The Prince couldn’t muster up the courage to face what was waiting for them. He sat there anxiously until he was called to the courtroom with the king and the ministers.

  Martia was then brought in front of all of them, handcuffed, with

  many guards around her.

  Coaleme yelled at Martia angrily, “I thought you came from the forest so I should make you learn the etiquette of the palace. I didn’t know that you don’t know how to be human either.”

  Martia replied, “I didn’t see any urgent meeting when the Prince was attacked.”

  “I called him to see him, and I ordered a complete investigation into this matter,” explained Coaleme.

  Annoyed, Martia replied, “Investigation? No need for that. The

  guards that were sent to kill the Prince belonged to Beluttrim. Saltronve already verified it in front of the Prince. You trust Saltronve, right, and the verification in front of the Prince?”

  Coaleme said, “Those guards can be bribed by someone else to kill the Prince. Without an investigation, I cannot hold any minister responsible.”

  “You can’t hold him responsible? Or you don’t want to hold him

  responsible?” demanded Martia. “It is not a secret that Beluttrim was close to you. So is your hesitation because of his loyalty to you or because you yourself ordered him?”

  Coaleme got up furiously and yelled again, “How dare you accuse me of attempting to kill my own brother, who I raised since he was a child? Just for this accusation, I can order you to be killed immediately.”

  The guards pulled out their swords, ready to assassinate Martia with just one order from the king.

  The Prince anxiously tried to stand up to stop the king, but

  Augtromas held his shoulder and signaled him to sit while getting up himself.

  Augtromas said, “Your Highness, I did tell you the result of the

  investigation. Did you forget? Oh, I remember now, you are not well nowadays. Paying attention to the affairs of Absyleous and the castle is difficult for you now.” Shocked at this statement by Augtromas, Coaleme looked at him angrily.

  Augtromas continued, “To not make the king’s health worse, I now put forward a resolution to change our monarch.”

  Coaleme stood up and said furiously, “How dare you, Augtromas?”

  But before he could say anything else, Saltronve, with his royal guards, came forward and placed his sword on the king’s neck, ordering the king’s guards to take a step back, which they gladly did. Coaleme collapsed on his throne in fear.

  The Prince, unable to watch all this, averted his eyes in pain.

  In the meanwhile, all the personal guards of the ministers rushed inside the courtroom, which was now filled with many guards along with eleven ministers, Martia, and the Prince.

  Augtromas, seeing Coaleme quiet, smiled and continued, “As I was

  saying, we should relieve the king of his burdens. Now the responsibilityof Absyleous will fall upon the Prince, but we know the Prince will never agree to be our king. However, we shouldn’t be sad, because no matter what, the blessing of the royals will always be there with us. As we have already discussed and agreed with Martia to go forward with her plans for the betterment of our Absyleous, by enhancing the prosperity, unity, welfare, development, and administration of our Absyleous as a whole, it

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  is not difficult to see how sincere and intelligent she is. So, among all the royals, who could be a better monarch than Martia herself?”

  Martia was completely shocked with this announcement. She knew

  her instincts had been right—Augtromas could not be trusted. But for the moment, she knew it was his turn to handle the final situation and she shouldn’t meddle. So she chose not to interrupt him.

  Augtromas then said, “The king already announced the Prince’s

  marriage to Martia, and with this announcement, Martia has already become a royal. My vote to make our new monarch, our empress, goes to Martia. Whoever is with me, please stamp the royal decree made by the king himself for the transfer of all his powers, responsibilities, and privileges to Martia.”

  In no time, all the nine ministers stamped the decree, which already had Augtromas’s stamp on it. And with the last stamp, the decree came back to Augtromas. He announced boldly, “Let’s welcome our new monarch to her throne.”

  Martia was released immediately, and all the royal guards surrounded her and made way for her to reach the throne.

  Saltronve pulled Coaleme off the throne, made him kneel, and

  handcuffed him from behind.

  Martia knew the Prince must be pained on seeing this. With no choice left, she walked to the throne. Augtromas crowned her with a new crown.

  Martia sat on the throne, waiting for all the drama to be over so she could talk to Augtromas.

  Saltronve knelt in front of her and pledged that no matter what the situation, he would always protect the monarch. This had no impact on Martia because she knew they were all untrustworthy.

  Augtromas then asked Martia, “Your Highness, what should we do

  with this royal who attempted to assassinate your lover? I advise you to kill him immediately.” Augtromas knew she hated him and would not hesitate to kill him.

  Martia thought for a moment and said calmly, “Put him in prison like other criminals. But make sure to take care of his health. I want him to survive and then suffer. He should be alive, and if he gets ill or dies, the person responsible for it will be killed.”

  Augtromas was surprised at this edict but smiled and said, “Okay, Your Highness, he will be taken good care of.”

  Martia declared, “I adjourn this meeting now.”

  All the ministers left with their guards. Only Martia and Augtromas were left.

  Augtromas looked at Martia and said with arrogance, “Do you think all the ministers would have agreed to your words just because of a negotiation? The royal status was very important to gain their trust and their help to make the world you want to make. Now you can pass the resolution you talked about with them, and they will gladly pass it. You are now powerful enough to make them negotiate on your terms, too. You can also make some new policies that can benefit Absyleous or, ”

  mocking Martia, he continued, “you can just continue with the policies of Coaleme, that is, if you want to continue filling your own royal treasury just like him.”

  He laughed. “Power does change everything, including us, our

  perception towards our family, friends, or the people around, and also their perception towards us. But I still wish you and your lover all the best for your future. I will take your leave now.”

  Feeling trapped, annoyed, and extremely tired, Martia said, “Take care of Beluttrim’s family from the royal treasure. Now you can leave.” While saying this, her eyes started searching for the Prince.

  Before leaving, Augtromas said, “The Prince was escorted to his room. You can meet him there.” Martia stood up, feeling hopelessly alone in that huge courtroom.