12 - The Crown I Will Take From You
12
“If it’s my teacher, I know that he is staying at a small residence outside the Royal Palace.”
After the Late King died, Marquis Gillifos retired. Since then, he had not been involved in politics at all and had devoted himself only to nurturing future generations.
He was also a highly respected national hero. There were still many in the kingdom who respected his integrity.
Tap. Tap.
The light sound of a forefinger tapping the table rang out regularly.
“I have to see him. Without anyone knowing.”
At some point, Medeia asked quietly.
“Is it possible?”
“I will prepare.”
Neril nodded resolutely.
Through the window, the flag of Baldina hanging on the distant castle walls looked faded.
“Pull down the flag! Overthrow the corrupt Baldina Royal Family!”
This life, the rebels under the fluttering flag will never cross that wall alive.
\ \ *
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Your Highness.”
A new Maid walked in carefully, holding the hem of her dress.
As if to show that she was being careful with every move, lest Medeia be upset.
“Your Highness, Duchess Claudio has arrived.”
Medeia raised her head.
Claudio.
This familiar and longed-for name.
What could have brought her here so early in the morning, when she hadn't even sent word when the Head Maid was being whipped or when the Royal Palace was isolated as a result of her retaliation?
It seemed that the news that the Head Maid had removed all of Medeia's surveillance had spread.
“Let her in.”
She wondered what she was going to say. Medeia's eyes sparkled.
“Your Highness!”
Her aunt, Catherine Claudio, entered, wearing bright makeup.
She was a striking beauty.
Once the flower that made the men of society cry with the nourishment of a noble Marquis family.
The elegant dress, tailored to fit her slender waist, rippled richly, making it hard to believe that she had grown sons and daughters.
“I was originally going to come as soon as Your Highness woke up, but I collapsed from fatigue as well... When I opened my eyes, it was today. Please forgive me for seeing Your Highness so late.”
She wasn't collapsed, she was watching the situation.
“There was nothing you could do, Mother. My generous sister wouldn't fail to understand this situation, would she?”
After her, a pretty girl with pink hair came in.
“Birna.”
“Yes, Sister. I came too. I missed you so much that I begged Mother to come to the Royal Palace with her, you'll understand, right?”
Her cheeks, shining in the same color as her hair as if filled with sunlight, were lovely.
In her past life, she was called the flower of Baldina and showed signs of dominating society.
Medeia looked at her beautiful aunt and cousin.
“Ahahaha! You pretended to be so great as a Princess, but look at you. Baldina is destroyed, and your brother was torn to pieces by a Demon Beast. All because of a stupid woman like you!”
Her enemy, who had betrayed her, destroyed her country, and even drove her children to their deaths, was before Medeia's eyes, engraved in her bones.
Deep nail marks remained under her calmly folded hands.
“Duchess.”
But Medeia did not show it outwardly. She had no intention of ruining her plan with a moment of anger.
Slowly, she would trap them until they were at their most distressed and painful.
Catherine paused, then drooped her eyebrows.
As if she couldn't guess the reason for Medeia's aloofness.
“Don’t call me so distant.”
A slender hand reached out and took Medeia's hand. Catherine put her other arm around Medeia and patted her back.
A sweet and cozy scent wafted from the Duchess.
Once, she had thought that this was what a kind mother's embrace would be like.
But now she knew the stench hidden behind this kindness.
“Does your head hurt, Your Highness? If you fall off a horse, you may seem fine on the outside, but the aftereffects are deep, and there are many who go wrong. You must never take it lightly.”
Catherine's eyes were full of concern.
“I brought a Court Physician with me to look after Your Highness. They say he is a Divine Physician from the Kazen Empire who can raise a cripple in an instant.”
A Divine Physician from Kazen?
Medeia swallowed a laugh.
No wonder she came to see her so urgently, but she didn't even mention the Head Maid.
'So that's what it was.'
“Mother was so worried about Medeia that she searched everywhere. He's an Imperial, so he's so arrogant that he wouldn't come to Baldina, so I don't know how many boxes of gold coins she spent.”
“Birna, don't say unnecessary things. If you talk thoughtlessly and make Her Highness worry, you'll be punished.”
Catherine scolded her sternly when Birna complained as if she was sulking.
“Mother is really too much. I don't know who her real daughter is. Isn't that right, Sister?”
Medeia smiled without answering. Birna, embarrassed, bit her lip.
Birna's sulking, her aunt's patting,
'I used to think this was affection.'
She really thought they cherished and cared for her like family, like their own daughter.
But now, after experiencing all kinds of hardships, she could see the hypocrisy hidden behind her uncle's family's sweet words.
They used the idea of a real family to exploit Medeia's lack of affection.
The Kazen Empire, which bordered Baldina, had fertile land and abundant granaries.
Baldina, surrounded by mountainous terrain and with a cold climate, often requested aid from Kazen.
The Empire often demanded tributes at will under the pretext of aid, which was highly resented.
'Last time, they told us to send three hundred young knights from Baldina as tribute.'
This was also the reason why the Late King and Peleus started a war despite opposition.
To capture the western plains and find a breakthrough to escape Kazen's interference.
'In that situation, a doctor from the Empire is treating the Princess of Baldina? And from Kazen, a hostile country?'
It was a time when resentment towards King Peleus was growing due to the long-term war.
If the foolish Princess's actions were known, people would soon think of the King.
Medeia's stupidity would soon become a weakness for her blood brother.
“He’s an Imperial, so I can’t just let him in, so he’s waiting outside the palace gates now. If Your Highness is okay with it, I’ll have him brought in now. You guys-”
She seemed to be waiting for Medeia's permission, but Catherine was already turning to the Maid.
“No, Aunt.”
Medeia raised her hand to stop the Maid and cut off Catherine's words.
“Thanks to Neril protecting me and saving me, I'm fine. The Court Physician who have been here have also confirmed it. If he's such an excellent physician that he can raise a cripple, shouldn't he be shown to Grandmother first?”
“To the Queen Dowager…?”
She continued to speak calmly, as if she hadn't seen her aunt's hesitation.
“I heard the Maids saying that Grandmother has been suffering from cold knees and gout these days. They say that no matter how many renowned physicians have come and gone, there has been no improvement.”
The Queen Dowager was a true Baldina native.
Since her era, the Empire's exploitation had been long-standing, so she hated Kazen to the point of detesting it.
She was a person who wouldn't even turn in the direction of the Empire, so if she knew that the Divine Physician was from Kazen, she would be furious.
The Duchess, who brought him, would also be in great trouble.
“Your Highness is still too kind. There are already excellent physicians for the Queen Dowager, so you don't have to worry too much.”
“No matter how excellent they are, they can't be compared to someone called a Divine Physician. I was just worried, but I don't know how fortunate it is that Aunt found and brought such a famous doctor.”
Medeia blinked, pretending to be a granddaughter who was purely worried about her grandmother, not noticing anything.
“I wish I could go, but Grandmother would be upset if she saw me, so please take him instead, Aunt.”
Medeia passed the Divine Physician into her aunt's hands.
“Besides, if a Divine Physician came all the way here, how arrogant would it be if only a young person like me received treatment, skipping the order? The foolish would say that I'm using my brother as a shield and manipulating Baldina.”
That was exactly the reputation of Medeia that they wanted.
“So, I'm grateful for my aunt's kindness, but it's too much for me to receive now. Of course, you understand, right?”
Medeia blinked innocently.
