The nobles arrived sooner than we'd anticipated. They were easy to spot because of the ornate carriages they traveled in. The first to arrive was Louis Udoras, head of the Udoras house. His carriage entered the city gates and as soon as the gates were closed behind it the City Guard surrounded it and escorted it to the city residence that the Udoras family kept for when they had business in the city that they had to attend to personally, where Louis and his traveling companions were placed under house arrest until the rest of the nobles had arrived. All of the nobles were treated this way, until the final noble, Marcus DeLange, arrived. He was brought directly to the palace where he was made to wait for the others to be brought to the palace from where they were being held under house arrest. When they arrived they were all seated around the table in the Great Hall and made to wait. VanBilt entered soon after and asked Nicolas Remdahl, head of the Remdahl house, to come with him. The two of them left the room, and the stage was set for the eradication of the nobles.

I wasn't there to see it, but from the throne room where Ferland and I were waiting for VanBilt and Nicolas I was able to hear their screams. The sound of their screams lasted only a couple of seconds; Uraia and the rest of the Royal Guard did their job quickly and efficiently. VanBilt and Nicolas arrived in the throne room shaken by what they had heard, Nicolas more so than VanBilt, who was by now used to my way of doing things.

"Lord Remdahl," I said to Nicolas, who had decided all on his own to kneel before me, "Cornelius over here has told me that you are not like the other nobles; you didn't agree to go along with Volstaff's plan for crippling the kingdom and you didn't oppose the king's efforts to subjugate the nobility."

"That is because the authority of the ruler of the kingdom is absolute, to go against them is to go against the Overseer, such heresy is appalling and unbefitting of nobility."

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"The other nobles didn't share your sentiment."

"That's because they had gotten too used to their power and privilege and were willing to do anything to preserve it."

"They went too far this time. If I hadn't become queen, Volstaff's plan for crippling the kingdom would have been a success and Aseron would have become a Volstaff vassal state. I hope you understand that, given that, I had no choice but to dispose of them."

"I understand, their conduct has been too egregious, even I think so, but why have you spared me?"

"Because you didn't go along with them in aiding Volstaff's scheme, and because Cornelius begs me to spare to you every chance he gets."

"What is to become of me, if I am no longer to be a noble?"

"You will be exiled. I have spoken with the Erst ambassador, they've agreed to accept all of you as refugees. By now all of the nobles' family members and retainers have been taken into custody and are being brought here to Glendale, you will all depart for Erst together. I'm leaving you your family fortune, it should be enough to support all of you, and take him with you too, I've decided to spare him," I said, gesturing at VanBilt.

"You have?" VanBilt asked, shocked by my decision.

"Yes; you've been very helpful to me, and I've come to appreciate your enslavement to your loyalties, so you may go and be with your nobles about whom you care so much."

Nicolas was taken back to his residence along with VanBilt to wait for the rest of the nobles and their retainers to come in from the states. The bodies of the slain nobles were taken out to the field behind the palace and buried in unmarked graves. The lockdown of the city was lifted, and to send a message to the citizens that the days of the nobles' rule were over I had their ornate carriages transported to the town square and burned.