Wrong Marriage and Sweet Love

“Now do you believe me?” Reuben brushed the ash from his fingers. “I don’t want to fight you for the throne.”

On the ground, the fire had died down, leaving only a few glowing embers.

“Without an edict, you’re still the Crown Prince. You can ascend the throne rightfully. But the imperial seal is with me, and I’ve hidden it in a very safe place. If you agree to my conditions, I’ll tell you where it is. This way, your claim will be legitimate, without any flaws or leverage against you.”

Reuben remained calm. “So, are you interested in hearing my conditions now?”

“Go ahead,” Clint said as he sat back down on the mahogany stool, waiting for Reuben to speak.

Reuben’s expression turned serious as he spoke each word clearly. “You kidnapped Joyce. She’s innocent and shouldn’t be dragged into our conflict. Moreover, as far as I know, you’ve used dark magic to control her.”

“It seems you’ve met her,” Clint smirked. So Joyce had not only sought out Darrin but also met Reuben. She was quite resourceful; how did she manage to contact them under his watch?

“Yes, I kidnapped her and controlled her. So what?”

Reuben frowned. “Lift the dark magic and release her. That’s the first condition.”

“You prepare a ship to send my mother out of Rohomes along with Joyce and the others. I’ll stay here and wait for news of their safe arrival. That’s the second condition.”

“And I’ll find a way to disband the Inner Palace Office. They oppose you, and you must promise not to harm them and ensure their safety. I want you to write this promise down; if you break it in the future, I’ll make it public. That’s the third condition.”

“Lastly, Hajime must be Prime Minister to keep you in check so that you won’t act arbitrarily. I’ll persuade Hajime to pledge loyalty to you, provided you meet these conditions. You know very well Hajime’s standing in politics; you need his support.”

Reuben laid out his conditions plainly. Their father had been clear before his death. He had hesitated about who should inherit the throne because he doubted Clint would spare him and his mother or refrain from eliminating the Inner Palace Office, fearing Rohomes would become an autocratic state.

“Are you done?” Clint asked.

Reuben frowned. “I’m done.”

Clint laughed softly at first, then louder until he was roaring with laughter.

Reuben clenched his fists tightly. What was Clint playing at?

“What’s so funny?”

Clint stood up and approached Reuben step by step. “I laugh because you’re amusing. You have only one bargaining chip but are making four demands. Do you think that’s reasonable?”

“So what? Without the imperial seal, you can’t secure support from other families. If you want to stabilize your reign, you must agree to all my conditions.” Reuben’s face turned cold. “I’m prepared; if I don’t return, you’ll never get the seal.”

“Heh. Rather than agreeing to your harsh terms-the edict is already burned-I’d rather ascend directly and send troops to crush all families myself; then I wouldn’t need the seal at all.” Clint laughed wildly with arrogance. “Sometimes I wonder what Father was thinking; Reuben, you’re too soft-hearted for that position.”

Reuben’s face paled; crushing all families would come at a catastrophic cost, mutual destruction-only a madman would do that. But he had overlooked that Clint was indeed a complete madman.

“You’re insane!” he roared. “I don’t want to fight for the throne with you; what more do you want?! Crushing all families would plunge the country into chaos, displacing people and setting back our economy by decades! Even if you sit on that throne, could you live with yourself? Could you face our ancestors?”

“Hahaha! The Tanaka family ancestors? Which of them ever cared about me?” Clint sneered coldly. “These fools intermarried within close kin for generations to protect their interests; even diluted bloodlines couldn’t prevent me from being born with congenital diseases! Did they ever care about me? And Father ignored my mother all his life-I was like a ghost to him! He never saw my efforts or understood why I did what I did.”

“Father hesitated until the end about passing the throne to you because he feared your ruthlessness would turn our country into an autocracy! My conditions merely fulfill Father’s last wishes; if you agree to them, Father would likely approve from beyond.”

In his heart, Reuben added silently that he hoped Father would forgive him for giving up the throne against his wishes.

“Heh, hesitation? Approval?” Clint scoffed dismissively. “Father’s most foolish act was considering passing the throne to you! It brought me so much unnecessary trouble!”

“Clint! I don’t want to argue anymore-lift the dark magic on Joyce and release her! What reason do you have to keep her?” Reuben was furious. “What do you intend by using her? Do you plan to coerce the Heath family into deploying troops? Forget it!”

Clint gave Reuben a long look.

“You care so much about her-could it be that you’re interested in her? What is it? Do you want her too?”

“Shut up! I have no such thoughts! We’re friends-I admire her, respect her,” Reuben said angrily while pointing at Clint. “You found out about her because of me, didn’t you? You knew I took those plans and approached her deliberately when you didn’t get what you wanted from them! Now you’ve kidnapped and controlled her-all because of me! I must get her safely back home at any cost.”

Clint chuckled and shook his head. “Because of you? What a joke! You’re overestimating yourself.”

“I can’t simply like her? Wanting her by my side?”

Reuben was stunned-like her? Clint liked Joyce? Since when?

He had heard that Clint repeatedly refused to marry Chiyuki but hadn’t known there was another reason behind it.

Clint leisurely rubbed his fingers.

“And one more thing-you’ve misunderstood something crucial. I’ve never considered you a rival because…” He paused briefly with undisguised disdain in his eyes. “You’re not qualified.”

Reuben was even more shocked but couldn’t grasp why.

Clint suddenly raised his head sharply; his piercing gaze shot through Reuben like a sword.

“Reuben, you’re naive-don’t mistake your enemy. Father leaving the throne to you merely disrupted my plans; it could have been smoother otherwise.”

Reuben couldn’t understand but felt an ominous premonition.

Don’t mistake your enemy? Who did Clint mean by ‘enemy’?

“What do you mean?” Reuben asked.

Clint suddenly squinted his eyes before furrowing his brows tightly and rubbing his temples forcefully.

“The real trouble has arrived.”Content © provided by NôvelDrama.Org.