When the Duchess left, they searched the cabin. There was indeed evidence of the black magic in her cabin that the Duke’s eldest son had heard from the princess. Baby clothes, baby portraits, and even a drawing of the Grand Duke’s residence with an “x” in a certain room. What she thought were useless junk in a chest in the basement were actually used to harm the parents of three people. The shock couldn’t be expressed in words. Evidence had been gathered to prove that the Imperial family and the witch were the culprits. But they couldn’t be accused right away. Because the opponent was the Emperor. The Grand Duke’s family’s power was still insufficient, and they didn’t know where the witch, who was the most important piece of evidence, was. All they knew was that she might still be alive somewhere.
* * *
Bang.
The Emperor’s fist hit the armrest of the throne.
“Regina, why is it my fault that greed started the war!”
“That’s right.”
The Empress sitting next to him comforted the red-hot hand of the emperor.
“In the first place, there are many people aiming for the throne.”
“You’re right.”
“It’s hard to understand the attitude of some nobles.”
The crown prince who was sitting opposite him joined the conversation.
“If she married the king of Billund, then she is not the princess of Briland, but the queen of Billund. Let’s say it was just a war started by an enemy country.”
“Yes!”
“If you are a vassal of the empire, you should be prepared to do that.”
“Yes! Gerald, you’re right!”
The Emperor slammed the armrest again. Why did the nobles not know something that even the crown prince, who was extremely foolish, now knew? The reason he was so angry was because the nobles used one excuse or another to not participate in the triumphal ceremony and victory celebration.
‘I thought they would all flock to the Grand Duke’s residence and hold a celebration, but…’
Then, using that as an excuse, they tried to slowly accuse Elliot of plotting treason and bring down the guy’s popularity, which was soaring these days.
‘It’s better if you drop the neck too.’
But that didn’t happen.
‘Chit…’
Contrary to the Emperor’s thoughts, Elliot’s reputation only increased after the war. The people were stupid little creatures, so it was okay to give them the right amount and spread good rumors, but the problem was the shrewd nobles.
“Everything that is arrogant should be turned into a frog.”
As the Crown Prince muttered while tipping his glass of wine, the Emperor frowned at him. He didn’t know what trick the Empress did, but the Crown Prince has changed. It was nice to see that his brain had improved, but she often said things that were dangerously extreme.
“Hmm, it’s time to think about the reward.”
A little while ago, he wanted to completely wipe him out, but as he listened to the prince’s crazy words, his senses came back. The Emperor seriously considered ways to appease the nobles.
“Damn…”
The Emperor, who was looking for something to give as a reward to the numerous nobles who participated in the war, quietly cursed. All that was gained from the war was the barren territory of Billund. This meant that he had to give up everything he had in order to share all the rewards. It was already such a waste that his stomach twisted.
“Has there still been no reply from the Duke of Monette?”
The Empress asked the Emperor who was pulling out his hair. A conciliation plan has already been presented to the Duke whose home had become a battlefield. The marriage of the Crown Prince and Princess Monette. However, the Duke postponed his answer, saying that the estate was still in chaos, and sent the princess, who had taken refuge in the Grand Duke’s house, to the Vatican. It was an obvious excuse to pray for the peace of the fallen and the well-being of the territory’s residents. This was a euphemistic rejection. Even though the Empress knew this, she persistently urged the dukedom to answer.
‘I like it in many ways.’
As the wife of his son, she was worthy of being from a duchy. The princess was also gentle and didn’t seem to be bothered by anything she did, making her a perfect scarecrow princess. Of course, there were also political calculations. If he joined hands with the Grand Duke, he would be recruiting a family that might become his political enemies to his side. By holding the princess as her hostage, of course. If the relationship with the dukedom, which was strained by repeated wars, was improved even on the surface, other noble families could be appeased. However, the Emperor shook his head to indicate that there was no answer yet and moved on to the next meritorious subject.
“How about giving the land of Billund to the Grand Duke?”
Having frozen ground infested with monsters was nothing but a nuisance. There was a need for a way to deal with it, and there would be no more rewarding reward than awarding the land conquered in this war to the person who made the greatest contribution.
“If you do that, won’t you only be criticized for passing on barren land to those who have made meritorious contributions?”
The crown prince frowned at him and objected.
“Then what should we do with that land!”
When the Emperor began to protest, the Empress, who had been listening quietly, intervened.
“Then how about giving away some of the loot we brought from Billund Castle?”
“…”
The Emperor glared at the Empress. The spoils of Billund Castle were rare monster by-products.
“Handing over that precious thing.”
“But…”
“Oh dear. That doesn’t make sense.”
For some reason, even the crown prince, who had always taken his mother’s side, took his side and frowned at her. When the Empress looked at the Prince, she immediately closed her mouth.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just spread a rumor that something useful was discovered in that land?”
The Emperor, who had been pondering the Crown Prince’s proposal, smiled.
“You are finally taking on the role of heir to the throne. It’s become quite useful.”
Marriage with Princess Monette was also the Crown Prince’s idea.
“Lorraine, what on earth did you feed that child?”
When the Emperor asked, the Empress covered her mouth and laughed. The corner of her mouth, hidden behind her hand, trembled with tension.
“Ho ho ho, that’s right. It’s truly amazing, isn’t it?”
“No matter what, you fed him well.”
It was not fed, but eaten. The Empress stared at the Crown Prince with fearful eyes. The Empress’s fearful gaze as she looked at the crown prince continued even after she moved into her womb.
“He’s nice.”
The old woman’s husky voice came from the ‘crown prince’ who was stroking a frog in her tank.
“Hurry up and eat!”
The ‘Prince’ forced the frog to eat the wriggling bug. The frog, who was struggling to get out of her grasp with his mouth shut, looked at her empress with her frightened eyes.
‘It’s all your fault, so don’t look at me like that.’
The Empress turned her gaze away from her son, who had become her frog. One day, her son’s and the witch’s souls suddenly switched. And the evil witch of the Black Forest.
‘For some reason, I thought that witch from the Grand Duke’s family was incredibly kind.’
The witch was a fake and the real one said that she had her body taken by the fake.
‘So, I know you needed a human body, but you still stole my son.’
It was suspicious that she had come all the way from the far west to the imperial palace to target the crown prince. But she didn’t tell anyone. She even formed an alliance of sorts. Because it will be of great help. The evil witch had a bad personality, but she had a good mind. Thanks to her, Gerald’s reputation has improved a lotfrom rolling around on the floor in a year. However, she had no intention of letting that witch take over her son’s body forever. There is no way she would be satisfied with a greedy witch being the scarecrow emperor. As soon as she ascends the throne, I will take over her throne.
“I still don’t have enough strength.”
Fortunately, it seemed like the witch had no intention of impersonating Gerald forever.
“Bring more monster byproducts.”
The witch commanded her queen and clicked her tongue.
“You’re crazy to give something so precious to someone like the Grand Duke.”
“I heard you’re planning on taking over the Grand Duke’s house anyway? Then, isn’t what belongs to the Grand Duke’s family also to belong to the witch?”
Lorraine was the Empress. Originally, it was a noble body that did not even mix up her words, let alone respect that witch. But their relationship changed after the witch took her son hostage.
“You talk too loudly!”
Quack!
Cried the witch, clutching her frog.
“If it were in the old days, I would have turned you into a frog with just a wave of my hand!”
But it’s an old story. Somehow, the witch’s magic power was much lower than it used to be. So, she was unable to regain her original body right away and was in a situation where she had to increase her magical power with Lorraine’s help.
“The time has come to perform the ritual again. Bring the monster by-products and three goats right away.”
When the witch motioned for her to go out, the empress came out. However, she did not give what the witch demanded right away, but she headed to the empress’ palace.
‘I have no intention of letting you occupy my son’s body forever, but just a little longer.’
As the Emperor, he planned to delay her and capture the witch until her son’s approval rating was raised to his satisfaction.
Quack!
The witch took out her anger by grabbing the frog prince again.
“What a useless guy.”
She was actually a useful person. If you are the crown prince, you are full of money and power. Besides, isn’t the imperial palace full of monster by-products?
So she chose the crown prince, but why does this guy feel useless…
“This damn body.”
The crown prince was born with a body that was not good at handling mana. She performed black magic rituals over and over again for a year, absorbing enormous amounts of mana. However, due to this useless body, she was still unable to turn a wanton human woman into a frog.
‘It’s worse than the body of this frog.’
It would be worth taking a look at the shell. Money and power would also be great. She was thinking about using this body forever if it was okay as a vessel to store mana, but she chose something she couldn’t use.
‘I need to find my original body.’
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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