79 - The Crown I Will Take From You
Episode 79
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Baldina Royal Castle, a back alley in the outskirts of District 3.
Tap, tap, tap. Impatient footsteps echoed through the deserted street.
Medeia strode quickly.
She knew she should wait until Neril, whom she had sent on a quick errand, returned, but she couldn't bear to be there with him.
Even sharing the same land, the same sky, the same air felt suffocating, nauseating.
"Hah, hah, hah..."
Medeia clutched her chest.
To encounter Iason here. He had first appeared in Baldina as part of the delegation at the delegation's celebratory banquet.
'Why is he already in the Royal Palace?'
Caught off guard by the earlier-than-expected, unforeseen encounter, she momentarily lost her composure.
Her husband in her past life, her enemy.
The man to whom she had given everything, only to have everything taken from her.
"Excuse me, may I know the lady's name?"
When Medeia faced Iason again,
she had to fight tooth and nail not to crush the face of her young and vibrant husband.
She clenched her twitching fingers so hard that tears welled up as she suppressed her anger.
The scars etched in her memory. She had forgotten none of them.
She would return every single one of those wounds, deeply ingrained in her blood.
Loving Iason was the biggest mistake and blemish of her life.
A blemish of nightmare that was branded on her, that she wanted to carve out even if it meant flaying her own flesh.
'But, what about the children?'
At that moment, Medeia's body stiffened at the question that was thrown at her.
'Those children... my children are not a blemish.'
They were the only breath and reason that kept her alive.
This life, if she were to destroy Iason, she would never see those children again.
Medeia staggered without realizing it.
She couldn't take another step, as if standing before a cliff.
Her pale hand desperately searched for something to lean on, but failing to find it, she only gripped her innocent clothes.
Veins stood out on the back of her bloodless hand.
'Rian, Leia. Your incompetent mother is abandoning you again.'
"Mother. I don't want to go to the Imperial Palace. Can't I stay by your side, Mother?"
"Mother, don't worry. If you just wait a little, I'll come to get you."
My son, Rian, who was always brave and bold. I pushed that young child away with my own hands.
That small face that kept turning back to imprint Medeia's face in his eyes as he left,
that small hand that wiped away tears and tried to wave brightly so that his mother wouldn't worry, I would never see it again.
"Mom, don't cry. Leia will hug you. Do you miss your brother?"
The plump hand that wiped away tears. The faint scent of milk that brushed the tip of her nose as she was held in my arms.
The anxiety and worry in the young eyes that watched over her mother.
I, who was going mad from losing my son, had never been a proper mother to Leia.
"No! I don't want to go! I want to be with Mom!"
The child who thrashed and screamed in a fit.
I forcibly tore away the small hands that hugged my waist and wouldn't let go, and handed her to Birna. Her tear-soaked face was the last thing I saw.
Never again, would I see my children.
The realization that she had never been aware of since her regression struck Medeia.
Perhaps she had deliberately put it off because she knew she would waver like this.
'This life, if I destroy Iason, even your traces will not remain. Yet, this incompetent mother cannot give up revenge.'
You will resent me there forever.
It felt like she could hear the children's silent screams.
Her vision blurred. The ground seemed to sink, grabbing at her feet.
It was all darkness. What lies beneath that abyss?
If Rian and Leia were there, waiting for me and crying, then I...
Just as she was about to collapse, a firm hand supported her waist.
"Breathe."
A low voice echoed.
"Slowly. You have to inhale."
I don't know. How do I inhale? How have I been breathing until now? I couldn't remember anything.
Shouldn't I just stay like this? It's comfortable in the darkness because I don't have to think about anything.
"Quickly."
A calm voice urged.
Thump. Thump. A small vibration was felt, lightly tapping her wrist.
Thump. Thump-thump. It tapped slowly.
"Can you hear it?"
"...Hah...one."
A wretched voice spat out between gasping breaths. As if to say she was doing well, another hand patted her back.
Tap.
"Two...oo."
Tap. Tap.
"Three, four."
In the pale darkness, Medeia focused only on counting the numbers.
The arm that firmly held her waist was the only support she could rely on.
The voice counting the numbers grew slower and slower.
"Good job."
With the last of the soft voice that spread over her head as if praising her, she lost consciousness.
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When Medeia opened her eyes again, she was in an unfamiliar place.
A captivating fragrance brushed the tip of her nose. The smooth, cream-colored sheets softly tickled her cheek.
'This isn't the Royal Palace.'
She sprang up.
A beat late, the room's lavish interior came into view. Not a single decoration placed casually was ordinary.
As if sensing Medeia's movement, a man wearing a white half-mask approached from behind the cream-colored curtains.
"You're awake."
"Why am I here..."
"I erased the traces. The Princess of Baldina seems to enjoy danger, but I would be more careful if I were you."
A cup was held out to Medeia.
She habitually checked the contents. It was just clear water.
The cold water awakened her vision. His words brought back her last memory.
The firm hand that had caught her as she collapsed into the abyss after encountering Iason.
Was it the man before her who had brought her here after she had fallen?
"Princess, isn't it too early to let your guard down?"
Medeia bit her lip at the languid remark. She thought she had completely shaken off the traces of her past life.
'I overestimated myself.'
If her identity had been revealed to the delegation in that situation, it would have become troublesome.
'But why doesn't this man ask anything?'
Guarded green eyes looked at Cesare.
The man, who seemed completely out of place in the lavish interior reminiscent of a palace, blended in surprisingly seamlessly.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not so free that I can follow you around either."
The voice that noticed her wariness was leisurely.
"I sent a Communication device, so the Princess's Maid will be here soon."
"I showed an unsightly figure."
One corner of the man's eye slightly lifted.
"I'm disappointed. Weren't we in the same boat since the Princess took care of the assassin for me?"
"That didn't mean I would help you and make the Kazen Imperial Family my enemy."
Cesare's eyes gleamed searchingly.
It seemed that the Princess had even figured out that the assassin who raided the Count's Residence in that short amount of time came from the Imperial Family.
"So, the Princess of Baldina, who has no intention of opposing Kazen, came all the way here to greet the imperials in advance?"
"..."
Cesare's straight finger drew a line across the table. And he placed the cup at the end of his finger.
"Ally, or enemy. Those are usually the two categories for me. The Kazen delegation is this way."
Thud, the pushed cup fell to the floor. Crash. It broke cleanly without a loud noise.
"Princess, don't you think what we want is not so different?"
"...I will repay the favor later."
Medeia rose from her seat instead of answering.
She composed herself and tidied up with surprising speed. As if not wanting to show any more weaknesses to the other party.
"As you wish."
He shrugged. His Golden eyes leisurely followed her slender back.
Click. The door closed.
Soon, only the faint sound of firewood burning in the fireplace could be heard.
\ \ *
The darkness of dusk slowly crept into the White Mansion.
"Cesare, I brought the medicine."
"Leave it there."
Terrence, placing the steaming glass on the table, examined Cesare.
However, his Golden eyes, standing by the window, were fixed on the outside as if he was thinking about something else.
"Even so, bringing her all the way to the mansion was too much. What if the Princess noticed your real identity?"
"Has the Princess ever met Iason?"
Cesare asked a random question as if he hadn't even heard Terrence's words.
