Gospel of Blood

Chapter 386: Dust Settles

King Louis V’s verdict on the Third Prince left the entire hall in silence.

No one expected such decisiveness from His Majesty.

Charlotte was also somewhat surprised.

Before the Central Council meeting, she had speculated many times about what the Third Prince’s verdict might be.

Although Charlotte thought the Third Prince deserved to die, considering the known history of Myria, she always believed that the King’s punishment would at most be stripping or sealing his bloodline power, then exiling him.

But she never imagined he would be directly executed.

Myria’s noble system is quite strict, and the royal family’s status is higher than other nobles. Even for the gravest offenses, internal verdicts rarely result in a direct death sentence.

Throughout the continent’s history, executions have occurred, but often they are done privately, announced to the public as a natural death, preserving the royal family’s and the members’ dignity.

Not like today, where it was announced directly.

Charlotte couldn’t help but glance at the dais. The aged King remained expressionless, his black eyes filled with indifference, as if he had not just sentenced his own child.

Charlotte didn’t know if Louis V was also infuriated by the Third Prince’s series of rotten acts or if he was truly impartial.

What she was sure of was that this King, known as “The Great”, was both decisive and ruthless.

After all… just months ago, the Third Prince Philip was Louis V’s most beloved child and a strong contender for the throne.

And now, a few months later, his own father had sent him to the gallows.

“The verdict stands. Do any of my colleagues have any objections?”

Duke Moonshield’s voice resounded again, breaking the silence in the hall.

The nobles looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

The Third Prince’s crimes were indeed severe, many of his actions pushing the nobles to their limits. But now, facing a death sentence, they didn’t know what to say.

Only Hubert de Boite-Linte, the Duke of Violet in the tenth seat, appeared hesitant.

It was evident that this Old Duke, who had abandoned his grandson during the Borde-Castell War, was now somewhat reluctant after hearing the death sentence.

He sighed and stood up shakily from his seat.

Instantly, all the nobles’ eyes were on him.

“Your Majesty, Philip’s crimes are indeed grave, but he… he is still a direct member of the Valva family, and ultimately… your son.”

The Old Duke bowed to Louis V, speaking with a strained voice.

Louis V looked at him indifferently.

“He was indeed my most beloved son, but more importantly, he was the Third Prince of Crescent and the noblest noble of Crescent.”

“Power comes with responsibility. A noble’s status is not a license for wanton behavior. Colluding with the Blood Demon Cult is a major taboo in our country, not to mention the numerous unforgivable crimes he has committed!”

“Since he committed the crimes, he must bear the consequences.”

“No matter who he is.”

Facing Louis V’s deep and decisive gaze, the Duke of Violet opened his mouth, but ultimately sighed deeply.

“I abide by your royal command.”

He said, and then shakily sat down.

Louis V’s gaze swept over the entire hall, his authoritative voice echoing.

“Does anyone else have any objections to this Central Council meeting?”

Silence.

No noble stood up to voice any objections.

Not even those who were indignant and planned to protest the “Great Purge” penalties after the Third Prince’s trial…

A joke, the King was sentencing his own son to death, would he be lenient towards the nobles who colluded with the Blood Demon Cult during the “Great Purge”?

Not killing them was already lenient!

The nobles were not foolish, they understood the double meaning in the King’s words.

At this moment, Louis V had already used his actions to preemptively respond to the nobles’ attitudes!

“If there are no objections, then it is settled. The execution will be held tomorrow morning at ten o’clock, not open to the public, with the Royal Cabinet and the Dukes as witnesses.”

Louis V said coldly.

In the end, he left the Third Prince with a final bit of dignity, perhaps for the sake of the royal family’s reputation, by not choosing a public execution.

But with the kingdom’s dukes and the cabinet present, there were still witnesses.

“Do any of you have questions?”

Louis V asked the Dukes in the front row.

The current cabinet, half of which had been replaced due to the Great Purge, was now all dukes, so the front row of dukes also included the cabinet.

Hearing the King’s words, the Dukes looked at each other, but none had any questions.

Louis V’s gaze finally fell on Eleanor.

His cold, authoritative gaze softened slightly as he spoke in a deep voice.

“As for all the Third Prince’s property… it will be given to Duchess Borde as compensation.”

Eleanor paused, then bowed slightly.

“Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty…”

Louis V waved his hand slightly and stood up from his seat.

“The meeting is adjourned.”

He said.

With that, he and the Archbishop of Crescent left the hall, escorted by the royal knights.

Only after the King and the Archbishop’s presence completely vanished did the quiet hall come alive with movement.

The nobles looked at each other, quickly engaging in heated discussions.

“Hanging! It’s actually hanging! I never thought His Majesty would sentence the Third Prince to hanging!”

“He must have been furious. Although Princess Margaret was of humble origin, his Majesty seemed quite fond of her…”

“I thought this trial would last for many days… I didn’t expect it to be over so quickly. Sigh, the meeting ended so fast that in the end, I couldn’t even bring up objections to the ‘Great Purge’ punishment with His Majesty…”

“Hmph! Regretting it now? Why didn’t you bring it up when His Majesty was here?”

“Who dared to mention it then! We were all stunned by the verdict, and besides, if the Prince is dealt with so harshly, what about the nobles?”

“Sigh…”

“…”

The nobles discussed as they packed up and left.

Listening to their conversations, Charlotte sighed inwardly.

Perhaps… this is the effect Louis V wanted.

She bid farewell to a few familiar nobles and left the hall.

…

The meeting was more thunder than rain.

A trial that was expected to last several days, even over ten days, ended in less than a day.

The meeting ended just in time for lunch, and while lunch was prepared at the assembly hall, most nobles didn’t stay, opting to return home in their carriages.

Charlotte did the same, but before leaving, she verbally agreed to attend Duke Moonshield’s salon in a few days, and the Duke promised to send her a formal invitation soon.

After meeting up with Sebastian and the others outside the hall, Charlotte informed her followers about the meeting’s proceedings.

“It seems His Majesty is determined to strengthen centralization.”

Sebastian stroked his chin and said.

Charlotte nodded slightly, agreeing.

Interestingly, although she was one of the triggers for this Central Council meeting, she ended up being more of a spectator from start to finish.

But Charlotte didn’t mind, as it allowed her to remain low-profile and avoid attention.

The verdict would soon spread throughout the capital and then the entire kingdom.

But that had nothing to do with Charlotte.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day after the Third Prince’s trial.

By noon, Charlotte had heard news from the palace that the Third Prince had been executed, reportedly crying and wetting himself, disgracing the royal family.

But regardless, the Crescent’s Third Prince Philip de Valva ultimately perished due to his foolishness and crimes.

Charlotte could finally put this matter to rest.

In the afternoon, Charlotte’s rented estate received a new visitor.

However, it wasn’t a servant delivering an invitation from the Duke of Moonshield’s salon.

Instead, it was a royal knight from the Crescent Palace.

The royal knight brought a command from the King.

Louis V… wanted to summon her.