The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 135

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

Chapter 135

 

Conversations with the Princess were always like this.

 

The moment you let your guard down even slightly, she would strike like a sharp sword thrust to your throat.

 

“….”

 

“Kensington, you are the only person I have invested so much effort in.”

 

“I am deeply grateful that you would treat such a humble person with such favor. However, my answer remains unchanged.”

 

This was Kensington’s answer after long deliberation.

 

“I will not dare hide that I have been captivated by Your Highness’s wit and spirit. If I were not a citizen of Kazen, I would surely have devoted my loyalty to Your Highness.”

 

She wondered where the Princess’s vision reached, how far she could see. She was curious. She even wanted to stay by her side and witness it herself.

 

If she had been the young and vibrant Luiza, she would not have hesitated.

 

But she was now a middle-aged woman who had to bear the heavy surname of Kensington rather than her given name.

 

At her age, it was right to suppress the unpredictable passion rising in her chest rather than follow it.

 

“In my not-so-short years, there have been many attempts to win me over, but Your Highness is the first of your kind.”

 

In gratitude for the sincerity the Princess had shown her, Kensington bowed deeply.

 

As of today, excluding her lord Perdickas II, the Princess of Valdina was the only person before whom Kensington had knelt.

 

“However, I am rather old-fashioned, so I do not wish to become a turncoat who breaks the loyalty I swore to His Majesty.”

 

As if she had expected Kensington’s refusal, the Princess’s expression remained unchanged. She simply asked in return.

 

“Even if you die by the Emperor’s hand, would that loyalty still be valid?”

 

“That will not happen. His Majesty may cut off hands, but he is not one to discard a sharp sword with his own hands.”

 

When Kensington spoke with certainty, Medeia silently handed her something. It was a cloth pouch containing several small, smooth stones.

 

“The mountain goats living in the Asilip Mountains are exposed to poisonous plants from birth as they grow. That’s why their bezoars are mainly used as antidotes.”

 

Kensington was also familiar with Asilip mountain goat bezoars. The Asilip Mountains were also famous on the continent for producing aconite.

 

And aconite was the poison commonly used by the Kazen Imperial Family to eliminate political enemies.

 

“Nothing in this world is eternal. I realized that far too late.”

 

The seventeen-year-old Princess spoke like an old person facing death and reflecting on life.

 

“….”

 

“I give this out of concern, so take it. If nothing happens, just keep it as a memento for the future.”

 

Kensington, who had been about to return the pouch, let out a short sigh at Medeia’s words.

 

“Yes, I too will long remember Your Highness and this country.”

 

The farewell, so unlike her usual manner, left a bitter aftertaste.

 

King Peleus had won the 10-year war and finally gained control of the plains.

 

Valdina and Kazen would now find it difficult to return to their former friendly relations.

 

The Emperor would be even more wary of Valdina, and Kensington, as his subject, would have to follow his will.

 

After leaving Valdina, the next time she saw this Princess, they might be enemies.

 

“I too will miss this. Do not forget that Valdina’s doors are always open.”

 

Kensington could not understand the source of the rising bitterness.

 

‘Stop here. I must not dig deeper. I must not forget that my master is the Emperor of Kazen.’

 

She pushed the passing thoughts back down into her subconscious.

 

* * *

 

In the end, Joaquin Claudio’s ambitious coup gained nothing and ended disgracefully.

 

The retainers of the Regent’s faction, including the Claudio ducal family, were strung together like sausages and imprisoned.

 

His retainers had taken surrounding nobles hostage and pressured Medeia to abdicate, leaving no room for reconsideration.

 

It was time for those who had squandered and corrupted the royal family and country to pay the price.

 

Voices were high calling for the roots of seditious elements to be pulled up at this opportunity.

 

“Go in! Search everything. Don’t let even a single rat slip by carelessly.”

 

The Agema stormed into the Claudio ducal residence.

 

Thanks to the retainers voluntarily confessing about the Regent with their own mouths, the investigation into treason proceeded quite smoothly.

 

The life of Valdina’s once unparalleled power holder, who could make even flying birds fall, ended like this.

 

The position of Regent was cast down to the ground, and the ducal family’s assets were confiscated.

 

The Agema had long since visited the hideouts where he had hidden his slush funds.

 

The person most eager to uncover the Regent’s wealth was Chancellor Sisear.

 

“The Regent’s personal accumulated assets are greater than the current treasury of the Valdina Royal Family. What a truly remarkable man.”

 

Sparks flew brightly in the eyes visible behind his monocle. He didn’t miss a single coin that had passed through the Claudio ducal family.

 

Claudio’s honor and wealth were all stripped away and exposed. Next came his status.

 

“From today, Joaquin Claudio and his descendants are deleted from the royal genealogy.”

 

Now he had become a clear commoner, Joaquin Claudio.

 

The pride of this thorough classist who had looked down on everyone from his position as royalty was shattered into pieces, leaving not even dust.

 

The damp prison, the dark cell where no light entered.

 

It was the same prison that had once horrified Minister Etienne.

 

The dark, damp, and filthy place was enough to drive mad the people of the ducal family who had lived their entire lives wearing, eating, and staying in only the finest things.

 

Joaquin still could not accept his failure.

 

One eye was already beyond recovery.

 

Not only was there no physician to visit him in prison, but time had already passed with the fragments deeply embedded.

 

He brooded with dark eyes.

 

‘From where, what went wrong?’

 

His thoughts continued in an endless chain.

 

From where had his once-perfect future gone awry?

 

And he finally found the answer.

 

‘It was from when Medeia woke up from her fall… that’s when it started.’

 

Head Maid Quizin, who had confronted Medeia, fell, and his mother the Queen Mother turned her back on him.

 

And when Minister Etienne died, Joaquin lost control of the palace.

 

The Kazen delegation fell for Medeia’s provocation, and the hunting competition also put the ducal family in all sorts of predicaments due to Medeia’s disappearance.

 

And even when his impatience led him to advance the timing of the coup…

 

At every moment his plans foundered, there was the Princess, his own niece.

 

“I should have killed that bitch right away!”

 

Just as Etienne once had, a desperate scream echoed through the dark prison.

 

Unable to accept his downfall, Joaquin’s hair had turned completely white in just a few nights.

 

His face was full of wrinkles, and even those had hardened in a twisted expression, making him hideous to look at.

 

The appearance of the middle-aged handsome man who had seemed to defy time was no longer recognizable.

 

Crack, crack. He bit his nails while muttering Medeia’s name with bloodshot eyes.

 

Samon glanced sideways at his father, who seemed half-mad.

 

His father’s inability to accept the fall was both pathetic and somewhat understandable.

 

Because he too had not yet given up. No, he could not give up.

 

“Aaaah! Aaaaah!”

 

The narrow, cramped cell across from where the Claudio father and son were imprisoned was more chaotic and noisy.

 

Because Catherine and Virna were there.

 

Especially for the mother and daughter who had been surrounded by only beautiful and pretty things their entire lives, this prison was far too harsh.

 

“Agh, it’s filthy! I feel like I’m dying! Let me out! Why should I be here instead of that bitch Medeia?! I’m going to kill her, tear her to shreds!”

 

Virna screamed ear-piercingly, not caring that the wounds on her back were reopening.

 

Catherine held her while continuously shedding tears.

 

On the day the rebellion was suppressed, Duke Claudio and his wife and the Count were immediately transported to prison.

 

But Virna, who had been abandoned outside the city walls, was only discovered after a considerable amount of time had passed.

 

And even that was not to rescue her, but to arrest her as the Regent’s daughter.

 

“Agh! Virna! My daughter, my baby!”

 

Catherine screamed upon seeing the deep wounds remaining on Virna’s back.

 

How much effort had she put into raising her with beautiful, white skin without a single blemish or scar!

 

Every time she saw the long, bright red marks on her daughter’s back, she felt pain as if she herself had been cut by a knife.

 

“Even if they are criminals, you should call a physician! You vulgar beasts have no manners!”

 

At the ear-splitting shouts bursting through the bars, the guard spat.

 

“Listen here, Duchess. Manners are kept for people, not for beasts.”

 

Although the rebellion was successfully suppressed, it wasn’t without any sacrifices.

 

“Among the soldiers on the city walls that you killed while threatening Her Highness the Princess, there was a friend of mine.”

 

Catherine bit her lip and shrank her shoulders under the venomous gaze of the guard.

 

‘How did we end up being treated worse than vermin…’

 

Her beautiful eyes mixed with unresolved resentment and subtle helplessness.

 

The past few days had been enough time to feel the reality of the fallen ducal house with her own skin.

 

However, they say there is hope in any situation.

 

“Cath…! Duchess, Virna! Are you alright?”

 

Even though House Claudio had fallen into the gutter overnight, there were still those who remained to save them.

 

The one who secretly visited the prison was Count Raju.

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