Chapter 423: The Secret Talk Between Prince Green and the Duke of Vélez Continues

"For Prince Green to say as much as that, there must have been a considerable clash with Her Majesty the Queen, was there not?"

The Duke of Vélez asked cautiously. Inwardly he hoped he was not stirring up a hornet’s nest, his heart pounding. As expected, Prince Green’s face flushed deep red.

"Exactly!! That woman grows arrogant if I yield even slightly, and of all things she tried to threaten me! She tried to intimidate me and force me to listen to what she said!"

The Duke of Vélez did not fully grasp what Prince Green was saying, but he nodded along anyway.

"Is that so? That must have been difficult. What did Her Majesty the Queen say to Prince Green?"

"That vixen, of all things, told me to hand over that summoned woman to her! She had the nerve to say that if things continued as they were the woman would become a wreck, so she would look after her! That woman is already under my protection, is she not? And yet she suddenly appears from the side and speaks so brazenly. She knows nothing of my hardships and says whatever she pleases! It is utterly hopeless! So I told her. ’I will take full responsibility for looking after this woman!’ I have been properly caring for that woman without causing trouble for anyone. Yet the Queen speaks as though my methods are at fault and interferes as she likes. If I do not get angry at this, what am I supposed to get angry at!!"

Bathed in Prince Green’s fury, the Duke of Vélez felt weary even as he thought that those standing on the Queen’s side were indeed dangerous and would need to be eliminated.

"That must have been difficult. Despite there being no one who thinks of the kingdom and exerts themselves as much as Prince Green, why does Her Majesty the Queen not understand?"

At the Duke of Vélez’s words, Prince Green snorted with a "Hmph!"

"That woman is no good! Because of her, I will never become Crown Prince no matter how much time passes. I have stopped caring about what that woman says! I will proceed according to my own beliefs!"

He declared, puffing out his chest.

"Exactly so! There are already many nobles who support Prince Green for Crown Prince. Those people have been holding back out of deference to Her Majesty the Queen until now, but after witnessing the results of the Hero Summoning, more and more of them are looking up to Prince Green!"

"Is that so! Then, will the Duke of Vélez take the lead in gathering those people? I believe now is the time to gather our comrades. The one most suited to stand at the center is the Duke of Vélez! Please, lend me your strength!"

Prince Green’s words made the Duke of Vélez’s chest grow hot.

"Those are grateful words! Understood, let us gather our comrades! I will build a faction capable of matching the current Queen and Prime Minister Cromwell’s faction. Please look forward to it!"

Satisfied with the Duke of Vélez’s expected reply, Prince Green nodded with a pleased expression.

"That being the case, Duke of Vélez. On this occasion, I am thinking of disposing of that eyesore of a woman." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Prince Green suddenly lowered his voice, a sharp reversal from before, and addressed the Duke of Vélez.

"By that woman, do you mean the summoned woman?"

"Yes. That summoned woman."

"Disposing of her means...?"

"Exactly as I said. There is no longer any need to keep her in that mansion. Simply exile her from the Royal Capital."

"Exile? She will die, you know?"

"It is fine if she dies. Killing her might cause various complications. Therefore, exile her from the Royal Capital."

"I see..."

Even the Duke of Vélez was taken aback by Prince Green’s words. Inwardly he had thought it would be better to simply hand such a troublesome woman over to the Queen. However, since Prince Green had already spoken of exile, he could no longer say that. Then who would carry out the exile? When he thought about it, he found Prince Green staring at him. So that was it—he himself would have to do it. What an unpleasant role he was being forced into.

"I am to dispose of that woman, then?"

When the Duke of Vélez said it before Prince Green could, Prince Green replied happily,

"You understand. Yes, dispose of that woman for me. Once she leaves the Royal Capital, it does not matter what becomes of her. Just make sure her whereabouts become unknown. Well, outwardly we can say she despaired of her future, slipped out of the mansion, and went missing. In any case, I want to stop being blamed any further because of that woman. Duke of Vélez, I leave it to you."

"Yes, leave it to me."

"And one more thing."

Prince Green showed an extremely wicked expression.

"That brat is an unbearable eyesore. Buzzing around the Queen, getting carried away just because he was praised a little! That brat is intolerable!!"

At the way Prince Green slammed his malice down, the Duke of Vélez broke into a cold sweat. He assumed the brat was Ambassador Marie, and since his own wife was extremely close to Ambassador Marie, he worried about when Prince Green’s malice might be directed at him.

"I hear that guy also went with the Queen to the summoned woman’s place. That brat has done nothing decent since coming from the Marie Kingdom. Didn’t the previous ambassador end up killing himself over debts? It would be fine if that one also killed himself like the previous ambassador. How about it, Duke of Vélez. Won’t you dirty your hands a little?"

The implication in Prince Green’s words sent a chill down the Duke of Vélez’s spine. Isn’t this person thinking too simply? he began to worry. Winning that confrontation was no fluke or anything of the sort. He could not imagine there was anyone in this country capable of defeating Ambassador Marie.

When the Duke of Vélez remained silent, Prince Green said,

"I see. Is it too heavy a burden for the Duke of Vélez? Besides, that brat is on friendly terms with the Duke’s wife. Then never mind. I will arrange the disposal of that brat on my end. Make absolutely certain you do not speak of the fact that I am considering this to anyone else."

Unexpectedly, he did not ask the Duke of Vélez to dispose of Ambassador Marie.

"Understood. Even if it costs me my life, I will not speak of it."

The Duke of Vélez felt his body trembling. His entire body was cold.

Prince Green was in high spirits solely because the Duke of Vélez had readily agreed to dispose of Takamoto Konoka. He trusted that if left to him, he would handle it appropriately. Even if he left the act of laying hands on a woman to someone else, it did not feel good. All the more so because she was a woman he had summoned through his own efforts. Disposing of her was not a pleasant feeling.