Chapter 107

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 107

Chapter Title: The Crown I'll Steal From You

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"Princess, there's something I intend to gain from you."

Cezare replied without hesitation.

"What is it?"

"......"

He gazed down at her silver hair, which seemed to take on a crimson hue in the firelight.

"My dreams. My ambitions. The promises I made to the world."

In this pitch-black darkness, the only space lit by light seemed to be crumbling even his defenses.

Judging by the pointless words spilling from his lips.

"I don't have any of that."

"You'll find them soon enough."

"Baldina's Morning Star will save your fate......"

There was no proof, but his mingled instincts and reason told him so.

To stake his last handful of hope on the girl before him. Even if it turned out wrong, he wouldn't regret it.

"......"

Silence hung in the air once more. But it didn't feel awkward.

"It's...... not so bad."

She rested her head on her knees. The encroaching drowsiness softened her guard.

The campfire's warmth was comforting, and the mercenary beside her was skilled enough that she didn't need to worry about beast attacks.

A sense of safety. Was this what it felt like to be protected after so long?

'I don't know.'

The years spent only protecting others had been too long; he'd forgotten. What people normally called these moments when you could let your mind relax.

"......"

Medea murmured blankly.

"Akkales, it would have been nice if you'd been there back then."

Cezare turned his head. The princess's eyes were half-closed.

Her voice was so faint that you had to strain to hear it.

"It might have been a little more peaceful. I wouldn't have had to lie awake all night, terrified that Jared might strike at any moment."

Even if you occasionally sat by my side like this, poking at the firewood to keep the fire going.

"It would have been a little less lonely."

A transparent droplet welled up between her closed lids and trickled down.

His hand poking the fire with a stick paused for a moment.

'Jared? But this was supposed to be their first meeting.'

A chill glinted in his golden eyes.

"......"

The princess fell silent, as if asleep.

Darkness settled thickly, as if to veil the layers of secrets piled upon her.

Cezare quietly draped his outer cloak over her shoulders.

The next day, Medea left the forest alongside Cezare.

No one knew when he'd sent word, but the man who stepped down from Facade's carriage to greet them was a mage from the Mage Tower.

"So you're the famous Princess of Baldina."

The slender young man with brown hair looked utterly exhausted and on edge. He reminded her of Prime Minister Sise, who handled state affairs.

"Call me Terence."

The mage added curtly.

Medea sensed his eyes, hidden behind glasses, scrutinizing her intently.

"I've heard the rough situation from...... Akares. As the acting Mage Tower Lord, shall I assist in escorting Your Highness back?"

"Mage Tower Lord?"

The young man before her seemed far too young to be the tower lord.

She'd heard that transcending the mortal realm halted aging, but......

"Ah, that's my master. I travel the continent as his proxy, handling transports to the Mage Tower."

Terence showed her the tower lord's seal.

Medea glanced at Cezare, who was leaning against the carriage with his eyes closed.

'The disciple of the Mage Tower Lord.'

It was astonishing how far the connections of Facade's leader extended.

'That's why in my past life, Jason regretted so much that Facade had vanished without a trace.'

"Then what does the Mage Tower want in return?"

Medea countered.

From her past life's expedition party, she knew mages valued equivalent exchange above even their lives.

Unlike Kazen's imperial family, who endlessly demanded from the Mage Tower, Terence paused at the princess's eminently reasonable question.

"Well, there is something I'm looking for......"

Medea flicked her green eyes, gesturing for him to speak.

Terence swallowed a wry chuckle inwardly.

The lofty aura clashing with her serene face was indeed befitting the one who had cornered Kazen's delegation and the Regent Duke into a corner.

"Your Highness, have you heard of Dawn's Dewfall?"

At that moment, Cezare's eyes snapped open.

'What, do you have the leisure to chatter on right now?'

As his golden eyes glared at Terence in warning, Terence replied with his own gaze.

"Dawn's Dewfall? Is that a magic stone?"

Medea asked as if hearing it for the first time.

Unable to read any change in her green eyes, Terence shook his head slightly and continued.

"It's a legendary medicine said to wash away all primordial filth. Your Highness must have heard that Kazen's First Prince is clinging to life on borrowed time."

"Terence."

Cezare warned him to stop there, but Terence pressed on.

"The Mage Tower believes Dawn's Dewfall is the key to curing his illness."

"Out."

A long leg kicked the carriage door open with a bang, driving Terence away.

'So that's what Facade was after—Dawn's Dewfall.'

Medea read the answer from their reactions.

The Mage Tower seeking a cure for the First Prince.

'The fact that Akkales is traveling with this disciple of the Mage Tower Lord means......'

"My dreams. My ambitions. The promises I made to the world."

His words from last night echoed faintly in her ears.

Medea asked abruptly.

"Is Facade planning to meddle in the empire's battle for the throne?"

Cezare, who had been glaring at Terence, froze.

"What?"

"The First Prince wouldn't be a bad choice."

Damn Terence. Hanging around with Garo must have made him chatty. Cezare swallowed curses at his friend and asked,

"Princess, why do you think that?"

"Kazen's emperor despises the incompetent and fears the capable. The First Prince was the only one unshaken by that madness."

Cezare didn't notice she spoke of him in the past tense.

"Princess, have you met the First Prince?"

The air grew tense.

"No. But I know of him."

"How?"

"Finding someone on the continent who doesn't know him would be harder."

Medea shrugged.

"Even so, he's just a terminally ill man who's accepted his death. What's so great about that?"

She watched his reaction to her sharp words.

'Has Facade not decided yet?'

It made sense. A powerhouse that could shake the balance—any imperial scion with throne ambitions would want Facade.

"If he were the type to wither from some illness, he'd be dead already. The tenacity keeping him alive this long is beyond anyone else. Doesn't that make him worth betting your fate on?"

Jason included.

"I'd take the First Prince's hand. Over some Grand Duke Castullo."

"......"

At Medea's words, the mercenary fell silent, as if at a loss for words.

"Akkales?"

"Comparing him to Castullo—are you praising or mocking? The First Prince would spit blood if he heard."

The mercenary threw a cold jest, crossed his arms, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

And swallowed his silent emotions.

Ever since the primordial curse afflicted him, amid the despair and sorrow of all those around him, Cezare had pressed forward relentlessly.

But even he couldn't easily defy that ancient primordial force.

With every seizure, every time the curse eroded his body, without a shred of certainty, Cezare repeated to himself.

He would survive no matter what. He would never give up.

Relentlessly, almost like brainwashing.

And now, the princess before him said,

"The tenacity keeping him alive this long is beyond anyone else. Doesn't that make him worth betting your fate on?"

That his desperate struggle hadn't been wrong.

The recognition and understanding from another—something he'd never craved—flooded him in an instant, leaving even the coldly rational Cezare unable to collect his thoughts.