Terence pointed out that Leniard was getting sick.
"Cesare, our lord, has not yet given an order. Her Highness didn't say anything either."
"Yo,u frustrated person! Don't you know how critical this is? Moreover, how can we be sure that Hwr Highness's opinion is indeed for our Highness?"
The Marquis of Leniard pointed to his stiff forehead. He warned with a rational look.
"Things have changed. Your Highness's ascension to the throne may not necessarily be beneficial to Her Highness. If Her Highness has a different heart, can you handle her resourcefulness and ability?"
If Cesare ascends to the throne, he can force his marriage to the Saintess on the grounds of diplomacy with the Holy State and the situation of the entire continent.
So, from the perspective of the 1st Princess, wouldn't she want to prevent her husband from ascending the throne somehow?
"This old fool, I should have ripped that pierced mouth open a long time ago."
"Gallo!"
Gallo, who was listening, could not contain his anger and strode up to the Marquis of Leniard.
Nevertheless, the Marquis of Leniard did not waver.
"The only thing I can trust now is bloodline. Those who wish only for His Highness's safety without any selfishness."
He thought.
Haven't we witnessed countless times over the years that even outstanding, great people like the Western Empress are, in some ways, just extremely selfish individuals?
"Let's prepare for the coronation. I'll tell His Highness."
Leniard said. Terence, Gallo, and the imperial attendant said nothing. It was an implicit refusal.
"These fools, really-"
"That's a tearful loyalty."
A cool voice echoed through the space.
"Your Highness...!"
It was Cesare.
The Marquis of Leniard reflexively reached out and approached him.
"Is your body okay? How is your condition?"
Cesare only looked down on him indifferently.
A cold gaze that does not allow access.
Realizing the sense of distance, Leniard paused, lowered his hand again, and took a step back.
"Your Highness."
Only then did he find Medea beside Cesare, and Leniard bowed down.
His heart beat like a bat. He wonders if the two of them heard him a while ago.
"You're not wrong either."
Then Cesare's voice continued.
"It's a waste to obediently hand over this piece of meat that you've been guarding so far to others."
"Yes, Your Highness. We have already been preparing for the coronation for a long time, so it won't take long."
He politely reported his plans for the future.
While mourning the death of Perdiccas II, he emphasized the importance of not making it appear that the First Prince on the continent was extorting the throne too hastily.
It was a strategy worthy of Katzen's diplomatic balance and skill.
"I will send royal invitations to the kingdoms of the continent, including Valdina, and I will also deliver the warpzeen. Considering the importance of the coronation..."
The Marquis of Leniard paused for a moment and then finished speaking.
"Holy Nation cannot be ruled out either."
"Your Highness, I cannot allow you to reject the oracle again and suffer the consequences. What a great opportunity this is..."
However, Cesare did not miss a ray of joy in the old man's eyes.
He lifted the corners of his mouth stiffly.
"Good idea, the Marquis has taken it up shrewdly."
At Cesare's permission, Leniard breathed a sigh of relief.
Marquis Leniard sure Cesare also heard the warning he gave to the 1st Princess a while ago.
Still, the fact that he doesn't dare to mention it here now means that Cesare's heart has also changed.
'Well, that's what this place is about. No matter how crazy you are about your wife, you have no choice but to change.'
Only by resolving the divine punishment will he be able to safely sit on the throne.
This was the case with Perdiccas II, and so did the countless rulers who sat on the throne.
Cesare, who is one step ahead of them in terms of ambition, is no exception, Leniard was convinced.
"Please give me the word. Your Highness... No, according to Your Highness's wishes, I will do my best to ensure that this change is naturally accepted beyond the empire and its people to the continent."
Leniard leaned deeply.
"Yes. If you do, I will entrust you with the role of a bridge to the continent."
"Yes?"
The Marquis of Leniard looked up. A nonchalant gaze was looking down at him.
"What do you mean?"
"As the Marquis said, we need someone to anoint our diplomacy. The most important thing right now is Valdina, and in this delicate situation, the only one who can convince them is you, the Marquis."
"..."
The coronation ceremony is just around the corner.
At that point, it would be absurd to give him a task that could be assigned to a low-ranking official.
'It means that you will not give me any honor.'
Even the person he has to meet is Valdina.
The prowess of the Emperor of Valdina, known as the Holy Slayer, was also well known to Marquis Leniard.
Who will be the target of the anger towards Cesare, who abandoned his younger sister and chose a Saintess?
Why do you dare to order me on a mission where it is unclear whether I will be able to return alive...
"If you're going to do it, you might as well take your clan with you. This will not be easy, so in the end, the only thing you can trust is bloodline."
Cesare replied to Leniard's words a moment earlier, and at the same time expressed his will to expel the Marquis Leniard from the city.
"Your Highness! Are you going to cut me off!"
The Marquis of Leniard finally couldn't suppress his anger and raised his voice.
"Have you forgotten what I have endured for His Highness? If there was a problem with my words and actions, you should have warned me. The Insult of cutting off my hands and feet like this and mercilessly kicking me out!"
"Did you need a warning?"
A cool voice rang out.
"An incompetent subject who cannot understand the will of the monarch should naturally be ousted. Have you not even learned that over the years?"
Cesare's eyes were as cold as ice.
At that moment, the Marquis of Leniard realized that Cesare knew everything.
The desires he had and the future he dreamed of.
And even the fact that he put pressure on the 1st Princess the other day.
"Your Highness..."
"Was it presumptuous of me to expect you to realize your own limitations?"
The sound of laughter bursting under his eyes was clear.
"Leniard, do you want to call me your flesh and blood?"
A sharp question was shot, without the slightest hint of ambition.
"Yes. There's nothing I can't do. I also have high expectations."
Cesare walked slowly to the throne and raised his hand.
Between the seams of the Emperor's back, the blood stains that had not been wiped off were clearly smeared on his fingertips.
"My grandfather, who was not related to me by blood, created this void by eliminating my biological father."
"...!"
Marquis Leniard's face turned white for a moment.
"Then, you who have the same blood as me... What can you give me?"
"Wha, what is the word..."
In an instant, like a light in a dark room, things that had not been seen until now began to enter the Marquis's eyes one by one.
The undisclosed body of Perdiccas II, the sealed palace gates, and the bloody smell that faintly lingered throughout entering the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial attendants and Cesare's entourage, who had strange faces...
"It wasn't an accident.. So, Eratosthenes... In the end... Your Majesty."
Ah. Leniard opened his mouth.
He couldn't tell if it was a moan or a sigh that came out of his mouth.
Eratosthenes was truly a different man from him.
Until the end, Eratosthenes left without any greed for his desire, and without any regrets.
"Eratosthenes... He..."
Perhaps, I won't.
As he did.
He could not kill the Emperor for Cesare and bear the sin, nor could he have the confidence to disappear quietly in return.
Even if the blood flowing in that young man's body is the same as his.
What is the use of all bloodlines?
As long as the depth of his shallow feelings was discovered, the Marquis of Leniard was no longer even qualified to claim blood ties.
"Your Highness, I..."
He came to his senses as if he had poured cold water on it.
Only then did Leniard realize it. How foolish, false dreams he was dreaming.
"Your Highness, please forgive me for my overindulgence. I was blinded for a moment."
So even though this is Eratosthenes, he was right.
"I'll be clear. You too keep it in your head. No matter what state I am in or where I sit, my will will not change."
Cesare turned for a moment and made eye contact with Medea.
"Forget the idea of secretly pushing the oracle. Rachel, that woman becoming my companion is out of question-."
At that moment, a large red light flashed out. Cesare was stunned.
Even if the world is turned upside down, it won't be overturned."
"No! Why...!"
At the same time, Terence's scream rang out.
Cesare looked back. His eyes met Medea's.
Splat-!
Medea saw the huge whip wrap around him again.
"Cesare!"
Where the light disappeared, he collapsed to the floor.
With a new scar from the divine punishment.
***
"Damn it, it's your fault. You said something that shouldn't have happened! The boss barely woke up...!
"I, I..."
The face of the Marquis of Leniard, who had been grabbed by Gallo, turned pale.
While Cesare was commanding him, the divine punishment fell again, and he could not let go of the thought that it was his fault.
"I'm sorry. I'm..."
"Gallo, stop."
"You saw it too! Why did the boss, who was fine, suddenly collapse again? Why is the goddess punishing him again!"
Gallo burst into anger.
In the chaotic situation, only Medea was calm.
"For now, please move Cesare. We must keep it a secret that he has lost his consciousness again."
No one should know.
"I'm sorry. It's all because of this old man's greed. I'm a guest for no reason... It put His Highness in danger again."
The Marquis of Leniard fell to his knees as if he were collapsing.
Looking down at the tears he shed, soaking his beard, Medea said nothing.
"Your Highness."
Terence approached Medea, who was sitting next to Cesare, who was lying down.
Terence rubbed his temples.
Cesare, who has lost his mind, is a scar of a god who glows red.
The situation was repeated again, and his head was spinning.
It was as if Goddes was playing a terrible prank and repeatedly putting hope in and out of her mouth.
I'm so tired and anxious right now, but what about Medea?
"Are you okay?"
"..."
Medea didn't listen to Terence.
She was distracted.
'There was no sign until I entered the palace.'
Cesare, whom she met there, was pale and had scars from the divine punishment, but he was not unconscious.
'What's changed? What caused it?'
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