Seeing the white-haired boy in front of her collapse into the snow, crying and trembling, because of her careless words, she was deeply moved.
Luo Ge, who had already taken a step forward, abruptly pulled his foot back.
He stood there in silence for two seconds.
The wind and snow swept between the two, blowing Sylphie's messy white hair backward.
Her head was bowed, her shoulders trembled, and her soft sobs were torn into fragments by the wind.
It made an innocent young boy cry.
A strange, inexplicable sense of guilt arose in Luo Ge's heart.
"Tsk."
He scratched the back of his head and muttered, "What a nuisance."
He could have just left.
He needed to get on his way; the situation in Buena was still unclear, and he didn't have time to waste dealing with a stranger.
But seeing the other person's heartbroken appearance, he stopped in his tracks, turned around, and went back.
Luo Ge walked up to Sylphie, knelt down, and extended a hand to her.
The palm was outstretched amidst the swirling snow, carrying the scent of wind and frost from the journey to the Sword Sanctum.
His lips curled up slightly, revealing a bright, sunny smile that stood out starkly against the gloomy, snowy day.
Hilfi suddenly raised her head.
Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, tears mixed with snow water hanging on her cheeks.
But the moment that hand appeared in front of her, a light suddenly shone in her emerald green eyes.
It's like a drowning person grabbing onto a piece of driftwood in a desperate situation.
"Rudy... Rudeus?"
Her voice trembled as she reached out to grasp his hand, "You remembered me?"
Luo Ge's hand froze in mid-air; he didn't retract it, but he shook his head.
No, I still couldn't remember you. Because I didn't know you at all.
Sylphie's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. The light that had just begun to gleam in her eyes...
It went out with a snap.
"... Enough!"
"That's enough!"
Luke could no longer contain himself. He drew his sword and charged forward, the tip pointing directly at Luo Ge's back. "While you are powerful, that doesn't mean you can insult people at will. I, in the name of Ariel's Guardian Knight—"
"Roll."
Luo Ge didn't even turn around.
Without even drawing his sword, Feng Yalong, he simply held the scabbard in his hand and flicked it behind him, the end of the scabbard striking Luke's wrist with pinpoint accuracy.
Luke felt a numbness in his entire right arm, and the longsword flew out of his hand.
He flew backward like a kite with a broken string, his back slamming heavily onto the snow slope, sliding several steps before coming to a stop.
"Get out of here, this is none of your business." Luo Ge sheathed his sword, never even turning his shoulder to look at it.
Luke sat in the snow, clutching his numb wrist, gritting his teeth and remaining silent.
He saw it clearly: the opponent hadn't even used one percent of their strength in that attack.
If they really wanted to hurt him, his wrist would have been broken long ago.
"So, let's continue!"
Luo Ge turned his gaze back to Sylphie in front of him.
He knelt down in front of her, looking her straight in the eye, his tone softening slightly. "Sylphie, is it? Open your eyes properly and look at me. Am I Rudeus?"
"Mmm..."
Sylphie sobbed, raising her head through teary eyes.
She blinked hard, squeezing out the tears from her eyes, and carefully examined the face in front of her.
Then her brows furrowed.
She was in too much of a hurry just now.
The wind and snow were too heavy, visibility was poor, and the figure looked so much like the person from behind and in profile that she almost instinctively rushed forward.
But now, looking at it more closely, although the face in front of me resembled Rudeus in my memory in terms of outline, it was quite different in the details.
The brow bone has a sharper curve, and the jawline is more angular, giving the overall impression of being more angular and less feminine and youthful than Rudeus.
" Rudeus..."
"No, you're not Rudeus Greyrat?" Hilfi's voice was uncertain.
"Yeah, I'm definitely not that guy."
Luo Ge breathed a sigh of relief and plopped down on the snow opposite her. "To be honest, it's pretty embarrassing. Even though I often use that guy's name to fight evil and uphold justice, I never thought that one day people would actually mistake me for that sleazy guy himself."
He pointed to the area below his right eye. "Silphie, do you know what the biggest difference is between me and Rudeus?"
Look here!
"Does Rudeus have a beauty mark under his eye? Look at me, do I?"
Hilfi leaned closer to take a look.
Indeed, there was nothing under Luo Ge's right eye.
And the little Rudeus I remember did indeed have a faint mole below the corner of his right eye.
Although she hadn't seen them for three years, those details were etched in her mind more clearly than anything else.
So she mistook someone for someone else.
He admitted his mistake terribly.
"I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry!"
Hilfi's face flushed bright red in an instant, and she could barely speak.
Luo Ge noticed her embarrassment, stood up decisively, and brushed the snow off his trousers.
He addressed Sylphie, and indeed everyone present, in a loud voice. "Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Luo Ge Greyrat, and I am Rudeus's elder brother."
"Brother... sir?"
Hilfi instinctively replied.
Then she suddenly stopped.
That's not right.
She remembered clearly that Rudeus's family consisted only of him and his two younger sisters; he had no older brother at all.
If one had to name a brother, Rudeus did mention one who died young, but that brother died at a very young age, Paul's family would visit his grave every year.
Sylphie's eyes instantly filled with confusion. "No... that can't be right, can it? Rudeus told me that he doesn't have an older brother, only a younger brother."
Luo Ge's lips twitched.
Being exposed to someone's face is really not a pleasant feeling.
He coughed twice, then decided to lay it all out. "Well, a younger brother it is then. I really didn't expect that Rudeus would secretly find me a sister-in-law."
"Sister-in-law?!"
Hilfi's ahoge (cowlick) stood up with a snap.
Luo Ge sighed, then said seriously, "Let me reintroduce myself. I am Luo Ge, my surname is Greyrat, and I am Rudeus's younger brother, not his older brother."
"Is this right now?"
Hilfi stared at him blankly, her mind seemingly still processing the fact that Rudeus's brother was still alive.
Looking at Hilfi's appearance, Luo Ge was filled with mixed emotions.
His initial intention was to impersonate Rudeus and sever his ill-fated relationship with his otaku brother.
After all, in his view, a man crying like that and chasing after another man calling his name was clearly an abnormal relationship.
But when he truly saw the pure, fervent, and unadulterated emotion shining through Silphie's eyes...
He suddenly realized that his previous thinking had been somewhat narrow-minded.
That feeling was so genuine; it didn't seem fake, nor was it the kind of feeling that could be easily broken.
If it's true love, what does it matter if it transcends gender?
True love will last forever.
Luo Ge was filled with awe.
He looked at Silphie solemnly and silently made up his mind.
Regardless, he has accepted this "sister-in-law".
Although it slightly shattered his worldview, since it was his own brother who had chosen him, what could he, as the younger brother, say besides offering his blessings?
"Excuse me! May I interrupt you both?" A gentle voice interjected from the side.
Luo Ge turned his head and saw it was the blonde princess.
She had somehow emerged from the guards' encirclement, her hands clasped in front of her, her posture elegant and poised, a perfectly measured smile on her face.
"What's up?"
Luo Ge asked in a flat tone.
Ariel bowed slightly. "If I may be so bold as to ask, are you the legendary 'Three Kings'?"
"The Three Kings?"
"What Three Kings?"
Luo Ge frowned.
Ariel explained calmly, "Before setting off, I conducted a thorough investigation of the various forces in the Northern Lands. As far as I know, a large number of young talents have risen in the northern part of the Central Continent in recent years, and the two most famous among them are often compared to each other."
"One of them is a rookie adventurer named Rudeus Greyrat, hailed as the Dragon Slayer, and the other..."
Her amber eyes were fixed on Luo Ge.
"The other one is the ' Demon Sword King,' who is known as the invincible among his peers in the Sword God Style. Later, because he possessed the King Rank of three major styles, he was renamed the 'Three Kings' by the world."
"I dare to guess that Your Excellency, possessing such extraordinary combat power, could only be Rudeus Greyrat or the renowned Third King."
Am I right?
Luo Ge blinked twice, staring at the blonde princess before him. "Wait! Wasn't I called the Demon Sword King a few years ago? When did I change my title?"
Ariel looked slightly surprised. "Doesn't the Third Prince know about this?"
"What do you know?"
"It is said that the Demon Sword King studied under three peerless figures of his time: the Sword God, the Water God, and the North Emperor, mastering the essence of the three major schools of swordsmanship: the Sword God Style, the Water God Style, and the North God Style, and cultivating them all to the top level of the King Rank."
"Everyone says you are the most likely genius swordsman to master all three styles to God Rank in the future."
"Because all three major schools have reached the King Rank, the title of ' Demon Sword King ' has gradually been replaced by 'Three Kings'."
After hearing this, Luo Ge's lips twitched several times. "... Three Kings? What kind of title is that?"
He couldn't help but curse under his breath.
Three Kings?
Uh... that sounds a whole level less sophisticated than the Demon Sword King.