The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 351
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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 198
* * *
Kazen Imperial Palace.
Thud. Thud. The uniform sound of Perdickas II striking his cane echoed.
“He still hasn’t come to his senses, has he?”
To his right stood the Imperial Chamberlain, and beside him was Eratosthe.
“That insolent fool, I’d like to say it’s good to see him fall after being so arrogant, but…”
Perdickas II tapped his foot anxiously.
“To raise Juan again… after the Queen Mother died, he became completely useless.”
A strange resignation mixed into the end of his words.
Even as he felt bitter laughter at the fact that Chezare was now his only remaining option.
“Isn’t it amusing, Penteros? Among all those children, only Chezare remains useful now.”
He let out a short breath.
“It seems the Goddess allowed me to bring prosperity to Kazen in this generation, but won’t permit it for the next.”
Perdickas still firmly believed that his reign’s success was entirely due to his own merit.
“The Holy Kingdom has sent word. If we carry out the oracle, they’ll give us half their territory.”
“…”
“Chezare, that foolish boy, was blinded by mere romantic feelings and wouldn’t listen… But I, as the father of this empire’s people, cannot be so selfish.”
Perdickas II had already sent confirmation to the Holy Kingdom that he would accept the oracle.
The oracle was being carried out very secretly and steadily.
Without any involvement from the will or existence of the actual parties – the First Prince and his wife.
In Perdickas II’s eyes, the flames of desire that had not yet been extinguished flickered.
“Don’t you think so, Penteros? It will be the foundation for Kazen’s golden age. Not just Valdina, but the Holy Kingdom too – if those children devour their respective countries,”
His fingertip drew a circle in the air.
“The entire continent will come to us.”
Rambling words stretched out filled with fervent hope.
The breathing that seeped through his black beard spread as a sound that might or might not have been laughter.
“I understand the Holy Kingdom has never yielded power to foreign nations before.”
Eratosthe raised his head.
“Also, we must know how much validity a papal deputy’s promise holds, so don’t hastily support their proposal.”
“Penteros, I’m well aware of your caution.”
The Emperor laughed lowly.
“But this is an opportunity that won’t come again. How many times in a lifetime does one get the chance to catch two rabbits? He’s your great-grandson too.”
“However, if the person in question has no intention, would it be possible?”
A moment of silence flowed.
Perdickas II would smile with extending hope,
Then become gloomy again thinking of his son who was hovering between life and death opposing the problematic oracle.
“With his stubbornness, he’ll never accept it.”
Knowing he was a cunning fellow who would rise up and break his opponent whenever pressed, he couldn’t move carelessly.
But Perdickas II now knew.
The one reverse scale of his eldest son, so firm that not even a needle could penetrate.
“The First Prince’s Wife is also Valdina’s only Princess. What if she defies Your Majesty’s command?”
“I have something in mind for that as well.”
Perdickas II replied confidently to Eratosthe’s point.
He recalled the face of the First Prince’s Wife who had been anxious since becoming pregnant.
‘Even knowing what kind of relationship her husband and I have, didn’t she reach out to me for the child’s sake?’
He could exploit that temperament weakened by pregnancy.
Perdickas II’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“The First Prince’s Wife has arrived.”
Just then, the Head Servant’s voice rang out.
* * *
Click, click.
Perdickas II rolled the large-stoned ring on his wrinkled finger.
“First Prince’s Wife. You’ll understand when you become a parent too, but no parent can watch their child hover between life and death.”
Perdickas II spoke to the woman before him in a kind yet worried voice.
“So there’s no choice. Just this once, you must step aside. Saving a life comes first, doesn’t it?”
“…”
“Step aside so that Chezare can take the Saint as his Empress. It’s right to follow God’s word.”
The First Prince’s Wife’s complexion was pale.
Despite being pregnant, rather than gaining weight she seemed to have lost it, suggesting the mental anguish she’d endured.
‘Of course she wouldn’t be fine when her husband might be taken away overnight. Tsk tsk.’
To think that girl who had been so spirited had become so haggard.
The Emperor felt somewhat sorry for her.
“When Chezare becomes Emperor, you’ll become the Imperial Consort. Instead, I’ll fully compensate for your disappointment.”
Looking at Medeia who was staring at him, Perdickas II generously offered.
“The child from your womb will definitely become the Crown Prince. I swear and guarantee it upon the bedrock.”
The Emperor showed a slow smile.
Perdickas II felt like he was being a proper father-in-law caring for his daughter-in-law for the first time.
‘I’ve never given such assurance to my own children.’
Yet here he was, polishing the path to the Imperial Throne for his unborn grandson.
‘Even if Medeia steps down to Imperial Consort, if her son becomes Crown Prince, she’ll save face. She won’t be pushed around even against the Saint as Empress.’
Perdickas II planned to balance Rachel and Medeia and make them compete again.
Just like the Queen Mother and Dowager Empress.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be behind your child. With me protecting him, who would dare touch that child?”
It was better to have them constantly fighting than a complete dictator, so they’d have no energy to focus elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Kazen could fully utilize aid from Valdina and the Holy Kingdom.
However, Perdickas II never expected that his daughter-in-law, rather than being moved to tears by his generous and perfect proposal,
“Ha.”
Would openly sneer at him.
“What Your Majesty is saying is that you’re thinking of making my child that woman’s child.”
Medeia shot back without hesitation at the truth Perdickas II had hidden with flowery language.
“Y-yes, that’s true, but! Doesn’t your blood flow in that body? The fact that you’re the Crown Prince’s mother won’t change. Even the late Queen Mother lived the most splendidly in this Imperial Palace her whole life, second only to the Empress.”
“…”
“Just because she wasn’t Empress, was there any lack in the abundance she enjoyed?”
At the Emperor’s poor excuse, another faint sneer rang out.
“The one who personally confined the Queen Mother to the tower shouldn’t say such things.”
“What?”
“You can’t be unaware that she dreamed of being Empress her whole life, yet if you speak like this, won’t the deceased rise from her coffin crying injustice?”
Medeia’s voice was low and clear.
She continued speaking without moving, as if she couldn’t see the Emperor’s face turning whiter by the moment.
“Well, for someone who threw away a bastard and let his legitimate wife waste away to death, such words to a mere Imperial Consort wouldn’t be much of an insult,”
“Wh-what?”
“Your Majesty’s callousness never ceases to amaze me, no matter how much I experience it.”
“W-waste away, b-bastard…? Have you truly gone mad?”
Perdickas II doubted his ears. Anger slowly raised his aged body’s temperature.
“You’ll make my child the Crown Prince, definitely make him Emperor.”
Medeia showed cold mockery.
“I cannot trust what Your Majesty promises. Isn’t Duke Castulo proof of that?”
And she clicked her tongue as if pitying.
“The late Former Emperor never would have imagined in his dreams that his own brother would break his promise and steal his nephew’s throne to raise him like a dog.”
“Th, this…!”
The space froze.
From Empress Eleanor to Duke Castullo, the First Prince’s wife had exposed and stabbed at all the shameful secrets her father-in-law most wanted to hide and cover up.
“To someone who abandons even his own brother and nephew, what would a mere grandson matter? Therefore, I absolutely cannot accept this.”
No, she didn’t just stab—she twisted the knife.
No one had ever pointed this out so nakedly before Perdickas II.
Not even Chezare, who had been at the greatest odds with him until now.
Perdickas II trembled violently.
His face turned so red it looked ready to burst.
His breathing became rough as if he might stop breathing altogether.
“That, that wench…!”
He barely managed to raise high the hand gripping his golden staff.
And just as he was about to take a step forward.
“Your Majesty! Please calm yourself! Her Highness is also the Princess of Valdina! Think of the national interest!!”
The Head Servant rushed forward and wrapped his arms around the Emperor’s waist.
The First Prince’s wife was adding oil to a burning house—did she have two or three lives to spare?
“Your Majesty, please calm yourself. Please, if she dies, setting aside war with Valdina, the First Prince will absolutely never…”
The Head Servant’s whispered words pierced Perdickas II’s ears.
Chezare might not accept the oracle and instead commit treason in the name of revenge.
That madman who would even defy divine punishment was his own son!
The face of Chezare before meeting Medeia—ruthless and cruel—flashed through the Emperor’s mind.
‘He killed them all, every last one.’
His own retainers, the Emperor’s elders too.
Cold sweat ran down the startled Emperor’s spine.
On the other hand, rage surged up.
‘That half-wit drunk on love who doesn’t even recognize his own father! Must I now watch the mood of my own blood? What has the world come to!’
“I, I… Given the situation, I’ll consider it a slip of the tongue from your troubled heart.”
Perdickas II struggled to suppress his anger.
“I cannot accept this. If you insist on the oracle to give my husband a new wife, then you leave me no choice but to annul the marriage between myself and the First Prince.”
However, Medeia didn’t spare her father-in-law’s dignity as he tried to redirect the conversation.
“Since it would be a marriage unilaterally broken by Kazen, I trust you’ve already prepared the compensation to pay Valdina.”
“Nonsense! What ridiculous words you speak!”
Right now, Kazen’s bloodline was growing in that belly!
Just imagining his bloodline falling into Valdina’s hands made Perdickas II feel like his eyes would pop out.
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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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