The Eldest Daughter Walks Down The Flower Path - Chapter 161

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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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The Eldest Daughter Walks the Path of Flowers Episode 161

The once glorious reign of Emperor Claude had come to an end.

While there would be considerable disagreement about calling him a great ruler, it was an undeniable fact that he had been a powerful monarch, so it was only natural that the Empire would fall into chaos after losing its leader.

The conflict between the Iszad Party and the Belieus Party grew sharper by the day, and the numerically inferior Iszad Party nobles rallied around Empress Adrianne and Crown Prince Charle.

They argued that the oracle stating ‘the black flame will lead the Empire to ruin’ was completely false and created a fake oracle of their own.

Namely, that the 3rd Prince Olivier was not Emperor Claude’s legitimate son.

It was a sordid scandal, but scandals by nature become more persuasive the more sordid they are.

The fact that Olivier bore no resemblance to Emperor Claude and that Dowager Empress Chartine had conceived the 3rd Prince several years after being driven from the Empress’s position added credibility to the scandal.

In response, the Belieus Party nobles chose a frontal assault strategy of sacrificing flesh to take bone.

Instead of responding to petty scandals, they presented evidence of decades of accumulated corruption by the Iszad Party nobles and Empress Adrianne and prosecuted them.

Tiresome mudslinging fights were repeated daily.

Evidence of collusion and sordid scandals erupted dozens of times each day.

It was like a festering wound bursting open and spilling pus.

The heads of the four ducal houses excluding House Rveloa – Coban, Bayard, Glover, and Russel – realized that further unrest would only diminish the prestige of the Imperial Court and the Empire’s nobility.

Eduardo Bayard, head of House Bayard, said:

“The time has come to request His Majesty’s abdication.”

Elias Russel, head of House Russel, spoke with a serious expression:

“His Majesty has already appointed Lord Charle as Crown Prince. His most legitimate successor is Lord Charle.”

At his words, Eduardo Bayard let out a laugh that seemed to carry a chill.

“That’s exactly why we’ve gathered, isn’t it?”

Elvard Coban, head of House Coban, set down a bundle of documents.

“This is evidence that Her Majesty the Empress used various illegal methods to purchase mana stones to create the cursed weapon ‘Black Flame,’ providing enormous quantities of mana stones to ‘black mages’ for years.”

The four heads examined the documents carefully without showing any sign of surprise.

Those documents denouncing the Empress’s corruption were perfection itself.

It seemed like a compilation of only the most decisive evidence of the most despicable corruption, after tracking the Empress’s movements for nearly decades and savoring every instance of corruption.

At the end of the documents were even confessions from the remnants of the ‘black mages’ captured alive by Randiff Pelletier.

The confessions were so thoroughly extracted that they contained everything from the circumstances when the Empress first secretly contacted the ‘black mages’ to bringing them into the Imperial Capital, stealing Hestia’s Mana Stone that the Emperor had been keeping, and harming countless people to keep secrets.

Realizing where the documents came from, Elias Russel sighed with concern and said:

“It’s Lord Randiff’s victory.”

No one present was unaware that Randiff Pelletier, head of the Pelletier Family who had lost his beloved daughter Chartine, had been sharpening the blade of revenge against the Emperor and Empress for a long time.

Elias Russel looked away from the documents and gazed at each of the family heads’ faces as he spoke:

“However, the problems are the controversy over Lord Olivier’s legitimacy and the fact that he is refusing the throne.”

At his words, Eduardo Bayard’s thin lips curved into a smile.

“You won’t need to worry about either of those two issues.”

“Pardon?”

“His Majesty will resolve the former. If there’s one unshakeable belief His Majesty has, it’s that the late Empress loved only him.”

Eduardo Bayard let out a thin sigh.

“If Rveloa wanted victory, they shouldn’t have touched on that point.”

Wesley Glover, head of House Glover, asked:

“Is the 3rd Prince Olivier still unchanged?”

He asked this question because Olivier himself was firmly refusing the throne.

While he was calming the chaotic political situation with one hand, he actually had no interest in the throne whatsoever.

He was devoting all his energy to restoring some kind of spell with the mages.

At Wesley Glover’s question, Elias Russel nodded heavily.

“Yes. The prevailing opinion among mages is that restoring the spell is impossible, but he seems to have no intention of giving up. The 3rd Prince said he has no intention of ascending the throne until he restores the spell and finds his missing aide.”

Eduardo Bayard waved his hand elegantly.

“Originally, the more one declines the throne, the more one gains the people’s hearts. Any child in the Empire would know who is resolving this chaotic situation. Where in the world would there be anyone who would recognize as Emperor a Crown Prince who only trembles while hiding behind the Empress and Crown Princess?”

He spoke in a firm tone:

“We will request His Majesty to issue an abdication edict. The edict will bear the signatures of the four ducal house heads excluding Rveloa.”

Eduardo Bayard paused briefly before speaking again:

“And we’ll need ‘his’ signature as well.”

At his words, Wesley Glover blinked.

“By ‘him’…?”

Eduardo Bayard said:

“Our mutual friend – it’s time for House Russel to restore their damaged honor.”

Adrianne Arpend was confident she would not be defeated.

Now that Emperor Claude was confined, she, the Empress, was the Empire’s highest authority.

Moreover, she had Charle.

The only legitimate heir born of the Emperor and Empress.

She called to him in a dignified voice from beside the bedside of Charle, who was cowering in his bedroom in fear.

“Rise, Your new Majesty.”

At her words, Charle’s head popped out in surprise from under the blankets.

“M-Mother! His Majesty is still alive – how can you say such things!”

Adrianne Arpend shouted:

“Well said! You are the only legitimate heir of Emperor Claude Arpend and myself, Empress Adrianne Arpend. Who else but you could possibly become Emperor?”

Charle pleaded in a voice trembling like a goat’s cry:

“M-Mother! I-I haven’t been Crown Prince for very long. To-to ascend the throne, I need pre-preparation, no, time…!”

“You finished preparing to ascend the throne while still in this mother’s womb!”

Adrianne Arpend grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it away.

This revealed Charle’s pale body curled up under the covers.

Charle let out a shriek:

“Mother! What are you doing!”

He tried to cover his body with both hands.

On that soft skin, traces of a debauched life remained as black and red spots in a mottled pattern.

Adrianne knew Charle suffered from several ailments, but she was shocked to see it was this severe.

‘When did it become…!’

Having left Charle’s health entirely to Rollis for the past few years, Adrianne had been somewhat complacent and was astounded.

There was no way Rollis could have been unaware of Charle’s condition.

No, if she had kept the Empress from knowing about Charle’s health status, Rollis must have been quite deeply involved.

Adrianne sat beside Charle and stroked his back with trembling hands.

Then she asked in a gentle voice:

“Your Highness, what is this?”

She touched the area below Charle’s nape where the red rash was particularly severe and said:

“Oh my, so severely… Your Highness, doesn’t it hurt?”

At her words, Charle pushed away Adrianne’s hand as if annoyed and said:

“It’s nothing serious. It doesn’t hurt either. It’s because of the humid, hot weather.”

“Nothing serious? Right now there’s no issue more important in the Empire than the Crown Prince’s health – how can you say such things…!”

Adrianne examined Charle persistently.

Contrary to his words that it was nothing serious, Charle’s condition looked grave.

His claim that it didn’t hurt sounded even more ominous.

Empress Adrianne sprang up from her seat.

“From now on, I must personally attend to Your Highness’s health. I’ll summon the Imperial physician.”

At her words, Charle’s face turned disgusted.

“The Imperial physician doesn’t suit me. I’m really fine. When I take the medicine Rollis gives me, it doesn’t hurt at all.”

“What medicine did you use? If you used medicine, why hasn’t it healed? And why didn’t this mother know about this?”

At her words, Charle flared up and rose from his seat.

He irritably put on his shirt and shouted:

“Because I told her not to tell you!”

“What did you say?”

“Because I knew you’d react like this!”

“…!”

Charle roughly shouted as he pulled his pants over his plump legs.

“Now that you know, what will you do? Will you drive Rollis from the Crown Princess position when she only granted my request? Or will you execute the healers I chose?”

Adrianne’s forehead wrinkled with force.

She grabbed her son’s clothes and questioned him.

“Your Highness, what do you mean by that?”

“Again! Why do you keep trying to find other meanings in my words? It’s exactly as you heard it, Mother!”

“What I heard was His Highness the Crown Prince reproaching me. Who made Your Highness think such thoughts? Was it Rollis? Was it Olivier?”

At Adrianne’s words, Charle shuddered and shook off her hands.

“Again, again! Mother, please stop this! Didn’t I become Crown Prince just as you wanted? It’s only been a few months since I became Crown Prince! Where exactly does your greed end?”

As if something he had been holding back all this time had exploded, Charle shouted furiously at Adrianne’s face.

“Mother is right! Since Father is the Emperor and Mother is the Empress, ascending to the throne must be my destiny! So please just stay still!”

Adrianne’s mouth opened in an ugly manner.

“What do you mean…! Your Highness the Crown Prince, can you truly not see your half-brothers out there coveting the throne?”

“Mother!”

Charle let out a sound close to a scream.

“Wasn’t it you, Mother, who cherished Olivier more than anyone? If there’s a desire for the throne in his heart, then you would be the one who planted that seed!”

Charle shouted with grinding teeth.

“That damn throne, throne! I’ve lived my entire life swayed by Mother’s desires! If you were going to do this, why didn’t you just ascend to the throne yourself?”

Unable to control his anger, Charle finally roughly pushed away Adrianne who was clinging to him.

“Charle!”

Adrianne screamed his name like a shriek and collapsed to the spot.

Charle looked shocked at what he had done.

However, somewhere in his eyes there was also relief.

“I’m sorry, Mother. But I don’t want to see you insult my loyal brother anymore. Children may be nothing more than useful pawns to Mother, but I have no intention of viewing my blood brothers that way!”

He spoke arrogantly.

“Mother seems determined to live as a Rébellion to the end, but I am an Arpend from beginning to end. I was the Empire’s 1st Prince, I am the Crown Prince, and I will soon become Emperor. When that happens, even Mother won’t be able to do as she pleases anymore.”

“Charle, Charle!”

Adrianne called her son’s name desperately, but Charle, hastily dressed, flung open the bedroom door without looking back.

Adrianne’s eyes met those of Crown Princess Rollis Relbelloa, who was standing outside the door.

Seeing Adrianne collapsed on the floor in a mess, Rollis let out a snicker.

At that moment, Adrianne realized that Rollis’s eyes were no longer hazy.

Rollis slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

With just that slight twist, Rollis’s elegant smile transformed into a sneer.

“Aah…!”

Adrianne unconsciously let out a moan.

She knew that face.

That face was her own face from when she had pulled Chartine down from the Empress’s position in the past.

“No! It absolutely cannot happen that way!”

Left alone, Adrianne’s blue eyes began to burn fiercely.

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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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