Chapter 124
Chapter 124
Translation: godsn
But those words were utterly despicable.
Present in this gathering were not only the Queen Dowager but also key officials of Valdina and the captain of the royal guard.
If the Regent truly wished to cover up his niece's mistake, he should never have revealed it here of all places.
'Joaquin, can this child truly be speaking in earnest?'
Though the Queen Dowager doubted the Regent's intentions, she had no grounds to refute him.
"We have searched every corner of the royal palace but have been unable to locate Her Highness Medeia. We deeply apologize, Your Majesty."
Moreover, the Queen Dowager's own knights, arriving a step too late, corroborated the Regent's testimony.
Presenting a purple folding fan they claimed to have found in the princess's chambers, they handed it to the Queen Dowager.
"This... this is the fan I gifted to Medeia..."
Recognizing the fan, the Queen Dowager staggered.
'Medeia, you foolish child. If you were so afraid, you should have come to me! No matter what happened, this old woman would have protected you. But why—'
Then it struck her. She had never once been a complete shield for that child.
And so Medeia had fled alone.
"Ahh...!"
"Your Majesty!"
Overwhelmed by heartrending regret and guilt, the Queen Dowager's legs gave way. Lady Pinatelli swiftly moved to support her.
The Queen Dowager failed to notice the exchanged glances between the Regent and her own knights.
As if to prove his words true, the Regent stepped forward.
"In place of our 'absent' King and the 'fugitive' Princess Medeia, I shall protect this nation."
"How dare you! All you've ever shown me is the pathetic concern for your own safety. Are you not once again trying to frame Medeia?"
Clasping the Queen Dowager's hand as she voiced her suspicions, the Regent spoke resolutely.
"Mother, do you recall when Father and my elder brother left for the southern regions to resolve the drought, and Kazen invaded Valdina? Though not yet of age, I stood against them. I nearly had my neck sliced open by a Kazen blade."
Though they now feigned friendship and exchanged pleasantries, decades ago Kazen had been Valdina's sworn enemy.
Pulling aside his garment, the Regent revealed the faint scar still visible on his shoulder.
"......"
"I was the same age then as Medeia is now. Yet I did not flee."
Behind him, the robust knights of the ducal house stood tall, as if affirming his words.
"The blood of Valdina's royal family flows through my veins as well. Therefore, I shall restore order to this crumbling kingdom."
The Regent struck his chest emphatically.
The awed gazes of those who saw him as their savior only heightened his exhilaration.
Reactions to the Regent's speech varied.
While some, like the Queen Dowager and Count Montega, remained suspicious, others were taken in by his lies, praising and cheering him, claiming that royal blood truly was different.
Inflated with pride, the Regent roared at the rebels.
"You vile traitors! As long as Claudio stands, you shall never lay hands on this royal castle! What are you waiting for? Raise the banner of Claudio at once!"
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
The thunderous command transformed him into an unparalleled hero.
The crowd was struck by a peculiar sensation.
The princess, who until recently had been the kingdom's hero, had fled like a coward, while the Regent—once reviled as a murderer—now stood his ground to defend the nation.
Perhaps this was what they meant by adversity revealing one's true character.
With the kingdom in crisis, the people now saw the Regent's audacious, almost shamelessly proactive stance as an extraordinary virtue.
After all, compared to the princess who had fled in terror with her tail between her legs...
Before they knew it, swept up in the fervor, the people had completely forgotten Medeia's own stand against the Kazen Empire.
"Mother, I shall gather noblewomen to tend to the wounded. Though hastily arranged, it is better than having no hands at all."
The Regent's wife, Duchess Catherine Claudio, calmly proposed organizing support for the soldiers from the rear.
"Grandmother, grant me permission to go forth and fight."
His son, the young Duke Samon, bravely requested to venture beyond the castle walls despite his body not yet fully recovered from the caning.
The exemplary conduct of the Claudio ducal house was worthy of emulation by all.
At this moment when everyone was merely watching and stepping back, the only ones stepping forward without hesitation toward the rebel forces were them.
Meanwhile, the Duke's knights swiftly and in perfect unison raised the Duke's banner beside Valdina's national flag.
The blue-green banner fluttered vividly in the wind, boldly declaring its presence.
"We, the Claudios, shall resolve Valdina's national crisis in this time of peril. Mother, entrust the command of the royal forces to m—"
At that moment, clop-clop—the sound of hooves echoed.
A single soldier atop a white horse ascended the castle walls in one breath. His skill in maneuvering the horse up the steep stairs was exceptional.
"Uncle, what in the world are you saying?"
A clear, resonant voice followed.
The small soldier removed and tossed aside his helmet. With a clang—as the helmet rolled across the ground—silver hair cascaded like waves.
"Her Highness the Princess?"
Hadn't they said she fled?
What was happening?
People's eyes widened in shock.
Yet, no matter how you compared it, the astonishment of the Regent's family was beyond measure.
The Regent nearly let out a shriek.
"M-Medeia, how did you...?"
How? Why was she here?
"By now, you should've..."
She should have been far beyond the royal castle, captured by the rebels by now!
His eyes, now as wide as lanterns, showed no sign of shrinking.
Catherine and Samon, standing beside him, wore expressions of utter disbelief. It seemed they couldn't even begin to fathom what had gone wrong.
Samon froze.
"Sam, I can't ride that fast. The memory of falling is so dreadful I can barely hold the reins."
A memory surfaced—Medeia, pouting at the hunting grounds.
But now, as she leaped down from her horse, she showed not a trace of fear.
No, rather, the way she handled her armor and horse seemed utterly natural. As if she were a general who had spent her entire life on the battlefield.
'No way...'
Even as he dismissed the thought as impossible, a bizarre premonition shot through Samon.
"Forgive me, Uncle."
Medeia, now dismounted, first turned to the Regent.
"Though you prepared a safe escape route for me to flee the rebels, I simply couldn't follow through."
Escape route? People's ears perked up.
What did this mean? It contradicted what the Regent had just claimed.
"Am I not the Princess of Valdina? No matter what trials and disasters befall us, it is my duty to remain and protect this land until the very end of its collapse."
Medeia lifted her chin, slowly sweeping her gaze across the castle's interior and exterior.
Her eyes were gentle when looking at the soldiers within the castle, but when they turned toward the rebels outside, they were as sharp as a finely honed blade.
"Joaquin said you fled in terror."
At the Queen Dowager's question, she tilted her head.
"Fled? My uncle came to my chambers himself and showed me the secret passage, even lending me the Duke's knights. There must have been some misunderstanding."
As if seeking confirmation, Medeia looked at the Regent.
"You—you...!"
The Regent Claudio's face turned as pale as his whitened thoughts.
Then—
"You greedy dogs of the royal family! Behold! The true face of the monarchy you protect!"
A thunderous roar erupted from the rebel forces beyond the walls.
[When the Duke's banner flutters atop the castle walls, expose the kidnapped princess for all to see.]
This was the signal the Regent had prearranged, anticipating that communication would become difficult once the rebels entered the castle.
"Commander, the Duke's banner has been raised."
"Good. The signal has come. Now! Bring forth the sacrifice!"
Commander Horols, unaware of the sudden appearance of Medeia on the walls, remembered the tacit signal and stepped onto the promised stage.
'No!'
The Regent screamed inwardly.
Though he couldn't grasp the full details of why Medeia was here, one thing was clear—his plan had gone horribly awry.
He frantically signaled a knight to pull down the banner.
"We've captured the Princess of Valdina!"
But Horols' distant shout came faster.
A slender girl with a sack over her head was dragged forward, her hands bound.