The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 242

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

Part 2, Chapter 89

* * *

At that moment, Valdina Princess Palace.

Crash—!

The sharp sound of a breaking cup pierced their ears.

“What do you mean, evil dragon!”

Just like Chezare, who had heard the news faster than anyone through Facade’s ears in the Holy Kingdom, the Red Fox Clan had their headquarters in the Holy Kingdom.

Medeia had also gotten her hands on a rubbing of the oracle one step ahead, before the priests arrived in Valdina.

“Dea, you don’t need to worry about such nonsense. We’ll make the city walls thicker, so no one can invade…”

But the fact that Peleus was the one who had broken the cup just moments ago showed there was no sincerity in his words.

“Ah…”

An oracle.

Peleus unconsciously rubbed his gaunt face.

He who had been like iron and steel, never wavering even before countless enemies, now seemed about to be consumed by rising despair.

Yes, that strange unease that wouldn’t leave, and the nightmare of his young sister from that early dawn.

“Mother, Father, where’s Peleus? Please, don’t leave me behind. Take me with you too, please?”

Young Medeia, just the age she had been when he left for the battlefield, was crying in the flames.

He struggled desperately to run to his crying sister, but in the end she only grew distant, leaving only echoes.

“Medeia! No!”

In the end, Peleus woke from his sleep without being able to save young Medeia from the flames.

That devastation so vivid he could almost grasp it, that he never wanted to feel again,

perhaps it had all been a premonition of this very moment.

Unable to fall back asleep, Peleus had eventually come over to the Princess Palace to check on his sister.

It was then that he heard this news brought by Kensington.

“Dea. Don’t worry. You’re safe. Your brother will be by your side. I’ll protect you. No one can harm you. No one! Dea, you—”

Peleus still seemed to waver between nightmare and reality, losing his composure unlike himself.

“Your Majesty…”

Sisear too couldn’t suppress his complexity.

Because he could painfully understand why Peleus, who had always prioritized duty and responsibility over himself, had no choice but to lose his reason for the first time.

Sisear unconsciously clenched his hands and hid them under his sleeves. To hide the trembling of his pale fingertips.

“The evil dragon’s bride—that makes no sense. Isn’t that telling her to die!”

Diangel couldn’t hide his agitation even more than Peleus.

“Your Majesty! The moment they set foot in Valdina, I’ll cut them down. How dare they, these damn bastards…!”

Medeia gestured with her chin to restrain him as he was about to rush out with his sword.

Patting her brother’s arm, Medeia asked.

“…Is it really an oracle?”

Her calm expression, unbroken in composure, was no different from usual.

“Yes, Your Highness. Dozens of high priests witnessed it newly carved on the obelisk.”

If only Medeia, who had been maintaining her composure all along, hadn’t momentarily swayed and gripped the table with one hand.

“Dea!”

“Your Highness!”

Pushing away Peleus and Sisear as they approached, she steadied her breathing.

The moment she saw the oracle, everything went dark before her eyes.

[The Emperor shall become one with the Saint to restore the world’s order. This covenant cannot be defied, and those who deny the flow shall perish in mortal darkness.]

The moment she least wanted to remember, like a trauma, was coming again.

Moreover, this oracle wasn’t aimed at Jason, but at Medeia herself.

“The evil dragon’s bride…”

It was the evil dragon that Medeia had killed with Jason’s expedition in her past life.

Tendons stood out on Medeia’s hand gripping the table.

‘In the end. The world won’t leave me alone.’

She swallowed her breath.

After finishing her revenge on Claudio, Medeia’s next targets were Jason and Rachel.

But just as she was about to target Rachel, such an oracle came down.

Was this the Goddess’s will?

To protect her by eliminating me, who would be a threat to the Saint?

Medeia gritted her teeth.

“Kensington. How far has the oracle spread?”

“Since we received the news one step ahead, the temple has probably sent messengers to each nation by now to deliver the oracle.”

In a few days, a messenger would arrive in Valdina too.

In the silence where no one could easily speak, a heavy voice rang out.

“Diangel, go to the border. The Holy Kingdom’s messenger has never arrived on this land, nor will they.”

Peleus’s voice sounded not just cold but even sinister.

“That’s a messenger delivering an oracle. Peleus, don’t you know what it means to eliminate him?”

Reading her brother’s intentions, Medeia grabbed him.

“If it’s unavoidable, it’s better to watch the situation first. We can’t just refuse outright—”

“Dea, are you telling me to give you up?”

However, he didn’t turn away as usual and firmly blocked Medeia’s path.

Peleus instinctively knew.

“You’re going to sacrifice yourself for this country? Just like you’ve always done?”

This was none other than an oracle.

If they dithered, bound by the custom that it was God’s absolute command, they would end up offering his only sister to the evil dragon without a chance to act.

Peleus’s strong jaw clenched tight.

Unconsciously, his hand fumbled at his waist. It was where he had worn his great sword on the battlefield.

‘Even if it means returning once more to that arduous battlefield.’

He would not back down.

“I am the Emperor of this country. I’ll make the judgment. Valdina can never accept the oracle.”

His blue eyes showed no wavering.

“Dea, you return to the palace. Leave this matter to your brother.”

“…Peleus.”

“I said go back!”

He was determined not to listen to his beloved sister’s words, at least in this matter.

Peleus ordered Neryl and Kensington to escort Medeia and sent her out of the audience chamber.

“…”

Medeia, who had returned to the Princess Palace as if driven out, clenched her fingertips.

The feeling of being thrown into a maze with no exit wasn’t new to her.

This suffocating feeling of being blocked on all sides, tied up tightly with ropes so she couldn’t move, was familiar too.

“Your Highness. This is not the time to stay like this.”

Then, Kensington, who had been hesitating briefly, whispered to Medeia.

“Emperor Kazen’s spy who was at the Central Temple also secretly delivered this news to the Emperor.”

“…”

“Upon hearing the news, he immediately sought out a special envoy and border guard commander to send to Valdina.”

Medeia paused.

“I think he’s trying to demand territory in exchange for supporting Your Highness… Your Highness?”

Kensington suddenly stopped at the bright blue gleam that flashed in the Princess’s eyes. The pale blue light burning fiercely looked almost like anger.

“He’s not seeking territory.”

Medeia clenched her fist tight.

She immediately realized what the Emperor was aiming for.

“He needs the Philosopher’s Stone. He said if Uncle brings it, he’ll keep his promise. He said he’d hand over the throne.”

The Philosopher’s Stone, the national treasure that protected Valdina’s territory.

‘In my past life, the Emperor broke the Philosopher’s Stone I stole and buried it at Kazen’s border.’

Perdickas II had not yet given up on the Philosopher’s Stone.

He would demand the Philosopher’s Stone under the pretext of supporting Valdina, who refused the divine oracle.

Peleus would try to protect Medeia with the help of the Kazen Empire, even if it meant giving up the national treasure.

Her green eyes wavered for a moment. Then they settled deeply.

‘Valdina, having lost the Philosopher’s Stone, will repeat the same history again.’

She absolutely could not let that happen.

Medeia let out a hollow laugh.

‘There are times when I should be grateful to you.’

Ironically, her anger toward the Emperor of Kazen swept away fragments of her past life and made Medeia’s mind clear.

‘Right, what would be different?’

Whether in this life or the previous one, nothing had changed – it was still full of wolves ready to tear flesh the moment she let her guard down.

She must not let worn emotions rob her of reason.

Now was a time that required more clear-headed judgment than ever.

‘I need to step back and see the whole picture.’

Only then could she overcome this situation without being swept away.

Her eyes flashed brilliantly blue.

Medeia looked down at the oracle.

“Your Majesty. I will serve you and help you escape. There are Red Foxes throughout the entire continent. They will not be able to find us.”

Her attendants also could not hide their sharp reactions. They were on high alert like wild beasts protecting their young.

“Escape…”

That was not a solution.

She could not burden everyone with the dishonor of turning away from the oracle and keep running forever.

Medeia raised her head.

No trace of fear toward the oracle could be found on her face.

Her green eyes burned like an unquenchable flame.

On her pale white face shone a quiet will that would never be broken.

If the Goddess truly intended to stop her from targeting Rachel.

‘If it is your will to drive me to death even in this second life.’

I will refuse.

Even if you put a noose around my neck and drag me into fate, I will struggle and fight desperately until my last breath.

“Bring me a map.”

Even if the gods and the world would not permit her revenge, Medeia would not give up.

“I will not run away.”

Swoosh—!

A map of the entire continent unfolded before Medeia’s eyes.

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