65 - The Crown I Will Take From You
65
\ \ \
“Looks like things went well.”
Neril greeted Medeia as she emerged from the prison.
“What makes you think so?”
“Your Highness’s face is bright.”
Medeia’s pale face, bathed in moonlight, glowed eerily.
Nevertheless, she seemed to feel a surge of elation.
“Yes, there was an unexpected gain. It seems you were quite impressive last night. Thanks to you.”
“Not at all, I merely followed Your Highness’s orders.”
Neril, embarrassed by the praise, fiddled with his scabbard.
“Anyway, the Sealed letter…”
The lifeline that the Minister spat out to save his own skin was unexpectedly the key to fate.
“So, that’s why it was so difficult to win them over.”
The moment they conspired treason and wrote down their names, their end would be nothing but death if the rebellion failed.
‘As an uncle, he must have wanted to weed out the fence-sitters and solidify his position.’
But he didn’t know it would become his own noose.
“We can bring down the Regent Duke.”
What clearer evidence of treason could there be than the Sealed letter with their names on it?
“Yes. Once the Sealed letter is revealed, even public opinion sympathetic to the Duke will not easily arise.”
If they wanted to completely eradicate Claudio’s power now, there could be no more complete and certain evidence than this.
Neril reattached his scabbard to his waist. The clanging of metal echoed as it bumped against his belt.
“Your Highness. I will go there and retrieve it.”
The Minister confessed that he had hidden the Sealed letter in the inner sanctum of Count Etienne's Residence.
“There is a Magic circle in my office that can transport us to the place where the Sealed letter is hidden. However, that place…”
“No, I’m going too.”
“That won’t do. The time and place are too dangerous for Your Highness.”
Neril said sternly.
“Ciseo will dispatch another investigation team. We must move before the Count's Residence is sealed off, so there is no time to spare.”
Moreover, the interior of the Minister’s residence, an old family in Baldina, had been renovated several times, making it difficult for intruders to escape.
That’s why they agreed to keep the Sealed letter in the Minister’s residence.
“The same goes for Your Highness.”
“No, I know how to get out of there. I’m familiar with it, the interior.”
“Yes? How?”
Instead of answering Neril’s question, Medeia only gave a bitter smile.
In her past life, Medeia, who stole the Philosopher's Stone, secretly left the palace and reunited with Iason.
The two hid in the Minister’s residence to avoid Peleus’s pursuit and soon fled to the Empire.
And the person who suggested that was her uncle, Claudio.
‘At the time, I thought those guys were helping me escape for my sake.’
Not knowing that she was being played by their plan from beginning to end.
“Are we leaving right away?”
“Yes. My uncle’s side must know that the Sealed letter is there too. We have to take it out before my uncle’s side takes action.”
Neril nodded.
“…I will escort you to the residence.”
“Prepare yourself properly, Neril.”
Medeia glanced at the scabbard Neril wore on his waist.
“We might have to use it tonight.”
Near midnight, a carriage quietly departed from near the palace.
\ \ \
Inside the high walls of the Rose White Mansion in District 2, a brutal scene unfolded.
Two men were fiercely crossing swords.
“Ha, ha…”
Rough gasps mingled with the harsh clanging of metal that painfully pierced the ears.
Alpha struggled to avoid being pushed to the floor of the training ground by the relentless rain of swords, his footsteps digging deep into the ground.
At that moment, Gallo walked out from inside.
His face darkened for a moment as he glanced at Alpha.
If the curse weren’t eating away at Cesare’s body, Alpha wouldn’t even have had the luxury of catching his breath for so long.
‘The moment he picked up the sword, the outcome would have been decided.’
“My lord, I have lost.”
Alpha, who finally dropped his sword from his hand, conceded.
Cesare nodded slightly and gestured with his chin as if to tell him to pick up the dropped sword.
“News from the Court Physician.”
Gallo approached Cesare with a playful expression. He had a newspaper tucked under his arm.
Alpha noticed and stepped back.
“Speak.”
“The Queen Dowager has moved Etienne to the Special Prison. The Regent Duke belatedly found out about it and tried to intervene, but he was not only denied access but even forbidden from entering the palace.”
On the front page of the newspaper, a ridiculous drawing depicted the Regent Duke being refused entry to the palace gate.
“He drew in the Queen Dowager to block the Regent Duke’s solicitation. Rather, he completely isolated the Minister. The Princess never even intended to grant the solicitation from the beginning.”
At that moment, Terrence, holding a teacup filled with medicine, approached them.
“There was an attack targeting the Minister in the newly moved Special Prison. But I have a feeling that the Princess is behind it.”
“So?”
Terrence rubbed his drooping eyebrows. He seemed to be contemplating how to convey it.
“Just get to the point, Terrence.”
“I’m just worried. You’ve been generous in your assessment of her. But I know. That’s because the Princess isn’t clashing with us right now.”
“……”
“If she blocks your path, she will eliminate you without hesitation, as if she had never been so generous.”
Cesare already had a track record.
When the old retainers who had cared for him since childhood betrayed him and tried to depose him, he took their lives without hesitation.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I just hope that the Princess is no exception.”
Terrence moved his lips but soon closed them tightly.
Did his friend, Cesare, know? That he was showing a side to the Princess of Baldina that he had never shown before.
Unexpected variables are always dangerous.
“I’m sorry, but.”
Silence fell. The temperature in the training ground, which had been full of heat, suddenly dropped.
“The interest I have in the Princess is because of the Venus of Baldina, nothing more, nothing less.”
Terrence moved his lips at the cold gaze but soon closed them tightly.
As if to say that the personal talk was over, Cesare turned his body.
“Gallo, what happened to the Sage's Book?”
Gallo, who had been rolling his eyes between the two, quickly replied.
“I checked, and the Regent Duke doesn’t have the Sage's Book right now. He gave it to the Minister to smooth over the banquet incident last time.”
“So, it’s at the Count's Residence now?”
Gallo nodded.
Cesare got up from his seat.
“Don’t tell me, you’re not planning to go yourself? Boss, Alpha and Zeta have already gone to retrieve it.”
“I agree. Cesare, you had a seizure not long ago.”
Terrence also hesitated, but he couldn’t stop Cesare’s decision.
“Leave my lifeline to someone else? No way. I’m going.”
“It’s dangerous. Seohwangbi's Shadows entered Baldina a while ago.”
Gallo rarely erased the playful expression from his face.
“They’ve been persistently tracking us, and it seems they’ve finally found out the boss’s location.”
“Is that so?”
Cesare scoffed. The laughter that trailed off at the end was sharp.
“I’ll be able to see some welcome faces.”
A handful of composure settled on his handsome face and was carried on his well-shaped lips.
“Really! Are you going to turn things upside down? You know those guys are not easy to deal with. Why haven’t they stormed the Facade yet, knowing that the boss is here? They’re waiting for the boss to come out!”
But Cesare was already walking far away.
“Damn it, he doesn’t listen to a word we say. Let’s go together!”
\ \ *
Etienne's Residence.
Late at night, two figures stepped into the mansion.
Clang, clang. Armed guards were walking in groups. The security was tight even at this late hour.
[Your Highness, I will draw attention.]
Neril said with his lips, as the guards did not leave their posts even after waiting for quite a while.
Medeia nodded.
Neril climbed onto the roof like the wind, going over to the opposite window.
Rustle!
“Did you hear a sound just now?”
“I think it came from over there?”
While Neril was distracting the guards, Medeia successfully infiltrated the interior of the mansion.
