All Chapters of I Don’t Need the Crown Anymore: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Three months ago, Thrace returned a group of prisoners at the border in exchange for a ceasefire. Althea was sent back to Argos as spoils of war.Three years earlier, she had been Lysandros's acknowledged betrothed and Philocles's adopted daughter. Philocles, commander of the Northern Frontier, was also Ianthe's birth father, which made the two young women sisters in name only. In that war, Althea had led troops to help Lysandros reclaim the throne, only to end up in a Thracian cage. Now that she had finally returned, not a trace remained of the fierce general's daughter who had once charged alone into rebel lines.Whenever someone nearby suddenly raised their voice, her shoulders would tense and the color would drain from her face in an instant. Her gaze would drift off into nothing, as though she had been dragged back into those sunless years of captivity.At the coronation ceremony for the golden laurel crown, a wine servant accidentally stepped on the hem of her robe, and a bronze

Over the days that followed, Lysandros came to visit nearly every day.On the first day, he had a jar of Cretan mead delivered. "This was always your favorite." He poured a cup himself and offered it to her.The scent of the mead reached her nose, and Althea's fingertips went cold. On the Thracian javelin field, the same cloying sweetness of wine had always hung in the air. She did not reach for the cup. Lysandros studied her for a long moment, took her refusal as a lingering grudge, and silently set the cup back on the table.On the second day, he brought a small wooden chariot model. A craftsman had replicated the chariot they had ridden together during their first campaign. "Do you remember? You insisted on snatching the reins from me."Althea did remember. But the memory that surged up with it was the searing pain of being dragged across stone, her elbows and knees scraped raw. She did not touch the model.On the third day, he placed an old spear beside her. Its shaft still bore th

The underground purification chamber had no windows.After the door sealed shut, only a single oil lamp in the corner cast its light over the stone bed and a simple altar. A white stone statue of Hera stood on the altar, and at the statue's feet sat a small bronze basin. The priests ordered Althea to kneel before the basin and submerge her hands in salt water until she agreed to surrender the Thunderbolt Seal.She knelt until well past midnight. Both knees had gone completely numb.The lamp flame shivered. A faint scraping sound came from the darkness. Althea looked up. A silver-gray serpent glided out from behind the altar, its scales catching the firelight with a cold gleam.It was the sacred serpent kept by the Temple of Hera. Normally locked in a triple-layered bronze cage, it was only brought out during major ceremonies by a designated attendant. Its venom would not necessarily kill, but it would cause relentless fever, violent convulsions, and, in the delirium that followed, the

Inside the birthing room of the Temple of Hera, the air was thick with celebration. Lysandros held the newborn prince, and his usually hard features softened with rare warmth."Send word to the Council." He gave the order. "A prince has been born. Taxes across the city are reduced for one month. Temple priests, attending physicians, and every guard on duty tonight are to be rewarded for their service."The servants dropped to their knees in unison. Ianthe leaned against the cushioned couch, pale and drained, her fingertips clutching the edge of his sleeve. "Your Majesty, I thought I wasn't going to survive." Her voice was faint. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "The moment the queen grabbed me, it felt like a bolt of lightning struck my womb. If the physicians hadn't arrived in time, the child might not have..."The warmth faded from Lysandros's eyes, one degree at a time. He handed the prince to the wet nurse. "Althea is still restrained at the ritual pillar?"A servant hesitated. "She

The investigation lasted twelve days. Menon laid twelve wax tablets, a dispensary ledger, and three sworn statements on the king's desk."The hellebore was requisitioned in the priestess Ianthe's own handwriting." Lysandros opened the ledger. The date of withdrawal was two days before the naming ceremony. The clay seal bore the imprint of her Sacred Flame seal."Her handmaid Clea has confessed," Menon reported. "The powder was delivered personally by the priestess, who also determined the dosage. The original plan was to give the prince a brief fever to simulate a thunderbolt curse."Lysandros looked up. "She used her own child as evidence?"Menon kept his eyes lowered. "She was certain the physicians would administer the antidote in time."The fire in the bronze brazier crackled softly. Lysandros sat in silence. Menon produced a bronze token. "This is the transfer log for the sacred serpent. On the night Althea was held in the purification chamber, the serpent cage was signed over to