Chapter 87
In space more than one million kilometers away from the Princess Star, a battleship is flying at high speed.
Leopold stood at the porthole, looking at the endless darkness and sporadic twinkling stars outside the window, recalling a secret conversation he had with the old emperor.
"That woman has a terrifying desire for power."
The old emperor narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice: "What's more terrifying is that she has the means and character to match , but not enough mercy."
"How long has it been? Only ten years. She has been the princess for only ten years, but the people have already forgotten the former princess, my older princes and princesses, and even me. They only remember the noble Princess Tanada." The old emperor coughed twice and continued, "And my ministers and generals, I don't know how many of them have secretly pledged their allegiance to her, and how many of them would go through fire and water just at her command."
"How many princes and princesses have died 'accidentally' in the past few years? Ian, Seda, Shalom, Lydia, Cecil... I hate it as a father. Until now, I know that my 'dear wife' was behind their deaths."
A turbid tear slid down the old face.
Leopold, who had been thinking that he only had a pair of ears and only listened but did not speak, suddenly heard this secret and could not help asking, "Could it be that the princess did it for Princess Serinda..."
"No, not for Serinda." The old emperor shook his head bitterly, looking at Leopold with a look that said "you are still too young," and said, "She has no compassion for Serinda. She gave birth to this daughter just to consolidate her position. Tanada...she did these things just for herself."
"She wants to take my place!"
"This is ridiculous!" Leopold said, "She has no royal blood, and she is one-quarter Xia. She is not a pure Landian!"
"Who cares about bloodline these days?" The old emperor was calmer than Leopold. He said, "The most important thing is who controls the army!"
Leopold was speechless.
It has to be said that might is right, which is a common principle in many places. The higher the class, the more people believe in this.
"I can't tolerate her any longer," said the old emperor. "In another five years, I'm afraid even I won't be able to suppress her. I transferred you back from the Far East battlefield for this purpose."
"Yes, Your Majesty! Please give your orders!" Leopold saluted solemnly.
"I will imprison Princess Tanada on the pretext that she is ill and needs to be recuperated. During this period, I need you to suppress any riots or other noises that may arise in the army. Do you understand?"
"Yes!" Leopold said, and then asked doubtfully: "Your Majesty, why not just...?"
He knew that this thought was somewhat disrespectful, but he couldn't help wondering: Could it be that His Majesty still had some feelings for that vicious woman, so he couldn't bear to kill her? This was really...
The emperor didn't know what Leopold was thinking, but he understood what he meant, and said tiredly: "It's not that I don't want to, but I can't."
"You don't understand. Those people are as loyal to her as fanatics. As long as she is alive and Serinda is there, even if those people are dissatisfied, the situation is still under control. Once she dies, I'm afraid there will be a rebellion in the country immediately."
"I need time to slowly divide the forces she has infiltrated, demote or transfer those who are loyal to her, and also need time to let the people forget her. When the day comes when most people have forgotten her and no longer die for her, I will definitely kill her!"
"Then...what about Princess Serinda?" Leopold thought of the lovely little girl. Although he knew he had overstepped the boundaries, he couldn't help but ask, "Without her mother's protection, I'm afraid...some people will vent their anger on her."
No matter how long the armies of the army are, they cannot reach your majesty's harem. The princes and princesses who were killed, as well as the royal children who are still alive but trembling under the oppression of Princess Tanada, all have their own forces behind them. If they think that Princess Tanada has completely lost power and transfer their hatred for the princess to the little princess, then even with the emperor's will, I am afraid that the little princess's life cannot be saved.
even……
Leopold suddenly thought that it was still unknown whether the emperor wanted to keep his daughter. Such a question was really beyond his status.
Leopold immediately took a step back, knelt on one knee and said, "I have overstepped my bounds."
The old emperor was silent for a long time, then sighed and said, "You are right." After a while, he said, "Afterwards, give the child to Lance to raise, and tell him to stay with her until Serinda grows up safely. With his ability, it won't be difficult for him to protect a baby of one and a half years old."
After the conversation, Leopold walked out the door. When the wind blew, he felt a layer of cold sweat on his back.
At that moment, he clearly felt the old emperor's murderous intention. It was not because he asked questions that were not suitable for his status, but... when he asked that question, the emperor began to suspect that he was actually the princess's man.
Fortunately, fortunately he had been on the battlefield in the Far East and was only recently called back by the old emperor. He had only had very few contacts with the princess and spoke less than ten sentences.
The old emperor remembered this in time. It was for this reason that Leopold was the most trustworthy of the generals in the army, because he was least likely to be won over by the princess. Also, apart from Leopold, the old emperor had no one else he could fully trust. If the plan was not kept secret, and the news that the old emperor wanted to take action reached the princess' ears, I'm afraid they would immediately go to war.
The most important thing is that if the situation develops into that kind of situation, the old emperor’s chances of winning will be even lower.
Although the princess was very scheming, she was just a weak woman. Leopold launched an attack in the middle of the night, and easily captured the guards and maids around the princess in close combat. He secretly sent Princess Tanada to prison overnight. After that, he moved the entire population of the planet and turned it into a huge prison.
However, the old emperor never waited for the so-called "right time". He tried several times, but only became more aware of the enduring influence of Princess Tanada, so he hid his intentions deeply.
In order to prove that although he was dissatisfied with Princess Tanada's actions, he still had feelings for her, the old emperor praised Princess Serinda, the representative of the royal family, very highly, and even listed her as the first heir to the throne, surpassing a group of older and more capable brothers and sisters.
Therefore, several princes and princesses led by Prince Saisha took advantage of Princess Serinda's visit to another country and joined forces to hunt her down for a full 100,000 light years. The old emperor knew about it, but he watched coldly and did nothing. He even dispatched several generals from the princess's line, secretly supporting Prince Saisha's actions.
However, the little princess who grew up in a greenhouse returned safely even though all her guards were killed!
On the day Princess Serinda returned to the imperial capital, the emperor "learned" the truth about her being hunted down, and flew into a rage. He deprived all the princes and princesses of their inheritance rights, demoted them to commoners, expelled them from Landia, and ordered them not to return for the rest of their lives. Their followers were also exiled or imprisoned. Overnight, the political landscape of the empire was completely reshuffled.
Leopold knew that the emperor had no choice but to do so. He did not believe that a small mercenary team could escort the little princess to escape from such a murderous situation. The only explanation was that the princess's men took action!
——And he didn't notice it at all, either before or after!
The emperor was horrified and imposed the most severe punishment on the princes and princesses. He knew that his children were very resentful of his "partiality", but he believed that only in this way could he save their lives.
Then, the whole galaxy knew that Princess Serinda was the emperor's most beloved daughter, and anyone who dared to touch her would pay a heavy price - even if they were of the emperor's bloodline.
Leopold felt that although Serinda had hardly ever seen her mother since she was old enough to understand, she might have inherited some of her mother's talents, such as the ability to be liked.
The little princess grew up with everyone's support, but she had no intention of being overly praised. She was not spoiled, willful, cruel or arrogant. She was like the best girl that could be cultivated in the best environment. She was kind, cheerful, brave, humble, compassionate, filial and gentle to her father, caring and considerate to her subordinates, and responsible in everything she did. Over time, not only did the people and officials recognize Princess Serinda's status as the first heir from the bottom of their hearts, but even the old emperor gradually let down his guard and truly accepted his daughter.
As Serinda's real guardian, Lance naturally made an indelible contribution.
Serinda really became the emperor's favorite little daughter.
The more the emperor valued Serinda, the more he could not tolerate the existence of Princess Tanada. Finally, before his death, he decided to pass the throne to Serinda, and sent his most trusted man to kill Princess Tanada. At the same time, he left a message for Leopold, telling him that if the assassination failed, the rest would be left to Leopold.
Even Leopold didn't know who the assassin sent by the emperor was. He only knew that the assassination did not cause any waves and disappeared quietly.
Of course, Leopold now knew that Lance was actually Princess Tanada's man, but he didn't know whether the emperor also knew this before his death. However, as long as Lance was there, everything that happened in the Ice Palace would fall into Princess Tanada's eyes. It was expected that an assassination operation arranged in a hurry would fail.
But the emperor probably didn't know that when Princess Tanada was active in the imperial capital, she not only won the loyalty of many generals in the army, but also quietly controlled the most mysterious and powerful Maiqie organization in the empire. The woman who seemed to be quietly staying on the Princess Star was much more powerful than they expected. She was not as quiet and obedient as she appeared to be in recent years. With the cooperation of that organization, how many things the princess had done in recent years, no one could tell clearly. The Princess Star was even outside the monitoring range . It seemed that Princess Tanada did not trust the intelligent brain controlled by her. Even now, Leopold did not dare to say that the organization's manpower in the imperial capital had been cleared out.
But now, he came on the king's orders to deal with the most terrifying woman in the empire.
Although Princess Serinda was still immature, she was more decisive than her father. When the AI explained that the real controller behind the organization was Princess Tanada, Leopold knelt down and confessed his crime, then told the princess and the old emperor about their pasts, and asked the queen how to deal with it.
Faced with this problem, those who knew the situation were worried that Serinda would show leniency to Princess Tanada. After all, there is no child who does not yearn for the love from their mother. At the same time, they were also worried that Serinda's handling of the matter would be more decisive than expected, because that might mean that this incident would become a trauma that she would never get over.
However, Serinda was silent for a long time, then said, "General, don't worry too much. After investigating the matter, we will handle it according to the law."
No forgiveness, no harm, this is Queen Serinda's attitude.
——Just like treating a stranger.
Leopold didn't know whether he was relieved or became more worried, but his inner concerns were indeed much less, and instead, he became more cautious.
The blue-green planet approaches.
Leopold narrowed his eyes as he saw the surface approaching.
A group of people with wounds all over their bodies, blood on their faces, and various clothes gathered around the white palace, facing them, with a look of grief and indignation, posing as guards. There were also dozens of damaged mechas that attacked them directly without waiting for their spaceship to land!
