The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 144

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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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Chapter 144

 

The Emperor, as if he had expected his inability to answer, generously patted Jason’s shoulder.

 

“However, do not worry. I do not abandon blood relatives. Would I really let my nephew, you, wander without a home?”

 

“….”

 

“I shall grant you Armandi in the north. Fortunately, the Northern Marquis has also generously agreed to this.”

 

Perdickas II wore the face of a warm family member who worried about his nephew’s situation and bestowed boundless goodwill.

 

However, what he actually handed over was garbage.

 

Armandi was a massive territory close to half of northern Kazen, one of the largest within the Empire, but it was also abandoned land.

 

Because it was a region where monster waves frequently occurred, far from prospering, it couldn’t even function properly as a territory.

 

‘Moreover, the Northern Marquis is Uncle’s confidant. Isn’t he saying he’ll keep me under his surveillance!’

 

Jason’s eyes glanced at the Emperor.

 

For a moment, rage toward his uncle, toward Perdickas II, boiled up.

 

That Imperial Throne, this Imperial Palace – everything had been his.

 

He hated this uncle who, after stealing it all, showed no remorse and even tried to reclaim what Jason had barely managed to protect.

 

“Why do you not answer? Do you still have lingering attachment to Castulo Province?”

 

But Perdickas II was no pushover either.

 

The eyes looking at Jason gleamed with madness, but were simultaneously sharp as a blade.

 

“Perhaps there were some treasures hidden in the territory?”

 

Those were also the stern eyes of a ruler who had guarded this Imperial Throne for decades, having seized it from his nephew despite countless opposition.

 

‘Uncle is wary of me.’

 

Jason swallowed. He had read the Emperor’s intentions.

 

Perdickas II was using this opportunity to cut off Jason’s limbs and completely uproot the remaining forces that supported him from the shadows.

 

When he discovered that vivid killing intent, Jason bowed with the feeling of cutting off his own arm.

 

“No. There’s no way… Uncle. I will obey your command.”

 

If I raise my head, it will be cut off. If I straighten my body, I die. Endure it. Bear it. I cannot be caught here.

 

“I repeatedly apologize for the sin of bringing shame to Your Majesty and Kazen’s prestige.”

 

Jason answered calmly and gently as if nothing had happened.

 

No matter how much he wanted to scream madly, he retained enough composure not to immediately reveal his weaknesses in this place.

 

The Emperor’s eyes watching his nephew, who suppressed his emotions again and apologized respectfully, were only cold.

 

‘Cunning snake-like bastard.’

 

He too knew that Jason had tried to scheme something through Valdina.

 

“Your nephew will now withdraw. Uncle, please attend to state affairs in comfort.”

 

Jason bit his lips as he left the office.

 

In an instant, he had lost fertile territory and gained barren land as his so-called domain.

 

Step by step. Hiding his trembling fists under his sleeves, Jason walked through the Imperial Palace corridors.

 

“We greet Prince Castulo.”

 

“We greet Your Grace.”

 

The servants bowed as they saw Jason walking by. Jason nodded with an unchangingly benevolent smile.

 

He passed through corridors and past windows.

 

And when he was finally alone, the smile on his face disappeared like a lie.

 

Crash!

 

Jason’s fist shattered the mirror.

 

Blood seeped between the shattered glass pieces. Without even feeling pain, Jason raised his head.

 

The young man reflected in the mirror fragments repeated with angry eyes.

 

“I will definitely rise again. Definitely, I will not fall like this.”

 

As if God opposed him, everything he possessed was taken away one by one, forcing his fingers open.

 

“Even if God blocks my path, I will not stop. Jason. Jason….”

 

He repeatedly called his own name.

 

“I am not some mere Castulo. As the true master of Kazen, of this land, I will walk my path.”

 

It was a word-spell close to an oath.

 

Just voicing it outwardly helped Jason pull himself together and prevented him from collapsing.

 

Someday there would come a time when he would sit on the Imperial Throne and reminisce about today’s hardships. He repeated this endlessly.

 

However, Jason failed to realize that the entity stealing from his grasp one by one might not be God.

 

Because he never dreamed of the possibility that someone could hate him enough to defy God.

 

* * *

 

The Emperor’s office.

 

In the place where Jason had withdrawn, cold silence lingered.

 

Only three people remained in the room: the Emperor, the Head Servant, and Kensington.

 

“Tsk, if not for people’s eyes, I would have killed him to rid myself of worry. His lifeline is so tenacious that even when I send assassins, he survives every time.”

 

Perdickas II clicked his tongue while looking at where Jason had departed. His dark red tongue flickering in and out made him look like he was savoring something.

 

“There is one proper thing among those Valdina bastards’ demands.”

 

He raised the corners of his mouth. As his pupils, larger than the whites, gleamed blackly, his madness became more pronounced.

 

With that excuse, he had been able to seize Castulo Province, which he had been coveting from Jason.

 

Thinking that far, giving Valdina the Elamuze Strait wasn’t entirely a losing deal.

 

“Yes. Thanks to this, the traces of our secret dealings with the Regent can also be buried under those of Duke Castulo. This is certainly a gain, Your Majesty.”

 

The Head Servant chimed in.

 

“When Duke Castulo’s territory is recovered, new winds will blow in the Imperial Capital as well. Imperial authority will also be strengthened.”

 

It would serve as a small warning to the neutral and conservative factions who still remembered the Former Emperor.

 

At the Head Servant’s words, Perdickas II looked down at the map thoughtfully as if pondering something.

 

“Speaking of which, it would be good to recover Romagna and Alphanon as well while we’re at it.”

 

The Head Servant hesitated for a moment.

 

Kensington, who had been standing still on the red carpet, also doubted his ears.

 

“You mean… the 1st Prince’s territories?”

 

The Head Servant asked back. Having spent his entire life in the Imperial Court, this was certainly not a question asked from ignorance of the territories’ owner.

 

Romagna was a place the Former Empress’s faction had bequeathed to young Chezare to protect him, and Alphanon was a meritorious territory Chezare had earned through victory in the continental war.

 

They could be called the source of the 1st Prince’s power, where the old faction that traditionally supported him and the new faction charmed by Chezare’s personal abilities had coalesced respectively.

 

Even after Chezare received his terminal diagnosis, his forces had steadfastly endured pressure from all sides and maintained their presence in the Imperial Capital.

 

But if the Emperor now recovered both territories, the 1st Prince’s faction would no longer be able to hold out.

 

They would have no choice but to collapse as unsightly as Jason.

 

“Yes, after Chezare dies, hyenas targeting his power will cause bloodshed in the Imperial Capital. Rather than let it be torn apart beyond recognition, it’s right for me to take it intact beforehand and utilize it. Yes, indeed.”

 

Perdickas II, who couldn’t be unaware of this, was coveting even his dying son’s last breath.

 

Kensington, who had been silently listening, couldn’t hold back and spoke up.

 

If the 1st Prince lying in his sickbed heard this news, he might cough up blood and die on the spot.

 

“Your Majesty, since the 1st Prince’s health is poor, he won’t be able to endure long with a heartbroken spirit. Since Romagna and Alphanon are matters Your Majesty will handle after the 1st Prince’s death anyway, even if you take more time and proceed slowly-”

 

“That child has no hope anyway. So what problem would there be if I advance the timing a little?”

 

“….”

 

Both the Head Servant and Kensington were at a loss for words.

 

Jason’s situation from moments ago seemed better in comparison. At least he wasn’t the Emperor’s political enemy.

 

He wasn’t even a blood-related son, nor had he ever brought countless merits to the Emperor.

 

But the 1st Prince Chezare….

 

“Would this be for my personal benefit? It’s all for the Empire. The Empire is strong only when I am strong, and if I fall, this country falls with me.”

 

“….”

 

“Chezare would understand. That I only worry about and wish for this Empire’s survival!”

 

Perhaps knowing his excuse was feeble even to himself, the Emperor stopped rationalizing and soon exploded.

 

“My son’s possessions are rightfully mine as well. What is wrong with that! The 1st Prince’s blood and flesh were all given by me!”

 

Feeling dizzy for a moment, Kensington briefly closed his eyes and tried to calm his racing heart.

 

His master felt terribly unfamiliar.

 

It felt like witnessing the true heart of the human he had served loyalty to, behind a veil that had been invisible.

 

‘Though he had ambition, he wasn’t this ruthless before. Did the lofty power of that Imperial Throne change Your Majesty like this?’

 

“Your Majesty, the attention the 1st Prince receives has long surpassed that of Duke Castulo. Since public attention is focused on him, I humbly suggest you display Your Majesty’s magnanimity.”

 

Nevertheless, she advised him solely for his sake.

 

“Kensington. Is your defiance against me for the Empire’s sake, or for the First Prince’s sake?”

 

The Emperor’s paranoid gaze turned toward Kensington. A meaningful question. Kensington was startled and bowed her waist.

 

“How could that be! My master is only His Majesty the Emperor, just one person.”

 

The Emperor’s fingers impatiently drummed his sleeve. It seemed he was no longer listening to her words.

 

“Tsk, let’s drop the pretty words at this point and be honest with each other, Kensington. You disappointed me several times during this trip to Valdina. Am I wrong?”

 

“….”

 

“It was full of things unlike you. How could you handle matters so carelessly?”

 

“I am ashamed, Your Majesty. If you punish me, I will accept it gladly.”

 

Kensington answered respectfully.

 

“I told you to remove the pillars so Valdina would completely collapse. But instead, you came back having given them wings on their backs.”

 

The Emperor sternly scolded Kensington.

 

He didn’t hide his displeased expression at Kensington, who kept her head held high.

 

Even though he knew that none of this incident, nor the Princess’s duel, was Kensington’s fault.

 

“Moreover, you even refused my imperial command and settled down in Valdina Palace. Perhaps another master caught your eye? Even when Valdina suppressed the rebellion, you remained inside the palace, didn’t you?”

 

At the Emperor’s repeated suspicions, Kensington quickly rose and prostrated herself flat. A cold teacup spilled over onto the table.

 

In truth, Kensington had instinctively realized from the moment she entered the Emperor’s office that her treatment had changed.

 

‘His Majesty always met with me privately.’

 

Whether it was Jason or an attendant, he never met with anyone else present.

 

The Emperor had already been suspicious of her.

 

“No. How could I serve two masters while having Your Majesty?”

 

“I’m disappointed.”

 

“I was negligent. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Please trust in my loyalty. From beginning to end, I have never harbored even the slightest other thought-”

 

Kensington, who had been speaking, stopped short. Red blood was dripping in front of her.

 

She raised her head. Her eyes showed disbelief.

 

She met eyes with the merciless Emperor looking down at her.

 

“Your, Your Majesty….”

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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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