The Crown’s Entrapment

At Great Hall, Castle Cordon

Darius gritted his teeth as his burning eyes narrowed wildly at the people before him. He didn’t dare speak at the moment, letting Chancellor Talon handle the situation because he wasn’t confident how long he could hold back the fury boiling him at the moment.

“We’ll conduct a thorough investigation on this matter, Your Majesty,” his Chancellor assured him. “We’ll make sure to find out who is responsible for that malicious parchment being sent among the gifts.

[Remain calm. This is what Nasser wants, seeing you go haywire apart from dying of pain if Xen dies inside the forest,] Zeus assuaged him. [Don’t give him what he wants.]

In his mind, his wolf kept on reminding him of the obvious, but even he could feel the great fury burning within his mental companion.

Closing his eyes, he tried his best to calm his trembling body and ease the tightness building up inside his chest. With his eyes still closed, Darius clenched his fists hard till his knuckles turned white, his voice almost cracking as he spoke.

“This is treason. Any attempts to have my mate killed is equivalent to an attempt at killing the king,” Darius coldly declared. “Whoever is responsible for this shall pay the price with his life. Whoever it could be might already think that it’s all been planned well enough, however, and they might even attempt to point the blame on the wrong person if they were good enough.”

Darius then smirked as he slowly opened his eyes. His gaze darted across the audience, particularly at Nasser and his minions before then looking at everyone else.

“A horrendous death will come to whoever is responsible for this malicious attempt at my wife,” Darius firmly stated. “Arrest everyone that is involved in this attempt. Bring them all to me for judgment!”

At his command, the Great Justiciar stepped forward. He was about to bow and receive the order when Darius looked at Commander Jargon and said, “Arrest this man.”

Commander Jargon, who was inside the great hall, moved forward together with the rest of the palace guards to apprehend the surprised man.

“What is going on, Your Majesty?” the great justiciar gasped,  his face pale at the accusation.

Everyone in the hall was surprised to see the Great Justiciar being dragged onto the ground at that instant.

“What is the meaning of this, Your Majesty?” Elder Nasser barked out. “He’s our Great Justiciar, our senior judge to uphold the law and order of this kingdom!”

“Precisely, and he’s not doing his responsibility with loyalty. He will be brought to the gallows to be hanged to death,” Darius coldly explained with his full authority.

He then looked at Chancellor Talon, the man having stepped forward as he spoke. “There is enough evidence that has been gathered against the Great Justiciar that proves his crimes and disloyalty to the kingdom.”

To everyone’s surprise, the door then swung open, the men and women that have been victimized by the Great Justiciar stepping forth to stand witness. There were documents and parchments proving how guilty the Justiciar was for bribery as well, only adding more to his already growing list of crimes.

“If none of you are still convinced, then you are all free to visit our Great Justiciar’s hidden properties,” Darius mocked aloud. “I’m sure you’ll find everything there, including the women that he’s keeping aside from his legal wife, will be there to greet you.”

The Great Justiciar was speechless as he ended up slumping on the floor. Seeing the sorry act, Darius shook his head. “According to the law, you should be punished by death, including your family and your entire household…” he coldly announced.

“However, I will spare those within your family and household that did not conspire with your crimes, so long as you will pinpoint everyone who you had a transaction with.”

“This isn’t the proper way to do this!” Nasser cried in outrage. “We should have a proper trial!”

“Why are you being funny, Elder Nasser? The Senior Judge is standing here in trial right now, don’t you see?” Darius burst out in a fit of laughter. “Who else can judge him now except the highest authority in this room, which is myself?!”

Without waiting for any more nonsense coming from the Elder shivering in subtle fear, Darius looked at Commander Jargon and said, “We’re done here. Get this criminal into prison and interrogate him so that he could at least save the honor of his family and his whole household.”

He added, “Tomorrow, he shall be hanged on the gallows as soon as the sun rises. Let every Cordonian witness the event and have his body displayed for everyone to see. Let him be an example that even the highest authority in the land should be punished for the wrong that they’ve done. Any disharmony in the Law and Order of the Kingdom of Cordon should be punished accordingly and fairly for every Cordonian.”

“All hail, His Majesty, for His Benevolence!” one of the victims shouted as she bowed down to her knees.

A second later, eveyone inside the room followed her example as they stood against the Great Justicar.

“All hail, His Majesty, for His Benevolence!”

“But his majesty, who would replace the Great Justicar?” one of the Elder nervously questioned, while the rest started murmuring among themselves about who could possibly be the best fit for the now vacant position.

“I believe there is no other man who would fit best for the position except for the man who had worked hard in this case,” Darius began. “He is a dedicated man who will do his utmost to bring down every person who has any intentions of causing disharmony within our kingdom. He is someone who can’t be bribed, and who will judge fairly on every single case…”

Everyone nodded in agreement. A man of that character would truly fit best for the position of Great Justiciar. However…

“Who is that man then, Your Majesty?” another Elder asked.

Darius smiled, not because he was excited to introduce the new Great Justicar, but because he was way too pleased with seeing the sweat trickling down Nasser’s face. He then dragged his eyes towards the Great Constable Gilas.

Like usual, he was being stoic, and he seemed to be planning something of some importance. However, even up to now, Gilas was still clean from any involvement concerning his father, and to that, he was pleased with his handiwork.

“Let him enter,” Darius authoritatively stated as he signaled the guards to open the door.

“Please welcome, our new Great Justicar…”

Everyone gasped when the door swung open. Casually, a man walked forward towards Darius before he then bent on his knees, bowing his head as he said, “I am grateful to receive His Majesty’s orders, and I am deeply honored to be of great service for the peace and order in our kingdom, Your Majesty.”