The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 115

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

Chapter 115

Ch 7.

Southeast of Valdina Palace, Ashpalo Fortress.

It was a city located about a fortnight’s ride on horseback from the royal palace. 

Anyone heading to the royal palace had to pass through this fortress.

“Stand in line properly.”

“Hey, you there! No cutting in line!”

A long line stretched in front of the castle gate. 

Particularly this time, there were unusually many merchants departing with their carts fully loaded with goods.

“Where’s your travel permit?”

At the gatekeeper’s words, a hooded merchant pulled out a paper from his chest. 

The gatekeeper who received the travel permit soon tilted his head in confusion.

“Eh? This seal is fake.”

Other gatekeepers gathered around at the commotion.

“Look at this. Do we look like fools to you? A lord’s seal stamped two months ago couldn’t be this clear- Gack!”

Before he could finish speaking, a gleaming blade came slashing down.

Simultaneously, the merchants threw off their clothes and revealed their true identities. 

“Sweep them all away!”

They drew their swords and charged at the guards who came running toward them.

“It’s a rebellion! A rebellion has broken out! Quickly inform the higher-ups!”

The gatekeeper shouted while beating the drum.

* * *

Valdina Palace.

A sharp and solemn atmosphere pervaded the hall where silence flowed. 

“Wh-what is all this supposed to mean? This is pure speculation!”

A gathering where the Queen Mother, Medeia, the ministers, and even Kazen’s delegation were all assembled.

In the center surrounded by the crowd stood Jason. 

He had lost all the composure he prided himself on, appearing flustered and shocked.

“You’re saying I released the wolf pack? Just how did you conduct your investigation to frame an innocent person!”

Recently, the knights who had completed their investigation of the royal hunting grounds returned and pointed to an unbelievable culprit – Duke Jason Castulo of Kazen. 

Sisear gazed coldly at the area behind Jason. 

Then a royal knight who received the signal dragged forward a certain man.

A middle-aged man dressed in imperial attire fell to his knees with a thud and bowed his head.

“P-please, spare my life. I’m only guilty of doing as His Grace commanded.”

“What nonsense! I don’t even know you!”

The man with sparse white hair raised his head to stare at Jason. With the same look of disbelief and shock on his face.

“What do you mean? You clearly gave me orders. Under His Grace’s command, I went through such hardship smuggling those vicious beasts from the Axel Peninsula all the way to Valdina, and now you’re pretending not to know me?”

“What ridiculous- that wasn’t me, it was-!”

Jason looked at the 4th Princess with a pale face. 

“Jason, to commit such a cruel act. What on earth were you thinking?”

Angelique instead questioned him with an innocent face as if interrogating him.

“Did you want the Princess of Valdina to die and for our two countries to become enemies? Or did you want to put me, the delegation leader, in a difficult position?”

Jason’s complexion turned livid. He glared at the witness as if he would kill him and threatened ominously.

“You bastard! You know the real culprit isn’t me, yet you’re not even afraid of divine punishment.”

Then Sisear asked. 

“It seems Your Grace knows who the real culprit is. Then please tell us here and now. The knights are ready right now.”

“…That is…”

At that moment, the 4th Princess stepped forward and silenced him. 

“When the evidence is this clear, what reversal could there be from further denial? The more you deny it, the more you’ll only tarnish Kazen’s honor.”

She had long since regarded Jason as an enemy.

“Look at what my brother did to the Princess of Valdina.”

The dozens of papers she presented were filled with fabricated evidence.

‘Jason, how dare you toy with me. No matter what it takes, things will never go as you wish.’

Only then could Jason guess the whole story.

All the evidence she presented was what he had hidden away to use as leverage against the 4th Princess. 

Jason had no idea that Medeia had intervened midway to turn Angelique’s arrow toward him.

So he only thought this false accusation was Angelique’s retaliation after discovering his scheme. 

‘Damn it, so that’s where the evidence disappeared to! Where was I found out? How did Angelique find out?’ 

If he still had the evidence it would be different, but without any proof now, rashly revealing that the 4th Princess was the culprit was too dangerous.

The hot-tempered and vicious 4th Princess was by no means an easy opponent. 

Originally, he had no chance in a direct confrontation, which was why he had been watching from behind, looking for an opportunity to bring down the Princess. 

Jason, who faced the 4th Princess’s trap without any preparation, could never be a match for her. 

“Count Kensington, you know, don’t you? That it wasn’t me!”

Jason frantically looked around and spotted Count Kensington standing nearby, pleading for help. 

Kensington only stared at him silently with an expressionless face.

‘Regardless of the 4th Princess’s pathetic behavior, it’s better for the Duke to fall here. His ambitions will only bring chaos to Kazen.’

An unofficial imperial command to return to the homeland had already been issued, yet the Duke’s refusal to leave meant he still had something to gain in Valdina.

On one hand, he couldn’t hide his admiration and shock. Kensington’s eyes glanced toward Medeia. 

‘Was the Princess of Valdina targeting all three of them as I thought?’

Meanwhile, when even Count Kensington, whom he had trusted, turned away, Jason was going mad. 

It was difficult to escape this enormous trap that bound him, and none of Kazen’s delegation would stand up for him.

“Duke Castulo, how incredibly thick-skinned you are! How do you still have the face to look at His Majesty?”

At Count Montega’s furious rebuke, Jason unconsciously stared at Medeia.

‘Could it be that the Princess believes it too? That I tried to harm her? Is that why she’s been pushing me away so coldly all this time?’

“N-no, Princess. It’s a lie.”

Desperation to assert his innocence filled his flushed face. 

He had truly tried to protect her. 

He had risked danger and prepared to rescue the Princess from the wolves, and even after that, he had searched for her desperately.

Even if the initial button had been fastened wrong, Jason hoped that at least she would recognize his efforts. 

“No, Princess. You don’t believe it, do you? That I would ever try to harm you…”

Jason looked at Medeia with earnest eyes. 

‘If only the Princess believes my words. Then there’s still a chance.’

But Medeia only looked down at him quietly, as if crushing his hopes. No emotion could be read in those eyes. Jason was flustered.

“Duke Castulo, you’re poor at lying.”

Was that still calm voice disappointed? Angry? He couldn’t be sure.

He only realized that an even thicker wall had been erected over that curtain-like barrier.

‘Am I to be pushed away like this without ever reaching that woman?’

Medeia, that Princess’s existence seemed to slip away through his fingers like sand. 

Meanwhile, the Queen Mother didn’t hide her displeased gaze. 

‘So it was the Duke’s doing, not the 4th Princess’s. I completely misjudged my person.’

The Duke had stood up for Medeia both in the previous duel and at the hunting grounds. 

Except for being from Kazen, she had thought his character was righteous and upright. For a moment, she had even considered him a good match for Medeia. 

‘To think I didn’t notice with an even greater beast right before my eyes.’

As she brushed her chest, anger rose proportionally. 

How could all the Kazens be so cunning without exception?

The gazes of the other Valdinians were no different from the Queen Mother’s.

“They say you can’t know what’s in a person’s heart without cutting open their belly. Pretending to be righteous at every turn, pretending to care, spouting hypocrisy while targeting His Majesty!”

“Castulo, that sinister cruelty must take after his father’s! He is Valdina’s enemy!”

Jason had essentially exposed his true nature.

Realizing the suddenly changed atmosphere, Jason’s heart grew urgent. 

“I-I can explain everything. This is a scheme by those who wish to frame me. The wise Queen Mother of Valdina—”

“Duke Castulo.”

At that moment, a heavy resonance rang out, as if suppressing anger with effort.

“This old woman has eyes and ears too, so there’s no need for explanations.”

The Queen Mother spoke coldly and turned her back.

“I won’t speak at length. From today onwards, I hope never to see the Duke again.”

The Queen Mother had no intention of listening to any more greasy excuses as slick as Jason’s oily face.

If she could, she would want to strike that wretch with a whip right now, but her opponent was a Duke of Kazen.

No matter how much of a Queen Mother she was, she couldn’t invite greater trouble just to vent her anger.

“Leave Valdina. This royal palace is cramped—not spacious enough to accommodate even the wolves that target my back.”

“Your Majesty the Queen Mother!”

Jason, who had been desperately making excuses, stopped as if struck by lightning. To drive him out so abruptly, like chasing away a stray dog rolling in the streets?!

“I will file a formal protest with the Empire, Duke Castulo. Regardless of Her Majesty the Queen Mother’s command, you will be held responsible for this incident.”

Sisear spoke to Jason in a dry voice.

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