Chapter 98: You What!?
Koda;
"Offence number 1: the illegal alteration of a person’s birth designation", Father states, and the hall goes pin-drop silent while Liandria’s face goes pale.
"Wilhelm, I..." She begins, but Father cuts her off.
"What’s the first and foremost rule every citizen of BeastHeaven must abide by unconditionally?" Her demands, and her brows crease.
"I... I do not understand." She replies, and I sigh.
An act that causes Rhydian to look at me, and then look away.
"What’s the first act of Treason?" Father rephrase his question, and Alpha Liandria takes a deep, long breath.
"The first act of treason is hurting any member of the Royal family. It’s one of the very first rules that were established when BeastHeaven was created." She replies, and I cross my arms across my chest, ready for the drama.
I do not care about most of the other crimes she committed. But this particular one? This... very crime of hers is the sole reason I want to see her punished.
Attempting to hurt Elián.
"What is the punishment for this crime?" Father questions, and she stares at the hall as if expecting someone else to answer, but everyone knows better than to interfere.
Father clips, and Arman walks up the stairs to her with yet another scroll.
She reluctantly takes it, and without being told, she opens it. Her eyes scan the words on the page, and the confusion on her face is unmistakable.
"Read," Father orders, and she sighs.
"The first and foremost rule of Beastheaven and the biggest crime of treason is hurting or attempting to hurt a member of the Ashfang Royal family." She begins, and I take a deep breath.
"The punishment for this... is death. Or whatever form of punishment decided by the Royal family." She concludes, and Father’s voice rings out again.
"Offence number 2: Attempting to hurt a member of the Royal family," Father speaks and gasps ripple through the hall.
"Now, that’s just preposterous. I didn’t hurt Rhydian. I’d never hurt my son!" She snaps, and Father cuts her off.
"I’m not talking about Rhydian, Lindria. I’m talking about the Omega you almost got gang raped!" Father snaps, and Liandria’s face flashes white with shock.
Any paler and she just might lose all the melanin in her face.
"Don’t be ridiculous! The boy is not a member of the family, he’s just an..."
"He is an Ashfang omega. He belongs to my sons. You know that!" Father interrupts her, and she looks up at Rhydian and me... as if we could or would say anything to help her case.
"That doesn’t make him a part of the Royal family. He..." She begins, but Father cuts her off.
"Yes, it does. He is to bear an heir for my sons, and yet you dared to put him in harm’s way. That was not just against the rules, but an insult to me directly." Father speaks with a calm that only reveals how much anger he’s trying to conceal.
Father turns his back on her and looks at Arman.
"Bring in the boy!" Arman orders, and guards barge into the room with a little, blonde figure in their arms.
I hear Rhydian gasp beside me, and when I turn to him, I am shocked to see worry on his face.
The guards throw the boy at Father’s feet, and Rhydian steps forward instantly.
"Be careful with him!" He growls, and my brows crease.
He rushes over to the now crying boy, and I tilt my head as I watch them in pure confusion.
Who is this? And why does Rhydian care about him?
Also... what is that horrible scent!?
"Rhydian?" Father calls, and Rhydian reluctantly stands up from the boy’s side.
"Father, this is Bram. I can assure you that he was not a part of this willingly. Mother tortured him and forced the surgery on him. He is a victim in this crime." Rhydian defends the boy, and Father looks up at me.
I give a small, confused shrug, and Father sighs.
He turns back to Alpha Liandria, and she looks away.
"Is this true, Liandria?" He questions, and she slowly looks back at Father.
Her eyes flick back to the boy, and I see something shift in them. She stares hard at him for a few seconds before exhaling sharply in what seems to be surrender.
"The boy did not consent to the surgery." She finally speaks, and this piques my interest.
Now, this is quite... interesting.
If what she said is true, Alpha Liandria wouldn’t care enough to help him by speaking the truth. She would want him to suffer alongside her, innocent or not. That’s the kind of person she is.
But saying this... to save the boy...
No. Something isn’t right. It’s almost like she’s trying to protect the boy for a reason... to protect some kind of agenda. Hmm.
Father turns back to the boy, and then he looks up at me. His lips remain sealed, but from the look in his eyes, I can tell we’re thinking the same thing.
"It, however, wasn’t a designation change survey that was performed on him." Alpha Lindria suddenly speaks, and my brows crease as all eyes return to her.
What is she going on about, now!?
Father turns to her, and she holds up her head in an attempt to look unfazed by the terror Father is causing her.
"The boy has had pheromone issues for too long. His designation has been imbalanced, and his body was rejecting his designation. He always drank to deal with the problem. His constant drinking made him a constant offender, and that’s what caught my attention. I realised his life was in danger, and I only ordered the designation adjustment surgery to save his life. That way, he could stick to one designation." She narrates, and my jaw drops in awe.
Such a liar! Wow!
Father scoffs, but Liandria holds her ground.
"So... you mean to tell me. That you saw an individual with pheromonal imbalance, and designation errors, and you decided to help him... out of the goodness of your heart?" Father mocks, and Liandria huffs.
"No. I did it to further expand Howleroot’s medical expertise. Besides... the time of the premodials has taught us the dangers of any individual having the ability to shift between designations." She replies, and I shut my eyes and massage them with my fingers in exhaustion.
It’s either she’s very stupid to think this lie of hers is believable, or she thinks we’re all so stupid, we’ll believe the blatant nonsense she’s spewing.
Father’s chuckle suddenly carries through the hall. The first time I’ve heard him laugh in days.
It’s a dry, amused but humourless laugh. A mockery of her stupidity, and whispers ripple through the hall again.
"My dear wife... You’ve always been too dangerously confident in your antics for your own good. Now I wish you at least knew me a little better." He speaks, and the seriousness in his voice causes a lump to form in my throat.
Whatever is about to happen, Rhydian may not like it.
"Guards!" Father calls, and gasps erupt in the hall.
"Wilhelm, no... you can’t..." She begins, but Father cuts her off.
"Lock her up." He orders, and Father’s men storm into the room.
She screams and trashes as they apprehend her, but no one pays any mind to her words as they pull her away.
She screams all sorts of obscenities as she’s pulled away, and as her screams die down with the distance, Father faces the people.
"Privacy, please. I need to speak with my family."
The crowd of people who have served the purpose Father wanted - Witnessing the spectacle- bow to him, and quietly exit the hall.
I watch the people leave, but my brows crease when I notice that the boy beside Rhydian doesn’t attempt to leave.
I look up at Father, and Father and I share a look before he turns to eye the boy.
"I’m sorry, lad. What’s your name?" Father questions, and the boy bows deeply to Father before replying.
"M...my name is Bram." He replies, and my eyes flick to Rhydian, who’s holding the boy like he’s something that might break.
Why does he care so much about this stranger? And where is our omega??
Where is the person he’s actually supposed to be looking after?
"Alright, Bram. Do you by any chance have an issue hearing?" Father questions, and I look back at the teary-eyed, terrified-looking boy who’s clutching onto Rhydian’s robe like being away from Rhydian would cause him harm.
Something about the sight irks me. Who is this?!
And why does he look so... wimpy??
"N... No, your majesty." He replies, and Father sighs.
"Good. So, it’s safe for me to assume that you heard when I said I want to talk to my family?" Father replies, and the boy looks up at Rhydian before looking back at Father.
He clutches Rhydian tighter, his voice trembling as if we would bite him if he spoke.
"O...Oh. I... I’m sorry. I only assumed that since you said your son’s omegas are considered part of your family... I should... stay... back as well..." He begins, and my mind screeches to a stop.
My eyes dart up at Rhydian, and he nervously scratches the back of his neck.
"Rhydian?" Father calls, and I can not stop the question from rolling off my tongue.
"What the hell is he talking about?" I demand, and Rhydian clears his throat.
"He’s... Umm... I made him my second omega." He replies, and my jaw drops.
"You what!?"