Part 2, Chapter 25
Part 2, Chapter 25
Translation: godsn
Meanwhile, Duke Claudio and his son, along with Count Laju, who had just left Iason's office, headed toward the central district of Zone B.
A lavish two-story mansion welcomed them. It was a property they had acquired during their stay in Elamuz.
How could these people—expelled from Valdina and stripped of all their assets—afford such luxury? Moreover, how could they possibly fund Iason's endeavors?
The answer lay in the clandestine business they had been running.
During his days as the formidable head of House Claudio, Samon had emulated the money laundering processes and routes he had used to siphon funds from the Valdina royal family and plunged into smuggling operations.
At the time, Claudio had been left penniless after all his assets were seized, but Laju had provided the initial capital.
Laju had once been responsible for managing the late Emperor Kazen's slush funds during his reign.
When the Emperor died and the throne changed hands, he manipulated the ledgers to conceal the origins of those illicit funds.
It was with this embezzled money that he aided Claudio's resurgence.
Though overshadowed by the brilliance of Medeia and her brother, Samon Claudio also possessed a sharp intellect and keen instincts.
With Laju's help, their smuggling operation rapidly expanded in scale.
Though it was an underground business that couldn't restore their identities or openly display their wealth, it was still better than being reduced to utter destitution.
After all, only with money could they reclaim the name and position that had been stolen from them.
The moment the Claudio father and son stepped inside, Catherine came rushing toward them.
While her husband had aged drastically, Catherine remained beautiful. Her skin was still radiant, and her dress was of the latest fashion.
The only thing she couldn't control was how easily her expression twisted—likely due to stress.
"Darling, how did it go?"
Catherine couldn't hide her impatient expression. She had been anxiously awaiting their return, pacing restlessly for news.
"I'm tired. We'll talk later."
"What happened? Did you succeed or fail? And what's this about the Goddess Statue bleeding?"
Catherine pressed, saying the streets were abuzz with the news.
Joaquin, unwilling to admit they had caused a disgraceful scene at the banquet and gained nothing in return, snapped irritably.
"I said I'll tell you later! Can't you see how exhausted we are? Must you have your answer right this instant?"
"Why are you suddenly lashing out at me?"
"Instead of comforting those who've just returned from work, tsk... Count Laju, let's go upstairs. We need to discuss our next move."
Joaquin, who had groveled before everyone else, raised his voice at his own wife.
"......"
Unaware of the simmering fury rising like heat haze in Laju's eyes.
"Samon, at least tell me. Did that bastard Pelleus agree? Are we allowed to return to Valdina? Huh?"
"Later, Mother."
Even Samon gently pushed Catherine aside and trudged away.
"I don't understand what's happening at all. The streets are saying the Goddess is disappointed with the current Saintess... And what's this about Kazen's First Prince...?"
Catherine pressed a hand to her forehead and slumped into a seat.
"The High Priest denounced Medeia, but if we provoke her temper—ugh, we might end up suffering the backlash for no reason."
Having not even entered the banquet hall, Catherine could only piece together the situation from hearsay.
"Why are you so curious, Mother? What does it matter if we upset Medeia? Is she the Emperor or something?"
Just then, Virna, arms crossed, shot her mother a disdainful look.
"After being fooled by Medeia and ending up like this, you still want to crawl back under that bitch's thumb? Have you no pride left?"
"Oh, do I look like I have any dignity left to you? After what the East Imperial Consort did to us, you still don't get it?"
The East Imperial Consort, mother of the Fourth Imperial Princess Angelique, was Samon Claudio's mother-in-law.
She utterly despised the Claudio family.
"My precious daughter is rotting away in exile for the crime of surrendering Shadernya Island, while these ignorant fools live in comfort thanks to Angelique—do you think I'd just let that slide?"
Angelique couldn't bear her position of being cast out from her father's sight.
Born into nothing but love, she lacked both the means to regain his favor and the tenacity to claw her way out of her precipitous fall.
In the end, she was all but forced to leave the imperial palace.
"Your Majesty. Now that Angelique is gone, it feels so dreadfully empty. May I keep those mother and daughter by my side and treat them as my own? After all, we are family bound by blood now."
"Of course. Do as you wish."
As long as the Emperor allowed the Claudios to live, the East Imperial Consort couldn't defy him.
But that didn't mean she couldn't take her anger out on them. And of course, she didn't need the victims' consent for that.
Virna and her mother were brought into the imperial palace as the East Imperial Consort's "companions." And there, they suffered every manner of torment.
Being forced to do menial labor worse than that of a maid was the least of it. Every time the East Imperial Consort entertained guests, she subjected the mother and daughter to cruel "jokes" of the vilest kind.
Through years of palace intrigue, the East Imperial Consort had mastered the art of draining a person dry—both physically and mentally.
Catherine and Virna were nobles who had grown up in luxury, never once dirtying their hands.
But there was no one willing to shield the two women from the wrath of the Emperor's most favored consort.
Not even Count Laju could do more than watch the tear-stained pair with pitying eyes night after night.
Then, Valdina declared itself an empire.
And so, under the pretext of fulfilling the task Emperor Perdiccas II had assigned to Claudio, they finally managed to escape the East Imperial Consort's cruelty—only for...!
"We have to beg if we must, but we must go to Valdina! Do you mean to rot here instead?!"
Frustrated, Catherine pounded her chest.
Virna hesitated for a moment but soon dug in her heels.
"I still refuse. She's the one who reduced me to this! Do you think she'll laugh when she sees what I've become?!"
Virna rubbed her roughened hands furiously, her voice rising to a shout.
The frequent exposure to water had left the skin around her nails cracked and peeling, standing stark white as if echoing her rage.
"You—"
"Mother, if I see Medeia, I might actually kill her. I swear, I'll stab that bitch to death with whatever I can get my hands on—a knife, anything!"
Virna burned with hatred for Medeia every waking moment.
Coexistence under the same sky was impossible.
While she groveled like a slave before the East Imperial Consort, Medeia had risen from princess to imperial princess.
While Valdina flourished, the Claudio family had plummeted into an endless abyss.
Now, trapped in this bottomless pit with nowhere left to fall, Virna was consumed by jealousy and loathing.
She wanted to tear Medeia—the one who had cast her into this hell—to shreds.
"You foolish girl... Ha, fine. Have it your way."
Catherine sighed at the naked hatred in Virna's eyes.
Virna had once been a daughter she couldn't bear to see hurt. Catherine had wanted her to walk proudly with her head held high, no matter where she went.
But her daughter's once-endearing arrogance, now that the Claudio ducal house had hit rock bottom, was neither charming nor pitiable.
Only pride remained, and Catherine now regretted raising her to be so willfully blind to reality.
How—and when—had things come to this?
It felt as if a pitch-black curtain had fallen over their future, leaving Catherine lost and suffocated.
Meanwhile, leaving the mother and daughter behind, the Claudio father and son ascended to the upper floor with Count Laju.
"Father, you should go in and rest. I still have matters to discuss with Uncle Laju."
Just as they were about to enter the study, Samon blocked Joaquin's path.
"What matters? If it's about strategy, I should be present too. The Claudios are the main players here—"
"...Father, go rest."
Samon glared at his father irritably. The blatant dismissal stung Joaquin's pride.
But the one leading the family now was his son.
The smuggling operations, the political maneuvering with the imperial family—everything was in Samon's hands. He couldn't afford to provoke his son's displeasure.
Joaquin forced a loud laugh and clapped his son on the shoulder.
"...Very well. Haha, as expected, only my son cares for his old man. Then I'll... take my leave."
It was pathetic—the way he vented his frustrations freely on his wife yet groveled before his son, who now held the real power.