Battle For The Crown

Chapter 9: Accidents

In Anthanasia's first life as Lee Jihye – the warrior Queen of the Wolf Clan, she was praised for her skills as an excellent tactician on the battlefield and also the political setting. Her words could tilt the play of things in politics. Her plans compromised of little details which formed a big picture. Details were important for an attack.

The little things were the basis of an effective win. That was why she carefully monitored Jennette's movements. Her instinct told her that the brunette was planning something against her. Her instinct had never been wrong. Plus, she could feel eyes full of hatred staring at her, each time she passed the ruby palace.

Jennette never left the palace. But this made Anthanasia uneasy as a faction supporting Jennette began to arise for the past month. Jennette supporters were increasing at an alarming rate. This faction had made meetings and petitions with Claude, wanting to be aware of the chosen Crown Princess.

Anthanasia had planted some of her people amongst Jennette's maids. They'd report all of Jennette's activities. But there was nothing suspicious. All she did was attend to guests.

Anthanasia knew every trick in the book. She felt like, no, she was sure, Jennette was planning something. The 'accidents' which had been recurring around her, didn't lessen her uneasiness.

Last week, her carriage wheel was broken and she almost got into an accident, if not for the coach man's skilled driving.

Three days ago, a poisonous flower was placed in her room. If not for her knowledge, she would have never known of the flowers true nature. Upon asking all the maids, none of them knew where it came from.

Yesterday, a tree suddenly fell while she was on a walk. If not for Felix's fast reflexes, were he pushed her out of the way, she might have been in a critical condition. There had been no reason for the tree's sudden collapse.

And just this morning, she found poison in her food. She had sprung into action and did an investigation. But the perpetrator had left no tail...

'All of this is suddenly happening now. It's obviously Jennette. If I were to get her, then it'd be a good excuse to have her executed'

Anthanasia heaved a tired sigh. She placed her head in her hands. The cat and mouse game of mingling with nobles, manipulating public opinion and fighting each other was rather tiring.

Since Jennette seemed to be constantly after her life, she had to take an extreme permanent preventive measure....

'What's that I heard from Miss Helena's tea party? Ah. I need to catch Jennette's tail and show it to the whole world'

But the problem here was that Jennette was being careful. The brunette was rather cunning, so she wasn't bold in any of her moves.

'Hmm. Why don't I make her bold?'

A plan suddenly formulated in Anthanasia's head. In order to defeat your enemy, shouldn't you think like them? She thought about all she would've done if she were in Jennette's position and competing for the crown.

This plan of hers was risky and it involved other people. All her life, she had always believed in the saying 'If you want something done right, do it yourself'. But in this case, she'd have to back off.

Anthanasia's resolve was firm and she decided to take the chances. In the past, she wouldn't trust people to such an extent, but living as Anthanasia had made her value relational bonds.

'This may be tricky, but...'

What was her plan exactly? Well it was to give Jennette everything she wanted. This would be enough to bring out bold actions.

***
Jennette received a letter from one of the maids planted by her aunt. After discretely receiving the letter, she stood near her window and read its contents.

Her brows remained furrowed while going through the message. A tsk, left her lips as she shook her head, before tossing the letter into the fire place.

'How incompetent. Killing one princess shouldn't be that hard!'

She gritted her teeth and cursed the incompetence of these friends of hers. Stroking her hair, she was able to calm down. She relaxed her facial features and replaced her scowl with a gentle smile.

'Stay positive. Things are looking better for me'

Jennette was happy that a faction supporting her had risen. And at a fast rate, at that. More so, her faction comprised of some high ranking nobles; with Duke Alpheus being her number on supporter. The Duke was doing quite a good job rallying for her while she remained in the palace and mingled with nobles. Her position as a Princess had slowly been established. Once it was strong enough, she'd begin leaving the palace for events.

Things were going rather smoothly. If the Emperor were to turn his attention to her, well, that would be great. But Claude didn't seem likely to do so anytime soon.

This fact irked Jennette, but she had a plan to take the throne, regardless of how the Emperor views her. Whether it was through usurping power through a rebellion, Jennette wad determined to become Empress.

Although a rebellion was a last resort, if Anthanasia ascended the throne. As easy as it was to talk about, a rebellion was a lot more, well, difficult than it was thought out to be. Such could only be successful if a huge amount of support was given to her, and if the reigning monarch were to be doing a bad job with their duties.

Neither would seem to be the case, seeing as the people of Obelia were very loyal to the imperial family, and if Anthanasia were to rule, she would do a great job; that, Jennette had to admit.

Then why not give up on her ambitions? It wasn't that simple.

Jennette had a great thirst for power. Particularly, the power of the Obelian monarch. All her life, she had been raised hearing stories of how great her mother could have been if alive. About how her mother would want to see her daughter at the pinnacle of power. Asides from that, she had an obsession with the thought of beating Anthanasia. From a young age, she had heard of how Anthanasia's mother, a mere peasant, stole the heart of Emperor Claude, away from her mother. How could she let history repeat itself?

Empress Jennette De Alger Obelia. How lovely, it sounded.

"Your Highness"  A maid's call, made her snap out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Em, in the parlor. Sir Robanne just came here"

Jennette subconsciously raised an eyebrow at the maid's words. What was Sir Felix Robanne doing here in the ruby palace? Thus far, she had been ignored by everyone in the palace. So what had happened?

'Did I get caught in being the mastermind of the accidents around Anthanasia?'

Jennette quickly shook of the thought. It wasn't possible for her to be traced. With this in mind, she became relaxed and moved to the parlor to receive Felix.

"Blessings and Glory to your Highness, the star of Obelia" Watching Felix Robanne greet her, brought a smile to Jennette's face. Ever since she had been recognized by society, everyone in the palace seemed to respect her.

'This is how it's supposed to be'

"Greetings Sir Robanne. It's so nice to see you!" Jennette kept up the image of a bubbly young girl. Her mannerism was perfect, although she sounded a bit informal. Just for the naive lady effect.

"I should be the one saying that" Felix stood up straight, before going straight to the point. "His Majesty, the Emperor, has assigned me to be your personal guard from now on"