RATBA 58

Chapter 58

I expected that my father would be shocked after hearing my request, but there was nothing I could do.

I was already someone despised by His Majesty.

The only way for me to regain His Majesty’s trust and return to the position of crown princess was clear.

‘I must show His Majesty directly. The power of the spirit saving the empire.’

It was a reckless path.

But at the same time, it was the best path and the only path.

Of course, my father didn’t seem to see it that way.

“This… my goodness, you’re going to the battlefield?”

My father pressed his fingers to his forehead, trying to ease the headache.

“You don’t understand the true nature of war.”

His glasses seemed darker than usual.

Perhaps he was seeing the past through those eyes.

The horrible screams,

The blood-soaked ground,

And the mountains of corpses…

It was a long time before his gaze finally shifted to me.

“How did you change like this? You, who only thought about becoming the empress.”

It seemed like he was referring to the original Claudia.

Remembering her terrible life, I bit my lip.

“…The old me is gone. I won’t just sit and watch as a dreadful fate approaches like I used to.”

“Claudia…”

“I don’t want to return to being the fool who just daydreamed about love and let the enemies destroy me.”

He shook his head.

“A dreadful fate? No, you were meant to become the empress and live a comfortable life without doing anything. You kicked that shining glory away with your own feet.”

Hearing that, I almost sighed.

‘Claudia receiving shining glory? Maybe if it was a shining guillotine, but…’

Out of the 200 game endings, there was definitely no ending where she sat back and enjoyed happiness.

Knowing that, I remained silent in front of him.

Not backing down, he finally revealed a shocking fact.

“While you were coming here, Nayla went to the palace.”

“…?!”

“It seems that before Regis left for the battlefield, he left an engagement ring for Nayla. He intended to marry her as soon as he returned alive.”

I barely moved my trembling lips.

“Does that mean…?”

“Yes. It means that Nayla has taken the position of crown princess, the one you missed.”

Even though I had steeled myself for this moment, I couldn’t help but stagger in that instant.

Just yesterday, I had been the crown princess.

I had been treated as the future empress.

And yet, overnight, everything I had was taken by Nayla.

“That girl will gain His Majesty’s trust. In a few years… no, even in one year, she will be in a position far higher than yours.”

“….”

“And that’s not all. Once she enters the academy, she will gather supporters there. The duke has already promised to pay for all her tuition fees, so she can’t be stopped.”

He seemed unable to understand why I was walking straight into a thorny path.

He continued trying to stop me.

“When that girl stands at the peak of society and swallows all the power, will you really continue rolling around on that cold and exhausting battlefield?”

“….”

“When she tastes all the delicacies in a warm and safe place, and you are left to satisfy your hunger with cold, hard bread in a place filled with the stench of blood, are you really okay with that? Why…!!”

I wasn’t surprised by his shouting.

I knew he wasn’t angry with me, but rather, his reaction came from his anxiety.

And it was my job to calm that anxiety.

“No matter how much Nayla charms the nobility with her eloquence and political skills, she will never become the empress.”

“Are you so sure about that? What’s your reasoning?”

“If I have the power of the spirits, I can do something far greater on the battlefield. What she’s achieved will seem insignificant compared to my accomplishments.”

I added with more conviction.

“As you know, His Majesty declared that the throne will be passed on to the son who contributes the most in the war.”

“Yes, I’ve heard he said that.”

“Even if you oppose it now, if I make remarkable contributions on the battlefield, His Majesty will have no choice but to acknowledge me and hand the throne to Lord Naitan.”

“Hmm…”

“You know how much he hates breaking promises.”

He hesitated, then cautiously asked me.

“Is the power of the spirits really that great…?”

“Of course. I can control water to drain the enemy’s water supplies, or even flood rivers to block their escape routes.”

Feeling confident, I decided to demonstrate my powers right in front of him.

I used the spirit’s power to create arrows made of water.

Then I made a sword, a shield…

And finally, I created a lion, larger than a person.

The transparent, water-colored lion bared its teeth and showed off its majesty right in front of my father.

“Hmm…”

He seemed to be deep in thought as he watched my display.

I took advantage of this moment to press further.

“That’s why I’m not afraid. On the contrary, my heart races with excitement thinking about how Nayla, smiling and thinking she’s won, will be caught off guard when I take everything from her.”

He stared at me for a long while, then finally spoke.

“Sigh… Fine. I’ll consider it positively. Give me some time to think.”

“Yes!”

Though he hadn’t fully granted permission, the fact that he said he would consider it “positively” was enough to make me smile.

Exhausted from persuading my father, I slowly made my way back to my bedroom.

It was then that I realized I had never seen Mari.

I thought she might be cleaning the room, but she wasn’t there.

I grabbed a passing maid and asked,

“Do you know where Mari is?”

“I heard she went to the palace for some urgent business.”

“This…?”

Our paths had crossed without me knowing.

Mari had gone straight to the palace, unaware that I had returned home.

But this wasn’t all bad news.

I paid close attention to the words “urgent business.”

‘Did she find something important enough to deliver urgently?’

She had been investigating the maid who had caused the burn injury.

There was a possibility that she had discovered something crucial.

With hope rising, I asked the maid another question.

“Then, what about Lucy, who temporarily served me?”

“Oh, Lucy quit being a maid.”

“…Hmm?”

“She said she didn’t deserve to stay here… she told everyone she was leaving. I’m not sure of the details, though.”

“…Thank you for letting me know. You can go now.”

After sending the maid off, I entered the bedroom and looked at the desk.

Sure enough, the ruby ring I had given to Lucy was prominently displayed.

‘She left because of guilt. She could’ve just taken the ring…’

It seemed like she felt unworthy to accept it.

She had received it as a secret token for keeping a secret, only to spill everything to Nayla.

“Sigh…”

I felt a pang of unease and stood still, holding the ring in my hand for a while.

Naitan regained consciousness right after Claudia left.

When he woke up, he wasn’t surprised to find that she wasn’t beside him.

He assumed that his father had moved her temporarily to keep her hidden.

Still unaware of anything, Naitan didn’t rush to find her. Instead, he waited for his body to recover.

He was eager to see her, but he didn’t want to show any weakness in his current state.

As he was recovering, he clenched his fist, feeling its unfamiliar power.

‘That thing’s strength is growing stronger…’

He was worried about the presence trying to take over his body.

This time, he had fought with it for ten whole days.

If he let his guard down, it might take over completely.

He promised himself that he would not lose control again, as he stood up from his bed.

He then called for a servant.

“Did you call for me?”

The servant’s face was unfamiliar.

Naitan didn’t care much, as he hadn’t grown particularly attached to his previous servant.

He was just curious.

“Where’s the previous one?”

“He was fired. He dared to snoop around your chambers and caused a ruckus.”

“This…?”

“So from now on, I’ll be attending to you. You can call me Wilter.”

Naitan liked the clean impression that Wilter gave him.

“Alright, Wilter. First, bring some water to wash up. I can’t meet my wife smelling of sweat after such a long time.”

“Well…”

Wilter hesitated and stopped.

Naitan, confused by his reaction, looked at him until it hit him.

“…What happened to my wife?”

“…”

“Answer me!”

Naitan’s voice became harsh.

It felt like Wilter might pull out a sword if he stayed silent any longer.

Despite being ordered not to disclose Claudia’s whereabouts, Wilter had no choice but to speak.

“Your, your highness… No, Miss Claudia… went to the Duke’s estate. His Majesty sent her there.”

“What…?”

For a moment, his mind went blank.

‘He didn’t call her ‘crown princess,’ but ‘Miss Claudia.’ That’s… unsettling.’

It didn’t seem like a normal situation.

“…”

Without wasting time, Naitan put on his clothes.

He prayed desperately that Wilter had misunderstood, that Claudia was with his father.

As he made his way to his father’s study, he prayed harder than ever.

But when he arrived, Claudia wasn’t there.

His father was there with someone unexpected.

“…Why is she here?”

Naitan asked, looking at Nayla, who was blushing next to the emperor.

Nayla’s expression briefly turned cold at his words.

She was at an angle where the emperor couldn’t see her face.

But Naitan clearly saw the change in her expression, and it made him even more uneasy.

“Where is Claudia… What happened to her?”

At his son’s question, the emperor sighed deeply.

Then he turned to Nayla, who was beside him.

“This child is no longer the crown princess. The only one who will be crowned from now on is this child… Nayla.”

Even though the emperor wasn’t fond of Nayla, especially after the incident with her self-harm, he had no choice but to accept her since Regis chose her.

And with Claudia gone, there was no other option.

After understanding his father’s words, Naitan suddenly clutched his chest.

“…No… it can’t be…”

“Naitan??”

What he had been holding back exploded in that moment.

It seemed like the entity that had been trying to take control of his body was stronger than ever.