Resetting Lady - Chapter 223

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Absolutely not.”

“Your Grace.”

“Lord Raymond, you should have stopped such talk yourself. How could you let His Highness say such things?”

Count Fankair looked at Raymond with an expression of disbelief.

“Do you realize how absurd it is to say you’ll expose the royal family’s shame? You want to reveal a murder case that happened inside the Royal Palace, of all places? And in front of so many people? Don’t speak such nonsense, tell him.”

Count Fankair, being of royal blood by birth, reacted quite sensitively to exposing such scandals.

“Prince Louis is in danger.”

“That’s why we’ve placed the safest possible people around His Highness. Prince Guize isn’t stupid either. And revealing such a scandal to the whole world – doing such a thing would harm Prince Louis later as well. And how could anyone believe it in the first place? What exactly is the source?”

“My lover.”

Count Fankair had to make an effort not to show too obvious an expression.

“Who is your lover?”

“Karen Hyer, Prince Guize’s mistress. She was dragged into the basement herself and came out, and heard about Prince Guize’s plans.”

“…Karen Hyer, you say…”

“Yes, Catherine Nora Enid’s daughter.”

Count Fankair sighed.

“I’ve been busy with estate affairs for a while and cut myself off from society matters, so… I see. He took her daughter as his mistress. Now I understand why people were whispering. I just thought it was because she was a young mistress…”

Count Fankair recalled the rumors he had ignored and dismissed. Stories about Prince Guize taking an unmarried woman as his mistress and having her stay in the Palace of the Crown Princess.

That alone was highly immoral, but since Guize wasn’t the type to restrain himself out of concern for such rumors, the Count had decided not to pay attention. A mistress was just a mistress, after all. He thought it was just another whim like usual.

“This is the poison Prince Guize gave her. He ordered her to feed it to Prince Louis.”

Raymond took out a medicine bottle from his coat and handed it to Count Fankair. Count Fankair held up the tiny bottle and examined it. It was transparent and looked no different from water.

“Is this all of it?”

“The rest is with the Guard Captain. He said he’d send it to Prince Louis’s doctor to confirm its toxicity.”

“What were the results?”

“A fighting dog the size of a calf collapsed immediately from just one drop.”

“…”

Count Fankair sighed repeatedly while looking at the medicine Raymond had given him. This wasn’t something to dismiss as mere mischief. There was no grace period now. The time of watching each other and thinking “someday” had already passed.

“First, I’ll need to move Prince Louis’s residence to my manor soon.”

“To your family estate?”

“No, my estate is on the border so it’s dangerous. It would be better to evacuate His Highness to the summer villa in the north. Why do you look like that?”

Raymond’s expression was troubled.

“Prince Louis wants this made public. Shouldn’t Prince Louis appear directly before the nobles?”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Count Fankair dismissed it outright.

“How old do you think Prince Louis is? And if Prince Louis ascends instead of Prince Guize, he’ll be crowned at age 12. Ascending at such a young age only happened during the founding era. Who would pledge loyalty to a king young enough to be their grandson?”

“If we wait just a few years, he’ll surely become a wise king.”

“Does being a wise king depend solely on individual excellence?”

Count Fankair laughed bitterly.

“In any case, after ascending he’ll have no choice but to accept a regency for a while. Then inevitably I’ll have to be by his side for several years. In that case, it’s better for me to take on the troublesome matters. I have no burden since I plan to leave the royal family anyway.”

“Count.”

“No matter what, Prince Guize is Prince Louis’s father. We must reduce the attacks that will come to Prince Louis as much as possible.”

“…But.”

“I’ll bear the dishonor.”

Count Fankair was resolute.

But he would fail.

“Guiz killed Louis.”

Because he was a conservative to his bones, he feared the changes that new methods would bring. He had always witnessed the nobles’ resistance up close. His estate was always on the border, which had to be extremely conservative and governed by principles.

Because of this, he had always failed to save Louis.

“I’d like to respect Prince Louis’s decision.”

“Do you think it’s right to burden a 12-year-old with such weight? Will you make him hear that he’s the son who brought down his father?”

“That too is Prince Louis’s burden to bear.”

“That’s excessively cruel. I didn’t expect you to say such things.”

Raymond fell silent.

The reason he opposed this was ultimately because he knew the future that was coming. It was because he knew of Prince Louis’s repeated deaths that he could make such arguments.

How should he persuade the Count? Right now the Count wasn’t arguing out of his own greed. He was saying such things out of affection, hoping the Prince would be safer.

There was only one answer.

“I understand.”

“I’m glad you see it that way. Pay special attention to protecting Prince Louis for just one week. We’ll think about what comes next after evacuating him.”

I’ll have to ignore the Count’s words and proceed.

Raymond decided. One week would be enough.

* * *

“Whew…”

Sion took a deep breath and descended into the pitch-black chimney. Of course, he had a rope securely fastened around his waist. He launched his body downward. After falling for several seconds, he kicked off the walls with his feet several times.

Thud, thud, thud, thud…

Fluttering.

Some birds had apparently nested somewhere in the chimney, brushing past his face. He heard a screech and felt mild pain on his face. It seemed he’d been scratched by claws. Sion swatted at the fluttering creature nearby. It was a bat.

‘Damn, don’t they clean places just because they can’t see them? How are there bats living in the palace?’

Sion cursed inwardly. He could handle other injuries, but not his face. He’d have to apply ointment as soon as he got out. What if Isella disliked a scarred face? For Sion, who lived by his looks, it was a sensitive matter.

“Ugh.”

Then he swayed greatly. Sion clicked his tongue and straightened himself, focusing on descending. He couldn’t be startled by mere bats. To succeed in what he was doing now, he absolutely couldn’t be alarmed by such things.

‘If I get caught doing this, it’ll be execution, right?’

Of course it would be.

A knight of the kingdom was secretly infiltrating the Royal Palace. And he was carrying all sorts of dangerous items. If discovered by others, not only would he face execution, but he’d be tortured in various ways before death and threatened to reveal his backers.

“…Why am I…”

Sion swallowed his sigh.

Now was the time to focus on the task at hand.

* * *

Raymond pointed to the cross-section diagram and made a request – no, gave an order – to Sion.

“By my estimation, Prince Guize’s collection should be in this location. Go check how many there are, and install bombs at the four corners of the east and west walls. If necessary, we’ll collapse the walls from outside.”

“Where is this place, Lord Raymond?”

Sion’s face turned pale.

‘Please tell me it’s not what I think. Please say it’s not.’

But Raymond explained matter-of-factly.

“Can’t you tell from looking at the cross-section structure? It’s the Royal Palace, Count Sion. The Prince’s Palace and the Palace of the Crown Princess.”

So you’re really going to blow up the Royal Palace with bombs after all.

Sion sighed openly. Lord Raymond’s bombs were destined to be used eventually. Raymond gripped Sion’s shoulder tightly and spoke with a serious expression.

“Count Sion, you know you can’t run away now even if you want to, right? Don’t get any foolish ideas.”

“…Lord Raymond, if by any chance I die, you’re going to hell. To do this to such a promising young man…”

Raymond snorted at Sion’s words.

“You think you’re not going to hell? Since we’re going anyway, try some adventure. If it works out well, that achievement would be founding-merit level.”

“What terrible jokes you make. When I die, I’m going to heaven with Miss Isella.”

“To hope for heaven, you’ve probably earned quite deep resentment here and there too.”

“Miss Isella makes many donations in my name. Those donations will be returned to society.”

“…I can’t tell if I should refute that absurd logic.”

Pointless jokes were exchanged.

Sion stopped the joke competition and examined the blueprint in detail before asking Raymond.

“To collapse it from outside, shouldn’t it be the floor rather than the walls?”

“Looking at this structure, it’s the walls. Look carefully at the thickness in the cross-section and floor plan. The heights differ slightly and there are differences in wall thickness too. They created deception to deliberately make extra space. Enter through the second chimney facing north.”

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