Before she could react, he stepped back.
A ripple of shock tore through the temple.
Even Lucas, composed as ever, raised a brow in surprise.
The nobles began to murmur, confusion spreading like wildfire.
Alma gathered herself, gripping her trembling hands together.
“What... what’s wrong, Your Highness?” she whispered, fighting to keep her voice steady and her expression gracious.
Nickolai's answer struck like ice.
“There will be no wedding.”
Gasps erupted.
Marquis Xander's face flushed with anger. “Your Highness! What nonsense are you-”
Nickolai's lips curled into a sneer. “The show is over.”
Before anyone could respond, knights surged into the hall, armored steps echoing sharply. Several nobles were seized at once, dragged from their seats with startled cries.
Even Marquis Xander was overwhelmed and restrained, despite his furious resistance.
The Queen, startled, was immediately surrounded by royal guards. She looked toward Nickolai, trying to understand what was unfolding.
Even Lucas appeared genuinely taken aback. He hurriedly to Priest Michael side.
Marquis Xander roared, struggling against the knights. “What is the meaning of this?!”
Alma could only stand frozen, her world tilting beneath her feet as she watched everything unravel.
Sir Lawrence stepped forward, reading from a parchment. “For crimes of treason, conspiracy, bribery, illegal trade, assassination attempts, collusion with the enemy kingdom, and obstruction of royal authority-you all are hereby placed under arrest.”
Gasps. Whispers. Disbelief.
The nobles captured screamed their denials.
“We're innocent!”
"This is madness!”
Marquis Xander spat, "All lies! We are being frame-!"
Nickolai laughed. A dark, humorless sound.
"Framed? How ironic. Isn't framing innocent people your specialty, Marquis?"
"Your Highness," Xander pleaded, voice cracking with frantic emotion, "you know how loyal I have been to your father. I served him faithfully-nearly his entire life! I would never betray him, nor this kingdom."
The guests watched, stunned, as the proud Marquis-once a towering figure in the court-reduced himself to begging.
"I have helped shape this nation," he insisted, breath trembling. "I contributed to its rise, to its strength. All my life, I have fought for its success. How can you believe I am a traitor?"
His eyes were wide, searching, desperate to find even a flicker of doubt in Nickolai's expression.
But there was none.
Nickolai looked down at him with a calm so icy it chilled the hall more than any shout could.
"Loyal?" Nickolai repeated, as if tasting the word and finding it foul.
Xander's eyes flickered with hope for the briefest second-only to extinguish when Nickolai leaned in slightly, his gaze turning sharper than any blade.
"You speak of loyalty," he said, "yet for years you fed my father poison under the guise of medicine. Slowly... patiently... watching him weaken day by day." His lips curved, not in amusement but in disgust. "All while pretending to care for his well-being."
YOU ARE READING
When Beauty Destroys The BL World
RomanceIrene was just a normal girl, waiting for her graduation day to set up her new journey. Her dream is to be a doctor and a good daughter for her single father. But all of that change when she tries to help an old lady from a robber, as she was push d...
