Back inside the castle, Acrisios walked towards the main meeting hall with a scowl.
"Those bastards!" He growled as Theodos, his councilor, explained the situation to the king.
"After I let them into my country, they dare start trouble?"
Since it was an important matter, Theodos already took the liberty of "inviting" the responsible party to the castle. Acrisios was grateful for that as it saved him a lot of time.
"The Moonmare representatives are already in the hall, Your Majesty," Theodos said as soon as a servant whispered something in the councilor's ear.
"Good, good!" The king said with a smile, hiding anger and suppressed viciousness.
Rounding up a corner, the king looked upon the tall doors that led into the main hall. Two Royal Guards stood on either side of the doors and bowed as soon as they saw their liege come into view.
Acrisios spared them not even a glance, pushing the doors open himself.
As a seventh-tiered cultivator himself, the doors, which weighed more than 300kg each (roughly 650ish pounds), were slammed open with such force the walls supporting them shook, threatening to break something loose.
Fortunately, this was a castle, a structure built to withstand siege equipment such as trebuchets and catapult strikes, so the walls held.
That couldn't be said about the door latches, however. Unless barred from the inside, a mere latch couldn't hope to withstand the tremendous power and weight of the door, so the latches broke on impact.
Acrisios wanted nothing more than to barrel into the room and strangle each man, but he refrained. However, a small measure of regret rooted itself in his mind.
It seemed the decision he made years ago was the wrong one.
Startled by the sudden thunderous sound and the entire chamber shaking slightly, one Moonmare noble rose from his seat and looked at the door with trepidation in his eyes, almost as if expecting an attack.
"Y-your Majesty!" The noble managed to eke out, clearly not expecting the king to make such an entrance.
The rest of the Moonmare representatives realized what was happening and stood up, bowing in greeting. "Your Royal Majesty!"
Unlike their younger and much less experienced companion, the representatives didn't lose their calm and greeted the king properly.
Not nodding in response, Acrisios walked around the oval table and onto a raised pedestal supporting a throne, where he sat down.
While not nearly as decorated and imposing as the throne in the main throne room, it still filled the chamber with an oppressive air. To all the attendees, it felt as if their every action, word, and decision was judged by the king.
The king sat down, followed by some of the representatives, leaving only the oldest and most experienced one standing.
The representative looked up at Acrisios and waited for a few seconds, defyingly looking straight into the king's eyes.
Maybe he wanted to unsettle the king, but it didn't work, or even matter.
Acrisios leaned his head onto his right fist and looked into the older man's eyes, not breaking contact for even a second. The king didn't say anything, didn't explain his councilor's actions, or why the Moonmare was summoned on such short notice.
The representative looked away first, and another stood up to speak. "Your Majesty, we were summoned on too short of a notice. And the allegations brought up against us..." The noble paused, letting his words settle before continuing. "May we, at least, know why we were summoned an..."
Acrisios smiled and waved a hand, interrupting the ranting noble.
"You're here knowing exactly why you were summoned, yet pretend to act surprised?"
Not letting the Moonmare even a second to recollect themselves, Acrisios turned to his councilor. "Theodos, let our guests know their offenses and their consequences."
The councilor bowed to his liege and, with a subtle hand sign, told a nearby scribe to bring up the necessary ledgers. "Right away, Your Majesty!"
The scribe then unfurled a scroll and handed it to Theodos, who read out loud.
"Tax evasion, hindering royal investigations on several occasions, illegally exporting exclusive items traded only by the royal family..."
As Theodos continued reciting Moonmare's different offenses, the faces of the representatives paled more and more and, before long, resembled the paper off which were read their offenses.
"Now then," Acrisios began a look of schadenfreude on his face. "How shall we deal with this? From what I gathered so far, things seem pretty cut and dry. Heads shall roll. Noble ones."
As the gravity of his words settled in the meeting room, the oldest representative straightened up in a hurry, face flushed with embarrassment but mostly fear, and started in a slightly shaky voice. "Your Majesty, I'm sure things don't have to reach that point."
Raising an eyebrow in mock curiosity, Acrisios entertained the older man only for the pleasure he derived from scaring these cowardly men. "Oh? Why not?"
"Of course, Sire. Such offenses happened outside the Patriarch's knowledge, most likely perpetuated by lower-ranked individuals."
Acrisios nodded, seemingly agreeing with the representative. "Okay, that seems plausible. In that case, how do you propose we punish the offenders?"
The representative released a sigh, his features returning to neutral as his heart-rate calmed down. "I agree with Your Majesty's punishment, and we will produce the offenders as soon as possible."
Acrisios raised an eyebrow, and even Theodos, standing just a step below the king, visibly frowned.
"That's it?" The counselor asked, his tone becoming colder and more oppressive.
Acrisios didn't interrupt his right-hand man. There was no need to. In fact, the king's presence in the meeting room wasn't necessarily needed, as this was a minor case of insubordination rather than something more serious, such as a rebellion against the royal family, which would've required the king's presence.
"What do you mean, Sir?" The aged representative asked, unsure what else the Moonmare could do.
Realizing his question was vague, Theodos expanded his inquiry. "Simply handing over the perpetrators is but a given, under the law, so that doesn't count as a punishment towards Moonmare House. The perpetrators shall be punished, but so shall the Noble House. After all, such offenses happened because of the Moonmare's negligence, which must be punished."
Hearing these words, the representatives bit their molars in frustration. It wasn't as if they couldn't perceive the royal family punishing the Moonmare, but the representatives hoped they could get away with such insignificant offenses.
As such, the lead representative felt the need to address this point. "Sire, Your Majesty, I don't believe the Household should be held accountable for such offenses."
*SLAP!*
Acrisios suddenly silenced the room by slapping the throne's armrest. He took in the nobles and spoke slowly and very seriously. "I don't know what the Moonmare believes are crimes worth punishing the entire Household, nor do I care. In my kingdom, my word is law. I decide who answers for their crime, whether they like it or not.
"I don't know what position your Household held in the Eredar Empire, but don't make the mistake that your privileges there apply in my kingdom as well."
Taking a short pause to let his words sink in, Acrisios used the time to think of a suitable punishment for the noble family. He made sure the Moonmare knew their position in his country, and now it was time they learned about submitting to his rule.
"Moonmare representatives," The king started in a loud and clear voice. "I shall only punish the offenses of tax evasion and illegal trade. To that end, the Moonmare Noble House shall pay 3 Gold Talons, spread over six months."
The scribes nearby furiously scribbled their paper, writing down each and every word that had been said in the meeting room, along with the king's decree.
Acrisios' words slowly faded, leaving only a heavy atmosphere bearing down on the attendees.
However, things turned from bad to worse for the Moonmare nobles as the sound of heels tore through the atmosphere like a hot knife through butter.
Stepping into the meeting room, Princess Ayla presented herself to her Royal Father, not even glancing at the gathered nobles.
Just a step behind her, Duke Nozim bowed to the king before taking a cursory glance through the chamber, his expression turning sour as his eyes settled on a familiar figure.