The bones in the shoulders and limbs like arms won’t cause immediate death even if they’re broken. Compared to being stabbed directly in organs that can’t be repaired, Ye Tang naturally chose to sacrifice her arm and shoulder.
However, Ye Tang hadn’t expected Marinfield’s body to bleed profusely once the blood started flowing, making it hard to stop. She lost so much blood that she slept for several full days before slowly waking up.
Having slept too much, Ye Tang had a slight headache. With her left arm wrapped like a rice dumpling, she struggled to change clothes under the maids’ careful attendance, then went out for some fresh air accompanied by everyone.
It was called getting fresh air, but it was really just a stroll in the castle library.
Snow White, now recovered from her illness, rushed over upon seeing Ye Tang and burst into tears. Unable to use one arm, Ye Tang could only hold the little princess with one hand and gently coax her. The little princess devoutly kissed Ye Tang’s bandaged arm.
“Brenda said that as long as you kiss the person you like and offer a prayer like this for the one you love, that person will get better… Mother, you have to get better soon.”
Ye Tang glanced at Brenda, surprised that the usually reserved nursemaid had such a romantic side, only to find Brenda blushing red up to her ears—Brenda had told Snow White that it was something a princess should do for her beloved prince. The seven-year-old Snow White didn’t yet know that “the person you like” had distinctions, so she did what she would do for a prince ten years from now to Ye Tang.
“Okay, for Snow White’s sake, I’ll get better soon.”
Rubbing Snow White’s silky hair, Ye Tang kissed her forehead.
“I also hope my Snow White never gets sick again… and if she does, she’ll recover right away.”
“Mother…”
Snow White, who had been gloomy for nearly a week, finally cheered up. She had lessons later, so she left the library first.
The library windows were open, and a breeze made the curtains flutter lightly.
Amid the “pat pat” sounds, Ye Tang, who had casually opened a book, seemed to have eyes in the back of her head as she asked, “Did you find it?”
“—My Your Highness is quite impatient.”
Confirming he hadn’t made a single sound, with even his breathing and presence suppressed to the minimum, Vincent emerged from behind the curtains.
“But as you wished, I found it. Here’s a list of the nobles involved. On a side note, the people are now in a state of panic, fearing the mad king will kill indiscriminately. Some are also afraid that Saint Rubifalist will be enraged by the mad king’s harm to the queen and send troops to attack Castellion.”
Vincent spread his hands as he spoke.
“??? What? What are you talking about??”
Diesel in the mirror was full of confusion. Ye Tang and Vincent’s conversation sounded like a riddle game to him.
Ye Tang didn’t give Diesel the answer directly. She took the list from Vincent while saying to Diesel, “Diesel, think about it—who benefits from the current situation?”
“Huh?”
It took Diesel a moment to understand what Ye Tang was asking.
Sorting out the current state of affairs, the royal family of Castellion was like this:
The queen’s brothers wanted her dead, so they staged a “jealousy toward the princess” plot. The young Snow White, with no ability to resist, was supposed to die at the queen’s hands. The king, driven by the urge to protect the princess, nearly killed his own queen and had become the “mad king” dreaded by the people.
“…Could it be that someone wants to destroy Castellion’s royal family!?”
Scanning the hundreds of noble names on the list at a glance, Ye Tang answered Diesel, “Correct.”
The initial sense of incongruity for Ye Tang had been Marinfield’s marriage.
Saint Rubifalist’s national power far exceeded Castellion’s. Even if Marinfield’s brothers wanted to eliminate their troublesome sister, they would surely “use good steel on the blade,” making her marriage bring maximum benefits to Saint Rubifalist.
Yet Marinfield’s brothers hadn’t done that.
Castellion offered no lavish dowry to Saint Rubifalist, brought no additional benefits, and couldn’t even boost Saint Rubifalist’s prestige. Marrying Marinfield to Castellion was a losing deal for Saint Rubifalist.
So what made Castellion worthy of marrying Saint Rubifalist’s only princess—and as a step-queen, no less.
Next, consider Osborne I’s marriage to Marinfield.
There might be love without reason in the world, but not hatred without cause. Even if Osborne I didn’t like Marinfield, there was no need to treat this princess from a great nation like an enemy. Clearly, without Marinfield’s knowledge, Osborne I had some preconceived prejudice against her.
This prejudice directly led to a marriage in name only. They had no fondness for each other—only mutual disgust—and couldn’t even fulfill basic marital duties.
This meant Osborne I and Marinfield would absolutely have no children.
Thus, Castellion’s next heir was essentially confirmed to be Snow White.
Working backward from here raised a question: If Marinfield’s brothers wanted her dead, why not just have Diesel hypnotize her to commit suicide? What exactly allowed Osborne I to marry Marinfield?
The answer was simple.
The king despises the queen, the queen jealously kills Snow White, the king angrily kills the queen. A perfect closed loop formed.
Then, those outside this loop could raise the banner of justice to kill the “mad” king.
—Saint Rubifalist, or rather Marinfield’s brothers, had long colluded with Castellion’s nobles. One side eliminates their nemesis, the other takes out their king and heir to the throne. They would then divide Castellion.
Marinfield’s brothers would gain most of Castellion’s land and resources, perhaps even gold, jewels, and population. This was far more profitable than just marrying her off. Plus, it kept the alliance between Saint Rubifalist and Windforest intact. Truly killing several birds with one stone.
Castellion’s nobles would become little kings with their own lands and subjects. No more serving a king like a tiger, neither benevolent nor tolerant, Osborne I; no more fearing he’d order knights to cleave them in two in a fit of rage. Of course, they could also squander the people’s wealth from Castellion’s division and die happily in indulgence.
If Ye Tang wanted to kill Osborne I, it would be no trouble at all. The reason she didn’t kill the king who glared at her for no reason was that she didn’t want to let Castellion’s nobles or Marinfield’s brothers have their way.
As annoying as Osborne I was, he still had his uses. At least his fatherly love for Snow White was genuine, and his desire to protect her was real.
Ye Tang would eventually take down Saint Rubifalist. If she brought Snow White, the girl would witness the brutality of the battlefield. And once on the field, Ye Tang couldn’t fully protect her.
Just for the fact that Osborne I would guard Snow White with his life in Ye Tang’s absence, she wouldn’t move against him for now.
Unless Osborne I ever harmed Snow White.
“…”
Covering her mouth, Little Nightmare felt a bit nauseous.
Though monsters also killed and ate people, compared to humans’ scheming against their own kind, even man-eating monsters seemed innocently adorable.
“Looking at this list alone, nearly all the great nobles are involved.”
Ye Tang waved the list in her hand.
It was an era with underdeveloped humanities and technology. The castle library had few books, but it held records of noble lists, family trees, and lineages.
Ye Tang had browsed Castellion’s noble registry before, so she now had a rough idea from the list.
“Will you order me to kill these nobles?”
Vincent smiled slyly.
Hunters weren’t assassins, but in hunting prey, assassins might lack a hunter’s perseverance and patience.
“No.”
Ye Tang smiled and rolled up the list.
Castellion wasn’t a peaceful country. Only those who seized land from monsters became nobles. Thus, even the most incompetent nobles here were better than idle parasites in peaceful times.
The great nobles were all doers, commanding substantial manpower and wealth. Assassinate one great noble, and they’d have a horde of brothers, uncles, cousins, nephews, bastards… These heirs would immediately demand blood for blood, hell-bent on finding the killer of the previous head.
Uprooting an entire family completely would involve too many people and impact the nation as a whole. Worst case, it could spark a rebellion led by great nobles, splintering Castellion into two or even three or four smaller states.
“So what do you plan to do?”
Vincent’s gaze on Ye Tang grew gentler. He was starting to anticipate how the sage he’d chosen would wield him, this sword.
“What’s the prerequisite for dividing Castellion? Saint Rubifalist’s support. So what if Saint Rubifalist loses that? Vincent, go tell your clansmen: ‘Windforest’s protection of Saint Rubifalist is about to expire.’ Have them leave Saint Rubifalist as soon as possible.”
“Your Highness, you mean…”
Vincent wasn’t sure if Ye Tang was serious. How did she know Windforest’s protection of Saint Rubifalist would soon end?
“Simple, Vincent.”
“Do you think there aren’t people in your clan trading intelligence to Windforest’s anti-Covenant Faction for benefits? You tell your clansmen that you’ve found the sage, and the sage predicts Windforest won’t provide protection to Saint Rubifalist anymore—they’ll pass that message to Windforest’s anti-Covenant elves.”
“Then Windforest’s anti-Covenant elves will have a reason to convince the Elf King to stop the protection—’Because the sage said so,’ ‘Only the sage could foresee Saint Rubifalist breaking the covenant and losing protection,’ ‘Saint Rubifalist denying the throne to this sage and instead driving her to death proves they violated the covenant.'”
Marinfield’s brothers and Castellion’s nobles liked playing closed loops? Ye Tang could play too.
As the “sage,” Ye Tang has Vincent tell the Hunter Clan that “the sage says Saint Rubifalist’s protection will expire.” Clan members colluding with anti-Covenant elves will relay the same to them. The anti-Covenant elves, eager to stop draining their national strength on Saint Rubifalist’s protection, will naturally back Ye Tang’s claim and acknowledge her as the farsighted “sage.”
Ye Tang is the “sage” recognized by Vincent and the anti-Covenant elves. Thus, Saint Rubifalist stripping her of throne rights and marrying her off is openly defying the covenant with the elves. In effect, the elves will halt protection for Saint Rubifalist. And Ye Tang, who “prophesied” the loss, will solidify her “sage” status even more.
One wonders what expression Marinfield’s father—the king who killed his own daughter to avoid the covenant’s expiration—will have when it fails due to his “daughter’s” “prophecy.”
Would he regret not honestly handing the kingdom over to his daughter? Or would he be furious that his sons were too greedy, insisting on draining her dry, and thus missing the chance to eliminate her early on?
To be honest, Ye Tang had no interest in what Marinfield’s father king thought. She was only wondering: if Marinfield’s father king were to be angered to death alive, would that be some consolation for Marinfield, who had died harboring resentment?
“My Your Highness is truly a terrifying person.”
He chuckled lightly twice, and Vincent Hunter placed his right hand on his chest and gave a slight bow.
“However, as you command, my Your Highness.”
Vincent Hunter vanished from the spot like a gentle breeze.
Ye Tang, sitting in the library, resumed reading her book.
Even with Marinfield’s memories, the Castellion language—which looked very much like cuneiform—was still quite difficult for her to understand.
But the harder it was to understand, the stronger Ye Tang’s curiosity grew. She knew that information was the greatest weapon, and she still knew very little about this world.