Chapter 107: A Traitor Unmasked
King Iskara paused before his throne, his dark red eyes sweeping across every single soul in the room until they finally landed on Evelyn. His commanding voice rang through, "You may rise."
Eve straightened, lifted her gaze to meet the king’s. To her surprise, his expression softened into a smile as he said, "Welcome, Princess Evelyn Lumeath Starforged."
A wave of whispers rippled through the court at the king himself publicly welcoming and introducing the princess before the court.
Evelyn bowed to Iskara once again, "Thank you for having me here, Your Majesty."
Iskara smiled faintly and gave her a slight nod before taking his seat upon the throne. Only then did the others follow suit. His gaze shifted briefly to Cece, Damien, and Edward, offering them a slight nod of acknowledgement, before settling on Ivan. Father and son exchanged a glance, and Iskara then turned to his advisor.
"What is on the agenda today?" the king asked.
Cassian bowed and unfurled a scroll. "Your Majesty, the first agenda is regarding an incident that took place three days ago in the city of Welfort." He handed a report to the King and continued, "The incident involved the abduction of Princess Evelyn Lumeath Starforged from Blood Moon Academy, at approximately the tenth hour of the night. She was successfully recused by Prince Ivan and his knights, the Ignis Blades. During this rescue operation, Prince Ivan apprehended several vampire nobles engaged in dark magic rituals, intending to use Princess Evelyn as a sacrifice. Those nobles have been taken into custody and now await your judgment."
By the time he finished, whispers filled the court like the buzzing of bees, as most of the ministers had been unaware of the incident until this very moment, except for a trusted few.
Iskara, already well aware of the entire incident, still went through the report, setting it on the table. His wise red eyes softened as they turned to Evelyn.
"Princess Evelyn," he said, his voice carrying gently through the chamber, "may I ask you to recount the incident in your own words?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," she rose from her chair and clasped her hands together. "Three nights ago, while I was in my room, I heard a knock at my door. Upon opening it, I didn’t see anyone, except for a note left on the floor. The letter appeared to be written in Prince Ivan’s handwriting, requesting that I meet him at the back gate of the academy. Since Prince Ivan is my assigned partner under the buddy system, and he had not attended classes that entire week, I went to check. But when I arrived, no one was there.
Before I could make sense of it, I was ambushed by darkrots. They covered my face with a strange substance that soon made me lose consciousness. When I next awoke, I found myself imprisoned in a dark cell." She paused briefly, steadying her breath, then continued, "After what felt like hours alone, the darkrots dragged me to a hall where a ritual had been prepared. They bound me upon a stony platform, intended as a sacrifice."
"When they started chanting, I felt an excruciating pain spread throughout my body, and the next thing I remember was seeing Prince Ivan, who had intercepted the ritual and rescued me. That was when I lost consciousness."
Murmurs rippled through the courtroom as the weight of Evelyn’s words sank in, sending shockwaves amongst the officials present.
Iskara let the noise linger only for a moment before his deep voice cut through the air, "Silence!" Instantly, the entire courtroom fell silent.
Turning his attention back to Evelyn, he said, "Thank you for reiterating the incident for us, Princess Evelyn. You may be seated."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," She settled herself back into her chair, her gaze flickering towards Ivan, who wore a faint smile as he reached beneath the table, gently taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Eve then heard Iskara, "Prince Ivan, I received your written report on this matter. Now I would like you to present your findings before the court."
Ivan gave his father a slight nod, letting go of Eve’s hand. He stood up, "Your Majesty, last week I was on a special mission with my Ignis Blades Knights, tasked with locating and eradicating the hideouts of the dark magic practitioners. Three days ago, when I received intel that the city of Welfort had been compromised and was being used as a stronghold by darkrots, I immediately made my way there from a nearby village. By the time I arrived, it was already three in the morning, and what I discovered was shocking to say the least, Your Majesty."
Ivan paused, his molten red eyes sweeping over each minister to gauge their reaction before continuing in a measured voice, "What shocked me most was to find that the dark ritual was being conducted at the Cloak Castle, the estate belonging to Marquess Lester Viremont."
Gasps and whispers rippled through the chamber, some faces turned pale in disbelief, while the others hardened into grim masks. aghast with the knowledge.
Abruptly, the Minister of Public Welfare and Safety shit to his feet, his voice sharp with outrage, "Is this some kind of joke, Prince Ivan?! How can you so carelessly cast accusations against the highly respected Marquess Viremont? What proof do you have?"
Evelyn and Edward were both stunned that someone had dared to raise their voice at Ivan like that. They silently thought that the minister must be digging his own grave too early. Lighting a candle for him in their mind, they sat quietly, watching the scene unfold.
Ivan’s sharp voice cut through the murmurs, "Minister of Public Welfare and Safety Ozen Oswald, do I look like I’m cracking a joke, or has the royal court itself become a joke to you? I haven’t even completed my report, and yet here you are, screaming like a caveman, as if that will somehow alter the truth."
"D-Did you just call me a caveman?" Ozen asked in disbelief.
"If you act like one, you will be called what you are," Ivan replied nonchalantly. "Now if you would kindly refrain from interrupting me, I would like to finish my report...unless, of course, you would prefer me to silence you."
"I-Is that a threat, Prince Ivan? A threat to a minister in a royal court!" Ozen yelled again, his voice cracking under both anger and fear.
Ivan gave him a cold smile, "Threat? If you wish to take my words as a threat, then rightly do so. But let me make one thing very clear to you, minister or not," Ivan paused, his eyes flaring crimson as he fixed Ozen with a gaze of a predator, "if I ever deem you as a threat to my kingdom, or my people, or the crown, you. will. be. dealt. with. For I am someone who does not discriminate when it comes to criminals....whether they practice dark magic or disrupt the sanctity of the royal court."
Ozen, who was unable to withstand the crushing pressure of Ivan’s vampiric powers, swallowed hard. Trembling, he sank back into his seat, sweat beading on his brow.
The entire court became absolutely silent, shaken by the prince’s display of his formidable powers. Damien had a wide smirk on his face in amusement, while Iskara’s face remained unbreakable, but his eyes gleamed with pride. Edward, Cece and Eve, who had expected something like this to happen or worse, felt no sympathy for the minister. After all, the man asked for it.
Then with a single blink, Ivan’s eyes returned to their normal hue, the suffocating weight of their aura vanishing as though it had never been. He turned to his father and said, "My apologies, Your Majesty."
His father gave him a nod, and Ivan continued, "Now, where was I before being rudely interrupted?" He turned to Cassian, prompting him to respond robotically, "You had revealed that it was Marquess Lester Viremont’s Cloak Castle, where you discovered the ritual taking place."
"Right," With all the mockery gone, Ivan’s voice cut through sharp as a razor. "Marquess Lester Viremont is nothing but a traitor who doesn’t deserve the title of Marquess. Not only was he involved in dark magic practices, but he also provided his Cloak Castle as a safe haven for the vile darkrots. I have reports and evidence that Lester Viremont wrongfully imprisoned local citizens on false charges and then supplied those people to the darkrots for sacrificial rituals."
He glanced at Alex, who stepped forward and handed him the report.
Ivan went on, his tone heavy with disgust, "Not only did he use those prisoners for sacrifice, he also abducted children, abused them physically, and handed them over to the darkrots so that no one would ever discover what a sick monster he truly was."
The king’s face twisted in revulsion as he went through the reports. Eve felt her stomach churn at the new knowledge. She could not believe someone could be so disgusting as to do something like that to children.
