Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 276: The Banquet for Kael and Zora (Part-6)

Meanwhile, Icarus’s eyes went wide in disbelief. If Prince Kael’s status was truly so terrifying, then Zora, as his wife... He shuddered, thinking of what he had just done a while ago.

Do you have to provoke her? You idiot... Icarus scolded himself in his head, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but clench his fists tightly, not being able to erase the hatred he had for Zora.

After a few seconds of silent stare, Prince Kael then finally spoke, his gaze still fixed on Prince Philip. "What you did to me, I do not care about," he said coolly. "But what you did to my wife is something I will not forgive. Only she can forgive your sins."

He had never bothered to retaliate against Prince Philip’s childish provocations. If he had truly wished to, Prince Philip would not have survived long enough to stand here now. He had endured it all to lull certain people into lowering their guard.

He did not even feel much toward Emperor Alexander. This was never a personal vendetta.

He had returned for one reason only.

For Zora.

For all the bitterness and humiliation she had suffered over the years, he would make every last one of them pay.

Zora quietly looked away from Prince Kael, yet the warmth in her chest refused to fade.

This man was as refined as fine porcelain, dazzling and extraordinary, yet he had crossed mountains and empires, returned to Elysia, and stepped into this nest of vipers for one simple reason.

For her.

All this time, she had thought he came back only to wash away the humiliation he once suffered here.

Only now did she understand how wrong she had been. In Prince Kael’s heart, his own wounds were nothing. What truly pained him was the way she had been trampled and scorned in this city.

Prince Philip stood frozen, his mind ringing with those words. He had prepared himself to be crushed, to be punished, yet Prince Kael did not even care about what had been done to him.

Instead, every word was for Zora.

Looking up, Prince Philip met her eyes, where emotion and quiet devotion shimmered like light on water.

In that moment, he finally understood.

Back then, when Zora had made her choice, Prince Kael had been nothing more than a crippled prince, while he himself was the exalted crown prince. Yet she had not hesitated, not for power, not for status, but for the man who truly valued her.

This was a loss he would never recover from.

Around them, countless gazes drifted toward Zora. Even without a single word from the emperor or empress, everyone now understood one thing clearly.

Prince Kael was here for her.

Scarlet’s face had gone completely white. Only now did she grasp why Prince Philip had struck her without hesitation earlier. The truth hit her like a blade.

Prince Kael stood higher than even the crown prince.

How could this be? How could the disabled prince, once mocked by all, now command such awe?

Her hands clenched so tightly that her nails cut into her palms, drawing blood. It was she and her father who had schemed and plotted, trying to crush Zora into the dirt. And yet, through their own hands, they had pushed her onto a throne of light.

What was worse was Prince Kael’s unwavering devotion.

He had openly declared that he wanted no woman but Zora, and now he had returned to Elysia just to help her reclaim her dignity.

Such love.

Such protection.

Scarlet’s heart twisted in agony. What she had meant to steal had only been made stronger.

Prime Minister Henry’s face was just as ghastly. The contrast before him was too cruel to accept. A crow had turned into a phoenix right before his eyes.

General Helius slowly rose from his seat, his expression stricken. Regret churned in his chest like poison. He had treated a true phoenix as though she were a barnyard chicken.

If only he had cherished Zora back then, House Phoenix would now stand at the very peak of glory. With Prince Kael as his son-in-law, even ruling Elysia would not have been out of reach.

Yet every opportunity had been shattered by his own hands.

Nearby, Icarus’ mind was empty except for a single, helpless thought.

How could this be possible?

Prince Philip slowly turned around and looked at Zora.

Over the years, if anyone had wronged her the most, it was him.

Once, she had looked at him with soft, earnest affection.

Back then, he had answered that gaze with betrayal, chasing after Luna instead, even wishing Zora would simply disappear from the world. To force the annulment, he had humiliated her again and again, treating her as a joke, as a stain he wanted to wipe away.

It was precisely because of him that her days in the General’s Manor had become so unbearable.

And yet, it was also she who had once saved his life.

Without Zora, he would have died long ago.

Before anyone could react, Prince Philip stepped forward. In front of everyone’s shocked eyes, he bent his knee and knelt before Zora.

"I’m sorry!"

His voice rang out clear and loud, heavy with regret.

In that instant, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

No one had expected the proud crown prince to kneel, much less before the woman he had once despised. Even Prince Damien felt his legs go weak, remembering how he himself had mocked Zora in the past.

Zora looked down at Prince Philip, her gaze calm and distant.

She had once hated this man. If it had not been for him, the original Zora would not have been pushed into such despair. In that sense, Prince Philip owed her a life.

Yet after everything that had happened, her feelings had long since changed. Luna had died by her own hand, and Prince Philip, despite witnessing the scene, had chosen not to expose it. And after that, Philip had never bothered her. Even in the academy, Philip never sought her or attempted to even talk to her. That alone showed that he was not beyond redemption.

Now, what remained in her heart was no longer anger and hatred, but only a quiet indifference.

She just no longer cared.

What mattered to her now was the man who stood beside her, the one who would shield her from every storm.

Prince Philip knelt there, eyes fixed on her face. If she chose to destroy him at this moment, he would not resist.

Zora’s gaze drifted briefly to the high seats, to Emperor Alexander and Empress Penelope. Even their faces were filled with complicated regret. Perhaps they had once been constrained by forces beyond their control, but that did not erase the harm done to her.

At last, her red lips parted. "Forget it. Get up."

Her voice was light and distant, as though she were speaking to a stranger.

A collective breath was released in the hall. The ministers felt as if a blade had just been lifted from their throats. At least, the worst had been avoided.

But Prince Philip’s heart sank even deeper.

Hatred would have been easier to bear. Anger would have meant she still cared.

This indifference, this complete severing of ties, was far more painful.

In her eyes, he was no longer someone worth loving, nor even someone worth hating.

He was nothing at all.

A faint crease appeared between Prince Kael’s brows.

Given everything Zora had suffered over the past years, letting things go so lightly felt almost unfair. For a moment, he even thought she should make them pay, one by one.

But when he saw the look in her eyes, he understood.

She had truly let go.

Once a person really puts something down, it no longer matters. Even if Prince Philip were to collapse in front of her this very moment, it would stir no emotion in her heart.

And perhaps this was better than any furious revenge. Only by releasing the pain of the past could she walk freely into a new tomorrow.

Prince Philip slowly rose to his feet. Her magnanimity only made him feel smaller. He was older, a crown prince, a man who had once looked down on her, yet in this moment, he could not even compare to her calm.

Then Zora’s gaze shifted.

And it landed, cold and precise, on Scarlet.