As if he didn’t find anything wrong with the scene of "father and daughter in conflict" before him, after hearing the old King’s order, the attendant behind him immediately responded, then got up and rushed towards the fallen princess, preparing to restrain her, however...
A muffled sound of metal collision was heard, and the fallen princess raised her slightly scorched metal arm, delivering a heavy slap to the attendant’s face.
In the squeaking sound of twisting metal, the neck of the metal guard immediately twisted 180 degrees in the wrong direction, and the body below the neck instantly lost control, kneeling down with a thud before the princess.
"You are really heartless."
After trying to stand up twice but failing because her right knee joint was stuck, the Ironskin Princess spoke with a somber expression:
"No matter what, I’ve called you ’father’ many times. You actually shot at me directly?"
Glancing at the Ironskin guard whose head was twisted and kneeling on the ground, and then at the others outside the study who were unresponsive to his orders, the old King in the wheelchair remained silent for a moment, then looked up and coldly replied:
"Stop pretending. No matter how many times you call me ’father’, you are not my daughter!"
"Alright then, since you are the King of this Kingdom, whatever you say goes."
Slightly shaking her head, the Ironskin Princess staggered towards the door, reaching for a hefty ceremonial sword from a metal guard’s waist, then proceeded towards the old King, curiously asking:
"If I’m not mistaken, there was actually a moment when you believed my words and really thought I was your daughter. But in the end, you still shot... Could you please tell me, why did you change your mind?"
Watching the Ironskin Princess walk towards him holding the sword, the old King’s metal cheeks moved slightly, then nodded and admitted:
"There was a moment I believed Veronica really came to her senses, but after thinking about my life, I immediately knew you could never be my daughter.
Whether it’s me, Veronica, Joshua, or anyone else, for us royal family members, once we set our minds on something, there’s never a possibility of ’coming to our senses’. No one in hundreds of years has defied this rule; it’s the curse flowing in our veins!"
Stepping with a limp through the study, reaching the old King, the princess holding the sword thoughtfully nodded:
"No wonder you only advised me once or twice. After realizing I persisted in my views, instead of trying to change my mind, you directly began preparing for Joshua’s succession.
Is it because you thought trying to advise me would only make me wary, make me guard against you, so you chose not to persuade, but instead tried to support me, making me think you agreed with my views?"
Sitting up straight in the wheelchair, the old King coldly said:
"My real concern was that after discovering my firm stance, Veronica would temporarily pretend to be compliant, and after I handed the throne to her, would then proceed with her own plans, siphoning the royal family’s bloodline to sustain the Kingdom...
Monster! Tell me! How do you know about such things? I’ve only privately advised Veronica a few times, no one else should know the specifics, what on earth are you?"
"I told you, I am your daughter."
The metallic fingers pressed the spring, discarding the ornate scabbard, as Princess Veronica held the unsharpened ceremonial sword, gently questioning:
"By the way, although your legs can’t move and you can’t escape from me, are you not going to resist?
Father, since a long time ago, I have wanted to see your fearful, desperate, or regretful expression. Could you please grant your daughter this small wish before you die?"
Hearing the princess’s malice-filled query, the old King simply closed his iron eyelids, covering the two murky-colored gemstone eyeballs. Immediately, a fierce sound of rushing wind echoed in the ears, and the dark world before him started spinning...
"Father, you are too old."
After slicing off the Ironskin King’s head with a single sword strike, looking at the slumped body on the wheelchair, "Princess Veronica" shook her head and pointed the sword tip towards the attendants and guards outside the door:
"If you were a little younger, and your eyes a bit keener, you would have noticed the abnormalities in the guards outside."
Hearing the princess’s words, the old King’s head that had rolled to the ground suddenly opened its eyes widely.
"I mean, in order to prevent them from listening to your orders and attacking me, I had no choice but to cut off their ears in advance."
The Ironskin Princess cheerfully explained:
"You probably guessed what happened to you, but what you don’t know is that my ’rule’ is related to identity, status, and power. Within my rules, those with higher status can forcibly command those with lower status, and I am not exempted even myself."
In this aspect, the Queen was actually much harder to deal with than you. After all, if I wanted to kill her with a sword, as long as she screamed ’don’t’, or even begged for mercy in tears, I would have to immediately stop.
But you are different. Your dignity doesn’t allow you to engage in behavior that damages the dignity of the royal family. When I walked towards you with the sword, you wouldn’t panic and scream, nor would you cry and beg for mercy. You would simply close your eyes and wait for death, allowing me to sever your head.
And when I chopped off your head, your ’status’ and ’power’ died with it, which means that no one in this Kingdom will be able to defy my orders anymore."
As if realizing something, a trace of regret appeared on the face of the old King. The Ironskin Princess smiled with satisfaction and said:
"Dear Father, thank you for your dignity, which granted me the final victory."
"Are you saying this to see my regretful expression?"
Glancing at the princess looking down at him, the head of the old King coldly said:
"I don’t know why you hate me so much, but you haven’t won yet!
The Twelve Kingdoms have an agreement with the Clean-up Bureau that only those with our bloodline can be the King of the Twelve Kingdoms, so even if you kill me it’s useless. Once the Clean-up Bureau notices the abnormality in the palace, you will be immediately..."
"The Clean-up Bureau won’t do anything to me."
Wielding the heavy iron-backed sword again, the Ironskin Princess smiled and said:
"I wasn’t lying earlier, I am indeed your daughter Veronica.
And as you said yourself, according to the agreement between The Twelve Kingdoms and the Clean-up Bureau, only those with the corresponding bloodline can be the King of The Twelve Kingdoms.
So, if I move quickly enough and kill off all the royal bloodlines before they arrive, what do you think the people from the Clean-up Bureau will do?"