Chapter 168: Rich

Every instinct in my body told me something was wrong. A father should have been begging for his son’s life. A father should have been pleading for mercy. Instead, Jack wanted the rope tightened.

The Queen finally rose from her chair. Her expression had lost every trace of composure.

She lifted one hand toward the scaffold. "Bring him down."

The royal guards rushed forward immediately. One climbed onto the platform and cut the rope while two others caught Cadence before he collapsed completely. He dropped onto the wooden floor coughing violently, dragging desperate breaths into his lungs as the noose was pulled from around his neck.

I slowly turned toward the crowd.

Then I raised my arm and pointed directly at Jack Merygold.

"It was you."

Jack frowned.

"What?"

I stepped down from the platform and walked toward Jack.

His face had gone pale, but anger quickly replaced the shock.

"How dare you?" he shouted. "How dare you interrupt a royal execution, you insolent little shit!"

"You didn’t act the way a father would act just before," I said, continuing toward him. "You wanted this execution to continue. Why?"

"It’s because... because..." He pointed toward the Queen. "It was Her Majesty’s will, you fool!"

"Really, Jack? The Queen’s will? That’s the lie you’re sticking with?"

Silence spread across the circular street as hundreds of students, nobles, guards, servants, and citizens watched us without moving. The guards surrounding the platform kept their hands on their weapons but made no attempt to interfere, their attention fixed on Queen Mia while they waited for her command. Even the murmuring that had filled the square only moments ago faded into uneasy whispers.

"It was your idea to marry Cadence to Jelda," I continued. "The truth is that you wanted Jelda yourself, but you couldn’t openly marry her because of her age. Instead, you invented a convenient story and convinced everyone that Cadence was the one interested in her."

"What nonsense are you spewing?" Jack snapped.

"I... I never wanted Jelda." Cadence said behind me. "F-father?"

I reached into my inventory and pulled out the lock of blue hair. A wave of gasps rippled through the crowd as I held it high enough for everyone to see.

"This is Jelda’s hair. It still has her blood on it, and you tied it together with your own hair tie, you dumbo."

Seriously. What an idiot.

"I don’t wear hair ties!"

"You did during the archery contest."

Jack’s expression faltered for only a moment, but it was enough. Several nobles exchanged uncertain looks before quiet conversations broke out among them.

"He did tie his hair back."

"I remember seeing that."

"So do I."

"I also remember that!"

The whispers grew louder as Jack instinctively took a step backward.

"You also wrote the letter that hired assassins to kill me. Afterward, you signed Cadence’s name beneath it."

"Lies!" Jack shouted. "Queen Mia, hang him immediately!"

The Queen didn’t react. She remained exactly where she stood with her arms crossed, silently watching us.

"When that plan failed," I continued, "you moved to your second plan. You planted every piece of evidence inside Cadence’s room and made sure I would find it. Somebody unlocked his bedroom while I was sneaking through the mansion, and you conveniently placed me inside the main building alongside the Queen and the other honored guests so I could investigate without much resistance. Every obstacle disappeared exactly when I needed it to, because you wanted me to reach those clues."

"Lies!"

"I heard one of the guards mention a signed confession. Who has it?"

"I-I do," one of the guards answered from behind Jack. "What about it?"

"May I see it?"

The guard looked toward Queen Mia. She answered with a single nod, and he reached into his coat before handing me a folded sheet of paper stained with dried blood. They probably had him signed this with torture. Poor guy.

I unfolded it carefully and read the contents.

’I, Cadence Merygold, confess to the murders of Jelda and Hatche. No one forced me to commit these crimes, and I accept whatever punishment Her Majesty deems appropriate.’

Cadence’s signature appeared beneath the confession.

I held the confession beside the assassination letter.

"Look closely. Cadence writes his letter ’f’ with a long downward stroke before crossing it, but the person who wrote the assassination letter uses short, straight strokes instead. These aren’t the same handwriting."

People leaned forward, comparing both pages from where they stood.

"He’s right."

"The letters are different."

"I can see it."

"That doesn’t match."

"QUEEN!" Jack roared. "I will not accept these ridiculous accusations!"

I shook my head. "Shut your mouth, you dumb idiot."

The square erupted into louder murmurs as I lowered the papers and looked directly into Jack’s eyes.

"The woman I spoke to wasn’t the real Hatche. You killed her before I ever reached that house, then replaced her with someone else. Whether you used illusion magic or another spell doesn’t matter, because the Hatche I questioned wasn’t alive anymore." I explained. "You made me go after Cadence. She, whoever she was, told me about Cadence."

"I WILL KILL YOU!"

Jack suddenly lunged toward me.

The Queen’s face filled with anger. "TORNHAWK!"

Her voice echoed across the square.

The General stepped forward, slammed one hand into the wooden platform, and an overwhelming pressure exploded across the street. The weight crashed down on everyone present. Students stumbled, citizens cried out, guards bent one knee, and even I struggled to stay upright beneath the invisible force. Jack dropped heavily to one knee as his dagger slipped from his hand and clattered across the platform.

Queen Mia slowly rose from her chair and looked down at him.

"Jack Merygold, you stand accused of conspiracy, murder, obstruction of a royal investigation, falsifying evidence, attempting to frame an innocent man, and crimes against subjects of the Crown. By the authority vested in me as Queen of this Kingdom, I hereby strip you of your titles, lands, privileges, and protection under House Merygold. Upon completion of a royal investigation confirming these crimes, you shall suffer the sentence of death."

Holy shit. Was she reading that from somewhere? She sounded like a robot, like she knew what to say even though she had just learned what had happened.

Jack stared at her with widening eyes. "No... no..."

I forced myself upright against Tornhawk’s pressure and glared at him.

"You fucking pervert. You were willing to sacrifice your own son because you couldn’t keep it in your pants. You had Jelda assaulted and murdered, then killed her mother just to bury the truth."

Cadence slowly lifted his head. Confusion filled his face as he stared at his father.

"F-father..." he whispered. "Why...?"

His bride stepped toward Jack without saying a word. She looked at him for several long seconds before striking him across the face with enough force for the slap to echo through the entire square.

"You monster."

Something inside Jack finally snapped.

With a furious roar, he reached for another hidden dagger, but the surrounding guards seized both of his arms before he could draw it. They wrestled him to the ground, pinned him beneath their weight, and ignored his desperate struggles while he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"No! No! No!"

I watched him without saying another word. There were still a few details that refused to fit together, and the more I thought about them, the more convinced I became that this case still wasn’t completely over. There was another piece missing, another thread waiting to be pulled.

The fourth suspect.

Now that was mine to handle.

Jack struggled so violently that it took four guards to force him onto the platform. His polished appearance had vanished completely. His expensive clothes were wrinkled, his hair had come loose, and tears mixed with sweat as he twisted against their grip.

"No! Please!" he cried, kicking at the wooden planks beneath him. "I’m innocent! She’s lying! He’s lying! I didn’t do it! Your Majesty, please!"

The executioner showed no reaction. He simply tightened the rope around Jack’s neck before checking the knot.

"I said I’m innocent!" Jack screamed, his voice cracking as he was forced onto the stool. "Cadence! Son! Tell them! Tell them I would never do such a thing!"

Cadence didn’t answer.

The moment the guards removed the noose from around his neck, he stepped down into the street, and his bride threw her arms around him without hesitation. Cadence stood frozen for a heartbeat before slowly returning the embrace, still staring at his father with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"F-Father..." he whispered. "Why...?"

Jack reached a trembling hand toward him.

"Cadence! Listen to me! They’re lying! Save me! Tell them they’re lying!"

Cadence only tightened his hold on his wife. His lips trembled, but no words came.

The entire circular street had fallen silent.

No cheers.

No celebration.

Only the sound of Jack’s panicked breathing echoed through the square.

Queen Mia took one measured step forward, her crimson hair shifting gently in the breeze. Her gaze remained fixed on Jack as she spoke with the same calm authority that had silenced armies.

"Jack Merygold, head of House Merygold. May the gods judge the soul that failed every law of both the realm and mankind."

Jack shook his head so hard his entire body trembled.

"No... no, please..." Tears streamed freely down his face. "I don’t want to die. Please... Your Majesty... please..."

He looked desperately toward the crowd.

"Somebody help me! Please! I’ve served this kingdom for decades! I have children! I have coin! Whoever helps me is rich!"

Nobody moved.