Chapter 846

"Yes!"

As if utterly unconvinced that the scene of "father and daughter turning on each other" was wrong, upon hearing the old king's order, the attendants behind him immediately responded, rising to rush toward the fallen princess to subdue her—yet…

"Crash!"

A dull clang of metal rang out as the fallen princess lifted her metal arm, scarred with burn marks, and delivered a heavy slap across the attendant's face.

Amid the groaning twist of warped iron, the iron attendant's neck snapped backward one hundred eighty degrees; below the neck, his body instantly lost control and collapsed with a thud onto his knees before the princess.

"You're truly heartless."

After trying twice to rise but failing due to her right knee joint being locked, the iron princess spoke with a sorrowful expression:

"No matter what, I called you Father so many times—how could you shoot me directly?"

"..."

Glancing at the iron guard whose head had been twisted and now knelt lifeless, then at the others frozen outside the study, utterly unmoved by his command, the old king in his wheelchair fell silent for a moment, then lifted his head and replied coldly:

"Stop pretending. No matter how many times you call me Father, you are not my daughter!"

"Very well. Since you are the king of this nation, naturally your word is law."

After shaking her head slightly, the iron princess limped toward the door, reached out, and drew the heavy ceremonial sword from the waist of an iron guard, still in its scabbard. As she walked toward the old king, holding the sword, she asked curiously:

"If I didn't misread things, there was a moment when you actually believed me—that you truly thought I was your daughter. But in the end, you still fired… Could you tell me why you changed your mind?"

"..."

Watching the iron princess approach with the sword, the old king's iron cheeks twitched slightly, then he nodded in admission:

"For a moment, I believed Veronica had truly come to her senses. But after reflecting on my entire life, I immediately knew—you could never be my daughter.

Whether it's me, Veronica, Joshua, or anyone else, for members of our royal family, once we've decided something, there is no such thing as 'coming to terms.' Not one person in centuries has ever been an exception. This is the curse flowing in our blood!"

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"I see."

Hopping painfully through the study until she stood before the old king, the sword-wielding princess nodded thoughtfully:

"No wonder you only tried to persuade me once or twice. Once you saw I wouldn't change my mind, you stopped trying altogether and began preparing for Joshua's succession.

Was it because you thought persuasion was useless, that it would only make me wary, make me start guarding against you—so you chose not to persuade at all, and instead pretended to support me, making me believe you agreed with my views?"

"It's more than that."

Sitting upright in his wheelchair, the old king's face turned icy:

"What I truly feared was that Veronica, upon realizing my resolve was absolute, would pretend to submit—wait until I handed over the throne—then resume her own agenda: carving out the royal flesh to feed the kingdom.

Monster! Tell me! How do you know this? I only privately urged Veronica a few times; no one else should know the details. What exactly are you?

"I've told you already—I'm your daughter."

With a metallic finger, she pressed the spring latch and shed the ornate scabbard. Holding the unsharpened ceremonial sword, Princess Veronica asked calmly:

"By the way, though your legs are useless and you can't escape me, won't you try to resist at all?"

"Father, for a long time now, I've wanted to see you afraid, desperate, or regretful. Could you, before you die, grant your daughter this small wish?"

"..."

Hearing the princess's malicious question, the old king simply shut his iron eyelids, concealing the two cloudy gem-like eyes. Then, a fierce rush of wind sounded beside his ear—and the dark world around him spun violently…

…

"Father, you're too old."

After severing the iron king's head with one blow, the "Princess Veronica" looked down at the slumped body in the wheelchair and shook her head, pointing the sword's tip at the attendants and guards outside:

"If you were younger, and your eyes still clear, you'd have noticed the oddness of those soldiers out there."

Those soldiers?

Hearing the princess's words, the old king's severed head snapped open its eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, to prevent them from obeying your orders and attacking me, I had to remove their ears in advance."

The iron princess smiled sweetly as she explained:

"You've already guessed what happened to you. What you don't know is that my 'rule' governs identity, status, and power. Within my rule's scope, those of higher status can forcibly command those of lower status—even I myself cannot be exempt."

From this perspective, the queen is far more difficult to deal with. If I were to raise my sword to kill her, all she'd need to do is scream "No!"—or even weep and beg me not to kill her—and I'd be forced to stop immediately.

But you're different. Your dignity forbids you from behaving in a way that disgraces the royal family. When I approached you with the sword, you wouldn't scream in panic or beg for mercy—you'd simply close your eyes and wait to die, letting me sever your head.

And when I cut off your head, your 'status' and 'power' died with you. That means, in this kingdom, no one will ever again be able to defy my commands."

"..."

As the old king's expression shifted to dawning realization, tinged with regret, the iron princess smiled contentedly:

"Dear Father, thank you for your dignity. It granted me my final victory."

"..."

"Are you saying all this just to watch me regret?"

Glancing up at the princess towering over him, the old king's iron head spoke coldly:

"I don't know why you hate me so much—but you haven't won yet!

All twelve kingdoms have agreements with the Cleanup Bureau: only those bearing our bloodline may become king of the twelve kingdoms. So even if you kill me, it's useless. When the Cleanup Bureau discovers the anomaly in the palace, they'll immediately…"

"The Cleanup Bureau won't do anything to me."

Raising the heavy iron sword again, the iron princess smiled:

"I didn't lie just now—I truly am your daughter, Veronica.

And you yourself said: according to the agreement between the twelve kingdoms and the Cleanup Bureau, only those bearing the bloodline may become king of the twelve kingdoms.

So if I move fast enough—before they arrive—and slaughter every last member of the royal bloodline, what do you think the Cleanup Bureau will do?"