Chapter 54 - The Scroll!

The king looked at her with a trace of confusion floating in his eyes. His brows furrowed as he pursed his lips and asked, "What are you talking about?"

A deathly silence descended on the crowd before him. There were two rows of officers on either side of him, and they all looked with curious eyes at the princess, who was standing directly in front of them. Bloodshed and tension were still rife at this time of day. Everyone's eyes were filled with concern. But they were more curious about why Edda entered the courtroom filled with officers and spoke in such a tone.​​

Could it be that she held no desire to live at all?

But none of them intervened to stop her in her tracks. No one even thought about the war that was still raging at the time or about the soldiers who died at the eastern gate a moment ago. It was much more pleasant for them to sit inside a courtroom and witness such a drama. Curtains blocked heat waves coming from outside, keeping the room warm. Only because the door was still open did everyone realize it was still summertime.

Edda and her soldiers, along with Prince Heath, walked into the hall and left mud stains on the red carpet, but no one bothered to clean it.

Everything was as quiet as if it were an examination hall of the modern-day.

Seeing the innocent face of His Majesty, the princess's anger grew. As she glared at him, her face turned red. "You still have the audacity to ask me this question. Where did you hide him? Huh? Every one of your plans has been revealed! You cannot escape the dynasty officials and me now! I know everything!"

The king was even more confused now. Just what did this girl know? For a moment, his mind drifted toward the ongoing war, and his mind got agitated. "Can't you do this after I deal with the war? The enemy is already at the gate, and yet, you are creating havoc. Do you want to die?"

"Sure, sure," said the girl. "You want to run away after destroying everything around here, don't you?" Edda's eyes turned red with anger. "Really, I haven't seen someone as hypocritical as you. What a clever way to turn things around!"

It became annoying to hear such offensive comments about Rhesus. The officials couldn't take it anymore. One of them stood up from his chair and said with a trace of anger in his tone, "Even though you're the princess, you should respect His Majesty! He's above you in status! Do you want to die an early death?!"

Others nodded at his words and joined in scolding the princess, who laughed out of anger and glared at all of them before throwing a scroll that she had been carrying with her on her waist. It was an ancient-looking scroll that looked almost like it had been passed down from many hands to make its condition worrisome. Its red color was dull as it was marked with scratches and thumbprints. "You all won't say the same thing after reading this. It's evidence I have acquired about how your beloved king, Rhesus, has become mad after possessing so much power and is planning to destroy the entire kingdom!"

Murmur spread across the hall. The crowd that was silent before glanced at each other in disbelief. The majority of them were looking at her as if they were seeing a dead person. She was accusing him of being a traitor to the kingdom. Was there anything that made her any different from a deceased person? They were sure that the king would get so angry to throw her in the cell right this instant.

It didn't happen like that, however. His Rhesus's eyebrows furrowed even more as he began to realize that the scroll he had been handed was, in fact, 'fake evidence' that would undoubtedly prove him wrong.

A thought flashed in his mind. What if the rise of criminal activities around the kingdom was also connected with this situation?

At this point, his heart began to sink. If his suspicions were correct, his son might have been planning all of this for some time. But before he could ask someone to fetch the scroll, another officer picked it up out of curiosity and started reading it out loud.

"There's no mention of who wrote this letter, but we shall begin," said the officer as he started reading the scroll from the start out loud. "There's been evidence present in the paper about how Rhesus had killed the former crown prince about twenty years ago. The evidence of blood and weapon used are all present there, along with the documented statement of one of the people still alive from that day. The short conclusion is that King Rhesus is responsible for the bloodshed that had occurred all those years ago."

Everyone's eyes widened as their heads snapped in the direction of the king, but the officer frowned and continued reading. "The king, however, didn't stop there. He found an ancient magic scroll that contained a forbidden spell that could make him even more powerful. That's what's causing everything that has been going on in the kingdom right now, including the increase in criminal activity." The officer didn't wait for anyone to interrupt him. Even when the king himself said 'STOP' loudly, he didn't stop and continued reading. He had just discovered a terrible secret, and his face had turned pale.

The officer turned the scroll down and read the content. "While plotting, Rhesus included his only daughter and created havoc to complete the secret formation. If the king wanted to become powerful, he would have to sacrifice millions of people to a Demon Lord. One could say that the king's special soldiers are responsible for the ongoing war and for the so-called enemy that has been holed up on his border!" The officer paused for a moment as if taking time to digest the content before opening his mouth again. "Prince Linton, who had heard the king discussing this plan with his servants, was imprisoned in a dungeon before the war began."