The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 284

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

Part 2, Chapter 131

“Why, why do I have to be dragged there?! No! I did nothing wrong! You’ve been deceived! You’re the ones who’ve been deceived!”

A long, piercing scream echoed through the dark prison.

Persepolis, the holy capital of Kazen.

The clear sky shone brightly above the cathedral’s spire.

Unlike usual, the cathedral doors were thrown wide open, revealing the large crowd gathered in the streets outside.

They were all citizens who had come to watch the 1st Prince’s coronation ceremony.

The nobles were no different.

So many nobles had taken seats that they filled the cathedral to capacity.

There was no telling how much power and connections the prominent nobles had used to secure a view of the coronation.

“Today we’ll finally see her, that famous Princess of Valdina.”

One elaborately dressed noble lady snapped open her peacock feather fan with a sharp sound.

“A woman who was designated as the evil dragon’s bride in the oracle, then simply eliminated the evil dragon altogether—who knows how ruthless she must be.”

“When her own brother the Emperor dotes on her so much, imagine how haughty she must be.”

“Even so, Valdina has only just begun to grow in power—how could it compare to our great Kazen? She’ll be quite shabby.”

The lady fanned herself more vigorously.

The opal-tinted peacock feathers swayed dynamically with her energetic hand movements.

“Besides, didn’t that Princess receive no proper education when she was young? What good does it do for her brother to dote on her so? If she can’t match Kazen’s refinement, it’s all for nothing. Hmph.”

The noble lady snorted. She was Countess Delgano, sister-in-law to the Dowager Empress.

“That dirty Claudio blood must flow in her veins too—where would the nature of those petty people go? The Princess will be just the same. Don’t you think so, Your Majesty the Dowager Empress?”

The noble ladies’ gazes turned to the beautiful woman sitting beside Countess Delgano.

The woman sitting in a dignified posture was Kazen’s Dowager Empress. Despite being of similar age, the Dowager Empress looked almost like the Countess’s daughter.

“Letting those vermin live was my eternal regret.”

A venomous voice flowed out low, ill-suited to her beautiful face.

“Of course. Even though Your Majesty bestowed special favors upon that man’s mother and daughter, they were ungrateful wretches who fled to Valdina without knowing that kindness.”

“What about Her Majesty’s heart, beautiful as silk? If it were me, even cutting off those pathetic creatures’ heads wouldn’t have cooled my anger.”

The noble lady beside her made a disgusted expression.

Previously, Samon Claudio, who was from a branch of Valdina’s royal family, had fled to Kazen with his family through marriage to Princess Angelique.

And he had tried to settle in Kazen by any means necessary.

The method he chose was groveling to the haughty and arrogant Kazen nobles. Count Roberto Laju, a Valdinian-born noble who had already established roots in Kazen, had done the same.

Therefore, the Kazens believed the Princess of Valdina would be no different.

Just then, the Queen Mother entered.

“Your Majesty the Queen Mother! Please, come this way!”

Making their earlier chatter around the Dowager Empress seem meaningless, the noble ladies brightened and flocked to the Queen Mother like clouds.

“On such an auspicious day as today, Your Majesty’s presence graces us and elevates the dignity of the coronation ceremony even higher.”

“The 3rd Prince’s distinguished bearing stands out particularly because Your Majesty is present. Seeing mother and son’s refinement side by side, we cannot help but feel honored.”

“Today’s coronation is for the 1st Prince and his wife, so it’s not the place to discuss my son and me.”

The Queen Mother replied coldly as usual.

Then she slowly took her seat without even glancing at them.

“…!”

The Dowager Empress, who had instantly lost attention, quietly clenched her handkerchief.

She was superior in beauty and monopolized the Emperor’s favor.

Even so, people were desperate to curry favor with that Queen Mother.

The Dowager Empress knew the reason all too well.

Even though Princess Angelique had been sent to exile several years ago, the Emperor still had not recalled her.

People took this as a signal.

‘Princess Angelique has long since fallen from His Majesty’s heart. And the remaining 1st Prince is…’

The 1st Prince’s nature was not just cold but merciless.

‘He killed even the loyal retainers who raised him without hesitation—how could we be an exception?’

He was a cruel man who would repay even old grudges and eliminate his enemies’ bloodlines.

Far from being swayed by their petty flattery, he was someone who would smile while cutting off their hands and feet.

‘His Majesty abhors him so much that he would never make him Crown Prince.’

Then among the Emperor’s children remaining in Kazen, the one closest to the Crown Prince position was…

‘Only the Queen Mother’s son, the 3rd Prince!’

Moreover, rather than joining the already solidly established 1st Prince faction,

supporting the 3rd Prince faction, which was still struggling against him, would better increase one’s own value.

Avoiding danger while gaining profit was the instinct of those who pursued power.

Thus, Kazen nobles were recently turning their attention to the 3rd Prince.

Naturally, that interest also poured onto the Queen Mother, the 3rd Prince’s mother.

‘What need is there now to mind the Dowager Empress, who has no children left to put on the throne?’

No matter how much the Emperor favored the Dowager Empress, the imperial throne would fall into the hands of the son born to the Queen Mother.

Thinking of the Emperor whose madness grew worse by the day, that day didn’t seem so far away.

Another noble lady quickly smiled and continued speaking.

“Yes, of course. I wondered where the 3rd Prince’s fair and just character came from… Truly words befitting a national mother.”

Even though the Empress’s seat had no owner, this was blatant flattery revealing that the Queen Mother was the substantial mistress of the imperial family.

The Dowager Empress’s eyes flashed with fire upon hearing the last words, but they didn’t notice.

In truth, even if they had noticed, they wouldn’t have cared about the Dowager Empress’s displeasure if it meant winning the Queen Mother’s favor.

‘Spineless creatures.’

The Dowager Empress, who had been thinking such thoughts, suddenly stiffened.

The Queen Mother’s seat was one level higher than her own, right next to the empty Empress’s throne.

Thump. Thump.

The Dowager Empress swallowed her anger while clutching at her innocent dress hem.

“*Sob*, if Princess Angelique were here, would they dare treat Your Majesty this way?”

Countess Delgano wiped her eyes. The opal-colored feather fan that had been spread magnificently was now folded pitifully.

“If not for that wench, our poor Princess wouldn’t have been driven away.”

Then, the Dowager Empress’s face flushed red.

The Queen Mother had noticed her fierce sidelong glances.

The Queen Mother quietly met her gaze and silently raised the corners of her mouth.

‘Did she just… mock me? How much more arrogant will she become with a throne she hasn’t even grasped yet?’

The current master of this empire is not that lowly woman’s son!

The more she thought about it, the more her teeth chattered with rage.

‘My poor Angelique! Those leeches clinging to her…!’

Thinking of her daughter suffering alone in exile made her blood boil.

Even the news of the Claudio family’s cruel end, heard belatedly, couldn’t completely quell the Dowager Empress’s anger.

Rage and humiliation surged as she wondered how she, who had once dominated the imperial court and high society, had come to this state.

“Your Majesty, why are you sweating so much…?”

While Countess Delgano diligently pressed a handkerchief to the Dowager Empress,

“She’s here! She’s here! She’s come, from Valdina!”

The commotion from the street reached inside the cathedral. Several curious nobles forgot their dignity and craned their necks to look out at the street.

A large carriage had entered the street.

The flags of both Valdina and Kazen were planted on the carriage’s flagpoles. Behind it followed a procession of Valdinians accompanying the Princess.

“It’s the Agema!”

Clatter clatter clatter. The intense sound of hooves striking the stone pavement sounded like battlefield drums.

On the armor of the knight at the front gleamed the Agema’s symbol—a galloping horse emblem.

The elite knights following behind all wore lustrous dark blue cloaks.

‘They say they brought the famous plains tribes to their knees—their presence is certainly formidable.’

The carriage they escorted was easily twice the size of an ordinary carriage.

The exterior of the carriage gleamed golden as if wrapped in gold and was decorated with white mother-of-pearl,

The wide canopy seemed to use pure gold thread, as Valdina’s royal crest sparkled like scattered starlight whenever the wind stirred.

Looking at the carriage that overflowed with splendor and precision to the point of radiating dignity, everyone had the same thought.

‘When did Valdina become so wealthy?’

‘I heard they’ve been raking in money from trading guilds of various countries since opening the strait!’

This was a small nation that had struggled for decades, dependent on aid from their Kazen.

When the changes in their brother nation Valdina, which they had only heard about in words, hit them viscerally, the Kazens stirred with unease.

“Can you see? Who’s riding inside the carriage?”

“Not at all. The windows are so dark I can’t tell anything. But we’ll find out soon enough.”

The gathered people began standing on tiptoes one by one, craning their necks.

The completely closed windows that made it impossible to guess what was inside sparked their curiosity.

The fact that through divine oracle, young male and female royals had formed a strange marital bond also added to people’s curiosity.

“The Princess of Valdina… doesn’t know, right? About the 1st Prince’s personality?”

“Surely she must, it’s so famous. The Goddess can be so cruel. No matter how good power is, how could anyone live with such a terrifying man? I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t.”

“Hey, you people, watch your tongues.”

Finally, the carriage stopped in front of the Cathedral.

However, contrary to people’s expectations, the first person to open the door and step out was 1st Prince Chezare.

With his greatly increased height and the black cloak draped over his sturdy shoulders fluttering,

somehow it felt like being on a battlefield rather than at a cathedral, creating such a desolate atmosphere that the watching citizens straightened their backs.

‘Oh my, as expected.’

People swallowed nervously and unconsciously lowered their heads.

The nobles seated in the Cathedral were no different.

Even those who had been busy flattering the 3rd Prince suddenly distanced themselves from him when the 1st Prince appeared.

Like children caught doing something wrong, they held their breath and avoided his gaze.

When the 1st Prince’s indifferent gaze swept past them, it felt as if the back of their necks were being firmly pressed down.

That’s when it happened.

‘It’s the Princess!’

A woman wearing a velvet ceremonial dress with imperial insignia epaulettes on both shoulders stepped down from the carriage.

Her white face that shone transparently under the sunlight and her silver hair that cascaded down softly.

Even the splendid diadem placed on her head seemed to lose its luster beside its owner.

‘No one said she was this beautiful!’

Even those who had been fully prepared were surprised and gaped in amazement.

The moment hundreds of gazes focused on Medeia like piercing blades.

Chezare extended his hand.

That hand naturally moved toward the Princess’s shoulders.

The moment his large, firm hand neatly adjusted the brooch of her ceremonial cloak, people rubbed their eyes.

Just now…

Had the 1st Prince just helped her with her clothing?

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