The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 303

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

Part 2, Chapter 150

The Dowager Empress’s hand on the table tapped the tablecloth with soft thuds.

As the rhythmic sound continued, the Dowager Empress’s anger gradually faded, and unreadable thoughts began to surface.

‘Really, can that girl bring Angelique back?’

“Angelique will have to stay there for the rest of her life now, so she should give up her attachment to the Imperial Palace and pull herself together as soon as possible.”

The moment she recalled the Queen Mother’s voice again, her nails dug deep into the tablecloth. At the same time, a tear dropped.

Anger and sorrow surged together.

What use was this magnificent glass greenhouse where she now sat, the Emperor’s undying love, this comfort and splendor?

When she couldn’t even dare mention her own child’s name to the man she had spent her entire life with.

Imperial favor was something fleeting that could be withdrawn whenever the Emperor’s heart turned away.

Yet she struggled desperately to flaunt it and not lose it, because she knew better than anyone that the moment she lost even that, she couldn’t guarantee her daughter’s safety.

‘If her son ascends to the Imperial Throne, the Queen Mother will never let Angelique live.’

How many years had she and the Queen Mother been locked in conflict, watching each other?

It wouldn’t be strange if Angelique died a mysterious death in exile one day.

However, the First Prince, though his cruel nature was not without fear,

“…If we mother and daughter don’t do anything foolish, he might turn a blind eye.”

That monster seemed to value his wife enough to give her his seal.

The nobles’ submission at today’s tea party wasn’t solely due to immunity privileges.

The seal on the First Prince’s Wife’s delicate finger reminded them of the First Prince’s presence behind her.

“Oh God…”

Her throat choked up with emotion.

Her daughter, raised so preciously that it wouldn’t hurt to put her in her eyes. How much must she be suffering in that barren exile?

“If that girl really brings Angelique back.”

The Dowager Empress looked up at the sky with eyes where hatred had somewhat subsided, as if making a vow.

“I’ll forget all my past grudges and join hands with them.”

But like the white clouds floating in the bright sky, it seemed far too distant for now.

* * *

“Sob, sob, Your Majesty the Dowager Empress…”

“Sniff, sniff…”

The crying of the three people dragged out by the maids stopped simultaneously only when they reached a space where no one could see.

The three people who raised their heads exchanged glances.

“How…”

Countess Beaumont clenched her trembling fingertips.

“It went exactly as the First Prince’s Wife predicted, didn’t it?”

At her words, everyone recalled the same sentence in their minds.

[The reason you betrayed your master was because you were threatened with your blood relatives’ lives held hostage. If you want to return to your place, don’t forget this point. I will be your justification.]

“To think she understands Her Majesty’s temperament better than us who have served the Dowager Empress our entire lives…”

Mixing truth and lies, she created punishment up to the line the Dowager Empress could tolerate. She had already foreseen how they would react in the process.

To think such precise calculation came from the mind of a young Princess Consort who hadn’t even been in Kazen for half a year.

“Even without us, today’s tea party wouldn’t have gone according to plan anyway.”

Lady Evelyn muttered while rubbing her arm.

“Anyway… it’s truly fortunate that Her Majesty will never know the real reason we betrayed the Dowager Empress.”

That’s why they could still remain by the Dowager Empress’s side.

If she knew the real reason, the Dowager Empress would never have forgiven them.

“But our leash… is still in the First Prince’s Wife’s hands.”

When Headmistress Clarisse pointed this out quietly, a heavy and uncomfortable silence fell for a moment.

It was fortunate that they could continue this life as before.

But the anxiety that followed couldn’t be erased by anything.

Because they didn’t know when or how the First Prince’s Wife might tighten this leash again.

They hadn’t escaped yet. They were still in the First Prince’s Wife’s palm.

Ah.

A soundless sigh spread out.

* * *

“Your Majesty, do you really intend to bring back the 4th Princess?”

Saya asked Medeia as they left the Dowager Empress’s glass greenhouse.

“Yes.”

“What if the returning 4th Princess… changes and targets Your Majesty?”

Remembering the 4th Princess’s misdeeds in Valdina, Saya couldn’t hide her worry.

“A bird with broken wings cannot easily fly in any wind.”

Medeia’s tone was gentle but firm.

“And over the past three years, countless people have brushed against her feathers.”

During the time when she was closest to the succession, weren’t the Queen Mother the only one who envied the 4th Princess who monopolized the Emperor’s love?

“I don’t think the 4th Princess has the temperament to overcome such hardships and rise again… but even if she really does, it’s fine.”

That’s why she sent back the Dowager Empress’s close associates.

If she lost the Dowager Empress as her backing, the 4th Princess would collapse again.

Medeia smiled quietly. Her slender fingers moved as if brushing through the air.

As if touching the strings of puppets hanging beneath her fingertips.

The two people who left the Crown Prince’s Palace walked briskly to board their carriage.

Whether knowing or not about the tumultuous moments of today’s tea party, the sky remained bright, and the Imperial Palace was vast and beautiful.

“Your Majesty, this doesn’t seem to be the right way.”

Saya looked confused.

They should be going to where the carriage was waiting, but instead they could see a bridge and lake.

Looking around, there were few people, and no one was passing through this area.

“I think we came out the wrong door from the glass greenhouse. There were three identical doors…”

The Kazen Imperial Palace was famously so vast and complex that even those who had spent long years there could easily get lost.

Medeia, who knew various parts of Kazen well, didn’t know the interior of this Imperial Palace well.

Because it was a place not permitted to her in her past life.

Medeia nodded.

“Oh, there seem to be maids over there-“

Just as Saya was about to step forward, having spotted people in the distance beyond the bridge by the lake.

Rustle. A sound was heard.

As Medeia straightened up, a small hand suddenly emerged from the thicket and grabbed Saya’s wrist.

“Who…!”

Saya was about to sharply shake off the hand when she discovered that the owner of the hand was a young boy.

It was a small novice wearing shabby monk’s robes. His small mouth was tightly shut while only his eyes were wide open.

The boy looked at Saya and shook his head vigorously.

“…What?”

Saya asked back. The boy shook his head again.

Then, with large, clear eyes, he pointed to Saya and Medeia, and then toward the bridge.

“What on earth is he saying…”

“Saya, he seems to be trying to stop you. It seems like we shouldn’t go that way.”

At Medeia’s words, Saya suddenly noticed that the boy was missing one ear.

The moment she realized the boy couldn’t hear, Saya stopped trying to shake off his hand and quietly nodded.

Only then did the boy’s expression brighten with a relieved face.

Then he turned around and held out a red rose he had been holding in his other hand to Medeia.

“Are you giving this to our Princess Consort?”

Saya thought he might be showing respect to the First Prince’s Wife. But Medeia had a sudden thought.

‘The red rose is the symbol of Emperor Kazen.’

“By chance, is the Emperor- there?”

The boy who slowly read Medeia’s lip movements nodded.

The stem of the freshly picked rose bud gave off a fresh, green scent.

“Did you come to let me know because it would be troublesome if I ran into the Emperor?”

When Medeia spoke clearly, the young novice nodded again.

However, when she examined the young novice’s hands, there wasn’t a single scratch on them.

This meant that the young novice wasn’t the one who had picked the rose to give her a warning.

Medeia looked around her surroundings.

In the distance, gray-colored clothing similar to the young novice’s could be glimpsed flickering between the thicket.

“Huh? The Crown Prince’s Palace is that way? I see, thank you so much.”

Meanwhile, Saya, who had understood the direction the young novice was indicating through his gestures, expressed her gratitude to him.

And she quickly whispered to Medeia.

“Your Majesty, I’ll go check briefly whether what this child said is correct.”

Despite the clear and pure eyes of the little novice, Saya didn’t seem to completely trust the young novice.

“No, let’s go together.”

“If it happens to be a trap, Your Majesty will be put in a difficult position.”

“That’s all the more reason you should come with me.”

Since I’ll need you there to save my limbs.

As Medeia followed Saya, she removed her bracelet and offered it to the young novice as a token of gratitude. The young novice shook his head, refusing to accept it.

When Medeia personally bent down and put the bracelet on him, the young novice finally bowed his head deeply.

Then, between the folds of his novice robes, a leather cord necklace that the young novice was wearing was revealed. A deer antler-shaped wooden piece hung from the leather cord.

“This is…”

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