Ask Away, Your Majesty - Chapter 17
“Lofi! Close your eyes! Please, just close your eyes!”
Even as she listened to Elrond’s pleas, Lorienne dared not close her eyes. Tears streamed unceasingly from her swollen eyes.
It was a charge of treason.
The Duke and Duchess of Kreutz had conspired in secret, seeking to depose Emperor Clony and elevate their son Elrond as the new emperor.
Heinrich Kreutz and his wife were publicly executed in the square, and within just three days, everything led to Lorienne and Elrond being loaded onto the slave ship.
It all came down to a crucial witness.
Camelifa.
A figure named Camelifa, which meant riding a camel through the sky, appeared. He was a strange-looking man. Though he hailed from Rixir, his demeanor was distinctly reminiscent of a Kreetian.
The distinctively long, twisted yellow beard typical of the Kreetians, coupled with his thick, coarse, and long hair, made him look even more peculiar.
His eyebrow ridge protruded prominently, and his eyebrows were notably longer than most and trailed downwards. His eye sockets were large, yet the pupils were unusually small and shifty, giving him a slightly unsettling appearance.
“The Duke and Duchess of Kreutz personally sought me out, requesting a deadly poison. A poison so lethal that even a small amount could kill someone in an instant,” he explained.
“How did you know they intended to use that poison to assassinate the Emperor?”
“After I handed them the poison, I realized that my calculations were wrong, so I went after them and overheard them talking.”
“What were they discussing?”
“They were plotting to lace the Emperor’s food during an evening banquet he had invited them to.”
It was testimony that aligned perfectly with the evidence presented by the Rixir imperial courts.
Heinrich, standing on the gallows, heard the testimony but neither affirmed nor denied it.
A decade earlier, Camelifa posed as an herbalist and spread hallucinogenic drugs throughout the Rixir Empire, wreaking havoc on its people.Cases of addiction emerged among adults and children alike due to the potions he had spread. The merchant Heinrich noticed an unprecedented and highly orchestrated drug addiction underway.
Within a year of the rapid spread of the hallucinogenic drug, Camelifa was apprehended and sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime of causing turmoil in the country—all thanks to Heinrich’s relentless efforts to root out the addictive substance.
“But when did Camelifa, sentenced to life imprisonment, start appearing outside?”
“The Duke of Kreuz could not have done that!”
“This is a ploy!”
The House of Kreutz, with a heritage far deeper than the prestigious Weritas, was a long-beloved noble family in Rixir. They had produced two of the most prominent archmages in Rixir’s history and were famed for providing funds during famines to sustain the starving citizens.
However…
“Here is a receipt stamped with the seal of Duke and Duchess Kreutz for the exchange of poison!”
Amidst mounting accusations, Camelifa produced a receipt stamped with the seal of the House of Kreutz.
When shown the receipt, the Duke of Kreuz said nothing, much to the confusion of the onlookers.
“This can’t be true! Duke Heinrich would never do such a thing! The receipt must be fabricated!”
“But why hasn’t the Duke said anything? Was he really trying to set up a coup?”
“How could Duke Kreutz… This is disappointing.”
The citizens divided into factions, some believing in a plot to overthrow the Kreutz family, while others thought they were exposed for a genuine coup attempt. The mystery was never resolved, and the Kreutzes were beheaded shortly afterward.
Amidst this, those who still trusted the Kreutz family vehemently protested. The people who doubted the credibility of his testimony as a life imprisoned man pounced on the Camelifa, and he barely escaped with his life.
And on that day, Lorienne and Elrond were boarded onto the slave ship.
