(Back to the present)
"I see… then shall we move on to the next topic? The corruption lingering with this horribly disgusting room," Ophelia announced.
The hall erupted in furious voices as Ophelia's words settled over the assembly, igniting another outrage among the nobles.
"The audacity of this woman!" cried the Duke of the Stone Bear Household, his face flushed with anger, rising from his seat with a tremor of indignation. "Your Grace, she insults the very bedrock of our loyalty! Such disrespect cannot go unpunished!"
Beside him, a balding noble in an ornate silver cloak scowled, his eyes narrowed in disgust. "She stands here, questioning our honor as if we are common swine! The Black Eagle deserves better than this insolent woman in our midst!" he hissed, his bony fist clenched tightly.
From across the hall, the Lady of the Jade Serpent House lifted her chin, her voice ice-cold. "Your Grace, if you do not have her removed, I fear for the empire itself. She is a plague—a festering darkness that will poison every corner of the realm if left unchecked."
The Duke of Stone Bear turned sharply to the Black Eagle Duke, his voice rising again but this time in a near-shriek. "You must act now, Your Grace! Apprehend her before she further corrupts this court. For the sake of your family and your Dukedom, cast her out!"
Despite the onslaught of demands, the Duke and Duchess of the Black Eagle sat in silence, unmoving amidst the chaos. Beads of sweat glistened on the Duke's forehead as he watched Ophelia with wary, darting eyes, his hand twitching against the armrest of his chair as if preparing to spring into action—yet he held back.
The Duchess, usually composed, now looked stricken, her knuckles white against the fabric of her gown as she gripped her seat. Her lips parted, but no words emerged, her gaze flickering between the fiery noblemen and Ophelia's calm demeanor.
Then, after about a minute or two, the Duke made his move.
"SILENCE!" He ordered at the top of his lungs. He drew his eyes back to Ophelia who met his wary gaze. "What corruption do you speak of?"
Ophelia's gaze swept across the hall, her lips curling into a smile as the Black Eagle Duke's demand for silence fell over the room. She turned first to the Duke of the Stone Bear House, a slight, almost mocking tilt to her head.
"Since you're so adamant about respect, Baron, let's start with your house," she said, her voice smooth and unhurried, yet sharp enough to carve through stone. "The House of Stone Bear, revered for its supposed 'steadfast honor,' has been anything but honorable in recent years. For instance, shall we discuss the fate of the impoverished towns under your jurisdiction? Taxed into ruin, families forced into labor beyond their means to feed your ever-hungry greed. Children sold, young girls sent off under the guise of 'apprenticeships' to line your pockets with blood money from slave traders."
The Baron's face paled, his earlier rage instantly swallowed as Ophelia's words struck home.
"Oh, and how could I forget the incident with the village of Dunewood?" she continued, her voice now a whisper of accusation. "The epidemic that swept through and killed nearly every inhabitant, and how, instead of providing relief, you sent your men to loot the homes of the dying and helpless. The few who survived were forced into servitude, all for the 'glory' of the Stone Bear name."
As she turned from him, his protests died in his throat, the weight of his sins hanging heavily over his head. Her gaze now settled on a broad-shouldered noble with a graying beard: the baron of the Fierce Mountain Lion House.
"And you, The Fierce Mountain Lion House, so proud of your strength and might. Your crimes are a different breed of cruelty." Her voice hardened. "The orphanage in Greystone, where you 'donated' funds on the surface to cover up your true purpose—the use of the children within as test subjects for your experiments. Poisoning them, crippling their bodies, all in pursuit of perfecting your special breed of war elixirs. You've managed to breed monsters out of innocents and then left them to rot once your experiments failed."
The head of the Fierce Mountain Lion House remained motionless, his jaw clenched. However, she did not relent, turning to the Baronness of the Jade Serpent, who sat with her hands balled tightly in her lap, fingers trembling beneath her calculating gaze.
"Jade Serpent House," Ophelia began, "you pride yourself on your connections and guile, but how many of those connections have been built on manipulation and murder? Your house has weaved a network of poison throughout this Dukedom, exploiting secrets, blackmailing innocents, and dealing in assassinations like they're mere business transactions. Let's talk about the assassination of Lord Merris, shall we? You had his wife killed and pinned the blame on his most trusted advisor, setting off a flood of ruin that ended with Lord Merris' estate being absorbed by your house."
The Lady of the Jade Serpent twitched. She opened her mouth as if to retort, but Ophelia's glare silenced her before any words could escape.
Finally, Ophelia's gaze landed on the baron of the Angelic Crow House, a man draped in dark robes.
"And last but certainly not least, the Angelic Crow House," she said, her voice now low and filled to the brim with venom, "your name is a mockery of what angels represent. Tell me, how many innocent women and children from conquered lands have been taken in 'as refuge,' only to vanish behind the walls of your estate? How many prisoners of war, stripped of their dignity and rights, have been sold from your dungeons to private buyers across the sea, never to be seen again? You uphold your reputation for 'sanctuary,' but anyone who steps foot within your walls never leaves unscarred. Your atrocities go beyond the battlefield, into the hearts of the defenseless."
The noble of Angelic Crow House stared at her in wide-eyed terror, his hands gripping his robes as if to keep from shaking. The silence that followed was as cold as ice, each noble stunned into stillness as Ophelia laid their crimes bare before the Duke and Duchess.
The hall erupted again, a resentful clamor of shouts and accusations flooding the chamber like a storm breaking loose. Noble after noble stood in unison, their voices interlaced with fury.
"Execution! This venomous slander cannot be tolerated any longer!" thundered the Duke of Stone Bear, his hands clenched into fists, his face beet-red with rage.
"Your Grace," snarled the Lady of the Jade Serpent House, her icy composure fraying as she shot Ophelia a look of pure venom, "I demand her head for this vile spectacle! She dares sully our names with these twisted lies!"
"Such filth is beneath this hall!" The Baron of the Fierce Mountain Lion House spat, his booming voice echoing through the hall. "End this, Black Eagle, and preserve what little respect remains in this court!"
But as the nobles pressed forward, calling for her immediate punishment, Ophelia's voice sliced through the frenzied outcry like a blade honed to its utmost sharpness.
"Enough," she commanded as her gaze turned unflinchingly to the Duke of the Black Eagle House. "Your Grace, if the others have left you unmoved, let us now consider your transgressions—those that weigh upon your family crest far heavier than any noble under your rule."
The Duke's face drained of color as Ophelia's unrelenting eyes locked onto him, peeling back the layers of his carefully cultivated authority and pride.
"The Black Eagle House," she announced, her words dragging each syllable, "a bastion of pride, power, and influence… Yet beneath this gilded image lies a legacy tainted with vile misdeeds." Her voice was cold as iron as she began her accusations. "Let us start with the cities razed to the ground under your 'justice'. Entire towns were erased from existence because they dared to resist your taxes. Women, children, and elders alike were slaughtered to send a message, all to preserve your pride and further your wealth."
Her tone soon grew darker. "How about the village of Rymara, where you ordered every firstborn son to be conscripted at age ten, some barely strong enough to wield a weapon, to build your empire's strength? Hundreds of boys were taken from their families, only to perish under grueling training or be discarded as failures, their bones filling unmarked graves."
The Duke's lips quivered, his hand gripping the armrest with such force that his knuckles turned white, yet he did not rise to speak. He was trapped under Ophelia's overwhelming scrutiny.
"Oh, and the wives of dissenting nobles," she continued, "taken in under the pretense of protection, only to be forced into servitude within your estates. Their dignity was stripped, their voices silenced, until some even took their own lives to escape the horrors you inflicted upon them. All in the name of preserving loyalty to the crown."
Ophelia's relentless gaze now fell upon the Duchess.
"And as for you, Duchess, your hands are far from clean. Your insatiable pride has poisoned the very essence of this house. How many noblewomen have you manipulated and blackmailed, forcing them into your service, promising them protection while ensnaring them into contracts they could never fulfill?"
The Duchess's composure began to fracture, her hand trembling ever so slightly as she gripped the fabric of her gown.
"Let us not forget," Ophelia continued, her voice cruel and vicious, "the tragic 'accidents' that befell those who sought to expose your corruption. You orchestrated their downfalls with impressive precision, covering your tracks with false witnesses, forging testimonies, and erasing evidence that might have pointed to your hand. Those who stood against you suffered mysterious illnesses, fatal injuries, anything to ensure their silence."
Silence fell over the room, as thick and stifling as smoke. The Duke and Duchess sat paralyzed, their faces masks of horror and rage. Every word hung heavy in the air, each crime a wound exposed to the glaring light of truth, leaving the Black Eagle House stripped bare for all to see.
"NOW! YOU ALL MUST BE WANTING TO SAY! WHAT PROOF DO YOU HAVE!? NOBODY WILL BELIEVE YOU! AND YES! I WILL AGREE WITH THAT! HOWEVER! I HAVE ALREADY REPORTED TO EVERY SINGLE NEWS OUTLET WITHIN THIS FORTRESS ABOUT YOUR CRIMES! THEY WILL TAKE THIS CHANCE TO RUN WITH IT AND EXPOSE YOU! BUT YOU MUST BE THINKING! NOBODY WILL BELIEVE YOU! AND YES! AGAIN! I WILL AGREE WITH THAT! HOWEVER!" From the top of her lungs, her voice sank into a chilling tone. "The royal investigation will begin soon. I applaud you all for hiding your tracks for this long so far. Your misdeeds will come to light upon the Royal Investigators taking up this case. Your dukedom will fall."
"You're bluffing," The Duchess gripped the edge of her chair, a desperate expression plastered along her face caked with makeup.
"Am I? Or are you trying to gaslight yourself into thinking you are safe… when in reality, exactly a day from now, Royal Knights will burst through your front door, capturing you and bringing you back to the Capital and holding your judgment there. I can assure you such judgment will end in your execution. ALL OF YOU!"
"YOU'RE BLUFFING!" The Duchess screamed at the top of her lungs before snapping her eyes towards the sole two trembling guards standing at the right and left side of the Duke and Duchess' chair. "GUARDS! CONFIRM IF THIS IS TRUE!"
Ophelia couldn't help but smile once more.