Translator: Nox

20 - The Crown I Will Take From You

Episode 20

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Grand Royal Dowager Palace.

I entered the palace, its interior striking with rose-colored lace carved into the stone walls.

The shimmering ceiling painting in the semi-circular arch style hinted at the lofty wealth and power once enjoyed by the palace's owner.

However, unlike the splendor of the ceiling, numerous pale white Goddess statues were placed along the walls of the corridor.

The occasional paintings were Icons, and the scent of frankincense, reminiscent of a stone cathedral, brushed past my nose.

Since the death of her eldest son, the atmosphere of the Grand Royal Dowager Palace had become even more solemn.

'It's been a while since I've been here.'

As a child, Medeia was afraid of this place.

It felt as if the Goddess statues placed on each wall were glaring at her.

If she burst into tears out of fear, the Queen Dowager would scold her even more harshly, causing her to bite her lip and swallow her tears.

Because she already knew that no one cared, no matter how much she cried.

"Grandmother-!"

As soon as she entered the room where the Queen Dowager was waiting, Birna pushed past Medeia and ran ahead.

She buried her face in the Queen Dowager's lap and acted affectionately.

As if she didn't sense the sharp atmosphere flowing silently.

"Birna, you've come too."

The Queen Dowager's voice softened slightly.

She patted Birna's back briefly before pulling her away and turning her head.

The Queen Dowager's eyebrows became fierce. The cause of her lifelong trouble had entered her field of vision.

"You……."

Medeia slowly walked towards the Queen Dowager. She stood in the center, facing her, and calmly lowered herself to her knees.

"Medeia greets her grandmother."

Despite the many gazes focused on her, there was no sign of shrinking from her.

The Queen Dowager frowned immediately at the clear voice.

"Kneel!"

She urged sharply.

The Princess's solemn greeting to her grandmother sounded more rigid and distant compared to Birna's casual one earlier.

Even if she ignored etiquette and rushed at the Queen Dowager, the Queen Dowager did not scold Birna.

However, Medeia's etiquette and greeting were flawless, yet the Queen Dowager's expression soured from the start.

People could clearly see that the Queen Dowager favored her second granddaughter more.

"Can't you hear me? Kneel down and beg this instant!"

People were surprised.

Although the Queen Dowager didn't like her eldest granddaughter, it was the first time she had gotten angry so abruptly.

'It serves Medeia right for getting scolded, but why is Grandmother acting like this?'

Birna rolled her eyes beside her grandmother.

Catherine, who had been about to step forward and try to win Medeia's favor, retreated when she saw her mother-in-law's anger seemed unusual.

'I knew it.'

Medeia hid a sneer as she watched her aunt retract her tail.

She soon discovered Head Maid Mrs. Cuisine, who was standing below the Queen Dowager's platform with a sinister smile.

Their eyes met. Mrs. Cuisine raised the corners of her lips in a bitter smile and bowed her head in greeting.

"I will do as Grandmother says."

Medeia walked forward and knelt down.

There was no servility in her reverent posture.

"However, I am worried that excessive anger may harm Grandmother's health. If you tell me the reason, I would like to beg Grandmother for forgiveness."

"Are you really asking because you don't know? After causing another upheaval in this palace, you're pretending not to know?"

The Queen Dowager's face turned even redder and more purple at her granddaughter's calm words.

"Do you even realize that you are a Princess? Is there nothing else you can do but show off how you were raised without a mother like this?"

Instantly, Medeia's eyes turned cold.

"What is the matter that you would insult not only me but also my parents, Grandmother?"

For the first time, a cool aura flowed from the Princess, who had been obedient all along.

Medeia's voice was somewhat cold and detached, a stark contrast to her delicate appearance.

"You, insolent……! Don't you know your sin?"

"Please forgive my foolishness. I have no idea what you are talking about, Grandmother."

"You intend to deny it even though I know everything?"

The Queen Dowager shouted in anger.

"The Head Maid has confessed everything. You are secretly sharing affection with a man!"

People's eyes widened.

Especially those of Claudio and his mother.

'What, she was pretending to be all innocent but secretly meeting a man? Those who pretend not to be are the worst. By the way, who is it? Who would even think of meeting such a worthless piece of wood?'

Unlike Birna, who swallowed her laughter, Catherine's reaction was more serious.

'No. There are no men near Medeia.'

She could say with certainty.

The Princess's marriage also had to be used as a chess piece, so how thoroughly had she managed to prevent any unwanted flies from sticking around?

'If that child had a man, there's no way I wouldn't know.'

So the Head Maid's confession is a lie.

A blatant lie created to drive the Princess into a corner.

'What on earth are you thinking? Why did you do such a serious thing alone without discussing it?'

Catherine looked at Head Maid Mrs. Cuisine.

To gauge her intentions, to get at least a minimal answer.

"I am sorry, Your Grand Royal Dowager Majesty."

However, Mrs. Cuisine ignored her and stepped forward.

"I am also sorry, Your Royal Highness. But I can no longer hide this important fact."

The Head Maid said loudly to Medeia.

"After I found out about Your Highness's outings, Your Highness even tried to silence me by spreading rumors that I was oppressing you."

She beat her chest and knelt down.

"But I, Cuisine, as one who has devoted my loyalty to the Baldina royal family, could not turn a blind eye to the truth. This matter is directly related to Baldina's honor. But since you are pretending not to know, I have no choice."

The Head Maid's gaze turned to a woman.

When she gave a slight nod, Mariu walked out.

"I am Mariu, a Maid of Her Royal Highness Medeia. My mother was the Princess's nanny, and I have served Her Highness all my life."

Mariu elegantly placed her hand on her chest and slightly bent her knees as she introduced herself.

Her greeting and carefully adorned appearance were closer to that of a noble lady than a Maid.

The Queen Dowager frowned at Mariu's vain appearance, but did not say anything else.

"The Princess always took me with her when she met her lover. I told her that this was not right, that it would lose the honor of the royal family, but Her Highness instead banished me to a shabby room and tried to punish me by having the Maids harass me."

The soft, frightened voice sounded sincere.

"After the Late King and Queen and the King left, Her Royal Highness Medeia was very lonely. Even though she knew it was wrong, she helplessly fell into it, perhaps because of that……."

Mariu dabbed her eyes with the edge of her sleeve. Then she looked at Medeia and sobbed.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. Please, don't forgive me……."

The Head Maid bowed her head along with her, adding.

"Your Royal Highness, please do not try to hide the truth with lies and fabrications any longer. Please set an example as a direct descendant of Baldina."

The two looked like loyal subjects bowing their heads and offering sincere advice.

However, beneath their bowed heads, their eyes sparkled and drew an arc.

'Heh, you're finished.'

'I know, why did you kick me out first.'

It was a well-crafted script. The audience, the actors, and the main character, the Princess, were all here.

Now that the play was ripe, all that remained was the fall of the protagonist.

"Medeia, this is quite a sight!"

The Queen Dowager burst into anger.

What angered the Queen Dowager more than the Head Maid and Mariu's loyal confessions was her granddaughter's behavior of losing face to a mere servant.

'What kind of master is denounced and accused by a subordinate! And a royal at that!'

Surely the noble blood of the Late King flows in that body, but how could she be so foolish?

Born on the same ship as Peleus, how could she be so pathetic?

'That wretch has no awareness that she is a Princess!'

The Head Maid couldn't help but smile with satisfaction as she noticed the Queen Dowager's changing expression.

'I knew it.'

The Queen Dowager would never tolerate the fact that her granddaughter, who was not even of age, had an affair with an outsider.

'Heh, if she found out that the person she was secretly meeting was Count Etienne, how would the Queen Dowager react?'

The Queen Dowager's anger would explode.

Beyond being kicked out of the palace, she might even confine the Princess to a convent for the rest of her life.

The overflowing imagination made the Head Maid very happy.

However, the shimmering haze of joy disappeared without a sound at the calm voice that followed.

"Their words are not true."

Medeia calmly denied.