The crowd was stunned by Dyon’s words…
However, were his deductions really refutable? The movements of the Sigebryht family hadn’t made any sense.
Why would Zaltarish do something like burn down an orphanage and fill it with feces knowing the fact that Grand Elder Cormyth was not an unconditional supporter? It was clear to everyone that the fact Cormyth supported a member of the Grimbold family in inheriting the headmaster position of Mathilde Academy, that he was not all in on the Sigebryht family.
And… if you dismiss it as an act of pure rage instead of one of strategy, then why would he only kill a poor old nanny? Wouldn’t it hurt Dyon more if all of the kids died as well?
Then there was Aeson, why was his death necessary? Not only was the timing odd because it put Dyon directly into the line of questioning… Aeson’s death, no matter how callused it may sound, meant practically nothing.
If the Sigebryht family had a trump card to deal with someone as powerful as Grand Elder Deryth, why would they be worried about an orphaned boy?
Then there was the attack on the princess. What Dyon said was perfect. Sinaht Sigebryht hitched his argument onto the idea that the Acacia family wasn’t fit to rule in the first place. That not only did they not have the best interests of the kingdom in mind, but that even if they did, they had no power to act on those wishes properly…
Why? Because headmaster Acacia was nothing but a figure head. Ri Acacia was a little-known genius who rarely appeared. And Alex Acacia was an interim leader of a flimsy alliance… an alliance that had clearly already turned on her before Dyon began speaking.
If the Sigebryht family felt threatened enough to take action against the princess… wouldn’t that then undermine all of their ideals? Wouldn’t the Sigebryht family seem weak then? For not only using underhanded means, but to actually attack who amounted to nothing more than a teenage girl?
And that was not to even mention Primrose and her role in all of this.
To top it all off… The Eostre family really would be in the best position after all of these things played out…
As a family that had sacrificed so much by becoming pseudo True Empaths, they ironically had the empathy of much of the kingdom. If the Acacia and Sigebryht family both fell from grace… they would be the most likely to succeed the throne.
And yet… there was another major point that made all of this come together… as pseudo True Empaths, which family could possibly be better at finding candidates to be tested for the True Empath constitution… and yet, in the thousands of years since King Acacia rules, not a single one had been found… why was that?
Was it really that the True Empath constitution had once again disappeared?… Or was it that the Eostre family was never searching to begin with?
As everyone slowly thought of these things through, Dyon quietly waited for the exact response he knew was coming. After all, hadn’t he already predicted everything up until now?
And sure enough… it came.
“Where’s your proof? I won’t have you, an outsider, slander my family.
“In addition, you’re clearly not a man of character, so why should anyone believe in your word? Because you say so? Did you ‘say so’ to my daughter to sway her feelings? Did you care about her thoughts when you showed up here parading around another woman? Did you even give her a glance of apology?
“Or, is it somehow also true in your mind that she’s involved? That the girl who wished for nothing more than your safety is somehow an accomplice to this quote-unquote ‘horrible Eostre family’. Is my daughter guilty as well?
“And let’s say you don’t think Jade is involved, you’re clearly still punishing her for actions you THINK her family has taken. You have an inability to separate the actions of a little girl from the alleged sins of her family… which makes you the same hypocrite you called the members of the Aedre family.
“It seems you don’t realize that words mean nothing. Facts can be manipulated, and opinions can be swayed. In the less than 10 minutes you’ve been here, the supposed alliance members of the Princess have switched sides on no less than 3 separate occasions.
“To make things worse. You began your long-winded nonsense by making Sinaht Sigebryht look bad, before reversing it to make us look bad. Since you’re so good at manipulating the facts… again, tell me, why should anyone believe you?”
Wyn Eostre was calm and exuded the air of an elder. It was as though in light of the slandering of his family, he had left his role as angered father, and instead began to act as the true head of his clan.
His resoluteness, calmness, and overall air tight logic made some nod in appreciation. Maybe it was centuries too early for Dyon to be playing with these multi-century old elders…
Dyon smiled, however, there seemed to be an unconcealed killing intent within… a killing intent that made the eyes of the elders sharpen and Ri look at Dyon’s side profile with worry.
‘Did he give up and decide to use force?… did he lose control of his emotions?… he’s still too young…’
Thoughts like this permeated throughout the crowd as Head Eostre looked at Dyon unperturbed.
But… despite the thoughts of everyone else… Dyon’s next words only added fuel to the fire.
“If I came here today, I of course have proof.
“When I act, I don’t do so without thought.
“When I love, it’s not up to you or anyone else to question it.
“When I want to kill, no matter how long it will take, I will make it happen.
“I still remember the tears of those children. I still remember the mutilated corpse of Ms. Everdeen. I still remember feeling that it was all my fault and still feeling that way to this day. I still remember you killing my woman’s close brother. I still remember you attempting to kill her close sister.
“So, let me tell you very clearly. Your flowery words mean nothing in the face of mine.”