Predatory Marriage

Chapter 129.
You Will Be A King

Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan

In the depths of the Queen’s Palace, there was a place no one knew about.
It had been built by modifying a secret passage known only to the royal family.
Cerdina had killed the officials and workers responsible for its construction, ensuring that only she knew it existed.

It was filled with various medicinal herbs, dead animals, and other dubious objects.
Taking out ground lizard powder and the eyes of a frog who had died under the full moon, Cerdina weighed the materials on a scale.
Once they had been accurately measured, she poured them carefully into a boiling pot.
As the liquid changed color, she pulled out a final ingredient: one of Leah’s hairs, which showed like silver thread.

The silver was so beautiful, it looked as if it had been pulled from the moon.
Once it was in the pot, the liquid turned a shiny silver.
She stirred it with a ladle until it finally turned black.

Cerdina waited thoughtfully for the steam to dissipate.
Though this time she had taken Leah’s hair directly, previously she had controlled Countess Melissa to acquire them.
Leah trusted the Countess, who had regularly combed her hair.
Cerdina had easily been able to continue her spell.

Today she made the potion and kept a few more strands of Leah’s hair in a small glass bottle, just in case.
But she did not foresee that she would need to use it.
The spell was almost finished.
The King’s hair would suffice for the rest.
Cerdina plunged into indescribable ecstasy as she imagined the completion of the spell.

That was the day Blain would ascend the throne.
The humblest blood would become the greatest, and the arrogant bluebloods would be brought to their knees.
It was a great feat that none of her ancestors had ever achieved.

Cerdina’s power would be stronger than ever.
Her appetite for power and her ambition were insatiable.
There was no end to them.
She would create the perfect coronation ceremony.

Humming, she poured the black liquid into a wine glass, placed it on a tray, and left the room.
But as she entered Blain’s room, she stopped.

The room was a mess.
Blain stood in the center of the chaos, surrounded by broken and shattered objects.
His severe injuries had not completely healed.
The wrist that had been broken wasn’t bandaged.
Turning toward Cerdina, he threw his bottle of wine at her.
It landed at her feet and shattered at the impact, red wine splashing her feet.

“Is it necessary to give the Princess to Byun Gyeongbaek?”

Cerdina smiled at her son’s ruthless behavior.

“Because you are not a King yet.”

“……”

Blain’s gaze shuttered, and Cerdina’s face hardened when she saw his suffering.

It made her think of the dead Queen.
Leah had inherited her beautiful features.
Every time Cerdina saw her, it reminded her of the dead Queen and she would get cranky.

Cerdina had only used Leah as a tool to incite Blain’s desires, to make him want power and share his mother’s ambitions.
But even though Cerdina had cunningly covered his eyes and ears until now, Blain now understood his emotions.
Blain would achieve great things in the future.
A simple princess should not represent the end of the road.

“Think again, Blain.”

Cerdina hoped he wouldn’t be swayed by a woman.
She wanted to give her son a suitable wife, moderately dumb, who could produce good offspring.
Someone as intelligent as Leah was hard to handle, and after Cerdina had damaged her so badly with her spells, she had too many flaws to allow her close to Blain.

Approaching slowly, Cerdina offered him the wineglass.

“As your mother I only want to give you the best,” she whispered affectionately.

Blain snatched the wineglass from her hand and drank the black liquid to the bottom without hesitating.
He dropped the empty glass to let it fall by the broken wine bottle, looking fiercely at Cerdina.

“I trust you will keep your promise.”

Though her perfect smile faded a little, she regained it as if nothing had happened.

“Of course I will.
I will do whatever you want.”

You will be a king, Blain.

Imagining the dazzling crown that would soon be placed on her beloved son’s head, Cerdina opened her arms to him.

Blain embraced her.
His eyes were filled with a deep displeasure.

***

The Kurkans left the Palace of Estia.

Unlike the ostentatious welcome they had received when they arrived, their departure was unceremonious.
Early in the morning, under the watchful eyes of the royal knights, they quietly left.
They were not seen by any member of the royal family or by any of the high-status nobles.

Leah, at the Princess Palace, only received word once they had gone.