Chapter 65: Hidden Card

"The power of witches is far more than a mere group of assassins," said one minister who couldn't seem to accept what the investigator said.

The King gave the minister a sneer. "Enlighten us, minister. What kind of powers do witches hold?" 

"Y-Your Majesty, please stay your anger. The previous night, we saw what they could do. Just by screaming, a witch has caused chaos inside the palace. Dealing with two knights must only take one evil glare from them, perhaps a chant or a black magic spell," the minister mumbled. "Remembering those vicious purple eyes gives me a shiver."

"If one evil glare can work, why do these high and mighty witches even need to use a sword to fight with the guards. Is that not a waste of time, my lord?" asked the investigator, who tried to be polite, but from his taunting tone, one could guess he didn't like how the minister doubted the results of his investigation.

"We heard they like to play with their prey."

"Seems like the minister is familiar with lots of witches around to have so much information about them," the King commented sarcastically.

"Your Majesty, that's common knowledge about witches that everyone is aware of," the minister countered.

"When you don't have any proof about what exactly happened inside the tower premise, then you should refrain yourself from stating any information as a fact. The royal court does not need a minister who makes conclusions based on mere shallow knowledge from hearsays, much less some obscure books."

The minister paled at the veiled threat. "The information about witches in the books and what people talk and hear about is based on the facts that happened in the past." 

"Has anyone witnessed it personally?" asked the King as he glared at the minister who just talked. "Minister of Internal Revenue, last time when you were accused of corruption, did the royal court not spare you just because they were based on what we heard and there was no proof? Shall I consider it that those hearsays were based on the facts that happened behind the curtains?"

The minister was taken aback, and the King glared at the rest of the ministers who made their stand against the Third Princess. "I have something for you all. Eudes!"

Lord Eudes handed the King one scroll. He unrolled it, with the contents of the long scroll facing towards everyone. "Here is the list of people about whom I have been hearing lots of things, but I have been sparing them due to lack of evidence which I will get soon. As a king, I am thinking if I should just trust those hearsays, or should I wait for the proof before punishing the culprits?"

A heavy silence filled the hall.

King Armen might not be a good father, but he was a capable ruler. Inside the kingdom, his intelligence network was second to none. Though he usually kept his silence whenever he heard nobles and officials doing misdemeanors, he never failed to collect the weaknesses of these people, keeping them as hidden cards for days such as today. Just as these factions thought they could corner the king, the king would suppress them again.

Lord Darus gave a sidelong glance at Queen Niobe, who had remained silent during the entire session. Although he caught her eyes, the Queen remained unmoved, as if she was not concerned with what was going on. Lord Darus had the responsibility to prove Seren guilty and have her end by either burning her like what happened with the witches in the past or throwing her out of the kingdom as a banished royal stripped out of her title. But looking at the current scenario, either proposal looked difficult to implement.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs gave an awkward cough. "Your Majesty, may we please return to discussing the previous night's incident? The entire palace was turned upside down—"

"That is what we are discussing here, Minister Count," Lord Eudes interrupted him, still donning a courteous smile as he added. "The minister's concern is the scream itself that brought chaos into the palace, while the royal family's concern is to find out the root of the incident. Who planned such a horrific incident inside the tower's premise to scare the Third Princess? His Majesty is more concerned with this entire situation more than anyone else here. The incident not only affected Her Highness the Third Princess but the entire palace, harming the royal household. We assure you, ministers, that as soon as the investigation is completed, the culprit will get exactly what the culprit deserves—to be beheaded after a public trial."

With those words, no one dared to bring up the issue again. 

King Armen gestured towards the investigator. "Find out who those assassins are and who had sent them."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Once we get proof, we will see the culprit properly punished," the King assured as he let his gaze roam around the royal court.

With the issue dropped, albeit temporarily, the royal court continued their session by addressing the other remaining issues in their agenda, like the successful rescue of Prince Cian, the latest update on the state of war, and the spreading plague in the western part of the kingdom.

-------

Inside the military barracks of the Abethan Royal Army, things were much calmer compared to the main palace. Last night's incident woke up the soldiers but did not harm them. The quarters of the soldiers mostly had a stone and wooden architecture with no glass windows. As each room was designed with simplicity and convenience as its core, they had no large ornaments or figurines that would cause large injuries on anyone if shattered. The small items the soldiers kept, like water bottles and cups, only caused a handful of cuts on a few unlucky soldiers who happened to be sitting or sleeping near them. 

For the soldiers of Megaris left behind by Drayce inside the capital of Abetha, most of them were left puzzled by the chaos they observed from the Abethan soldiers during the middle of the night. At first, they thought there was an enemy attack, but the Abethan soldiers told them that was not the case. As guests, their assistance was refused by the guards and servants who were busy running around the palace grounds, and thus, they were unaware of the details that caused an uproar inside the palace.