The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 291

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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 138

* * *

The next day.

The intensely blazing sunlight painfully pierced Chezare’s eyes.

The quiet stillness without a single sign of life felt somehow eerie.

Snap. He who had awakened from sleep bolted upright from his position. His sculpted muscles were revealed through his disheveled shirt.

Chezare quickly scanned the empty bedroom and moved toward Medeia’s space. His steps were uncharacteristically impatient.

“Medeia.”

She wasn’t there either, nor in the connected space when he opened the door.

‘Yesterday…’

He clearly remembered lying down beside Medeia who had fallen asleep after returning to the manor.

He had been caressing the back of her soft hand when he unknowingly fell asleep at some point.

‘Did I… sleep beside her without permission?’

Suddenly anxious, Chezare quickly threw off his shirt. A thin linen tunic fluttered down, clinging to his solid shoulders and waist.

“Your Highness. Are you awake?”

“We greet our lord.”

As he passed through the corridor with quick steps, greetings from his subordinates flew toward him one after another.

However, they didn’t reach Chezare’s ears.

In every space he passed through, his gaze wandered searching for Medeia.

The longer he went without finding her, the more his once-calm heartbeat grew rough.

He didn’t know the reason for his anxious heart, like a lost child.

Then, from somewhere came the sound of bustling commotion. Naturally, his steps headed in that direction.

The clattering sounds of tableware occasionally rang out clear like silver bells.

The servants carrying trays back and forth between the kitchen and dining hall discovered Chezare and bowed their waists.

“Your Highness, you’re awake. Her Highness is already having breakfast. Would Your Highness also like the same-“

“Is Dea here?”

Chezare’s impatient steps finally slowed their pace.

“Yes, she’s inside.”

Before the answer was even finished, Chezare passed by them and headed inside.

Chezare pulled at his tunic to smooth out the disheveled wrinkles, then entered the dining hall as if nothing had happened.

However, what first entered his sight wasn’t the wife he had desperately searched for, but,

“The sun’s at its peak, Boss.”

It was Garo, chewing steak voraciously while waving his hand.

Perhaps because of yesterday’s scolding, he had attached a grandiose mustache to his nose as if trying to disguise himself.

“You came… early.”

“Boss is the one who’s late. Sleeping in so uncharacteristically, why do you keep acting strange since yesterday?”

Garo immediately winked toward Medeia again.

“I did arrive a bit early, but you’ll forgive this level of rudeness, won’t you? I couldn’t rest easy wondering if Princess- no, if Her Highness spent her first day in Kazen comfortably.”

“When Lord Garo is being so thoughtful, how could it be rudeness?”

Her gentle tone. Following the clear, melodious voice that spread beautifully, Chezare turned his head and was finally able to spot his wife sitting at the end of the long table.

Their eyes met.

Clearly sparkling green eyes. A faint smile hanging at the corners of her mouth.

In that moment, Chezare’s hardened gaze unknowingly softened.

His sharply tensed nerves also melted away like a snowman placed under sunlight.

“So as I was saying, when Boss was training at the Tower of the White Night, there was this incident – did I get to the part where that damn mask often caused trouble?”

Garo continued telling his story. Realizing he was talking about old times, Chezare looked at Garo coldly.

“Actually, Boss was partly to blame too. What’s the point of hiding just your appearance? His arrogant nature remained unchanged, so how could he avoid trouble in a tower full of notable people?”

But Garo continued speaking without backing down at all.

‘Hah, this is payback for yesterday, Boss.’

His brown eyes were deeply filled with mischief as if provoking Chezare.

He had already figured out that as long as Medeia wanted to listen, Chezare couldn’t stop him from talking.

“You’ve secured quite a solid backing.”

“Well, am I any different from Your Highness?”

Lady Tollin appeared behind Chezare carrying a teapot.

She poured steaming hot water into a teacup. The fragrant tea aroma filled the dining hall.

“I don’t know how long it’s been since Your Highness slept in so late. Probably when you were about seven, before you left for the tower.”

A gentle smile appeared on her face.

“…I suppose so.”

Unable to glare even at the old lady, Chezare briefly raised his eyebrows and answered.

“Please, have a seat.”

Lady Tollin only offered Chezare the teacup.

She knew he didn’t eat breakfast.

And at the end of the long dining table,

She pointed to the seat across from Medeia.

According to continental etiquette, the master and his wife should sit facing each other at the head seats.

“…Your Highness?”

“From now on, I’ll have my meals here.”

However, Chezare, holding only his teacup, casually headed to the seat right next to Medeia.

“Boss, you’ve never sat there before. You always sat at the head seat-“

“Like you, I’m going to try something new starting today.”

Chezare retorted while mocking Garo’s mustache.

The maids standing in line behind the fireplace giggled silently.

The sight of the men gathering on both sides of Medeia created an atmosphere as if she were the sole master of this palace.

‘Go back to your seat.’

Medeia sent him a look while gesturing toward the opposite seat with her chin.

“Too far.”

But he only briefly retorted and leisurely sipped his tea.

“There you are, Your Highness.”

Just then, Neryl entered the dining hall.

“Lord Neryl!”

Garo jumped up as soon as he saw Neryl. He had hastily thrown his ridiculous mustache somewhere.

“Good morning. Have you had breakfast?”

A strange blush appeared over his copper-colored skin. Though his face was always bright, his eyes were sparkling even more than usual.

“Why are you worrying about our sister’s meals?”

Saya, who had blocked Neryl’s path, cut off his line of sight and made a sarcastic jab.

“Huh? No, well, we all need to eat to live, so it’s good to eat well…”

Confused by the young maid’s inexplicable hostility, Garo scratched his head, and Saya shot back.

“Worry about your own friends! Lord Terrence looked as drained as a sick horse!”

It was something that would have shocked Terrence into refusing food and drink if he had heard it, but Saya didn’t care at all.

‘How dare you set your sights on our sister!’

The girl who had lived on the streets since childhood was particularly quick at reading people’s relationships.

What else could be the reason for the rogue who had been bickering with the First Prince just moments ago to suddenly have such a bright expression?

“No, it’s fine.”

Having no idea why Saya was bristling like a cat, Neryl casually answered Garo and leaned toward Medeia’s ear.

Medeia nodded.

“Tell them I’ll go now.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Her gaze briefly fixed on Chezare. He quietly nodded as if he understood.

Even after Medeia left the dining hall with Neryl, Garo still sat there blankly.

“I wonder what Lord Neryl was talking about?”

“That’s not something you need to worry about.”

Chezare gestured toward Saya with his chin and replied dryly.

Just as Garo was awkwardly lifting his rear end because of Saya glaring at him while standing at the dining hall entrance like a gatekeeper, Alpha entered.

“My lord, a message from the Imperial Palace.”

“…”

The Emperor’s seal was stamped on the edge of the stiff envelope.

Chezare’s face, which had been carrying a faint smile, instantly hardened coldly.

* * *

The First Prince’s Wife’s reception room.

“Kensington.”

As Neryl opened the door, a welcome face standing by the window turned around.

“Your Highness, have you been well?”

Short-cropped hair. A crooked, hardened hooked nose.

The person wearing an old coat and wrinkled hat looked like an ordinary passerby you might find anywhere on the street.

“You as well, I nearly passed by without recognizing you from outside.”

“Please don’t tease me.”

Kensington laughed and waved the hand holding her cane back and forth.

Indeed, if not for the cane she held in her hand, one wouldn’t have thought it was the same person.

While newly admiring the Red Fox Clan’s skills, Kensington placed documents on the table.

“Since you’ve safely completed the coronation ceremony, you’ll need to visit the Imperial Palace soon.”

“Yes. So I think I’ll need your wise counsel.”

Before meeting the Emperor, it was necessary to properly understand the current flow of power dynamics in the Kazen Empire.

“From what I glimpsed during the coronation, it seemed the Dowager Empress was being pushed back a bit between her and the Queen Mother.”

Kensington inwardly admired Medeia for keenly picking up on the subtle power struggles between the imperial family members even amid that chaotic coronation ceremony.

“Yes, you saw correctly. With the 4th Princess being expelled and her father Duke Dong also collapsing from illness, the Dowager Empress’s side has been noticeably faltering recently.”

Kensington spread out a map of Kazen and continued her explanation.

“On the other hand, Count Montfort, the Queen Mother’s father, has been rising prominently recently with the adoption of the salt tax reform bill.”

She marked the strongholds of the Queen Mother’s retainers and those supporting the 3rd Prince on the map.

Flags were densely clustered especially around the capital city area.

“From salt tax reorganization to fixed guild taxation, I hear the national treasury has swelled three times over compared to last year thanks to that. The Emperor was also said to be quite pleased.”

Kensington no longer hesitated to refer to her former master dryly as ‘the Emperor.’

“Since Count Montfort took on the role of financial advisor, he’s been getting along well with the senators too… So there are rumors that the position of Senate President is almost certainly his this time.”

“…Then.”

Medeia tapped the table with her fingers.

It was time to organize Kensington’s report in her mind.

“The Queen Mother also controls the imperial finances. You’re saying we need to shake that side first rather than the Dowager Empress…”

“It won’t be easy.”

Kensington took a short breath.

“The 3rd Prince’s faction has become excessively prosperous, and the Emperor is openly hostile toward us. Even the neutral nobles are too deeply wary of the 1st Prince’s faction.”

The 1st Prince’s excessively brutal actions had actually blocked their own entry.

From the beginning, the 1st Prince’s faction had been as closed off internally and externally as it was powerful.

The story of General Jared of the Ten Fortresses, who died by his hand, had also spread widely, adding to the nobles’ fear.

“Since Prince Chezare’s return, voices calling for the crown prince position to be abdicated to the 1st Prince have been growing weaker.”

Kensington shook her head disapprovingly.

“The current Emperor of Kazen will never establish the 1st Prince as crown prince by his own hand.”

She, who had been the Emperor’s right hand, knew best.

That Perdickas II, increasingly consumed by inferiority and hatred toward his eldest son, only thought of clipping his son’s wings.

‘Far from giving him wings.’

Not caring that those wings were ones the 1st Prince had created by squeezing out his own blood, without anyone’s help.

“It’s fine. I never intended to oppose the Emperor from the start anyway.”

Medeia picked up a pawn from the chess board.

The real strength of a pawn is that it can remain just a pawn until reaching the end of the game.

“For now, it’s enough to move forward one step at a time.”

Only when reaching the end would everyone finally learn what form Medeia’s hidden pawn would be reborn as.

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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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