The Crown I Will Take From You - Chapter 79

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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 79

* * *

Valdina Palace, outskirts of the 3rd District.

Tap tap. Impatient footsteps echoed through the quiet street.

Medeia walked quickly.

She knew she should wait for Neryl to return from the brief errand she’d sent her on, but she simply couldn’t stay there with him any longer.

Even sharing the same ground, the same sky, the same air made her feel nauseous, as if her throat was being strangled.

“Ha, haa, haa…”

Medeia clutched her chest.

To encounter Jason here. He had first appeared in Valdina as part of the delegation at the delegation’s celebration banquet.

‘Why has he already entered the palace?’

The unexpected encounter, earlier than scheduled, made her lose her composure for a moment.

Her husband from her previous life, and her enemy.

The man to whom she had given everything, but who had taken everything from her.

“Excuse me, but may I know the young lady’s name?”

When she faced Jason again,

Medeia had to struggle desperately not to crush her young, vibrant husband’s face.

She clenched her twitching fingers so tightly that tears came from suppressing her anger.

The scars that remained in her memory. She hadn’t forgotten a single one.

She would return every single wound that was deeply embedded in her blood.

Loving Jason had been the greatest mistake and stain of her life.

A nightmarish stain branded on her like a mark that she wanted to carve out even if it meant cutting her flesh.

‘But what about the children?’

At that sudden question, Medeia’s body stiffened.

‘Those children… My children aren’t a stain.’

They were the only breath and reason that kept me alive.

In this life, if she brought down Jason, she would never see those children again.

Medeia staggered without realizing it.

As if facing a cliff, she couldn’t take a single step.

Her pale hands desperately searched for something to lean on, but ultimately found nothing and only clutched at her dress.

Veins stood out on the back of her bloodless hands.

‘Lian, Lea. Your pathetic mother is abandoning you again.’

“Mother. I don’t want to go to the Imperial Palace. Can’t I stay by your side?”

“Mother, don’t worry. If you wait just a little, I’ll come to escort you.”

My son Lian, who was always brave and bold. I pushed that young child’s back with my own hands and sent him away.

That small face that kept looking back to capture Medeia’s face in his eyes even as he left,

Those small hands that wiped away tears and waved brightly so his mother wouldn’t worry—I would never see them again.

“Mama, don’t cry. Lea will hug you. Are you sad because you miss big brother?”

Those chubby hands that wiped away tears. The faint scent of milk that reached my nose as she nestled in my arms.

The anxiety and worry in those young eyes watching her mother.

After losing my son and going mad, I had never once been a proper mother to Lea.

“No! I don’t want to go! I’ll stay with Mama!”

The child who thrashed about hysterically.

I forcibly pried away her small hands that hugged my waist, refusing to let go, and handed her to Virna. Her tear-soaked face was the last I saw.

Never again would I see the children.

A realization she had never acknowledged since her regression struck Medeia hard.

Perhaps she had deliberately postponed it because she knew it would shake her like this.

‘In this life, if I bring down Jason, not even a trace of you will remain. Even so, this pathetic mother cannot give up her revenge.’

You will resent me from there forever.

She seemed to hear the children’s silent screams.

Her vision grew dizzy. The ground seemed to sink and grab at her feet.

Everything was darkness. What lay at the bottom of that abyss?

If Lian and Lea were waiting for me there, crying, then I…

Just as she was about to collapse, strong hands supported her waist.

“Breathe.”

A low voice resonated.

“Slowly. You need to inhale.”

I don’t know. How do you inhale? How have I been breathing all this time? I couldn’t remember anything.

Can’t I just stay like this? The darkness is comfortable because I don’t have to think about anything.

“Come on.”

The calm voice urged.

Thump. Thump. She felt small vibrations gently tapping her wrist.

Thump. Thump thump. It tapped slowly.

“Can you hear it?”

“…Haa…na.”

A pathetic voice gasped between ragged breaths. The other hand patted her back as if she was doing well.

Pat.

“Two…oo.”

Pat. Pat.

“Three, four.”

In the pale darkness, Medeia focused only on counting numbers.

The arm that firmly held her waist was the only support she could lean on.

The voice counting numbers gradually slowed.

“Well done.”

With the low voice spreading over her head like praise as the last thing she heard, she lost consciousness.

* * *

When Medeia opened her eyes again, she was in an unfamiliar place.

An alluring fragrance reached her nose. The smooth cream-colored sheets gently tickled her cheek.

‘This isn’t the Princess’s Palace.’

She bolted upright.

Belatedly, the room’s luxurious interior came into view. Not even a single casually placed decoration was ordinary.

As if sensing Medeia’s movement, a man wearing a white half-mask approached from behind cream-colored curtains.

“You’re awake.”

“Why am I here…”

“I erased the traces. The Princess of Valdina seems to enjoy danger, but I would be more careful if I were you.”

A cup was extended toward Medeia.

She habitually checked its contents. It was just clear water.

The cold water cleared her vision. His words brought back her last memory.

The moment she encountered Jason and was driven to the abyss, those strong hands that caught her as she collapsed.

Was it the man before her who brought her unconscious self here?

“Princess, isn’t it too early to let your guard down?”

At his languid observation, Medeia bit her lip. She thought she had completely shaken off the traces of her previous life.

‘I was too overconfident.’

If her identity had been revealed to the delegation party in that situation, it would have been troublesome.

‘But why isn’t this man asking anything?’

Wary green eyes looked at Chezare.

The man who seemed completely out of place with the palace-like luxurious interior blended in with surprising harmony.

“Sorry, but I’m not quite idle enough to follow you around either.”

The voice that noticed her wariness was leisurely.

“I sent a message, so your maid will come here soon.”

“You made quite a scene.”

One corner of the man’s eye curved upward slightly.

“How disappointing. Haven’t we been on the same side ever since the Princess dealt with those assassins for me?”

“That didn’t mean I would help you make enemies of the Kazen Royal Family.”

Chezare’s eyes flashed with a searching gleam.

It seemed this Princess had figured out in that short time that the assassins who raided the Count’s mansion came from the royal family.

“So, has the Princess of Valdina, who has no intention of opposing Kazen, come all this way to welcome the Empire’s people in advance?”

“….”

Chezare’s straight finger drew a line across the table. Then he placed a cup at his fingertip.

“Ally, or enemy. For me, there are generally these two types. Kazen’s delegation is on this side.”

Thud, the cup he pushed fell to the floor. Crack. It shattered cleanly without much noise.

“Princess, don’t you think what we want isn’t so different?”

“…I’ll repay this debt later.”

Instead of answering, Medeia rose from her seat.

She composed and straightened herself with surprising speed. As if trying not to show any more weaknesses to her opponent.

“As you wish.”

He shrugged his shoulders. His golden eyes leisurely followed her slender back.

Click. The door closed.

Soon, only the faint crackling sound of logs burning in the fireplace could be heard.

* * *

The twilight darkness gradually crept into the White Manor as well.

“Chezare, I brought your medicine.”

“Leave it there.”

Setting down the steaming cup on the table, Terrence observed Chezare.

However, his golden eyes at the window kept gazing outside as if his thoughts were elsewhere.

“Even so, bringing her to the manor was unnecessary. What would you have done if the Princess had noticed your true identity?”

“Has the Princess ever met Jason?”

Chezare asked an unexpected question as if he hadn’t heard Terrence’s words at all.

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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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