"Hold on for a second! You can't do this to me!" Corvus instantly stood up the moment he heard those words being said.
The court has ruled him a criminal? Since when?
"I'm a noble of this Kingdom! I'm a Marquess! The contributions my family made to this Kingdom surpassed everything any of you could've done!" Corvus pointed his shaky finger at each member of the room, before eventually landing on Henry.
"And you! You don't get the right to brand me a criminal! All those papers are not enough evidence to point me as a collaborator on your shipwreck!"
"We didn't say anything about the papers being evidence that you're a collaborator on the Crown Prince's shipwreck." All of a sudden, Ser Liam spoke with squinted eyes, staring directly into Corvus's as he continued.
"As a matter of fact, the contents of those papers haven't even been disclosed to the court yet…"
The words immediately got stuck in Corvus's throat. That's right, Henry only mentioned that he's a victim of an accidental shipwreck, he hasn't openly pointed out that he has a hand in it.
Mustering the most shameless and pitiable smile he could, Corvus's lips curved and his cheeks bended in ways that made his wrinkles more visible than before, "…H-Hold on a second, I was just being presumptuous and making assumptions…forgive me, but I'm already old you see, and I have issues with my memory haha…"
Unfortunately for him, none of his excuses were taken, King Maximus took this opportunity to slam the small hammer on the table again, gaining everyone's attention back on him, "Corvus, these papers along with what you just said, are enough evidence to prove you, your daughter, and your grandson as the masterminds behind my son's shipwreck."
Timothy, who was previously relieved he was finally about to be saved by his grandfather, yet found his situation being worsened by the very same person he thought would save him—the hopeful look on his face crumbled into pieces.
Even Victoria couldn't help but curse her own father, 'You senile old man!'
Corvus, still in denial, shook his head several times, panic overwhelming his emotions, "No no no. This can't happen." His expression turned into an angry growl, "My family is one of the first few who started this Kingdom! Do you know how much we've sacrificed?"
"There is no need to drag your entire family through the mud with you. This entire matter only concerns you, not the entire house of Goldenshield." Hearing Henry's words brought both relief and dread to Corvus.
Relieved because he won't be written in history as the worst head that brought his entire House down with him, but also dread because he realized that this entire matter had been planned all along.
To oust him and replace him with someone else. There is nothing else he can do or say to escape this entire predicament.
'Such a meticulous and menacing plan can only be pulled off by him.' His eyes landed on Henry and the courteous smile he's been wearing since earlier.
Of course, this could also be the work of King Maximus since no King would want his subject to gain more power than the royal family, however that assumption is immediately thrown out of the window—he had known Maximus since his younger days and that man couldn't possibly come up with such a plan to take him down within a single night.
'I applaud your wit and smarts, Henry boy. You've proven yourself to be crueler than you show the people.'
Others, especially the peasants, may know Henry as a compassionate and down-to-earth royal prince, but to Corvus's eyes, the man is a devil. One who would stop at nothing to bring the other nobles down to his knees while he brings himself up.
And now he had proven himself capable of just that.
The next thing that happened was spent in silence as everyone listened to Henry list everything written in the documents. Starting from the illegal selling of Henry's inventions to their rival Kingdoms through the black market to the cruel attempts on Henry's life several times until the success of the shipwreck.
Prince Alexander's name was also mentioned a few times and it would be a sight to see the boy's expression once he got back and realized he's no longer the royal prince but a criminal.
Maximus cleared his throat loudly, "I will now announce my verdict…"
Everyone's eyes instantly landed on him. Whatever his verdict may be, it would be a huge uproar in the Kingdom.
Some would celebrate while a certain few would get alarmed. And everyone knows who those certain few are.
"By your several attempts on the Crown Prince's life, selling the Kingdom's specialized products to the black market, and having connections to the Bandit King, I will now sentence you and your daughter, Victoria to the guillotine while Timothy on the other hand, due to his young age, he won't meet the same fate but instead, he shall be stripped of his status, exiled from the Kingdom, and will work in the Lioncrest mines in his entire lifetime."
"No! No! No!" Timothy reacted differently unlike Victoria who was speechless and Corvus who could only accept his fate with a bitter smile.
The boy, who had lived his entire life pampered, spoiled, and being looked up to by his peers, couldn't possibly imagine himself being stripped of everything and working in the mines along with the miners, the very same people he despises for their cleanliness and such.
Henry in return, simply waved his hand at him. Everyone in the room with a few coldly watched as Liam and his retinue apprehended the three. Only when she was touched did Victoria finally react.
"W-Wait, Maximus! Please! I'm your concubine! I belong to you, don't do this to me!" Seeing that it wasn't enough, Victoria thought it would be a good idea to take it up a notch.
"We spent a night together remember? You whispered that you love me, right?" While everyone including her own son, stared at her in shock, they also failed to notice the sweat coming off of King Maximus's back who was the only one who saw his wife's dark and grim expression.
The Queen of Lioncrest Kingdom slowly left her husband's side, walking her way down to Victoria. It was too late for the latter to notice her and when she did, Olivia already had a handful of Victoria's chestnut hair in her hand.
"Let go of this one. I'll handle her myself." She coldly instructed the knight behind Victoria.
The knight was confused at first but after seeing Ser Liam's nod, he finally did as told.
"I don't want to dirty the guillotine's blade with your blood. I have a much better idea for you." With an eerie smile on her face, Olivia dragged the screaming Victoria out of the throne room, amidst everyone's anxious glances.
Only when they left the room did they release a sigh of relief.
The only one left being dragged out screaming was Timothy, who finally found the strength to squirm while throwing slurs and complaints. As for the old head of the Goldenshield house, Corvus only asked for one last farewell to his sons and daughters which Henry personally granted.
He and Maximus had already skimmed through the list of Goldenshield successors and despite a few possessing bad habits, there are still some who can do good for the Kingdom without the risk of repeating the same mistake as Corvus.
———
When the next day came and the announcement of what occurred during the night that the Lioncrest citizens slept through came, it obviously caused an uproar.
The guillotine for Corvus was set to occur in the morning, which is enough to give the man enough time to spend the rest of his time with his family, say his farewells, and all.
As for Victoria, Queen Olivia unsurprisingly insisted on delaying the former concubine's execution, with the reason being that she was not yet done with her.
Which of course, King Maximus gladly granted.
Meanwhile, Henry left the rest of the matters including Corvus's sons and daughters barging in to complain about the sudden execution of their father and head.
Instead, he came to visit the garden pool where Ariel was happily splashing the water against Aqua who had surprisingly grown a bit once again.
"Ariel," Henry announced his presence which made Ariel gasp in surprise.
"Henry! You're already back! Since when?"
'Since yesterday.' Henry's lips twitched several times. He heard from his father yesterday that Ariel has been staying in the pool for quite a while due to Aqua's cry of loneliness that only she understood while to others, it was a painful screech that almost reached the walls of Lioncrest.
This prompted Henry to find some free time to look for aquatic creatures to accompany Aqua in her little pool.
"I just got back. How've you been? Heard you've been taking care of Aqua here since her cry." Henry replied while taking off his shirt before jumping into the pool, causing a splash to hit Ariel and Aqua on their faces.
Ariel reached out to touch the top of Aqua's shiny head, patting her as she answered, "It took a bit of consoling and sleeping beside her but she's fine now. Though she still longs for a friend who can accompany her, fortunately she no longer cries out loud about it."
Henry swam towards them, reaching out to pat Aqua's head, his hand landing just right beside hers.
"Can't you find some for her? I mean, you're the sea princess, it wouldn't be that hard, right?"
Well, if push comes to shove, Henry might as well as being Aqua back to the sea, have Ariel accompany her to Atlantis.
"You beat me to it, Henry. I was just about to talk to you about it. I just talked to dad last night…"
"He's here right now?!" In an instant, Henry's entire body tensed up, his eyes widened as his pupils scanned the surroundings left and right, not sparing even the sky.
It was only Ariel's slap on his shoulder that shook him back to reality, "What's gotten to you? My dad's not even that scary. He's just a goofball who likes to pretend he's scary even though he's not."
'You're only saying that because you're his daughter.' Henry's lips twitched several times but he decided to keep his words to himself.
"Alright, based on your reply, I'll assume he's not here then. If so, how did he manage to reach out to you?"
"It's part of his godly powers, I guess. He can appear on any surface of water whenever and wherever he wants. And besides, even without doing it, he can speak to me directly as long as I'm directly underwater."
"That sounds cool. So what did you two talk about?"
"That's the thing. He wanted me to go back. Said it's urgent and he needs me back to keep me safe just in case."
"Keep you safe? Did something happen?" For some reason, Henry felt something bad omen in his gut.
Ariel shrugged her shoulders in reply, "I don't know. A few months ago, Dad told us that his father and his uncles were having issues with one another. Maybe it's another similar case."
'So Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon have issues with each other? Of course, they always do, nothing to be surprised there about.' Henry mentally rolled his eyes.
"Are you sure you'll be fine? I can escort you if you want." Henry offered.
If something were to happen to Ariel while she's on her way back to her father who is recently concerned about her safety, no doubt he would be dragged to the Greek Gods' mess.
And their mess tends to involve mass extinctions, global wars, destruction, and all.
"I'll be fine. Dad said he'll send Uncle Theseus to take me back." Ariel waved his offer off.
"Theseus? That should be his brother then? Can you tell me more about him?" Henry raised an eyebrow and probed. After all, it's like what they say, knowledge is a very strong power to have.
Henry wanted to know everything about the side of Ariel's family as much as possible considering their feelings for each other. Though nothing is wrong with that all except for Ariel's desire to be his concubine.
"Oh, he's a very fun guy to be around with. He used to poke fun at Dad with my sisters and I when we were little. However he's been visiting us less and less these past few years, I don't know why."
"Speaking of him, I think you should go and meet him, I heard he used to be a great King loved by his people, you should learn a thing or two from him considering you're going to become a King someday."