After Retirement, Living a Stud Life in Another World - 190

Chapter 190: Clara Has Grown Stronger

“I have no intention of taking the throne.”

Clara, showing an unexpectedly strong voice, clearly expressed her refusal. The reaction from the nobles was divided into two groups.

One group consisted of those who supported Beatrice. These people, who had lost hope in the eldest princess due to her lack of confidence and tendency to be swayed by influential nobles, had chosen the more stable second princess, despite her gloomy face. They were now murmuring in shock at Clara’s sudden opposition to the high-ranking nobles who were pushing for her.

The other group, of course, were those who wanted to remove Beatrice and place Clara on the throne as a puppet, hoping to control the real power behind the scenes and benefit from it. These people were left speechless, their faces showing a mix of surprise and anger, as if they had been bitten by their own dog.

“Hmm. Despite so many people supporting you, Clara, why do you refuse?” the Chancellor, Eisenberg, asked.

“Those who support me are not concerned about the future of the kingdom. They want to manipulate my weak heart and make me do what benefits them. I refuse to be a puppet, and I will not entrust my precious treasure, Louise, to those with such plans!” Clara declared.

The faces of Clara’s supporters stiffened, but no one dared to respond immediately. It was clear that they were angry, but they hadn’t expected Clara to suddenly turn on them.

The silence lasted for a while, until it was broken by the Chancellor himself, Eisenberg, who had likely been behind all the conspiracies.

“Princess Clara, you speak boldly. We, your supporters, are hurt by your words. Those who support you are full of patriotism. I wish I could tear open my chest and show you my passionate heart… But it seems that even the leader, you, doubt us. It is the fault of my inadequacy,” Eisenberg said, his tone calm, but the pressure he exuded was immense. He was the man who had held the top position in the kingdom for over a decade, skillfully crushing opposition with a mix of harsh and soft tactics.

“Uh, I… I…” Clara stuttered, obviously intimidated by the Chancellor’s overwhelming presence. Seeing this, it was clear I had to help her. Looking around, I saw my dear sister Liese give me a small nod. I nodded back, and with a loud sound of military boots, Liese stepped forward, standing between Clara and the Chancellor.

“What is this? The little girl from Freudenstadt? This is a place for the leaders of the kingdom to exchange opinions about the future of the state. It’s not for a soldier like you!” Eisenberg declared, applying far more overt pressure than he had on Clara.

However, Liese didn’t move a muscle, only raising an eyebrow slightly. Her lips, a soft pink, parted slowly.

“Chancellor Eisenberg, you are under arrest for the crime of rebellion, and for attempting to murder Princess Beatrix,” Liese announced.

“What?!”

“You tried to incite rebellion by manipulating the unruly sons of the Freudenstadt family and using drugs to control Imperial prisoners, making them attack the Duchy prisoners and cause chaos. This is clear evidence of rebellion.”

“These are mere delusions! It was your foolish brothers who caused that. They were probably jealous of my successful younger brothers, and now you accuse us of shaking the kingdom with family quarrels? You Freudenstadt family are the ones damaging the kingdom!” Eisenberg shouted.

“Yes, my brothers are directly responsible. I am aware of the seriousness of the crimes committed by my family,” Liese replied calmly, a small smile tugging at her lips.

“However, as investigations have continued, we have found someone who supplied drugs to those fools and incited them to commit these crimes,” she added.

“Who is this person?” Eisenberg demanded, his voice rising slightly.

“There was a suspicious person entering and leaving my brothers’ estate. We had them followed, and discovered they were entering the residence of a certain viscount in the royal capital,” Liese said.

“So what?” Eisenberg spat, trying to hide his nervousness.

“Well, I had some of my people infiltrate that viscount’s estate, and they brought back something interesting. Here it is,” Liese said, signaling to one of the shadow clan members, who silently stepped forward and presented a letter with great respect.

The letter was handed to the king, who slowly opened it and began reading aloud.

“This is definitely the Chancellor’s signature… and here it says, ‘Give drugs to the Imperial woman, and once she cannot function without them, order her to kill the man from the Duchy…’” the king read, his voice smooth but serious.

The content of the letter was far from a trivial find. The shadow clan must have risked their lives multiple times to sneak into noble houses to gather such critical evidence. The letter was detailed and malicious, and as the king read it aloud, Eisenberg’s face twitched in frustration.

“This is surprising. Chancellor, do you have anything to say?” the king asked.

“Ugh…” Eisenberg growled, his face twitching, realizing that his schemes had been exposed.