[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-the-cleanup-crew":3,"chapter-i-m-the-cleanup-crew-i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-245":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I'm the Cleanup Crew!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2286081,4472,"Chapter 245: 244 The Doll and the Calculation","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-245",245,"\u003Cp>Did I… get tricked?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After taking the small gift the Princess gave Anna and refusing the royal carriage sent to take him home, Leon stood at the palace gate, the night wind brushing his face, his emotions deeply complicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clever, wicked woman…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The few questions I originally raised—the vast cognitive gap, how both of us are too busy with work, the troubles brought by my Prince title, and how she truly wants the Lyon family, not me personally… and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the Princess spoke to me at length, these core issues that truly made me decide to reject this marriage seem to have been left entirely unresolved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet even though nothing has changed compared to before, not only did I fail to break off the engagement, I was even more tightly ensnared by her—casually promising I wouldn’t blame her, wouldn’t abandon her, would give her a chance, and would never be the one to propose an annulment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had I not barely regained some sanity at the critical moment, I likely would’ve even set the wedding date right then and there, completely bound by the cunning Princess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But strangely, even though I clearly know I’ve been fooled, whenever I recall how she held my arm just now, her gentle words, and those eyes—filled with me… at least they looked like they were filled with me—I simply can’t bring myself to be angry with her…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Men… pfft!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After spitting inwardly at his own weakness, Leon sighed, then descended the steps with a complex expression and even more complicated emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm… it seems Leon won’t come back to break off the engagement anytime soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Leon admitted his failure to annul the engagement and walked down the steps—though not exactly dejected—the fishing master watching from the balcony couldn’t help but exhale deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who seek status value face more; offering sufficient respect usually shifts their attitude. Those who seek power are pragmatic; to reach consensus, you must offer tangible benefits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who seek wealth are also practical, but if you show them a sufficiently beautiful future, they’ll even accept empty promises. The truly difficult ones are those who want nothing at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fishing requires bait, but Leon wants no status, no power, no wealth—my identity as Princess is even a burden and nuisance to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So if he truly dug in his heels and refused the engagement no matter what, I’d have absolutely no way to stop him—I’d just watch helplessly as this big fish slipped off the hook, tail flicking, returning to river and sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, to secure Leon’s position as Duke of Lionheart, I conducted extensive research beforehand and understood him well enough to barely catch his weakness…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’s soft-hearted, and his skin isn’t thick enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he’d firmly decided to break the engagement, his nature would never let him speak cruelly—and that gave me room to maneuver, to pull and tug, even to use my own displays of affection to make it hard for him to refuse outright, stabilizing the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, when I revealed my bottom line—that he is my only choice—and showed enough helplessness and frailty, turning “breaking the engagement” into a choice laden with guilt, Leon’s nature would make him utterly unable to speak the words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m such a despicable woman…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Leon’s retreating figure, the Princess on the balcony fell silent for a moment, her luminous eyes filled with a trace of regret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m sorry…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even with all these hidden motives behind me, every word I just spoke was true: marrying you truly is my best choice—perhaps even my only choice—because only this marriage can give me the power to change the kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Six years ago, I arrived too late to save those who died in the war, those figures screaming as they burned in orange flames—now they haunt my nights without end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I’m too late again six years later and miss this chance to change the kingdom, given its current state, an even more agonizing nightmare than before will surely return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps this is selfish, but I truly don’t want to regret it anymore!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After watching Leon fade into the distance until his silhouette vanished into the night, the Princess sighed, left the balcony, and returned to her desk, opening the unfinished documents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the shelf behind her, an old tin doll with half its face shattered silently gazed at her bent-over work, its expression twisted into a faintly mournful, eerie smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Duke of Lionheart Enters the Palace at Night—Is the Princess’s Good Fortune Near?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Historic Secret Meeting—The Princess’s Faction Will Seize Power!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beauty or Power? The Union of Lion and Robin!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shocking! Duke of Lionheart Meets Princess at Night—Will They Marry Before the Child Is Born?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everyone here has surely heard the news by now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slapping the newspapers—each with wildly different headlines but all about the same matter—the man in brown formal attire frowned tightly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t waste words. I’ve called you here for only one thing—to decide how we should handle this idiotic Duke who claims he’ll offer the entire Lyon family as dowry to court the Princess.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What do we want to do? The real question isn’t what we want—it’s what we can do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After exchanging glances, the invited old nobles saw one white-haired old Count step forward first, his face flushed with righteous anger:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course we must depose him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seven of the kingdom’s seventeen major departments are already under royal control. If the Lyon family’s Road Administration and Military Departments also fall to her, over half the departments will answer to her alone! Add to that the Lyon family’s seat as Deputy President of the Upper Academy—and even if we ally with the Lower Academy, we may not be able to outmaneuver the Princess!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So we must depose him! If that fool remains Duke, how will we live in the future? Will we beg for scraps?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But how do we depose him? And who will do it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the old Count spoke, another noble beside him sighed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After the Lyon Blood Night, nearly everyone eligible to step forward in the Lyon family died. Only one elderly clan elder, once powerless, remains—and if we stretch it, we can add the newly elected head of the family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But during the succession ceremony, the old Duke’s steward suffered a heart attack, the last clan elder was so enraged he suffered a stroke, and the newly elected head was so terrified by the Lionheart Duke who slapped the Prince that he fell gravely ill and hasn’t recovered yet. The Lyon family has no one left who can stand up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…“\u003C\u002Fp>",1104,"2026-06-20T03:18:31.831Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a2be4ce27dd4d23a9417d3c849bbbaebe1fdba5f2084a0ee1011547d5bafc1de","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-246","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-244",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-the-cleanup-crew-cover.jpg"]