Chapter 25

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 25

Chapter Title: Defiance and Punishment

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"Your Highness, I understand how you feel, but this isn't the time to be stubborn. For the sake of this aunt of yours, please..."

The duchess's desperate efforts to somehow convince the princess and spare her the Queen Dowager's wrath were utterly heartbreaking.

Medea remained standing tall and unyielding.

Her expression was serene, like a rock defying the onslaught of raging tidal waves.

This simply wouldn't do. The Queen Dowager, her temper flaring, rolled up her sleeves.

"Are you dismissing me as some forgotten old woman in the back chambers? You think you can ignore me just because you have that seal? How utterly brazen!"

"......"

"You wicked girl! With that vicious temper of yours, you're trying to devour everyone around you! Is that it? You want to send me off like you did my son!"

The Queen Dowager could no longer contain her fury.

It felt as though Medea was the root of every misfortune unfolding in this place.

"Why won't you answer me!"

If this were the Medea of her past life, she would have been deeply wounded by her grandmother-in-law's attitude.

She would have hung her head, clamped her lips shut, and let tears stream down her face.

But Medea swallowed a cold smile. She didn't care how much the Queen Dowager despised her.

'The deeper the hatred, the better.'

The more the Queen Dowager hated her, the greater the backlash would be when she learned of her son the Regent Duke's ambitions.

In her eyes, family amounted to only one person: her brother Peleus.

The fragile child who once hurt at such cruel words was dead. All that remained was a madwoman consumed by vengeance.

'The Queen Dowager is the only one in this palace who can keep the Regent Duke in check.'

Starting today, the Queen Dowager's indiscriminate hatred toward her had to end.

'I need to protect the seal while making the Queen Dowager want to shield me.'

Medea replied.

"I cannot give Grandmother the answer you desire, so I have no answer to give."

"Are you defying me right now? Refusing to hand over the seal?"

The Queen Dowager flew into a rage. The onlookers held their breath in the face of her fury, none daring to intervene.

The barrage of indiscriminate abuse directed at Medea grew ever fiercer.

Sise furrowed his brow.

Princess Medea, the puppet of the Regent Duke, had always been a foolish liability when it came to their lord Peleus.

His reason told him that having the princess surrender the seal and withdraw from this confrontation would better serve the preservation of the current royal authority.

"Your Grace, this is no trivial matter. I beseech you to reconsider the timing."

Yet he gave her one more chance to keep the seal.

He couldn't bear to stand by and watch a young girl battered by one-sided vitriol.

Without even that seal, no one would bother protecting her—and in the end, he couldn't bring himself to abandon the princess.

"Ahem. Ahem!"

The torrent of abuse paused momentarily. The Queen Dowager cleared her throat awkwardly.

Realizing she had made a scene, her flushed cheeks trembled slightly.

At that moment, Medea's voice rang out.

"It may be personal when it comes to my brother, but officially, this is the seal granted directly by His Majesty the King, the supreme sovereign of this land. Grandmother may punish me as you see fit, but you have no authority to take the seal from me."

"What did you say?"

She was about to erupt in anger at the impudent retort that fanned the flames anew.

"If we, as kin, question and overturn the sovereign's command, who would ever obey the King's words? As a senior of the royal family, please think on this once more."

The Queen Dowager snapped to attention.

She despised her granddaughter who had taken her eldest son's life, but she doted deeply on her only grandson, Peleus.

Both the Prime Minister and the Duchess Claudio were present.

Personally, they were the King's friends and family, but ultimately, they were vassals who must serve under Peleus.

Indeed, if she forcibly stripped Medea of the seal, it would amount to disregarding the authority of her grandson the King.

'Fools might seize on this as an excuse for reckless schemes.'

The Queen Dowager swallowed a frustrated grunt.

Though reason was on Medea's side, the humiliation of being schooled by the granddaughter she had always scorned burned deep.

The Queen Dowager glared at her impudent granddaughter, who stood resolute.

A sharp silence fell, so tense no one dared even swallow.

The Queen Dowager cleared her throat and spoke.

"You're right; there's no flaw in what you say. I have no right to take the seal from you."

And then.

"But as your grandmother, I can certainly punish you, can't I? You've said as much yourself."

"......"

"Medea, kneel before the chapel and offer prayers of repentance. Remain there until the Goddess bestows a revelation forgiving you."

The onlookers doubted their ears.

Until the Goddess gave a revelation?

Even the revered high priests of the Holy Kingdom were lucky to receive one in a lifetime.

It wasn't called a miracle for nothing.

"No one is to give this child so much as a sip of water until she realizes her wrongdoing. Do I make myself clear?"

The Queen Dowager's words meant she intended to punish her granddaughter indefinitely, until her own anger subsided.

"Your Grace—"

"Stand down, Sise. This is now an internal matter of my palace. I will not tolerate interference."

The Queen Dowager shook her head.

"You should leave now. What are you waiting for? Escort the Prime Minister out."

In the end, Sise had to depart, surrounded by burly maids.

As he passed by Medea, who stood rigid as stone, their eyes met for a fleeting instant.

There was no tremor in the princess's emerald eyes.

Upon leaving the Queen Dowager Palace, Sise gazed up at the sky.

"My lord, how much closer have you come? You must claim victory soon."

He removed his monocle and rubbed his fatigued eyes. A heavy weariness settled over his rugged features.

As Sise exited, the doors opened briefly.

Neril darted swiftly to the Queen Dowager's side.

Unable to enter, she had paced outside but heard every word within.

The head maid's scheme had collapsed entirely, culminating in the punishment the Queen Dowager had just imposed on Medea.

'The Queen Dowager expects a miracle.'

As things stood, the princess would suffer the Queen Dowager's tyranny without end.

Her body moved before her mind could catch up.

By the time the Queen Dowager's guards tried to stop her, Neril was already kneeling before her, head bowed low.

"The princess is still recovering from her recent riding accident; her mind and body are not yet whole. She cannot endure the punishment. Allow me to take her place."

"Who are you, anyway?"

The Queen Dowager asked in an irritated tone. Neril repeated her plea frantically.

"Punish me severely if you must. Just let the punishment fall on me instead."

"She is the princess's maid."

Marchioness Pinatelli whispered. Neril knelt once more and begged.

"Your Grace, please reconsider for the sake of your own flesh and blood."

Mention of familial bonds hardened the Queen Dowager's face in an instant.

"How dare a mere maid speak out of turn. Pinatelli, drag her out."

"Step aside, Neril."

Medea walked forward and positioned herself in front of Neril.

"You've upset Grandmother with your impulsive words, so I will gladly accept the punishment she has decreed."

There was no sign of fear or hesitation toward the punishment. If anything, it felt as though her dignity had been trampled.

"Hah."

The Queen Dowager let out a hollow laugh.

Was this child truly so hateful that she only chose to do the most loathsome things?

"Very well. Then head to the chapel at once."

"Yes."

Medea bowed once more in respect before leaving the chamber.

"Mother... please lighten the punishment just a little. The princess is still so young—what if her health suffers?"

Catherine spoke up a step too late.

With Medea already gone to receive her punishment, the situation had spiraled beyond control.

They didn't want the princess falling ill either.

'We still need Medea.'

Until the King returned, they needed a scapegoat to absorb all criticism and blame.

"Quiet. Do you take me for a fool now too?"

"I only..."

"If you have the energy for that, manage your own household properly!"

The Queen Dowager bellowed and stormed out.

"Mother, just let that Medea suffer a bit. Why step in and get yourself scolded for nothing?"

As Catherine froze, Birna Claudio, following behind her, chided her.

"Be quiet, you."

"You saw it earlier too, right? That halfwit standing there like a wooden log, ignoring everything Mother said?"

Birna grumbled.

They were still in the Queen Dowager Palace. Her immature daughter was far too careless.

"I said be quiet!"

"What did I even say that was so much..."

Birna pouted, but Catherine had no time to comfort her daughter; her mind was racing.

The connection between the head maid Mariyu had exposed and the Regent Duke seemed to have been glossed over in the chaos.

'The problem is...'

She could understand Lady Quizin trying to frame Medea with fake evidence. But targeting Minister Etienne and the princess?

'Did Quizin act alone? Or was it Quizin and the minister together?'

If so, did that mean the minister harbored other intentions?

And moreover.

'Who planted the fake evidence in Mariyu's belongings? Who helped Medea?'

The existence of an unknown ally aiding Medea was an even graver issue.

Catherine so thoroughly despised her naive, dim-witted niece that she never dreamed this was all part of Medea's scheme.

'Why did Medea suddenly defy the Queen Dowager like that, and why is the Queen Dowager making such absurd demands...'

The string of unexpected events left Catherine deeply bewildered.

'Why is everything turning out like this...? How is any of this happening?'