They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 78

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Banquet Hall had grown excessively quiet.
The Emperor had just risen from his seat, and now only the Crown Prince remained in this place.
The Crown Prince moistened his lips with wine, lost in thought.
‘Crown Princess.’
As if to appease him over their recent clashes, the Emperor had promised Iserna the position of Crown Princess.
Along with the urging to complete the conquest of Bardia.
‘I thought Ser wouldn’t want it.’
[If I desired it, you would grant it to me?]
Surprisingly, she had shown a willingness to accept.
Of course, that would only be possible once the war with Bardia ended.
‘I could grant her the position without needing the Emperor’s permission at all, if she desired it.’
What significance did the Crown Princess title hold?
I had come this far, enduring tedious matters, to place the seat of Empress of this great Empire into her hands.
‘Mikhail, you said so yourself. That you would propose to Iserna upon her return. That you had reserved the queen’s seat for her.’
That mere queen of Bardia.
A scoff escaped me.
The status and power I could offer her were far greater than that.
‘For now, I should accept the Emperor’s proposal.’
Once she became Crown Princess, everything that followed would proceed far more smoothly.
The Emperor’s vitality was nearly exhausted now.
‘I shall ascend to the throne without difficulty.’
By then, Iserna would no longer insist on returning to Bardia.
I need only speak of the people of this vast Empire and their plight.
With her strong sense of responsibility, she would have no choice but to remain here and lend her hand to stabilizing the Empire.
‘Then I could offer the Expedition Team far greater rewards as well.’
The Crown Prince sketched out the blueprint in his mind and smiled with satisfaction.
Once she selected the treasures and returned, he would take her to the Crown Prince’s Palace and propose to her.
But then….
‘She’s taking her time.’
The Crown Prince set down his wine glass, narrowing his eyes slightly.
She should have been returning by now.
He was well aware that the Imperial Palace’s Treasury was quite expansive.
The Spoils Warehouse, where all manner of plundered goods were displayed, overflowed with national treasures from conquered nations, so there would certainly be much to capture Iserna’s interest.
‘But given the Crown Princess’s nature, she wouldn’t dawdle.’
He had been urging her to choose quickly from beside her, yet it was taking this long.
‘I should go check.’
Having made his decision, he rose from his seat.
After all, there was only one path from here to the Treasury.
They couldn’t miss each other, so going to fetch her wasn’t a bad idea.
If they met along the way, he would smile warmly.
That alone was reason enough for him to act personally.
Leaving the Banquet Hall, he traversed the Corridor with purpose.
‘What would make a good betrothal gift…’
Then.
The Crown Prince stopped abruptly.
It was almost by chance.
In this vast Imperial Palace, there were only a few places where paths intersected.
“Bellonia.”
At the Crown Prince’s call, the woman walking briskly toward the Imperial Palace exit halted in her tracks.
The Crown Princess was alone.
The moment he recognized this fact, the Crown Prince’s eyes turned cold.
He quickened his pace to close the distance.
Then he seized the Crown Princess’s arm roughly and spun her around.
“Why are you alone.”
Upon seeing his face, the Crown Princess feigned exaggerated surprise. “Oh my.”
“Why are you here, brother? That Separate Palace Maid should have gone to the Banquet Hall?”
“Every word from your mouth is a lie.”
The Crown Prince stared at her in exasperation.
“Where is Ser.”
The Crown Princess’s eyes darted subtly as her lips curved upward.
“He must be sightseeing, I suppose.”
“…”
“He’s so greedy he won’t come out, so I left first.”
The Crown Princess’s gaze swept over the Crown Prince once, and her lips curved into a smooth smile.
“Coveting things beyond your station….”
It was unmistakably a smile of triumph.
“How vulgar, wouldn’t you say?”
The moment those words fell, Kailyb’s grip tightened.
Squeeze.
Pressure bore down on the Crown Princess’s arm.
“It hurts!”
The Crown Princess winced and struggled to free her arm, but the Crown Prince did not release her.
He was clenching his teeth.
He had already sensed it.
That something had gone terribly wrong.
There was no need to hear an explanation.
The Crown Princess, who despised Iserna, would never reveal the truth.
Kailyb did not release the Crown Princess’s arm as he changed direction.
“Where are you taking me,” the Crown Princess asked irritably.
He did not answer.
His footsteps quickened with each stride.
There was only one destination.
The Emperor’s Bedchamber.
He passed through layers of doors and the knights standing guard without hesitation, and when he finally reached the entrance, he did not pause.
Crash!
He thrust the door open violently, without so much as a knock.
And at the sight that greeted his eyes, his breath caught.
The scene visible through the haze of incense that still hung thick in the air was nothing short of chaos.
Furniture had been shoved aside, and decorative objects lay scattered across the floor in disarray.
Traces of violent collision marked the space everywhere, as though a physical struggle had taken place.
And on the floor.
….
The familiar dress he had personally selected lay torn to shreds and discarded.
The petticoat and undergarments were scattered nearby as well.
Beyond that scene, the Emperor stood in his robe.
As though nothing had occurred, wine glass in hand.
“My goodness.”line>
The Crown Princess, taking in the sight and grasping the situation, covered her mouth with exaggerated shock.
The princess, taking in such a sight and grasping the situation, dramatically covered her mouth.
“So the maid from the Separate Palace chose to become His Majesty’s mistress rather than the Crown Princess?”
Her voice brimmed with malicious delight.
“Though I suppose becoming His Majesty’s possession alone is honor enough. How fortunate for such a greedy woman to exceed her station so greatly.”
The Crown Princess’s cruelly whispered words barely reached the Crown Prince’s ears.
Something within his mind had already snapped.
The Crown Prince’s eyes had grown cold.
No.
Rather than cold, they had settled into the ashen emptiness of something completely consumed by fire.
“Your Majesty.”
The Crown Prince’s voice emerged low.
It was utterly unlike his usual tone.
The Emperor, refilling his wine glass, glanced at him and replied.
“You’ve finally arrived.”
He was composed.
Excessively so.
The Crown Prince’s gaze rose slowly from the floor to the bed, then to the Emperor.
“Where is Ser Brin?”
The brief question was less an inquiry born of curiosity than a demand for confirmation.
The Emperor’s lips curved upward.
“Who knows.”
The Emperor turned his body leisurely and spoke as he tilted his glass.
“She was certainly here just moments ago.”
The moment those words left his lips, Kailyb’s hand trembled ever so slightly.
“But….”
The Emperor continued speaking.
“I know you’re the one who took her. I don’t understand why you’re asking me.”
In that instant, the very air transformed.
A murderous intent seized the space so viciously that the Crown Princess and Emperor stiffened in shock.
“Right now….”
The Crown Prince’s eyes blazed as he stepped forward.
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
The Emperor’s brow contorted.
“Wasn’t it you who struck me from behind? There are limits to shamelessness, and you dare threaten me?”
“…haha.”
The Crown Prince let out a short, incredulous laugh.
“Dare?”
As the killing intent grew ever thicker, the Emperor’s face drained of all color. Cold sweat began to pour down like rain.
“You insignificant wretch, you forget your place and covet what is mine?”
The Emperor barely squeezed out the words, his voice strangled.
“…The contract! Honor the contract…!”
The Emperor had always firmly believed the Crown Prince could never harm him.
But now, with the Crown Prince’s eyes completely consumed by madness, it seemed he was capable of anything.
“You’ve crossed the line far too egregiously.”
Step by step, the Crown Prince’s approach resembled that of the Grim Reaper himself.
Or perhaps a demon come to claim a soul as payment for a bargain.
Fear finally crashed over him.
“It was you who crossed the line.”
….
“You withdrew your army for nothing but a single woman…!”
Even as the Emperor’s desperate cry tore from his throat, the Crown Prince didn’t blink once.
His wide-open eyes were bloodshot, the veins bursting crimson.
“Your Majesty.”
The Crown Prince’s lips twisted into a grotesque smile as he offered an exaggerated bow.
“Let us end the contract here. Sleep well.”
For the first time, stark terror blazed across the Emperor’s eyes.
The next moment.
A cold gleam flashed.
The Emperor’s head and limbs separated from his body and fell to the floor with dull thuds.
Clang—

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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