CHAPTER 516: CHAPTER 451: SCHEMING RUNS IN THE FAMILY

You’re thinking bullshit!

Hearing the rare "true sentiment" from the old King, the princess pressed her lips together in silence, while Leon almost burst out laughing.

Despite knowing the old King had been unconscious early on and was unaware of the current situation, his words still managed to escalate the comedic effect to its peak.

At present, the rebels under his command... ahem... the enthusiastic citizens inspired by the princess, had basically taken control of the palace and were confiscating the weapons from the guards.

Meanwhile, the opposing members of parliament were caught neatly by the spatial anomaly holders from the rebels when they left the parliament and boarded their respective carriages. Who knows where they are, maybe tucked away in some small dark room.

It could be said that there were only a few people left in the capital whose words counted now. At least in the coming days, the upper-echelon power will be in a complete vacuum, allowing for an easy takeover.

Although a few streets away, the arriving guard army, which consisted of the old King’s staunch confidants who only followed his orders and still held heavy firepower, couldn’t theoretically be stopped by the "enthusiastic citizens" with their military academy dropout level, there was still a possibility of a comeback.

But now, with the old King, Queen, and Prince in our hands, how could the guard army make a comeback?

By then, hanging those three outside the palace gates, if they have the guts, they could fire the cannon; they’d face a court-martial for killing one, immediate execution for killing two, and if they killed all three, the princess would directly ascend to the throne!

In summary, this game of chess is completely checkmated.

Now, instead of ordering Joshua to be nicer to Veronica, it might be better to consider carefully which kind of monkey should be chosen for him to marry, a slim one or a plump one.

...

?!!

From the princess’s silent demeanor, sensing something amiss, the old King’s pupils suddenly narrowed, the slight warmth on his face quickly disappeared, and with a somber brow, he questioned:

"Veronica? What have you done?"

"Father."

Not answering the old King’s question, the princess, after a moment of silence, directly met the old King’s fierce, vengeful yet slightly panicked gaze, responding calmly:

"I will be a good King."

"..."

"Furthermore, in light of what you just said, I’ll treat Joshua well; if the finance minister doesn’t act rashly, I won’t do anything to the Queen either. You can rest assured in retirement."

"..."

Hearing the princess’s words and looking into her eyes, which were calm yet concealing sadness, the old King’s lips moved slightly, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, he didn’t, just turned his head and whispered:

"Sorry."

"There’s nothing to apologize for, haven’t you always been this way?"

The princess bit her lip, pushed the old King’s wheelchair out of the study, handed it to the waiting lady outside, instructed her to take the old King to rest, and then stood by the blown-open window by Leon, staring blankly downwards.

"Veronica?"

Noticing the princess’s mood seemed off, not like the joy of successfully seizing the throne, nor the relaxation after achieving a goal, but with a tinge of sorrow, Leon couldn’t help but ask softly:

"What’s wrong?"

"I... I’m actually fine..."

Hearing Leon’s query, the princess bit her lower lip, then with slightly reddened eyes, she smiled and said:

"Just a bit regretful."

"Regretful?"

"Yes, regretful."

She reached out and held onto the edge of the broken windowsill, and facing the cold wind blowing in, she murmured softly with a hint of loneliness:

"Regret that the only family I care about, from beginning to end, never acknowledged my feelings, wanting me to agree to something, yet never willing to open their mouth to discuss with me, instead playing tricks before me."

"?"

"You don’t really think my father said that because he couldn’t see the situation, do you?"

Looking at Leon, who was bewildered, Princess Veronica sighed softly, saying:

"Even though he was unconscious, not knowing you had already taken control of the palace, after waking up to find you and me instead of the Queen and Joshua waiting by his side, he should have guessed part of the situation.

And he knows my character well, seeing I wasn’t busy dealing with the aftermath of the coup but waiting for him to wake up here, he understood we had completely controlled the situation, and Joshua had no chance to ascend.

The old King knew?

Hearing the princess’s words, Leon was slightly stunned, then instinctively frowned.

If the old King had guessed the situation, then why did he still speak of treating the princess well when Joshua ascended... wait!

"Seems you’ve figured it out too."

Seeing Leon’s dawning realization, Veronica smiled, then, her eyes slightly reddened, she said self-deprecatingly:

"This is how the royal family shows affection. He feared I’d take a harsh hand against Joshua upon ascending, so with his ’control of the situation,’ he pretended not to see through it and deliberately said that.

Although only lip service, given that Joshua could treat me well as his sister upon ascending, naturally, after I ascend, I should also show some compassion; after all, I couldn’t be seen as lesser than Joshua, right?"

"..."

So... the old King was playing a trick, knowing Joshua had lost, he deliberately pretended to be oblivious, using his words to bind Veronica, hoping to spare his son’s life?

Understanding the old King’s intention, Leon finally understood why the princess felt sad, but he didn’t know what to say to comfort her, so he stood by the window with her for a while.

Soon, a cold hand reached over, grasping Leon’s hand, gently shaking it in a pleading manner.

"Leon..."

Seeing Leon looking over, the princess, tears glistening in her eyes, softly requested:

"Not to trick you, I feel a bit upset now, could you let me lean on you?"

"Alright..."

"Thank you."

Leaning on Leon’s shoulder, facing the cold wind blowing in from outside the window, the princess said mournfully:

"Actually, I am not disappointed about father playing tricks on me. I’ve long since been accustomed to these; what truly saddens me is that even now, he refuses to ask me a single favor."

"Ask you?"

"Yes, implore me as true family does, once, willfully."

She shrunched a bit more into Leon’s embrace, biting her lips, she whispered:

"It’s not that I want him to beg me lowly for my own satisfaction, but for someone like my father, anything he can utilize, he’d exploit to the utmost.

If he thought it useful to beg me, he wouldn’t hesitate to do so, the only reason he didn’t do it is because he feels this father-daughter bond between us holds no value, is not a good ’card’ to play."

"Perhaps not necessarily..."

Seeing the princess’s eyes redden more, Leon couldn’t help trying to console her:

"Your father... maybe just doesn’t know how you feel about him, believing you don’t value him as a father, so he was unwilling to speak up and ask."

"That’s not it."

The princess shook her head, saying:

"Although my father doesn’t know my feelings towards him, he certainly understands how he perceives me as his daughter, and in such a short time, he can only subconsciously measure my feelings to his by how he feels about me.

Since he made this decision in the end, it proves that in his mind, he indeed thinks our father-daughter relationship is worthless, choosing to play tricks and trap me with words rather than pleading emotionally.

To me, he’s the only family I care about, but to him, I am just a stranger. Playing the emotional card is a privilege only between family, and between him and me, it’s always been about benefits and gains.

"..."

"Sorry for rambling on about this... "

With a low sigh, the princess looked through the broken window, watching Joshua, hugging the awakening Queen and crying bitterly outside the garden, and said mournfully:

"Actually, I am really jealous of Joshua.

He’s reckless, irritable, arrogant, immature, likes to squander... has many bad habits, but our father indeed loves this son, he also has a mother who loves him very much, and an uncle who forgives him no matter what mistakes he makes.

I did everything better than him, handled everything perfectly, had countless people willing to praise me, but since my mother passed, no one ever showed such unconditional favoritism towards me."

"..."

"Leon..."

Gently pulling Leon’s collar, leaning in his arms, the princess looked up with teary eyes, softly asking:

"Would you be that person for me?"