The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Music Recommendation: The Crawling by Kensuke Ushio

.

Lucy was taken aback, and she stared at Theodore. She didn't get enough time to question him as she heard the sharp clicking sounds of shoes coming from the other side of the corridors, and soon the members of the High House arrived but not with four people. This time, there were six of them, and next to Dimitri, a blonde woman walked as if she owned the castle.

The woman had dark red eyes, and she wore a monocle on her right eye that had a chain that disappeared behind her long blonde hair which was parted from the centre of her head. The sound of the footsteps was sharp and loud enough to get everyone's attention, and even Madeline who was with Calhoun stepped out of the room to see who had arrived.

The vampiress continued to walk, her face serious and behind her and Dimitri, the other four members walked. Calhoun left Madeline's side, and walked in the front to stop and stand in front of them in the middle of the corridor and the High House members finally stopped.

The members of the High House bowed their head, and Calhoun returned the gesture. He was joined by Theodore who stood right behind the King.

"King Calhoun Hawthrone, it has been a while since we last met," spoke the woman, her voice strong and her features looked mature. Madeline who stood farther away from them could tell that the woman was somewhere in her thirties in appearance-wise, but as she was a vampiress, she couldn't tell how old the woman was. The woman appeared wise, and her eyes were sharp.

"Helena Shawe," Calhoun greeted the woman, "It has indeed been quite long. I was hoping to see you today as the other members weren't able to catch hold of my cousin who ran away in the middle of the discussion."

The vampiress named Helena, stared at Calhoun, her monocle delicately balanced on her strong face, "I heard about it. I also heard that your guards aren't up to the par. Seems like you will need to change the men here."

"It was already done this morning, milady," Calhoun smiled, his eyes on the woman with a polite smile on his face, "Why don't we continue the discussion in the courtroom, unless you haven't had your breakfast and would care for it in the dining room," he suggested.

"We can start with the proceedings," stated Helena and everyone walked towards the courtroom. Chairs were placed for everyone to sit in a semi-circle so that they could start with the court trial. Madeline and the other family members arrived in the room. Lady Rosamund, and Sophie were brought into the room from the dungeon cells.

When Rosamund's eyes met Madeline's, the woman didn't look happy and she looked like she was ready to throw the human to the dungeon for the issues that had been caused due to her. Nor would Madeline have appeared in front of the King, nor would anything like this happen right now.

With people who took their seats and stood near the walls so that they could listen and view what was going to happen, Helena was the one to speak from the centre of the semi-circle seatings,

"We are here for the official trial that is going to take place in the presence of the High House members, the King and his family members along with the concerned people over the matter of the recent deaths' that was caused by one of the family members. As the matter has not been judged to its fullest potential, we will be giving everyone turns and opportunity to speak," said the woman, giving a look at everyone that included the people who stood near the walls and also at the members of the High House. The clothes that she wore looked nothing less to the one that was worn by a sister in the church, which was the colour of her eyes.

If Madeline met the woman outside, she was sure to mistake the woman to be a sister of the high standing church.

"Bring the accused family forward," ordered the woman, and Lady Rosamund was the first one to be brought at the centre. It was the first time for her to go through something so disgraceful where both her hands were bound by shackles. Even her legs were bound, making it that much worse. Every step she took, it made her angry.

Beth, who was standing with her parents, watched what was going to happen, looked at Lady Rosamund with an anxious look on her face. She had gone to meet Lady Rosamund, to make sure her possible future mother-in-law was alright and nothing bad had happened. But when she did turn up in front of the dungeon, the guards didn't let her in.

To the servants of the castle, Beth was nothing but a guest, and she was of no importance. Her eyes moved towards the King, who was seated on the other side, ready to listen to the trial.

"Lady Rosamund Wilmot, do you know for what you have been charged today?" questioned Helena.

"For a crime that I did not commit," answered Lady Rosamund, her stance prideful even though she had been chained like a criminal.

"Milady," Dimitri was the one to speak as he was present during last night's event, "Your son put false accusations against the King, that the King has killed many people while framing someone else who are innocent. Even though what the King's do in all the lands aren't of our concern, the conflict here rises because the girl who died was the duchess's daughter, and when people like those die, it creates a strain in the system."

Helena spoke next, "It doesn't mean that the others' lives don't matter. Usually, death's like those don't come to our notice, and we are most likely to find the ones that are evident to us. Your son killed the girl and blamed it on the King. Have I got the fact, right?" she asked the vampiress.

Lady Rosamund sighed, "Why would Markus self-report for what he is suspicious about? He was only doing his duty, of letting the High House know what was going on. Markus has always looked up to Calhoun, and he followed every word of command that has been given by the King, taking it to be absolute. He would never put his family in trouble. We the Wilmot's and the Hawthrone, have always been close, especially after we lost some of our family members."

"Why do you think he ran away from the scene? You do understand that it was a basic trial that could be resolved, but Markus Wilmot ran away like a felon," Weasely questioned the vampiress who belonged to the royal family.

Rosamund tipped her chin slightly up.

"He must have been worried."

"About what?" asked Dimitri.

"About being framed by someone, that the information that Markus relayed to you would come to put him in trouble. Something like this has happened in the past too," said Lady Rosamund. Helena, who was sitting with her back leaning against the chair, leaned forward—placing both her elbows on the table.

"And what is that?" questioned Helena, her words firm. "It would be best for you to speak clearly about it so that it can help you clear your name. Were you aware that your son wrote letters to us?"

"No, I didn't know about it."

Sophie, who was standing not too far away from her mother, alone on one side of the wall of the court with only guards next to her, looked at her mother.

Lady Rosamund continued to say, "As far as my knowledge allows me, Markus never mentioned anything about him sending letters to the High House, nor did he speak about the King's deeds. He probably didn't want to worry me or the others."

"So that would mean he did everything on his own accord. Is that what you are telling, Lady Rosamund?" Helena tried to confirm, and the vampiress nodded her head.

Sophie's eyes widened at her mother's words. Now as Markus was going to be caught and he was in deep trouble, was her mother letting go of Markus by saying she didn't know anything?

"Yes," agreed Lady Rosamund, "But I don't think Markus meant anything ill, and he was only doing it possibly because he felt it was wrong."

On the vampiress' words, Helena turned her head to the side, speaking in a low voice in Dimitri's ear who nodded his head.

"Milady, you can step away so that we can speak to your daughter Sophie," informed Dimitri and Lady Rosamund stepped back to let Sophie come and stand where she previously stood. Before the High House people could say something, Sophie said,

"I am being held as a prisoner for something I didn't do. I don't even know what is going on."

"We will be the judge of it, miss," said another man who hadn't visited yesterday with the four High House members. He had long silver hair which was tied into a pony with a red ribbon. "Did you hear anything from your brother or mother speaking against the King? Or about the body that was found in the backyard of a human's house."

Sophie shook her head, "I don't know anything about it." Her family had stopped speaking about their plans with her, "I think it's just a big misunderstanding."

"Do you agree with what your brother said? That the King is the one who killed the girl and the maid, who tried to frame it back on your brother?" asked Lilith.

Sophie rolled her eyes, "I said it's all a misunderstanding. Neither of them would kill that whatever-her-name-is. We don't even know about that girl, and I don't know about the maid."

"But that makes it easier to murder the maid, isn't it?" Lilith continued to interrogate, "That she was someone no one would be aware of."

Seeing the prideful personality of the vampiress, Helena said, "You should know that if you don't answer the questions and if we don't find you to be innocent, you will be set to execution as you are one of the suspicious people right now in this room."

"That's ridiculous!" exclaimed Sophie.

Sophie turned to look at Calhoun and then her mother before turning back to look at the High House members who had serious expressions on their face. She wasn't even part of it, then why was her neck supposed to be in line, under the axe?!

Soon the sound of footsteps was heard with the clanking of the shackles, and in came the guards, dragging Markus into the courtroom. Commotion started to fill in by Markus' presence in the room and people began to whisper to each other. Madeline's eyebrows furrowed by noticing this, as she didn't know what was going to happen next.

Markus was being dragged by two guards, and his hands and legs were bound similar to his mother and sister.

"Where did you find him?" Helena had a look of surprise on her face, and she turned to look in the direction of Calhoun. It was because her people had told her that they weren't able to find him yesterday even after searching for some time after he had escaped from the castle.

"My men found him," answered Calhoun, "The men in the castle aren't as useless as the others who hold powers." The little jab was picked by every High House member, and their eyes narrowed at the King of Devon.

Helena's eyes stayed on Calhoun for a long time while the others were inspecting Markus who appeared to be in a decent shape. The woman knew that the King had a hand in the matter but with the lack of proof, similar to what happened in the past, it was hard to catch hold of him. The first time when she had met Calhoun, he was still the illegitimate son of the previous King from a mistress, someone who was working for the late King. There was something in his eyes that had caught her attention.

Shifting her gaze from Calhoun, Helena turned to look at Markus and Sophie. "Lady Sophie can take a step back as we have the main person who is of interest now," announced Dimitri, "Sir Markus Wilmot, do you agree that you went against the King. That you killed the maid before accusing him of murder?" The question echoed the walls of the silent courtroom.

"I do not," Markus replied to the question, his answer firm and loud.

"Was there a reason why you ran away last night?" asked Dimitri, "You grabbed one of the village men who was your witness as your shield. You not only lost your witness but also ended up to be the reason for his death."

Markus who had been tied and hadn't slept for hours since he had regained his consciousness, now stared at Dimitri. He knew how the trials worked, and what happened. Treason meant a direct execution after the verdict.

"It wasn't me but one of your people who killed the village man. I only held the man in front of me while doing nothing to him," replied Markus, "You cannot charge me for someone's death that I have not caused."

He was right, thought Madeline to herself. It was Lilith who had killed the village man and not Markus. Her eyes went to fall on the High House people who were staring at Markus.

Markus was asked to reiterate what he spoke yesterday and what he had found about Calhoun's misdeeds, repeating the same spoken things all over again.

"Mr. Wilmot, you must know that your reason for why you escaped last night does not make any sense, except for the fact that you knew you did something wrong and yielded to it," spoke Helena when no one responded to Markus' words. "Right now both the King as well as you appear to be guilty. So the decision comes to who has the maximum evidence and how much it weighs in both your cases. It is not forgotten that you bribed the maid to tarnish the King's image, trying to bring him down. Therefore, I would say your condition isn't looking so good right now, Mr. Wilmot," said Helena.

"You didn't ask the King about his deeds? On how he orchestrated the murder and how he has set me up?" asked Markus, slightly agitated because it looked like the blame was falling back on him. "How does a person get a free pass when the person killed the previous King and Queen?" he demanded an answer.

Helena's expression turned severe, "The issue was submitted in the past, time and time again by various people, but there has been no evidence that it was King Calhoun who did it. The blame goes back to the man who has already been executed."

"Maybe the High House has not been efficient in finding the truth. I mean considering that one person in there likes the King," Markus uttered the words to receive a glare from Lilith. "I told you, I wasn't the one who killed the dutchess' daughter. I barely even knew her that she existed. I have nothing to do with the murder and the witnesses already said what they saw last night that I have no hand in the death of the maid either."

"People say anything, Sir Markus," Helena leaned back against the chair she sat in.

Helena fell silent for some time, while people in the courtroom looked back and forth between the persons who were involved in today's matter. Madeline couldn't help but wonder if that was all the questions that were going to be asked before the High House would come to a conclusion.

A whole minute passed by, and after some more discussions with the fellow members of the High House, Helena asked,

"King Calhoun, is there something you would like to say to clear your name from the accusations of what your cousin is pressing on you?"

Right now, everyone's eyes fell on Calhoun, who slowly walked to the front so that he could speak to the High House members. Every person in the room stood there holding their breath, thinking what was going to happen, and this included Madeline who bit her lip in worry.

"I have already given my defence yesterday. I don't know why my cousin would go so far as to make the maid spread things about Lady Madeline, which are purely untrue. Like my aunt mentioned, Markus and I, we have a great relationship," agreed Calhoun, "We are cousins of course, but I don't know what went wrong that he went as far as to fabricate accusations and lies on me," he turned to look at Markus.

"You have been torturing Lady Madeline. That is why she even tried to run away from the castle," stated Markus. This raised eyebrows of the members of the High House.

"Is this true?" asked Helena, turning to Calhoun.

"If it was true, she wouldn't be here today," smiled Calhoun, "As bad as everyone wants to portray our relationship, we actually have a good one, and I am sure it was already displayed in front of the four High House members yesterday," he said looking at each one of them.

Markus huffed, "He has kept a werewolf hidden in the castle. And he was torturing Mr. Heathcliff in here! The werewolf must have eaten Mr. Heathcliff as they were both put in the same room."

Calhoun chuckled, "The only werewolves that roam in these grounds are my pet wolves, cousin. If I did have one, the High House would have found out about it by now as none of us were informed about their possible visit. I don't know what you have against me. First, the ill rumour, the werewolf and then the murder of the girl? Why would you do that, Markus?" he asked in a disappointed tone.

"You are blaming me for your actions!" said Markus who then turned to look at Helena, "Mr. Heathcliff has gone missing because the King knows how much threat Mr. Heathcliff is when it comes between the King and Lady Madeline. Why place the body in Mr. Heathcliff's house when it could be done anywhere else? Isn't it a little too convenient?!"

"It is also very convenient that you put the blame on me, isn't it?" Calhoun responded to Markus' claim.

Helena stared at both the men who were part of the royal family. Though Markus looked like he didn't kill the girl, he was found guilty by making an escape in the middle of the trial. Markus did create treason by blaming the King, against whom there wasn't enough accountable evidence.

This was the second time Calhoun was giving an explanation in front of the High House, and he hadn't changed. His composure was the same, relaxed and calm expression on his face. Though the death of the previous King and the Queen was suspicious, no evidence could be gathered against him, and the case was closed.

Calhoun Hawthrone. Helena had not met a man like him before. Apart from being handsome, he appeared smart and sharp, possibly cunning. She had heard plenty of stories regarding the last King's affairs when it came to the number of mistresses he had. Somewhere, it was obvious to her that Calhoun had a hand in the late King and Queen's death. She doubted the motive was to take the throne, and that it was for another reason. Helena had stepped into the position of the head of the High House to remove the injustice that took place, to be fair in the judgment, but to do so, one needed enough facts.

After some more thinking, Helena said, "Due to the lack of information against Rosamund Wilmot and Sophie Wilmot where they do not show any signs of involvement in the subject of the case today, where even Markus Wilmot didn't bring forth their names. Taking all of those into account, they shall be released."

A sigh of relief escaped from Sophie's lips. But Lady Rosamund was not relieved yet as Markus' verdict had not been announced.

"The King shall face another trial because of his ties with Mr. Heathcliff and with the body found."

Murmurs started to fill in the room with the unexpected words from Helena, "Also, Lilith has found some information about the case and what happened there. The King will go through another trial in the presence of the duchess' family member. But we will still be going through one of the hearings today."

Madeline looked utterly confused as to why Calhoun had to go through another trial when it wasn't him but someone else who had killed the girl and buried the body in James' backyard.

"It seems very convenient that the body was placed in Mr. Heathcliff's home, where there must be a possible link to the relationship with Lady Madeline," said Helena and Madeline frowned, "But in the meantime, the verdict-"

"WAIT!" came the voice of a person.

Madeline who stood on the other side, craned her neck like the rest of them to see who had paused the head of the High House, and Helena had a look of annoyance. Madeline then saw a familiar face who stepped into the courtroom, gasping for air.

It was Lady Catherine Barnes who had a look of lividness in her eyes, and she shouted,

"Please don't execute him!"