The Cooking Princess - Chapter 108

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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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Claude proceeded with the wedding without enthusiasm, thinking to himself.

‘Even though the Empress has been dead for a long time, legitimate lineage is still legitimate lineage, I suppose.’

He firmly believed that he was in no way inferior to Shuel.

He had stayed at the frontline for a long time precisely to build his own power while avoiding Felix III’s watchful eyes.

When the current Emperor favored Shuel over Claude, Claude completed his wedding surrounded by the people he had gathered to forcibly overturn that decision.

Both the groom and bride were expressionless, and even those celebrating maintained only formalities in this bizarre wedding.

***

While Claude was holding his wedding ceremony, the Emperor and Pope headed to the underground dungeon where the Empress was imprisoned with stern faces.

The two headed straight to their destination without saying a word until they reached where the Empress was confined.

Finally reaching where the Empress was imprisoned, the Empress’s face brightened upon seeing the Emperor.

“Your Majesty the Emperor… Your Majesty knew of my innocence, and even Your Holiness the Pope has come?”

Shurya got straight to the point, ignoring the Empress’s wariness toward her.

“Right now, Duke Claude is holding a wedding ceremony with the Northern Continent’s princess. Despite Your Majesty the Emperor’s opposition, he’s doing it unilaterally.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The Empress froze completely. Anxiety washed over her at the Emperor’s silence and the Pope’s cold gaze as she spoke to her.

“Ignoring His Majesty the Emperor’s words and arbitrarily marrying a foreign princess – Your Majesty the Empress surely knows this constitutes treason.”

Seeing the Empress’s bewildered expression upon hearing Shurya’s words, she added further.

“When we don’t know when or where foreign forces might be brought in, does it make sense to decide such a major matter as the Duke’s marriage without any consultation?”

Even though the Emperor had opposed Claude’s marriage, Claude ignored the Emperor’s words and held his wedding ceremony as he pleased.

Originally, Imperial marriages are special ceremonies, so the Pope or Cardinals preside over such marriages.

But kindly explaining the fact that none of the high-ranking priests from the Temple officiated Claude’s wedding, Shurya added.

“Duke Claude, who married without the Emperor’s and Pope’s witness, held his wedding ceremony arbitrarily while ignoring both God’s blessing and the people’s support.”

After thoroughly explaining that this was also an act of disrespecting the Pope, the Empress’s face turned pale.

“If the marriage partner is not a domestic noble but foreign royalty, it can certainly be viewed as treasonous behavior.”

“My thoughts align with His Holiness the Pope’s words as well, Empress.”

The Emperor’s support of the Pope made the Empress’s face even paler.

Seeing that face, Shurya was certain.

‘As expected, the Empress knew nothing about this. She’s someone who knows Imperial affairs inside and out – if she had known in advance, she wouldn’t have reacted this way.’

If she had planned this ‘together’ with Claude, she should have left the Imperial Palace long ago.

Even if she had stayed for some other plan, there would be even less reason for her to look bewildered and pale at talk of treason now.

‘It would be something she was already prepared for.’

While framing Chloe and her family, the Garnet Family, entirely might have been a collaboration between the Empress and Duke Claude,

everything after this would be solely Claude’s unilateral actions.

The Emperor seemed to sense this too, as his face hardened.

The fact that he left his own mother in the Imperial Palace and forced through the marriage unilaterally, and that his partner was a foreign princess.

Finally, the fact that the epicenter where monsters were currently rampaging was the Northern Lands under Duke Claude’s jurisdiction.

All of this led to one speculation about his purpose.

‘He must have been anxious as Shuel gained merit and rose up.’

However, he couldn’t move the army based on suspicion alone.

After repeatedly pressing and interrogating the devastated Empress, but seeing she knew nothing, Shurya and the Emperor left the underground prison where the Empress was confined without looking back.

The Emperor groaned while holding his forehead as if he had a headache, then spoke.

“It’s quite frustrating not being able to move when it’s obvious who will make the first move.”

The Emperor’s thoughts seemed to align with Shurya’s.

If they struck down Claude before he had even started anything, it would create unnecessary friction.

‘If we force him out, we’ll earn resentment and create bigger headaches. Considering how much popularity Claude gained at the frontline.’

While Prince Shuel and Duchess Chloe’s reputation wasn’t lacking either, it wasn’t enough to overwhelm Claude’s power. If the two forces clashed, it would become a drawn-out muddy battle.

However, the big problem was that they couldn’t just stand by and watch Claude, who was obviously going to rebel.

Shurya immediately thought of those who would enthusiastically support Shuel.

Almost all the nobles and royalty, as well as people from the Temple and Magic Tower, would support Shuel and Chloe.

Due to the Empress and Claude’s continuous interference, Shuel had failed to build meaningful connections except for Chloe, but fortunately, thanks to Chloe’s connections with the Magic Tower and the network she built through the salon, he could now stand against Claude.

Knowing that situation of being checked by the Empress, the Emperor must have forced Shuel to become engaged to the popular Chloe.

Of course, it wasn’t for Shuel’s sake but as a means to keep Chloe in check, but now it had become a divine move to preserve the Emperor’s own life.

Would Claude, who was trying to mercilessly kill even his relatively affectionate mother, leave alone the Emperor who had caused him pain and tested him after completing his purpose?

That would never happen.

The more she thought about it, the more Shurya found the Emperor’s survival tactics using his own sons truly despicable as she looked toward the Emperor.

His face was somewhat pale, as if he was just now realizing he could be killed by his own son.

‘Now that your own safety is threatened, you’re finally a bit afraid?’

In Shurya’s view, the Emperor was someone who would think it was fine as long as he didn’t die, even if Claude became Emperor and killed Shuel.

If Claude had no intention of rebelling and hadn’t abandoned the Empress, he would have ignored the problems given to Chloe and Shuel and remained comfortably as a bystander.

“This is quite a troublesome situation.”

Though the Emperor said this, Shurya’s desire to help this despicable Emperor who only cared about his own safety completely disappeared.

***

While recovering, Chloe decided to develop the emergency rations and wartime food menus that Shuel had mentioned.

She pictured 21st century combat rations in her mind.

They needed to be preservable for long periods and easy to carry. Also, excluding proteins that consume a lot of water during digestion, they should be made mainly with high-calorie ingredients.

“When it comes to calories, it’s chocolate. Has the time finally come to solidify chocolate?”

She had somehow found liquid chocolate, but there was still no technology to solidify liquid chocolate into solid form.

There were many other things to consider besides that.

If emergency rations were made as delicious as regular food, soldiers would eat all the emergency rations even when it wasn’t an emergency.

So emergency rations had to be high-calorie but taste absolutely terrible, so they could only be eaten in true ’emergencies.’

The problem here was that Chloe couldn’t even imagine what would be considered ‘tasteless’ food by the standards of people in this Luzhiere Empire.

Since gaining her past life’s memories, she had always found the Luzhiere Empire’s food tasteless, which ultimately led her to develop food herself.

Unable to gauge what would taste ‘bad’ by this world’s people’s standards, Chloe held her forehead and muttered to herself.

“This is the first time I’m worried about how to make something taste bad enough…”

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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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