Queen of Revenge - Chapter 98

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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 98
Lucian approached the bookshelf and began selecting volumes one by one as the Vice Guild Master pointed them out.
As he withdrew several books, the bookcase creaked and began to rotate. Between the perpendicularly opened panels, a descending staircase came into view.
This was the heart of the Information Guild that Prince Emeric had constructed. The space, carved entirely from the building’s underground, resembled a vast library.
Every classified royal document Emeric had collected, personal information on Kalande’s nobility, and records of the various facilities he managed through the guild—all of it was contained within these walls.
Lucian moved through the storage chamber, selecting file folders. As I reviewed their contents, my brow furrowed involuntarily.
“The Royal Human Resources Cultivation Facility… commonly called the Farm. Utterly rotten.”
The necessary documents piled high upon the table. It was the first directive that had come down from the Princess since arriving in the Capital.
“I came at the instruction of the Marchioness of Hesenberg. The Princess of Elovis asked my mistress to deliver this note to you. To pass it along to you. …Ah, is the Princess well? I’m merely the Marchioness’s maidservant, so I don’t know much, but I hear she’s been dining with the Queen every evening lately. Though she did seem rather tired today, or so it appeared….”
Lucian tossed the final folder onto the table. Then I ran a dry hand across my face.
“What am I even doing here right now.”
I had promised to become the new world where she could take root, yet all she asked of me were these trivial tasks.
I would almost prefer to draw a blade. Not that I wished physical danger upon her, but at least then I could possess the certainty that I was protecting her.
My worth, my value—it all lay there.
“….”
Lucian suddenly became aware of how I had changed.
When had I ceased to hesitate at staining these hands with blood?
As a knight wielding a sword to protect the kingdom, I knew that the greatest danger was the moment one lost justification.
Violence without reason is barbarism. I needed a reason to justify my actions.
With that very reason—that person—absent from my side, I felt a crushing self-loathing, as though I were discarding my own humanity with these hands.
Suddenly, resentment toward Iolet, who had made me this way, surged up. Yet compared to before, it was exceedingly faint.
I couldn’t remember when the hatred had vanished from my love-hate, nor did I feel any need to remember.
‘I hope she’s taking her medicine on schedule. Bara will likely handle it well, but…’
Lucian packed the collected folders into a box and sealed it.
“Close the guild. Reject all commissions. Every single one—whether special clients or otherwise.”
Leaving the trembling Heintz behind, Lucian exited the Information Guild. At the alley’s entrance, I handed the box to the waiting servant of the Marquis Household of Hesenberg.
* * *
“Ulrich cancelled his audience and took medical leave?”
Prince Leonhilt’s brow narrowed at the news the Butler conveyed.
The audience was scheduled for today. In fact, less than two hours remained.
“Did he provide a reason?”
“He claims to be unwell. He has requested that the audience be postponed to next week so he might rest for seven days.”
Prince Leonhilt laughed in disbelief. To dare cancel an audience with a prince due to personal circumstances—such insolence was excessive. It was unlike Ulrich.
“I didn’t educate him to behave this way. Did he mention where he was going?”
“He said he was leaving work, so perhaps he’s gone to his residence in the Capital? This is the first time I’ve seen Ulrich take medical leave.”
Prince Leonhilt tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingertips.
“True enough—he’s hardly rested since the Farm days.”
Ulrich was a talent Prince Leonhilt had personally selected during the era when he directly oversaw the Royal Human Resources Cultivation Facility.
Among the select few who had earned his expectations, Ulrich was the sole survivor who had ultimately become a royal official.
Since assuming the position of Prime Minister, he had shouldered all manner of miscellaneous royal duties and served as strategist to his two younger brothers. Yet throughout all those long years, he had never uttered a single complaint.
A man so steadfastly devoted taking sick leave for the first time—it wouldn’t be amiss for me to show magnanimity as his lord.
Having reached his conclusion, Prince Leonhilt spoke.
“He has indeed exhausted himself through financial audits. Grant Ulrich a week’s leave, and send medicinal herbs to his residence for recuperation. Inform him that while things are manageable now, he cannot afford to be absent during critical moments.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
There was no rush to inform him that the plan had changed.
Mother’s words were correct. Whether I eliminate Dietrich first or Kairon first—only the order differs. What would truly change?
Prince Leonhilt rubbed his tired eyes. With the meeting with Ulrich removed from his schedule, the afternoon through evening stretched before him empty.
‘Since I have time, perhaps I should visit the First Princess.’
It had been a full week since I last sought out the First Princess.
It was purely a marriage of necessity. Ever since Dietrich had absurdly stolen away the first woman I had ever wanted to marry, I had meticulously sought a match that could double my power base.
The Princess of Bilebach was perfect in that regard—save for the fact that she could bear no children and carried the stain of a previous divorce.
Since I could have no heir through her, there was no reason to share her bed, nor any reason to build intimacy through shared daily life.
I didn’t know what her true nature was, nor did I wish to know.
She was merely a purse for the Throne, nothing more.
“The First Princess is dining with a guest, Your Highness.”
“Is that so? All the better.”
Prince Leonhilt rose from his seat with a lightened heart, giving no thought to who this guest might be.
“I shall visit Madam Cortis’s salon. Make the arrangements.”
* * *
Anastasia, the First Princess of Kalande, regarded the woman seated before her with a peculiar sense of unfamiliarity.
“So you fled to me to escape dining with the Queen, is that it?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Her smiling face was bright and innocent as a young girl’s. It was difficult to be coldly distant when she answered with such artless sincerity.
“In Kalande, no one calls me Princess. They call me the First Princess.”
“I would prefer to call you Princess, if it doesn’t trouble you?”
“Well, I suppose…”
Anastasia observed the Princess while twirling a strand of her dark auburn hair around her finger.
Four days ago, she had already heard that the Princess of Elovis, wife of Commander Winterbark, had entered the palace in the capacity of ambassador.
While she thought it best to avoid the Queen’s Palace for some time, given the Queen’s displeasure, Anastasia found herself genuinely curious about the Princess before her.
For reasons that were entirely personal and private.
The Princess of Elovis was smaller and more delicate than expected—like a doll crafted from sugar melted by sunlight.
“If Bara has caused you trouble, I apologize. I’m sorry for taking up your time so thoughtlessly. Dining with the Queen brings on headaches, so I needed an excuse to escape.”
“No, not at all. My evening happened to be free anyway.”
“I heard you had an appointment with the First Prince. I hope I haven’t interfered?”
“Not particularly. It wasn’t a firm arrangement to begin with. It was supposed to be a day to meet with Ulrich, but the schedule seems to have shifted.”
“I see.”
Iolet smiled softly.
“It seems Ulrich must have had something come up.”
“Perhaps. I don’t know the details myself.”
Maidservants brought in tea and refreshments.
Anastasia observed the Princess examining the teacup before speaking.
“If you came here expecting something from me, I’m afraid it will be futile. I have no influence in this country. I would be quite useless as a shield against The Queen.”
“I didn’t come to measure your usefulness. I was simply curious. You’re a princess who left your homeland for this distant place with a purpose similar to mine.”
“A similar purpose?”
Anastasia’s brow furrowed slightly.
Anastasia had come here as a symbol of the trade agreement between Kalande and Bilebach. Her marriage to Prince Leonhilt was a transaction to amplify the mutual interests of both nations.
So the Princess Iolet had also come to Kalande for such a purpose, yet she was already married to the commander of a borderland fortress.
Having been a princess consort of Kalande for merely half a year, Anastasia knew little about Kairon Winterbark. All she knew was that he was a bastard despised by all three princes.
In the end, the only commonality between her and Iolet was that they had both left their homelands.
Was attempting to form a bond based on something so trivial not rather amateurish?
‘Perhaps she’s simply too young. I had expectations since she’s her daughter.’
Disappointment washed over her, enough to extinguish the personal curiosity she had harbored toward Iolet.
Anastasia decided to pacify the young princess appropriately and send her on her way.
“Does the tea suit your taste? Kalande seems to have many high-quality tea varieties, perhaps because there are so many mountainous regions.”
“Tea from Levia is the finest. Levia is warmer than Kalande, after all.”
Anastasia’s fingertips trembled as she pushed the refreshments toward the Princess.

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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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