Chapter 9 - The Trial of Traitors
The High Council chamber was a massive amphitheater of black stone. Alexander sat on the throne, his jaw clenched, surrounded by fifty screaming Lords demanding Sophia’s head.
Lady Elara stood at the center of the room, smiling in triumph alongside a heavily guarded Victoria Laurent.
“The law is clear, Your Majesty!” Elara declared loudly. “She is the seed of a traitor! She must be exiled, and a proper queen must be chosen for the stability of the realm!”
“I agree!” a booming voice echoed through the chamber doors.
The heavy doors swung open. Sophia marched into the room, flanked by heavily armed Royal Shadows. The entire council fell silent.
Sophia walked straight past Elara and Victoria, stopping at the foot of Alexander’s throne. She handed him the leather briefcase.
“I am the blood of a traitor, it is true,” Sophia said, her voice ringing with absolute, unshakable authority. “A sin of my father that I knew nothing about. But the women standing before you are committing treason today.”
Alexander opened the briefcase. His eyes scanned the ledgers. The temperature in the room plummeted.
“Lady Elara of House Sterling and Victoria Laurent have been smuggling military-grade weaponry to the Northern Rebels,” Sophia announced to the gasping council. “They funded a coup against the Crown.”
Elara’s triumphant smile shattered. Victoria let out a horrified shriek. “No! It’s a lie! She planted it!”
Alexander stood up, his terrifying, kingly aura suffocating the room. He threw the ledger onto the floor at Elara’s feet. It bore her unmistakable family seal.
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“Guards,” Alexander said, his voice echoing like the wrath of a god. “Arrest them for high treason. The penalty is death.”
As the royal guards violently seized a screaming Elara and a sobbing Victoria, dragging them out of the chamber, Sophia stood tall and unbothered. The vipers were finally dead.
