"I'm really sorry, Your Highness." Lela could only apologize.
"Carry on." Liam simply said. Lela bowed her head cause she was scared to look into Liam's emerald green eyes that speaks only one word right now. 'Rage!'
"For the past month, the prince Kyle has been visiting my family Manor. He had earlier asked if he could court me, but I denied cause I was already engaged to the Duke Magnuson of Gulfield.
The prince asked me to cancel my engagement with the Duke, but I also declined.
Then earlier this week, the prince came to our Manor proclaiming love for me." Lela stopped in her narration and silent sobs could be heard in the large courtroom.
"Please continue." The prime minister himself was loosing his patience.
"It was obvious the prince was drunk. When my father approached him, trying to explain to him about my engagement, he... he forcefully pushed him towards the steps of the stairs, and.. and... and, when I rushed to my dad, he had already lost a lot of blood.
He was... he was... he was... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, but I just can't." She cried out, which made everyone around to feel sad for her. Everyone but Liam.
While everyone was feeling sorrowful, Liam considers her story nothing but pathetic lies to frame up Kyle.
"You said you were also sexually harassed by the prince. When did that happen?" The prime minister inquired.
"After pushing my dad, the prince pulled me off his dead body, and when I tried pushing him away, he pinned me down. Please I can't continue, that's a really bad experie..."
"Enough with all these nonsense." Liam yelled causing silence to reign in the courtroom.
He stepped down from his seat, and walked slowly towards Lela. Each step he took, felt to Lela like she was slowly running out of breath.
"Do you take me for a fool? Do I look like a joke to you? Who put you up to this?" Liam questioned when he got to where she stood. He towered above her, staring directly at her.
"Forgive me, Your Higness, but I don't know what you're talking about. I'm... I'm saying the truth, Your Highness." She cried out.
"So you are saying that my brother, Kyle killed your father, what for exactly? You are not even close to beautiful to become a center of attention to my brother.
Take a look at her." Liam pointed to Sati.
"Do you think you could be compared to her in terms of beauty, huh?" Liam was getting angry.
"Answer me when I'm talking to you." Liam yelled at Lela ferociously.
Lela whimpered shrinking in her position. "Don't let me repeat my words." Liam was loosing his sanity right now.
How could someone cook up such stupid lies against his sibling? Is that person courting death?
"No my prince. I can never be compared to the princess Satia in terms of beauty." Lela said almost crying out for help.
"Guards chain her and lock her up in the dungeon until she is ready to confess who asked her to frame the prince." Liam said loudly to the hearing of everyone.
Soon the hall was filled with gasps and murmuring from the common folks.
"Is the prince really that irrational in his judgement?"
"I can't believe he's chaining the poor girl."
"The prince Kyle is obviously at fault, but the crown prince is just taking sides." Whispers could be heard in the huge hall as the people all talked simultaneously.
"Silence!" Liam glared at everyone and the hall was silent once more.
"Your Higness, why am I being chained? I'm the victim here. I'm the victim. I was wronged by the prince." Lela kept yelling out as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Liam laughed loudly. "Really now? You consider yourself to be the victim. Have you forgotten that both our families are allies.
I knew that the Duke was seriously ill. As a matter of fact, the Duke died 2 months ago, but you kept it a secret from everyone.
I had thought you were messed up by the sudden death of your father, but it's clear now that you have other motives.
Don't take me for a fool lady. Until you can tell me your reason why, and who is in this with you, you might as well die in the dungeon. Guards take her away."
Lela looked like she just saw a ghost. How could the prince have found out?
She was no longer saying anything as she just stared at Liam with great fear.
The hall was filled with murmuring once more.
"It all checks out now."
"You know, the prince might be right. I haven't seen the Duke for sometime now."
"I had complete faith in the judgement of our future king all these while."
"No please, Your Highness. No!" Lela screamed as the guards dragged her out of the courtroom.
Liam left the courtroom immediately afterwards while holding Sati's hand and the rest of his siblings following behind.
He had more important things to deal with like finding out Lela's reason for framing Kyle up, and who she was working with.
The citizens kept hailing out. "Long live the crowned prince Liam!" The prime ministers on the other hand were all confused on what just happened.
They sat down in their seats looking at each other confusedly. It all just happened so fast that they were unable to catch up with what was happening, but one thing they understood was that Kyle was innocent.
An immediate meeting was called for by the generals and prime ministers.
"No one is to disturb the Queen." Liam said angrily. Alonzo had insisted that the Queen should be present since it was a grave matter to deal with.
"But, Your Highness..."
"The Queen is not to be disturbed, that's final." Liam said in a calm yet threatening tone.
"As you wish, Your Highness." Alonzo bowed before taking his seat.
"Might I ask, Your Highness how you were able to tell that the Lady Lela was lying all along." One of the generals asked boldly.
He was not the chief general but he for one was not scared of Liam. He was a really close friend of the late king, King Erin, Liam's father.
He fought side by side with the king before the sudden death of the king.
He was to be made the chief general, but the king died before proclaiming him as the next chief in command of the Kingdom's army.
"Well if you must know general Adrid... Before she narrated her fake stories, I had no proof that she was wrong.
Although I was already convinced that whatever she was going to say would be nothing but cooked up lies." Liam sat casually on his seat like he had already been made king.
"But that doesn't explain it your highness. Why were you so sure back then if you had no prove yet?" Alonzo asked confusedly.