The Prince’s Nanny, Her Specialty Is Assassination - Chapter 235
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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 235. Turning the Tide (3)
The banquet hall was a stage for adults.
“Brother, this is delicious! You should eat some too!”
“Yes, thank you.”
The still young Edwin and Emilia sat at the head table prepared for them, tasting the luxurious banquet cuisine.
“Prince Edwin!”
“Bridget!”
Edwin immediately jumped up from his seat upon seeing a welcome face.
Crauner Ducal Princess Bridget smiled brightly toward Edwin.
The girl he was seeing after a long time seemed to have matured a bit more since he last saw her.
“I’m glad you returned safely.”
“Th-thank you. I’m also happy to see you, Bridget.”
“It’s an honor. Actually, I came to give my greetings.”
“Greetings? You already greeted me a little while ago…”
Bridget smiled shyly then politely offered her greeting.
“I heard you saved my cousin brother. As a daughter of the Bridget family, I will never forget this kindness.”
“Ah, that was…”
That wasn’t something I did, but something Rachel did.
Edwin was about to continue, thinking he should tell Bridget the truth.
“We greet the 3rd Prince!”
If not for the sudden procession of nobles offering greetings, he probably would have successfully explained.
“Good day, Prince Edwin! Do you perhaps remember me? We met once at the hunting competition…”
“My, the 3rd Prince becomes more radiant with each passing day.”
“Prince Edwin! I heard you achieved merit in the subjugation campaign! They say you saved the other princes from danger!”
“To think you’re so remarkable when you haven’t even had your coming-of-age ceremony yet.”
Edwin stared blankly at the nobles who had gathered around his seat.
He was bewildered as people he normally wouldn’t even encounter were suddenly approaching him first with greetings and showering him with praise.
“Your Highness, do you have any thoughts of holding a banquet at the 3rd Prince’s Palace later?”
“If you do so, you must invite me too! That’s a promise!”
“You fool, can’t you see that His Highness is troubled? A grown adult acting so disgustingly clingy.”
“What are you doing here without even greeting the 2nd Prince? You’re someone who never even came near this side normally?”
“Q-quiet! The 2nd Prince doesn’t particularly like me anyway, so it doesn’t matter!”
What on earth is all this about?
While Edwin was struggling, Bridget approached his side and whispered quietly.
“They’re all desperate to get on Prince Edwin’s good side. It’s disgusting how they’re changing their attitude now, but they’re people with high titles and influence, so just pretend to accept them.”
It was advice that would prove invaluable.
Edwin followed Bridget’s advice and awkwardly smiled while accepting the nobles’ greetings.
“Ahaha, thank you all. I hope you enjoy the banquet…”
“No, Your Highness! Why are you using formal speech! We are practically your subjects, so please speak comfortably!”
Even if they suddenly told him to speak informally, it was too awkward for him to do so.
‘When people crowd like this, there’s no telling what someone might do.’
Edwin recalled the teachings the caretaker had given him once and looked around.
‘I’m fine, but if Emilia gets hurt…’
The prince turned his head toward where Emilia was sitting with worried eyes.
“…Hm? Emilia?”
But Emilia, who should have been in her seat, was nowhere to be seen.
“Emilia!”
Edwin called his sister’s name in a shrill voice as he stood up from his seat.
“Oh my, it seems Prince Edwin is looking for Princess Emilia.”
“Princess Emilia is in the safest place, so don’t worry too much, Prince Edwin.”
She’s in the safest place?
When Edwin frowned, Bridget pointed in one direction with her fingertip.
“Papa, you should eat this too! It’s delicious!”
“…I wish you would realize that such behavior in a public setting goes against proper etiquette, Princess.”
“You won’t eat it?”
Emilia was up on the high platform where The Emperor was sitting.
No, more precisely, she was sitting on The Emperor’s lap, which was even higher.
“No, why is Ria up there? I need to go get her right away…”
“I told you not to worry, Prince Edwin.”
“How can I not worry? Bridget, The Emperor is different from other fathers…”
“Look over there.”
Edwin turned his head again with a pale face.
On the platform, a scene he could never have imagined was unfolding.
“You really won’t eat it? It’s delicious though?”
The Princess was offering The Emperor the same food she had offered to Edwin.
Her large blue eyes with bright different-colored flecks were so clear and transparent they almost seemed to have madness dwelling in them.
“Mmm?”
The Emperor quietly looked down at Emilia, who was bringing a fork to his mouth, then sighed.
“I’ll indulge your whims just this once, Princess.”
The banquet hall stirred for a moment.
The Emperor accepting food offered by the Princess?
Moreover, wasn’t this Emperor the cold-blooded person without blood or tears who had slaughtered his siblings and ascended to the throne?
“It seems the rumors about The Emperor doting on the 1st Princess were true.”
“I heard he’s been continuously inviting her to the Imperial Palace recently to dine together.”
“Not only that? Didn’t he bestow those precious cacao fruits only to Princess Emilia?”
One of the rumors floating around the imperial palace like clouds was proven to be true.
“Then that rumor must also be true.”
“Ah, about The 2nd Imperial Consort…”
“It’s understandable to be suspicious. Didn’t the 2nd Prince come out without completing the full ten months?”
Humans are creatures who cheer more for tragedy than comedy.
Especially stories of noble people who seemed untouchable falling from grace were known to inspire fervor.
“Come to think of it, I saw The 2nd Imperial Consort hurriedly leaving the banquet hall…”
“It seemed she had some problem with Countess Katarina.”
“Strange. Isn’t that woman The 2nd Imperial Consort’s closest aide?”
“I heard they were talking about cuckoos? The 2nd Imperial Consort’s complexion suddenly changed completely after hearing that story and she ran out…”
The scandal surrounding The 2nd Imperial Consort and 2nd Prince, The Emperor’s unusually gentle attitude toward the 1st Princess, and the 3rd Prince’s changed position due to his achievements in the subjugation campaign.
“If Prince Lloyd falls out of The Emperor’s favor, it will indeed become a competition between the 1st Prince and 3rd Prince.”
“Honestly, since the 1st Prince is sickly, the likely candidate would be the 3rd Prince…”
Various wheels were meshing together as the Empire’s succession struggle moved toward a new phase. From 3rd Prince Edwin’s standpoint, it was truly a complete reversal of fortune.
* * *
Dawn after the third banquet ended.
The magic lamp in The Emperor’s study had been lit since early morning.
“So, it was the Holy Kingdom and…”
The Emperor threw down the report he had been studying for a while onto his desk.
“The Marquis of Redcliff who deliberately created variant monsters to cause chaos.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Can you take responsibility for those words, Count Crowner?”
“I saw it clearly with my own two eyes.”
Jerome continued in a serious voice.
“The magic stones inside the variant monsters’ bodies, and the clerics and mages from the Holy Kingdom gathered around the magic circle controlling the monsters.”
“Evidence?”
The Emperor lowered his eyes while supporting his head with one arm.
“The report states that the cliff with the magic circle carved into it completely collapsed, making it impossible to even identify the pattern, and that all the clerics were killed by the assassins.”
“…I apologize. If we had reached the scene earlier, they wouldn’t have been able to destroy the evidence.”
“Were the assassins who attempted to destroy the evidence sent by the Marquis of Redcliff?”
“I’m certain of it.”
“Certain?”
The Emperor’s eyebrows shot up.
He frowned and stared at Jerome.
“What’s your reason for being so definitive?”
Instead of answering, Jerome pulled out another bundle of documents from his coat.
“This is the reason.”
The Emperor flipped through the documents Jerome handed him one by one.
As time passed, shock and surprise appeared on his face.
“…What is this.”
After a long while, the Emperor finally spoke again.
“Jerome, where did you obtain such materials?”
Correspondence regularly exchanged between the Holy Kingdom and the Marquis of Redcliff, and a statement from the current Emperor acknowledging that they had used magic circles to create mutant monsters and had attempted to manipulate the course of the subjugation campaign together with the deceased previous Emperor.
“This seal is genuine.”
The Emperor frowned as he traced the stamp on the Emperor’s statement with his finger.
“Do you have some kind of friendship with Johannes the High Priest?”
“…Yes, well.”
Jerome hesitated to answer with a dubious expression.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
“…I do know someone who is close to His Holiness the Emperor. His Holiness sent me these documents through that person, asking me to deliver them to His Imperial Majesty.”
Duke Crowner smoothly told lies with an innocent expression.
“I believe he made such a request because he knew I had attended the Empire’s banquet.”
“I heard the new Emperor is a young man. Do you know what his intentions are?”
“I don’t know.”
Jerome answered honestly and immediately added:
“However, if everything written in these documents is true, the Marquis of Redcliff must be severely punished.”
The gray eyes of the man known as the Strongest Sword of the Empire gleamed menacingly.
“The Marquis of Redcliff—the crimes he has committed are high treason with no room for excuses, even if his entire family were to be executed.”
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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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