Chapter 62
Chapter 62
Translation: godsn
"You seem to take me for a fool."
But the Princess merely snorted as she glanced down at the floor, then turned and walked away.
Etienne was flustered.
"Your Highness, Your Highness! Please listen to me! I beg you, come back!"
He belatedly grabbed the prison bars and shouted, but only echoes remained in the frigid cell.
On the way out of the prison where Etienne was confined, Saya, who had accompanied Medeia, tilted her head in confusion.
"Your Highness, why didn't you take that certificate? Rumors are rampant that the Minister hoarded all the valuable items in the palace. With that money alone, even the Duke's household wouldn't be a threat... So why...?"
Saya, her expression full of incomprehension, stopped walking again.
"Should I go back and retrieve it now?"
"No need. It's a trap."
"Huh?"
Medeia kindly explained to the wide-eyed girl.
"Now that the Minister has been imprisoned, everyone who knows him will be scrambling to uncover his hidden slush funds. If I were to take and use that, it would be no different from painting a target on my back for everyone to aim at. And above all, my uncle would be the first to come after me."
"T-then, offering his entire fortune...?"
"He must have thought that if he could just secure his release, he could always take it back from me later. That's why he could afford to be so generous."
"Good heavens."
Saya's mouth fell open.
"Isn't he insane? Crying and begging for his life while simultaneously slipping poison into the deal?"
"Etienne is a cunning man. Even in this situation, he's trying to ensnare me as well. It seems prison life is still too comfortable for him—let's make sure he enjoys it a little longer."
"Of course. I'll be sure to tell my friends about this too."
Saya nodded solemnly.
The Duke of Claudio's residence.
The Regent stared down at the stiff certificate in his hands. It was a guarantee certifying funds equivalent to thirty chests filled with gold coins.
He had raced back and forth across the capital until his feet were blistered, barely managing to gather the amount Medeia had demanded.
At one point, he had even carried the chests to Medeia, only to be refused and sent back.
"Uncle, what were you thinking, bringing these directly to me? Did you intend to announce to the world that I accepted a bribe to release the Minister? How could someone of your standing act so foolishly?"
The disdainful look she gave him was just the cherry on top.
Had I at least paraded the chest-laden carriage outside, I could've spread rumors of Medeia's extravagance.
Outmaneuvered, the Regent had no choice but to concede.
"That girl demanded I exchange the gold coins for bearer certificates from a money changer."
Money changers were those who exchanged various currencies used in trade.
Among them, those operating in the underworld specialized in managing funds discreetly, as their primary business was smuggling.
Bearer certificates were commonly traded in the black market.
"Ha! How does a girl who's only ever lived in the palace know about such things?"
Catherine scowled as she replied.
"She must've eavesdropped somewhere. Do you really think a girl who openly asks for bribes wouldn't know about this?"
The Regent snorted.
"At any rate, I've followed her instructions and converted it into certificates, so now Medeia can't pick any more holes in this. My dear, let's head to the palace at once."
Today, Catherine would be joining him.
"If Medeia tries to twist my mind again with that silver tongue of hers, you must step in."
Having returned empty-handed twice after being outmaneuvered by Medeia, the Regent had no intention of repeating the same mistake.
"Of course, darling. I'll handle the girl smoothly so Medeia has no choice but to sign the petition for the Minister's release."
The Regent and his wife had made all their preparations. This time, they would not back down.
With a fierce determination to coax and persuade Medeia into stamping the royal seal on the document releasing Minister Etienne, they boarded their carriage.
The Princess's palace.
"Your Highness. The Duke and Duchess of Claudio have arrived."
Before the attendant could even finish speaking, the ducal couple strode boldly inside.
So absorbed in their resolve not to be outmaneuvered by Medeia, they failed to notice the unusual atmosphere in the Princess's palace.
The unusually solemn and disciplined demeanor of the attendants was also...
"Medeia!"
"Uncle. Ah, Aunt is here as well."
"Now we truly need you. I can no longer bear to watch over that pitiful Minister."
Puffing out his chest with an imposing air, the Duke drew a golden certificate from his robes and placed it down.
"Seven thousand gold coins. The Minister and his vassals have surrendered their entire fortunes. Though it's an exorbitant sum, you wouldn't believe how much effort your uncle expended to gather this money for you, Medeia."
He launched into a lengthy speech about how painstakingly he had raised these funds.
Medeia's eyes widened in shock as she examined the certificate.
"Uncle, do you truly intend to give this to me?"
"Yes, it's yours now. Is there anything we wouldn't do for you? Go on, take it."
The Regent's fingertips trembled slightly as he handed over the certificate. His mouth tasted bitterly sour.
'Not only can I not take this vast sum from Medeia, but I have to place it directly into her hands.'
Yet he forcibly suppressed the instinct to snatch the certificate back from Medeia's grasp. The money could always be reclaimed later.
But if Etienne were to fall now, it would be no different than losing his last remaining limb.
The critical moment was upon them. Losing Etienne after already losing the Head Maid would deal a devastating blow to their grand scheme.
"Here, take it. And then just stamp your royal seal here."
Along with the certificate, the Duke pushed forward the petition.
"Etienne might die in prison at this rate. Do you know how cruelly that cunning Siseo is tormenting him?"
"It's true, Your Highness. The matter is truly urgent. We cannot delay any longer."
"Uncle, I..."
But Medeia made no move to accept the certificate, her face troubled.
What more could this wretched girl possibly demand, dragging this out like this? The Regent's anger flared.
After receiving such an enormous sum, did she still want more?
"Oh dear, how should I put this to you both... I wasn't being serious earlier. As the Princess, how could I possibly demand private compensation—let alone such an enormous bribe—for Valdina's official affairs?"
Then, Medeia let her eyebrows droop as she continued.
"I only wished to show how grave this matter is, hoping you might reconsider, Uncle. The Minister's crimes are already evident. The evidence keeps mounting."
"That's...! A misunderstanding! There must have been some mistake. Did Siseo say that? He's been lying in wait for Etienne! What wouldn't that bloodthirsty man, eyes red with malice, say to achieve his ends?"
"Then are the skeletal remains discovered at the Minister's private residence also false?"
When the Duke fell silent at Medeia's question, Catherine stepped forward.
"Your Highness. There are hidden aspects to this case that you're unaware of. You mustn't judge by appearances alone. Political interests and conspiracies are at play here."
With a gentle voice, she methodically worked to persuade the Princess.
"First, the Minister's life hangs by a thread—please stamp this release document, and we'll explain everything in detail afterward. His very life depends on Your Highness's fingertip. Regardless of how this began, if one of Valdina's loyal subjects dies due to your hesitation, how will you bear the consequences?"
She subtly hinted that the Princess might face blame later.
The Medeia of old would have anxiously complied with Catherine's demands without question.
But the current Medeia was different.
"No, Aunt. Though I may be young and foolish, I'm not so ignorant as to mistake right from wrong. Etienne's crimes are evident—why my wise uncle would defend such a wicked man, I truly cannot comprehend."
Medeia shook her head as if unable to understand.
As the Regent and his wife, their bodies tense, stepped closer to her, the Princess took a deliberate step back.
Her resolute stance left no room for negotiation.
'So this wench refuses to stamp the document now?'
The Regent's face instantly twisted with malice.
After shamelessly demanding gold coins first, what was this now?
Memories surfaced of how they'd run themselves ragged trying to meet the Princess's outrageous demands.
His mind flooded with rage, his judgment beginning to blur.
'This ends here!'