Swear Fealty To Me, My Subjects!

Chapter 79: Edaline's Troubles and Analysis of Constance's Character

The second day after his confrontation with Rayne...

The grand prince asked out Edaline once more.

Previously, Edaline forgot her stance because of Rayne's sugar-coated bomb. However, the grand prince hoped that she would not make the same mistake again.

Similar to the previous time, the grand prince merely shouted out Edaline's name before a dimensional rift appeared behind him.

Edaline appeared from the crack.

Today, she…

Looked a little listless.

The grand prince asked, "What's wrong, Edaline?"

Edaline said coldly, "It has nothing to do with you."

In reality, Edaline was feeling troubled right now.

However, it was clear that she would not share those thoughts with the humanoid trash before her.

Yesterday, Edaline heard the conversation between his mother and Constance.

There was a tight barrier around the Emperor's chamber that could theoretically block the senses of the Imperial Guards.

However, such crude barriers were truly of limited effect to the strongest demigods in the mortal world.

Due to Rayne's outstanding performance, Cassius was now even more determined to pass the throne to Rayne.

She knew very well what would happen if Rayne ascended the throne.

Even so, not only did she want to pass the throne to Rayne, she had even begun to prepare for his future...

She intended to marry Constance to Rayne.

At the thought of that, Edaline felt extremely uncomfortable.

Thea Constance… that woman. Ever since she arrived in the capital, Rayne had changed.

She was clearly not outstanding in any aspect, but she stole Rayne's heart with ease.

Thereafter, she abandoned him ruthlessly.

If not for her, Rayne would not have fallen to such a state!

She was clearly the one who hurt Rayne, but she acted as though she was the heroine of a bitter love drama, crying secretly in a deserted church while looking at the necklace given to her by Rayne… how annoying!

However… ugh.

Edaline sneered internally, seemingly mocking herself.

She hated Constance and did not wish for Rayne and her to rekindle their relationship.

However, if she were to continue with what she was doing and force Rayne to leave the crystal throne by siding with the grand prince…

That would probably only bring Rayne and Constance closer, right?

On the other side.

When the grand prince saw that Edaline was silent, he felt a little anxious.

Edaline's performance yesterday had already caused the grand prince to feel uneasy. Now that he saw that Edaline was silent, he panicked even more.

The grand prince said, "Edaline, when are you ready? Can we lay our cards on the table with Rayne now?"

This person sure is keen on that d*mned throne...

Edaline asked helplessly, "If you become the Emperor, won't you be afraid of the curse of the crystal throne?"

"Curse? There's no need to worry. The so-called curse is nothing to a truly qualified Emperor."

Of course, the grand prince knew about the curse. However, that did not dispel his desire for the crystal throne.

He had already thought of a way to defend against the curse.

The grand prince possessed strength that was not inferior to Cassius. With his powerful physique, he could naturally withstand the corrosion of the curse for a long time.

That was naturally not the best countermeasure.

Even someone as strong as Cassius was paralyzed after being inflicted by the curse for 10 years.

However, the grand prince's ambition was not merely to be an Emperor for 10 years.

The grand prince's smile was filled with extreme confidence. "I'm going to rule this country till the last moment of my life. As for the so-called curse, there's naturally a way to resolve it!"

"Hmm?"

Edaline was interested. "What plans do you have?"

The grand prince smiled smugly. "Since the curse of the elves is only for the Emperor of Haines, I'll just find a substitute to sit on the crystal throne. Isn't it all good as long as I'm the regent?"

That way, he would not be able to become a true Emperor.

However, at the very least, his life was not in danger.

Edaline: "…"

Edaline fell silent.

She thought that the grand prince had some brilliant move that could defend against the curse released by a demigod who sacrificed his life.

In the end…

This was it?

Naive mortal...

I'm the foolish one for harboring a sliver of hope towards your intelligence.

Edaline shrugged her shoulders and could not be bothered to converse with this person anymore.

She walked to the side and sat down, falling into silence once more.

Right now, she was truly conflicted.

Ever since she met Rayne yesterday, her mind had been filled with thoughts of him.

Inadvertently, she took out the golden crystal given to her by Rayne.

Although it was a protective amulet obtained by praying, in reality, Edaline could not sense any blessings from the golden crystal.

There was no trace of magic or elemental values in the plain golden crystal. It was so clean that it was suspicious.

Therefore…

This was… just an ordinary stone?

However, it did not matter.

Right now, there were only a handful of equipment in the mortal world that could provide an effective boost to a demigod like Edaline.

In her eyes…

A lousy stone was no different from ordinary golden equipment.

Furthermore, it was quite rare for that fellow to give her a gift.

Should I make it into an accessory to wear...?

N-No way! That makes it seem as though I value him so much!

Edaline shook her head furiously to get rid of the stupid thought in her mind.

Thereafter, she sighed again.

Right now, Edaline had mixed emotions.

She was increasingly doubtful as to whether she was doing the right thing.

She was stubborn and obstinate. In order to protect Rayne, she wanted to betray and hurt the latter…

In that case, what was the difference between her and Constance of the past?

"Sigh…"

Edaline sighed helplessly.

If this was in the past where Edaline and Rayne were already strangers, she would not feel that there was anything wrong with her actions.

However, things were different now…

Yesterday, Rayne clearly doted on Edaline dearly!

Could it be that Rayne... does not actually hate me that much?

Damn it! If I lay down all my cards and that fella doesn't take me as an enemy and chooses to beg me for mercy instead...

What should I do at that point?!

Edaline was extremely conflicted.

However, now that things had come to this, if she still did not make a move, Rayne… would most likely not be able to avoid the fate of ascending to the crystal throne.

Finally, Edaline smiled bitterly and hid the golden crystal carefully in the dimensional rift.

She stood up.

"Alright, let's not dawdle anymore. If that trash ascends on the crystal throne, everything will be over… Your Highness, let's go meet him."

Finally…

Edaline could still only choose to carry out her terrible plan.

The grand prince's eyes lit up. After waiting for so long, this lass had finally thought things through!

As long as he could make use of Edaline to exert pressure on Rayne, be it whether Rayne would voluntarily withdraw from the fight for the throne or physically dissuaded by Edaline, Rayne would no longer be fated to ascend to the crystal throne!

Time to go!

Victory was imminent.

It was as though the grand prince could already hear Rayne's pathetic howl of defeat under the cruel threat of Edaline!

...

Author's Notes: There were some arguments regarding Rayne's intention to backstab Constance in the previous chapter. It's inevitable. As much as he understands that Constance may have been forced to backstab him for his sake, he had finally reached the endgame during his last reincarnation only to be met with a bad ending still. While it's not pure hatred, there's still some childish spite against this lovely waifu of his.