82 - The Crown I Will Take From You
82
“The Kazen delegation’s accommodations are-”
As Ciseo was about to guide the Kazen people after the event, the Regent Duke quickly stepped forward.
“Ah! I will escort the honored guests from the Empire. This way, please.”
It was the first time to make an impression on the nobles of Kazen.
The Regent Duke did not want to have this important role taken away by a greenhorn.
“Princess, how much you must have suffered to come all the way to harsh Baldina with your precious body.”
He quickly stuck to the side of the royals. It was under the grand pretext of guiding them through the Royal Palace.
“That over there is the main palace where the Princess will be staying. It is the largest and most beautiful of the guest accommodations in the Baldina Royal Palace-”
“Not much. It’s smaller than the annex of my Princess’s palace.”
Perhaps trying to recover her crumpled pride from earlier, the Princess was extremely arrogant. The Regent Duke received her words politely, without a hint of displeasure.
“Of course, our Baldina’s circumstances are poor, so we cannot compare to blessed Kazen, where gold and precious items flow.”
His appearance was like a leech clinging to power. The vassals of Baldina shook their heads.
Even the Regent Duke’s forces thought as they looked at him.
The Regent Duke’s groveling appearance was as if… he was a servant.
No matter how weak Baldina was, Baldina had never become a vassal state of Kazen in its thousand-year history.
Not even once!
The Regent Duke did not realize at all that his submissive form had awakened the patriotism of the Baldina people present here…
“What are you thinking about, Your Highness?”
Medeia quietly watched the departing delegation’s backs.
“I was just… thinking about when they will return.”
“That’s right, I wish they would leave quickly too. To be so arrogant from the first day, it’s daunting.”
Saya sighed. She was sick of the Kazen people who acted recklessly without fear even when she was in the slums.
“Don’t worry.”
They won’t be able to leave as haughtily as they came.
The Kazen delegation’s accommodations.
In a classically decorated residence, Iason stood gazing out the window.
Only Iason and his aide were in the drawing room.
Iason’s red eyes stared at the darkened window for a long time.
“I hadn’t heard that the Princess of Baldina was such a beauty. It would be difficult to find such a woman even in Kazen.”
Iason also agreed with Jared’s words.
Beautiful women were usually not strong-willed, and strong-willed women were not so beautiful.
“Duke, I am looking forward to the days of staying here. This one has finally met his match.”
Iason twisted his lips, recalling the lecherous gaze of the guy who had followed the Princess to the end, chuckling.
How dare a thief set his sights on the Princess.
He too was surprised to learn Medeia’s true identity at the reception for the delegation.
The girl he couldn’t get out of his mind was actually the Princess of Baldina.
‘Isn’t this a Revelation given to me by God?’
His heart pounded heavily.
Although Baldina was a small country compared to the Empire, it was famous for its excellent warriors.
In particular, the King’s Royal Guard, ‘Agema,’ was renowned for its overwhelming power. If they stood behind him…
“The Emperor’s guards are no problem. I can even dream of occupying the capital.”
“But Duke. You know that the Emperor is not the hidden danger in the capital.”
At that moment, the aide poured cold water on him.
“Foolish. What is there to fear from a terminally ill person cursed by the beginning!”
While looking for connections with the Holy Kingdom, he had learned the First Prince’s real illness.
It was after that that Iason began to move in earnest.
“The First Prince has left the palace due to illness, but there are still forces in the capital that support him.”
The aide’s worries were not unnecessary.
The fact that First Prince Cesare’s forces were still strong even after he had been away from state affairs for three years meant that the First Prince’s power was that great.
If it weren’t for Cesare’s curse, Iason wouldn’t even have been able to return to the capital.
He wouldn’t have even dared to aim for the throne.
‘Because my head would have been taken by the First Prince before that.’
“Isn’t he someone who is second to none when it comes to the length of his life? When he first went to the battlefield, and when he unified the southern forces, everyone thought he was dead. Perhaps this time too…”
Even now, he was sick and frail, but the First Prince’s cruel nature was well known throughout the continent.
The reason his forces couldn’t easily leave the First Prince was due to fear rather than loyalty.
Because they didn’t know when he would return and put poison in their wine glass.
“Nonsense. If you can’t trust me, trust the thousand-year history of Kazen, no, our Central Continent. Has there ever been anyone who has survived the curse of the beginning?”
Iason scolded irritably.
“I’m not the only one aiming for the First Prince. Even the Emperor is wary of his resurrection, so how will his forces survive after he dies?”
“……”
Iason confidently patted his subordinate’s shoulder.
“If I swallow his forces, and General Jared and the Princess of Baldina stand on my side, I have enough chance of winning.”
If he had soldiers rushing in from the northwest, he would be able to stand against the Emperor.
Once the First Prince died, his remaining forces would have no choice but to kneel.
“God is fair. Life has its ups and downs. Just as the First Prince’s ups were my hell, it’s just that it’s been reversed.”
Iason vaguely looked at the rosy future unfolding before him.
Unaware that the beginning of this grand ambition in his previous life stemmed from Medeia, the impressive little girl.
“Find out about the Princess. Everything, what she likes, where she mainly goes, and who she associates with.”
“Your Excellency. But she is the Princess of Baldina. It is not wise to set your mind on her…”
“That’s not true. When have you ever seen me move for reasons other than necessity?”
He said that, but somehow the face of the girl standing upright was not forgotten in Iason’s mind.
The Fourth Princess and the Duke stayed in the Royal Palace due to their status, and Count Kensington also remained in the palace with them to assist them, or to take care of the Fourth Princess.
“Where are you going, General?”
Raju watched General Jared, who was left behind.
His obsequious and flattering appearance was oily as usual.
“If you don’t have any scheduled appointments, why don’t you come with me to Duke Claudio’s estate? The Regent Duke has always admired the General’s bravery, so he will consider the meeting an honor.”
Jared grinned as if amused.
“Duke Claudio’s estate… Come to think of it, I heard that the Duchess and the Princess are beauties that Baldina recognizes…”
Raju’s heart sank at those words.
He was so engrossed in drawing Jared to his side that he had forgotten.
Jared’s reckless behavior, which even the Emperor of Kazen had been tongue-tied about.
This man was even a 10-star knight, one of the top ten in the Empire. Once he did something crazy, there was no one to stop him.
“Ah, I forgot to tell you. Both of them are not at the Duke’s estate right now. They have not returned from the Grand Royal Dowager Palace.”
The news that all the interested parties were absent made Jared shake his head with a face that had lost interest.
“That’s it. I hate complicated rules because I’m a rolling stone. I’ll go to the palace on time, so don’t worry.”
Only after he left did Raju breathe a sigh of relief.
No matter how excellent a sword he was, holding the upper hand in the battle for the throne, it wouldn’t do.
He almost brought a monstrosity into his sanctuary.
“Let’s go to Duke Claudio’s estate.”
“Yes, Count.”
As if he had never been obsequious in front of the Princess, Raju puffed out his chest. Through the car window, the sunset of Baldina was visible.
“This damn backwater is still outdated.”
It was no match for the Empire’s streets, which stole the eye with their colorful and diverse sights.
The smell of soil and nature carried by the wind. Raju immediately frowned.
“Light the Scented candle.”
As the luxurious scent enjoyed by the Kazen nobles permeated the tip of his nose, he finally felt comfortable as if he had found his place.