The Cooking Princess - Chapter 103

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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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The ministers who heard about Claude’s move to proceed directly to marriage rather than engagement with the Northern Continent’s princess fell into sudden silence and watched the Emperor’s reaction.

The Emperor remained silent for a moment, then asked incredulously.

“…Marriage, not engagement?”

“Yes, yes. He definitely said that.”

Claude himself must have known that his intentions were transparent.

But he was confident that if he dragged things out too long, the Emperor would appoint Shuel as Crown Prince.

‘So he made the first move to act preemptively.’

In fact, the Emperor had been harboring thoughts of subtly keeping Claude in check.

The reason he had specifically called Chloe aside to tell her that he knew the Garnet Family’s treason charges were false was ultimately to keep Claude in check.

The Emperor looked down at Chloe with calm eyes.

Even if Chloe herself stepped forward to directly clear the Garnet Ducal Family’s grievances, it would take quite some time for them to clear their names.

While incitement might be sloppy, explaining it away would take several times longer.

What Claude and the Empress were aiming for was ‘buying time.’

But if the Emperor stepped in, things would be different.

“Truly clever indeed.”

Now the Emperor could no longer just stand by and watch this situation.

He had to step forward himself to prove the Garnet Ducal Family’s innocence and keep Claude in check.

The Emperor stroked his beard and chuckled.

To expose Claude’s true intentions and show that now was not the time to stand by, turning the problem her family should have to clear up over to the Emperor.

‘She might not have considered all those detailed aspects.’

In any case, thinking her very clever, the Emperor smiled with satisfaction.

Somehow interpreting that satisfied smile, one of the ministers cautiously offered congratulations to the Emperor.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty.”

He seemed to think it was good news that Duke Claude was going to marry a foreign princess.

Chloe was frustrated.

‘No, that Duke has dark schemes to arbitrarily seize the throne by marrying a foreign princess!’

At the minister’s tactless response, the Emperor gave a lukewarm acknowledgment.

“Mm.”

From the Emperor’s position of wanting to keep Claude in check, this marriage request wouldn’t be very welcome either.

Chloe’s mind raced.

‘It looks like Claude is trying to borrow foreign power.’

Without realizing it, she looked at the Emperor with desperate eyes.

Her eyes were asking whether he would leave her false charges as they were to hold her back during such an important incident.

The Emperor met Chloe’s eyes directly and spoke with an authoritative voice.

“Once a year, I can pardon criminals. I believe Duchess Chloe and the Garnet Ducal Family are innocent. I will declare this again later, but for now, know my intentions.”

‘As expected!’

She knew the Emperor would have a way.

Chloe’s complexion brightened, and the ministers objected.

“But, Your Majesty!”

“Don’t you all realize that the situation has become urgent? Claude controls a considerable portion of the Empire’s military forces.”

At those words, the ministers glared at Chloe with displeasure but couldn’t say anything.

‘Good.’

She would have to actively explain the treason charges later, but this cleared the suspicions that had been placed on the Garnet Family.

In the ‘original story,’ the Empire had fallen into enough chaos when Claude directly invaded the Luzhiere Empire with soldiers loyal to him and barbarians gathered from the northern front.

‘The original was already a mess, and now he’s bringing in foreign powers too!’

Unable to even imagine how chaotic things would become if another empire interfered in the succession to the throne in this situation, Chloe bit her lips with a pale face.

***

Upon hearing the news that Chloe Garnet had been imprisoned on treason charges, Eshir deeply pondered how he could get her out.

The conclusion he reached after much thought was cruel.

‘There’s nothing I can do.’

As soon as he honestly admitted his powerlessness, he felt a gloomy sense of ennui.

‘If it looks like she’ll be executed, I’ll have to swap the doll with Chloe.’

Having reached that conclusion, Eshir was later receiving reports listlessly at the Magic Tower while eating simple finger foods Chloe had prepared for him, when he tilted his head.

“The monsters’ condition is strange?”

“Yes, the frequency of monster rampages has clearly increased.”

Eshir blinked.

Wild monsters becoming ferocious and attacking people was a common occurrence.

“How much has it increased?”

“From 0.1% to a whopping 10%.”

Hearing such an absurd figure, Eshir doubted his ears and asked his adjutant again.

“…Really?”

“Yes, really.”

The sudden increase in monster rampages was too dramatic to claim as a natural phenomenon, leaving Eshir with a bewildered expression.

‘There must have been artificial intervention. They’re not even trying to hide the fact that it’s intentional.’

Eshir first thought about whether there were any ambitious people around who might incite monster rampages.

Then he stopped thinking.

‘There are too many.’

From the Temple to the Imperial Palace, there were plenty of ambitious people.

He pressed his brow for a moment in thought, then asked his adjutant again.

“Any peculiarities?”

“Yes. Starting from when Duchess Chloe caught that large sea monster, rampages have particularly increased in the northern regions.”

Upon hearing this, Eshir jumped up and immediately skimmed through the report.

‘A large sea monster named Kraken with reddened eyes attacking ships indiscriminately.’

From the reddened eyes to the description of increased violence and combat power, everything…

‘It’s a typical berserk phenomenon.’

Berserking was a naturally occurring phenomenon.

That’s why powerful monsters had always been objects of fear.

‘The Kraken… that was when I ordered food from Chloe that tasted good but looked terrible.’

Right at that moment, monsters had gone berserk.

Eshir briefly considered the possibility that Chloe might be the culprit behind the monster berserking incident.

‘That’s impossible.’

She wanted to obtain delicious ingredients easily.

She had no hobby of making monsters rampage to make the same ingredients harder to obtain.

Eshir showed his displeasure openly and asked his adjutant.

“What do the dispatched mages say?”

“Well…”

Unlike his usually sharp-minded adjutant, he hesitated for a moment to choose his words.

Frustrated by this, Eshir quickly asked again.

“Well?”

“He’s dead.”

At that sudden news, Eshir’s pink eyes trembled with bewilderment.

“…What? Dead?”

“Yes. He’s… dead.”

Dispatched mages were composed only of those with considerable combat power because they had to share local situations with the Magic Tower while conducting their own research.

Such a dispatched mage was dead?

“Was it monsters?”

“…It was humans.”

At those words, all expression disappeared from Eshir’s face.

The fact that rampaging monsters had become powerful enough to kill dispatched mages was problematic,

but someone fearlessly killing the Magic Tower’s dispatched mages was an even bigger problem.

“Hah.”

It seemed that because he hadn’t had occasion to display his strength as the Merchant Prince, he was being taken lightly.

Eshir, now sharp-edged, asked his adjutant once more.

“Earlier, you only mentioned it increased from 0.1% to 10%. Are you saying the rampage frequency has bizarrely increased only in the North?”

“No. It’s increased overall, but the monsters in the North are rampaging the worst.”

“Right, rampaging nationwide… nationwide?”

Eshir’s complexion turned pale at the fact he suddenly realized.

The usual rampage rate of monsters doesn’t even reach 0.1%.

And at the Garnet Estate, there live several creatures that can’t be clearly distinguished as monsters or animals.

Upon recognizing this fact, all color drained from Eshir’s face.

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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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