0&1 Ch 22.7

That wasn’t the case with Grey. He ignored people he disliked, but he never worried about them.

“So, did you give him a useful answer?” Edward asked, looking at the terrace. Alex Baumkuchen was entering the room where Joffrey was.

“Well… just…”
“Just?”

“I didn’t think he wanted an answer.” Grey made an excuse. He couldn’t say that he had just answered whatever came to mind.

Baumkuchen’s large frame blocked his view of Joffrey.

What are those two doing with the curtains open? They must be desperate to be seen by others. Grey was thinking calmly until he saw Baumkuchen kneel down.

He must be crazy.

Grey turned his head. Edward was smiling.

“They finally met.”

“Prince Joffrey said that he wasn’t the one who gave the order to Alex Baumkuchen. It’s not unusual for those around him to cling to him.”

Why am I making excuses for him?

“That’s just the kind of person Joffrey is,” Edward replied.

Grey kept his mouth shut. He already regretted saying anything.

“You asked me what I would do when I returned to the capital, didn’t you?”
“Yes, Your Highness. When will you reply to my letter? You said you were going to the academy.”

Grey was relieved that the subject had changed.

He shouldn’t have been relieved.

Edward raised his glass to his mouth.

“I’m going to get rid of the Queen.”

“…” 

What did I just hear?

Grey suppressed his reaction and cautiously looked around. There wasn’t even a server nearby. Rumor had it the Prince and the Prime Minister’s son had lashed out at someone.

Revenge is an excellent justification.

It was the Queen’s scheme that sent Edward to the battlefield. The Queen provoked Edward at the hunting ground. Even if he had refused at that moment, Edward would have had to go to the border. There was no noble in the royal palace who had not taken money from the Queen.

Edward and the Queen could not live under the same sky. In the autumn when Edward went to war, Grey confirmed this fact once again.

Joffrey’s warning was too late and too little. Because of that warning, Edward made up his mind.

If Edward wanted to build a force to oppose the Queen, there was no other option but to go to war.

Grey initially opposed the idea.

“It’s too dangerous.”
“I’ve never lived without danger. Is the royal palace safe?”
“It’s a battlefield. Are you comparing it to the royal palace, where everyone’s eyes are on you? Don’t think that an arrow will spare you just because you’re a royal.”
“Hundreds of eyes are not on my side, so what do hundreds of arrows matter? There, it will be possible to distinguish friend from foe.”
“Don’t think that soldiers wearing the uniform of this country are on His Majesty’s side.”
“At least I won’t have to worry about my next meal. Tell the Prime Minister that if I return alive, he should consider me as an option for the throne.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”

Because Edward had said so, the Prime Minister backed him. The hundred soldiers who joined Edward in battle were sent by nobles connected to Duke Cracker.

There were plenty of nobles who wanted to expel the foreign Queen who was controlling the government. They just didn’t have enough power.

If a Prince capable of uniting them were to appear, and if that Prince had a just cause…

“Do you think he has a chance?”
“There are only a hundred of them. It was my father who told me to keep an eye on Prince Edward. This is a way to test his qualities with minimal investment.”

Edward proved his qualities.

In fact, it was more than anyone had expected.

But already? He’s planning to get rid of the Queen?

Edward had made a name for himself. It was true that he was very popular. 

But the Queen had Joffrey.

A clever Prince loved by the people, a strong support base, and a wealthy fiefdom brought with him as a dowry. And the Queen, who came from a kingdom that was incomparably richer than theirs.

If Edward wanted the crown, he had to build his power base first.

That’s why Edward was the busiest person at this banquet.

Edward bowed his head. As if to propose a toast, he brought his glass close to his lips and said in a low voice, “The King is being poisoned. Not long ago, a servant who had been observing the King’s condition was beheaded. It’s been going on for over five years, so it’s no wonder it took so long to notice. Even the Queen didn’t expect it to take this long.”

”You dare say such a thing!”

Grey’s expression changed. The Queen’s actions and the problems caused by her existence were completely different from this.

The King of the country?

The Queen is out of her mind.

“She must have been anxious because the King didn’t die in time. Anxiety leads to mistakes.”
“Where did you hear this information?”

“Who else?” Edward stared expressionlessly. “It’s been twenty years since the King ascended the throne. Do you think the Queen was the only one who tried to poison him?”

The source of the information was the King. There was no doubt about its reliability.

Grey looked up at the King and Queen.

The Queen was a beauty whose age was impossible to guess. In Grey’s memory, the Queen had always looked like that. On the other hand, the King beside her looked like a tired old man with wrinkles.

It was a chilling sight.

The Queen must be taken down. As soon as possible. Edward was not rushing.

“If the servant is dead, what about the evidence?”
“It’s not necessary. The King is the witness.”
“Is it His Majesty’s intention to get rid of the Queen?”
“The King prefers a more certain method.”
“A certain method?”

Edward did not look at Grey.

Ha. 

Edward’s eyes narrowed. He was looking at the terrace, and Grey’s heart skipped a beat for a different reason.

What’s going on?

As soon as he saw the terrace, Grey’s eyes widened.

There, the damned Prince Joffrey and Alex Baumkuchen were embracing each other.

He couldn’t see Joffrey’s face clearly, so for a second, Grey thought they were kissing.

His heart pounding, Grey put his hands on the table.

It was fortunate that Grey and Edward were in a position where they had a clear view of the terrace. The nobles in this area were polite enough not to stare at the terrace, and the damn Prince Joffrey was respected by the nobles.

If anyone saw them like that… Would it even take a day for the rumor to spread?

Everyone in the capital would be talking about it. ‘Prince Joffrey’s lover is a man.’

The Prince who will become King is gay? That can’t be.

Same-sex marriage was only ever practiced as a political measure when there was no other option. What about the heir to the throne?

Edward put down his glass and wiped his wet hands with a handkerchief.

“You said he wasn’t Joffrey’s knight?” He asked.

“Ah, well, that’s…
”It could be true. He didn’t say they weren’t lovers.
”No, I’ve never seen them together!
“I have.”
“When?”

Grey had spent most of his time with Joffrey. How could Edward have seen anything?

“Like you said, Joffrey makes people think whatever they want.”

Edward did not answer.

Are those two really lovers? Does Edward know something?

…Will he use Joffrey’s ‘lover’ as a weapon?

All sorts of questions came to mind, making it difficult to speak. Finally, Grey asked, “What are you going to do about Joffrey?”

“Are you worried about Joffrey?”
“He’s not a bad person.”

Grey glanced at Edward.

“I think you forgot what you said.”
“What?”

“Are you worried that Joffrey will get hurt? Or die?” Edward changed his tone.

“Either one.” Grey tried not to get too emotional.

In order to expel the Queen, Prince Joffrey had to be sacrificed.

The surest way was, in fact, Joffrey’s death. Without him, the Queen would not be able to maintain any power.

A more certain method?

…No way.

Grey thought calmly. He did not think about how sick he felt just thinking about Joffrey’s death.

“To cut off the Queen’s hands and feet, we need to take something she values most as a hostage.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Grey swallowed a sigh.

“I’m going to claim Joffrey,” Edward said.

What? “…How?”

“To do that, we’ll need Joffrey’s help.” 

Edward looked at Grey as if to say, ‘You figure out how.’

Grey tried to blink, but he couldn’t. His cheek twitched. He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them.

No, what the hell…

The King’s speech began, and Joffrey and Alex returned from the terrace. They looked surprisingly intimate.

He said he wasn’t his knight.

Ah, right. Not his lord, but his lover?

Why on earth was Grey so desperate to believe in that Prince?

His eyes met Joffrey’s. Grey tried to look calm. His head was spinning. So, what was he supposed to do?

Grey shrugged his shoulders to look unconcerned, and Joffrey turned his head away from Grey, still wearing a faint smile.