July 21, 2022 – 3 minutes read – 462 words

A few days later, I was attending a meeting the Royal Castle. There was the King, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, the Intelligence Director, General Andretti, Count Abbot and me.

“Well, we’ve got all the evidence we could need.” King

“The blood contract is airtight, they won’t escape.” Prime Minister

“Indeed, the evidence in this case is overwhelming.” Minister of Justice

“How does Your Majesty want to proceed?” Intelligence Director

“The Royal Guard should keep up the number around Sonaris until this is dealt with.

Send the First Army alongside the Intelligence Department to capture Count Busch! Then half the Second Army moves with Count Abbott while Patrick leads the Eighth Army. Split up the targets between those two groups and capture them! If they refuse to surrender quickly, just kill them! Capture not just the heads, but the whole family if possible.

Disband the militias of each family and leave a force to monitor the territories.” King

Count Abbott and I start to split up the list. We should start with any of the treasonous nobles that are still in the capital, then we’ll head to the territories. We will start tonight!

As the Royal Capital falls asleep, part of the Second Army and the Eighth Army move out. Before the sunrise, the aristocratic district hasn’t started the normal hustle and bustle. Then the quiet of the night is broken when the gate of a mansion is broken and soldiers invade the grounds. Guards attempt to fend off the soldiers in the yard.

Soon, the soldiers subdue the guards and reach the bedroom of the mansion’s owner, but someone has already visited. The owner’s corpse is found, wrapped in rope with the head lying ten feet from the rest of the body.

This was the noble that wanted to kill Sonaris in front of Patrick, perhaps that played a part in his fate. In another room, the soldiers found the rest of the noble family, with signs of torture evident on their bodies. The floor was covered in blood.

The other houses reacted in different ways. Some family heads came out and surrendered, claiming innocence the entire time. Others claimed they were being set up by someone or there was a mistaken identity. Some even chose to fight, though they didn’t last long against the army soldiers. A few even attempted to flee, but were quickly apprehended before they could leave the city.

As the sun rose on a once-again quiet aristocratic district, many Kingdom Army carriages move out from the Royal Capital. They’re going to visit the territories of the listed nobles.