Chapter 108
Because Cressida had failed to block things properly and because her attempts to fix the situation had been clumsy, Arendtert believed it was her fault that this engagement had happened.
For her, who had cared for him with all her effort, it was absurd. None of this would have happened if he had simply behaved himself in the first place. Yet her foolish son was busy blaming others.
“Who told you that you would lose?”
Cressida spoke while trying to hide her displeasure. Arendtert was useless, but he was still her son. For her power to continue into the next generation, he had to become Emperor.
She had already lost much of the Emperor’s trust because of his actions, so her position was no longer what it used to be. Even the old conservatives of the Noble Council were no longer as obedient to her as before.
Cressida felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.
The Emperor could never abandon her. She held his deepest secret.
But if he died, then what.
The Emperor, shocked by Arendtert’s debauchery, had begun sleeping more than he was awake. At this rate, he really could die suddenly one morning.
Originally, even after the Emperor’s passing, she would have been safe for a while. The conservative faction would have supported her strongly.
But because of Arendtert, most of the conservatives had turned away. Her support now barely held only because she was Empress and because she still enjoyed the Emperor’s affection.
“Mother, you still think that I can win? Truly?”
“You must win no matter what. If the First Prince, if Euclid becomes Emperor, what do you think will happen to you?”
“Well…”
At Cressida’s pressing tone, Arendtert blinked slowly. It seemed he had never thought that far. She barely restrained herself from smacking her pathetic son’s head and continued.
“Execution. Or exile. It will be one of those two. Execution is more likely. Your very existence is a threat to Euclid.”
“What if I declare that I give up my claim to the throne?”
“Who would believe that?”
Cressida scoffed. Her son’s naive answer was ridiculous.
“That is why you must become Crown Prince. This isn’t a matter of choice, it’s a matter of survival.”
“…But how can I.”
“Enough whining. I’m tired of hearing it.”
Cressida waved her hand in the air. She ordered a maid to close the door and leave, then sat on the sofa.
“I will persuade the conservatives somehow. Even if I have to empty my private funds to buy votes. As for the monster hunt…”
While laying out her plan, Cressida’s gaze landed on Grizelle, who was trying to make herself small. Seeing her, Cressida’s face twisted sharply.
“Why is this thing in front of me? You. I told you not to appear before my eyes.”
“I, I want to be of help to Aren too.”
“How could you possibly be trusted?”
Cressida laughed coldly. She pointed at Grizelle.
“Aren, block her mouth and ears. Now.”
“Your Majesty the Empress! I’m on Aren’s side too!”
“How am I supposed to know that the moment you hear Aren’s strategy, you won’t write a note to the First Prince or pass information to one of his spies. No, perhaps you would even go snitching to His Majesty the Emperor like you did before.”
“That time I… I had to survive too… mmph!”
As Grizelle tried to repeat the same excuses she always used, Arendtert shoved a gag into her mouth. He bound her hands and even covered her ears, then muttered coldly.
“You’re not a parrot. There is no need for a mouth that only repeats the same lines.”
Seeing her son follow her orders, Cressida smiled with satisfaction. As expected, Arendtert resembled her greatly, as he was the child she had birthed with her own body.
Cressida opened her fan and looked at Arendtert with loving eyes. Even in this situation, he was her child. No matter what it took, she would make him Crown Prince.
Cressida then spoke through the fan so that Grizelle couldn’t read her lips. Hearing her plan, Arendtert’s eyebrows shot upward.
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