Chapter 135
Chapter 135
Translation: godsn
The Queen Dowager's Palace of Valdina.
The Queen Dowager's bedchamber was thick with the pungent scent of medicine.
Though she had stabbed herself in the chest with a dagger, the Queen Dowager had fortunately avoided a fatal wound.
Yet, whether due to the overwhelming psychological shock of her own son targeting her grandchildren, she remained unconscious for quite some time.
"If this medicine also proves ineffective, I fear Her Highness the Queen Dowager's recovery... will be difficult in the short term."
Despite the acrid smell stinging his nose, Lord Hertos, her personal physician, expressionlessly tipped the medicine into the Queen Dowager's mouth.
Before long, her eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Your Highness, are you awake?"
At Lord Hertos' voice, she merely blinked repeatedly before suddenly snapping her eyes wide open.
"Medeia!"
The moment she jerked upright, dizziness spun through her head.
Had Lord Hertos not been beside her, swiftly grabbing her arm to stop her, she would have tumbled right off the bed.
"You mustn't strain yourself. Your wound could reopen."
The Queen Dowager didn't even glance at the bandages wrapped around her body.
"What happened? Medeia! Is she alive?!"
"Please calm yourself, Your Highness. The Princess is unharmed."
"What happened? Tell me what happened!"
When Lady Pinatelli hesitated, the Queen Dowager's heart plummeted.
'Surely, that bastard Joaquin...! He dared to harm my grandniece after all!'
Just before the surging rage and grief could overwhelm her into unconsciousness, Medeia appeared from behind Lord Hertos.
"Please calm down, Grandmother. You mustn't move so much with your injury."
"Medeia!"
"I'm fine. My uncle's rebellion has also been suppressed. The Royal Castle is secure."
Medeia relayed the outcome of that day with detached composure.
"Oh, thank the gods."
The moment she confirmed her granddaughter's unscathed face, the Queen Dowager collapsed as if in prayer.
Fumbling, she pulled Medeia's hand to her forehead and murmured her gratitude to the goddess.
"I thought I'd lost you. I thought I'd have to send you away, just like Johann."
"......"
"I'm sorry, Medeia. All of this... is this old woman's fault. I made it this way. Your pain, Joaquin's greed—it's all because I failed in my duties."
These were words she had never been able to voice. Words that had festered in her heart like a brand until the very end.
The Queen Dowager offered her granddaughter a heartfelt apology, one that poured straight from her soul.
"......"
Medeia gazed down silently at the bowing Queen Dowager.
Ambivalent emotions, impossible to define, flowed through her.
She couldn't lay all the blame at the Queen Dowager's feet.
After all, Medeia herself was far from free of the countless sins she had committed in her past life. Thus, she couldn't resent her grandmother unconditionally.
But the years that had slipped by were far too many for her to understand and accept the Queen Dowager now.
Any tender understanding or generous forgiveness had long since eroded within Medeia.
The bitter tears streaming down the Queen Dowager's wrinkled cheeks could no longer reach her. Tragically, the distance between their hearts had grown too vast.
"Back then, you did your best, Grandmother."
Yet one thing was certain: the Queen Dowager had risked her life to stop the Regent.
She had neither been swayed by familial affection nor shirked her own responsibility. That alone gave Medeia ample reason to protect her.
'So, Grandmother, this distance between us is just right. The exact measure needed for you and I to coexist—as royals, as pillars of Pelleus' reign.'
Medeia had no intention of forging a warm grandmother-granddaughter bond, nor did she wish to vent long-held resentment.
She would simply remain in that place, like an ancient tree brushed by the passing wind.
"Pelleus."
To protect the true master of this nation.
At Medeia's call, a beautiful young man approached the Queen Dowager.
"Medeia, what did you just say—"
The Queen Dowager, who had been questioning her granddaughter, widened her eyes.
As if seeing what should not be seen, she rubbed her wrinkled hands over her eyes.
Glistening silver hair, luminous blue eyes. Though his features had grown more rugged and robust, he was unmistakably the eldest grandson she remembered.
"Pelleus, is it truly you I'm seeing before me?"
Pelleus approached and knelt beside her bed.
Then he leaned his face close so the Queen Dowager could verify his identity herself.
"Yes, Grandmother. Your grandson has returned."
"The plains—the war—?"
As she traced her grandson's face, she suddenly seemed to remember and sharply inquired. At Pelleus's glance, Dianzel brought forth a scroll.
It was the surrender documents obtained from the defeated chieftains.
"We have reclaimed the plains tribes. Valdina has emerged victorious, Grandmother. I have upheld Father's legacy."
The Queen Dowager's lips trembled. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks once more.
"Well done, so well done... Truly magnificent......"
Medeia stepped back and quietly observed the reunion between the King and the Queen Dowager.
One step. Two steps. Suppressing all sound, she silently exited the chamber.
The pungent medicinal smell felt oddly welcoming.
Because this acrid scent would fill the void left by her absence.
Unaware that her brother Pelleus's gaze had briefly followed her departing figure, Medeia left the Queen Dowager's Palace.
"Your Highness, Kensington is waiting. Shall we proceed there?"
Neril stood waiting before the Queen Dowager's Palace.
Medeia gave a slight nod.
In the castle streets where they had once reunited, this time it was Kensington who had come first to await her.
"Count, you're looking well."
When Medeia initiated the greeting, Kensington reciprocated in kind.
"Your Royal Highness as well. Everything has unfolded precisely according to Your Highness's designs—truly remarkable."
The rebellion in the Royal Castle had been the Princess's grand trap to overthrow Regent Claudio.
When Kensington realized this, she had shuddered while secretly wondering what means the Princess would employ to suppress the Regent and emerge victorious.
But the return of Valdina's King had been a complete variable beyond even her expectations.
The scene of the Regent's private soldiers falling like autumn leaves scattered by the wind before the overwhelming martial might of the Agema still made her skin crawl upon recollection.
"You remained here to verify the results, didn't you? To confirm whether my scheme was truly as I claimed, and whether I would actually succeed."
Medeia shrugged impassively.
Her face bore an arrogant expression, as if Kensington's astonishment was the most natural reaction.
"...Not long ago, I learned that the young maid Your Highness recently took in was the sister of the boy rebel who beheaded the rebel leader. Had you planned everything from that moment?"
"You know full well that wasn't the only thing I wanted to show you. Did you not witness how I 'saved' Theo as well?"
Medeia countered in an even tone.
"I preserved the life of a rebel who despises me. Solely because he was forced to cooperate with me."
Kensington swallowed a hollow laugh. She had discerned what the Princess was implying.
"Your Highness."
"Enough with the probing. So Count, what is your answer to my courtship?"
Conversations with the princess were always like this.
If I let my guard down even slightly, her words would pierce through like a sword pressed against my throat.
"......"
"Kensington, you are the only one I have ever gone to such lengths for."
"Your Highness honors this lowly criminal far too much. However, my answer remains unchanged."
This was Kensington's reply after long deliberation.
"I dare not hide that I am deeply impressed by Your Highness's wit and spirit. Had I not been born of Kazen, I would surely have pledged my loyalty to you."
Where did the princess's gaze reach? How far could she see? The question arose in Kensington's mind. She even felt the desire to stand by the princess's side and witness it for herself.
Had she been the young and vibrant Louisa, she wouldn't have hesitated.
But now she was middle-aged, burdened with the weighty surname Kensington rather than her given name.
At this age, it was right to suppress the inexplicable surge of passion rising in her chest rather than follow it.
"Though I've faced many temptations over the years, never before have I encountered someone like Your Highness."
Out of gratitude for the sincerity the princess had shown her, Kensington bowed deeply.
As of today, apart from her liege Perdiccas II, the princess of Valdina was the only person before whom Kensington had ever knelt.
"However, I am too stubborn by nature to become a turncoat who betrays the loyalty I've sworn to His Majesty."
The princess's expression remained unchanged, as if she had anticipated Kensington's refusal. She simply asked again.
"Even if you were to die by the Emperor's hand, would that loyalty still hold?"
"That will never happen. Though our Emperor may cut off his own hand, he would never discard a finely honed blade by his own will."
When Kensington declared this firmly, Medeia silently handed her something—a small cloth pouch containing several smooth, polished stones.
"The mountain goats of the Asilif range grow up exposed to poisonous herbs from birth. Thus, their gastroliths are primarily used as antidotes."
Kensington was familiar with the gastroliths of Asilif goats. The Asilif Mountains were also famous across the continent for producing aconite.
And aconite was the poison most commonly used by the Kazen imperial family to eliminate political enemies.
"Nothing in this world lasts forever. I realized that truth far too late."
The mere seventeen-year-old princess spoke like an old woman reminiscing about life on her deathbed.
"......"
"Consider this a precaution. Accept it. If nothing comes to pass, let it serve as a memento in the years to come."
Kensington, who had been about to return the pouch, let out a short sigh at Medeia's words.
"Indeed, I too shall long remember Your Highness and this kingdom."
The aftertaste of her uncharacteristically polite farewell was bitter.
King Pelleus had finally emerged victorious in the decade-long war, securing the plains at last.
It would be difficult for Valdina and Kazen to return to their former friendly relations.
The Emperor would grow even warier of Valdina, and Kensington, as his vassal, would have to uphold his will.
Once she left Valdina, the next time she saw this princess, they might be enemies.
"I too shall feel regret. Do not forget that Valdina's doors remain always open to you."
Kensington couldn't pinpoint the reason for her rising melancholy.
'Stop here. Don't dig deeper. Never forget that my master is the Emperor of Kazen.'
She pushed the fleeting thoughts back beneath her consciousness.
In the end, Joaquin Claudio's ambitious coup ended in disgrace without yielding any benefit.
The vassals of the Regent's Faction, including the House of Claudio, were rounded up like sausages on a string and thrown into prison.
Since his followers had taken neighboring nobles hostage to pressure Medeia into abdication, there was no room for reconsideration.
The time had come for those who had recklessly exploited the royal family and the nation to pay their due.
Voices grew loud calling for the complete eradication of these subversive elements.
"Move in! Search everything. Don't let even a single rat slip through."
Agema forces stormed into the Duke of Claudio's estate.
Thanks to the vassals voluntarily exposing the Regent's crimes, the investigation into the rebellion proceeded remarkably smoothly.
Thus ended the life of Valdina's once unrivaled power broker, who could make birds fall from the sky with a word.
The position of Regent was cast into the dirt, and the ducal family's assets were confiscated.
The Agema had long since visited every hiding place where he had stashed his slush funds.
The most zealous in tracking down the Regent's wealth was Chancellor Siseo.
"The Regent's personal accumulated wealth exceeds the current treasury of the Valdina royal family. What an ~extraordinary~ man indeed."
Sparks seemed to fly from his eyes behind his monocle. Not a single copper coin that had passed through the House of Claudio escaped his notice.
Claudio's honor and wealth were completely stripped away and laid bare. The next step was his status.
"From this day forth, Joaquin Claudio and his descendants shall be erased from the royal lineage."
Now, he was nothing more than a commoner—Joaquin Claudio.
The pride of a staunch elitist, who had once looked down upon everyone from the lofty perch of royalty, had shattered into dust, leaving not even a trace behind.
A damp prison, a dark cell where no light entered.
The very same prison that had once horrified Minister Etienne.
The darkness, the dampness, the filth—it was more than enough to drive the people of the ducal house, who had spent their entire lives clad in finery and feasting on delicacies, to madness.
Joaquin still couldn't accept his failure.
One of his eyes was already beyond recovery.
No physician came to tend to him in his cell, and the shrapnel embedded deep within had long since festered beyond repair.
His remaining eye, dull and lifeless, remained fixed in thought.
Where did it all go wrong?
His thoughts spiraled endlessly.
At what point had his once-perfect future begun to unravel?
And at last, he found his answer.
It was when Medeia woke from that fall...
Medeia had clashed with the former Head Maid Cuisine, who had crumbled before her. His own mother, the Queen Dowager, had turned her back on him.
Then Minister Etienne died, and Joaquin lost control over the palace.
The Kazen diplomatic mission had fallen for Medeia's provocations, and the hunting competition—her disappearance—had backed the ducal house into an inescapable corner.
And when he, in his impatience, had rushed the coup...
At every moment his plans had collapsed, there she was—the princess, his own niece.
"I should have killed that little bitch right then and thereeeeee!"
Just as Etienne had once done, a wretched scream echoed through the dark prison like a haunting wail.
So unbearable was his downfall that Joaquin's hair had turned white within mere nights.
His face was now deeply lined, his expression twisted into a permanent scowl so hideous it was painful to behold.
The once-handsome middle-aged man, who had seemed untouched by time, was now unrecognizable.
Click, click. He gnashed his teeth, muttering Medeia's name through bloodshot eyes.
Samon watched his half-mad father from the corner of his eye.
The sight of his father, unable to accept his fall, was pitiful—yet, in a way, understandable.
Because he, too, hadn't given up. No, he couldn't give up.
"Aaaah! Aaaaah!"
Across from the cramped cell where the Claudio father and son were imprisoned, the noise was even louder and more chaotic.
Because Catherine and Virna were there.
For the mother and daughter, who had spent their entire lives wrapped in luxury and beauty, this prison was unbearably cruel.
"Agh, it's filthy! I'm going to die! Let me out! Why do I have to be here?! It should be that bitch Medeia! I'll kill her! I'll tear her to pieces, I'll rip her aparttttt!"
Virna shrieked with such venom it made ears ring, heedless of the wounds splitting open on her back.
Catherine clung to her, tears streaming down her face.
On the day the rebellion was crushed, the Claudio couple and the young duke had been immediately thrown into prison.
But Virna, who had been abandoned outside the castle walls, wasn't found until much later.
And even then, it wasn't to save her—it was only to arrest her as the Regent's daughter.
"Agh! Virna! My daughter, my baby!"
Catherine wailed as she saw the deep wounds still marring Virna's back.
She had worked so hard to raise her daughter with flawless, unblemished skin—not a single scar, not a single mark!
Every time she saw the long, angry red gashes on her daughter's back, it felt like she herself had been stabbed.
"Even if we're criminals, you must call a physician! You lowborn beasts, have you no decency?!"
The jailer spat on the ground outside the bars at the ear-splitting shrieks.
"Listen here, Duchess. Decency is for people, not beasts."
Though the rebellion had been quelled without major incident, there had still been casualties.
"One of the soldiers you lot killed while trying to threaten Her Highness the Princess was my friend."
Catherine bit her lip and hunched her shoulders under the jailer's venomous glare.
How have we been reduced to being treated worse than vermin...?
Tears of fury and a creeping sense of powerlessness swirled in her delicate eyes.
The past few days had been more than enough time to feel, in her very flesh, the reality of the fallen ducal house.
But as they say, even in the darkest of times, hope remains.
"Ca—! Duchess, Virna! Are you alright?!"
Even though the Claudio ducal house had been cast into the gutter overnight, there were still those who sought to save them.
The one who had secretly come to the prison was Count Laju.