Chapter 98
Chapter 98
Translation: godsn
"Thank you, Uncle Laju."
Samon maintained a rather close relationship with Count Laju, who was also his younger sister's godfather.
"But is there truly any need to extend your reach to the Fourth Imperial Princess when you've already joined hands with Grand Duke Castulo? If His Highness the Grand Duke were to find out, he would surely be displeased."
"If I were to become the Fourth Imperial Princess's consort, the East Marquis would naturally take notice of me. Wouldn't that make me an even greater asset to His Highness the Grand Duke?"
He nodded his head with an air of self-satisfaction.
Even if he were treated as a mere stud horse, the value of gaining the backing of the Fourth Imperial Princess—and by extension, the East Marquis—was more than sufficient.
"You must have endured so much hardship in that distant foreign land. Even now that things have come to this, everyone is only scrambling to avoid blame."
Samon drew closer to the princess and offered her a tender consolation.
"It must be truly difficult to have no one by your side who understands your heart."
Yet the princess, just as when they had first met, did not so much as glance his way. Instead, she waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing away an annoyance.
"I know you admire my cousin. But His Majesty the King is too proud to ever bow before Kazen."
Despite the princess's consistent indifference, Samon's voice remained smooth and gentle.
"What good is a glass flower you can never pluck? Wouldn't a fresh bloom within your reach be far more enticing?"
As if forgetting the wretched humiliation she had inflicted upon him, he looked just as polished and handsome as the day they'd first met.
The princess's eyes flicked toward Samon.
Since arriving in Valdina, nothing had gone her way—but now, with a handsome man hovering so close, her heart wavered ever so slightly.
The princess's eyes grew hazy. The night was deep, and a heavy musk wafted from Samon.
Drunk as she was, even the features she'd once thought worlds apart from Pelleus now seemed vaguely similar.
"So you're saying you're the flower I can pluck?"
When the Fourth Imperial Princess snorted, Samon flashed a seductive smile.
"If that is what Her Highness desires."
Irritation flared, and fury surged to the crown of her head. The effects of the alcohol no longer seemed to matter.
"Medeia...!"
That damned princess of Valdina.
The mere thought of the princess's face made her rage boil over. It only infuriated her more to remember that the King was her brother.
If she couldn't make the King or his sister kneel, then what harm was there in settling for a substitute?
Smack.
"Don't get cocky with me."
Contrary to her words, she seized Samon by the collar and yanked him toward her.
Click. The lights went out.
In the deepening night, darkness shrouded their desires.
In the wake of Jared's storm-like rampage, Iason massaged his temples as he recalled their earlier conversation.
"Your Highness, the Grand Duke, please lodge a protest with Valdina on my behalf. Since the princess's proxy inflicted grievous injuries upon me, shouldn't she be held accountable?"
"Calm yourself, General. I've summoned my finest physician—your wounds will soon be treated—"
He attempted to placate Jared.
But to Jared, who had lost all reason, it only seemed like a hollow attempt to evade responsibility.
"Your Highness seems eager to claim both this wretch and Valdina for yourself, but the world isn't so accommodating."
"You seem far too agitated. Let us discuss this again once your treatment is complete and you've regained some composure. I will find a way to satisfy you—"
Iason's caution only deepened the emotional rift between them, one that could never be bridged.
"Enough. This wretch has found the Mountain King—he has no need for some scavenging jackal digging holes here and there."
"General! General!"
Even if Jared could no longer wield his right hand, the fact remained that he was a 10-Star General, honored by the Emperor.
Though he could no longer take to the battlefield directly, his rank and influence were still too valuable to discard.
"Damn it all! How did things come to this?!"
His once-gentle and benevolent face twisted into something as savage as a Magic Beast.
Crash—! Unable to contain his fury, he swept everything off the table.
Among the items sent crashing to the floor was a letter, its corner now crumpled.
"...The diplomatic mission is to be left to Her Highness, the Fourth Imperial Princess Angelique, while His Highness Grand Duke Castulo is to return to the Empire by His Majesty's command."
For Perdiccas II, it was only natural suspicion.
At that day's banquet, his daughter the Fourth Imperial Princess had lost both justification and advantage—yet Iason had lost nothing. On the contrary, he had gained a reputation for righteousness and integrity.
Moreover, wasn't it Iason, the judge, who had branded the Fourth Princess with defeat?
If one ignored all the circumstances and looked only at the outcome, that was indeed the case.
"Damn it!"
It was maddening. No matter how he explained the sequence of events, the Emperor would not retract his suspicions.
Iason gnawed on his lip.
The one who had initiated the wager was the Fourth Princess, and the one who had lost the duel was Jared.
Yet, in reality, the one who had suffered the greatest loss was Iason himself.
He had lost Jared, was now branded a traitor by the Kazen diplomatic mission, and had even drawn the Emperor's wariness.
"If only the Princess had lost, none of this would have happened..."
Resentment toward Medeia, the catalyst of it all, flared within him.
But then—the fluttering silver hair, the droplets of blood trailing down her pale arms, those sorrowful green eyes like a doe's.
Iason bit his lip.
Unbelievably, a cold ache settled in his chest. Hah, am I really in a position to feel pity for her now?
Suppressing a derisive laugh, he gave orders to his subordinate.
"Send medicine to the Princess's palace."
Having lost his standing within the Kazen diplomatic mission, he needed to secure a foothold in Valdina at the very least.
"But what of His Majesty's command?"
"We'll delay it under the pretext of illness. Since no formal imperial decree has been issued yet, we still have time."
He hadn't come all the way to Valdina just to return empty-handed.
Iason's eyes gleamed sharply.
Kazen Diplomatic Mission, Kensington's Lodgings.
The unilateral imperial decree had not been delivered to Iason alone.
"His Majesty cannot do this to me!"
Kensington slammed her fist down on the table.
Umberto picked up the scroll bearing the imperial decree and unrolled it—then froze in shock.
"'Disband the Red Fox Group and surrender it to the imperial court'—what in the world does this mean?"
Even seeing the words with his own eyes, he couldn't believe them.
"Is His Majesty not being too harsh? The Leader devoted her entire life to building this intelligence network. Had it not been for us, His Majesty might never have ascended the throne safely, nor would the Empire have flourished into the continent's supreme power."
"......"
"And yet, instead of rewarding us, he insults us like this and tries to strip the Leader of her achievements?"
Though he dared not voice it aloud, Umberto thought the Emperor was nothing short of a robber.
"You don't intend to comply meekly, do you, Leader? You must protest to His Majesty."
"Do you not know that defiance means death?"
Kensington exhaled heavily as she spoke.
Ever since ascending the throne, her liege, Perdiccas II, had grown increasingly obsessed with consolidating his power.
Though he welcomed the intelligence Kensington gathered through the Red Fox Group, he was perpetually anxious that she might betray him and leak Kazen's secrets.
Just as he had celebrated and promoted the grand achievements of his son, the First Prince, yet always watched and distrusted him.
Now that the First Prince had fallen, it seemed her turn had come.
"The Red Fox Group will tighten the noose around your neck."
'Whether you hold on or let go, you're in danger—so a noose it truly is.'
Kensington let out a hollow laugh.
The warning sent by the Princess of Valdina seemed almost prophetic of this very moment.
Early Morning, the Fourth Princess's Bedchamber.
Harsh light poured over the naked figures tangled in the sheets.
Yet the man's body bore red marks all over—his cheeks slightly flushed, his torso littered with pinched bruises.
"If you had any sense, you'd have left on your own by now. What have you been doing all this time?"
At the Fourth Princess's icy voice, Samon swallowed his rising fury.
Though he had succeeded in seducing her the night before, what followed had surpassed his wildest expectations.
'I'd heard she was capricious and cruel...'
But he hadn't expected her to be like this even in bed.
Last night, she had silenced him, gripping his hair and toying with him, not allowing him a single word.
She had even called him Pelleus, slapping him until he responded.
To treat him, the young Duke Claudio, as nothing more than a worthless substitute—waves of humiliation and rage toward the Fourth Princess surged within him.
Yet he betrayed none of his burning anger, instead gazing at her tenderly, like a devoted lover.
"Your Highness, did you rest well last night? I hope my inadequacies did not cause Your precious jade body any discomfort?"
"Hmph, seeing the face of you Valdinans first thing in the morning has already ruined my mood."
The Fourth Princess dismissed him with a look of contempt.
Then, from afar, the sound of cheering reached them.
"Long live Princess Medeia! Long live Her Highness!"
A maidservant burst in, panting.
"What? What in the world is happening?"