"The front and back are so different. How dirty, how dirty."
As soon as the Queen Dowager finished speaking, the Valdinians rushed out.
It was a clear indication that there was no room for negotiation.
Someone spat, and Jason's face turned red at the unconcealed insult.
This won't do. He may not be able to gain the favor of the Valdinians, but he will also be resented. This was the last thing he wanted.
With even the delegation turning their backs on Jared, wasn't this Valdina the only hope left for him?
"Brother Jason, please return to Katzen as soon as possible. I hope there will be no more dishonor."
"Angelique, do you not know what you did?"
Jason couldn't help but glare at her. The 4th Princess snorted.
"Do you think I don't know? That you deliberately tried to take advantage of my weakness?"
"..."
"Jason, just live as you always have. Don't dream useless dreams. No, it'll be hard from now on. I don't intend to let you have easy dreams."
The young fourth Princess was full of venom.
On the other hand, she thought it was a good idea to sacrifice Jason as Medea had said.
How shameful it is to be accused of trying to harm the Princess of VaIdina and being banished. Thanks to that, the duel in which she lost her relief will also be covered up.
The fourth Princess's eyes glanced at Medea.
The two people's eyes met, but the 4th Princess quickly turned her head away, perhaps because her pride was hurt.
"Your Highness, please prepare yourself."
The royal knights approached, making no attempt to hide their aggressive and threatening air.
"Let go. I'll go out on my own two feet."
Jason threw his arm away. His handsome face was distorted harshly.
***
One evening, as the sun was slowly setting, the royal knights' horses stopped at the end of the Valdina Castle.
"We will see you off here. Well then, Grand Duke Castullo. I hope we never have to see each other again."
A polite yet disapproving greeting was the least they could do.
Dagdak. Dagdak.
The sound of horse hooves as if they didn't want to stay any longer and didn't even look back, left a deep wound in Jason's pride.
His eyes turned red as he tried to suppress his rising anger. His already red eyes looked extremely ferocious with murderous intent and anger.
"Fuck-! Fuck!"
Unable to control his anger, he repeatedly punched the carriage door.
This was not the first embarrassing moment for him.
Even when he gave the throne to his uncle, and even when he pretended to be stupid and let his guard down to avoid his uncle's eyes, Jason still bit the flesh on the inside of his cheek to endure the humiliation that was gnawing at him.
But he never imagined that even in this distant and small country of Valdina, he would become miserable.
"Your Highness, please hold on tight."
His flesh burst through the iron door, but he couldn't stop.
"I can't leave like this."
He muttered with bloodshot eyes.
"I didn't come all this way to return empty-handed."
Valdina should have been his brilliant beginning, not another point of repeated humiliation.
"Turn the carriage around and send a pipe to Count Raju."
"Yes?"
The staff asked in surprise, then stopped when they saw Jason's fierce eyes.
"I heard he's going to Duke Claudio's house."
Count Raju told him a while ago that the Duke's family seems to be secretly preparing a rebellion without their knowledge.
"I will personally help them in their rebellion."
If this foolish nation ungratefully rejected him, Jason had no need to hesitate.
***
Valdina.
At the top of a valley, hidden by thick forest and trees, stood several men on horseback.
"That dot in the distance is the VaIdina Royal Castle."
A middle-aged man on horseback muttered.
He was the leader of the rebels, Horrols, a red-haired, competitive man.
"If the palace guard guys see us, they'll be so shocked that they'll lose their minds."
He chuckled.
"That's right. Everything the chief said is correct."
The subordinates flattered and agreed.
Horrols looked down the mountain, dreamily.
All the black dots filling the plains were rebels.
Most of them were ordinary people who worked as farm implements or other tools, but there were some mercenaries mixed in with each group to instigate and manage them.
"There are enough troops to retake the castle and capture the leech-like Princess. The witch will now experience firsthand how terrifying the people's anger is."
The leader spoke proudly.
"Isn't that right, Theo?"
Horrols asked the brown-haired boy riding beside him.
He was an unusually handsome boy with sharp features, a build close to that of an adult, and manly lines.
“Theo?”
"..."
Only then did the boy turn around.
"What are you thinking about that you can't even hear me calling you?"
"Ah... That's right. Those who are immersed in luxury and pleasure will run out in shock."
Horrols chuckled and patted Theo on the shoulder.
"Are you already thinking about when you reached the royal palace? Well, you said you were from the royal palace. It must be a new experience."
"..."
"Your sister will be very proud when she sees her brother become a hero who saves the people from sorrow. Hahaha!"
Horrols was very pleased with himself for having discovered him.
In this large-scale operation in which he participated with the regent's money, this was the item that he got for the best cost-effectiveness.
He happened to pick up a guy dying on the street.
He had a father who was a retired soldier, and his anger towards the royal family was immense. He was immediately persuaded when he gently promised to overthrow the rotten royal family and save the people.
Filled with a passion to overthrow the monarchy, he worked until his whole body broke, even though he wasn't paid a single penny.
Horrol's closest associates were, in fact, high-class mercenaries hired at great expense.
Unlike the mercenaries who demanded payment every time, Theo was like his own wind-up doll, moving well on his own even if he just scratched an itch a little.
"Let's stay here tonight. I'm going to have a hard time drinking when I think about how this place is going to burn down soon!"
Horrols laughed heartily. His hearty laughter rang out across the sky.
A plain between valleys where spiderwebs thickly cover the ground.
Theo lit a candle. He was alone in the barracks.
Everyone was very drunk, and the chieftain, with a red face, was standing near the campfire, talking enthusiastically with his soldiers about the evils of the royal family.
Amidst the commotion. Theo managed to sneak into the chieftain's barracks alone.
"Not only are you threatening my family, you're trying to deceive me."
He was gnashing his teeth at the cunning tricks of the Valdina royal family.
"You're being deceived. Wipe your eyes and look carefully. Otherwise, I'll cut off your nose in the blink of an eye."
A while ago, a freckled young man wearing a straw hat came to see him.
He had sharp, sparkling eyes and he tapped Theo on the nose as he left.
When he came to his senses after a brief daze, he was holding an unfamiliar box in his hands.
Containing the token shared with his younger sister and a lock of hair.
'Saya... My sister really became that witch's handmaiden.'
Theo didn't believe it at first, so he secretly found out through someone with connections to the royal family.
"The Princess recently took in a girl she had rescued from the slums as her maid. Her name was Saya, and she was quite famous as she was favored by the Queen dowager as well."
'I should have brought Saya with me instead.'
But late regret was meaningless.
Theo crumpled the letter he was holding.
A letter, or rather a threat, that the Princess of Valdina delivered to him through Freckle Boy.
The Princess already knew his true identity as the leader of the rebels and that Saya was his only family.
Sending a handful of hair was at threat to him, holding Saya's life in her hands.
[... You are being deceived. Theo, the beliefs and justice you believe in never existed from the beginning.]
The Princess said that the head of the household was a subordinate who received orders from the regent and that the rebellion was a grand scheme to destabilize the country for their own gain.
"That can't be true."
Theo's pronunciation leaked out through his teeth.
"Theo, let's join hands and change this dirty world. Let's live well enough so that the poor can proudly hold their heads high and not fall behind the rich!"
He came here driven by that passion that was both simple and pure, but behind the scenes, he was receiving assistance from the Regent?
"The Princess is trying to cause discord between us. She's using Saya as an excuse to separate me and the chief."
Theo, too, was well aware of his influence.
In fact, it was all thanks to the leader that he was able to grow the scale to this point.
Most of the rebels were ordinary people who were farming or working for the farm. They were persuaded by Theo and firmly believed his words, joining the organization.
He taught them kindly what he had seen and heard from his father, a retired soldier, and developed his skills.
It was entirely Theo's fault that there were no major casualties during the several castles they passed through up to this point.
"Shit..."
He muttered.
There is no other reason for coming here. It is only to confirm the truth and show it to the wicked Princess.
The sound of something being opened and rummaged through reverberated quietly through the barracks.
"There's no such thing, the Princess just brought it up to cause discord between us..."
Then it stopped.
Theo slowly raised his hand. It was a small piece of parchment with the seal of the Duke Claudio's family.
[When we confront the rebels at the castle walls, I will send the Princess out. You wait, kidnap the Princess, and show her to the people inside the castle. I will punish the witch who ran away and abandoned the country.]
The regent's orders and a chest full of gold nuggets.
Thud, he sank to the ground.
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