetic as you clinging to hopes and dreams that were never going to come true.”
Lucian’s jaw tightened at the words, but he didn’t look away. Instead, he studied Arthur carefully, his own expression unreadable now.
Arthur, emboldened by Lucian’s silence, leaned forward slightly, his eyes gleaming with triumph. “You see, Lucian, the difference between us is simple. You wasted your life waiting for love. I’ll create it, shape it, and take it by force if I have to. Power is the only thing that matters in the end. And with it, I’ll never feel the kind of pain you did.”
Lucian closed his eyes for a moment, as if to steady himself, before opening them again. There was no anger in his gaze only a deep, aching disappointment. “And that’s exactly why you’ll never find happiness, Arthur,” he said quietly, his voice calm but resolute.
Arthur’s smirk faltered, just for a second, as though Lucian’s words had struck something deep within him. But he quickly recovered, leaning back again and flashing a wide, winning smile. “Happiness is overrated. I’ll take power over happiness any day.”
Lucian shook his head slowly, his expression heavy with a sadness that even he couldn’t fully hide. “I thought he might understand,” he thought to himself, his mind drifting for a moment. “I thought that someone who grew up without love, someone who knows what it feels like to have no family, no home… I thought he’d understand. But I guess that’s the difference. The way we respond to pain shapes who we become. And Arthur… he let his pain consume him.”
When Lucian spoke again, his voice was softer, tinged with a quiet resolve. “You can buy conditions, Arthur. You can buy loyalty, admiration, even fear. But you can’t buy love not real love. And deep down, you know that. That’s why you’re chasing power so desperately. It’s not about avoiding pain. It’s about hiding from the truth that you’re as empty as the love you think you’ll buy.”
Arthur’s eyes darkened, his smirk vanishing completely. For a moment, he said nothing, his fingers tightening slightly on the arms of his chair.
Lucian, seeing the shift in Arthur’s expression, stood slowly, his movements deliberate. “You might win the throne. You might even gain everything you think you want. But one day, Arthur, you’ll look around and realize that the throne is cold, and the people bowing to you don’t love you. They fear you. And when that day comes… I hope you remember this conversation.”
Arthur’s lips curled into a faint sneer, but there was no humor in his expression now. “We’ll see, Lucian,” he said, his voice low. “We’ll see who ends up alone.”
Lucian, his face unreadable, though a flicker of pain flashed in his eyes. he said to max. “He’ll never understand,” he thought, “because he’s too afraid to try.”
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