97 - The Crown I Will Take From You
97
'Was there a path like this in the Royal Palace?'
Neril guided Siseo through the back way of the Administrative Palace, into a small, deserted passage.
After passing through a dark place lit by a single torch, he knocked on a small wooden door, and Saya opened it.
"Your Highness is waiting inside."
Guided into a small room, Siseo's eyes widened slightly at the sight of Medeia.
"Lord Siseo, I apologize for calling you so late. I wanted to avoid prying eyes and discuss something with you, so I asked to see you separately."
Her white cheeks looked soft, and a rich shadow fell over her fine eyebrows.
The young Princess, whom he had only thought of as an innocent girl, seemed to have matured by a hand's breadth under the dim lamplight.
A space with only the two of them, a faint light. A girl waiting for him.
"Yes, Your Highness. Please ask."
Siseo chewed the inside of his cheek, trying to steady his dizzying mind.
"I need to see the information on Peleus' Royal Guard knights. Everything, from their origins and backgrounds to their families."
"You mean the Agema (Royal Guard)?"
Medeia nodded.
"Yes. It's not difficult, but why all of a sudden?"
"Lord, are you taking Hallus' antidote properly?"
Siseo paused, then understood the meaning.
"You mean the Regent Duke has planted spies even within the Agema?"
Medeia smiled slightly. Siseo shook his head as if he couldn't believe it.
"No, that can't be... They are men who have served His Majesty since their knighting. They are not the kind of people who would betray him..."
"You're too confident. Just like you trusted that Maid."
Siseo was speechless at Medeia's quiet remark.
Her green eyes held both a world-weariness that seemed to have mastered human affairs and an inescapable sharpness.
"Soon, Peleus' victory in the battle against the Rasai Tribe will be known, and my uncle will make his move. We have to act first."
Medeia continued calmly.
'There was an accident before Peleus returned.'
At the time, the plains tribes, centered around the powerful Rasai Tribe, united and launched a joint attack on Peleus.
The traitor within the Agema abandoned Peleus instead of requesting reinforcements, and he was surrounded on all sides.
Thanks to the knights who risked their lives to create an escape route, Peleus barely managed to escape.
However, he suffered a deep wound to his right leg, which later led to permanent disability.
His Royal Guard knights also mostly died trying to save Peleus. Only twelve of the two hundred elites returned alive.
As the brave and loyal Royal Guard of the King disintegrated, the royal authority was further weakened.
"Give this to Peleus."
Medeia handed over a letter.
"I will. I will also keep an eye on the Regent Duke's side."
Medeia nodded in agreement instead of answering.
"But, Your Highness."
Siseo, who was about to leave, paused and turned around.
"Please reconsider keeping Facade by your side. That mercenary may be skilled, but he is too cruel. He is too sharp a sword for Your Highness to wield."
"......"
Medeia looked at Siseo silently, then asked.
"Can you be sure that a good person is not vicious?"
Iason was a hero who saved the continent. But countless people were sacrificed for that fame.
Rachel was a saint. But she poisoned her own son.
"Your Highness."
"I appreciate your concern. But that's all."
This was a clear line that the Princess was drawing to Siseo.
Their relationship was clear. A relationship of cooperation for the coexistence of Baldina.
Anything more than that was overstepping.
Medeia's vision was much broader and more detailed than Siseo's.
"I know that Facade is a sword that can betray its master, so I won't use him for long. When he's outlived his usefulness, I'll send him out of Baldina, so don't worry too much."
"......Yes. Please forgive me for offering unnecessary advice."
Siseo swallowed a sigh and stepped back.
The same answer. The same expression.
Was it because he realized that there was a bond between the Princess and Cesare that he didn't know about?
On the way back, his mouth felt strangely bitter.
The Kazen delegation's lodging.
Several days had passed since the banquet, but Angelique was still unable to escape its aftermath.
"Aaaargh!"
Crash-!
The decorations that Kensington had painstakingly transported from Kazen to this place were shattered and broken by the 4th Princess's gesture.
"What are you going to do! My Imperial Father will blame me! Instead of rejecting the aid, we're going to have to return it to this crazy country twice over! What am I going to do!"
Her eyes darkened as she thought of her furious Imperial Father. She trembled and bit her nails.
Click. Click. A chilling sound.
"Princess, please calm down."
Then her black eyes gleamed.
"Kensington, can't we just kill that Princess? Without the party to the oath, how can they fulfill the promise?"
Kensington almost sighed out loud.
"What about the hundreds of eyes that were in the banquet hall that day? Continental Law dictates that anything formalized in writing must be followed, and you would be giving each country an excuse to tear Kazen apart. His Majesty would be even more furious."
"Then what do you want me to do!"
"That's why I told you not to carelessly put your Seal on it-"
Crash-! A heavy object narrowly missed Kensington's ear.
It was because the enraged Princess had picked up a vase and thrown it.
"You should have stopped me harder! That's what you're here for! If you're going to eat my money, you should have done your job no matter what I said!"
She recklessly shifted the blame to Kensington.
Even though the wound still on Kensington's cheek was clearly visible.
Seeing the Princess trying to avoid the situation by acting out and being stubborn even after coming this far, Kensington couldn't help but think of someone.
'Princess Medeia.'
Both are Princesses of a country, but how could they be so different?
One throws herself for the sake of the country, and the other uses the country for her own sake.
What good is a good lineage and background? They were wrong from the root.
"Get out! Get out! I don't want to see your face!"
Kensington, who came outside, wiped his dry face. A deep sense of fatigue washed over him.
When he returned to Kazen, the Emperor's anger would be directed at him.
It would certainly reach the Princess as well, but it was clear that he would have to take responsibility for the ultimate resolution.
"......I'm getting old too."
He used to offer his loyalty silently without wanting anything in return, but now he was suddenly feeling sorry for himself.
"It seems that the Princess is very upset."
The sound of footsteps came pattering next to the heartbroken Kensington.
Kensington's mood soured as he recognized Count Raju with his greasy eyes.
'A hyena-like man. He doesn't think about hunting himself, but only looks for meat to eat.'
Kensington clearly remembered the servility he had shown to the Princess at the banquet, but the cowardice of not saying a word at the banquet when she was in trouble.
However, as the head of the intelligence unit, not a single strand of displeasure leaked out.
"......Yes. Don't go near her and dismiss the attendants."
She left with only a short warning.
Whether Raju provoked the 4th Princess and was subjected to her anger or not, it was none of her business.
As Kensington left, Count Raju, who had looked around, whistled.
Then Samon, who had been hiding in the shadows behind the pillar, appeared.
A strong scent of alcohol wafted from the Princess's bedroom.
"If you've all taken my money, please do your jobs properly!"
The Princess burst into anger.
Clang-! A glass flew and shattered.
"That... Iason, that bastard is the same. He should have denied it to the end... No... Why didn't anyone expect things to turn out this way? Why?"
Samon appeared before her, heavily drunk.
"Princess, you must be very worried. I will apologize on behalf of Medeia."
Samon raised the corners of his mouth as he recalled his conversation with Count Raju.
"The 4th Princess is probably drunk. When she's upset, she gets drunk and looks for a distraction. If you're going to aim for her side, now is your chance."