104 - The Crown I Will Take From You
Chapter 104
Wasn’t there blood on his sword, too?
The Grand Duke might have murdered the Princess and is now pretending to have lost consciousness because he’s afraid of the aftermath.
People whispered.
“Your Majesty, please calm down. You mustn’t get too agitated. We can’t be sure of anything yet.”
As the Queen Dowager nearly collapsed from anger and sorrow, Mrs. Pinatelli grabbed her arm and whispered.
“In this situation, you are the only one who can find Princess Medeia without losing your composure, Your Majesty.”
The Queen Dowager’s eyes barely regained their reason.
Yes, I mustn’t fall apart like this. I must find Medeia.
“Imprison Samon. He is not to be released until the truth is revealed.”
“Mother, how can you treat my son like a criminal! Samon is also your grandson, this is too much.”
Despite the Regent Duke’s protests, the Queen Dowager only gave her command coldly.
The Regent Duke bit his lip at the angry mood of the crowd.
‘Damn it, what the hell happened? Why was Samon found there unconscious and in that state? And where did Medeia go?’
“If we don’t find Medeia, we’ll be framed as murderers. Find her, no matter what!”
Meanwhile, Iason glared at Samon. Medeia’s disappearance meant that even the chance for him to play an active role had vanished.
No, not vanished, but perhaps she lost her life at his hands.
An indefinable rage surged within him.
How dare he touch her. If not for Claudio’s name, he’d be nothing.
‘Surely the aide said that the 4th Princess brought in the wolves. But now Samon is being blamed?’
That meant the two had joined hands.
Samon Claudio was trying to catch both rabbits, me and the 4th Princess, in a devious way. Just like I did.
Iason was extremely displeased.
“G-Grand Duke Castulo. Please, help us. Just a light word that my son would never target the Princess would be enough……”
“Why didn’t you discuss such a big matter with me?”
“Y-Your Highness?”
“What I need is someone who will carry out my orders to the letter, not a traitor who tries to build his own palace!”
“Please calm down, Grand Duke. I was short-sighted.”
But Iason ignored the Regent Duke and walked past him.
Iason secretly ordered his men.
“You all find the Princess quickly too. We must be first.”
If the Princess was alive, he would be the hero who saved her from danger.
He could never miss this opportunity.
\ \ *
Campane Great Plains.
Although it was dusk, the encampment was brightly lit with torches.
“Did you see the faces of those Rasai Tribe bastards? They were so startled when they saw us, they turned white as a sheet!”
“It’s so refreshing to finally repay those cunning bastards who were only after our backs!”
A large roasted wild boar was skewered on a long pole over the bonfire, and stew was bubbling in a large pot.
It was a night for the Baldina soldiers to celebrate their victory.
However, inside the tent, a desolate silence flowed, far removed from the boisterous atmosphere.
The man looked down at the wooden doll.
The silver hair and clear blue eyes, reaching to the shoulders, gave off a cool light even under the dim tent light.
It was a noble and ascetic appearance that did not match the brutal greatsword placed next to it, which was as big as a child.
He exuded an atmosphere closer to a priest than a warrior.
A very faint scar remained on one cheek of his handsome face.
This trace, which would not be noticed unless one looked closely, appeared like a stigma along with the dazzling silver hair.
The Holy Slayer.
Peleus de Baldina, the current King of Baldina and another nickname for this man who was currently waging a ten-year war with the nomadic tribes in the Great Plains.
“Your Majesty.”
Dianzel, the leader of the Royal Guard (the King’s Royal Guard), who entered the tent, sighed.
“It’s a rare night of celebration, shouldn’t Your Majesty relax a little, at least for today?”
“……”
Instead of answering, Peleus closed the pendant and put it in his pocket.
Inside the pendant, which he always carried with him wherever he went on the battlefield, was a portrait of a young girl with the same silver hair as him.
“It’s not my achievement, it’s too early to be relaxed.”
A cool answer returned. A map of the plains was spread out in front of Peleus.
Flags representing the strategies drawn up by the aides were densely placed throughout the map.
The territory of the Rasai Tribe had long been replaced by the flags of Baldina.
“Yes. Certainly, this victory is thanks to Princess Medeia. If we hadn’t known that the Rasai Tribe’s supplies were burning and that they were floundering, we wouldn’t have been able to ambush them.”
When Dianzel nodded, a question suddenly flew from Peleus, who seemed to be thinking about strategy.
“Do you think so too? Really, that Medeia did it?”
“Ciseo, that outspoken guy who has to say what he has to say even if a knife is at his throat, wouldn’t have lied.”
“……”
“Princess has always been a bright person, Your Majesty. Isn’t it a good thing that the young Princess has grown up and is helping us? I don’t understand why you have such a troubled expression.”
Peleus’s blue eyes darkened.
“……She wasn’t originally such a bold child. This is also the first time she’s sent me a letter like this. Something must have happened to Dea.”
He was worried about his sister’s change.
When a person grows suddenly, there is bound to be a painful and difficult ordeal that serves as the catalyst.
What worried him most was leaving his younger sister alone in Baldina Royal Palace.
“Your Majesty cannot protect Princess from all dangers. You left the Seal behind, Your Majesty did your best.”
Peleus did not care about the criticism that he was a terrible king who entrusted the affairs of state to his young sister in order to protect Medeia.
Even though it was a time when the establishment of royal authority was more important than ever, not long after he ascended the throne.
“……”
Was it really the best?
“……Her face is already fading. How much has she grown?”
Peleus muttered quietly.
“……I couldn’t even say goodbye to that child on the day I left.”
He should have turned around once to see that face, with tears streaming down without a sound.
He should have held those small, trembling fingertips once.
He still remembered the round eyes that looked at him resentfully as he left.
“I was afraid she would wait. In case I couldn’t keep my promise to come back alive,”
He couldn’t dare to say any words.
Peleus had to leave urgently to straighten out the shaken army after his father’s death.
At the time, he was still an immature boy.
He didn’t have the confidence to convince his young sister, who had become the kingdom’s outcast, of the reason why he had to leave her alone and head to a battlefield where even his life couldn’t be guaranteed.
“……Why don’t you send her a letter? Now Princess will understand.”
“……”
“Or even that wooden doll you carved by hand.”
Dianzel gestured to the wooden dolls that occupied one side of Peleus’s tent.
The ten wooden dolls, shaped like a small girl, contained a little of Peleus’s longing.
“……”
Each year that passed, the doll grew a little taller.
Peleus’s imagination of what she might look like was added.
But no matter how hard he tried to remember, Medeia’s face wouldn’t come to mind properly.
The clear smile of his young sister, the vitality that was like the sun, only faded more and more as time passed.
Dianzel encouraged the young King.
“Now that we have defeated the Rasai Tribe with this victory, there is not much left of this war. Your Majesty, you will be able to return soon.”
“……I must.”
Instead of answering, Peleus looked down at the pendant again.
His finger gently traced the adorable smile of the girl.