Chapter 712: Breaking the Board

Third Person’s POV

They slipped into Arlene’s mind so subtly that their presence was almost impossible to detect, even for someone who might ordinarily have been sensitive to such interference, not to mention Arlene, who was a full realm weaker than him.

Without changing his expression, Ethan used his Soul Veil Manipulation to implant a seemingly harmless suggestion deep within her subconscious.

The suggestion was designed to influence her future thoughts, guiding her conscious mind away from revealing his real name and identity to others.

Whenever the possibility of discussing the matter arose, the implanted suggestion would subtly steer her thoughts in the direction he desired, encouraging her to use his alias instead.

To an outside observer, Ethan appeared to be doing nothing more than looking into Arlene’s beautiful eyes while she struggled to process his revelation.

Unfortunately, he had apparently underestimated the attention of someone sitting beside him.

A sharp pinch suddenly struck his thigh.

Ethan’s eyes twitched, and he immediately broke away from Arlene’s gaze, turning to find Aurelia glaring at him with unmistakable displeasure.

He could only offer her a wry smile.

Without saying anything, he took another bite of his Ice Apple, hoping that the fruit would provide a convenient distraction from the awkward situation.

As he chewed, he began circulating the fruit’s innate ice energy through his body, guiding it into his existing ice mana and allowing the two to gradually merge.

The process was relatively smooth.

The Ice Apple contained a concentrated reserve of ice energy, and as Ethan absorbed it, the essence of his ice mana increased slightly.

Although the improvement was minuscule, it was still a useful gain, especially considering how valuable even a small increase in elemental essence could become over time.

Meanwhile, Aurelia’s sudden action seemed to jolt Arlene out of her stunned silence.

The princess finally realized how closely she had been staring at Ethan, and the thought of what others might have inferred from the scene caused embarrassment to creep across her face.

She hurriedly rose from her seat and stepped away, avoiding Ethan’s gaze as though she had been caught doing something she had no intention of admitting.

Ethan watched her retreating figure for a moment before turning his attention back to the fire.

He had barely settled down when Eleanor suddenly spoke.

"Why did you tell her your real name and reveal our relationship?"

Her voice carried a mixture of concern and restrained anger, and Ethan could tell that the question had been weighing on her mind ever since Arlene had approached them.

He turned toward his mother and gave her a reassuring look.

"Well, she’s trustworthy and has a good heart, Mom."

"I know that much, too. You told me about her before, and I believe you.

But didn’t you consider that she’s royalty?

She has countless responsibilities and political ties, and there are people around her who would be more than willing to exploit anything they could learn about your weakness."

Eleanor’s whispers came out in a single breath, her concern becoming increasingly apparent as she continued.

"Once your real identity is exposed, it won’t take long for people to connect the dots with the awakening ceremony all those years ago.

If they discover the truth about your talent, do you understand what kind of trouble that could bring upon you?"

Her expression was a mixture of worry and frustration, and she seemed unable to decide whether she should scold Ethan for his carelessness or simply be relieved that he was sitting safely beside her.

Unfortunately, her words had an unintended effect on Aurelia.

The latter, who was already displeased by Ethan’s earlier interaction with Arlene, grew even angrier as she listened to Eleanor’s concerns.

From her perspective, Ethan’s willingness to reveal such sensitive information had seemed suspiciously reckless, and she couldn’t help wondering if he had done it merely to impress the princess.

Ethan noticed Aurelia’s reaction from the corner of his eye but decided not to address it just yet.

Instead, he focused on reassuring his mother.

"Relax, Mom. I implanted a suggestion in her mind using my soul spell.

The suggestion will keep the thought of revealing my real name and identity to others from entering her mind, and she’ll continue using my alias when talking about me."

Eleanor’s expression was filled with shock as she wondered

’What kind of sorcery is that? I have never heard of something like this’,

She didn’t ask about the spell he was talking about, and the worry in her eyes decreased a little.

"As for the possibility of other powers connecting the dots..." Ethan paused, his tone becoming more serious.

"I’m afraid that is now inevitable, Mom.

They already know who you are, and with someone as conspicuous as me suddenly appearing in princely politics, it was only a matter of time before people started investigating me.

The connection between us has already been exposed, so there’s little point pretending otherwise."

He looked down at the fire, watching as the flames consumed the remaining pieces of wood and sent tiny sparks drifting upward.

"Our only choice is to become stronger and break this board ourselves instead of allowing others to keep moving us around like pawns."

As Ethan finished speaking, his expression grew gloomy.

The words he had spoken to Eleanor were the truth, and he knew it better than anyone.

The events of the past few days had made it painfully clear that he was becoming entangled in a complicated web of political schemes and clashing factions.

Every step forward seemed to bring him closer to another conflict, and simply relying on his current strength would never be enough to escape the predicament he had found himself in.

He needed to become stronger.

Much stronger.

His thoughts drifted toward the Life Devouring Saber resting at his waist, its newly awakened spirit and extraordinary potential offering him another avenue to increase his power.

Then he remembered the spell he had recently created, Devil Abyss, and the terrifying structure he had glimpsed within its swirling darkness.

The memories brought a measure of calm to his troubled mind.