Chapter 3

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 3

Chapter Title: The Crown I'll Take from You

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3

"Are you really not going to say anything? I don't want to do this either. Just say you're leaving, and that's it!"

Crack.

"Ugh."

"Do you really need to see blood to come to your senses? Even if you die like this, no one will know! Not even your master! You'll just die like a dog!"

As Neril squeezed her eyes shut, Jena, who had been swinging the whip, huffed in anger.

She seemed oblivious to the fact that Neril's silent, tightly pressed lips only fueled her opponent's defiance.

"Fine. Let's see how long you can keep your mouth shut."

"Guh."

A groan burst out at the next strike.

"You're suffering because you have the wrong master. What a loyal knight you've turned out to be!"

That's right—her master.

'I wonder if Her Highness is alright.'

Neril stared blankly into the void.

When the princess, blood trickling from her forehead, had lost consciousness, Neril's heart had sunk.

'She has to be safe.'

If she woke up, would she notice Neril was gone? Would she come looking for her?

Neril let out a hollow chuckle soon after.

She wasn't endearing like the other maids, nor did she fawn. Blunt, curt, and always speaking her mind—straightforward to a fault—Medea disliked her for it.

Knowing that, it was ridiculous to entertain such vain hopes.

"Sis, does it hurt? Want some of Dea's? Don't cry."

From that distant memory the princess probably couldn't even recall, when her tiny hand had saved Neril, she had vowed to devote her life to Medea.

"How about coming under me?"

"Stop bullying her now. That Neril girl caught the baby princess's eye, so not only did she keep her position, she even got picked for the Royal Guard."

That's why she wanted to stay by her side. To repay even a fraction of what she owed.

'If I'm gone too, can Her Highness survive in the palace properly?'

Her thoughts spiraled into an endless worry she couldn't shake.

This place was the heart of a den of vipers.

The Regent Duke, the Queen Dowager—even the lowly attendants all wished for the young princess to crumble.

"If you keep this up, I really won't take responsibility if you die!"

Whoosh.

The repeated lashes blurred her vision into haze, her mind growing foggy. As Neril struggled to keep her eyes wide open and hold onto consciousness—

A small girl's silhouette flickered before her.

Was it the princess's幻影? Or had death truly drawn near?

"...Your Highness?"

But the apparition didn't vanish; it stood firmly before her.

Neril blinked.

"How did you get here...!"

Even Jena's startled voice sounded distant.

Bang—!

When the princess snatched the whip from Jena's hand and flung it to the floor, the hazy vision solidified into reality.

"What do you think you're doing!"

Jena yelped in shock, forgetting for a moment that her opponent was royalty.

Her gut twisted, but relief washed over her upon realizing it was Medea.

"That's what I should be asking."

The princess's voice was colder than ever before.

"Who gave you permission to take my maid and flog her without my consent?"

"No, Your Highness. It's a misunderstanding. Wait—who let Your Highness in here?! Who was it?"

As Jena's panicked voice rose, the princess commanded the maid standing behind her.

"Bring Neril."

The maid hesitated.

Everyone in the palace knew Jena was a confidante of the Royal Head Maid, Lady Quizin.

In this vast palace, crossing the head maid meant a miserable life ahead for lowly folk like her.

"Hurry."

"Yes!"

But right now, Medea held the leash around the maid's neck. A half-baked princess was still a princess.

Falling out of favor with royalty meant you couldn't even stay in the palace—better a bit of hardship than losing this goldmine of a job over insubordination.

Having made her choice, the maid rushed over and helped Neril up.

Her condition was gruesome. After half a day under that whip, it was a miracle she was still breathing.

"Ugh."

"Oh my god..."

The maid gasped upon noticing Neril's right arm, twisted unnaturally in her grasp. The elbow was swollen grotesquely.

"Ha."

Medea sneered upon seeing Neril's wretched state as well.

"Who gave you the right to take her? You! Put her back down!"

Jena glared at the maid.

"Then answer me. Who gave you the right to pull this stunt?"

"...That's."

Under Medea's icy glare, Jena flinched. Those green eyes gleamed with menace.

She had slain countless beasts and even evil dragons, surviving imperial throne struggles and empire intrigues.

Even reborn in a child's body, the killing intent honed on the edge of death was beyond what a mere maid could behold or withstand.

'What kind of child's eyes devour people like that...!'

Did the princess always have this aura?

She only remembered her always keeping her head down, eyes fixed on the ground.

"Take her out."

Like prey before a beast, Jena shuddered involuntarily. Clenching her fists, she cried out in a trembling voice.

"N-No...! What are you doing?!"

Those following Jena, and passersby drawn by the commotion, gathered in clusters.

But all were cowed by the princess's overwhelming presence, holding their breath and not daring to intervene.

"Y-You can't go!"

With no one stepping up, the desperate Jena tried to block the princess with her own body.

At that moment, a middle-aged woman pushed through the crowd.

"Your Highness, what is this... unseemly commotion?"

Her elegant hand picked up the discarded whip from the floor and handed it to Jena.

It was Lady Quizin, the Royal Head Maid.

After the previous head maid retired for some reason, this woman had seized the vacant position.

Despite not being nobility and having somewhat lacking experience, she had claimed the perfect spot to control the inner palace.

Behind her was Medea's uncle's family, the Claudio Ducal House.

'Along with the Interior Minister, she's my uncle's right hand. Without those two, he couldn't have gripped the palace.'

This woman had been part of Medea's grueling palace life.

Replacing everything in the Princess Palace with flashy but cheap knockoffs, embezzling budgets, then framing it all as Medea's extravagance—it was routine.

Targeting Neril now was surely on the duke's orders to completely isolate Medea in the palace.

"Your Highness, the children will escort you back safely. You just rose from your sickbed; you mustn't overexert yourself."

The head maid wore a mocking expression, not even waiting for Medea's reply. She was set on sending her away by force.

"What are you all doing? Escort Her Highness ba—"

"Head Maid, why did you take my maid behind my back and have her flogged?"

Medea raised her voice, cutting off the head maid.

"No proper trial, no chance to plead your case—just whipping? Since when has the royal household become so lawless?"

The unexpected retort made the head maid raise an eyebrow.

It was the first time this timid princess, who even yielded to lowly maids, had raised her voice.

"Your Highness, if I may be so bold—before being your maids, they are under my jurisdiction. As the one tasked with serving Baldina's bloodline, I have a duty to manage them properly."

Lady Quizin replied sternly.

"That girl Neril was not only negligent in serving Baldina's bloodline but even harmed Your Highness. Her crime is grave."

As if instructing a foolish deviant, the head maid sighed openly and added an explanation.

"We exist to serve Baldina's bloodline with utmost priority, doing our very best. Does that answer your question?"

Even calling them "servants," the head maid couldn't hide her scornful gaze.

Ah, the gods are unfair indeed.

Why make a capable, diligent woman like her bow to that incompetent fool?

"Now, escort Her Highness back."

"Head Maid."

"Sigh. Speak, Your Highness."

"Listening to you, something feels off."

Medea spoke softly to the head maid, who sighed in annoyance.

"You keep saying you're serving Baldina's bloodline."

"Yes. That is my duty and role as a royal servant."

"But as you know, Baldina's blood runs through more than one or two in this palace."

The head maid paused, staring at Medea.

The girl's eyes, having merely lain abed for days before rising, were unnaturally clear.

"Closest are your grandmother the Queen Dowager, your uncle Duke Claudio, your cousin Princess Loren, your uncle Count Montega, and even their children—too many to count on two hands. But are there servants in the world who serve so many masters?"

Medea's face was impassive.

"So I ask you, Head Maid—whose loyalty do you hold?"

"... ."

"Which of Baldina's many bloodlines?"