Queen of Revenge - Chapter 85

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

Chapter 85
“…Surely not.”
Duke Uter’s fist clenched tightly.
“You’re saying this is the doing of the Crown Princess?”
“She wouldn’t have acted directly. But she’s absolutely involved.”
Iolet counted off on her fingers, speaking without inflection.
“Currently, the Royal Council has eight senior members, five of whom support the Crown Princess. If House Uter withdraws, that becomes five out of seven supporting her.”
“The Crown Princess already commands a majority of the Royal Council. She hardly needs to orchestrate something like this just to gain a single seat when she already controls the proceedings.”
“True. The principle of Royal Council decisions is majority rule. But there are exceptions.”
There existed a handful of matters that required unanimous consent from the entire Royal Council.
Iolet met the Duke’s gaze directly, her lips moving with precision.
“Royal Charter Article 12: Regarding the deposition and regency of the King.”
Shock rippled across the Duke’s face.
“…Should the King be deemed a threat to the nation’s survival and the authority of the Royal Family, the Royal Council may, with unanimous consent, suspend his authority and establish a regency….”
He reflexively murmured the words, then groaned.
“Then what the Crown Princess is after is the early abdication of His Majesty? But why? She’s already the Crown Princess. There’s no reason for her to risk something tantamount to treason.”
“Only my Elder Sister would know that reason.”
In the past, Catherine had not waited quietly as Crown Princess for the throne to pass to her.
When the King fell ill with an unnamed disease, Catherine had moved the Royal Council to establish a regency.
By then, every member of the Royal Council was already in Catherine’s grasp.
Less than a year after Catherine assumed the regency, the King died of his illness, and she ascended to the throne with ease.
If she had done it then, why not now?
With me beginning to gain prominence, she would accelerate her plans all the more.
Perhaps this time, rather than a regency, she aimed for the King’s outright deposition from the start.
The expulsion of House Uter was the first move in that audacious scheme.
“But Count Monfer hasn’t lost his son either, has he? If it became known that the Crown Princess was behind this, Count Monfer wouldn’t sit idle.”
“She must be confident it won’t be exposed. After all, there’s no evidence anywhere that the Crown Princess actually harmed Mongfer’s Second Son.”
Without my Mother’s situation, I wouldn’t have connected this incident to Catherine.
Moreover, the injured house was House Montfer itself.
For the past decade, House Montfer has openly positioned itself as Catherine’s right hand. She likely has some leverage over them.
Catherine chose a house that could never betray her, even if her plan were exposed, as her sacrificial pawn.
I don’t know exactly what method Catherine employed.
But if I could uncover it, it would be the perfect rope with which to hang her.
“However, everything you’ve said so far is merely circumstantial, Your Highness.”
Duke Uter spoke with anguish.
“The final trial is in three days. It’s impossible to find proof that the Crown Princess is behind this within that time. What good is investigating the mastermind after my son is already dead….”
“I will stop it, Master.”
Iolet cut off the Duke’s words with a resolute voice.
The Duke looked at her with disbelief.
From the moment Iolet had dared speak of the Crown Princess’s treason until this very instant, her expression had not wavered by a hair’s breadth.
It was a gaze that could only emerge from someone certain of the path they walked.
“I will prevent Prince Uter’s execution. In exchange, please help me uncover what lies behind the Crown Princess.”
Duke Uter was neither a wealthy man with fertile lands, nor a financier managing inherited enterprises, nor a seasoned politician.
The Duke was a respected scholar.
Though underestimated in political circles due to his austere, single-minded nature, the true power of House Uter lay elsewhere.
The Duke’s influence extended not only throughout Elovis but across foreign lands as well.
Renowned scholars who had made their mark in every conceivable field, along with their countless disciples stationed across the Continent—all were part of the Duke’s network.
The pen is sometimes mightier than the sword, and knowledge often wields greater power than force.
“You need me, and I need your knowledge and connections. Will you take my hand?”
An unstable silence descended upon the Study.
The Duke could not even draw a breath for a long moment.
He had believed there was no hope.
The Duchess had been bedridden for days.
His son had killed a man—unforgivable enough—and now faced beheading. What parent’s heart would not shatter?
He had petitioned the King for an audience countless times, only to be refused each time.
In the end, the House would lose its heir, and two hundred years of history would vanish in disgrace.
Then Charlotte’s daughter appeared.
A princess who descended from the heavens like a gift cast down a ray of hope upon him.
The Duke feared this hope would dissolve like foam.
“Is there… a way?”
“First, answer me, Master. You must give me certainty before I can help you.”
The Princess’s pale face remained expressionless.
Though she addressed him as Master and opened the door to conversation, she showed neither affection nor goodwill toward him.
She treated him as nothing more than a necessary business partner.
Yet she was merciful.
To the Princess, he was a bystander who had not extended his hand to Charlotte. How contemptible must he appear, begging for his son’s life?
The Duke felt guilty even meeting the Princess’s gaze directly.
“I will do it.”
The Duke rose from his seat and knelt at the Princess’s feet.
“I will help you, Your Highness. A hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times—whatever you desire, I will help you.”
….
“What may I do for you, Your Majesty? Please, tell me. Please….”
Iolet watched the Duke’s tears fall upon the carpet.
Seeing her former teacher—a man old enough to be her father—weeping and pleading stirred no emotion within her. It felt no different than selecting a new bishop for a chessboard.
“I hope those tears are sincere, Master.”
Iolet spoke without inflection.
“Remember this: if I can prevent the Duke’s Son’s execution, then the reverse is equally possible. And never forget—the woman you turned away for your own safety, and her daughter, have nonetheless given you this chance.”
….
“But there will be no second chance. I have no desire to grant one.”
The matter was concluded.
Iolet rose from her seat.
“I’ll tell you what you must do after this matter is resolved, Master. Rest now. You must be exhausted.”
She passed the Duke, who remained motionless at her feet, drowning in remorse.
Regardless of the circumstances, the Duke’s Son had committed murder by his own hand, and there was no preventing House Uter’s expulsion. Catherine would strengthen her influence in the Royal Council as she desired.
In exchange, Prince Uter would keep his life, and the Duke could withdraw from the Capital’s high society and political circles, operating beyond the Crown Princess’s gaze.
That alone would be a considerable advantage for me.
Iolet left the Office and turned toward the Corridor. There, she discovered the Silent Boy waiting.
“Have you been waiting?”
“I’ll escort you to the Royal Palace. You can’t go alone, after all.”
Iolet made no particular objection.
Ahil matched his pace to hers as they walked.
“Did you hear? The door was slightly ajar.”
“…I’m sorry. You could have just closed it…”
“I think eavesdropping is a good habit. The more you know, the stronger you become.”
“Do you trust me?”
“No. But even if you were to report what you just heard to Catherine, there’s nothing she could do about it anyway.”
Had this been information that shouldn’t have reached Ahil’s ears, I wouldn’t have spoken of it so carelessly in the first place.
For a moment, no response came.
Ahil, whose eyes had only blinked, soon murmured in a dejected voice.
“So it doesn’t matter whether I hear it or not. To you, my existence is…”
That wasn’t quite the case, though.
Had the other party not been Ahil, I would have guarded my words more carefully.
Even as I thought this, Iolet asked in a passing tone.
“So, will you go to Catherine?”
“How could I possibly do that?”
Ahil let out a hollow laugh.
Even if it hadn’t been Iolet who had shared that dangerous conversation in the Duke’s Office, Ahil would never have gone to the Crown Princess.
“And you know that too.”
Ahil glanced at Iolet with eyes tinged with resentment.
The beautiful sister showed no particular reaction to his complaint. As if she had already retreated into her own world, melancholy settled heavily upon her delicate profile, like that of a finely crafted doll.
It was a face one wished to embrace.

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