Chapter 94
The reconvened noble council was enveloped in unprecedented chaos.
News of the treason of Marquis Daniel Klaus Gregory, the Emperor’s brother, his accomplice Antonio and his wife, and the black dragon’s appearance during the fierce battle had spread instantly throughout the Empire.
“How could the Marquis have planned such a thing? He who was always so benevolent…”
“I hear Sir Antonio’s wife was once a famous dragon hunter. How horrifying that such a wretched person was in the imperial palace under dragon protection.”
“Then, was everything planned treason from the discovery of Idelin’s scales in the Dragon King’s corpse?”
Someone clicked their tongue.
“They say Sir Antonio deliberately harmed His Highness. That’s why he received proof of innocence at the dragon shrine.”
“…We had such peace without such unsettling incidents for a while, why did this have to happen when the Emperor was bedridden…”
“The timing of the black dragon’s appearance is quite curious. Perhaps it truly is a being that brings calamity to the Empire.”
“Silence!”
Various conversations made the hall noisy. The chamberlain at the high seat called for silence, quelling the commotion.
The seats’ owners, the Crown Prince and Prince, had not yet appeared. Realizing their imminent arrival from the chamberlain’s call, the nobles fell silent as one.
After a brief interval, the doors connecting to the nobles’ seating opened on both sides. All noble eyes turned that way. Heavily armed soldiers first cleared the path, and soon a white-haired man appeared, seated in a wheeled chair.
The quiet noble gallery instantly became noisy again.
“…Your Majesty!”
“How could His Majesty…”
“Have you regained your health?”
First amazement, then voices thick with emotion rose complexly from various places. Breaking through the nobles’ commotion of merely crying “Your Majesty” in surprise, Crown Prince Hendrick and Prince Carl stepped to the high seats behind the Emperor.
“Be silent.”
Leaving empty the high seat previously occupied by the Crown Prince for the Emperor, Hendrick stood beside him and called to the nobles.
“May the dragon’s glory reach the heavens!”
Someone in the noble gallery called out loudly upon seeing the Emperor. Others followed, crying “May the dragon’s blessing reach the heavens!” as all rose from their seats.
It had been three years since the Emperor had directly appeared at a noble council.
“Be seated.”
Unfortunately, the Emperor’s face, having been bedridden for so long, was not healthy. With his illness-worn face, leaning his weight in the chair, he looked utterly exhausted as if just sitting drained all his strength.
“We shall begin the trial of the Empire’s traitor, former Marquis Daniel Klaus Gregory and his accomplice, Sir Antonio Carter.”
“Bring forth the accused!”
Hendrick, seated beside the Emperor as his proxy, conducted the trial. When the chamberlain called out following Hendrick’s words, the lower doors opened and soldiers poured into the council chamber.
The former Marquis and Antonio entered, their bodies fully bound, under guard by dozens of soldiers.
Though their appearance was terrible with unkempt hair and unwashed bodies, Antonio, who had been imprisoned in the underground dungeon and not directly involved in the final confrontation, maintained a relatively composed face.
However, the former Marquis beside Antonio had disheveled his hair like a madman. Unable to look at the high seats with his clouded eyes, he showed signs of extreme terror and confusion.
The nobles whispered again at their appearance.
“Having stripped your title for the crime of treason, from now on you shall be addressed by your original name, Daniel Klaus.”
Though Hendrick spoke, the former Marquis, no, the former prince whose family name had changed again, showed no reaction. His slumped shoulders suggested a person who had lost his mind.
“Former Prince Daniel Klaus. Do you acknowledge your heinous crimes of instigating the Dragon Hunter Revenant to assassinate the Dragon King and attempting to usurp the throne?”
The Emperor, who had been leaning back in his wheeled chair, moved for the first time to rest his arms on the table. It was a gesture as if trying to hear even a little more of his brother’s final defense, the man who until recently held the title of Marquis.
“…I, I was merely incited by the dragon hunter’s words, Your Majesty.”
“Incited… Then, are you saying your attack that stabbed me was also unavoidable because of Dragon Hunter Revenant?”
Hendrick pulled his lips into a cold smile. The former Marquis trembled, bowing his head so low his forehead nearly touched the floor.
“That… that was because I felt threatened and had no choice…”
“You stand accused not only of attempting to murder me, the Crown Prince, but also of guiding the dragon hunter through the underground maze to assassinate the Dragon King. Do you acknowledge this?”
“No, no. Everything was planned by that Revenant and her husband Antonio…!”
Antonio, who had been quietly waiting his turn with bowed head, looked at the former Marquis with an incredulous expression. Though the former Marquis had lost his reason to extreme fear, Antonio seemed dumbfounded by his attempt to place all blame on the dead Revenant and himself.
“What are you saying? Weren’t you the one who first planned to frame Prince Carl for the Dragon King’s assassination using Idelin’s scales that Revenant possessed!”
“What! How dare you cast such false accusations, you!”
The former Marquis roared at Antonio, trembling as if having a fit.
“I didn’t even know about living dragon bones or such terrible things. I had no idea that deranged woman had murdered the Dragon King so horrifically!”
Antonio’s face paled at the former Marquis’s attempt to clear his name without even changing expression.
Carl watched the former Marquis and Antonio coldly as they created internal division before their judgment for treason.
“Your Majesty, if I may dare speak, I played only the smallest role in this incident!”
“Antonio! How dare you try to escape blame!”
“I didn’t even know my chance-met fiancée was a dragon hunter, nor that she had Idelin’s scales, nor her obsession with dragons!”
Antonio, backed into a corner, fell prostrate on his knees as if wronged. The nobles watched the traitors intently, not even breathing, as they created conflict among themselves, presaging a series of revelations.
“Tell us the details of this incident.”
Hendrick spoke on behalf of the Emperor. The former Marquis stared at Antonio with a panicked face, but Antonio was already certain that he would not take his side.
“Everything began when I took her as my wife. While patrolling my domain, I happened to meet her. She showed particular affection for my dragon Brita rather than the usual reverence or fear, and I fell in love at first sight with her love for dragons and married her. At that time, I had no idea she was a dragon hunter. Riona was just an alias.”
“…”
“The planning of this incident began when the Marquis, who was acquainted with me, visited and happened to bring up His Highness the Prince. When the Marquis began expressing discontent about having to step down without even being able to claim succession rights despite being a dragon master, Riona, no, Revenant, who was listening, brought out Idelin’s scales. That’s when I learned her true identity.”
