The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 338
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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 185
“Boss. If the 3rd Prince is appointed as Crown Prince, that blade will likely turn toward us. The Privy Council has begun a royal investigation targeting Count Leonar, and Facade has also received an expulsion order.”
Garo added his words.
“With you absent, what would they have to fear from them?”
Indeed, the Queen Mother was now sharpening her blade toward Chezare, as if to repay everything she had endured all this time.
“Your Highness, what shall we do? Please give us your orders.”
Terrence, who had reported the entire situation in the capital, asked Medeia.
Asking for her opinion before Chezare’s was a sign of respect.
Chezare also looked toward Medeia.
A warm hand covered the back of her hand, as if he would act according to her wishes.
“…”
Medeia slowly surveyed the cabin.
The warm heat from the fireplace still lingered throughout the house.
Though fierce snowstorms raged outside, the interior remained quiet and cozy.
If they returned to Kazen, they would have to bid farewell to these peaceful days they had spent together like an ordinary couple, sharing mornings and evenings.
Even so, she had no intention of stopping.
“We must return.”
Her voice was gentle but resolute.
* * *
“You’re leaving already? I’m so sad I don’t know what to do.”
“We’ve been greatly indebted to you. We will never forget the help you’ve given us.”
The Jenkins couple, who had returned, couldn’t hide their regret at seeing the young couple preparing to leave.
Especially Mrs. Jenkins, who grabbed Medeia’s hand and poured out her worries in detail.
“Indebted? We couldn’t even provide you with much. The young lady’s face looks so fair – it seems you’ve rested well.”
The young wife who had collapsed after confirming her husband’s safety had become plump like a well-fed rabbit in just a few days.
Her pale cheeks now glowed with a pink hue, and her eyes, which had been as urgent as a hunted herbivore, had regained their comfort, making Mrs. Jenkins feel relieved.
“We’ll always be here, so please drop by whenever you think of us.”
At Jenkins’ words, Chezare held out a letter envelope with folded parchment.
“Our couple lives in the capital, so if you two ever have occasion to visit, please stop by.”
“Oh my, the capital? How could we possibly go to such a distant and treacherous place?”
There was no particular reason why the couple had drifted to this glacier under the Northern Duke.
“You be careful too. I’ve heard that the power struggles among the influential in the capital are more severe than in the north. I’m sure you’ll handle things well, but…”
Jenkins offered unnecessary meddling.
“Still, you need to read the room appropriately to survive. If you’re too rigid, you’ll break. For your wife’s sake, you mustn’t get hurt like this again.”
He hoped that the young, dignified man he had saved would survive safely in the brutal power struggles.
“…”
Chezare gazed at him silently.
He felt strange hearing the worried words from a middle-aged man of similar age to his father.
“Do you understand? Don’t be stubborn, and when in doubt, always follow your wife’s words. What I’ve learned in forty years of marriage is that just listening to your wife’s words will bring bread falling from the sky.”
“Oh my, anyone listening would think you never caused me any trouble.”
Mrs. Jenkins grumbled at her husband who was patting Chezare’s shoulder.
“Yes. I will do so.”
Chezare nodded obediently.
Then, neigh! The sound of horses echoed.
In the yard, two fine horses were pawing their hooves.
Chezare and Medeia mounted the black horse and white horse respectively.
Those who appeared to be the couple’s subordinates also briefly bowed to the Jenkins couple.
“You must survive well somehow…”
Jenkins, having witnessed the Northern Duke’s downfall, worried that Chezare might recklessly charge at those targeting him out of youthful rashness.
He sighed.
After waving until the two were out of sight, the couple turned their steps back into the house.
“Oh my, it feels so lonely now that people have left.”
In the cabin were only the couple and a golden envelope left on the table.
Jenkins, feeling inexplicably desolate, sniffled and picked up the letter.
“Honey, what’s wrong with you?”
And he froze solid like a snowman on an ice wall.
“1st, 1st Prince… Then, I…”
The parchment inside the letter clearly bore the royal seal and the 1st Prince’s stamp.
It was a pass appointing the Jenkins couple as ‘guests’ and allowing them to enter and exit the palace at any time.
So he had patted the shoulder of the 1st Prince, called the Lion of the Battlefield, and lectured him?
“1st Prince, urgh…”
“Oh my, this man, why are you clutching your heart instead of just reading the letter?”
Mrs. Jenkins snapped irritably at her husband who had turned pale and was foaming at the mouth.
* * *
Kazen Imperial Palace.
Perdickas II looked down at the documents piled high.
Was it because of Chezare’s absence? Issues from various regions kept piling up day after day.
Perdickas II frowned at the ever-increasing volume.
To realize the absence of his hated eldest son through such administrative gaps.
“Dowager Empress, how are the funeral preparations proceeding?”
“…The Queen Mother is preparing without any delays.”
The Dowager Empress answered carefully, reading the Emperor’s mood.
“But isn’t it too early when the First Prince’s Wife hasn’t even returned yet-“
“Dowager Empress, can’t you see these documents piled up before your eyes? When we need to restore order as quickly as possible… This is no time for such leisurely talk.”
But opinions were still divided regarding Chezare’s life or death.
The First Prince’s Wife, who had gone to find her husband, had also disappeared mysteriously after heading to the glacier.
When the pillar shakes, the entire house shakes, they say.
Kazen’s vassals were also swaying back and forth.
“Shouldn’t we at least wait until the First Prince’s Wife returns before discussing the funeral?”
“Are you saying we should let the Empire shake even more when even the First Prince’s Wife has disappeared?”
“The Marquis is right. But is it truly certain that the First Prince’s Wife has disappeared? Perhaps she used this incident as an excuse to escape the capital and flee to Valdina?”
It had already been over a month since Chezare’s disappearance became known.
During that time, not a single piece of good news had reached the capital.
Various rumors spread like snow – that he had frozen to death on the glacier, been swept away by an avalanche.
Now that news of the First Prince’s Wife had also ceased, more and more people were predicting the death of the couple.
Opinions were also divided among Kazen’s retainers.
“Really, have Their Highnesses passed away?”
Even the people who had firmly believed without doubt that the 1st Prince couple would bring glory to Kazen began to waver.
“If even the First Prince’s Wife, who was beloved by the divine, has departed so futilely, isn’t this Kazen truly cursed land?”
“Moreover, since rumors of the 1st Prince’s death spread, it seems various countries are preparing to attack our Kazen. Those who wouldn’t even dare look toward our country when His Highness was alive…”
“They’ve been sharpening their blades of revenge for all those long years. If not for the 1st Prince, they would have already invaded our Kazen to reclaim their lost territories.”
“Ah. Then what shall we do now… Has the Goddess also abandoned this Empire?”
Consequently, rumors spread that the tragic end of the 1st Prince couple might be the end of the Kazen Empire. The Kazens grew increasingly anxious.
Perdickas II could feel every bit of that anxiety spreading throughout the Empire.
‘This is my Empire…’
His insides boiled with rage.
The fact that his presence was more insignificant than his dead son was painfully bitter.
However, faced with his son’s death, he had to move for the Empire’s sake as much as possible.
“Conduct the funeral as grandly as possible without any shortcomings.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The more nobly he treated his dead eldest son, the more a reputation as a fair and just sovereign would follow him.
Perdickas II gazed at Juan, who was quietly bowing his head in one corner.
And even the Queen Mother, who had somehow left the Tower and was now standing beside Juan.
Perdickas II’s faded pupils rolled ceaselessly as if calculating something. After taking in everyone present, he finally opened his mouth.
“And Juan.”
Juan didn’t dare think of responding to the Emperor’s words and bowed his head even lower.
“….”
“Can you properly carry on the weight of the Crown Prince position?”
Juan looked up in surprise.
However, he soon realized.
This wasn’t truly selecting him as successor, but rather for stabilizing the Empire’s political situation that was shaking both internally and externally.
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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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