Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Golden Lion (2)
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“Of all times, to be dressed like this…”
Irina, strolling through the imperial palace corridors.
She looked down at her own appearance in embarrassment.
A sensual look that accentuated her figure.
Thinking it didn’t suit the imperial atmosphere, she had received a white robe from Dasha.
Draping it over her shoulders like a cape, she entered the meeting room.
The meeting room was called the Platinum Roundtable.
A cozy space the size of a single bedroom.
Yet every wall was made of platinum, equipped with soundproofing magic.
No one outside could eavesdrop.
At the center of the meeting room sat a single round table.
There were only three chairs.
And two of them were already occupied by the other imperial princesses.
“You’re late, Irina.”
“What’s with that outfit…?”
Lea, elegantly holding her teacup.
Lydia, arms crossed all alone, wearing a sulky expression.
Everyone stared at Irina’s unusually feminine appearance.
“I was on a brief undercover patrol.”
The meeting room door closed shut.
Thanks to that, only the imperial royals remained in the room.
The moment the three famously estranged sisters gathered in one place.
The 3rd Imperial Princess eyed the 2nd with narrowed eyes.
She knew full well who she had been with.
“Hah, who goes on patrol dressed like that?”
She pointed at Irina’s body-hugging knit top.
Then alternately at the sleek leggings that highlighted her thighs.
“You’re usually skulking around under a gloomy robe, so what sudden wind blew this way—?”
Irina’s lips twitched at the sharp jab.
She quickly composed her expression and calmly counterattacked Lydia.
“And you? You’re wandering around the palace in that school uniform getup?”
“My fashion sense has just changed lately. It’s not like I’m wearing it as ‘battle attire’ like you.”
Lydia, sitting with her legs crossed.
Every time she chuckled, the hem of her short skirt rode up over her thighs.
Unfamiliar with the uniform-style skirt, she secretly tugged the hem back down.
“…”
Lea closed her eyes gently.
And quietly savored the two’s bickering.
“Have you greeted each other enough?”
The imperial princess maintained her elegant tone.
She was the only one among the three dressed in a platinum gown befitting royalty.
“I was wondering why you’re all dressed so strangely—you’ve both been courting Veil, haven’t you?”
Lea gently set her teacup on the table.
Then gazed at her younger sisters with a leisurely smile.
“You’ve both grown a lot since I last saw you.”
“…”
Only then did the imperial princesses look at Lea.
Curious about why she had summoned them despite their lack of closeness.
“So, why’d you call us here?”
“Get to the point and wrap it up quick. I don’t want to stay here long—it’s uncomfortable.”
Lea slowly nodded at her fiery sisters’ reactions.
Then dipped a spoonful of dissolved sugar into her teacup.
“Just. I had some information to share with you.”
“If it’s info, you could’ve sent it by carrier pigeon.”
The two imperial princesses furrowed their brows.
Lea inhaled the aroma of the tea leaves and closed her eyes gently.
“It’s the kind of important information you can’t just send by carrier pigeon.”
Lea slipped her hand into her bosom.
And placed a charred scrap of cloak on the table.
“I’ve identified the mastermind behind the attackers who raided Irina’s mansion.”
The 2nd Imperial Princess’s eyes widened at the sight of the scrap.
She glared coldly at Lea.
“How did you find the ones who attacked me…? And why…?”
The silver-haired imperial princess fixed Lea with a wolfish glare.
She knew Lea wouldn’t help her for nothing.
“Veil asked me to.”
“Veil…?”
Irina furrowed her brows at the unexpected name.
“He asked me to track down the arsonists who ambushed you.”
Lea continued with a relaxed expression.
“I didn’t help because I like you or anything. I just received proper compensation from Veil and repaid a debt.”
Irina wanted to ask what help Lea had gotten from him.
But the 1st Imperial Princess’s sarcasm that followed made that urge vanish.
“You got lucky. The arson happened right when that boy was your instructor. Without him, it would’ve been a total disaster.”
The 2nd Imperial Princess let out an incredulous snort at her words.
Instead, she said proudly.
“Yeah, he even became an instructor for my knight order. Now we can meet every weekend.”
Proudly boasting about having the youngest swordmaster as her instructor.
Lea’s upturned lips stiffened at her confident attitude.
“…”
The other two imperial princesses shot Irina a ‘well, well?’ look.
In particular, the exasperated youngest imperial princess lightly tossed her pigtails and fired back.
“Hah, just an instructor.”
Joining in on the Veil talk, the 3rd Imperial Princess.
She crossed her legs haughtily and said.
“My knights have already been formally hired at his ‘training hall.’ Direct disciples, you know.”
Direct disciples.
A far more powerful title than mere dispatched training.
Irina and Lea both turned to stare at Lydia simultaneously.
“The conversation keeps veering off strangely. We were talking about the ambush incident.”
Lea let out a deep sigh.
Then looked at the smug Lydia and said.
“No ambushes on your side yet, Lydia, but it’s true you could be threatened someday.”
“Hmph, trash like arsonists won’t even breach my knight order’s ironclad security.”
The 1st Imperial Princess stared intently at her laid-back youngest sister.
Then gazed past her at the soundproof wall and spoke.
“Even if the arsonist’s mastermind is my mother, the First Imperial Consort?”
Word that she had sent warlocks not just after the other princesses, but her own daughter too.
The other two imperial princesses looked shocked at those words.
“Why are you surprised? You know my mother’s personality.”
First Imperial Consort Rozanna.
Originally called a witch before becoming consort.
She had offered her body to the emperor to save her country but ultimately failed.
She showed no affection even to the siblings she bore afterward, using them merely as chess pieces to topple the emperor.
“She sent a warning because I’ve been lukewarm to Mother’s schemes.”
Lea calmly drained her teacup.
But her lips remained parched.
“So, that means you’re not supporting the crown prince and the First Imperial Consort?”
Irina asked her in a serious tone.
The 1st Imperial Princess gave an evasively spiteful answer to the pair’s questions.
“Well, Mother’s made threats like this more than once or twice.”
Lea’s complexion had improved since the warlock’s curse was lifted.
But the dark circles remained.
“If I side with her now, I won’t have to worry about dying.”
Lea brushed her golden locks behind her ear, as if it were a simple fix.
Revealing a hidden wound in the process.
“If the empire dissolves and Mother’s kingdom is revived, I’ll just become a princess again like now.”
Her ear bore a torn scar.
As if someone had slashed it in threat.
“I have no need to make Mother and my brother my enemies.”
The imperial princess smiled brightly.
But perhaps due to her weary face.
The smile somehow felt insincere and decadent.
Like a dark lioness who had decided to conform to the pack.
“So you’re submitting to your mother, who tried to kill you?”
Irina caught that look in her eyes.
She subtly provoked while swallowing deeply.
“Me?”
Lea tilted her head, intrigued.
Then Irina slyly brought up the alliance proposal Veil had mentioned.
“Yeah, all the other imperial royals are trying to protect the empire. Yet you, with the biggest faction, are thinking of surrender first.”
Lydia nodded in agreement.
She had already pulled the southern grand duke to her side, preparing for the power struggle after the emperor’s death.
“…”
Lea fell silent at her sisters’ questions for a moment.
Soon, she looked at the two with a sour smile and a disdainful expression.
“You two seem to be misunderstanding something.”
The empire’s 1st Imperial Princess placed her finger on the emperor’s emblem engraved in the center of the round table.
She tapped the cross embedded in its middle.
“To begin with, I don’t care what happens to this empire.”
Lea lifted her blue eyes fiercely.
“I just need to protect the limbs that follow me.”
The 1st Imperial Princess raised her arm.
And humbly placed it over her chest.
“To begin with, if the empire dissolves, I plan to create my own kingdom and declare independence.”
Eyes full of a lioness’s sense of responsibility to protect her pride.
Lea boldly declared it to her younger sisters with those eyes.
“Such…”
The imperial princesses were at a loss for words.
They had always cherished the empire and their father.
“So, I have no reason to join any alliance.”
Lea took a deep, relieved breath.
Then rested her chin on the back of her hand and gazed leisurely at her younger sisters.
“I’ll limit it to just sponsoring that boy Veil. He’ll prove useful someday.”
At that, the two imperial princesses frowned.
Lea’s declaration of scouting a key alliance member without joining drew involuntary snorts.
“Skip the alliance but steal our top asset?”
Lydia narrowed her eyes.
She shrugged, baring her canines.
“Sorry, but you’re too late to butt in. He’s already shown interest in me.”
Interest.
At those words, the two imperial princesses fell silent for a moment.
The meeting room grew quiet.
The youngest imperial princess played it cool, enjoying the hush.
“That’s why I picked out clothes for him—and we even ate pizza together, right?”
Lydia lightly pinched the pocket of her dress shirt.
She shook it teasingly at Lea.
“Oh, but you’re so refined—you probably don’t even know what pizza is?”
“…”
Indeed, Lea clamped her mouth shut at the unfamiliar food.
Lydia flashed a seductive eye smile, convinced of victory.
“You who claim to care for your people don’t even know what they eat—.”
Lydia covered her lips like licking the back of her hand and chuckled.
“Total failure, huh.”
The imperial princesses watched the youngest’s provocation uncomfortably.
Among them, Irina opened her mouth to smash that infuriating smile.
“Oh, really? You ate pizza. I’ve only managed to go to the theater with him.”
“W-What…? The theater?”
Lydia flinched.
Her mouth gaped so wide her canines nearly poked out at the activity she hadn’t even tried.
“Yeah, and in general seating, no less. At this level of closeness, joining the knight order is just a matter of time, right?”
The two imperial princesses boasted to each other about getting one step closer to recruiting the swordmaster.
Then Lydia pointed at Lea, who had been quietly watching.
“What about you—?”
The dark lioness cocked her head at the cat’s question.
“We came to him directly and even proposed an alliance, but you’ve got nothing yet.”
“Your image is so stuffy. Veil must’ve felt burdened.”
Irina chimed in with Lydia’s words.
The target of the attack shifted in an instant.
“Really? Looks like you all had fun times.”
Lea didn’t rebut their words.
She merely quietly recounted her own anecdote with Veil.
“But I’ve met Veil separately too.”
“You have?”
The two imperial princesses eyed Lea curiously.
Lea gently rubbed the teabag she’d taken from her cup between her fingers.
As if applying medicinal herbs to bare skin.
“Yes, deep into the night—I washed his back.”
Lea, who had only ever shown her fellow imperial kin fake smiles.
She told her younger sisters with a mature eye smile.
“Oh, and with his clothes off, too.”