Chapter 277: Close the academy.
The king rose, his expression one of authority. "Human children are children of this empire. They are my citizens, deserving of my protection. But like every empire, there are dark corners where light doesn’t shine in time. This is sadly, one of those corners, it seems. Bring me the head if the discipline board," he commanded. His voice thundered through the air.
Timothy replied with a smile, "Already detained, your Highness. He tried to escape after Lady Sienna’s round up, but the fox lord had already ordered for the academy to be cordoned off for further investigation even before this trial started. He awaits judgement."
The queen leaned forward, her voice trembling. "One hundred and eighty nine. How many more were never logged?"
Sienna’s voice broke, raw and desperate. "Too many. Too many to count. And I am not joking anymore when I say that if humans are not considered part of this empire, then give us our own part of the continent. Let me be empress. Let me protect my kind, since beasts will not." She sighed. "The largest number of targets in that file are human. Every name is a scar. Every scar is a failure of this empire. These teachers looked away because most of the victims were human."
The crowd erupted in whispers. Teachers wept, guards exchanged uneasy glances and the Rocland’s stood tall, their loyalty unshaken.
The king’s eyes narrowed, the queen’s lips trembled.
The king raised his voice. "I will protect the humans because they are my people. If I did not care, I would not have put in place all of the rules that exist to protect them. Bad things happen Sienna and when they do, it is my job to correct them. I will give the victims justice. Their voices will not be silenced, and they will be heard. You can be empress of the Veythar family. I will keep my empire as it is."
The air was a bit uneasy again. Was this a clash between Sienna and the king?
Elias hugged her before she could respond. Sienna shook her head, a smile on her lips. She responded to the king, "Who wants to be empress anyway? Running one office is tiring enough for me. All I truly want is justice for the victims, for my brother. For my cousins. For the parents, sisters and brothers like myself that have been affected by this. When you do confiscate the property of the Prime Envoy, please compensate us well, especially Sophia Ward and the sparrow whose wings were clipped." She sighed, "Who am I kidding? I can’t choose who had it worse. These children all suffered in their own ways."
Guards dragged a man to the front. It was Mr. Costner, the head of the discipline board. He was a crow beast man whose eyes now gleamed with a mix of fear and defiance.
Before his questioning could begin, he shouted loudly, "The Prime Envoy’s family threatened me." His wings twitched as though he might take flight. "Everyone knows that when a Risser makes a request, you don’t say no. They demanded that I keep the records of all their children in the academy clean. They asked for silence and obedience. They even made us alter grades for some children of noble or wealthy families. I didn’t want to do it. But how could I fight them?"
Gasps ripple through the air. Some teachers stiffened, caught off guard, while others turned pale, their guilt written across their faces.
Sienna squeezed Elias’s arm. "Did you hear that? He said Risser children, not one child. That means other children from that family were also problematic and he wiped their records clean. And they cheated too!" She felt the weight of vindication pressing against her chest. She had not been wrong to accuse them of corruption. The floodgate into this rot had just burst open.
The headmaster rose, pale faced and furious, pointing to Mr. Costner with a trembling finger. "Cheating!" He bellowed. "Cheating! You mean that you tampered with academic records! You falsified grades!" He turned to the teachers around him, eyes red with fury. "Who did it? I am going to kill you today. I will make sure that you fools never get a job in the education circle ever again. Do you know how long this academy has been standing? Our stellar reputation is one of the reasons for our glory. How could you ruin it like this?" He groaned and looked up to the sky.
The king rose, his aura filling the air with suffocating authority. His voice was thunder. "Arrest them all." He commanded. "Everyone here and any that Sienna left behind. And the Prime Envoy and his family. All of the Risser’s. Transfer everyone involved in this case to Beckam station for a deeper and proper investigation."
Mrs. Sprouse fainted on the spot.
Others started to weep.
"Why are they crying?" Sienna whispered to Elias.
He sneered. "Because Beckam station is a sort of prison but not really a prison. It is the prime investigation center for the royal family. Whatever secrets they have accumulated from the day they were born will be known by the time they leave. And the time is unknown. It could be a month, a year, or ten years. As long as they want you there, you will stay inside. It is easy to enter Beckam station, but coming out is not guaranteed."
Enforcers and palace agents surged forward, wings and claws flashing as they seized. the Risser’s, the bullies, the teachers and everyone else that been rounded up. The Prime Envoy shouted in protests, but his words drowned beneath the king’s decree.
"The academy is to be closed provisionally," the king continued, his tone final. "All students will return home. Lessons will be conducted online by schools approved by the royal office at no extra cost. The royal press will announce this tonight. You can all wait for updates."
Sienna’s heart pounded. The scale of the decision was immense and it was justified. But she couldn’t help feeling pity for the headmaster. He had not been in the loop and now, the academy, once a proud institution, shuttered in disgrace.
"I made the right decision." She muttered.
Elias squeezed her hand. "Yes you did. The innocent will not suffer and the guilty will pay for their crimes. When the academy reopens, the environment will be safer and fair for all."
Sienna took a deep breath.
The royals departed soon after, their procession leaving behind a silence heavy with shock.
"You know what the irony is?" Elias’s lips curved upwards in a small smile. "The Prime Envoy insisted on bringing the King and Queen here to deal with you against my warning. I can’t help thinking that if you had handled this on your own, nobody would be going to Beckam station. The grade corruption would not be revealed and the Prime Envoy would still have a chance at keeping his position. Now, he has lost everything."
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