Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 94: Is It Love (2)

Ahead of the group, Alex lifted his sleeve, fiercely wiping away the tears that had started to form.

Alex knew deep down that any further hopes of Bartland being good or caring about him were just self-delusions. ’If he truly cares about me, why hasn’t he visited me, choosing instead to capture me now? The earlier pirate attack at the beach must have been Bartland’s doing too... I dragged Ayoi and Yuka into trouble.’

He thought about the embroidered message inside the doll’s dress Yuka had given him, originally meant from his mother: "I wish you were a girl." Maybe his mother knew he’d be a political tool, not wanting him to compete for the throne with Fred, to avoid Bartland’s exploitation.

’Does Mom’s death have something to do with Bartland, too?’

The more Alex dwelled on it, the more heartbroken he became. He wiped away tear after tear, and when he realized it, he had already reached the white building.

Everyone was in a daze from the shock, except Fred, who nervously told the guards to keep quiet about the recent events. They agreed, commending his discretion.

Fred, doing nothing, saw Alex’s tear-streaked face and mocked, "Alex, did the space pirate make you cry? What a wimp."

Bang!

Fred hit the ground, holding his swelling cheek, incredulously shouting at Alex, "You hit me?!"

"Why not?" Alex shouted back, "I’m giving back all the beatings you gave me!"

With his family gone and the only mother he might have loved dead, Alex felt alone and fearless. The students stepped back, silently rooting for Alex. They were tired of Fred’s antics.

The guards and Alliance Army members watched the fight, not stepping in, just making sure it didn’t turn deadly.

Alex landed another punch on Fred’s other cheek. Fred’s head jerked to the side as he yelled, "Have you lost it, Alex?!"

Then, Fred started fighting back. As Fred threw another punch, Alex instinctively ducked, his body remembering the beatings from Fred.

Fred smiled smugly. He knew it! Alex was still that coward, too scared to fight back or even make a sound. Such a loser!

Bang!

Fred was knocked down by Alex again, spitting blood, finally realizing that Alex really wanted to kill him.

Struggling to fight back, they rolled into a scuffle. Soon, both were bruised and bloodied, still throwing punches at each other.

As their strength waned, Alex gasped for air and then yelled at Fred, "You think you’re better than me? Without your royal title, you’re nothing! You call me a coward, but you’re one too. You’re terrified of the dark, but pretend you’re not, threatening anyone who might tell!"

"What do you think you are?" Fred shot back. "Your physical and psychic powers are low. You’re a waste!"

Bystanders, especially those with low physical or psychic levels, frowned, disliking Fred even more.

"Ha!" Alex roared. "You’ve always been insecure about being a bastard, haven’t you? You hide your inferiority behind arrogance and don’t care about others’ feelings. You’re just a clown!"

They exchanged more punches.

"You really think everyone sees you as a prince? I’m telling you, you don’t deserve it!" Alex shouted. "You’ve hurt others without ever apologizing. I’m telling you, you’re unworthy!"

"Shut up!" Fred trembled with rage. "What right do you have to say I don’t deserve it?"

Yuka and Ayoi hurried over, shouting, "Alex!"

Alex paused mid-punch.

That’s right. He wasn’t alone.

He had friends.

Seeing the fighters slowing down, the Alliance Army and guards quickly intervened, pulling them apart.

Someone brought a first aid kit. Ayoi applied medicine to Alex with a bottle and cotton swab, while Fred impatiently treated himself.

A member of the Alliance Army said, "You’re brothers. Just apologize for whoever started it, and it’s all good."

Alex stared at Fred. "I’ll never forgive you."

Fred snorted. "I did nothing wrong. I don’t need your forgiveness."

He glanced at Yuka and Ayoi around Alex, his bruised lips twitching. So what if Alex had friends to comfort him? He had the throne.

He deserved the throne.

Soon after their fight, the spaceship arrived on time at four. Kenji led everyone aboard, all exhausted and slumping in their seats.

Alex gradually calmed down and told Ayoi and Yuka, "I’m okay now, no need to worry about me."

He wouldn’t give up on himself.

Kenji stood in front of everyone and began, "Everyone, this incident was my fault..."

"It’s alright, Mr. Kuba," a lively boy quickly interjected. "It’s the space pirates’ fault, not yours. Who could have known they would suddenly attack the prison and land on our training planet?"

"Yeah," another girl added, "Mr. Kuba, you saved many of us. We’re grateful, not blaming you. Thank you, Mr. Kuba!"

"Mr. Kuba brought us to this training planet, we should be thanking you."

"We’ll give our best in the Tournament!"

Kenji, somewhat surprised by their responses, nodded and addressed the crowd, "Thank you all for understanding. I need to handle the situation at the Alliance prison now. Other Alliance Army members will escort you back."

After speaking, he turned and walked towards the hatch, inadvertently locking eyes with Yuka as he passed her seat. Yuka gave him a warm smile.

Once Kenji left the spaceship, the butler popped up, asking Yuka in a ghostly tone, "Master, do you have a crush on Mr. Kuba?"

"I wouldn’t say that... I like him. But it’s just a liking, not love," Yuka candidly admitted. "Mr. Kuba has a high rank and is responsible. He must be wealthy too. Though a bit physically weak, he’s handsome."

In her mind, Yuka thought, ’And he’s got a great body, too; must be fun to be with.’

The butler nearly dropped its non-existing jaw. "But you used to call him petty and cold as a rock," the butler reminded. "And isn’t liking someone the same as having a crush? Or is there another term for it?"

Yuka: ...

Muttering, the butler said, "I must tell your father that you have a crush."

"Don’t you dare!" Yuka immediately grabbed the butler’s image on the opticomputer screen and tossed it out.

"But your father said to report if you started dating," the butler protested, returning to the screen.

"If you tell my dad," Yuka threatened, "I’ll remove all the skincare lotions I applied to you, turning you into a pitted orb."

Hesitating for a few seconds, the butler then said, "Okay, I won’t tell."

Anyway, since the two hadn’t started dating yet, it wouldn’t be too late to tell Yuka’s father later. The butler figured.

The opticomputer beeped again, and Yuka looked down at a new message.

[Interstellarnet headline: The Alliance Bank exploded! Click the link to check for any losses to your assets!]

The butler quickly opened the link, scanned the list, and informed Yuka, "Master, our assets are safe, and the items in the space button are fine too."

The damage was to some of the Alliance Bank’s branches on smaller planets, while the main bank was on Capital Octoxis, heavily guarded and impenetrable to space pirates.

The space button, like the spaceship, operated on stable wormhole technology for transporting items, with the endpoint at the Alliance Bank underground in Capital Octoxis.

Yuka, recalling the notebook she had stored in the Alliance Bank, felt it wasn’t very secure and planned to retrieve it upon returning to Capital Octoxis.

Back on Capital Octoxis, Yuka temporarily split from Ayoi, Alex, and the others, heading to the Alliance Bank. The bank manager, overwhelmed with work but receiving news of Yuka’s visit, dropped everything to greet her with a smile. "Miss Taira, what are you planning to deposit this time?"

"I want to retrieve something I stored previously," Yuka replied.

The manager’s smile stiffened. He hastily explained, "Miss Taira, this incident was an anomaly. Our central bank wasn’t bombed or robbed. It’s very secure. You can trust us..."

Yuka raised an eyebrow, and the manager fell silent, realizing he couldn’t change her mind. He begrudgingly led her to the vault, opened the safe, and returned her notebook.

Yuka left the Alliance Bank with her notebook, planning to send it to Black One for safekeeping in the black market. After mailing it, she was about to put away her opticomputer when she saw an updated headline on Interstellarnet.

[Incompetent Alliance Army! The Alliance prison and bank bombed, who can we trust now?]

Yuka blinked slowly at the provocative headline. Interstellarnet’s top stories were those with the highest views and shares, and these numbers could be manipulated. If one had money, they could easily delete or promote a headline.

Opening the link, she read an article full of criticisms and questions about the Alliance Army, even bringing up past incidents to bolster its accusations.

Reading on, Yuka found the author’s central message: "I call for the royal family to retake power to ensure a brighter future for everyone!"

Yuka closed the article, then shut the device down. ’While the Alliance Army has its shortcomings, the royal family... well...’

’Can anyone truly believe that the royal family will bring a brighter future?’