Chapter 85: Heads Shall Roll

Waving his hand over the Maldenberg heads, Marshal Soult played with the crowd as they cheered for their chosen prisoner to be executed. Minutes elapsed and the first prisoner to be chosen for execution was an obvious pick. It was none other than the Grand Duke himself, Arthur Maldenberg.

Signalling the guards to move Arthur, they roughly pushed him and strapped him down to the guillotine's table, his head placed through the pillory. No matter how much Arthur resisted he could not break free from his restraints. He could only look down at the basket that would catch his decapitated head.

Even though Arthur's life was soon to come to an end, he did not die quietly. Before the executioner could release the blade, Arthur spoke. He did not beg for his and his family's lives, nor did he apologise for his tyranny. In typical Arthur fashion, he spewed insults from his venomous. 

"Fuck all you worthless worms. I made our territory the most dominant realm in this shitty continent and this is how you repay me. All of you should have fought to the death alongside my soldiers, you ungrateful bastards."

"Don't even get me started on these Luxenberg dogs. These southern dogs made our men look like untrained children. They killed many of your family and friends and yet you still cheer as me and my innocent family. You all will join us in the afterlife soon enough" 

Before he could continue on his deluded and vile rant, Marshal Soult gave a nod to the executioner. Using that as a signal, the executioner released the blade and within seconds Grand Duke Maldenberg's head was separated from his body and plopped into the basket.

The crowd went wild with cheers as blood squirted out of Arthur's exposed neck. Priscilla and her children were hysterical with fear and sadness as the patriarch of their family had executed so effortlessly. 

Victor and the commanders did not change their expressions, they remained neutral as they watched the execution unfold. It was important that they did not look like monsters or weaklings to the onlooking citizens of their newly conquered city. If they looked cruel they would be met with uneasy citizens. If they looked remorseful then it promoted that they felt sympathy for their former tyrannical ruler.

Next to face the guillotine was the heir of Maldenberg, Adrian. He was well known by the locals as a cruel and devious man. He was notorious for beating servants in the palace who slightly displeased him. On top of that, he had also forced himself upon a few good-looking girls at taverns throughout the city. In summary, the man was a full-blown piece of shit.

Unlike his father, Adrian did all he could to beg for his life. "Please spare, Grand Duke Luxenberg! I can be useful to you, I was privy to all my father's schemes. All my knowledge is yours, all my hidden wealth is yours. Just please spare my life. Kill the rest of my crooked family, just not me."

Hearing how Adrian was willing to sacrifice them for his own survival, the Maldenberg women scream and insult the heir. Generals Bülow, Vandamme and Gimborn could not hide their amusement of the situation unfolding before them. Turning on each other during their final moments was truly a sight to see for the generals.

During the screaming match between the Maldenberg family, Adrian said something that would pique Victor and his commanders' interests. "At least I did not willingly follow Father's twisted orders like you Penelope. You framed the drunkard son of the Fontaine family for trying to molest you. The reason were are about to die is because you complied with Father's orders, which in turn caused this war in the first place."

Everyone was stunned, to think that Grand Duke Maldenberg would use his prized daughter as a tool to start a war. Victor had considered this a possibility but thought it was highly unlikely. Penelope was arguably the most beautiful rising star on the continent, it was hard to think Arthur would risk his daughter's honour just for a justification for war.

Marshal Soult delayed the execution and watched how the argument played out. The once pristine family of Maldenberg were now verbally tearing into each other, exposing all types of secrets large and small. 

It was pitiful to see them spend their final moments together like this, even Marshal Soult was getting bored of it and soon enough Adrian's head joined Arthur's in the basket. More cheers erupted from the crowd as Adrian was decapitated.

Penelope was next to the guillotine. After the crowd heard how she instigated the war between the 2 factions, they all wanted to see her head roll. Tears streamed down her face as she apologised profusely and begged for mercy, however, this was to no avail. Her apology and pleas fell upon deaf ears. No one had sympathy for her.

Quickly her head was separated from her stunning body. The crowd was still enthusiastic while Victor, General Tauentzien and Marshal Bessières were growing bored of the barbaric display proceeding before them.

Grand Duchess Maldenberg was swiftly executed followed by her youngest child Adeline. They were similar to Penelope as they desperately pleaded for their lives to be spared. The crowd showed no mercy for their oppressors and soon enough all the Maldenberg heads were in the basket.

Their bodies were disposed of by the soldiers while the heads were displayed for a little while before promptly following the bodies. Marshal Soult was pleased with the outcome of the execution and the reception it was given by the citizens of Archenshien. 

Victor and his commanders did not linger for too long as there was much still needed to be done. Once they arrived back at the palace, they used the little daylight they had left to get through all the work they had to do.

Field Marshal Schwarzenberg was in charge of troop distribution throughout the newly conquered territory. The domains of Archenshien, Vrague, and Bourbon were all along the Fontaine faction's border so strengthening their garrisons was vital to holding off any surprise attacks from their temporary collaborators.

This became more important when news of Ingelfeller and Konitz's capture reached Archenshien a day before the execution. Duke Vasselle was ultimately defeated after the fall of the 2 cities. His army was crushed in the field by a superior-sized and fresh Fontaine army. The 2 cities were quick to fall while inflicting minimal casualties on the invaders, hence why the Fontaine army easily dealt with Duke Vasselle.

They had also received a missive from Grand Duke Fontaine that he was planning to visit Archenshien to treat Victor and discuss the distribution of the spoils of war. He was set to arrive in 2 weeks, which was frightening considering how quickly he had dealt with Duke Vasselle on the road to Archenshien. It seemed like he was bringing half his army. 

With so much work to be done the 2 weeks went by in an instant and now Duke Fontaine was arriving in Archenshien.