The Devil's Son and His Fated Bride
Chapter 198: Dealing with a beast.

Chapter 198: Dealing with a beast.

Ren looked up at Kai, her voice a cracked whisper. "How could you let this happen?"

"This is what a true King does to protect his people from a royal menace," He replied. "This is retribution, and Josa chose it of her own will."

Gloria reached for Ren’s hand and held it tightly. "He’s right. Sometimes... you just can’t save everyone."

"We’re on the verge of war, this huge rift in the court..." Ren murmured, her voice distant, strained.

Gloria shook her head, her tone resolute. "No. We’re already in it. And they..." she glanced toward the weeping minister and Rebedina, "...they’ve been helping the enemy all along."

A hollow ache opened in Ren’s chest. This wasn’t the justice she had wanted for Ara. Not like this. And for Josa. The girl had lost everything. How could anyone expect her to choose peace? Or forgive Ara.

Ren’s tear-filled gaze drifted to King Benkin. He was watching her, not the others, not the chaos, only her, as though the world had vanished and only his daughter remained.

This man... her father.

And in his eyes burned a single truth: he would destroy anyone who dared threaten her. And her husband helped him. They orchestrated this because Ren was too forgiving. As long as he drew breath, no menace who crossed Ren’s path would live to regret it.

~*~

The feast had turned into a funeral.

By morning, witnesses were summoned to give testimony. One by one, they spoke, and the truth surfaced like a corpse in still water. The maiden had not lied. Her story, every haunting detail of it, was verified.

King Benkin allowed Araben’s body to be placed in the sanctuary, but there would be no statue to honor her.

Instead, he summoned the craftsmen and ordered a slate to be carved and fixed to her tomb. On it, he commanded they inscribe a single, damning truth: She died as she lived, brutal, merciless, and unrepentant.

"This is how history will remember your daughter, Rebedina," the King said, his voice calm and unmoved.

Rebedina stepped forward, face pale and trembling. "Your Highness... My daughter was murdered. How can you forgive this?"

The King exhaled, eyes drifting away from her. "Can I make her alive? And the murderer is dead. What else do you expect me to do?"

In the heavy silence, Dankin glanced at his father.

Why was he so calm? Why hadn’t he cried? He shed not even a single tear, not even for Araben.

After the ceremony ended, King Benkin ordered the guards to close the sanctuary doors. The heavy wooden panels groaned shut, silencing the whispers of the court.

Then, he turned to face House Kalia.

"Before we march north," he said, his voice cutting through the stillness, "I must expose the traitors who have been helping the vampires rise so quickly."

The room stiffened. Nobles exchanged wary glances. Quiet murmurs rippled like wind through dry leaves, uncertain, fearful. No one spoke, not yet understanding the weight of what he was about to do.

But then, all seven Kings stepped forward, flanking King Benkin in solemn unity.

That was when the truth struck them all.

They were not leaving yet. This sanctuary was about to become a royal court, a place not of prayer, but of judgment. A tribunal for political crimes. Treason would be answered here and now.

The King of Sokalia stepped forward next.

"King Benkin summoned us after last night’s feast," he declared, voice steady. "He presented us with undeniable evidence of House Kalia’s betrayal. At first, I found it difficult to believe, but after the magician testified under oath, I could no longer doubt it."

He paused, then nodded to his chancellor.

The man stepped forward, solemn and pale, and presented a bundle of papers bound in the royal seal.

"These are records of shipments that left Sokalia without my authorization and entered the port of Zillgaira," the King of Sokalia said, lifting the sealed documents. "From there, three ships claimed to have crashed in the Monster Sea, were spotted instead in the waters near Saint Witch Island. King Benkin saw them with his own eyes."

A hush fell as the implications began to settle over the crowd like a storm cloud.

"We investigated further," he went on, voice hardening. "And discovered that Chancellor Oka Kalia personally arranged those shipments to the island. The one who received them was a vampire lord... a man named Victor Keleemont."

The King of Sokalia turned, his eyes narrowing on the chancellor of Lord Alekin.

"You saved my brother. The same man who murdered my fifteen-year-old son. And now, he stands reborn as a vampire lord. King Benkin confirmed it himself. And we have a witness."

It seemed the decision was already made. The seven Kings had discussed the matter beforehand, leaving no room for interference.

"Bring forth the witness!" King Benkin commanded, his voice booming through the hall.

Kai personally escorted the human girl, Daniella, a cunning and sharp-eyed spy. The moment she entered, her gaze locked onto Chancellor Oka. She stepped forward confidently to face the audience, a smirk tugged at her lips.

"Speak and introduce yourself," the King of Alvonia demanded. Daniella bowed her head respectfully.

"I am Daniella De-Alvone, the last descendant of King Alvone," she began, her constant but laced with pain. "Two years ago, Chancellor Oka came to our village and asked me to join Lutherieth. He brought a vampire lord with him, Victor Keleemont. But they deceived us after we helped them. They killed my parents and the entire village, turning them into vampires. They wanted to use me to carry an immortal weapon for them. But they only used me and then tried to kill me..."

Before she could continue, Chancellor Oka stepped forward, cutting her off sharply. "Shut up, you bitch! None of this is true. Yes, I traded with Witch Island, but it was legal, just food supplies. And I did not save that murderer, Victor."

King Benkin chuckled darkly. "Did I say you were allowed to defend yourself? You deny what I saw with my own eyes?"

Kai stepped forward, his voice low and threatening. "Shall I make you confess?"

The chubby man’s face flushed crimson. "You’re lying! You let Araben die just to secure a place for that maiden. All of you are lying!"

Kai’s expression hardened, cold as shards of ice. This insolent man dared to accuse them? It was time to unleash the beast within him. To let them see who they were dealing with.

From Kai’s shadow, darkness spilled forth like a living thing, twisting, and writhing, and the room trembled with sudden, paralyzing fear.

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