Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Golden Lion (3)
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“Oh, he took off his shirt so you could wash his back? What on earth does that mean?”
Irina shot up from her chair and demanded.
“Ha, you should at least make your lies believable. As if you two are married or something—”
Lydia felt the same.
The idea that the man she had shown to her mother had given his body to another princess made her scoff.
“Well, what would I gain by lying to you two?”
Lea picked up a teabag with mature eyes.
She gently dropped it into her favorite teacup.
“You all look so tense. It’s cute.”
The leisurely demeanor of the First Imperial Princess.
Her sisters grew uneasy deep down.
“Don’t worry too much. I just checked his wounds, that’s all.”
Lea lightened the mood with a mature smile.
Then she pushed the teacup to the corner of the table.
“The Veil is not limited to just one of us—he helps all of us.”
The First Imperial Princess rested her elbows on the table.
She propped her face on the back of her hand and spoke leisurely.
“In other words, he has an even greater purpose than becoming a knight of the imperial family.”
A greater purpose.
Lydia tilted her head at the words.
“What’s that?”
Lea placed her hand on the lion-shaped brooch pinned to the center of her dress.
She stroked it gently, as if soothing it.
“Peaceful daily life.”
Irina nodded in agreement.
She had received the same answer when she went to ask Veil herself.
“I can give Veil that daily life. In the kingdom I create.”
Lea, preparing for independence.
While reigning over her own kingdom, Lea needed her own swordmaster.
Most kingdoms had at least one.
And they were not mere mascots—they symbolized the nation’s strength.
Moreover, Veil was young.
Just possessing him would deter neighboring countries from attacking recklessly.
“There’s no need to prop up a crumbling empire.”
Lea personally pushed the piece of cloak on the table toward Irina.
“So, let’s end our connection here.”
She rose gracefully.
But.
She did not head straight outside.
“Lea.”
Irina, arms crossed alone.
She called out in a serious tone, stopping her briefly.
“You think Rozanna and Leon will just let you build your kingdom?”
Lea turned back to Irina, who questioned her grand plan.
She responded with a leisurely expression.
“Are you worried about me right now?”
“Yes. You’re drawing too big a picture.”
If the empire splintered into several kingdoms, wars between nations could erupt again.
And there was no guarantee Lea wouldn’t be a target.
“Even if you declare independence, if those two attack, you won’t achieve peace.”
“By then, even your precious Radiant Knight Order Captain will have retired.”
Lydia chimed in.
The two princesses, now adults, knew Lea’s sole weakness: the lack of a successor captain.
Of course, she had gained Richard at the appointment ceremony.
But after witnessing his crushing defeat to Veil, Lea could no longer be satisfied with him.
Moreover, Veil’s true power displayed when capturing the black mage.
It was hard to believe, but he was already among the top ranks of the six swordmasters.
The age difference between them was just four years.
He could stay by her side her entire reign.
“So, you only need Veil, right?”
Lea murmured quietly to herself.
As she closed the meeting room door, she left one final warning.
“Remember this, you two. I’m not an ally—I’m a rival.”
Thud.
The two princesses left alone in the meeting room.
They silently stared at each other.
They could understand that Lea had met Veil.
But they hadn’t imagined she would try to draw him to her own nation instead of the empire.
“Like mother, like daughter. So scheming.”
Lydia clicked her tongue.
She stood, brushing down her rolled-up skirt.
“She won’t ally with us, but wants to steal our talent—”
The Third Imperial Princess rose.
Arms crossed alone, she prepared to leave as well.
“To think such a girl is the empire’s eldest princess. The country’s really thriving—”
Irina couldn’t bring herself to stand right away.
She simply gazed quietly at the imperial emblem engraved in the center of the table.
“A rival...”
---
Meanwhile, Lea, who had left the meeting room, walked the corridor alone.
She never brought anyone when heading to the meeting room.
She soon stopped walking.
The events from the meeting room kept swirling in her mind.
“I made a bunch of stupid mistakes.”
She thought she had revealed too much information to the princesses unnecessarily.
She calmly analyzed why she had done so.
Picking out clothes.
Pizza.
Even a theater date.
The imperial women chattering over a single man.
Even changing clothes to look good for him.
The absurdity of it made her speak without thinking.
“That wasn’t like me...”
No matter how she thought about it, it was pathetic.
She felt as if she had come across not as an imperial, but as some overly sensitive girl.
“This is not the time...”
Lea tilted her head back.
She blankly stared at the sunset as red as her own face.
The blazing sun.
Even such a bright light fades powerlessly at night.
‘The empire will end the same way.’
Lea exhaled deeply at the turbulent era approaching.
She walked toward the dark end of the corridor again.
But perhaps because of the lingering alliance proposal.
She kept glancing back.
A twinge of guilt.
She thought her love for her father and patriotism had vanished completely.
Yet that emotion remaining in a corner of her heart kept pricking it.
Ignoring it, she forced herself to look ahead again.
Her steps soon halted abruptly.
“...”
The corridor had clearly been empty.
But now, the sound of cold iron boots echoed from afar.
“Lea.”
From the darkness, cold boots emerged.
Above them, a man in a resplendent white uniform approached.
Golden hair just like hers.
And blue eyes that pierced all things.
“For you to come all the way to the palace, something must be up.”
Leon Andalusia.
The imperial crown prince faced his two-years-younger sister with a leisurely smile.
By the crown prince’s side was the vice-captain of the Imperial Knight Order.
A female knight with the same golden hair as the siblings and fierce scarlet eyes.
“I greet Your Highness the Princess.”
Camilla.
She had been evaluated as the greatest talent among all imperial knights in history.
Thanks to that, she skipped the appointment ceremony and joined the crown prince’s ranks directly.
“I heard you summoned the other imperial family members.”
Leon curled his lips upward.
A formal, chilling smile unique to the First Imperial Consort’s bloodline.
“Care to tell me what it was about?”
Lea gazed at her two-years-older brother with indifferent eyes.
Then she smiled back identically.
“You’re the one with something up. Since when have you cared so much about what I do?”
“Of course. You’re the empire’s ‘only’ princess.”
The only princess.
Leon didn’t even consider the other princesses as imperial family, excluding his kin Lea.
“Just catching up lightly.”
Lea replied with a formal smile.
“...”
The crown prince fell silent.
As he did, the air grew heavy, the tension rising.
“Going through puberty late? You’re acting out in ways you never have.”
The moment Leon spoke again.
The formality vanished from his voice.
“You’re too grown for hiding behind Mother’s skirts.”
The 24-year-old woman let out a short breath.
She leisurely brushed her bangs aside.
“Hmm—seeing you act so cold, it must have been something important.”
“Don’t worry about it. You must be busy with Mother’s orders.”
The crown prince clasped his hands behind his back lightly.
Gazing at the sunset sky, he said.
“What if one of those orders was to deal with you?”
The crown prince’s icy remark.
With that, a cold night breeze swept the corridor.
But Lea was no pushover.
Hands behind her back as well, she stared squarely at Leon.
“You’ve already tried once.”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“Fine, keep playing dumb.”
Lea stood side by side with the crown prince.
Together, they watched the setting sun.
“You’ve gotten awfully bold lately. Like you’ve found something to rely on.”
The crown prince glanced down at the Radiant Knight Order emblem on Lea’s dress.
Then he probed her nonchalantly.
“Is it because you recruited Leopold’s son?”
Leopold.
The current Radiant Knight Order Captain, soon to retire.
He had raised his son Richard excellently and planned to pass the position to him.
Of course, there had been that ‘incident’ at the appointment ceremony.
“Yes, one of the children I have high hopes for.”
“But he still needs more training to become a knight order captain.”
Like Lea, the crown prince had an exceptional eye for people.
Knowing Richard’s level, he smiled leisurely.
“I wonder if old Leopold can hold out that long?”
Pretending to worry for his sister, Leon.
He stepped back slightly, showing off Camilla he had brought.
“Camilla, how old are you this year?”
“Twenty.”
The crown prince nodded with a light laugh.
“Hmm—yes. Older than I thought.”
Lea frowned at his words.
To call twenty freshly a knight order captain prospect ‘old’.
The ruthlessly strict standards irked her naturally.
Perhaps because of that irritation.
Lea turned to look at Camilla.
Fierce red eyes like a beast.
And the intense crimson mana emanating from her entire body.
The First Imperial Princess realized it soon enough.
Camilla was an ‘unofficial swordmaster.’
She had been on the front lines, so news of her reaching that realm hadn’t reached the capital.
Only the crown prince knew.
“There’ve been all sorts of nasty incidents in the capital lately. So I recalled her from the southern war.”
The princess soon met Camilla’s eyes.
She understood why they were so red.
From severing countless enemy commanders’ heads, even her gaze was steeped in blood.
“You must have made plenty of preparations for when your father passes, too.”
The crown prince looked down sternly at the princess.
With a cold expression, he said.
‘Can you win?’
Bringing Camilla before Lea wasn’t mere boasting.
It showed the difference in forces.
In other words, a courtesy among imperials: recognize the vast gap and submit.
“...”
Lea, of course, understood his intent.
And the existence of an unofficial swordmaster shook her plenty.
But she didn’t lose her composure.
Instead, she sharply turned her head away from the crown prince.
“Preparations?”
She gazed at the night sky arriving over the setting sun.
The encroaching gloomy darkness.
Yet within that darkness, a faint blue star twinkled.
“I’m doing plenty.”
Lea spoke flatly to Leon while gazing at that star.
“You should prepare even more thoroughly than now.”
The crown prince tilted his head.
Her reaction intrigued him, curling his lips.
But.
That curl soon hardened coldly.
“With that level of forces, it still seems a bit short.”
Lea’s eyes, tinged with sunset glow.
For the first time, she sent her brother a bold smile.
Lea had already experienced a golden power more radiant than crimson killing intent.
And vowing to claim that power, she left the palace.