Gambit
"When a man's pride is wounded, he will burn the kingdom to reclaim it."
"Samon Claudio! You bastard! How dare you harm Her Highness!"
"Twenty lashes is nothing! That scoundrel deserves a hundred to be properly reformed!"
Amidst the public's vociferous condemnation, the Regent's only son was flogged in humiliating fashion.
The shame must have exceeded the physical pain, for before the punishment concluded, Samon rolled his eyes back and lost consciousness.
However, the strict officer overseeing the execution showed no mercy whatsoever—releasing Samon only after delivering exactly twenty strikes.
"Sob... Samon! My poor son!"
Catherine collapsed over her unconscious son's body, weeping inconsolably.
"I will never forgive that woman Medea for doing this to my child. I'll break her limbs and make her suffer worse than Samon endured!"
Catherine examined her son's wounds through a veil of tears.
"Do you feel better now? Was it worth saving face by letting your son end up like this?"
Catherine stared at her husband with desperate longing.
It's not unusual for a son to obey his mother's commands—but how could he accept an order for caning without protest even once?
"Would you have preferred I announce to everyone that I was plotting against my own mother to seize the throne? Why would someone with any sense do something so foolish?"
The Regent made no effort to disguise his displeasure.
"Take care of Samon. I must meet with the council."
Did he expect me to rejoice watching my son punished so brutally?
The Regent was more distressed than ever—Samon was his only heir, the sole son who could carry on his legacy.
"Calm yourself, Duchess. I've arranged for Katzen's finest physician to attend to the young Duke. It won't be long before he rises from his bed."
Count Raju offered his consolation to Catherine.
"Leave this matter to me and go quickly."
"Then I entrust him to you, Count Raju."
The Regent was so consumed by suppressing his rage that he failed to notice Count Raju's hand lingering somewhat intimately on Catherine's shoulder as he comforted her.
The moment he stepped through the door, the Regent unleashed all the fury he'd been containing.
"Damn it all!"
He kicked the door violently, venting his wrath.
Inside his office waited the loyalists who had answered his summons.
"Your Highness, we've been waiting. How fares young Lord Samon?"
The Regent's gaze swept the room. The number assembled was pitifully reduced, their spirits visibly diminished.
"I commanded all of you to attend without fail."
"...Lord Anjou has fallen ill, and Baron Salamis's mother took sick this morning..."
The Regent didn't believe for a moment the feeble excuses sent by the absentees.
Those hyenas. Trying to slink away the moment circumstances turn against us.
Though his niece Medea—who had vanished during the hunt—had returned safely, the Regent's position had grown increasingly precarious.
Public opinion condemning him showed no signs of abating.
When he ventured into the streets, it had become commonplace for people to curse him and hurl refuse at the Duke's carriage. He'd even been featured in third-rate newspapers as"the people's enemy."
No matter how aggressively they tried to silence dissent, rumors that Duke Claudio had attempted to murder the Princess of Valdina would resurface within days, like the inevitable dawn.
Even the spineless sycophants who once flattered and fawned over him now avoided his presence, fearing association with his scandal.
Of course their excuses aren't entirely false—I did, after all, target Medea.
This is absolutely intolerable. Even if my plan succeeds, I'll be remembered as a tyrant who murdered his niece to claim the throne.
But sometimes the truth strikes harder than any fabrication.
Everywhere I go, I see those accusing glares—everyone knows I tried to kill the Princess. The people's perception has shifted entirely.
Joaquin Claudio—once respected and trusted by many—was now nothing more than a cruel, greedy uncle who'd attempted to murder his own niece.
The Regent seethed at how completely their positions had reversed, like a seesaw tipped violently to the opposite end.
I must manufacture a crisis. Force the Valdinians to recognize Claudio's true importance!
The only way to reclaim his former honor and respect was to place Valdina in mortal danger.
If he emerged as savior amidst flames of rebellion engulfing the royal palace, public perception would shift once more.
Point of No Return"...Your Highness?"
The vassals watched anxiously as the Regent—who had summoned them so urgently—stood in cold silence, lost in contemplation.
Finally, those tightly pressed lips parted.
"We must accelerate the rebellion."
The Regent, driven to desperation from within and without, had finally made his choice.
"Your Highness, that is...!"
"A rebellion? It's far too premature."
The nobles under his command attempted to dissuade him.
"Moreover, Katzen's delegation still resides within Valdina. Count Raju will never agree to advancing the timeline."
Count Raju served Grand Duke Castullo. Unwilling to become entangled in the conspiracy, he'd insisted the rebellion wait until after his departure from Valdina.
The Regent's eyes turned glacial.
"Have you all forgotten whose name carries the most weight in this kingdom?"
"..."
The Regent harbored deep resentment toward Jason as well.
Indeed, people only reveal their true nature when facing adversity.
The Grand Duke who'd boasted of their strong alliance had distanced himself the moment the Regent's son took an unconventional approach.
"Isn't it remarkably arrogant? He expects me to bow and scrape while simultaneously evading the Emperor of Katzen himself? In what way is he superior to me at this moment?"
They were mirror images—both reaching for thrones that should remain beyond their grasp.
Had the previous Grand Duke Castullo still held power, the Regent would have exercised considerable caution.
However, after the duel at the banquet, the Regent had observed Jason's influence waning noticeably.
He'd lost standing within his own delegation through conflict with the Fourth Princess, and even the formidable General Jared had abandoned him.
Yet Jason's continued arrogance—his insistence on maintaining the upper hand—had wounded the Regent's isolated pride deeply.
"I, too, must test whether the Grand Duke truly deserves the throne he covets."
Discontent toward Jason rose like morning mist.
"Once the rebels rise, we'll discover whether he's genuinely our ally. Won't we?"
"..."
The Regent's faction exchanged uncertain glances.
Could this rebellion—unsupported by anyone, with Prince Castullo and Count Raju absent, following Minister Etienne's death—possibly succeed?
A thread of unease wound through their troubled hearts.
"Do you truly believe you can extricate yourselves now that the die has been cast?"
The Regent noticed his vassals' hesitation and glared at them contemptuously.
"Do you imagine you'll remain safe when Claudio falls? When Peleus returns, will that righteous king spare those who've plundered the people and enriched themselves? Who precisely will step forward to save you then?"
His subjects' minds sharpened with sudden clarity.
For the past decade, they had indulged in sweet luxuries far too long.
The young, just King would demand payment for every pleasure and decadence they'd enjoyed.
That's why we allied with the Regent in the first place, wasn't it?
"This is our only opportunity. We must finish everything before Peleus returns."
"...Very well."
At the Regent's words, their eyes finally hardened with resolve.
The only end to a failed coup is death.
"We shall follow the Duke's command. We must succeed in placing you on the throne by any means necessary—for only then can we survive."
After the nobles who'd steeled their determination departed, the Regent issued another command.
"Send word to the rebel cells as well. The time has come to rise."
"But Your Highness—even if this rebellion succeeds, what will you do when the King and the Agemas return?"
They couldn't conceal their anxiety.
The Agemas' exceptional prowess was legendary across the continent. Could the royal family's children possibly withstand them?
"The Agemas? Hehe. That won't be an issue. I've already handled it."
His orders must have reached the spy by now.
On that blood-soaked battlefield, during the final engagement, Peleus's elite guard would meet their doom.
Peleus—returning home alone, barely surviving—would have no choice but to acknowledge whoever sat upon the throne, powerless to act otherwise.
The Regent swallowed a cruel laugh.
My dear nephew must be gazing at this same sky right now, his face streaked with tears.
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