The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 199

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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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Part 2, Chapter 46

* * *

Back at the Claudio Estate.

After the carriage departed again, Raju went to Catherine.

She was still apparently angry, tearing at her handkerchief until her fingers were wounded.

“Cat, what the hell is wrong with you?! Why do you keep picking on an innocent child? What did Virna do wrong?”

“You don’t know why I’m like this? I feel like I’m going crazy too!”

When even Raju, who had always protected her, scolded her, Catherine collapsed and burst into tears.

“I can’t stand it, sob-! I can’t bear it!”

“…”

“Those who made Samon like that are thriving, while our son is suffering so much!”

“You need to tell me clearly. I can only help you, Aunt, if it becomes certain that Brother Samon wasn’t targeting His Majesty.”

Poison flashed in Catherine’s bloodshot eyes as she recalled her memories.

“She did it knowingly. The explosion, Samon getting hurt, all of it was that bitch’s doing.”

Catherine bit her lips.

Recalling the bouquet that had been brought directly to the estate recently, and her niece’s mockery displayed with her whole body, her mind seemed to burn bright red.

Rip.

The handkerchief Catherine was holding tore to shreds.

An eerie voice that couldn’t be believed to belong to an elegant noblewoman sank to the floor.

“I can’t forgive her, absolutely not… for making my son like that…”

But Catherine’s reason already knew.

No matter how much she hated Medeia, there was nothing she could do now.

The half-hearted girl who had starved for affection had now become the one and only princess of a newborn empire.

But the beautiful Lady Claudio who had once controlled the kingdom’s social circles had fallen to become nothing more than a lowly commoner woman.

With her position having no title or power, the reality that revenge was impossible, let alone even approaching her, was simply miserable.

Her teeth ground together.

“Catherine, calm down. At this rate, your body will collapse first.”

Catherine, who had collapsed into Raju’s embrace, desperately reached out her hand.

To the only savior she could currently reach, and the person she could be certain would never abandon her.

“Get revenge on that bitch Medeia for me. Samon is so pitiful, Roby. Please, kill that bitch in my place. Please?”

Sharp nails gripped Raju’s forearm, leaving scratches.

But he seemed to feel no pain.

“No, Catherine.”

“…”

“Death would be too luxurious. That bitch needs to experience the same thing.”

Raju’s increasingly intense eyes grew even more excited, imagining something.

“Days where living doesn’t feel like living. That would be fair, wouldn’t it?”

Catherine hesitated at the sticky malice felt in his gloomy voice.

Mad eyes. Trembling voice. The sound of a pounding heartbeat.

Catherine lifted her head from his embrace.

This excitement wasn’t like the cunning and leisurely Raju. Somehow it felt like he wasn’t the man she knew.

Catherine became a little anxious.

“Roby, what did you do…”

“Don’t worry, my love. When have I ever disappointed you?”

He spoke confidently.

“I’ve already made my move. We just need to wait comfortably for the right time.”

For the wings of the soaring bird to break.

For the moment it plummets to the ground and breaks its neck.

“Y-you made your move? Then your recent trip to Kazen was…”

There had been other business besides finding a physician for Samon.

Raju nodded.

“I found a reliable partner.”

He gently patted the anxious Catherine’s shoulder. Until she relaxed and leaned against Raju’s body.

“An enemy who holds as deep a grudge against the Princess as we do.”

“…I hope that day comes as soon as possible.”

“Oh, it will come soon, I promise.”

The sinister malice emanating from the lovers had nowhere to go and lingered in the room for a while.

* * *

Two weeks ago, in an alley on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital of Kazen Empire.

In the shabby street, Raju adjusted his hat. He had come urgently to the Empire to find a Divine Healer to treat Samon’s injuries.

Wrapped in a black robe, he was dressed in plain clothes, unlike his usual sleek attire.

“Count, such a dirty and rough place… Why didn’t you come by carriage?”

He was moving without taking a carriage and with only one escort in these times.

Moreover, wasn’t this the slum that Raju usually detested?

“Shut your mouth. Did you forget there’s a spy on our side? I might be under surveillance too.”

Raju replied.

His eyes were sharp as he surveyed the surroundings without lowering his guard.

If there wasn’t an informant attached, how could they have discovered their plot to harm Valdina’s Emperor and instead drawn Samon in?

“The disappeared butler… How did that man approach us?”

Even now, the perfect spy’s track record with no suspicious points gave him chills.

If the explosion hadn’t occurred, if he hadn’t disappeared without a trace, Raju wouldn’t have even known the old butler was a spy.

‘This isn’t good. We’re being overwhelmed from the start.’

Repeated failures and despair. At some point, learned anger had sounded an alarm for him.

As a Valdinian establishing himself in the Kazen Empire, he had experienced long dark struggles.

Perhaps that’s why. Somehow he kept feeling like he was on top of a giant chessboard.

As if he was being moved around like a mere pawn by giant hands on a board where every move was predetermined…

If asked why, he couldn’t explain it precisely himself.

“Damn it. What a shitty place.”

Raju frowned.

In the narrow street where two people would bump shoulders passing by, dirty and ugly stench vibrated.

“This is the place.”

The subordinate who arrived in front of a small tavern at the alley entrance opened the wooden door.

Creeeeak.

The wooden door, blackened with grime, made a scream-like sound every time it moved due to loose hinges.

From inside wafted an unpleasant smell mixed with alcohol, food, and sweat.

“He’s not visible on the 1st floor.”

“Then let’s go to the 2nd floor.”

Raju, who had swept the crowd with contemptuous eyes, climbed the stairs.

“…There he is.”

He strode toward a secluded corner seat on the 2nd floor.

There sat a large man in dirty robes, drinking alcohol like water.

“Bring more, more!”

When the man shouted, the tavern owner stuck out his fat belly and frowned.

“This person really! Do you know how many bottles you’ve had without paying?”

“I said I’ll pay! Can’t you trust me? Don’t you trust this body?”

The man’s pronunciation was slurred as if heavily drunk.

His bloodshot eyes bulged out, making him look like a madman.

“These bastards, when this body waves his hand once, I could twist and tear off your necks, but I’m holding back-!”

He kicked the table leg and caused a disturbance.

“That bastard really-“

“Please excuse us for a moment.”

The innkeeper who was about to explode in anger immediately became as docile as a cowering mouse at the sight of the gold coin Raju offered.

“Just the cost of drinks that bastard has consumed is already- Ah, of course. The 2nd floor has no guests anyway, so please talk comfortably.”

Raju walked toward the man.

“Bring more alcohol- Oh my. Well, well, who do we have here. A face I know.”

The man who had been grabbing the neck of a dirty bottle and about to cause trouble stopped when he saw Raju. His bleary eyes gradually regained focus.

“It’s been a long time, General.”

Raju offered a courteous greeting.

The man hiding in a corner of Kazen’s outskirts, drunk.

He was none other than Jared.

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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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