Although Cliff is the older brother of the Augustine family, he has always had a rather insignificant presence. Even though he was the former heir before Klan, Cliff has always given the impression of being weak and decadent.
Compared to Klan, Cliff is simply not a qualified heir.
But it seems that everyone has forgotten that before Augustus III’s change of attitude, before Klan emerged as a standout, Cliff was always being groomed as the heir and was receiving a serious heir’s education, even personally taught by Augustus III.
At that time, Cliff was even referred to as a little Augustus III because he was as smooth-talking as Augustus III, who once said that Cliff resembled him the most among all his children, a remark that Klan never received.
“Claire, why do this? Without Her Majesty the Queen, how are we supposed to fight against the Demon Clan’s army?”
Cliff’s question lacked presence, but it reminded Claire that the army of the Demon Clan was actually their biggest trump card. She replied, “It’s simple. I’ll make the Demon Clan’s army retreat. What about you, brother? Why are you sitting in this position?”
“I’m just doing what Father taught me. By the time I realized what was happening, I was already sitting here.”
Cliff tightened his coat and curled into a ball.
Yet, Judith beside him did not dare to underestimate the middle-aged man sitting on the throne.
Cliff learned about the coup almost immediately and had his subordinates quickly consolidate the southwestern soldiers in the palace. Before long, he ensured that the soldiers loyal to Lilith were no longer leaderless.
Cliff did not hesitate to address those adventurers who were continually causing destruction but organizationally directed his men to the palace gate, opening the door for Judith to enter while even sending someone to summon the new party nobles.
The series of actions was seamless and highly effective. Not only did it establish a small force amidst the chaos in the court, but it also quickly identified Judith as the key to breaking the deadlock and promptly invited her into the palace, even persuading her to bring Scott over since Her Majesty the Queen was in grave danger and needed to focus on the larger situation.
Under the joint efforts of Judith and Scott, they quickly controlled the palace guards, particularly the soldiers dispatched from the southwestern region, and subsequently took control of the main hall.
Claire, having exhibited a clear case of naivety, had been too long in smashing the North Border Tax Bureau and during the process had not even realized that the important main hall had already been occupied.
Even if Claire had been aware of the situation beforehand and had not entered the main hall, relying on the armory for continued resistance would have only delayed the inevitable defeat.
Controlling the main hall meant controlling the entire palace, and controlling the entire palace meant controlling the royal capital. As long as a portion of the surrounding garrison soldiers were called back, Claire was finished.
“Brother, since it seems you are not so eager to sit in this position, how about you let me take it instead? I promise I would do better and be more suitable than you.”
The fervor on Claire’s face was no longer hidden, but before Cliff could respond, Judith beside him spoke up: “Do you think we would agree to that?”
“Claire, you are disregarding the safety of the kingdom. At this moment, where exactly is Her Majesty the Queen?”
Faced with Judith’s inquiries, Claire merely shrugged: “Who knows? Maybe she got blown up.”
“You!”
Judith was about to get angry when Claire interrupted, “What? Getting anxious? The duke from the Southern Border, you don’t seriously intend to restore the glory of the Old Empire, do you? You and that queen are no good either!”
It seemed Claire had already grasped some of the harsh truths from future internet discussions, immediately throwing Judith off her guard. After all, Judith had no way to respond to such a sensitive topic.
Claire continued: “Brother, even if you sit in this position, can you make the Demon Clan retreat? If you give up the position now, the Demon Clan might still pull back in consideration of me.”
“Are you colluding with the Demon Clan?”
Kuf continued to question softly.
“So what?!” Claire didn’t care. The situation would be more intimidating if vocalized, and her tone even had a hint of excitement.
On both sides of the throne, the Augustines also fell silent, no one had expected events to unfold this way. Watching the fervor on Claire’s face, some people began to realize that Claire had completely lost her mind; she only wanted to be the queen, and she didn’t care about the kingdom or the Augustine family at all.
At that moment, someone stumbled into the main hall—it was one of Claire’s subordinates she had sent out to relay to the Demon Clan that they were prepared.
This subordinate rushed into the grand hall holding a homing pigeon, almost losing his balance.
Claire was somewhat surprised, wondering if she received the letter so quickly, was the Demon Clan already so close to the royal capital?
But none of that mattered. In front of everyone, Claire removed the note from the pigeon’s leg.
“Yes! Yes! Hahaha!”
After reading the content on the note, the already crazed Claire threw it away and deliriously rushed towards the hall’s exit.
Someone immediately picked up the note and handed it to Kuf on the throne. Kuf quickly scanned the note but couldn’t help but put his hand to his forehead.
The note clearly indicated that Antipa was already outside the royal capital. Facing such a big piece of meat, how could he give it up? Antipa was very thankful to Claire for her contributions to the Demon Clan; they would seize the opportunity and assault the royal capital amidst the chaos. To thank Claire, Antipa would marry her after capturing the royal capital and give her the title of queen, allowing Claire to manage the city.
A queen with a power base of just one city—how ridiculous.
But the already deranged Claire couldn’t care less about that, because she had lost. Not only had Lilith gone missing, but the one controlling the situation was not herself.
Kuf looked at his frenzied sister with immense heartache. He had not wanted the situation to develop to this point, but it had happened. Looking back, Claire assuming this position might indeed have made things worse. The Demon Clan did not retreat as Claire had hoped; instead, they had decided to continue besieging the city. They likely realized that ordinary humans could not resist like the soldiers from the North Border, that they would shatter at the slightest touch.
Just as Kuf opened his mouth to try to advise his sister, not knowing what to say, Claire stumbled as she rushed out of the hall and fell down the steps before the main hall.
“Claire!”
Kuf hurriedly rose from the throne and ran toward his sister.
