72 - The Crown I Will Take From You
72
“Of course, everyone will be afraid. That’s why we must be even more cruel. The seeds of betrayal must be cut off from the start. After the Minister goes to prison, won’t there be those who doubt whether this great undertaking can succeed? Can you be sure that there will be no one who changes their mind?”
The Regent Duke was silent.
In fact, he was worried about that point as well.
“Enough, what’s this about being attacked by assassins? Are you saying there’s someone else who knows the location of the Sealed letter?”
“There were others who targeted the mansion.”
Samon said, carefully watching his father’s expression.
“According to the report, they were the elite of the elite. We captured one alive and interrogated him, and he turned out to be an Imperial.”
“Imperial? Who in Kazen, exactly?”
“That… he took his own life before we could finish the interrogation, so we couldn’t find out that far, I’m sorry.”
If they were elite enough to take their own life, that meant they were a significant figure even in the Empire, but why the Empire?
The Regent Duke couldn’t understand at all.
Seeing the questioning look on his father’s face, Samon quickly said,
“Someone in Baldina must be trying to exploit our weaknesses with the Sealed letter. We’re already working with the Kazen Emperor while also keeping a foot in the door with Grand Duke Iason, aren’t we? There’s no reason to think others wouldn’t do the same, is there?”
Besides, until recently, the Regent Duke and the Minister had been at each other’s throats over the banquet incident.
“It’s possible the Minister had other intentions and was trying to betray us altogether.”
Samon’s face turned grim.
“Father, please decide. We must deal with the Minister now. We have to move before they do to survive. Before they approach Etienne and find out more information, we must stop him from opening his mouth.”
The Regent Duke pressed his throbbing temples.
To have to eliminate Etienne, who had been his greatest helper, with his own hands, felt like cutting off his own flesh, wasteful and painful.
But in the current situation, with no way out, there was simply no other choice.
He raised his head. A faded shield emblem hanging on the wall caught his eye. It was the crest of Duke Claudio.
“Joaquin. You, as your brother’s shield, must firmly protect this country. With you brothers being so reliable, this father has no regrets even if I die.”
He recalled the words his father had said to Joaquin in his younger days, when he had been driven out of the palace as his brother ascended the throne.
He bit his lip as if chewing on it.
‘No, Father. I will not remain a shield.’
Duke Claudio’s expression became resolute.
“I understand. Do as you must.”
That night, a man dressed in black slipped out of the Duke’s mansion through the back door.
\ \ \
Baldina’s Special Prison.
The sound of footsteps echoed on the damp floor. The Minister, who had been dozing off, woke up with a slight jolt of pain.
“Hwaaack-!”
A blue blade was pointed at his neck.
“Lark Etienne. Daring to betray your master.”
“Wh, what are you talking about.”
Etienne looked around, sweating profusely.
‘Where are the guards? Where are the escorts? Why is no one here!’
“Claudio! Are you, are you trying to kill me again-! You vicious bastards, you don’t know when to quit, trying to shut my mouth!”
The assassin scoffed at the bizarre scream.
“Has he gone senile in his old age? You were so well hidden, I barely found you here.”
“Th, that can’t be, no one could have approached?”
The Minister thought hard, then his mouth dropped open.
‘Oh dear, I fell for the Princess’s trick.’
But it was too late.
By the time Etienne realized everything, the gleaming blade had long since slit his throat.
\ \ \
“Extra, extra!”
Newspaper boys ran through the streets.
A red headline was written over Etienne’s plump face, which filled the front page.
[Lark Etienne Dies in Prison!]
“Really? Is it true?”
“Not only did he eat up bribes as the Minister, but he also played with children and sold them to other countries, didn’t he? These kinds of guys never do just one thing!”
“Ugh, you bad guy, good riddance. Ptooey-!”
The Minister was dead.
He was a criminal awaiting execution for violating military law, so there was no funeral, and his body was thrown carelessly under the castle walls.
People cursed and spat on him whenever they saw the name Etienne.
It was a miserable and insignificant end that he, who had lived his whole life with pride as a high-ranking aristocrat, could not accept.
His assets were confiscated, and his title was revoked.
The Etienne family, having lost its leader, collapsed miserably, but there was not even anyone left to grieve over the fact.
However, there were still those who questioned his sudden death.
“He had a disease? That’s nonsense! How long has he been in prison to get sick right away? Especially someone as healthy as Etienne!”
Coincidentally, the bad news that had occurred in the Etienne family just before Etienne’s death added to the growing suspicion.
A one-sided death that was close to a massacre.
People clicked their tongues at the excessively cruel aftermath.
“But the Minister was undoubtedly the Duke’s greatest right-hand man. How long have they been together to end up like this in an instant….”
“Ha, didn’t you know that’s the nature of the person we serve?”
The members of the Regent Duke’s faction felt a sense of pressure that made their chests tighten.
“He’s trying to make an example out of the Minister. To show what happens if you get off his ship without permission.”
“……”
As Samon intended, the Minister’s downfall showed what the Regent Duke wanted.
Complete loyalty, and flawless work.
It was a stern warning not to even show signs of disagreeing with him, to strive for perfection in everything.
The nobles said nothing, but they each had different thoughts.
Some may have reaffirmed their loyalty after seeing the Minister’s end.
But the desire for freedom is always closer to human nature than oppression.
Doubts arose in the hearts of those who trembled with fear.
‘If I end up in that situation, won’t I end up like the Minister?’
‘If I might be abandoned like that at any time, wouldn’t it be better for me to turn my back first?’
In the past life, distrust and suspicion had seeped into the once solid bond of the rebels.
\ \ *
Royal Palace.
Medeia, who had been kneeling reverently under the Icon of the Goddess, rose to her feet.
On the long altar under the Icon, dozens of small baby angel statues about the size of a palm and small candles were placed in a row.
“I’m sorry. I will await your resentment. I hope you can finally rest in peace, even if it’s late.”
It was a small memorial service to commemorate the souls of the children who had been sacrificed to Etienne.
After finishing her prayer, Medeia carefully picked up each angel statue and placed it in a coffin.
They were the children of Baldina. Therefore, she could not be free from it either.
‘I promise. I won’t let this happen again.’
With this, both of Claudio’s arms, which had been controlling the Baldina Royal Palace, were cut off.
He even had to cut off one arm with his own hands, so how much would his insides be boiling?
“You were hasty for an uncle. You left things to your foolish son, even though you had capable subordinates, so this is how things turned out.”
Unlike her calm voice, it was a ruthless assessment.
Medeia, who buried the children’s coffins in the sunniest place in the Royal Palace and turned around, was as solid as an old tree that did not sway in the wind and rain.
Medeia, who had erased her sadness and returned to her original self, called Saya and ordered.
“The slush fund that Etienne gave us last time. Bring it.”
The slush fund that had been secretly stolen from the dead Etienne was several times larger than all the wealth Medeia had offered to build the Soldier Village.
If Etienne knew that the Princess, who had deceived him and driven him to his death, had taken all of his remaining wealth, he would have coughed up blood in the afterlife.
“That poisonous toad will be trembling in the afterlife if he knows we stole this huge sum of money.”
Saya giggled.
Neril silenced Saya and said.
“With the Head Maid and the Minister both falling, the Regent Duke won’t be able to wield the same power as before.”
“It’s too early to say that. The Imperial delegation is coming soon, isn’t it.”
Medeia replied calmly.
