Chapter 611 Francis's Friendliness
"When I was born, they say Alaric was the first to hold me. My parents told him I was the one he had to protect and guard throughout his life, even if it meant he had to die before me," Francis said, a hint of emotion flickering across his face, or maybe it was just an illusion. "But why did Alaric have to endure all this? Why was he abandoned from birth? Logically, in any era, Alaric should have been the heir, the one capable of ruling a kingdom. Yet, because of the fate of the Whitaker Royal Family, he became my sacrificial lamb."
Cecilia listened quietly.
She really had no right to judge the many emotional entanglements between Alaric and Francis.
"Actually, Alaric cried when he was a child too." Francis changed the subject.
Cecilia looked at Francis.
She had never seen Alaric cry, but she always felt that Alaric really wouldn't cry.
"I heard Aunt Magnolia mention it," Francis said. "My parents were a bit cold; maybe they did it on purpose, but they generally wouldn't show vulnerable emotions in front of Alaric and me."
Francis continued, "By the way, Aunt Magnolia's original name was Magnolia Whitaker. Later, to avoid attention, she changed her last name. Actually, Dashiell should also have the last name Whitaker."
For some reason, Francis seemed biased against Dashiell and Magnolia's last names.
From another perspective, maybe it was a form of possessiveness towards his family.
For Alaric and Francis, there were very few family members, so they cherished them especially.
"Back to the point." Francis seemed to realize he was digressing and quickly returned to the topic. "I once heard Aunt Magnolia mention Alaric. She said that when he first went into wilderness training as a child, he used a small knife to kill small animals. With each cut, he would cry in fear, but he kept going because if he didn't, even more small animals—especially the cute and harmless ones—would be brought for him to kill."
Cecilia's heart ached at his words.
She couldn't imagine the scene of a child holding a knife, covered in blood, with tear-streaked cheeks.
How desperate Alaric must have been back then.
Francis continued, "My upbringing was completely different from Alaric's. After I was born, I stayed with my parents and was taught a lot of theoretical knowledge. I was locked in the study every day, receiving all kinds of information. Of course, I also learned some basic self-defense skills, but these were nothing compared to Alaric. Alaric is truly the most capable person the Royal Family of Whitaker has ever produced. Not just in combat skills, but in other areas as well. Alaric's education, law degree, and so on were all achieved in his very limited spare time. He is truly the most outstanding descendant of the Royal Family of Whitaker. In a time of peace, he would definitely have become the greatest king!""But since he's not the heir of the Whitaker Royal Family, he ended up being the sacrificial lamb, clearing all the obstacles for me and putting me on the throne," Francis said quietly. "Honestly, I thought about giving up. A lot of loyalists, after seeing how Alaric turned out, suggested making him the heir instead. He's way more suited for it. I even pretended to be depressed and did all sorts of extreme things to get out of it. But it didn't work. They said Alaric had too much of a killer instinct, and the heir can't have any emotions at all."
Cecilia started to get it now. Alaric had said Francis had it worse than him.
Alaric went through hell, but it seemed like it didn't even matter.
"I've been beaten by Alaric too," Francis suddenly said, like it was no big deal.
"Every time I said I didn't want to be the heir, Alaric would beat me, really hard, until I gave in. Then, after beating me, he'd comfort me, help with my injuries, and soothe me. Alaric usually seemed cold and distant, but after punishing me, he was especially gentle, using a soft voice to comfort me."
Cecilia felt like Francis was showing off a bit.
"I always feel like Alaric is the person who treats me the best in this world," Francis said softly. "Everyone else who treats me well has a purpose: my parents and those loyal to me. Only Alaric is unconditionally good to me, so even if he hates me, I will love him. But Alaric doesn't hate me; he treats me very well."
"Because he knows your life isn't as good as it seems to outsiders," Cecilia said bluntly.
This was probably the mutual understanding between the brothers.
They saw each other's hardships, so they unconditionally wanted the other to be better.
Such feelings were really precious.
Not to mention in a ruling family, even in ordinary wealthy families, people would turn against each other.
"So I don't feel guilty anymore," Francis said.
"What do you mean?" Cecilia felt like Francis's logic was all over the place.
"I don't feel guilty for bringing so much harm to Alaric because if it weren't for my existence, he wouldn't be able to pursue his happiness. If Alaric were the heir, he wouldn't be able to love someone seriously. As an heir, there would be more responsibilities, and emotions would be the first thing to discard," Francis said happily. "With me here, Alaric can love you as much as he wants!"
Hearing this, Cecilia felt a bit shy.
Her relationship with Alaric was very good.
Yet hearing Francis say it like that, she couldn't help but feel shy.
"By the way," Francis suddenly remembered something and took out a bracelet. "Alaric didn't tell me in advance that he was bringing you, so I didn't prepare a proper meeting gift. This was my mother's favorite piece of jewelry, and I'm giving it to you."
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