Chapter 140
Chapter 140
Translation: godsn
The dungeon of Valdina's Royal Castle.
Thud, thud, thud. The clamorous footsteps echoing through the prison showed no intention of concealing their presence.
"Ah. You've finally come."
In the filthy cell, Samon, who had been staring intently at nothing in particular, lifted his head.
"How dare a vulgar commoner like you try to blackmail me?"
Beyond the iron bars stood the Fourth Imperial Princess, glaring at him.
[Your Highness the Fourth Princess, would it be alright if I revealed to the world that it was actually Your Highness who released the wolves during the hunting competition to attack Medeia?]
This was the message he had sent to the Fourth Princess through Laju.
Samon shrugged his shoulders.
"If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't have bothered to come see me at all. Did I have any other choice?"
He rose to his feet and approached the bars.
"So, how was it, Your Highness? How did it feel to finally meet the brother you've been dreaming of?"
He threw the question mockingly, his expression already dismissive as if he knew the answer.
The Fourth Princess's face instantly twisted into a scowl as she snarled,
"Shut up. Unless you want me to tear that yapping mouth of yours."
He had struck a nerve.
The diplomatic mission from Kazen, who had hastily left the Royal Castle upon hearing news of the rebellion, had returned to Valdina's Royal Palace.
They had barely reached the border after fleeing the castle when they received word that the rebellion had been suppressed, forcing them to turn back in haste.
"The King has returned! The King has appeared!"
To be more precise, they had been compelled to act due to the Fourth Princess's frantic demands upon hearing news of Pelleus.
Of course, by the time they arrived at the Royal Palace, the grand victory celebration had already concluded.
The Fourth Princess stood before the King with eager anticipation.
Strangely, she felt a refreshing sensation, as if she had discarded a shirt with misaligned buttons and donned a crisp, clean new one.
"The diplomatic mission from Kazen... I've heard the news."
When the King's gaze turned toward the Kazen delegation, the Fourth Princess gulped.
Even though he was merely looking at them indifferently, she felt as tense as if she were standing on the edge of an icy surface.
How can a person look like that?
For a moment, she was so dazed she couldn't help but stare.
Unbelievably, the King of Valdina had grown even more magnificent than the Fourth Princess remembered from years ago.
His lips, the bridge of his nose, his hair that seemed sprinkled with moonlight, and his strikingly genuine blue eyes remained the same.
But now, his cold and restrained appearance was complemented by the robust physique and aura unique to warriors.
Her mouth felt inexplicably dry. She even worried that standing next to this man would make her seem utterly shabby.
The impulse to pluck the beautiful rose warred with the fear that touching it would slice her flesh to ribbons.
"King of Valdina, we congratulate you on your victory. May auspicious blessings and the will of the goddess grace this land. I am Angel—"
"It seems the diplomatic mission's purpose has already been fulfilled. Grand Duke Castulo of Kazen has conveyed your nation's sincerity quite thoroughly. Perhaps it would be best for you to return now."
Of course, before she could even finish her prepared greeting, the Fourth Princess was met with the King of Valdina's elegant yet icy dismissal.
The siblings shared the same talent for slapping people across the face with beautiful words.
"No! We have nothing to do with the Grand Duke! That was his doing alone!"
But Pelleus, as if unwilling to engage further, coldly left the room.
"My apologies, Your Highness. Further audience is not possible."
Thus dismissed, the Fourth Princess was left bewildered. No matter what, she was still a member of Kazen's imperial family—she hadn't expected to be treated with such blatant disregard.
The King of Valdina was like a razor-sharp blade.
At this point, even the Princess, who had at least maintained a superficially gentle and kind demeanor, seemed preferable.
Yet she couldn't erase that beautiful face from her mind, and it was infuriating.
As if anticipating her reaction, Samon curled his lips into a crooked smirk.
"Didn't I tell you? Our dear cousin would rather break than ever bend to Kazen."
"You bastard, do you want your head to fly off before your execution even arrives? You still don't understand the situation, do you?"
At the Fourth Princess's threat, Samon merely shrugged.
"What more do I have to fear when I'm already a dead man walking?"
"Just tell me why you called me here."
The Fourth Princess scowled.
All she wanted was to finish her business quickly and get out of this filthy dungeon.
Her contemptuous eyes swept over Samon's pallid complexion and his body, filthy with dust and blood.
'I must be insane. To think for a moment that this wretch resembled the King.'
Even at his most polished, he was barely presentable, but now, in his current shabby state, he couldn't even be compared to the King.
She felt as if filth had clung to her skin.
Just as she was thinking she'd scrub herself raw in the bath the moment she returned, Samon spoke.
"Your Highness, please help my family. Surely, for someone of your stature, it's possible?"
So, he hasn't strayed an inch from expectations.
The Fourth Imperial Princess snorted and crossed her arms.
"Hmph, why should I? For a bastard like you who teamed up with Iason to screw me over?"
Her gaze flickered with disgust as she glanced at Samon's grotesquely twisted arm. During the last rebellion, he had suffered a broken arm while blocking Agema's sword and still hadn't received treatment.
"Do you truly mean to abandon me like this?"
"Did you and I ever have anything between us? You were nothing more than a rag to wipe my feet for a while. Don't get cocky as if you were ever anything more."
The Fourth Princess didn't just reject his plea—she hurled outright insults at him.
The faint, perfunctory smile that had lingered at the corners of Samon's lips vanished completely.
"You'll regret this."
"Ha! Regret? The only thing I regret is ever getting tangled up with filth like you!"
The Fourth Princess couldn't contain herself and stomped her feet.
For a moment, perhaps from the surge of anger, she felt dizzy and swayed unsteadily.
"Your Highness!"
"Enough, I'm fine."
As a maid steadied her, the Princess waved her off and glared down at Samon.
"Desperate to live, are you? Thought you could grab a lifeline by claiming you slept with me or some nonsense? Too bad for you, you're not the first fool to throw yourself at me."
She spat on the ground. Samon wiped away the sticky fluid trickling down his temple.
"......"
When his eyes, brimming with humiliation, lifted to meet hers, the Fourth Princess finally felt a sliver of satisfaction.
"You're not even an ant worth crushing under my heel. Well then, farewell. Since you came to see my final moments, you should be grateful. I'll hear about how your head rolls on the execution block when I die."
Samon bit the inside of his cheek hard.
He wanted nothing more than to seize that arrogant Princess right then, pin her down, and silence her mouth—but he hadn't forgotten that she held the absolute upper hand now.
His family's lives, and his own, dangled from her fingertips. He forced his voice into a gentle tone.
"You should... be careful, Your Highness. You're not alone anymore."
"What?"
The Fourth Princess stiffened, clutching her forehead as she turned her head.
Between the bars, she saw Samon's face, grinning slyly like a sinister wolf.
"Didn't you know, Your Highness? The fruit of our love lives and breathes within your body."
"What nonsense is this?"
The Fourth Princess was acutely aware of her position, the benefits, and the significance of her marriage.
Ultimately, her husband couldn't be some insignificant pretty boy—he had to be a man with a solid background, strategically supporting and fueling her ambitions.
That's why, even while indulging in nightly revelries with men, the Fourth Princess never forgot contraception. Samon had been no exception.
"Let me repeat myself. Have you not felt any unusual symptoms in your body lately?"
"There's... no such thing!"
When the Princess answered firmly, Samon scoffed.
"How can you be so sure? While Your Highness has been obsessed with avoiding the seed of men like me, did it never occur to you that some might use your womb to target the Imperial Family?"
"You filthy mongrel—!"
Unaware that Laju had bribed her attendants, the Fourth Princess assumed Samon had tampered with her contraceptives.
"Those pitiful contraceptives couldn't possibly stand in the way of my love for Your Highness."
"Shut up! Stop spouting lies! Do you think I'd fall for your cheap tricks?"
"You'll learn the truth soon enough."
He spoke triumphantly.
"I've already sent word to Kazen. By now, His Majesty must have received the news. The first Imperial grandchild—His Majesty must be overjoyed."
What? The Fourth Princess repeated his words as if doubting her ears.
"Y-You told His Majesty?"
"Indeed. And not just the Kazen Imperial Family—I also announced the joyous birth to the Temple. The passionate love that transcends the borders of Valdina and Kazen."
"You insane bastard—!"
The Fourth Princess screamed.
Samon had already laid out irrefutable evidence, ensuring she couldn't even think of disposing of the child.