As the room fell into a heavy silence, Oliver's mind raced, trying to comprehend what was happening. He couldn't believe what he had just heard from his sister. Isabella's words were like daggers to his heart, accusing him of a crime he had never committed.
He knew he had to stay composed and handle the situation carefully, but he couldn't do that since the accusations were too cruel for him.
"I was suspicious about how our mother could disappear when she loved this empire so much, and she had the power to even battle with a hundred women on the battlefield," Isabella looked at the confused empress and tried to explain what she just said.
"But it was him all alone, he led our mother into a trap," She quickly gave the letter to Florence, who quickly took it and read its contents.
Oliver's heart pounded in his chest as Isabella's accusations hung heavily in the air. He could see the shock and confusion in the empress's eyes as she took the letter from Isabella's trembling hand. He knew he had to defend himself, but his voice caught in his throat, and he struggled to find the right words.
Not because he was scared, but because he was on the verge of exploding. He would easily stay silent if she accused him of betraying the empire, but seeing her trying to accuse him of murdering the most important person in his life, Oliver felt more hatred toward her than all the anger he had collected over the years.
Florence, the empress, carefully read the contents of the letter. Her brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of the situation. The room remained tense, the silence almost suffocating, as everyone waited for her response.
Finally, Florence looked up from the letter, her gaze shifting between Isabella and Oliver. "This is a serious accusation, Isabella," she said in a measured tone, betraying little emotion. "Are you certain about what you're saying?"
Isabella nodded, her eyes filled with tears. "I found that letter hidden in one of the cults that worship Oliver as the reincarnation of the Namless Giant, they believe he will be able to bring a society like a giant era where men were powerful,"
Isabella gave the full answer without missing anything or leaving any holes in her argument, so Oliver wouldn't even be able to say yes or no to the problem.
She explained how she found, some of the things Oliver did unusual so she asked one of her subordinates to keep an eye on him. By doing so, she tries to create the illusion that she has taken proactive measures to protect the empress from potential danger, further framing Oliver as a possible threat to society.
"Our mother Victoria Bloodborne found out about his evil plans and decided to advise him, but this ungrateful brat backstabbed her and until today we don't know what happened to her," Isabella said While pointing her finger at her brother.
Her intentions are clear – she wants to tarnish Oliver's reputation and create doubts in the empress's mind, ensuring that Oliver won't have the opportunity to defend himself or deny the accusations. By delivering a seemingly comprehensive account, Isabella aims to make it difficult for her brother to provide any counterarguments or explanations that could exonerate him.
"These claims are bullshits! I did no such things, I would never hurt my mother, I valued her more than anyone," Oliver tired of Isabella's bullshit decided to stand up for himself in front of the noble women and all the other officials that looked at him with doubt.
Suddenly Isabella's voice rang out with authority, echoing through the grand entrance of the throne room. "Bring them in," she commanded, and instantly, the massive doors swung open. A contingent of guards ushered in a group of men, their hands bound in shackles, a stark contrast to the women who were following them.
As the guards led the men into the room, they appeared noticeably smaller and weaker compared to Oliver, who was the odd one out among them. These men had a height that barely exceeded five feet, and their scrawny physiques lacked any sign of muscular development.
It was evident that their physical strength was limited, as they struggled to lift even the lightest weights of the handcuffs, managing only a meager 2 to 5 kilograms.
Oliver's imposing figure stood in stark contrast to these feeble-looking men, emphasizing their striking dissimilarity.
Lilith watched with a disapproving expression, realizing she had severely underestimated Isabella's capabilities. Raven, on the other hand, wore a smug grin, as if she had been expecting this outcome all along. Even Lady Graveheart appeared unfazed, seemingly aware of the unfolding situation.
"This might be too hard for me with this many people supporting against Oliver," Lilith muttered and didn't know how to proceed.
"Look at these people, they are the ones that supported him worshipping him like a giant, they still believe in the idea of turning around the society for the goodwill of the man," Everyone looked at the men that were being accused and some of them even able to identify them as most of them had active voices as minorities in the empire.
Of course, most of them were ignored and the Empress had no desire to punish them for a different opinion, but she didn't know that her decision to be soft on these people would lead to this situation and she genuinely started to regret not killing these heretics when she had the chance.
"Lord Bloodborne, please help us!" One of the men who was crying while crawling on the ground suddenly held onto Oliver's body and asked for his help.
One by one, all the men did the same thing causing everyone to gasp at the scene happening before them and they knew after this Oliver wouldn't be a suspect anymore.
"Please, you told us that you would help us if the empress got to know about us since you have her on your thumb,"
As soon as Florence heard those words, her face went pale with sadness and she looked at Oliver, who looked at her with a helpless look.
"Get away from me! I don't know any of you, Empress Believe me, I have nothing to do with them, I'm not-" Oliver shouted not wanting the break the trust of the empress, but he knew with all the shreds of evidence gathered against him were substantial.
"Enough with this charade, Guards, Take these men back to their cells and question them," Florence ordered and the royal palace guards bowed their heads and dragged all the men by the chains and took them back to their cells despite how much they were crying.
Everyone knew their Empress had enough with all these things and they knew she had come to and decision.
"Oliver Bloodborne, I have seen enough shreds of evidence to decide what I'm going to do and you haven't been able to give one single objection against any of the claims against you," She said, glancing at the other two grand duchesses, both of whom nodded in agreement, indicating their approval of her decision without any objections.
The first princess came forward to talk and convince the Empress to make sure she wouldn't do anything that they would suffer, but before she could do that, Lilith noticed the smug smile of Raven and realised going against all this evidence with just her words alone will greatly harm her position as the first princess.
She had to rethink about what she was going to do here carefully.
'What do I do? Am I going to let them do whatever they want with him? I can't let all the hard work of my faction waste like that'
"Oliver-" She muttered with a sad look in her eyes.
She was stuck in a never-ending cycle of her brain and heart arguing with each other, while Florence decided to give her verdict about this case.
"Isabella, you can go back to your seat, You have done well to bring all this evidence to me," Florence said and went back to her throne, creating suspension among the witness of this incident.
"It greatly saddens me to see a young talent like him taking a wrong path like this, but-" She paused for a minute. "I won't let anyone ruin the peace of this empire, no matter how small or big their crime is."
Florence addressed the court, her words echoing with authority, "Oliver, you have been found guilty of betraying the trust of this empire and its people. Your actions have put our peace and stability at risk. For this crime, I hereby decree that you shall be exiled from our lands to the renowned Havoc Bay."
Gasps filled the room as the verdict sank in. But Florence didn't stop talking as she had more to add to the context of why she decided to exile Oliver instead of giving him the death penalty, which should be the punishment for something like betrayal.
"As you all know church advised us not to harm his life, so this is the highest level of punishment I can give him, he will be interrogated for a whole week about what happened to Lady Bloodborne and his remaining plans, and then he will be send to the Havoc Bay as a prisoner, where he will get special treatment,"
Empress orders were absolute and everyone knew that nothing could save. The guards who heard the orders quickly held Oliver by his shoulders and decided to drag him, but during all these events Oliver had only one thought in his mind.
"Isabella! I will kill you, no matter what it takes I will kill you, I won't forgive you ever again," He mumbled under his breath like he was going crazy.
Meanwhile, Raven, the second princess, and Lilith, the first princess, stood at a distance, observing the unfolding scene with a mix of sadness and guilt on Lilith's side. But Raven was beyond excited.
As Oliver was being taken away, their eyes briefly met his, but Raven's expression was smug and cocky, and Lilith appeared conflicted.
Empress Florence, still holding her head in pain from the immense responsibility of delivering such a verdict, finally took her seat on her majestic throne, trying to regain her composure. With the tension still lingering in the air, she called out to Raven and Lilith.
"Raven, Lilith, I want to talk with you, Meet me after this," the Empress beckoned them with a solemn tone.
The two princesses approached the throne, both slightly nervous about what their mother, the Empress, would say next. Raven, the first princess, had been involved in the events leading to Oliver's exile, and Lilith had been a witness to much of it.
"Your actions have had far-reaching consequences," the Empress began, her voice steady but filled with underlying emotion.
"I know what happened here is not the full truth, but even I can't ignore all this evidence, I won't say this again, don't disappoint me anymore, I'm talking to both of you," Her voice had a depressed tone to it, but she decided to end this painful meeting and go back to her chambers before doing anything else.