Chapter 111

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 111

Chapter Title: Hastening the Rebellion

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The square in front of the royal palace.

"Samon Claudio! You scoundrel! How dare you try to harm Her Highness the Princess!"

"Twenty lashes? That's nothing! He'd need at least a hundred to redeem that villain!"

Amid the crowd's denunciations, the Regent Duke's only son endured a humiliating public flogging.

Overwhelmed more by shame than pain, Samon rolled back his eyes and fainted before the punishment was even complete.

Yet the stern official in charge showed no mercy, delivering exactly twenty lashes before finally releasing him.

"Waaah, Samon! My poor son!"

Duchess Catherine Claudio collapsed over her unconscious son and burst into loud sobs.

"I'll never forgive that wench Medea for doing this to my boy. I'll break her limbs and make her suffer far worse than you!"

Catherine sprinkled tears as she inspected her fainted son's wounds.

"Are you satisfied now? You saved face at the cost of leaving your son like this?"

Catherine glared resentfully at her husband.

Her son had always been such an obedient boy—how could he accept the order for a flogging without a single protest?

"And what would you have had me do? Oppose my own mother in public and let everyone see me scheming for the throne? Do you think sensible people act that foolishly?"

The Regent Duke didn't hide his irritation.

"Take care of Samon. I need to meet with my vassals."

As if he took any pleasure in watching his son suffer such a brutal punishment.

His insides burned even hotter with rage. Samon was his one and only heir.

"Calm yourself, Duchess. We've summoned Kazen healers to tend to the Young Duke. He'll be up and about before long."

Count Raju soothed Catherine.

"My lord, leave this to me and go ahead."

"Very well, I leave it to you, Count Raju."

The Regent Duke was too busy swallowing his surging fury to notice Count Raju stroking Catherine's shoulder a bit too lingeringly in comfort.

The moment he stepped out the door, he unleashed the anger he'd been holding back.

"Damn it all!"

He kicked the door in a fit of rage.

His office was filled with those of the Regent Duke's faction whom he'd summoned.

"My lord, you're here. We've been waiting... Is the Young Duke all right?"

The Regent Duke swept a fierce glare over the men in the room. Their numbers—and their spirit—were a far cry from before.

"I told everyone to come without fail."

"...Sir Anju is suffering a flare-up of his chronic illness, and Baron Salamia sent word that his elderly mother fell ill today..."

The Regent Duke didn't buy the flimsy excuses from the absentees for a second.

'Hyenas, the lot of them. Now that things have turned, they're eyeing a way out.'

His niece Medea had returned safely from her disappearance in the hunting grounds, but his position had only grown more precarious.

Public opinion against him refused to die down.

Venturing outside meant facing curses hurled at the Claudio ducal carriage, complete with filth being thrown at it as a matter of course. He'd even made tabloid headlines as "the people's enemy."

No matter how many agents he sent to silence the talk, within a day or two, the rumor that House Claudio had tried to assassinate Baldina's princess blazed anew like the sun.

Even the sycophants who'd fawned over him were now slinking away, fearing the sparks might fly their way.

Of course, their words weren't wrong. He had targeted Medea, after all.

'This won't do. Even if the grand plan succeeds, I'll end up a tyrant who murdered his niece to seize the throne.'

But sometimes, the truth struck harder than ever.

'No matter where I go, those tiresome stares accusing me of plotting the princess's death won't leave me be. The people's perception is shifting.'

Joaquin Claudio, once revered and trusted by all, was now nothing more than a cruel, greedy uncle who had tried to kill his niece.

The Regent Duke vented his frustration at how completely their positions had seesawed.

'I need to create a crisis. One that forces the Baldinians to feel in their bones just how vital this Claudio is!'

His path to reclaiming his former honor and respect lay in endangering Baldina itself.

If he appeared as the savior amid the azure flames of rebellion engulfing the royal castle, the people's views would flip once more.

"...My lord?"

His vassals watched anxiously as he stood there, face cold and lost in thought after summoning them.

At last, his tightly pressed lips parted.

"We must hasten the coup."

Cornered from all sides, the Regent Duke had finally made his decision.

"My lord, that's...!"

"A coup? It's far too soon."

The nobles under his command tried to dissuade him.

"Besides, Kazen forces are still in Baldina. Count Raju won't approve advancing the plan either."

Count Raju was practically Grand Duke Castulo's man already. He'd insist on waiting until after he himself departed Baldina to avoid getting caught up in it.

The Regent Duke's eyes turned icy.

"Have you all forgotten whose command reigns supreme in this kingdom?"

"..."

The Regent Duke was annoyed with Jason too.

People only saw the real truth when faced with hardship.

The Grand Duke, who had boasted of their ironclad alliance, now distanced himself simply because his son had reached for another hand.

'What an insolent fool. Does he expect me to grovel while he himself cowers from Kazen's emperor? What makes him so superior to me right now?'

They were both after a throne they had no business coveting.

In truth, the old Grand Duke Castulo would have warranted caution from the Regent Duke as well.

But after the banquet duel, he'd clearly seen the Grand Duke's faction shrink noticeably.

They'd alienated the Fourth Princess and lost influence in the delegation, and even 10-star General Jared had broken away.

Yet Jason's continued arrogance still scratched at the Regent Duke's lofty pride.

"I need to see for myself if that Grand Duke is truly worthy material for the throne."

Resentment toward Jason rose like a fog.

"When the rebels arrive, we'll know if they're truly our allies. Isn't that right?"

"..."

The Regent Duke's faction exchanged uneasy glances.

With Interior Minister Etienne dead, and Grand Duke Castulo and Count Raju out, could this coup—unsupported by anyone—really succeed?

A thread of anxiety crept into their uncertain hearts.

"Do you think you can back out now just because the pledge documents burned? After signing your lives to this?"

Sensing their hesitation, the Regent Duke snorted and glared at them.

"You think you'll be safe if this Claudio falls? When Peleus returns, do you imagine that stone-headed king will spare the likes of you, who've bled the people dry to fatten your own bellies? Who do you think will step up to save you then!"

His words jolted them to attention.

For the past ten years, they'd indulged too long in sweet decadence.

The young, righteous king would surely exact payment for their corruption and ennui.

Wasn't that precisely why they'd joined hands with the Regent Duke in the first place?

"This is our only chance. We end it all before Peleus returns."

"...Understood."

Resolve finally hardened in their eyes at his words.

Failed rebels met only death.

"We'll follow your lead, my lord. We have no choice but to put you on the throne by any means—we need that to survive ourselves."

After the nobles who had steeled their hearts departed, the Regent Duke issued his command.

"Send word to the rebels too. The time to rise is now."

"But, my lord—even if this coup succeeds, what of the king and the Agema when they return?"

The subordinate couldn't hide his concern.

The Agema's elite prowess was renowned across the continent. Could the royal castle's greenhorns handle them?

"The Agema? Heh. Fat chance. I've seen to that."

By now, his agents would have received the order.

In the brutal final battle on that deadly field, Peleus's magnificent elites would lose their lives.

Peleus, barely scraping by and limping home alone, would have no choice but to acknowledge the man helplessly seated on the throne.

The Regent Duke swallowed a vile chuckle.

All while picturing his niece, tear-streaked face turned to the same sky he gazed upon.