Queen of Revenge - Chapter 74

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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 74
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Sunlight streaming through the window cast a pale golden rectangle across the office floor.
A speck of dust drifted lazily through the light. It was a languid, quiet afternoon.
Wisps of steam rose like threads from the freshly brewed black tea.
First Prince Leonhilt reclined in a low-backed chair, savoring the sunlight. Across from him sat the Kingdom’s Prime Minister, sitting with impeccable posture.
His pale blue eyes, touched by the thin veil of sunlight, gleamed like clear glass.
Though his face was still young, his expression bore no trace of disorder, and not a single strand of his black hair was out of place.
Whoever met him always found themselves calmed in his presence. Every movement he made was quiet and composed, as if he lived at a distance from the world’s chaos.
“Ulrich.”
As I watched the Prime Minister slowly raise his gaze at my call, I thought how perfectly his name suited his appearance.
“I hear the financial audit is nearly complete. You’ve worked hard. Without you, I could never have emptied the nobles’ coffers to this extent.”
“You are too kind, Your Majesty. None of this would have been possible without your permission in the first place.”
Appropriate praise and appropriate humility were exchanged.
After that, the prince and the prime minister engaged in a substantive discussion about how the funds recovered by the state treasury should be used.
It was always like this. Between the two of them lay unspoken numbers and calculations, and the Kingdom’s future spread out like an invisible ledger.
A virtuous prince and an honest prime minister.
It would be difficult to find a better-matched pair.
“Marquis Rosica’s charges of illegal gambling operations will soon be referred to trial. If he is found guilty, the Second Prince, his son-in-law, cannot escape investigation either, allowing us to reduce the Second Prince’s influence to half or less.”
“Hmm.”
“However, regarding the Information Guild, which the Third Prince oversees, we found no particular evidence of wrongdoing despite intensifying the tax investigation.”
“Ah, Emeric is not the sort of child to make such mistakes. He would have already covered his tracks… But ultimately, it no longer matters.”
Leonhilt paused at that point.
The prime minister raised his eyebrows but waited quietly while the prince took a sip of tea.
After moistening his throat, Leonhilt spoke with composure.
“Emeric is dead.”
The peace that had drifted like dust shattered. Like breaking glass, into fragments.
“…I beg your pardon?”
The prime minister repeated the words a beat too late.
“The Third Prince has passed away? To my knowledge, he received a royal order to proceed to the Winterbark Northern Fortress….”
“News arrived at the border just today. There was a Demon incursion, it seems.”
“The Northern Fortress has fallen? Prince Dietrich has also not yet returned from the fortress….”
“No, the fortress is intact. Emeric ventured into the Unregistered Territory and met with disaster. It was likely Dietrich’s doing.”
It is a principle that no one can be held responsible for what happens in the Unregistered Territory.
Of course, if the victim were royalty and there were witnesses, that might be different, but even Dietrich would not have left evidence of murder.
“When the two of them both insisted on going to the fortress, I secretly hoped for this. I never imagined things would unfold so perfectly.”
“….”
“Emeric’s death is certainly welcome… but this way, Dietrich will become arrogant. I was worrying about that very thing until just before you arrived.”
The prime minister offered no response. Instead, he slowly raised his teacup, the movement just slightly slower than usual.
“Ulrich.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
“What are your thoughts on this matter?”
The silence was brief.
Ulrich set down his teacup without a sound and replied evenly.
“What troubles you, Your Highness?”
“Don’t play ignorant. You’ve surely grasped the situation well enough.”
“…”
“Emeric died by Dietrich’s hand. That means Dietrich has absorbed the Information Guild’s network and financial resources that Emeric controlled. But that’s not all. With the Northern Fortress in his grasp, the Fortress Army has fallen under Dietrich’s command as well. If a gold mine truly opens in the Unregistered Territory, it would be nothing short of a windfall for that bastard.”
The victor claims everything from the vanquished. There was no cause for celebration merely because Emeric was dead.
Dietrich had gained far too much.
“I thought we had the upper hand by cutting off Dietrich’s military funds, but not only did he find another source of income—he doubled his forces. In the end, everything we’ve accomplished has come to nothing.”
“…Prince Dietrich is no politician.”
The midday light cast a thin glow across the black tea in the cup.
Ulrich kept his gaze fixed on those ripples as he continued.
“He is a soldier. Within a hierarchy built on command and obedience, he is stronger than most. However, he lacks the skill to persuade and manipulate people. Expanding his forces means nothing if he cannot leverage them politically. His dominance over the Northern Border was only possible because it is a battlefield. His methods will not work in the Court.”
“Then there is no need for caution?”
Leonhilt let out a low, bitter laugh.
“A soldier unskilled in politics is precisely someone who can draw his blade at any moment. A man incapable of persuasion never intended to persuade in the first place. Elimination becomes the only solution.”
The air in the chamber grew taut in an instant.
Leonhilt twisted his lips.
“The problem is that Dietrich wields far too keen a blade. A blade named Kairon Winterbark.”
The name of the illegitimate son cast out ten years ago became the subject of discourse.
“He did not die in the place where I sent him to perish. Despite the unspeakable acts Emeric committed, he survived and built a fortress. I sent him to Elovis to break his spirit, yet he returned with the Princess as his wife. And in the midst of all this, he joined hands with Dietrich?”
“…”
“What choices remain for me, Ulrich?”
This was a test.
Leonhilt was deeply suspicious by nature. Even his most capable advisor was placed upon the scales of doubt from time to time.
Ulrich closed his eyes. It was the only way to conceal the ripples of emotion in his gaze from his master.
“First, we must remove the blade from Prince Dietrich’s hand.”
“How?”
“Grant Commander Winterbark a noble title and summon him to the Capital.”
Leonhilt’s movements ceased.
The prince’s gaze upon Ulrich sharpened with keen intensity. It was a silent demand for justification.
“The Northern Fortress is too distant from the Capital. Even if troops are concealed there, it would be difficult for the Capital to discern their movements immediately. To eliminate the very possibility of Prince Dietrich using the fortress as a secret base, we must bring its commander to the Capital.”
“Do you truly believe that child will remain loyal to me for the sake of a single noble title?”
“Should the Commander display any signs of disloyalty, we need only fabricate charges and dispose of him. Yet such action is only possible if the Commander resides in the Capital.”
“A noble title is conferred by Mother. Do you believe she will consent?”
“Commander Winterbark’s achievements are considerable. The King did not cast him out, so there is no matter of royal dignity at stake. Should Your Highness make the proposal, it will receive favorable consideration.”
Ulrich paused briefly.
“Of course, it is an awkward matter regarding the Queen. I confess I can devise no better course at present. My apologies.”
Leonhilt fell into contemplation.
Only after the teacup had grown completely cold did he murmur to himself.
“Mother would never approve. Yet to me, Kairon Winterbark and Prince Dietrich are scarcely different….”
With those words, Leonhilt gazed out the window for a long while.
Sunlight illuminated the windowsill and the scattered documents upon his desk, yet his eyes rested upon nothing—he appeared as one lost in the memory of a distant day long past.
His deliberation was brief.
Leonhilt rose to his feet.
“I must visit Mother.”

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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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