Valerian, The Legendary

77 Change.

When the carriage returned to the Palace, the Emperor was waiting to greet his spouse. Valerian helped Fragrantia walk forward. The Empress had red eyes, it would be a lie to say that she did not fear death.

The moment, her body was infected with the poison, she was sure that despite the magical treatment, she will die, however, Valerian came up and guided the road to her recovery, it was also thanks to him that the Shadows managed to get out of the bind quickly.

The emperor called for an emergency meeting to discuss the investigation plan to find the culprits. All the ministers and advisers to the throne were told to be present, or it will be stated as a wild rebellion. The word of the attack had spread throughout the royal palace.

The Emperor had called for all the ministers and officials to come over for the meeting. The prime minister was also invited. Usually, the people do not attend the royal court until they have a big issue to report. They are all working in their offices, and the Emperor will just take a weekly report. However, all of a sudden the meeting was called, and people could tell that something big was about to happen.

The royal court was the most luxurious room in the palace. The golden trims and the decoration all spoke of the dignity and glory of the royal family. The atmosphere at this moment was quite solemn. The Emperor sat on his golden throne, while the officials were all given seats according to their status in the government.

The Prime Minister was sitting on the right-hand side of the Emperor. While the left side was given to the chief general of the military. The right side of the prime minister had other ministers responsible for domestic and foreign business. While the left side had all the military officials and capital city guard chief.

The Prime Minister stood up from his chair. He was a man of few words and used his actions to speak louder, he was a complete loyalist, and several generations of his family have stepped up to serve the Emperor and the throne. They had taken a wow in the name of their ancestors to help the Emperor or Empress of the empire to the best of their capabilities.

The prime minister asked in a low tone, “Your Excellency, may I ask why you have called for this emergency meeting?”

Libra turned to cast a gaze at Alm and said, “Prime Minister, what I am about to say might be too shocking for you, because I have known you all my life and I have known what your beliefs are. Even if we misunderstand something, we work to find a way out, but today I am afraid that I will harm you.”

.....

Alm was surprised, and he was confused. He asked, “What do you mean, Your Excellency?”

Suddenly a tender voice echoed through the courtroom, “Your Excellency, allow me to share your burden.”

The people looked towards the entrance and stood up. Fragrantia has arrived in the courtroom. They all bowed their heads slightly and Fragrantia returned the gesture. She came closer to the Emperor and said, “Sir Alm, you have been a great support for the Empire, and the emperor on grounds more than just administration.

No one is doubting your resolve and loyalty toward the throne. However, you are being deceived, like the rest of us.”

Alm was having a bad feeling about this, but before he could say anything, Fragrantia continued, “The meeting today is called to impeach your wife and son for treachery.”

The words dropped in the court like deafening thunder. A lot of people who were smart enough understood what was going on when the Empress personally stepped forward and called out Amour Alm, the wife of the prime minister. Lately, they have noticed a few things in the dark, but they all brushed it off when they recalled the relationship between Amour and the Empress.

The former was a handmaid to the Empress, who was taken fancy by the Prime Minister, and later Amour asked Fragrantia to play the matchmaker and got married to Alm.

The officials were all aware of the past, but right now, they wanted to know what happened that caused the Empress to impeach the accused. Prime Minister Alm was the most shocked person in the courtroom at the moment. He could not believe what he just heard.

He asked in a shaking tone, “Your Excellency, you are joking, right? How could Amour do such a thing?”

Fragrantia shook her head and said, “I do not have the luxury to joke about this matter. As you all know, my convoy was attacked last night. What you do not know is the small piece of the story where I almost died. We captured Draco Alm from a tent near the attack site.”

Another shock was sent to the hearts of the officials. The minister of Finance stood up and asked, “Your Highness, Draco appearing near the attack site could be coincident, right?”

Fragrantia nodded and replied, “Yes, it would have been a coincidence, but he was found in a disguise, and he also carried the antidote to the poison they inflicted me with. Is this enough evidence?”

She clapped her hands and five soldiers walked inside the courtroom with different objects from the attack site. One of these artifacts was something Alm could never mistake. It was his family ring, which was adorned by his son.

He slumped back in his chair, as he knew what was going to happen. Fragrantia called over the shadow operator responsible for the investigation, and the facts began to unwrap in front of the officials. The more time passed the number they grew to the events.

Prime Minister Alm stood up from his chair once again, he said, “Your Excellency, I believe you. However, I would like to state that, I am not involved in this action of my wife and son at all. My loyalty has always been dedicated to the throne and the throne alone. I will not bear the sin of defying the reputation of my ancestors.”

Libra stood up and said, “Alm, calm down. Your family discarded their last names to be known as the members of the Lumen Empire only. You are Alm of the Lumen. Your contributions are evident to everyone and I do not have to say anything about that. You will not be implicated, do not worry.”

Alm bowed his head and went to stand beside his chair. He felt really ashamed and enraged by what his wife and son had done. The people of his lineage have all been loyal to the throne because at the time when they were treated as outcasts. The people addressed them as vermin. It was the emperor at that time, who stood up for them. They finally had a life, how can such debt be paid off?

Not only were the lives of his ancestors improved but gradually the coming generations had also risen to the status, where the people would look at them with awe and respect. However, after standing on the peak, if they fell now? What shall the outlook of the people be? These thoughts stopped Alm from sitting down. He was anxious.

The court was discussing the matter extensively and they were deciding what shall the offenders be sentenced for. Meanwhile, the responsibility to apprehend the main culprit was given to Valerian and Priscilla.

The reason they were given this task was that Amour would display her true nature, and Fragrantia will get the good points. By sending the ‘servants’ she was trying to save the face for Amour. However, when the lady acts up, she will certainly become the villain in the eyes of many.

This will also help Fragrantia to deal with this thorn in her sight. The Empress may seem gentle and helpful, but after someone crosses her bottom line, she will destroy them completely.

...

Priscilla was leading Valerian to the official wing and she had already told him to keep his mana attributes hidden as much as possible. Valerian asked, ‘Is this person dangerous?’

The maid on the side nodded and said, “She is a grade seven mage. However, she is still not an arch-mage.”

Valerian shook his head and asked, ‘How are you so sure?’

He will never believe if someone was an arch-mage or not because Fragrantia had broken the norms for him. Priscilla was unaware of it and asked, “What do you mean?”

Valerian replied, ‘She could be deliberately chanting, and hiding the fact that she is an arch-mage. Who knows? She has already developed a force of her own under the noses of the shadows and the Empress. Is there something that she cannot do?’

His question left Priscilla completely speechless, he did have sound logic. The maid asked, “What do you think we should do?”

Valerian gave her a sheepish smile and Priscilla shivered. This boy was not to be asked such dangerous questions.