The grand hall of the imperial court was filled with rows of stern-faced courtiers on either side. At the center of it all, seated upon the towering golden throne, was Emperor Edgar Crawford Haynes. It was a normal court scenario, only with the difference of the heir-apparent who stood at the front of the rows of courtiers—Althea.
Edgar's cold gaze bore into the guards kneeling below him. Their heads were bowed in shame, and their bodies were trembling in fear. They were the guards who had failed in their duty to prevent Princess Maria from escaping.
The emperor did not take kindly to failures, and it was a known fact. Neither was he known to have occasional streaks of mercy. All those poor soldiers were praying for was to be spared alive, even if it meant getting exiled to the borders.
