98 - The Crown I Will Take From You
98
“Thank you, Uncle Raju.”
Samon maintained a fairly close relationship with Count Raju, who was also his sister’s godfather.
“But now that you’ve already joined hands with Grand Duke Castulo, is there really a need to reach out to the 4th Princess? If His Excellency the Grand Duke finds out about this, he will surely be displeased.”
“If I become the 4th Princess’s consort, the Eastern Marquis will naturally take notice of me. Wouldn’t that be of even greater help to His Highness the Grand Duke?”
He nodded triumphantly.
Even if he was treated like a stud, it was worth it to gain the backing of the 4th Princess, and by extension, the Eastern Marquis.
“How much hardship have you endured in a faraway land. Even when things turn out like this, everyone is quick to avoid blame and only think of themselves.”
Samon approached the Princess and offered gentle comfort.
“It must be truly difficult to have no one by your side who understands your heart.”
However, the Princess didn’t even glance at him, just like when they first met.
Instead, she waved her hand dismissively, as if telling him to get lost.
“I know you admire my cousin. But, the King is proud and will never bow before Kazen.”
Despite the Princess’s consistent indifference, Samon’s voice remained gentle.
“Rather than gazing at a glass flower that will never bend, wouldn’t a fresh flower right before your eyes, one you can touch at any time, be more appealing?”
As if he had forgotten the humiliating insults he had received from her, he was as smooth and handsome as the day they first met.
The Princess’s eyes flickered towards Samon.
Having had nothing go her way since arriving in Baldina, she was slightly swayed by the handsome man hovering before her.
The Princess opened her eyes languidly. The night was deep, and Samon exuded a strong musk scent.
After drinking, the features she had thought were worlds apart from Peleus now seemed somewhat similar.
“So, you’re saying you’re a flower I can pluck?”
The 4th Princess scoffed, and Samon gave a seductive smile.
“If that is what Your Highness desires.”
She was annoyed, and anger surged to the top of her head. She decided she didn’t care about the effects of the alcohol.
“Medeia…”
That damned Princess of Baldina.
As she thought of the Princess’s face, anger welled up. Soon, she was even more annoyed by the fact that the King was her brother.
If she couldn’t make the King or his sister kneel, what was wrong with a substitute?
Slap.
“Don’t be presumptuous.”
Contrary to her words, she grabbed Samon by the collar and pulled him towards her.
Click. The lights went out.
As the night deepened, darkness covered their desires.
\ \ \
In the spot where Jared had stormed through like a typhoon and left, Iason massaged his temples, recalling their recent conversation.
“Your Excellency, please protest to Baldina on my behalf. The Princess’s representative inflicted a fatal wound on me, so shouldn’t she be held responsible?”
“Calm yourself, General. I have summoned my excellent Divine Physician, so your wound will soon be healed-”
He tried to appease Jared.
But to Jared, who had lost his reason, it only seemed like a pretense to avoid the situation.
“It seems Your Excellency wants to hold onto both me and Baldina, but the world isn’t so easy.”
“You seem too agitated, so let’s talk again after your treatment is complete and your condition has stabilized a bit. I will definitely find a way to satisfy you-”
Iason’s prudence created a deep emotional rift between the two that could never be bridged.
“Forget it. I have found the king of the mountains, so I don’t need a jackal that digs holes here and there.”
“General, General!”
Even though he could no longer use his right hand, the fact remained that Jared was a 10-star general who had received the Emperor’s recognition.
Even if he couldn’t directly participate in battles, his position and power were a piece of meat too valuable to let go.
“Damn it, why did things have to turn out like this!”
His gentle and kind face turned ferocious like a Demon Beast.
Crash-! Unable to contain his anger, he swept everything off the table.
Among the items thrown to the floor was a letter with a crumpled corner.
“...His Majesty orders the delegation to be entrusted to Princess Angelique and Grand Duke Castulo to return to the Empire.”
It was a natural suspicion for Perdikkas II to have.
At the banquet that day, his daughter, the 4th Princess, lost both face and substance, but Iason lost nothing. On the contrary, he gained a reputation for being just and trustworthy.
Moreover, wasn’t it Iason, the judge, who branded the 4th Princess’s defeat?
That was the case if you looked only at the results, excluding all the circumstances.
“Damn it!”
He felt like he was going crazy. No matter how he explained the situation, the Emperor wouldn’t drop his suspicions.
Iason bit his lip.
It was the 4th Princess who started the bet, and it was Jared who lost the duel.
But in reality, Iason suffered the most damage.
He lost Jared, was treated like a traitor by the Kazen delegation, and now he had even earned the Emperor’s wariness.
“If the Princess had won, there would have been no problem…”
Resentment towards Medeia, who had been the catalyst, began to bloom.
But, the scattering silver hair, the drops of blood flowing down her white arms. The green eyes that were as pitiful as a deer.
Iason bit his lip.
Unbelievably, a corner of his heart felt cold. Ha, was he in a position to feel sympathy for her now?
Iason inwardly scoffed and ordered his subordinate.
“Send medicine to the Royal Palace.”
Since he had lost his reputation with the Kazen delegation, he had to firmly establish a foothold in Baldina.
“What about His Majesty’s orders?”
“I’ll have to postpone it under the pretense of illness. There’s still time since no official imperial decree has been issued.”
He didn’t come all the way to Baldina to return empty-handed.
Iason’s eyes shone brightly.
\ \ \
The Kazen delegation’s lodging, Kensington’s residence.
Iason wasn’t the only one who received a unilateral imperial decree.
“There’s no way His Majesty would do this to me!”
Kensington slammed the table violently.
Umberto took the scroll containing the imperial decree she had thrown and opened it. He was shocked.
“Dismantle the Red Fox Troop and offer it to the Imperial Family, what does this all mean?”
He couldn’t believe it even after seeing the words with his own eyes.
“Isn’t His Majesty being too harsh? The Danju dedicated her entire life to creating this intelligence network. If it weren’t for us, His Majesty might not have been able to ascend the throne safely, and the Empire might not have prospered and become the ruler of the continent.”
“……”
“But instead of giving us a reward, he’s trying to take away the Danju’s achievements while insulting us like this.”
Umberto couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud, but he thought the Emperor was like a robber.
“You’re not thinking of accepting this quietly, are you? Danju, you must protest to His Majesty.”
“Don’t you know that disobedience means death?”
Kensington sighed and said.
Since ascending the throne, her lord, Perdikkas II, had become even more obsessed with it.
While he welcomed Kensington’s gathering of news from the continent through the Red Fox Troop, he was constantly worried that she might betray him and spread Kazen’s news.
Just like how he always suspected and was wary of his son, the First Prince, even while welcoming and supporting the great achievements he had made.
Now that the First Prince was gone, it seemed like it was her turn.
“The Red Fox Troop will tighten the noose around your neck.”
‘Whether he holds it or lets it go, it’s precarious, so it really is a noose.’
Kensington let out a hollow laugh.
Didn’t the warning the Princess of Baldina had sent seem like a prediction of this very moment?
\ \ *
Early morning, the 4th Princess’s bedroom.
Harsh light poured over the naked man and woman draped in sheets.
However, the man’s body was covered in red scratches. His cheeks were slightly red, and there were pinch marks all over his upper body.
“If you had any sense, you would have left on your own, what are you still doing here?”
At the 4th Princess’s still cold voice, Samon swallowed his rising resentment.
He had succeeded in seducing the 4th Princess last night, but what followed was beyond his imagination.
‘I’ve heard she has a willful and violent personality, but…’
He didn’t expect her to be like that even in bed.
Last night, she didn’t let Samon utter a single word in bed, grabbed him by the hair, and toyed with him.
She even called him Peleus and slapped him until he answered.
To treat him, Sub-Duke Claudio, as a worthless substitute. Shame and anger towards the 4th Princess surged within him.
However, he didn’t show even a hint of his burning anger and cared for the Princess like a gentle lover.
“Your Highness, did you have a comfortable night? Was I lacking in any way, did I hurt your precious body?”
“Hmph, seeing your Baldina face from the morning has already ruined my mood.”
The 4th Princess ignored him as if he were pathetic.
At that moment, they heard the sound of people cheering in the distance.
“Long live! Princess Medeia! Long live!”
A Maid rushed in, panting.
“What is it? What in the world is going on?”