Queen of Revenge - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 14
At least twenty Guard Knights stood in tight formation before the East Tower.
‘What on earth is this?’
They weren’t guarding a criminal’s cell—why deploy armed soldiers?
Strictly speaking, I had committed no breach of law in anything I had done as a princess.
That was why Lucian couldn’t ultimately stop me, and why the Crown Princess couldn’t publicly drag me away either.
Wasn’t this response excessive?
Though it wasn’t strictly necessary, Lucian had escorted me all the way to my bedroom.
“It was my negligence. I shall ensure she receives proper instruction so this never happens again.”
“Do it the moment the sun rises tomorrow. Even if she’s a worthless princess, she is legitimate Elovis blood. If she repeats such disrespect, she won’t escape charges of lèse-majesté.”
“Understood. Pay no mind to the soldiers outside. Should you need anything, simply call for me.”
“Very well. You may go.”
After hesitating briefly, Lucian turned and departed. With a maidservant now attending to me, there was nothing more for him to do.
I heard Lucian’s troubled sigh drifting through the crack in the door.
‘Thank heavens. He doesn’t suspect anything.’
I had nearly been caught in a moment with Kairon.
Only then did I allow myself to breathe freely.
The conversation I’d shared with him just before the Guard Knights arrived replayed vividly in my mind.
“Propose to me.”
The instant those words left my lips, time seemed to suspend itself.
At a distance where our breath could mingle, Kairon’s eyes widened.
I whispered to the man frozen before me.
“Take me as your wife and forge a marriage alliance with the Elovis Royal Family. A matrimonial bond is far more binding than any treaty. And if your bride is a princess of impeccable lineage, it would serve you immeasurably well.”
“Do you mean it?”
Kairon’s facial muscles contorted strangely.
I couldn’t discern his exact expression—it seemed as though he was suppressing a spreading smile, yet simultaneously appeared to be wrinkling his face in displeasure.
The Guard Knights, having failed to spot us, moved toward the opposite end of the garden.
I stepped back from him and smiled knowingly.
“Am I not to your satisfaction?”
That was impossible.
The only thing holding back this master of the Northern Fortress was his lowborn origin.
Because of it, Kairon could never ascend to the mainstream of Kalande society.
And I possessed precisely what he lacked—bloodline.
I was the legitimate heir of Elovis and second in line to the throne, with the Levia Royal Family as my maternal house.
One would struggle to find a woman of nobler birth across the entire Continent. It was an inheritance my mother left me that Catherine could never seize, no matter what she attempted.
If he married me, no one would dare mock Kairon as some bastard of Kalande.
To his eyes, I was a coveted trophy itself.
Unable to tear his gaze from me, he asked in a fractured voice.
“Would your father approve of this?”
“What do you think?”
Time was running out.
It seemed certain things from the past never changed—the Guard Knights who had been searching through the Fountain were returning to this spot.
Iolet removed the man’s hand from her waist.
“If you wish to speak with me further, come to the East Tower on the eastern side of the Royal Palace by tomorrow morning. I will be waiting.”
* * *
The morning after the Foundation Day Festival banquet concluded.
The Crown Princess’s Palace was unusually tense. Its mistress had been in a foul mood since morning.
Crown Princess Catherine enjoyed an excellent reputation even among the palace servants. She was gentle and compassionate, her judgments fair and her rewards and punishments swift.
Not only did the elders of the Royal Council trust her, but she maintained strong bonds with provincial nobility as well. No one doubted she would become a wise ruler following in her father’s footsteps.
Yet there were rare days when the Crown Princess became irritable.
Whenever matters concerning the King’s other children—her half-siblings—arose, she transformed into someone entirely different.
The luxurious Inner Chamber was filled with shards of broken glass.
“How dare that foolish girl forget her place!”
Unable to contain her rage, Catherine hurled a vase within her grasp. It shattered loudly against the edge of a table.
In the Inner Chamber, from which all the Maidservants and servants had been dismissed, only a single attendant remained.
Red hair and golden eyes. A boy with features resembling the King’s cleaned up the glass shards scattered at Catherine’s feet.
The boy’s palms were covered with cuts from the sharp fragments.
“Why are you crawling about like a slug? Get out of my sight!”
Even her harsh rebuke failed to elicit a response from the silent boy, which only irritated Catherine further. Even his red hair, so like her father’s, made her blood boil.
“Why won’t you answer? If you understand, you should at least nod your head! Do you find me amusing? Is that it, Ahil?”
A sharp hand flew toward the boy’s cheek.
Crack—!
The boy, Ahil, staggered and collapsed.
Catherine stomped on her half-brother’s hand with her heel repeatedly. The boy let out a silent scream.
“…!”
“This is why you’re so hopeless! Don’t think you can act so boldly just because Mother takes pity on you. Do you understand?”
Nodding vigorously, the boy’s right cheek swelled grotesquely from the blows.
Only the boy witnessed Catherine’s true nature within these palace walls.
After driving the boy outside, Catherine paced the chamber, biting her nails anxiously.
Ever since Iolet had appeared at the banquet hall yesterday without permission, the nobility and ambassadors had made her the sole topic of conversation.
It seemed everyone had forgotten the grandeur of the banquet hall that Catherine had spent considerable effort arranging, the dress and jewelry she had worn, and what it meant that the King had escorted her to the entrance.
After dancing the opening dance with Duke Benedix, the ambassadors had competed to catch Catherine’s attention, yet some had still searched for the missing Iolet.
Catherine had never been overshadowed in matters of prominence.
She was always the center of attention, wherever she went.
She had meticulously orchestrated this by strategically placing her people throughout the court, ensuring she naturally became the topic of conversation.
But that girl had ruined her stage.
The King, who had left the ball without dancing that night, had summoned Catherine and berated her harshly.
“What is the meaning of this, Catherine! You couldn’t even control one insignificant princess, and now you’ve caused this disaster. On Foundation Day, no less! How can I possibly trust you with matters of state now!”
It was unfair.
Iolet was the one who had intruded upon the banquet hall, so why should her own position be shaken? Why?
Why do you take Iolet’s side, Father?
I swallowed the words that had risen to my throat, and I cannot describe how humiliating it was to beg for forgiveness.
I have poured ten years into establishing myself as the sole heir to this throne.
Because my mother, Queen Laila, came from an unremarkable house, I was but a hollow Crown Princess—without the support of maternal relatives, without the backing of noble factions, without even the love of the people.
Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte received the fervent welcome of all the people the moment she married into Elovis. Her daughter, Iolet, was no different.
Why? How could this be? What do I lack compared to them?
I was born far earlier than she was. I am far more beautiful and clever than Iolet!
Why does that girl monopolize Father’s recognition, the nobles’ support, and the people’s love all for herself?
Merely because her mother is some precious princess of Levia?
This was profoundly unjust.
I am the Crown Princess. Therefore, what I cannot possess, a mere princess like Iolet should not possess either.
So I decided to take everything from her.
I wanted to see her lose all that she was born with, dragged before all the people to the Execution Platform.
Behold—the daughter of that Levian woman you all praised so much is in truth a traitor of the highest order, one who would ruin this kingdom!
The only queen befitting this realm is me. You are all mistaken!
Catherine repeated these thoughts as though entranced.
“Yes, that’s right. Of course it is.”
Imagining my sister’s demise lifted my spirits somewhat.
Indeed, it is still too early to kill her. If the marriage to Count Castlane ultimately falls through, I need only send her to the next suitor.
Catherine composed her malicious expression and pulled the bell cord. Maidservants entered to assist with her preparations.
Today was the day she would receive the ambassadors who had attended the Foundation Day Festival banquet in succession.
An important day. Though the King had scolded Catherine harshly last night, he had not stripped her of the authority to receive the ambassadors.
‘It is far too early to lose Father’s trust. Until I inherit all the King’s authority, I must remain a dutiful and capable daughter.’
Catherine gazed at her flawless reflection in the mirror, then made her way to the Reception Hall.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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