87 - The Crown I Will Take From You
Chapter 87
The sleeves were embroidered with rose patterns entwined with crosses.
However, they exuded an atmosphere closer to knights than mercenaries.
“The one in the lead is the head?”
Iason paused, recognizing their identity from the whispers of the Baldina people.
The man with straw-colored hair walking at the very front was wearing an evening suit of more diverse colors than ever before.
He wore a red hat with peacock feathers stuck in it.
A fresh and cheerful energy, like that seen on a summer beach, overflowed.
If one didn't know their identity, they would never have guessed they were the continent's infamous arms dealers.
“Why is Facade here?”
The Kazen people were equally taken aback by their appearance.
Some of the members of this delegation had participated in the conquest war.
In that war, Facade supplied weapons to the Kazen side and also acted as mercenaries. So they knew well.
That those entering the banquet hall now, pretending to be ordinary, were truly living messengers of death.
Facade rarely showed themselves and only operated in the shadows, so why would they suddenly appear in this Baldina Royal Palace?
'Could it be that they've joined hands with Baldina? What are they up to?'
It was then that the Fourth Princess Angelique frowned.
“Gallo of Facade greets the long-standing light of Baldina.”
Gallo walked through the crowd with a dignified air. He took off his hat and bowed to the Queen Dowager.
“Facade also wishes to participate in today's glorious event to promote cooperation between the two countries and create a foundation for peace on the continent, so I humbly ask that the Queen Dowager graciously permit it.”
Although his voice was cheerful, his attitude was considerably more polite compared to the Kazen delegation, who had barely acknowledged the Queen Dowager earlier.
Even the Queen Dowager, who had long been reclusive, had heard of Facade's name.
A prominent figure who received treatment equivalent to that of a nation-state wherever they went on the continent had approached first, giving her face in front of the Kazen delegation, so the Queen Dowager's expression softened slightly.
“I am grateful that you have graced us with your presence. When it comes to peace, there are no borders or origins.”
Gallo turned around.
His playful eyes met those of the Fourth Princess. The Princess raised her chin as if telling him to recognize her.
At today's banquet, she was dressed very lavishly, draped in the symbols of Kazen.
She wore a tiara adorned with 15 sapphires on her head, and a ribbon on her shoulder bore a medal with a portrait of her father, the Kazen Emperor.
Her intention to suppress her opponent by borrowing the power of the empire was evident.
Gallo smirked and tried to step back.
Just as she was about to be completely ignored, the angry Princess snapped.
“Does a merchant who only sells weapons not understand the importance of diplomacy? To receive permission from a small country before a great power.”
She was already displeased that the head of Facade had greeted the Queen Dowager of Baldina before her.
“When a guest visits, they must seek permission from the host. Does that mean another guest acting as the host comes first?”
However, Gallo smiled brightly as he retorted.
“Kazen has a truly peculiar culture. Come to think of it, even when I was in the empire, the meritorious subjects of Kazen sought me out first.”
The Princess bit her lip at his words, which mocked her while subtly boasting about the status of his company in Kazen.
For the first time, the Baldina people felt very friendly towards the head of Facade.
“How dare you-”
At that moment, the Princess's Maid grabbed her.
“Your Highness, please restrain yourself. The mercenary with the white half-mask who is guarding behind that leader is said to be very dangerous. Regardless of status, they will cut down anyone who disagrees with them.”
The Maid, who knew well the infamy of Achares, the mercenary with the white mask, hoped that her mistress would quietly let it go.
If that mercenary drew his sword, only she, who had to stand in front of the Princess, would lose her life in vain.
“It is said that Facade's one-man army in the continental war was all that person.”
“……”
The Princess bit her lip. Despite the Maid's terrified words, the Fourth Princess was still flushed with the humiliation she had suffered from Gallo.
She turned her body and stared at the Baldina people.
Rather than the arms dealers who were powerful throughout the continent and difficult to provoke rashly, it was easier to vent her anger on the Baldina people, who were, after all, pushovers.
“Let's all not pretend. Isn't this peace something that wouldn't even exist without the aid of our Kazen?”
Her eyes scanned the Baldina people with contempt.
“If the Late King hadn't been a warmonger, the people would have been eating their fill and wouldn't have had to worry about getting through the cold winter. Because of the king's vain ambition, innocent people are dying, which is truly pitiful.”
Her rebuke was like pouring cold water on the faces of the Baldina people.
“Fourth Princess!”
The Queen Dowager could no longer bear it, as her dead son was being insulted.
“One must not judge the emperor rashly, and one must not only pursue immediate gains.”
Even at the loud outburst, the Fourth Princess merely shrugged impudently.
“I only said it because I was saddened by the situation where the people lose their norms due to the foolish judgment of the leader, so please do not be angry, Queen Dowager of Baldina. Am I not saying something that is not true?”
“You, you……!”
The Queen Dowager, overwhelmed with anger, staggered. Pinatelli quickly supported her.
“Kazen is truly arrogant!”
“Am I, as the Princess of the Great Empire, enduring your disrespect right now? Hahaha, my Imperial Father would be upset if he heard that.”
As if teasing her, the Princess laughed.
The Baldina people glared at the Princess as if they wanted to kill her. However, they couldn't say anything.
'To have to watch this with open eyes, it's a sin to be a powerless country, a sin!'
The Fourth Princess was even more excited to see the Baldina people gritting their teeth and suppressing their anger.
'Moby is right. They can't touch a hair on my head.'
She felt a thrill as if she had the power to shake a country at will. If this was the case even as just a delegation member, what if she were to sit on the throne……?
“The Fourth Princess's standards are peculiar.”
At that moment, a calm voice shattered the Fourth Princess's pleasant imagination.
“If that's the case, does that mean that your Imperial Father, Perdikkas II, taking the throne of Grand Duke Castulo, the Late King's legitimate son, was not seeking immediate gains?”
And it flew sharply, piercing the Princess's weakness.
The story of Perdikkas II, the uncle who seized his nephew's position with power and justification after the death of the previous emperor, was known to everyone on the continent.
And the shameless behavior of never thinking of returning the throne ever since.
The secret history that everyone knew but dared not point out was now coming out of the mouth of the Baldina Princess.
“W-What did you just say……”
The Fourth Princess was stunned as if she had been slapped in the face.
Medeia pushed through the crowd and stepped forward.
Her still youthful face confronted the delegation.
Her bright green eyes scanned past the Fourth Princess to Iason. And she tilted her head.
“I cannot rashly judge with my foolish head whether an emperor who makes the people suffer through war and an emperor who abandons even the affection of blood relatives because they are blinded by power are any different. So I hope the wise Fourth Princess will enlighten me.”
Once again, her calm voice quoted the Fourth Princess's words from a moment ago, slapping her cheek.
The Queen Dowager, who was about to jump up and confront the Fourth Princess below the platform, sat back down.
Thanks to Medeia stepping forward, she was able to maintain her dignity.
Because her eldest granddaughter's criticism of crushing the face of the Kazen Emperor cooled her rising anger.
The Baldina people also did not hide their relief.
“Seriously, where did she learn to talk about emperors? She should take care of her own family affairs properly.”
“Who is it that has truly forgotten propriety?”
Whispers of snickering spread.
The Fourth Princess, who had become a laughingstock in an instant, was trembling.
The delegation was also horrified but could not find anything to say.
Although they were frustrated, they knew their lord, Perdikkas II, well as his subjects.
Their lord would probably want the Baldina Princess to not only apologize now, but also to not mention the fact that he had forcibly taken the throne from his nephew in the first place. So they had no choice but to endure, even if their insides were boiling.
Just like the Baldina people who had to endure the Kazen people a moment ago.
“How dare you insult my Imperial Father!”
However, the Fourth Princess, who had grown up comfortably under the love of the Emperor and the shadow of the Eastern Empress, was still too immature to understand her father's true intentions.
She clenched her fist.
It was the first time she, who had been raised with doting care, had been publicly humiliated.
With a red face that showed deep shame, the Princess was furious.
“Baldina's Princess, your arrogance knows no bounds. How dare a mere backwater country deceive the Great Kazen Empire? As the proud daughter of my Imperial Father, I will not let you-”
At that moment, something was thrown in front of the Princess.
A pair of white gloves.
“……”
Medeia, the owner of the gloves, stared straight at the Fourth Princess.
In the aristocratic society of the continent, the meaning of throwing one's belongings, especially gloves, at someone was clear.
A challenge to a duel.
And as it was a duel of honor, there was an explicit rule that the results must be fully accepted, even if the opponent was injured or killed.
However, the fact that the applicant was the Baldina Princess and the opponent was the Kazen Princess was what was shocking people now.