Chapter 22: Audience

According to Heine, there had been some changes that applied to the whole kingdom the moment her birthday party was held.

First of all, the 'fire flowers' or more accurately fireworks, was something that had never been seen prior to that party.

The people who saw it, there were the ones that took it as a blessing, but the ones who took it as a bad omen outnumbered the positive.

'The Red Roses of Clareste'.

Whether it was started as a rumor, or if it was done for political purposes, the news broke out vehemently.

Those who saw it firsthand, those who only heard of it, all of them spread out the news like wildfire.

It must be said that rumors, when said by a majority of people, will be considered as not only hearsay but a fact.

"Have you heard of the latest update? The royals are apparently planning to summon the Duke's family to inquire about the accident,"

"I also heard that not long after the Duke's daughter's birthday party, an attack hit the Dukedom,"

"I live nearby and I heard the sounds of collapse. It was so scary, I thought it was an earthquake,"

"Such a shame... Have you heard that the omen and the attack might be because the Duke was involved in black magic? The practice is illegal, an exchange must be made in order for the wielder to obtain massive power,"

"Yeah, a lot of people are speculating that the Duke used black magic to.. commit unforgivable acts,"

"Wow... I thought the Duke was an upright person, but this..."

The people's voices accumulated to form a certain viewpoint. Fake or not, it didn't matter.

Rumors, speculations, when it is said over and over again by thousands, or even the whole population, would it still have no credibility?

Witnesses could be used as evidence even in the modern times. It only needed a lot of similar testimonies, a lot of people in order to convict someone.

"So, you're telling me that they are trying to bring us down?" After listening to Heine's explanation for a bit, Estelle pinched the space between her eyebrows and let off a stressful sigh.

Troubles came in rolling one after the other. She felt entertained as her mundane life was no more, but her current state was difficult to deal with.

As a five year old, there was little she could do in terms of political and social relationships. It was hard to gain trust and credibility as an adult. As a child, this difficulty bar was raised to the heavens.

"Don't know. If the Duke collapsed, the whole kingdom will be thrown into chaos. If they are smart, they won't touch the Duke..." Heine crossed his legs as he theorized. "Only, reputations are easy to ruin. If the Duke has a bad reputation, it will be the same as placing him under house arrest. The higher ups can still use the Duke's power while restraining him from getting stronger,"

The Clareste Dukedom had an important position.

The Kingdom of Alynthi had four major aristocratic families, which were led by two Grand Dukes and two Dukes.

Likewise, the Kingdom was separated into four directions.

Ultimately, the Grand Duke title was only given to the Royalties' close relatives. There were a total of three Grand Dukes, but one of them decided to not fight for the delicious piece of meat that is the four directions' territory.

North, East, West, and the South.

Within these large divisions, smaller territories of different leaderships and sizes, led by other nobles existed. The highest leaders, however, would be the four households.

The cold northern lands was governed by Grand Duke Clyde Riefenstahl, who was the current King's rightful younger brother.

The second relative was Grand Duke Reginald Christensen, who governed over the western lands. He married the King's elder sister and solidified his succession to the position.

Duke Lloyd Vegner was in charge of the eastern lands. To be given the chance to govern over the territory, he was a special case out of the other Dukes.

Duke Alan Clareste, Estelle's father, immediately inherited his title from the previous Duke.

The four dukes were then even further classified into factions, which mainly consisted of three alignments: the Royals, the Neutrals, and the Liberals.

Nobles entered these factions, and although they don't pit against each other openly, the tense relations was always there.

That was the current situation. The territorial leader might rotate in future generations, but changing the leaders often will yield bad results, as proven from the past history.

The only reason why Alan would be targeted this harshly was highly probable to be from his status as a territory leader.

"...My father isn't a man without ambition, but he would never touch the country. It will endanger us, his family and loved ones,"

Alan Clareste was a man whose sole ambition was to better the lives of his people. The definition of a good leader. Although his actions might be perceived as cruel from time to time, people could see that it was for their sake.

"The country doesn't care. The country only cares about the fact that Alan is strong, too strong to be left alone," Heine's gaze turned dark as he recalled the atrocious behaviors the rotten humans showed.

The Dukedom has been getting stronger. Estelle's birth seemed to speed the things up, too. In these five years, the Dukedom was flourishing.

The other

"This 'omen', the plot, it shouldn't have been made in the recent times. At the bare minimum, it must've taken them years if they are staging it to this level. They are completely ready to push your father down, so be careful," Heine advised. The opponent was far too ready when giving a response to the news.

They knew what news would sway the people's hearts. The Clareste Dukedom was well known to people as a cold individual. His closed off, confidential attitude provided a room for the poisonous doubts to slip in.

Causing a rumor like that, Estelle was afraid that even if she didn't show the fireworks, they would've still launched some sort of accusation.

The hatred that caused them to do this, how large was it?

"The summons, when is it?" Estelle knew that her father would never dare to tell her these matters. The fact that Heine was already here, donned in royal garments, it could only mean one thing.

The summons was near, there would not be enough time for her to forge a plan for a counterattack.

Indeed, Heine's reply confirmed her thoughts.

"...In two hours," Heine solemnly said.

"Sorry, but I can't side with you this time. I was invited as a Ruler. I don't want to involve my people, and I sure know that siding with your father would bring consequences to me," Heine's grave expression conveyed everything.

It's not that he wasn't willing to pick her side, it was that he couldn't do so.

As a Ruler, the chosen Spirit King at that, the most important thing was the safety of the Fairy Forest.

The worldly matters of humans, they wouldn't want to involve themselves in it.

Spirits were originally an indigenous race that came from the forests. They were more reclusive compared to others.

Thanks to Heine, who was more open minded in terms of relationship with other races, the situation got better. However, defending the Dukedom was still a silly dream.

"I understand," Estelle was not bothered by Heine's indifference. It wasn't her style to rely on other parties anyway. The only thing on her mind now was how exactly was she going to fix this.

"I can lend you a hand. I'm not tied to anybody except my own sister," Minerva joined the conversation back. "To tell you the truth, I suspected that this would happen, but I did not receive a direct invitation,"

"This condemnation, it would probably be held privately, keeping it as an open secret. There is no formal invitation, but the royals' aim should be to use the public's opinion to their own advantage,"

"Right. You must be careful. The audience.. I'm afraid that most of them would be on the Royals' side this time. You can't expect fairness," Heine advised. Placing the King's people on the trial would help to solidify whatever testimonial they were preparing to fake.

By not opening the discussion to the people, they can force their own narrative when it comes to it.

'The royals are so benevolent, they must've pitied the Duke so much that they hid the settlement.'

'I heard that it was the duke who sought a private audience... The Duke is getting more and more willful as time passes. Outrageous.'

The power of people's words.

It was weak in small numbers, but in a world where rules were set and rights were established, the people's opinions were more valuable than gold.

"It's okay.. It will be fine. I don't believe that my father would not have any means to deal with this. As a child, I can't possibly barge into the confrontation directly," Estelle rubbed her temples as she loathed the fact that she brought up the idea of fireworks just for memories' sake. Even though this was going to happen without a doubt, she could've delayed it for far longer if not for the incident.

If this happened when she was an adult, she would have no problem breaking off any relations with her family and acting on her own to silence them. That way, she would be the only one to shoulder the blame, her family would be safe.

As she said, her role was a 'villainess'.

Since the people was openly against her beloved ones, she had no problems decimating them the same way she did the monsters. There was no difference in her eyes.

However, as a five - year - old child, however, what could she do?

If she revealed her power, it would probably be used as more evidence to back up the theory that there was illegal practice going behind the scenes.

A five - year - old possessing such power was unheard of, even in the dragonkin and spirit races.

Time.

That was what she lacked.

"I'll try to assist you as much as possible. Although I am only invited to bear witness, I can provide a neutral suggestion in the discussion. I won't overstep my bounds, but I will play a fair and wise King for once," Heine assured his newly confirmed disciple.

Even though it was not really a master - disciple relationship and more like a cover for her power and experiments, he did not plan on desecrating this connection as the one who held a master's role.

"That's great. I will go over to my father's side, you can choose to go now. If you stay here any longer, we don't know if there would be a spy placed here. You might get involved,"

The situation was dire.

There was a spy. Estelle was certain about this. It was no longer a speculation, but a fact.

Without one, the narrative would not be so strongly believed and trusted. The clear information, the vivid description, it was not possible unless the person was in both of the incidents themselves.

Someone who was trusted and revered enough for their information to be held credible.

"I know. I wish you luck," Heine quickly departed, not wanting to waste any time.

If he was seen, not only would he be affected, but the Dukedom would probably be charged with the crime of colluding with another nation, specifically the Dukedom's faction.

Stupid. The laws were stupid. It served as a transcript for normal people to follow and abide to, but to the strong, it was something to be manipulated and played with in order to save their reputation when they get involved in a crime.

As one of the powers, the Duke was an upright faction, he did not want to involve himself with stained matters.

The laws that applied to him was the same as the common people, simply because he the ones in charge of law was in support of the 'stained' faction.

Without a doubt, the odds were all against them.

Walking towards her father's study that had been fixed with magic since the monster attack happened, she braced herself once she reached the door.

She had told Minerva to fall back and wait for the news. Replying with an affirmative, Minerva told her that she was going to scout for information and possibly contact her human comrades to get an outlook of the situation.

Knocking gently on the door, she introduced her presence as she called the patriarch in a soft voice.

Receiving a reply, an acceptance to her arrival, she twisted the golden knob that was located in a height just slightly taller than her figure.

"Father, I have received the news," Estelle stepped inside the room as her sight fell onto her stressed mother's figure and a grim expression showed by Alan.

Even though he did not express it with actions, his heart must be stirred like the seas' waves in a storm, unsettled and drowned in worry.

"No matter what happens, I won't let you three be affected. No matter what happens," Alan's resolve could be heard through his voice. His tone was rigid and cold, but his words conveyed warmth and care, the complete opposite.

However, there was an anomaly located inside those same words.

"...You three?" Estelle was dumbfounded.