The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 287

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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 134

Flutter, flutter-!

As if a faint sound of transparent wingbeats echoed in their ears, butterflies began flying one by one toward the carriage carrying the 1st Prince and his wife.

“Look over there! The butterflies…!”

Soon dozens were fluttering about, and before long, waves of butterflies filled the street.

“They’re surrounding Her Highness the First Prince’s Wife!”

Hundreds of butterflies filled the sky, swirling around the carriage like a whirlwind.

As the butterfly swarm’s wings sparkled in the sunlight, it created a magnificent spectacle as if the First Prince’s Wife’s veil had spread across the entire sky.

Butterflies flocking to a royal coronation procession—both commoners and nobles lost their words, holding their breath at this sight they had never witnessed before.

Then, someone shouted.

“An auspicious sign! It’s an auspicious sign! Are not heaven and earth welcoming Her Highness the First Prince’s Wife!”

Since ancient times, the central continent had regarded butterflies as noble and harmless beings, pure entities where souls or spirits dwelled.

The Empire’s people held no different perception.

“A noble person has come to our Empire, so now this land too shall be blessed with lasting prosperity!”

People nodded at those words.

“Now that I think about it, perhaps Valdina’s rapid development from a mere small kingdom to a new empire was all thanks to Her Highness the Prince’s Wife!”

“And now we Kazen have become the owners of that fortune!”

“What are you saying? That’s just coincidence.”

Then, someone objected with a sour expression. He was a low-ranking attendant among the 3rd Prince’s faction retainers.

He irritably swatted at the flying butterflies with his hand as he continued speaking.

“Have you forgotten that the Princess of Valdina was once called a cursed child who even devoured her own parents?”

“That’s right, she almost became the Evil Dragon’s bride! What fortune!”

Someone agreed. Coincidentally, it was one of the Dowager Empress’s people.

Though they didn’t know which master the other served, their purpose today was the same.

To form negative public opinion about the First Prince’s Wife.

“So it would be fortunate if she doesn’t spread that ominous energy throughout our Empire—”

“Then what do you call what’s happening before your very eyes!”

“…”

Those who had been objecting fell silent.

Even they found it difficult to dismiss as mere natural phenomenon the spectacle of the butterfly swarm that surrounded the 1st Prince couple and wouldn’t leave until they had passed far down the street.

“You lot think whatever you want! Being chosen as an oracle’s offering also means being touched by the goddess’s will!”

“It’s not an ill omen, but an auspicious sign that will bring prosperity to our Empire—why are you so desperate to disparage it?”

A bearded elderly man objected.

He was the one who had been waving his hand long after the 1st Prince couple’s carriage left the street.

His expression and appearance clearly showed the weariness of a hard life.

The man looked quite displeased with those who were ruining this rare joyous occasion.

“That’s right! These days with monster waves and His Majesty, the country’s in such a mess I’m dying from hardship, but seeing those sparkling butterflies makes me feel good! In the end, it means the goddess’s will lies with us Kazen, not Valdina!”

“Right, right! The goddess’s will lies with us Kazen!”

Whether Kazen or Valdina, the lives of the common people occupying the very bottom of the pyramid were ultimately much the same.

Whether it was true or not, whether such a future would actually come—such things weren’t that important.

What truly mattered was the reason they needed to endure another hard day. A handful of hope that made them expect ‘tomorrow will be better than today’ was enough.

Especially if that hope had already proven effective in other countries, wouldn’t it be all the more trustworthy?

“The goddess protects us! Kazen’s prosperity is eternal!”

The people’s passionate cries spread like wildfire. So much so that the voice of the man who had first objected disappeared without a trace.

“Long live! Long live the First Prince’s Wife!”

“Please bring wealth and peace to us as well!”

The cheering continued until the 1st Prince couple’s carriage left the street.

And.

The bearded man who had troublesomely rebuked the Empress faction’s man, and the man who had first shouted long live, both disappeared into the crowd at some point.

On the chests of those hurriedly walking away, fox-shaped brooches the size of fingernails quietly gleamed.

* * *

“Long live the First Prince’s Wife!”

With the cheers echoing from afar behind them, Chezare turned his head slightly toward the First Prince’s Wife sitting in the carriage.

“Why?”

Medeia realized from Chezare’s gaze alternating between her and the railing that he had figured out the truth behind this strange phenomenon, and shrugged her shoulders.

“It wasn’t bad, was it?”

“Bad? It couldn’t have been more perfect.”

Chezare answered with just the corners of his mouth raised.

As long as the people regarded her as a symbol of good fortune, this would become another protective barrier preventing the Emperor from carelessly touching her.

‘Even if Dea isn’t proclaimed as a saint.’

He raised the corners of his mouth.

‘I’m curious about the Late Emperor’s face.’

Kazen Imperial Palace.

“How can the noise of those wretched vermin be so loud?”

As he had expected, news of the procession reached Perdickas II’s ears as well.

Even if he hadn’t been curious, he couldn’t have ignored the commotion that seemed to shake the capital.

“…Thus a festival broke out in the capital streets.”

When the Head Servant briefly explained the situation, Perdickas II’s face contorted.

“What are those mere insects, those foolish things—are all my subjects nothing but idiots!”

Far from bringing the philosopher’s stone, Valdina’s daughter was being treated as his country’s guardian spirit, making his stomach churn.

“That brazen thing shows no sign of breaking… Nothing pleases me. Indeed, she must truly be Peleus’s family. Seeing how disgusting she is already.”

He struck the armrest of the Imperial Throne with a distorted expression.

However, the Head Servant reported everything that had happened at the coronation ceremony without omission.

“She paid respects to the dead Empress?”

“Yes, originally it was courtesy meant for Your Majesty, but since the Imperial Throne was absent, she paid the remaining respects to Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Ha, what a pathetic excuse!”

Perdickas II shot back sharply.

“I can’t stand the sight of them. Don’t bring me news of those bastards for a while. Reject all audiences as well.”

“But, Your Majesty…”

“I don’t want to hear it. Protection or prosperity, in my land they are my subjects. Who dares say I should watch their faces?”

He shook his head roughly. His beard danced irritably.

However, the Head Servant noticed that his momentum had somewhat diminished compared to before.

“…Eleanor.”

The quieted Emperor muttered absentmindedly.

* * *

Meanwhile, the carriage that had completed both the coronation ceremony and street procession headed not to the Imperial Palace located north of the capital, but to the southeastern outskirts.

A spacious palace there welcomed Medeia.

“This place is…”

Unlike the golden, splendid Imperial Palace, the smooth black stone walls without a single decoration were impressive.

“It’s the Palace. Chezare has stayed here continuously since coming of age.”

Terrence whispered beside her.

After Chezare returned victorious from the continental war, his father Perdickas II feared that his eldest son’s sword, grown too powerful, might target him.

Since the Empress had just passed away, the Emperor used it as an excuse to send Chezare away from the Imperial Palace.

“But it was better for our side.”

By escaping the Emperor’s control and establishing a separate stronghold within the capital, they could freely build up the 1st Prince’s power.

When Medeia glanced at the massive walls twice as high as Valdina’s White Manor and the knights in black armor, Terrence added explanatorily.

“Still, we can’t be completely at ease. It’s not just His Majesty the Emperor alone who targets this place.”

Perhaps that’s why the Palace’s restrained lines and precise arrangement looked more like a fortress than a palace.

“Don’t worry, if this place falls, it would mean the Imperial Palace had already collapsed.”

Chezare glared at Terrence as if telling him not to cause unnecessary worry, then placed his hand on Medeia’s shoulder.

“Come here, Dea.”

He took Medeia’s hand and pulled her forward. He personally showed her the First Prince couple’s official bedroom and Medeia’s personal bedroom, the library and reception room.

At that sight, Medeia hesitated.

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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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