Chapter 4:
The Queen’s Revenge Reaches Its Climax
THE SKY WAS A GRAND, gorgeous blue. Yet on such a wonderful day, the dark atmosphere in the throne room was heavy enough to suffocate.
Brian awaited the start of questioning, increasingly nervous about what was to come. Luxeria sat atop her throne, stoic and emotionless. Brian could tell that the queen’s current mood was merely the calm before a great and terrible storm. In no world would this trial go smoothly.
Many nobles had gathered in the throne room, here to witness an event that would change the fate of the entire kingdom. This decisive moment had been years in the making. Brian, along with the other nobles, were symbols of the Great Five’s influence. They were dressed in lavish garments, arrogantly certain that nothing would stand in their way. But would that still be the case after today?
The marquesses themselves were escorted into the throne room by Aaron and his men, draped in plain garb and drooping at the shoulders. They were all clearly exhausted—haggard, even. They sat in front of the throne, as if supplicating before their queen.
A bell rang.
“Marquess of House Beckford, Bernard Beckford. Marquess of House Weston, Layfe Weston. And Marquess of House Slade, Cyrus Slade. Your questioning begins now!” one of the assistants next to the throne announced, his declaration reverberating through the room.
“Bernard Beckford and Layfe Weston are charged with abduction and human trafficking. They kidnapped peasant children from their own lands and handed them to Cyrus Slade as slaves for trade. Cyrus Slade is charged with human trafficking and treason. He abetted an enemy of the kingdom, selling citizens to the Celden Republic.”
Loud chatter rippled through the nobles as the marquesses’ sins were announced.
“As evidence, we have documents listing the trafficked children. These documents bear Bernard Beckford’s and Layfe Weston’s signatures. Regarding Cyrus Slade, Her Majesty and the royal soldiers accompanying her personally discovered him harboring missing children on his property.”
As the assistant finished stating the facts of the case, Luxeria raised her hand. The chatter that had filled the room ceased in short order.
“What justification do you have for these heinous acts?”
Layfe Weston was the first to speak. “Your Majesty, I-I was deceived! By a despicable circus troupe called Étoile!”
“M-me too! I was betrayed by my own assistants! I swear, I would never willingly commit acts of treason against the crown!” Bernard Beckford followed up with his own excuse. The men’s desperation hardly suited these supposed “nobles.”
“I see. Then nothing can be done,” Luxeria said, testing them.
A glimmer of hope shone in their eyes. Brian sighed, wondering how they could possibly think any mercy awaited them when she looked at them the way she did.
“That is what you would like me to say, isn’t it? You truly see me as incompetent, don’t you?”
The queen’s eyes blazed bright with fury.
“Excuse me?!”
“What?!”
“Silence,” Luxeria commanded. “While that excuse may work regarding the abductions, it has nothing to do with the sale of the children. Documents with your insignias detail the delivery of citizens for monetary compensation. This is an immutable fact. With such evidence on our side, you dare to claim ignorance?”
“Well, um…”
“I’ve heard enough of your trite excuses,” the queen said. “Now then, Cyrus Slade. What justification do you have to offer?”
In stark contrast to Beckford and Weston, Slade was relatively calm. “I have none to give,” he said.
“Oh? Are you truly all right with that?”
“Does it matter? Being brought before you means we’ve already lost,” Slade said. “And you two—quit the ridiculous display. As long as she wields the Sacred Sword of Sincerity, the blade she judged Lord Radford with, further lies will only harm us.”
His warning sent the other two marquesses into a rage.
“How dare you! This is all your fault to begin with!”
“Yeah! You made us do it! All because eleven years ago—”
“Enough, Lord Beckford!” Slade shouted.
“True. I have already decided the outcome of today’s questioning,” Luxeria said.
The room fell silent, the nobility staring daggers at Slade. Just as he said, their mere presence in this questioning had ensured their sins would never be forgiven. Yet even though they were beyond saving, Bernard Beckford had admitted to something critical. The nobles studied the man who willingly tightened the noose around his own neck.
“Y-yeah! Slade is to blame for everything!”
“That’s right, Your Majesty! He’s responsible for it all!”
Perhaps the other marquesses saw a way out in pinning it all on him.
“Yes! I’ll admit it! My sins are the heaviest of us all!” Slade exclaimed. “And so I demand you two to shut your mouths!”
Layfe and Bernard piled more sins upon Slade’s feet. His enraged, indignant reaction ironically made the first two seem even more foolish—and Slade himself somehow the most honest of the three. It was a darkly comedic moment.
“Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha! Ah ha ha!”
Mocking laughter rang through the hall, turning the entire room ice-cold. The laughter didn’t cause the chill—well, in a way it did. But the nobles heard something horrifying within that laugh. The frigidity sent a chill down their spines, like Death was right there lurking among them. At the same time, an overwhelming force emanated from the throne, threatening to tear the skin off everyone in attendance. No one wished to admit what it was that disturbed them.
Luxeria averted her gaze. “How admirable, Cyrus Slade,” she said with a sickening grin. No, not a grin—it was a twisted shape contorting her lips. “How surprising to think even you can feel familial love.”
She understood that no one seemed to get what had amused her—except Slade, that is. He knew exactly what she was getting at, and the color in his face drained in an instant.
“Of course you want those two to stay quiet. They’re your accomplices. You cannot stand hearing them say things that might inconvenience you…whether it’s about this crime or crimes of the past.”
Slade shivered at her words, but she did not stop. She continued to back him further and further into a corner.
“Did you really believe me ignorant of your sins? Of what the men standing beside you have done?”
Her statement avoided getting to the heart of the matter. Every noble present, Slade included, wanted to hear more—but they couldn’t possibly urge her to continue. The staggering power she exuded stunned everyone into silence.
“F-forgive me, Your Majesty!” Slade pleaded. “My family has nothing to do with this! Every ill act done under my name is my crime, and mine alone—”
“Hah, I know. But surely you know that nothing you say will cease my inquiry.”
“Your Majesty!” he cried, seeking mercy at any cost.
Despite his desire for compassion, the queen coldly delivered her verdict. “The crimes on display here were born from the privileges granted to the Great Five. As such, the families of Weston, Beckford, and Slade will relinquish their titles, and their houses will be no more,” she said, singing the song of their demise. “Furthermore, Bernard Beckford, Layfe Weston, and Cyrus Slade are hereby sentenced to death. Their kin will meet the same fate, and all their allies’ houses will be destroyed.”
The queen’s words were heavy, but her delivery was as light as a feather. The dissonance further chilled the room, and nobody dared to speak.
Amid that silence, a singular question was put forth: “Your Majesty, isn’t that punishment a bit too severe? Even for human trafficking?”
“Human trafficking?” The queen laughed, then grew icy once again. “Bernard Beckford. You claim that the true perpetrator of your crime was Cyrus Slade, yes?”
“Y-yes! That’s right!” Bernard exclaimed.
“And was this the case eleven years ago as well?”
“Yes, I…uh…” Bernard trailed off. The blood drained from his face, leaving him pale and lifeless.
“Hmm? Perhaps we should clarify which incident we’re discussing. Does anyone else here know what happened eleven years ago?”
The queen’s words reflected the very question stirring in the minds of the attending nobles. They’d all been wondering what she meant, but they were afraid to broach the subject. However, there was one thing they all understood: the sight of Bernard quaking with fear was enough to prove something was deeply wrong.
“Layfe? Would you mind telling the audience?” Luxeria prompted.
Layfe’s lips remained sealed.
“What’s wrong? Are your mouths sewn shut? Then I suppose I will be the one to say that it was the three of you who murdered the previous king and queen.”
Time seemed to stop as everyone in the room took in this reveal. Some doubtful murmurs broke out in the crowd, signaling the amount of sway the Great Five held over the kingdom. At the same time, there were cries of shock and disbelief, a sign of how much respect for the royal family still remained.
Luxeria laughed again, quelling the noise once more. The nobles looked upon her in fear and awe, wondering what she would say next.
“You have no energy left to deny it, I see.”
She told nothing but the truth. Layfe Weston’s gaze dropped to the floor as he muttered to himself. Bernard Beckford sullenly stared at the ceiling. Cyrus Slade shrank in on himself like a turtle receding into its shell.
“Gilbert?” Luxeria called, and he stepped forward.
“We have procured evidence detailing an assassination plot hatched by these three men, alongside Vixen Radford. We were able to search their homes in the human trafficking case and found evidence of this heinous act of treason among their belongings. Hence, we were able to arrest them all.”
“And there you have it,” the queen said. “So, Cyrus Slade… Tell me, who is culpable for the crime of treason?”
The marquess didn’t answer. He simply twitched in fear.
By contrast, the queen smiled as if she was greatly entertained. “Accomplices! Is that not what you claimed when I delivered judgment upon the Radfords? With my mother and father dead, there would be no one left to claim the throne. Then the Great Five could become kings. Or would you see it as having your royal status restored? A short-lived dream, in any case.”
For some reason, the more she smiled, the more miserable Luxeria seemed.
“No forgiveness. No mercy. You cannot stop me. I deliver judgment under the authority of the crown.” Her pained smile was difficult to look at. It was like an invisible wound of hers had reopened and begun to bleed.
“Your sentencing has been decided. The inquiry is now over,” Gilbert announced. His cold proclamation put an end to the proceedings.
Afterward, Slade, Beckford, and Weston were executed, as decreed by the queen. Thus, judgment was carried out upon those involved with the assassination of eleven years prior, as well as everyone tied to their families. Endless blood flowed in the name of revenge.
Queen Luxeria’s swift and cruel punishment spread fear across the kingdom. However, this cemented the queen’s capability as a ruler. In an age of chaos not seen since the founding of Ausgrid, Queen Luxeria went above and beyond. Not content with simply weathering the storm, she put her skills to the test and regained control of the government, establishing an enduring political foundation.