Chapter 499: There are no innocents
Leonce appeared unbothered by the glare he received from the Gasqueton representative.
"Balland, Darche, Chappuis, Laclotte, Illouz, Gasqueton," he called the name of one Noble family after the other, with the footage on the screen zooming in on each vampire as its last name was called,
"Whatever names they bear are of no consequence. They are Vampires... They are monsters. And they will receive their due recompense, along with all who aided and abetted their decadent appetite."
’I see...’ Caius thought sullenly. The words leaving Leonce’s lips, along with the Task Force Militant keeping the guests all in the Hall, were painting a terrible picture.
"What are you saying?" Asked the Laclotte representative.
"What does it sound like I’m saying?" Leonce asked,
"You have been found guilty of aiding a Vampire and have been ordered to surrender for swift justice; Execution."
"You’re mad!" Yelled the Darche representative.
"I assure you, I am not," Leonce said calmly, and with a flick of his wrist, he suddenly had a scroll in his hand, its seal was an impression of the Imperial insignia,
"I have here an Imperial Decree arming the Task Force and myself with the authority to persecute all who are found wanting and who threaten the safety of the Capital.
Please, do not make this difficult."
"You really are mad," the Darche representative said with trembling lips and then he turned in Duncan’s direction,
"You represent the Imperial Family. Surely, you have the sense to put a stop to this nonsense."
Duncan’s eyes darted from one accused family to the other, his expression worsening with every look. He opened his mouth to speak but Leonce spoke first.
"Prince Duncan, you are indeed here to represent the Imperial Family. As such, it is your duty to uphold an Imperial Decree, is it not?"
"I— Yes," Duncan said.
There really wasn’t anything he could do. That’s the problem with not having any real power. It can so easily be taken from you or be turned into a puppet to do another’s bidding.
"Splendid," Leonce said, "We can proceed."
"How can there be an execution without a trial," the Chappuis representative said in an irate voice as his Mana signature exploded on his form,
"This is preposterous."
"There has already been a Trial," Leonce said with finality, "You failed."
"We had no idea Harold was a Vampire. This is an unfair judgment!" The Balland Representative pleaded, "You must reconsider!"
"Exactly!" The Illouz representative piped, "We need time to properly consider the matter. We deserve that much grace. We’re not filthy commoners. The Illouz family has existed for centuries— We’re the building blocks for what the Empire is today.
You can’t discard us like this."
Alexia thought she saw Leonce’s eye twitch at the mention of ’filthy commoners’ but it was so quick and so slight that she felt she might have imagined it.
Overall, Leonce Duval was unfazed.
"You want to stall for time?" He asked, sounding close to a laugh despite how neutral his expression remained,
"And what home do you plan to return to?"
Six more Task Force Militants stepped forward then, magical devices in their hands. They activated them and projected screens for all to watch. The footage was of six different estates and territories belonging to each of the six families, and they were being razed by a massive militia of Task Force Militants. There was no audio but the expressions showed cries of agony and terror.
The private armies of the six families were in battle, trying to push back the assault, but they were no match for such a sudden and organized attack.
The entire Hall was silent for a few minutes as more and more fell to the Task Force Militants. Age was irrelevant and magical or martial might didn’t matter either. Everyone in the territories and Estates was slaughtered to the last.
"As you can see, your homes have been searched and wherever your illicit dealings are found, execution follows," Leonce said, as if what was happening on the screens was completely normal.
"YOU SICK BASTARD!" Yelled the Gasqueton representative, "THOSE ARE INNOCENTS!!!"
"There are no innocents. Sifting through the rubbish to find these phantom innocents you are so passionate about is a waste of time and also leads to leaving a cancerous blot that will one day grow and spread the corruption.
All signs of evil must be uprooted in their entirety."
"The only monster here is you!" Lady Alden said and Leonce turned to her.
"Am I to assume you are sympathising with Vampires?" he asked.
"I am sympathising with humans," Lady Alden said, her beautiful jaw set.
"And how would you know?" Leonce asked her simply,
"You Aldens have had dealings with the Ballands, have you not? In all those meetings, sitting across Harold Balland, did you know what he was?
Did you know he was salivating to suck you dry?"
"I—" Lady Alden started but stopped short without having an actual response.
"You didn’t, did you?" Leonce said with a nod like she had proved his point,
"Of course, you didn’t. That is what makes these monsters so dangerous. There is scarcely any magic that can force a reveal. They can roam in your midst and you wouldn’t have the faintest idea.
No matter what the myths may tell you, they are not easy to spot.
So tell me, keeping in mind how easily any of those six could have gotten you alone and done away with you, are you willing to risk your safety to stand up for them?"
No answer.
Caius couldn’t help the wry smile that crept up on his face then.
There was so much pain in those six— no seven screens. But, for fear of a danger they had yet to actually experience beyond being told about, the Nobles were quickly thinking of their own survival.
Caius didn’t blame them. After all, whether or not they had ever actually been in danger of Vampires, the incident two weeks ago proved how dangerous it could be.
Yes, Caius understood the reactions. He understood the fear. He just hated how Leonce Duval was using it to manipulate them to allow him to do something so terrible.
"This is inhumane," Alexia said then. Unlike the other Nobles in the hall, Leonce’s manipulation tactics hadn’t quite worked on her.
"Vampire hunting, torturing, and killing? Knock yourself out. But to kill innocents for a chance of killing a vampire is stupid and makes you no better than the Vampires you hate so much," Alexia continued in a voice that carried, filled with confidence.
Leonce looked over at her and they stared at each other for a few seconds. Whatever Leonce saw in Alexia’s eyes, it robbed him of any desire to argue.
"Let’s agree to disagree, Lady Von Helsing," he said nonchalantly as he slammed the scroll against his palm and looked at representatives of each of the six families in turn,
"What matters here is that I carry an Imperial Decree and shall do as I have been commanded.
Surrender and this will be swift."
"To Hell it will!" Said the Gasqueton representative as he took on a battle stance while his personal Guards armed themselves.
The other five families followed his lead. There was clearly no reasoning with the madman that was Leonce Duval. Their only hope for survival was to fight their way out of this.
"Gods," Duncan said with wide eyes. The look in them were those of horror at what was still happening on the screens and what was about to happen here.
Caius just shook his head. He couldn’t care less about the actual individuals representing the six families, but he definitely cared what this meant for the hunt for Vampires by the Task Force;
They were creating a precedent for the complete extermination of entire families—thousands upon thousands of lives—for the active discovery of just six vampires. That brutality and coldness really did not bode well for the future.
