Chương 155: THE CRIMSON PLAGUE

Gyan stood among the attendants at the back of the semicircle, her hands folded, her expression unreadable. The shadows at her feet were still. Threads of shadow stretched invisibly beneath the chamber floor, woven into the darkness cast by chairs, robes, and boots. One of those shadows connected directly to Alaric's own. Through it, she could feel him faintly. The minute fluctuations in his emotional state. And through it— They spoke. Silently. The Speaker raised her gavel.

"Lord Alaric Dukker. The first accusation." She paused.

"That you are the Revolutionary and have been secretly financing and leading the Revolutionist movement with intent to destabilize the throne and claim ultimate authority over Aerthos." Alaric did not move. The Speaker continued.

"The Council will now question the accused on this charge." Lord Kingsley Amberose leaned forward slightly. Even seated, the old fox radiated control. His rotund was hidden behind large clothes and his auburn hair was combed over a bald patch.

"Lord Alaric Dukker," he began smoothly, "Tax revenues from Blackwood have increased significantly under your administration. Yet the Crown's share has remained stagnant. Where has the surplus gone?" The chamber stirred. Alaric's voice was calm.

"Into Blackhaven's repairs. The needs of my people."

"Needs," Amberose repeated.

"Or weapons?" Alaric met Amberose's gaze.

"I do not hide my ledgers. You are welcome to inspect them."

"Perhaps I will." Amberose sat. Lord Gide Baiden rose next.

"You claim the funds went to repairs. Yet the Blackwood region's military capacity has doubled in the past few months, explain." Alaric tilted his head and paused for a moment before responding.

"Are you referring to the increased number of Hunters within my Region Lord Baiden?"

"You're the one being interrogated Lord Dukker, not me." Alaric chuckled causing Baiden's eyes to narrow in annoyance.

"You have a funny way of defining things Gide. Well, there is an increase in 'military capacity' that being the Hunters from the Bureau because of the explosion of Beast population in recent times. You are all aware that the Node in my Region, the Iron Forest has a starnge way of interacting with them and causing them to evolve or increase. That is why I deemed it nessacary to have more hunters take care of the situation. I will not apologize for protecting my people."

"Protecting, or preparing?" Baiden said with narowed eyes.

"Do I need to define the word 'protecting' for you as well Lord Baiden?" Alaric said pleasantly. Baiden flushed but did not press further. Lord Rivas Oberoi rose. Regal. Polished. Poisonous.

"The Revolutionists were founded approximately three years ago. Their funding sources have been traced to the Blackwood region. Coincidence?" Alaric's expression did not change.

"If I recall correctly, that was a hoax designed by a certain group of con-men in order to scam the locals into giving them protection money as well as divert our market to them. And all this happened in a Region outside Blackwood. So, If we are to assume that every rumor is true, wouldn't that mean there are criminal syndicates in Suryan, smuggling rings in Ferrum Reach, and the cults in Noctis Vale. Shouldn't all the Lords here, including yourself be questioned based on these baseless rumors?

Wasn't there even one about you having an affair with a certain goatherd?" A few lords shifted. Oberoi's smile tightened.

"Clever." He sat. Lord Ezra Nova leaned forward lazily.

"So you are saying that you had no ulterior motives when you pushed for the Tax Monetary Act to be implemented? Then why then is it that the Guild and the Union are complaining about holes within the system?" Gyan's gaze shifted slightly.

'Ah.' There it was. The overlap. They were already merging accusations. Trying to establish narrative continuity. Militants. Militant funding. Tax reforms to provide militant or rather revolutionary funding. Alaric folded his hands behind his back.

"The reforms redistributed excessive burdens placed upon lower class due to the complex and unstable rate of exchange."

"Redistributed?" Ezra smiled.

"Or redirected? Before Alaric could answer, Lord Yleni Sinclair spoke.

"If the reforms were truly illegal, treasury records would already reflect discrepancies, would they not? You mention the Trade Union and the Free Guild, can they back up thier claims?" Several Lords frowned slightly. A clean question. Useful. Amberose answered before anyone else could.

"Only if those records were honestly maintained." Gyan watched a folded sheet of paper discreetly slide beneath Lord Barak Wunvella's sleeve toward Lord Asher Cavendish. They were not the only ones. The assistants and attendants behind the Lords were not idle. Notes were being passed. Favors were being called. Threats were being exchanged in ink and whisper.

'So much for TATC Rule Twelve,' she thought.

'No Lord shall invoke authority or force against another during proceedings. The rule did not apply to their servants.' Her eyes narrowed faintly.

'Humans really were incapable of restraint.' This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Through the shadow-link, her voice slipped softly into Alaric's mind.

"Based on the way information is being discreetly circulated, it seems they're going to switch up thier strategy a bit. Things may become personal so please restrain yourself." A faint pulse of acknowledgment returned. Her master was a very passionate man despite all his calmness and composure, she knew this very well as she had experinced it firts hand. She just hoped that things wouldn't reach a stage where his composure could crack.

'I could use my shadow threads to eavesdrop and maybe even posses some of the servants but these Lords are crafty. Thier personaly protection artifacts may detect my movement. Still though...' She altered the paths of her threads as she subtly made a move. Lord Ki Lin Feng cleared her throat.

"You were once known as the Crimson Plague during the Aerthos-Kemet conflict." The chamber quieted slightly. Old war names carried weight. Lin Feng continued.

"A man known for not having any Flow suddenly awakens and demonstrates excessive military force. This same man suddenly restructures taxation, centralizes regional influence, and gains increasing support among dissatisfied citizens." Her gaze sharpened.

"Are we truly expected to ignore the pattern?" Gyan suppressed a sigh. There it was again. Fear disguised as reason. The Speaker turned.

"Your answer, Lord Dukker?" Alaric's expression never changed.

"I fought during the Kemet War because Kemet invaded Aerthos."

"And yet the methods employed during those battles remain… infamous." Memories stirred through the chamber. Ten years ago. The Sultanate of Kemet launched an invasion. The newly ascended Sultan who killed the previous to gain power and desperate to gain more decided to aquire it through conquest. Kemet was larger and therefore had more soldier. So the Sultan decided to aquire the resource rich Aerthos to the West of Kemet. The eastern borders had burned first. Blackwood in the North-East. Hoshikawa in the East.

Karstfall in the South-East. These three regions formed into alliance beneath collapsing skies and blood-red fields. And three Lords who repelled the invasion and even took down the Sultan himself had emerged from that war feared across nations. Lord Alaric Auro Dukker. The Crimson Plague. Lord Shirogane Genji. The Unseen Hand. Lord Heidi Dahl. The Mournful Herald. The infamous Three of Death. Not because they enjoyed slaughter. Because they were terrifyingly effective at it. Gyan remembered the reports.

Entire Kemet battalions collapsing overnight beneath Genji's invisible strikes. Alaric carving through enemy lines with ruthless efficiency. And Heidi— Kind. Compassionate. Weeping over the dead while personally leading executions against enemy commanders. The war had ended quickly. Violently. And the resulting treaty forced all five neighboring nations into periodic diplomatic renewal meetings to prevent another disaster. Now the Council weaponized those memories.

"We all remember your exploits all those years ago, taking down the usurper and re-enthroning the rightful heir. The Rapport between the two nations now is a result of your efforts. But," Lin Feng pressed.

"Having experience as a usurper of a usurper recent events have caused some alarm. Some Lords might take this as agression." Alaric's voice was cold.

"Some call the sky green. That does not make it so." Lin Feng's jaw tightened.

"You mock the concerns of fellow Lords?"

"I'm simply stating things as they are." He replied with a shrug. Lin Feng grit her teeth and sat down.

"Men addicted to military authority rarely surrender ambition quietly." This time Heidi spoke. Her voice was soft. Almost maternal.

"And cowards often mistake decisiveness for cruelty." The chamber stiffened slightly. Barak frowned but remained silent. Alaric answered calmly.

"If defending my territory makes me guilty, then I assume every Lord in this chamber should stand beside me as accused." A few expressions tightened. Good answer. Measured. Controlled. The questioning continued another twenty minutes. Attempt after attempt. Every accusation bent toward implication. Every answer twisted toward suspicion. And yet— Alaric survived the first accusation cleanly. Not because his enemies lacked preparation. But because there was simply too little substance beneath their narrative.

The Speaker struck the gavel.

"The Council shall proceed to the second accusation." The atmosphere changed immediately. Heavier. Sharper. Even Gyan felt it. Because this one mattered personally.

"Lord Alaric Dukker," the Speaker announced, "you stand accused of orchestrating the death of Hunter Chief Roric Thorne." Silence followed. Alaric's countenance changed. Only slightly. Gyan felt the shift in the shadows at her feet. She extended her awareness—not through the physical world, but through the connection she had forged between her shadow and Alaric's. She could not read his thoughts. But she could feel his emotion. A spike. Sharp. Cold. Roric. Amberose rose again.

"Lord Dukker, you were close with the late Hunter Chief. Is that correct?" Alaric's voice was flat.

"Roric Thorne was my friend."

"Was he?" Amberose tilted his head.

"Or was he a threat?" The chamber murmured.

"Was he?" Amberose tilted his head.

"Or was he a threat?" Alaric's jaw tightened. Kingsley folded his hands.

"Evidence suggests Hunter Chief Thorne discovered information regarding your revolutionary activities shortly before his death."

'Disgusting.' Gyan's eyes cooled. They truly intended to drag the dead into politics.

"Roric Thorne was a loyal hunter who died protecting Blackhaven. He was not a threat to me. He was not a threat to this kingdom." Alaric responded. Lord Asher Cavendish leaned forward delicately.

"Then why did witnesses report tensions between the two of you in the months before his death?" she asked.

"Tensions?" Heidi repeated coldly.

"How do you know what happened in the Blackwood region? It's not even your territory." Asher smiled faintly.

"And yet he died." Alaric finally spoke.

"What is the source of this information?" A mistake. Small. But enough. Several Lords immediately moved.

"There," Ezra Nova said instantly.

"Source of information?" Ki Lin Feng added smoothly.

"Why phrase it that way unless there was something to hide?" Gyan nearly rolled her eyes.

'A Fallacy. Predictable.' Alaric's emotions fluctuated again. Anger. Brief but sharp. Gyan immediately sent calm through the linked shadows.

"Breathe." The shadows beneath his boots cooled slightly.

"Do not let them weaponize grief." A slow exhale answered her. Then Alaric looked up again. Calm restored.

"You are attempting to decieve," he said evenly. Several Lords blinked.

"I because you're acting as though personally present." He glanced toward Ezra.

"You transformed that into implication of hidden guilt." Then toward Lin Feng.

"And you transformed implication into assumed confession." His eyes hardened slightly.

"That is not evidence. It is narrative construction. If I didn't know better I would say you were attempting to defame emy character." Silence. Even the Speaker paused. Because he was correct. Perfectly correct. Lord Christos Vancross rubbed his temple tiredly.

"Do we possess a single witness claiming Lord Dukker murdered Roric Thorne?" No answer came immediately. Schneider Osei spoke next.

"Do we possess physical evidence linking Lord Dukker to the death?" Still nothing. Gyan watched irritation flicker across several opposition faces. The emotional pressure had failed. Barely. But failed nonetheless. The Speaker raised her gavel.

"The Council will now proceed to the fourth accusation." She paused.

"That you attacked the messenger bearing the King's summons, delaying your appearance before this Council." The doors at the back of the chamber opened. A man limped in. His arm was bandaged. His face was bruised. He moved slowly, painfully, as if every step cost him. He reached the center of the chamber and collapsed to his knees.

"Lord Dukker," he whispered, "held me captive. For weeks. He would not let me deliver the summons. He threatened to kill me if I spoke." The chamber erupted. Gyan's eyes narrowed. Murmurs spread. Ezra Nova leaned back with satisfaction.

"There we are." The messenger continued weakly.

"I barely escaped…" Alaric stared at him silently. The man faltered slightly. Just slightly. Then continued.

"He threatened me… called the Council corrupt…" Interesting. Now they were overcommitting.

"You are lying." Alaric said simply. The messenger flinched.

"I—I am not—""Your wounds are fresh, even the aides at the back of the room can smell that. If I had held you captive, your injuries would have healed or scarred. They have done neither."

"The—the wounds became infected—""Then you should be dead. Infection does not linger for weeks without killing the host." The messenger's face went pale. Alaric took a step forward. The messenger scrambled backward.

"What is your name?" Alaric asked. The messenger blinked.

"…Tomas."

"Tomas." Alaric's voice remained calm but his Presence descended upon the messenger like a suffocating weight. Tomas looked away.

"Look at me," Alaric said quietly. The messenger obeyed reflexively. our limp changes depending on which leg bears weight." The man's breathing became erratic. Gyan watched realization spread slowly through the chamber. Alaric stopped directly before him.

"You know my reputation as the Crimson Plague if I had truly imprisoned you," His voice dropped lower.

"Would you survive long enough to tell the tale?" The illusion shattered instantly. Tomas collapsed trembling onto the floor. And for the first time that day— Several Lords opposing Alaric no longer looked confident.