Chapter 462 - Justice Or Tyranny?
Arthur felt a rune take hold of his consciousness, imprisoning it. As his frown deepened, he tried to shake the rune off. However, he could not do it unless he used his decryption abilities. It was the wiser choice to stay put in this situation than to run away. After all, he was not the traitor but the victim.
The other lords seemed to be aware of the situation, as their outlines sat calmly on their pillars. However, the nobles below were not as calm in comparison, and they chattered away like a million cockroaches.
Arthur could make out their conversation, and it mostly involved their astonishment. It seems that most of them had no news that this war summit would also be a trial for the king to weed out the traitors from his midst.
'It seems this is what Avadil meant by his warning. Does the prince suspect me of being the traitor? It does not make sense, as he should be on Solomon's side, even if he disagrees with him. It might not be that Arthur was a suspect, as he almost died because of the traitor, but Avadil was trying to stand on his side.
King Solomon has yet to make an appearance, so the message from earlier was a simple recording. It was nothing but a tactic to pressure the guilty, but its results on the nobles were annoying to witness.
Arthur tried to make out the outline of the rest of the lords, and he was able to for a few. It was easy to do so for those he encountered, but they were all equally quiet.
A holographic light outlined their shapes, but a symbol was carved on each pillar to signify them. The tension was high as each looked at each other warily. Then, the king arrived.
The central pillar lit up with light as the symbol of the Freda kingdom, a bird breaking out of its cage. It signified freedom and peace, but the pressure created by the king's presence was far from that.
"Greetings, all."
The king's voice radiated a majestic aura as it silenced the crowd. The lords sat in half a circle around the throne, and they stood up to greet their king.
"I believe that it is clear today that we are here for more than a discussion," the king said as he sat on his throne. "I am sorry for not informing you of my aim earlier, but it would have defeated the purpose to do so."
"Your majesty does not need to inform us of anything," said the Duke of Ores diplomatically. "It is our desire as well to find the traitor among us, who has hurt our beloved kingdom."
"I thank you for understanding, wise one," Solomon said to the duke before turning back to the rest of his subjects. "I fear that most of you are unaware of what to come, and that is understandable. The traitor is hiding among us, and his crimes are unknown to many, as I made sure that no one knows of them."
'This king is a wise and cunning one,' Arthur realized. 'He chose to conceal the betrayals of the traitor lest the nobles start suspecting each other. The traitor would have fled if things came to that.'
"Each of you is going to be questioned separately regarding certain events. Your cooperation is necessary to use another feature of this array, and that is memory sharing."
"We have our secrets, your majesty. Some of them are unrelated to the kingdom but personal things that we would prefer to keep hidden. This contradicts the core values of Freda of freedom."
The voice came from one of the pillars, and all eyes turned to him with suspicion. It was none other than the youngest lord and the most recently assigned one, Lord of Hidden.
"Do you have something to hide, Seika of Living Beings?" this question came from one of the knights, whose pillar was slightly below the lords. It was the Knight of Nobility. "Your reluctance to share makes me suspicious of you."
"You would suspect my silence just the same, Knight," Arthur did not call him by his official title. "If I were indeed the traitor here, I would have kept a low profile or started throwing accusations."
Arthur did not elaborate on the meaning of his word, as he did not wish to make a direct accusation to the knight of nobility, even if he was confident that he was the traitor.
The reason was simple, even if it made the process harder for everyone. Arthur wanted the king to find the truth without his aid because there were certain things that he wanted to keep hidden.
"As befitting of your title, Lord of Hidden City," the king said with no anger but amusement. "I realize that I am asking for too much and that the present people are reluctant to have their memory exposed. That is why I would ask you to choose the memories that back up your words only."
"This would be idle," Arthur bowed his head. "Thank you for your generosity, my king."
The lords did not show their relief at the king's words, but Arthur could tell that some of the earlier tension had been defused. His words were what the rest of the nobles and lords wanted to say because no one wanted to hand over all of their memories to the kingdom.
It would genuinely contradict what Freda promised, freedom. Arthur felt that it was ironic for the King of Freedom to imprison them here to find out the truth, but it proved that the king was no pushover, and he was not another head to be rolled.
"Well then, are there any other brave objections?" the king said as he turned toward the rest. "If things go well, I expect one or more of you are going to bid their farewells."
After he said that, the king snapped his fingers, and the world disappeared. A desk and a chair replaced it, and Arthur could see that the one sitting opposite to him was none other than the king.
"Hello, Seika," the king said with a smile. Unlike before, his face was more than just bright light. It felt as if Arthur was talking to the king himself, not a constructed image.
"Greetings, your majesty," Arthur looked around the room as he greeted. "This array could revolutionize educations and military training."
The king's eyes widened in surprise before a laugh escaped his mouth. "You are so relaxed for this to be an interrogation."
"We both know I am not the traitor, as I almost lost my life because of them. I never mentioned this, but I could have reattached my arm if not for the duke of fire knowing of our plan to aid the Knight of Honesty."
"Do you suspect the knight of being the culprit?"
"No idiot would invite the Duke of Fire to a battle he was fighting, even for a traitor. If things go south, he would either lose his life or credibility."
"Maybe that is the knight's plan, to begin with," the king mulled over seriously. "No. It is too soon for me to accuse anyone."
"I have a question, your majesty," Arthur said, and the king turned to look at him. "If you indeed find the traitor, what are you going to do to them?"
"I would prefer to imprison them and question who is the one behind them, but I don't think they would go down without a fight."
"It seems you already know that their strength is not to be underestimated," Arthur pointed out, and the king paused before smiling thinly.
"You are the one interrogating me, Seika," he said without anger or hostility. "I have a few suspects, but I need to be careful. This kingdom does not need another civil war that would tear it apart."
Arthur could feel the genuine concern in the king's voice, but he knew that Solomon was also a war hero with a ruthless heart beneath the surface of a beloving king.
"It is time to ask questions of my own," King Solomon suddenly gave a sly smile. "I need to see what happened against the duke of fire."
His voice was too eager, giving away some of his actual intentions. Arthur stared at the king, who had expectant eyes and desperation to prove something. Avadil said that the king believed in a prophecy, and that might be true.
"I am sorry, your majesty," Arthur shrugged, and he saw the king frown. "I cannot show you my memories of that time."
"Refusal is not an option, Seika," said the king with a frown. It was enough for Arthur to get a glimpse of the man's ambitions and greed.
"There is a thin line between seeking justice and tyranny, your majesty," Arthur said with a shake of his hand. Then, before the king could misunderstand him further, he proceeded to explain.. "I cannot show you my memories of that time because I have none."