The Deposed Empress and Her New Husband (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 17

If Renev had taken on the role of an obstacle hindering the protagonists’ love, Ikar was used as a stepping stone for Lucius’s growth.

The Empress Consort harbored ambitions to place Lucius on the throne so she could wield great power herself.

For that to happen, Lucius’s abilities had to far surpass those of the other imperial princes—enough to impress the Emperor himself.

Fortunately, Lucius grew exactly as the Empress Consort had hoped. It meant there was no rival to Lucius in Paradium.

But perhaps such a son still felt like a frog in a well to the Empress Consort?

She chose Ikar, the Vaschker prince, as Lucius’s next benchmark for comparison.

Though this was undoubtedly a poor approach to education, it seemed the Empress Consort understood Lucius’s temperament well.

Proud Lucius, just as she intended, sharpened himself daily while keeping Ikar in check.

Just as that diligence had become habit, Ikar died before reaching adulthood.

Yet why was Ikar perfectly alive both during Renev’s first life and after her regression?

There was another question as well.

In truth, from Vaschker’s perspective, Paradium’s western region was a strategic stronghold.

If Ikar had intended to seize control of Paradium, he would have invaded the Seiren Marquisate in the west first.

Using the Seiren Marquisate as a base would have made territorial expansion considerably easier.

Had Vaschker and Paradium clashed head-on—both capable of covering a fortnight’s distance in the blink of an eye—it would have been obvious who held the advantage.

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