"Samon Claudio! You bastard! How dare you harm Her Highness!"
"Just twenty lashes! That scoundrel would need a hundred lashes to be reformed!"
Amidst the public's condemnation, the regent's only son was humiliatingly flogged.
The shame must have been greater than the pain, because before the execution was over, Samon rolled his eyes and passed out.
However, the strict officer in charge of punishment showed no mercy at all and only let Samon go after he had been beaten exactly twenty times.
"Sob, sob, Samon! My poor son!"
Catherine collapsed on top of the unconscious Samon and burst into tears.
"I will never forgive that woman Medea for doing this to my son. I will break her limbs and make her look worse than Samon!"
Catherine examined her unconscious son's wounds, shedding tears.
"Do you feel better now? Are you trying to save face by letting your son end up like this?"
Catherine looked at her husband longingly.
It's not unusual for a son to listen to his mother's orders, but how can he obediently accept the order to be caned without even once refusing?
"Then you are saying that I should have told everyone that I was plotting against my mother and taking the throne? Why would someone who should know do something foolish?"
The regent did not hide his displeasure.
"Take care of Samon. I have to go see the servants."
Would he be happy to see his son being punished so terribly? He was more upset than ever because Samon was his only son who could succeed him.
"Calm down, Duchess. I have ordered the god of Katzen to watch over the little Duke, so it won't be long before he shakes himself off his seat."
Count Raju consoled Catherine.
"Leave this place to me and go quickly."
"Then please, Count Raju."
The regent was so busy suppressing his rage that he didn't notice Count Raju rubbing Catherine's shoulder, somewhat thickly, to comfort her.
And as soon as he walked out the door, he let out all the anger he had been suppressing.
"Shit!"
He kicked the door as if venting his anger.
In the office were gathered the regents who had responded to his summons.
"Your Highness, you're here. I've been waiting for you. How are you, Your Highness?"
The regent glared at the people in the room. The number of people and their spirits were incomparably reduced.
"I told you all to come without fail."
"... Lord Anjou is ill, and Baron Salamis's mother is sick today..."
The regent did not believe at all the feeble excuses sent by the absentees.
'Those hyenas. They're trying to get away when the situation gets like this.'
Although his niece Medea, who had gone missing while hunting, returned safely, the Regent's position became more tenuous.
Public opinion criticizing him has not died down at all.
When he went out on the street, it was common for people to curse the Regent and throw excrement at the Duke's carriage, and he was even featured in third-rate newspapers as the enemy of the people.
No matter how much they tried to silence the people, the rumor that Duke Claudio had attempted to kill the Princess of Valdina would rise again like the sun in a day or two.
Even the small-minded people who flattered and farted at him avoided him for fear of getting in his way. Of course, their words are not false, because he was clearly after Medea.
'This is absolutely impossible. Even if this plan succeeds, I will end up becoming a tyrant who will kill his niece and ascend to the throne.'
But there are times when the truth hits someone harder than ever.
'No matter where I go, I can't stop seeing the same glares that say I tried to kill the Princess. The people's perception is changing.'
Joaquin Claudio, once respected and trusted by many, was now nothing more than a cruel and greedy uncle who tried to kill his niece.
The regent was furious at the two people's positions being completely reversed like a seesaw.
'We must create a crisis. So that the Valdinians can realize the importance of this Claudio!'
The only way he can regain his former honor and respect is if Valdina is put in danger.
If he appears as a savior in the raging flames of rebellion engulfing the royal palace, people's perceptions will change again.
"...Your Highness?"
The vassals looked at the regent who had called them over with a cold face and silently lost in thought with anxious eyes.
Finally, the mouth that had been tightly shut opened.
"We need to bring forward the rebellion."
The regent, driven from within and without, finally made a decision.
"Your Highness, that is...!"
"A rebellion? It's still too early."
The nobles under his command tried to dissuade the regent.
"Besides, there are still Katzen people residing in Valdina. Count Raju will not agree to us bringing forward the plan either."
Count Raju is soon to be the Grand Duke of Castullo's man. He doesn't want to get involved, so he insists that it should be after he leaves Valdina.
The Regent's eyes grew cold.
"You guys, have you forgotten whose name comes first in this country?"
"..."
The regent was also jealous of Jason.
Indeed, people can only see the real truth when they face hardships.
The Grand Duke, who boasted of a strong alliance, distanced himself from the Regent because his son tried to take a slightly different hand.
"Isn't that really arrogant? Does he expect me to bow down to him while he's also avoiding the Emperor of Katzen? What is it that he's better at than me right now?"
It's the same thing, they're both aiming for a throne that they shouldn't cover.
In fact, if the existing Castullo had been the Grand Duke, the Regent would have been quite cautious as well.
However, after the duel at the banquet, the Regent Duke could see that the Grand Duke's power had been noticeably weakened.
He lost power within the delegation as he was at odds with the Fourth Princess, and even the 10-star General Jared fell away from him.
However, Jason's arrogance in still trying to gain the upper hand left a scar on the regent's lonely pride.
"I too must check with them to see if the Grand Duke is truly worthy of the throne."
Discontent towards Jason rose like a mist.
"Once the rebels come, I'll be able to see if they're truly my allies. Can't I?"
"..."
The regent faction's forces exchanged glances.
Could this rebellion, which no one supported, with the Prince of Castullo and the Count of Raju missing, following the death of Minister Etienne, really succeed?
A ray of uneasiness rose in their uncertain hearts.
"You guys, do you think you can get out of here now that the decree has been burned?"
The Regent noticed his subjects' hesitation and glared at them with a snort.
"Do you think you will be safe when this Claudio falls? When Peleus returns, will that stone leave you alone, who has plundered the people and filled his own stomach? Who on earth will come forward to save you?"
The subjects' minds were awakened.
For the past ten years, they have been indulging in sweet pleasures for too long.
The young and just King will make them pay for the boredom and decadence they have enjoyed.
Wasn't that why you held the Regent's hand in the first place?
"Now is our only chance. We must finish everything before Peleus returns."
"...All right."
At the regent's words, their eyes finally became determined.
The only end to failed weightlifting is death.
"Let us follow the Duke's words. We must do whatever it takes to put the Duke on the throne so that we too can survive."
After the nobles who had made up their minds left, the Regent gave an order.
"Send word to the rebels too. It is time to rise up."
"But, Your Highness even if this rebellion succeeds, what will you do when the King and the Agemas return?"
They couldn't hide their concern.
The outstanding power of Agemas is well known on the continent. Will the royal family's children be able to handle it?
"Agema? Hehe. That can't be. I took care of it."
His order must have been passed on to the spy by now.
In the bloody battlefield, the final battle, Peleus's great elite will lose their lives.
Peleus, who returned home alone, barely surviving, would have no choice but to acknowledge the man sitting on the throne, not knowing what to do.
The regent swallowed a mean laugh.
Thinking of his nephew who must be looking up at the same sky as him with a tearful face right now.
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