I Became King by Following My Little Sister's Advice. Now the Princess I Forced to Marry Is Giving Me Death Stares, What Should I Do? - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: I’ll Dispose of Them Since I Have the Chance

The northern neighboring kingdom, the Kingdom of Zelos, declared war. 

For the newly established Kingdom of Arlengs, this should have been a crisis that could shake the nation.

If King Van obeyed the demands from the Kingdom of Zelos and handed over Medina, the former princess of Aidron Kingdom, he would be condemned as a weak king. 

If he refused and the situation escalated into war with many casualties, he would be criticized as a selfish king driven by personal feelings.

No matter which choice he made, Van was supposed to be at a disadvantage. It was a difficult choice with no apparent right answer.

However, Van managed to handle it brilliantly. 

He led a small force to the Roicardan Plains and defeated the Zelos army. 

In less than a day and with fewer than ten casualties, he repelled the invaders.

There was no reason for Van to be criticized.

The praise for Van as a great and strong king only grew louder. 

The citizens proudly believed they were under a historically wise ruler, and many people were smiling.

“Ugh… I never imagined it would come to this…!”

“Curse that usurper…!”

Meanwhile, there were those who wore expressions of agony.

In the audience chamber of the Arlengs Kingdom castle, several nobles had been dragged out.

They had been captured by knights who suddenly appeared and brought to the castle. 

The knights, with stern eyes, looked down at the nobles who were lying on the floor.

The nobles, terrified, wondered what would happen to them.

“His Majesty the King Van has arrived!”

“…!”

The knight announced loudly as the doors of the audience chamber opened. 

Van walked past the nobles lying on the floor and took his seat on the throne.

“You’re all here.”

“Y-Your Majesty Van!”

“Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this!?”

The nobles shouted at Van, who had settled onto the throne. 

Bound and writhing like worms, they crawled towards the king’s feet.

“Don’t move, you disrespectful fools!”

“Gah…!”

But the knights struck the crawling nobles with the handles of their spears. 

The nobles cried out in pain.

“Do you think you’ll get away with this…? What have we done…!?”

A noble shouted. 

Even a king should not be allowed to imprison innocent people.

“Well… you are all suspected of treason.”

It was Lloyd Gies, the chief official, who declared this on Van’s behalf.

“T-Treason…?”

“This can’t be! There must be some mistake!”

“Us, traitors? We’re not like Count Denilly…!”

The former Finance Minister, Count Ordover Denilly, had attempted to rebel and attack the capital, and this was already known throughout the kingdom. 

The nobles, trying to claim they were different from Denilly, looked up at Lloyd, who coldly gazed down at them.

“Unfortunately… that excuse won’t work. We have solid testimony that you were plotting a rebellion.”

“Wha…?”

“Please, come in.”

A man entered the audience chamber. 

He had red hair and a handsome, androgynous appearance.

This was Prince Lott of the Kingdom of Zelos, which had recently declared war on the Kingdom of Arlengs.

“Prince Lott, could you please provide your testimony?”

“Of course… The Viscount Gaun, Baron Homaan, Baron Werry, and Count Gael here all received letters from me and agreed to attack while the king was away. For some reason, they didn’t raise their forces as instructed.”

“What…!”

The nobles turned pale. 

Their eyes darted around in panic as they hastily protested.

“T-This must be a mistake. The prince is lying…”

 “Yes, that’s right! Your Majesty, you must not be deceived!”

“This is a scheme to create chaos within our country! How deceitful, Kingdom of Zelos!”

The nobles’ dramatic excuses filled the room, but the atmosphere remained cold. 

Van finally spoke, breaking the silence of the room.

“Silence.”

“”…!””

The single word was short but heavy.

The nobles, who had been chattering away, fell silent all at once.

Lloyd continued speaking, looking at the now-quiet nobles.

“Unfortunately, we cannot accept your claim. After capturing you, we searched your estates and found secret letters signed by Prince Lott. Additionally, Prince Lott provided the letters you sent him.”

“T-That’s…”

“Ugh…”

The nobles fell silent. 

They knew they were cornered, but one of them still tried to make excuses.

“W-We only received those letters from Zelos. We never intended to actually rebel… The letters Prince Lott has must be forgeries…”

“Then why didn’t you report it to the palace when Zelos asked you to switch sides?”

“Uh… that’s because…”

“You weighed your options, didn’t you? If King Van won at Roicardan Plains, you would continue to serve the Kingdom of Arlengs. If he lost, you would switch to the Kingdom of Zelos. It’s ironic to see weathervanes acting like bats.”

“…”

Their true intentions were completely exposed.

The nobles were finally at a loss for words.

Lloyd looked down at them with a satisfied nod, seeing them finally silenced.

“You agreed to the rebellion, but you didn’t actually mobilize your troops. Therefore, we won’t strip you of your titles like we did with Count Denilly. However, you will pay a fine, and the heads of your houses will be replaced with people we choose.”

“That’s…!”

“Would you prefer execution? The crime of rebellion usually extends to the entire family. Do you want to go to the execution platform with your wives and children?”

“”…””

The nobles hung their heads in resignation at the mention of ‘execution.’

“Your Majesty, is this judgment acceptable?”

“Proceed.”

“Understood. We will handle it from here.”

Lloyd bowed deeply.

This rebellion resulted in the removal of many nobles who harbored ill will towards Van.

After the storm, the ground is firmer. 

By removing these disloyal nobles, Van’s rule became even more solidified.