Chapter 223 Forcibly Breaking into the Princess’s Manor
Anne had been on the battlefield—she wasn't going to be scared of a few people. Besides, they weren't in battle formation now, and they weren't wearing full armor. Taking them down was something Anne could do easily.
Before long, the ground was covered with people groaning and crying out in pain.
Anne glanced coldly at the people on the ground, then quickly walked toward the manor.
When Princess Kirenya heard a servant rush in to report this, she was so angry her face twisted with rage.
She smashed the teacup in her hand hard onto the floor. The delicate cup instantly shattered into pieces all over the ground. "That bitch! It was bad enough that she disrespected me at my banquet last time, and now she dares to force her way into my manor?"
Anne laughed coldly. "Princess Kirenya, if you haven't done anything wrong, why would you need to stop me?"
Princess Kirenya froze, not expecting Anne to arrive so quickly. She said angrily, "Are those guards at the gate just for show? They can't even stop one woman!"
"Ha, you only see me as a woman, but you forget that I personally went to the battlefield and killed enemies, earning my position as commander of the Ivy Knights and the respect of everyone in the Soth Empire through military merit."
Princess Kirenya pressed her lips together. She remembered that Anne, like Skoda, had fought on the battlefield. Maybe those guards really couldn't stop her. With no other options, she could only stare coldly at Anne. "What do you want?"
Anne looked at Princess Kirenya coldly. She raised her hand and pointed at the door. "Make everyone who's not involved leave."
But Princess Kirenya refused. "What if they all leave and you just kill me right here?"
"Ridiculous. If I wanted to kill you, could these people stop me?"
Anne said calmly, "It's just that if they hear what I'm about to say and word gets out to His Majesty the King, who knows who'll be punished and killed."
Princess Kirenya froze. For a moment, she couldn't figure out what threat Anne was implying.
Was it about her killing the marquis's mistress and strangling those crying babies? Or was it about her deliberately sending people to spread messages everywhere, setting traps for those nobles, and manipulating them to follow her arrangements?
The laws of the Soth Empire stated that even nobles would be punished for killing others at will. In the past, when Princess Kirenya wanted someone dead, she would have them taken away and let others do the killing, so no matter how much blame there was, by the time it reached her, it couldn't be counted as murder.
But Anne—would she really be kind enough to come talk to her about these things?
Princess Kirenya snorted coldly. She ordered a maid standing nearby, "Get out. Take everyone far away from my room. Make sure no one can hear my conversation with the Duchess of Virlet."
The maid looked at Princess Kirenya with concern but still obeyed and left.
As soon as the door closed, Princess Kirenya sat back in her chair disdainfully. "Speak. What exactly are you here for?"
"Daring to force your way into a princess's manor—don't think you're so great just because you're a duchess. When this news gets out, the people of the Soth Empire will say you're using your military achievements to bully and oppress royal family members. Even if Rolf wants to protect you, he won't be able to resist the voice of the people."
Anne looked at Princess Kirenya's still shameless attitude and said coldly, "Really? Are you so sure that when the news gets out, those people will blame me instead of asking His Majesty the King to execute you?"
"What!?"
Princess Kirenya could hardly believe Anne's words. "What are you talking about? I haven't done anything wrong. Why would I need to be..."
"Really?"
Anne looked at Princess Kirenya with disgust. "If you haven't done anything, why does your husband hate you so much? Why would he send his mistress far away, where you couldn't find her, even when she was pregnant? Why are the things you've done called royal scandals, to the point where even the previous two kings had to send you so far away?"
"Originally, I thought that as a royal family member, even if you were cruel, you wouldn't do things to harm the Soth Empire. But I was too naive to think you had at least some bottom line."
Princess Kirenya narrowed her eyes. What Anne just said was true, but so what? She wasn't the only one involved in those things—plenty of people participated. Otherwise, how could Jaeger Purwell, that incompetent husband of hers, be unable to do anything as a marquis?
She laughed lightly, her voice full of mockery. "I thought you'd say something threatening, but it's just this? You can give up now. I've never worried about this getting out."
"Nothing in this world can truly threaten me. Duchess of Virlet, you're still too young."
"Is that so?" Anne stared at Princess Kirenya. "Including the matter of my father's death?"
Princess Kirenya, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, instantly fell silent.
She looked at Anne with horror, as if she never expected Anne to blame Duke Skoda's death on her.
After a long while, Princess Kirenya finally managed to force out some words. "What are you talking about? Skoda clearly died on the battlefield. He didn't get treatment in time. The elite soldiers my royal brother sent with medicine didn't make it in time. He..."
Anne's voice was icy, filled with intense hatred. "Yes, my father didn't get treatment in time. Princess Kirenya, how do you know so clearly that it was because the elite soldiers didn't arrive? According to the original route, even when I rode from the Virlet Estate to the eastern battlefield, it didn't take that long."
"If I had ridden from the royal city to the eastern battlefield, my father, the great Duke Skoda, definitely wouldn't have died!"
"Princess Kirenya, why do you think His Majesty's elite soldiers traveled so slowly?"
Princess Kirenya's face turned pale. She stammered, "How would I know? What if my royal brother arranged it privately, ordering those soldiers to look like they were rushing but actually delaying the whole time, just to let Duke Skoda die on the battlefield without anyone knowing, so he wouldn't control too much military power and affect the entire Soth Empire?"
"Yes, that's right, that's exactly it."
Princess Kirenya said through gritted teeth, "You want to know how your father died? I'll tell you. My royal brother suspected your father's loyalty. Because of Duke Skoda's existence, the people of the Soth Empire worshipped Skoda, this great hero, more than the king. If Skoda ever had thoughts of becoming king himself, with his Lion Knights and his wife..."