Chapter 265 - Long life to Nathan and Chloe

Hugo Riverclimb:

After some time, tired of beating them, Margaery finally sat down in a chair. The state of the nobles was deplorable, their clothes soaked with blood, their bodies trembling with pain and fear. Some could barely keep their heads up, but Margaery's gaze, cold and relentless, forced them to stay conscious.

"I am a woman of my word," she said, her voice sharp like a blade. "I promised I would let you leave alive... I just didn't specify which of you would leave." Her eyes gleamed with malice, a cruel smile playing on her lips. "So, keep talking. And remember: if you omit anything, one of you will certainly give the others away to save yourselves, and then death will be guaranteed."

The nobles, completely defeated, began to stammer through sobs. One by one, they recounted how Nikolaus Wolves had facilitated their schemes to amass wealth, using underworld connections to expand their businesses and consolidate their power. They described their luxurious lives, where opulent banquets and endless treasures shielded them from the suffering of others.

"Money..." Margaery murmured, her expression twisting in disdain. "All of this... for money and power." She laughed bitterly, shaking her head. "You're pathetic. You have more than you need, yet you still bow to your basest desires." Her voice carried a tone of absolute contempt, each word weighing like iron on the hearts of the nobles.

She leaned forward, looking directly at them. "Keep going. I want every detail, from the first filthy steps you took up until now." Her presence dominated the room, making it impossible for the nobles to look away or interrupt their confessions.

As they began to recount the plans to conspire against Nathan, something shifted in the air. The atmosphere grew heavier, suffocating, as if the castle itself was holding its breath. The heat began to rise rapidly, beads of sweat running down the nobles' already bloodstained foreheads. It was impossible to ignore: the red dragon nearby was starting to show signs of irritation.

The dragon narrowed its eyes, its pupils glowing like living flames. A gust of heat emanated from its breath, making the stone floor crackle.

"You are the noble families the kingdom chose. You are informants in my lands. You are spies. Should I allow you to stay alive?" she asked in an icy voice. They all nodded vigorously, too terrified to stop.

"There is no more diplomacy; now, only my dictatorship exists in this duchy. You will help me fix the mess you made," Margaery said, walking toward the prostrated nobles. "You will help me resolve this crisis you financed. You will invest a good portion of your fortune fixing and improving these lands. I do not want to see a single homeless person, not one unemployed peasant, and I do not want to see a single criminal. I will know everything you say when the kingdom's intermediaries contact you. Screw diplomacy. Now I am interfering in your lands because these lands belong to my family."

The nobles remained silent, terrified.

"Is anyone against my decision?" she asked.

"No!" they answered together, in unison.

"I want all and any evidence of your involvement," Margaery continued. "You will go to the kingdom and confess your crime."

The nobles exchanged hesitant looks.

"But we will be killed..." one of them stammered, trembling.

"Did I allow you to speak?" Margaery asked, sharply, making him fall to the ground again and beg for forgiveness.

"You will confess the crime you committed in my lands, financing the underworld. Your involvement in the crime of attempting to assassinate a superior noble... they don't need to know that. The punishment you will receive may be the loss of your political position, but the kingdom will try to make a deal with me so you can keep your positions and pay for the crime with money. This way, they won't lose the loyal families who have served them for decades, and I will give my forgiveness while pretending to be reluctant and accepting the money," Margaery explained, her gaze cold. "Any doubts?"

The nobles remained silent, terrified.

"I want to know if there are any doubts!" she repeated, now irritated.

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"But why? You have the chance to rid us from your duchy... or kill us," Count Laurence asked, confused.

She smiled, staring at him coldly. "Because your lives are mine now. You will no longer be the kingdom's spies, you will be mine. I will control you now," she replied firmly. "That's how it will work. It will be me spying on them."

Margaery sat in the chair, her posture imposing, like a true queen controlling the fate of these men.

"The story will be that Nikolaus Wolves convinced you to sabotage my lands and try to break off my daughter's engagement. You acted out of greed, encouraging crimes in the hope of securing her engagement, aiming to restore the agreement to divide my lands for exploitation, which was made with the kingdom years ago. However, it was Nikolaus Wolves who took the initiative for the assassination. Using the underworld's money and his access to you, he secretly masterminded the attempt on Nathan's life," Margaery explained, her voice dark and steady.

She continued to detail the plan meticulously: "As we didn’t report the first attempt on Nathan's life to the kingdom, we’ll say he was on the same ship as Chloe but was injured in the assassin mage's attack. Chloe protected him, which led to the serious injuries she suffered."

The nobles' expressions wavered between fear and hope as she outlined the narrative they would follow. "When they learned of the attack and suspicions were raised by me, you, as 'brave heroes,' questioned Nikolaus Wolves and, upon discovering the truth, were shocked. As the 'heroes' you are, you decided to go to the kingdom and confess all your underworld crimes, even knowing the risk of losing your positions and fortunes. All to help the kingdom and avoid a direct confrontation with me."

Margaery continued, never breaking her cold gaze at the terrified nobles. "Nikolaus Wolves, upon learning you disagreed with him, decided to silence you. He betrayed you during a great battle between your armies that took place one dawn. You fought bravely for the nobility, and many perished for the sake of the duchy. In the end, the few survivors went to the kingdom to report the chaos caused by Nikolaus Wolves."

She finished her explanation with a cold and determined voice: "That will be your story."

"In the end, the kingdom won't have much choice. They will try to contain the crisis in a way that still keeps their pieces in play. I will immediately accuse you of attempting to silence Nikolaus Wolves to cover up your involvement. The kingdom, in turn, will try to protect their pieces while negotiating a punishment agreement, after all, the 'culprit' will already be dead. You committed the crime of attacking a member of the political nobility when you killed Nikolaus Wolves, but you will hand over the evidence, and everything will be treated as 'self-defense.' Things will have to go this way. I will remain opposed to your presence in my duchy while the kingdom will continue to try to protect its spies," Margaery said coldly.

The nobles, completely terrified, began revealing everything they knew. In their desperate confessions, they admitted how they had orchestrated every detail of the plan and, more importantly, how they had kept incriminating evidence, fearing betrayals among themselves. Instead of destroying it, as originally planned, each of them had kept their own evidence as leverage against the others.

"I accept the terms, I will do whatever you say!" one of the nobles cried, falling to the ground and pressing his forehead against the stone.

"Me too! Long live Lady Margaery!" said Count Laurence.

Margaery watched them with a look of pure contempt, letting the silence weigh for a moment. Then, with a cold smile, she asked, "Doesn’t seem convincing to me. And you, Cylla, what do you think?"

The dragon lifted its massive head and roared with devastating force, unleashing flames into the air. The intense heat made the air suffocating, and the nobles paled even further.

“I swear! I’ll do everything as you command!” another shouted desperately, as they all prostrated themselves to the ground in unison, their voices blending in pleas for mercy.

Margaery raised an eyebrow, clearly uninterested in their pleas. She glanced at Katherine, who remained unmoved beside her. “Did it convince you, Katie?” she asked, with an ironic tone.

“No.” Katherine answered flatly, her voice as cold as ice.

The nobles turned their gaze toward Katherine, terror etched across their faces. “Please! I beg you, I’ll serve in everything you command!” one cried, his voice hoarse from pleading.

“I command you to die.” Katherine said, her voice eerily calm, her expression unchanged.

The silence that followed was like a knife cutting through the air. The nobles exchanged glances, unable to hide the despair that consumed them.

“Then you won't do everything, will you?” Katherine remarked, her voice laced with contempt. Cylla snorted loudly, and the pressure in the air increased, as if death itself were about to descend upon them.

Desperate cries for mercy echoed through the place. Some were banging their heads on the ground, others were crying openly, and their voices mixed into a symphony of absolute panic.

Margaery sighed, looking at Katherine. “Calm down, Katie. I want vengeance too, but vengeance doesn’t always have to be through death. Now, they are our puppets.” She turned to Count Laurence, who was still trembling, and grabbed his hair, forcing him to look at her.

“I want many expensive gifts for Nathan and Chloe’s wedding. Will they receive them?” she asked, with a calmness that only made the situation more terrifying.

“Of course! Anything! Whatever you want!” he replied, almost shouting, as tears streamed down his face.

“Good.” Margaery released him with a shove and walked back to Katherine. “Now let’s test if they’ve learned quickly.” She looked at the nobles with a ruthless gaze. “Long life to whom?”

The nobles hesitated, exchanging terrified glances, as if making a mistake would sign their own death sentences.

“Long life to Nathan and Chloe.” Margaery said calmly, but with a tone that left no room for doubt.

The nobles immediately got up, only to fall to their knees again, trying to show the most absolute submission.

“Long life to Nathan and Chloe!” they shouted in unison. “Long life to Nathan and Chloe!”