Chapter 2

The carriage stopped; it seemed we had finally arrived at the palace of Aldibaid. The door was opened, and Allen extended his hand towards me. He was a handsome young man with golden hair and blue eyes, looking every bit the prince, but his attitude was deplorable. He was trying to escort me, but he made no effort to hide his bitter expression.

This was not the face one should show to the princess of the suzerain country who had come as the official consort at the request of this country. Behind Allen stood the young envoy who had recently visited our country. He was one of the prince's close aides, which explained his arrogance. However, his manners and etiquette were lacking. As the saying goes, "The master is known by his servants." He was just as bad as his master. Laila, what did you see in someone like this? Even though it was a political marriage, Laila had loved Allen.

I smiled and extended my hand to be escorted by Allen. The moment he saw my face as I stepped out of the carriage, Allen shouted loudly.

"You're still alive! You monster, Nada, cut her down!"

The young envoy drew his sword and approached me. Yes, this young envoy was Nada. I hadn't seen his face yet because the documents about the relevant people hadn't arrived, but I knew his name. He was one of those who had condemned Laila.

Before Nada's sword could reach me, the knights guarding me stepped in to protect me.

"How impertinent! To draw your sword against a princess of our country, it seems this country is eager to declare war on us."

Samuel, the leader of the guard knights, shouted loudly. The king and queen hurried over, their faces pale as they tried to apologize to me.

"Laila..."

It was the king or the queen who muttered this. The gathered people stared at me in shock. Yes, I and Laila were similar in build and atmosphere. With the right makeup, I could make my droopy eyes look upturned, making us look almost identical. Moreover, I was wearing a dress that I had made to match Laila's today.

"Nice to meet you, Your Majesty, Your Highness. I am Letitia of Clemen德尔. You've given me quite a welcome. What do you intend by this? Do you plan to take me hostage and declare war on my country? I don't mind, but in that case, not a single person or blade of grass will be left in this country."

"I apologize, Princess Letitia. We have no intention of declaring war on your country. I deeply apologize."

The king and queen bowed deeply to me. Yes, I needed to remind them and the surrounding people who was in charge.

"Father, there's no need to bow to such a woman. She is not Princess Letitia but that hateful and wicked Laila."

At these words, I glared at him, and the king himself struck Allen.

"Stop your foolishness. This is Princess Letitia from the suzerain country, there's no mistake. Laila was wrongfully executed while we were away, wasn't she? To call her a wicked woman, apologize immediately!"

"Apologize...? Why should I? I have no intention of apologizing for calling Laila a wicked woman. She was a delicate, beautiful, and fragile fairy. I believe the investigation must have been wrong."

"What foolishness, you have been a poor parent. Can such a foolish prince govern this country? I can only sigh. I am the genuine Letitia, see for yourself."

I showed Allen the ring that only the royal family of my country possessed. He paled but showed no intention of apologizing.

"I am also Laila's cousin, Allen. It has been proven that she was wrongfully accused, as the king mentioned. We investigated in our country as well. Do you doubt our investigation? How could you execute a duke's daughter without a trial, and without being the king? She was my mother's niece, a lady beloved in our country. You called her a wicked woman without apologizing. You and your followers are very impolite. Do you really want to offend our country?"

Allen's face grew paler as I spoke. He finally said, in a small voice, "I apologize."

"Hmph, do you really think I'll forgive you with just that? Kneel and apologize properly."

"I am the crown prince, why should I do such a humiliating thing!"

"Because you, in a responsible position, said such foolish things. Do it quickly, or do you have something against our country?"

Allen's face turned pale, but he didn't move. A tall knight in his late twenties appeared behind Allen, struck him, and forced him to kneel. He then forced Allen's head down, and Allen, unable to bear it, finally apologized, "I am sorry."

Sigh, this is going to be a long road.

"Yes, regarding the matter of calling Laila a wicked woman, I will accept your apology this time. However, I cannot forgive Nada. He attempted to kill the future crown princess, so the death penalty is appropriate."

At my words, the faces of the crown prince and Nada turned white. Nada, being in front of his own king, did not make any remarks.

"No, Nada was just following my orders..."

"Then should Allen be executed? According to your laws, the attempted murder of the future crown princess is punishable by death. Moreover, you executed Laila without evidence. Now, in front of many witnesses, he attacked me with a sword. There's no way to deny it.

So, who will be executed?"

"No, this time I made a mistake, please spare Nada..."

"Understood, then Allen will take responsibility and be executed. Your Majesty, please arrange it immediately. The execution will be at noon tomorrow. Of course, like Laila, he should be placed in the common prison, not the VIP cell, and the execution should be public."

"Wait, I am the only prince of this country. I cannot die like this."

"Then order Nada to die for you. Of course, attempting to kill the future crown princess and the princess of the suzerain country is not just his fault. The entire family should be executed, and their property confiscated.

Moreover, he stood up and insulted me in front of the beloved king of the suzerain country without permission. I showed mercy and did not punish him then. It seems that was a mistake. He would have been better off dying then, without involving his family."

Nada's face grew paler, but he did not say, "Order me to die," to Allen. As expected of a servant of such a master. I had no intention of forgiving him, not just for attacking me, but for his remarks about Laila in our country. This saved me some trouble.

Allen, with a pale face, pleaded.

"Princess Letitia, please, just this once... consider me and him. Nada has a young brother and a sister who is about to get married."

"Why should I care? If you think so, you should take his place. I don't mind either way. The execution will be at noon tomorrow. Either Allen alone or Nada's entire family, either is fine."

I said this and turned to the prime minister, who was pale beside the king.

"Report who was executed. If the execution is not carried out by noon tomorrow, I will inform the king of Clemen德尔. War will likely break out. Of course, if you kill me, this place will be ashes in a month. Allen and Nada won't survive either, so it's up to you."

After saying this, I ignored the pale faces around me and called for a maid to lead me to my room.

The next afternoon, the prime minister, pale, came and reported, "Nada's family has been executed."

I sipped my tea and replied, "Oh, I see." Today, I was not wearing makeup to look like Laila but my usual face. The prime minister seemed a bit surprised.

"Then, where's the evidence?"

"Evidence...? I didn't prepare any."

"Why didn't you think I would be suspicious if you came after it was done?"

"No, the execution was carried out properly."

"Fine, I'll go see the bodies. Of course, they won't be buried, and their heads will be displayed for a while."

The prime minister, pale, arranged a carriage and led me to the place where the heads were displayed. I received a list from my escort knight, which had just arrived last night, and compared it with the heads.

"You lied to me, didn't you? You underestimated me."

At this, the prime minister prostrated himself and cried, "Please forgive me."

I told his attendant to call the king, queen, and crown prince. They arrived, looking even worse than yesterday.

"I heard Nada's family was executed, but you really deceived me, didn't you?"

I said this and threw the list in front of them. It contained information about Nada's family, including photos.

"None of these heads belong to Nada's family. Who did you execute? They weren't criminals, were they? There's no way you could find death row inmates who matched the ages of Nada's family, including young girls and children.

Is this how your country operates?"

The prime minister, trembling, spoke for the silent royal family.

"Nearby civilians..."

"Of course. The knights, who should protect the people, used them as substitutes. Did you really think I would trust you to verify it? You just proved that you can't be trusted."

The king and queen, turning pale, pleaded.

"Nada is the son of the head of the knights. If his entire family is executed, the head of the knights will be executed too, Princess Letitia, please."

"If you had told me before you deceived me or executed innocent people, I would have allowed him to resign. But now it's too late. Royalty cannot be underestimated, Your Majesty, Your Highness. If you can't execute his entire family, Allen will do."

"Immediately, capture the... Hanful family..."

The king told the knights. "Yes," one of them said, and half of them left the scene.

"Then, announce that the head of the knights' family was executed to save innocent people, and carry out the execution tomorrow."

"Impossible! We can't announce that. The people will lose trust in us."

"Of course, but you carried it out, didn't you? Why should I care?"

The king knelt, the crown prince lowered his head, and the queen crossed herself.

"We will carry out the execution immediately..."

"No, that's not good. Put them in a common prison for a night and execute them tomorrow."

"Wait, if we do that, they are the head of the knights' family. What will the criminals and jailers do to them?"

"Like Laila, right?"

At my words, the royal family, the prime minister, and the knights fell silent. I continued.

"I intended to leave it to you, but I will attend the execution. Guide me tomorrow."

"How can you attend an execution, Princess Letitia? It's a cruel thing to do."

Allen said this, turning to me with a sarcastic tone.

"Well, Laila's execution was attended by your Laila. Was she cruel too?"

Allen's mouth opened and closed, seemingly surprised that I knew this or had forgotten it.

"Still, executing an entire family is too cruel."

"Then what about the innocent people being killed now? Is that not cruel? You ordered it, didn't you? If you care so much, you can take their place. Thirty lives of Nada's family or one of yours. If you think it's cruel, go to the execution ground.

I won't kill him; you will. You abandoned them out of self-interest after giving the wrong order."

"It's a misunderstanding, and you presented a cruel choice."

"I just followed your methods. You tried to kill the future crown princess. Unfortunately, the damage spread because of a foolish ruler who forgot I am the princess of the suzerain country."

"Stop it, Allen, Princess Letitia is right..."

The queen's weak words made Allen kneel.

Nada's family should have left the country last night, but they took too long to pack. They planned to escape tonight, but it was easy to catch them as they waited in a carriage.

The next day, I went to the execution ground. As I had said, it was announced that they had executed innocent people to save themselves, so the people loudly cursed them as they were led to the execution ground. They were cursed and stoned by the people and executed one by one.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, I was just following your orders. Please help me."

Allen, with tears and snot streaming down his face, was ignored by Allen, who turned away.

His head rolled off, but I didn't feel any emptiness. I thought I needed to cut off the root. However, this deprived them of their military power.

The people, who knew they might be executed in their place, and the remaining knights, would likely distrust the royal family for abandoning the head of the knights. This made things easier for me.

I smiled.

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The translation ends here. If you need further assistance, please let me know.