The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 58

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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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Chapter 58

Far from sending it to Prince Claudio as the minister had desperately shouted, Umberto crumpled up the used paper and, taking advantage of a moment when people weren’t looking, tossed it into the fireplace.

Having finished the letter, Umberto looked relieved.

And he calmly rejoined the scene.

“Hurry up and delete it!”

“Stop standing around and tear up those documents!”

“Stop moving-! From now on, anyone who moves will be considered an accomplice. Everyone is going to the Royal Palace!”

In the chaos where the Royal Knights and Count Etienne’s people were confronting each other, Umberto silently disappeared.

* * *

Because Umberto had casually destroyed the letter, news from the count’s residence reached the Regent much later.

“The palace knights stormed in and arrested Minister Etienne!”

It was already after the Royal Knights had swept through the count’s residence.

“What? For what reason?”

The Regent’s face reddened when he learned of the minister’s charges. Of all things, getting caught with his toys and having his tail grabbed?

“Damn it, Etienne! If I let you play as you pleased, you should have cleaned up properly afterward!”

Crash! The ornament the Regent threw shattered.

If he had been right there, grinding him up and drinking him wouldn’t have been enough to cool his anger.

However, this incident wasn’t entirely the minister’s fault alone.

“When investigating the minister’s slush funds, they discovered traces flowing to the Black Eye Trading Guild. Continuing the investigation, they even uncovered the trafficking of children. We should have stopped it from the beginning when we first found out…”

“Damn it all!”

Realizing that they could have easily covered it up if they hadn’t pretended not to know while having a pointless power struggle with the minister, the Regent’s head throbbed.

“This isn’t the time for us to fight among ourselves. I need to see the minister first. Where was he taken?”

“The situation isn’t good. The minister was immediately transferred and isolated. It’s not easy for us to approach him either. Sisear seems to have prepared thoroughly this time.”

Samon reported. He too had sent his subordinates to investigate the situation as soon as he heard the news.

Each charge hanging around the minister’s neck was heavy.

“Military law violation. Sisear, that bastard used his cunning!”

Even if the first two charges could be explained away as his eccentricities, the crime of selling to foreign countries could be seen as treason against the royal family.

Moreover, they were actually preparing for real treason. They planned to secretly raise rebel forces to attack the Royal Palace.

“Sisear is continuing his investigation by cleaning out the minister’s residence. Father, our uprising won’t be discovered, will it?”

“For now, everyone has scattered and gone into hiding, so until we make contact, they’ll be waiting.”

But dragging out time wouldn’t be good. They needed to get the minister out of prison as quickly as possible.

“What’s the situation at the Royal Palace?”

“That woman Pinatelli cleaned house so thoroughly that there aren’t many of my contacts left in the palace. The minister’s side also seems flustered and doesn’t know what to do.”

The Regent frowned. Deep, indelible wrinkles formed between his brows.

“Sisear, that cunning bastard won’t let this opportunity slip by… what should we do…”

Then, Samon raised the corners of his mouth wickedly.

“But we have Medeia, don’t we?”

* * *

The butterfly effect of Sisear drawing his sword was significant.

In a wartime situation where even a scrap of information could determine victory or defeat, the crime of removing dozens of people from the Royal Palace was an extremely serious offense.

From the minister at the top to the officials, nobles, and merchants who helped or turned a blind eye, they were all arrested one after another.

Naturally, most of them were Prince Claudio’s faction.

As Etienne’s fate became as precarious as a candle in the wind, Prince Claudio sought out the savior he had always relied on.

“Your Highness, Prince Claudio has arrived.”

“Medeia! This is terrible!”

Claudio even wiped away tears as he exaggerated the situation with dramatic tone.

To summarize, Minister Etienne was innocent and had fallen into a vicious trap designed to frame him.

He claimed all the charges against him were false.

“Here, stamp your seal here, then we can help the poor and righteous. Your seal will be the salvation of justice.”

Ah, Uncle.

Medeia had once truly respected him.

There was a time when she thought those glittering words were beliefs and truths.

But having returned after living through her eventful previous life, she could now see through the Regent’s, no, Uncle’s true nature.

‘Claudio is just a loudmouth fool.’

Medeia looked down at the stiff paper the Regent held out with an indifferent expression.

“What is this?”

“It’s to pardon the innocent ones. They too are Valdinians. As a princess, would you refuse Valdina’s people? The king’s representative isn’t that kind of position. In place of Peleus, you must show mercy-“

“Uncle. I don’t understand difficult things like slush funds or military law violations even when I hear about them. But I learned something this time.”

Medeia cut off her uncle’s words and covered the paper he had handed her.

“Former Maid Supervisor Quizin, Minister Etienne, and even the maid who had cared for me all her life – they all lined their own pockets. Meanwhile, I, who helped and saved them, have nothing left.”

Medeia waved her hand wearing the seal ring in front of Claudio.

“As you said, Uncle, I can do anything with this seal. To try to take this precious and powerful force without any compensation… Ha! How foolish must I have looked all this time?”

She turned around coldly.

“Go back, Uncle. If they want to regain their positions through you, tell them this: I, Medeia, will no longer lavish my favor on cheap sympathy.”

“Me, Medeia? That means…”

The Regent had prepared various approaches to persuade Medeia, but he never dreamed of this.

They said Medeia had become strange after her fall, but had she really gone mad?

Barely hiding his confusion, he asked.

“So, how much do you need?”

“Well. How can one who gives help put a price on a secret request? That would be the job of the one making the request.”

Saying this, Medeia casually touched the jewelry box placed beside the table.

“These days, they say gold bars are also stored in chests like this…”

It was a precise demand to bring gold in chests. The Regent was dumbfounded.

“…Then how many chests approximately…?”

Instead of answering, Medeia picked up a pen from the table.

Seeing the number, the Regent gasped and jumped up.

“Thirty chests is too much…!”

‘That foolish girl has nothing but greed filling her belly-!’

But to smooth things over, Medeia’s power was absolutely necessary.

The Regent forced down his rising anger and smiled awkwardly.

“Hmm, I understand your intention, but I don’t know how much someone whose assets have been confiscated can gather. Don’t expect too much.”

“Ahaha.”

Medeia snorted.

If there hadn’t been innocent freshness in the laughter bursting from between her shapely lips, Claudio would have thought his niece was mocking him.

“Uncle, their wealth is all mine, no, this country Valdina’s money. When my brother returns, Etienne will lose not just his position but his head. And I’m willing to cover that up – how much could be too precious?”

She pronounced the last sentence word by word.

“…”

“But thirty chests is too many. No matter how noble and wealthy the minister is-“

“Ha, Uncle. Do I need to show you the evidence myself? Exactly how much he embezzled?”

“…”

The Regent, who had given up on persuasion, tried to at least lower the bribe amount, but even that didn’t work out.

The gentle and soft princess was nowhere to be found; it was like facing a moneylender from a loan shark operation.

‘This child wasn’t originally like this… could it be because of Quizin?’

She had been poor enough to sell her own jewelry, so it was understandable she’d be bitter.

“Ah, I understand. So be it… Your Highness.”

The Regent nodded, cursing the dead Quizin.

Medeia, as if she had never been cold, smiled and affectionately patted the Regent’s arm.

“Uncle, since it’s come to this, please squeeze as much as possible out of Etienne with all your might. You’re on my side, aren’t you?”

In the end, Prince Claudio returned without gaining anything.

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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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