The Abandoned Luna's Journey to Power Chapter 374: Noah's Choice

Prince Adam's POV:

After a long moment, I slowly released my bite, stepped back two paces, and shifted back into human form.

My chest rose and fell heavily. There was still his blood at the corner of my lips. My gaze was cold, but inside, it felt like something had been struck hard.

Noah lay on the ground for a while before finally shifting back as well.

He was badly injured. Blood covered the side of his throat and his back. When he tried to stand, he even stumbled.

Peter rushed over to support him, his eyes red as he muttered something under his breath, clearly furious.

But Noah waved him off and pushed him aside, forcing himself to stand steady despite his labored breathing.

Then, under the stunned gaze of everyone present, he lifted a hand to wipe the blood from his lips and lowered his head toward me.

That wasn't the kind of gesture brothers made after sparring.

It was a public surrender, stripped of pride.

"I lost."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly across the entire square. It was like a massive stone crashing into still water, leaving the entire court in stunned silence.

At that moment, the fingers hanging at my side curled ever so slightly without my control.

To others, it might have looked like Noah acted out of drunken impulse, or that he had been completely beaten into submission in front of everyone.

But I knew better.

From the moment Uncle Niall started stirring things up, Noah had been waiting for this chance.

He understood that as long as he still stood in the position of a legitimate contender, people in the court would continue to use him. Today, they would provoke; tomorrow, they would divide us; eventually, they might even force a rift between us brothers and split the army.

Instead of letting them manipulate things in his name, he chose to end it completely.

At the Moon Goddess Festival, in front of the entire nobility, the royal family, and Father, he had provoked me on purpose. He forced me to defeat him with everything I had, then bowed his head publicly, cutting off his own path to the throne with his own words.

From this moment on, if anyone tried to place him alongside me as a rival, they would be questioning what everyone had just witnessed tonight. They would be challenging the most fundamental rule of strength that no one in the royal bloodline could deny.

I looked at Noah, kneeling in the moonlight, covered in blood. My throat tightened slightly.

I had won.

But in that moment, I didn't feel any sense of ease.

Because I understood exactly what Noah had done. He hadn't pushed himself to this point out of weakness or resignation. He had chosen this brutal path to make one thing clear to everyone. He could be a prince. He could be a warrior. He could be the strongest ally at my side. But he would never become a weapon for others to use against me.

On the high platform, Grandma finally opened her eyes slowly.

Mother's expression was complicated, as if she felt relief, yet also deeper concern.

Among the nobles, reactions quietly split into two extremes. Some looked pale, realizing that the balance they had carefully maintained had been completely shattered by that single act. Others, after a brief moment of shock, quickly lowered their heads, already reconsidering where they would stand from now on.

Father remained silent for a long time.

Only after the wind across the square seemed to turn colder did he finally stand. His gaze passed over both of us before he said in a deep voice, "That's enough for tonight. Call the royal physicians."

There was no praise, no reprimand, and no immediate decision announced.

But everyone understood that certain things had already been settled.

The moon still hung high above the palace. The bonfires still burned bright. Yet the drums of celebration never regained their earlier energy.

This Moon Goddess Festival was destined to be remembered by everyone. Not for the music. Not for the wine. But because, under the watch of the entire court, Noah had used his own blood to clear the path to the throne for me.