Chapter 163: Good Work Today

At the far end of the courtyard, the Queen remained seated at yesterday’s honor table. She hadn’t moved from her chair. Her posture was perfectly straight, her hands rested calmly in her lap, and her expression remained as unreadable as ever.

General Tornhawk stood a few steps in front of Cadence.

He looked across the courtyard before speaking in a clear, commanding voice.

"Cadence Merygold, son of Lord Jack Merygold, by order of Her Majesty the Queen, you are hereby placed under arrest for the murders of Jelda and Hatche, as well as conspiring to assassinate Ace Walker. The Royal Crown has obtained sufficient evidence to warrant your immediate imprisonment and public execution."

The courtyard exploded into noise. So it was happening, huh?

"What?"

"That can’t be true! Him? No way!"

"Lord Cadence? No, no, no. Really?"

"No, impossible!"

Cadence looked around wildly. "There has to be some mistake," he said, his voice filled with confusion. "I’ve never harmed anyone. General, I don’t understand."

Before Tornhawk could answer, the main doors of the mansion burst open.

Jack Merygold hurried outside, still fastening part of his coat as he descended the stairs. Several servants rushed after him, unable to keep up with his pace.

"What is the meaning of this?" Jack demanded as he crossed the courtyard. "Why are my son and my guests being treated this way?"

Tornhawk turned toward him.

"Lord Jack Merygold, the Crown has uncovered evidence linking your son to multiple murders and an attempted assassination. By royal decree, he has been arrested and will stand for judgment."

Jack stared at him in disbelief. "No." His voice was quiet at first. "No."

"Yes, Lord Merygold."

He shook his head more firmly. "My son would never do such a thing."

"The evidence says otherwise."

"I don’t care what your evidence says."

Jack pushed past several startled guests and headed straight toward the Queen.

Royal guards immediately stepped between them, lowering their spears to block his path.

"Your Majesty!" Jack called out. "There has been some terrible misunderstanding. Please, allow me to speak."

The Queen remained seated.

Jack looked from the guards to her. "My Queen, you have known me for decades. My family has served the Crown faithfully our entire lives. Cadence is innocent."

No answer came.

"My Queen," Jack pleaded again, "please."

The guards refused to move.

Around the courtyard, the whispers grew louder.

"Lord Cadence?"

"Murder?"

"I don’t believe it."

"Why..."

Several members of the Merygold household began arguing with the royal guards.

One of the estate guards stepped forward. "You cannot simply arrest our young master without proving these accusations!"

Royal soldiers immediately tightened their formation. Hands drifted toward sword hilts. The atmosphere changed instantly. The guests backed away, frightened that steel would soon be drawn. Several maids hurried people farther from the confrontation while others shielded frightened children behind overturned tables.

Cadence struggled against the guards holding him. "I haven’t done anything!" he shouted. "Father, tell them! Tell them this is madness!"

Jack tried to push forward again. "My Queen, listen to me!"

Another estate guard stepped beside him.

Then another.

Within seconds, nearly every guard belonging to House Merygold had formed behind their lord. Across from them, the Queen’s soldiers lowered their spears in perfect unison.

The courtyard fell into a tense silence that lasted only a heartbeat before angry voices erupted again from both sides.

"This is an outrage!"

"Stand down!"

"You cannot take Lord Cadence!"

"Move aside!"

The shouting echoed across the entire estate.

I left my room without wasting another second.

By the time I reached the corridor, servants were rushing in every direction, many of them too frightened to notice me. I descended the stairs two at a time and stepped outside into the courtyard.

The tension felt suffocating.

Guests had climbed onto benches and stone planters just to see what was happening. Nobles whispered nervously behind folded fans, servants huddled together near the mansion walls, and even the musicians had abandoned their instruments.

No one knew whether a battle was about to begin.

Then the Queen slowly rose from her chair.

She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to. "Enough."

The single word carried across the courtyard with surprising force.

Every voice stopped. Even the birds in the nearby trees seemed to fall silent. The Queen looked across both groups of guards before speaking.

"No swords will be drawn today."

Nobody dared interrupt her.

She continued calmly.

"Cadence Merygold has been arrested under the authority of the Crown. Physical evidence recovered during the investigation directly connects him to the murders of Jelda and Hatche, as well as to the attempted assassination of Ace Walker. The Crown does not make such accusations lightly."

The silence became even heavier.

She looked toward the royal guards. "Take the prisoner inside."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The guards pulled Cadence back onto his feet.

"I didn’t do it!" Cadence shouted as they began leading him toward the mansion. "Father! Father, please! Tell them they’re making a mistake!"

Jack took one desperate step forward before his own household guards held him back, fearing the royal soldiers would mistake the movement for an attack.

The courtyard remained frozen as Cadence disappeared through the mansion doors, leaving behind a silence so heavy that nobody seemed willing to be the first to speak.

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By the time I made it back to the city, the sun had already begun sinking toward the horizon.

The familiar streets felt strangely peaceful after everything that had happened at the Merygold estate. Merchants were packing away their stalls for the evening, children chased one another through the square, and the smell of fresh bread drifted from nearby bakeries.

I followed the circular street until the academy dormitories came into view.

Mio sat on the bench outside the girls’ dormitory, quietly reading a book as usual. Ken leaned against the large tree nearby with one foot resting against the trunk, absentmindedly tapping the ground while waiting for something to happen.

The moment they spotted me, both of them looked my way.

I walked over.

"Ace," Ken said as he hurried toward me. He grabbed both of my shoulders and gave me a firm shake. "What in the world happened?"

"The city crier came through earlier," Mio explained as she closed her book. "He announced that a public execution would take place in the central street. He said Cadence was the one being sentenced."

Ken finally let go of my shoulders.

I nodded. "Yeah. I found the evidence I was looking for. Cadence really was our killer."

"Gods," Ken muttered, letting out a long breath. "How did everything go?"

"I managed to sneak into his room and searched the place. I found a lock of blue hair he’d kept as a trophy, and I also found a signed letter ordering someone to put a bounty on my head."

Mio frowned. "He actually signed it with his own name?"

"Yeah." I shrugged.

"He wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed."

Ken blinked a few times. "How did you even arrange an execution that fast? Did you tell the Queen everything?"

"I didn’t exactly have much of a choice. The Queen caught me while I was heading to the ceremony. After that, I had to tell her the truth."

Ken let out a low whistle. "I’m honestly surprised she didn’t decide to hang you beside Cadence."

"I was wondering the same thing."

I rubbed the back of my neck before looking at them.

"How was school while I was gone? The ceremony was supposed to last another night, but I guess that plan didn’t survive."

Ken rolled his eyes. "The same as always. Professor Voss nearly talked us to death, I forgot half of what he said before lunch, and I still have homework waiting for me. Overall, a perfectly normal academy day."

"Sounds exciting." I deadpanned.

"It wasn’t."

Mio looked at me again. "So the arrest really happened this morning?"

I nodded. "It did."

She remained quiet for a moment before giving a small nod of her own. "Then it’s finally over."

Ken folded his arms and let out a satisfied breath. "At least justice caught up with him. Jelda and her mother’s killer finally got what he deserved."

"Yeah." I leaned back on the bench and rubbed both hands over my face. "It caught up to him... man, I’m exhausted. What’s for dinner?"

Ken grinned. "Tonight’s dinner is roasted chicken with vegetable stew. If we’re lucky, the cooks might even have baked those honey rolls everyone keeps stealing."

I immediately stood. "Then that’s exactly where I’m headed."

Mio smiled faintly before getting to her feet and dusting off her skirt. "I should get back as well. I still have homework waiting for me."

She looked at me for a brief moment.

"Good work today, Ace."

I gave a tired grunt that was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "Thanks."

Ken started walking toward the boys’ dormitory, and I fell into step beside him while Mio headed back toward the girls’ side of the academy.

As we crossed the courtyard, the tension I’d been carrying for the past several days finally began to lift.

It had been one exhausting day, and all I wanted now was a hot meal, a proper night’s sleep, and at least one day without chasing murderers across the kingdom.

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