"Actually, I knew Loki had all kinds of problems." Odin frowned and began speaking to himself again. "Because he was physically weak, the Asgardians didn't accept him. Frigga spent more time teaching him, so he was more like a girl—sensitive and delicate."
"But that wasn't a flaw at all. He didn't need to become Asgard's God King anyway. He didn't have to bear responsibility, so there was no need for him to pursue perfection."
"Or rather, the Asgardians didn't discriminate against him that much. The main reason he felt they did was that they didn't revere him as much as Thor."
"But the Asgardians revered Thor not because that hotheaded Thor was so much stronger than Loki back then. It was entirely for my sake. He was the heir I had chosen. How could they dare disrespect him?"
"But I couldn't possibly tell everyone to revere Loki just as much because he felt upset about it. Wouldn't that shake the authority of the heir I had already established?"
Odin made a sharp gesture in front of himself and said, "I know those brutes from Asgard too well. They wouldn't notice subtle distinctions. They could sit in front of me for a year and only notice that I'd grown a few more beard hairs. They only understood the literal meaning of orders."
"If I said Thor would inherit the throne, they treated Thor as they would the God King. If I said they should treat Loki the same way they treated Thor, they would think Loki might become God King in the future too..."
Odin pressed a finger to his temple helplessly and said, "Frigga often told me that I never cared about Loki, but I couldn't care about Loki the same way I cared about Thor. I wasn't afraid the