Chapter 16: Looking Glass
Ciro(POV)
I swear it's like I've been beating him for hours and is about to crack open.
"Please do explain yourself Earl Maxtim. My ears are open." I smiled a wicked smile. Knowing that what ever he says now will not change anything for him and his family.
The rooms atmosphere changes again making it more heavy with the essence of my power. Dark malice pours out of me while my steel blue eyes turned gold. The the Earls wife and two children in chains looked down on the ground in stone fear. The Earl gaze still on the ground stuttering incoherent words.
"Your word are not adding up Earl Maxtim." I said in a cold tone as the heat of my power started to full the room. While the Earl words still didn't add. "Ehhh I …. I can…please…please"
"You know what Earl Maxtim, I can explain" I said as I stood up from my set slowly.
"You, were given a tasks to do by the empire and the money to complete those tasks" I said in a soft cold voice as I stood to my full height my power emitting out of me fulling the room with heat. The soldiers and Hans felt my power though out the room and they stood back and bowed they heads to show submission while the Earl fell to the floor with his family heads covered and breathing heavily and shaking in fear.
"You come here to my palace and claim that you have done a service for empire and then expect a reward from me for doing what…nothing!. I must say you are a bold man Earl." I said with a curl smile.
"Y yyyy your Majesty plea…please, Let my husband explain" his wife wipers out in a shaky voice. "We are your servants Majesty…. And as your servants we must be given a chance to explain….please majesty… our families have-"
"Yes!" I said as I pulled in my power back in me. "You are right…"
"Majesty?"
"I said yes… I am giving you a chance to explain yourself" I said as I sat back down on my throne. Hans looks up at me with confusion not knowing what I'm thinking and I just smile back at him.
"Hans, is she not right. She is a servant of the empire and in the empire we must give a voice to all our servants to make sure all is fair. Also her family have been loyal servants for the crown. Please do speak madam…stand up now" I said in a encouraging tone as I signal for her to stand up.
At first she was worry about my intentions and when she saw that the soldiers did nothing to her she stood up to her full height while the chains clanged. Then she turns to face her family and tells them to also stand and they follow suit.
'Ah! so you are the true head of this family.' I thought to myself.
The women with the clown make up looks up at me replacing her fear to show me her high born noble self. Then proceeded to speak In a aristocratic tone.
"Your Majesty, we as the Maxtim family have served the crown for generations with no complaints. When you need us we stood up and walked with you. My great grandfather Earl Scott's and his men fought in the great monsters war with your late grandfather. We have been here. Now I don't know what is all of this complaint from this commoners but we all know that commoners are untrustworthy, uneducated people. They know nothing on how to build or maintain an empire like us. We as the nobles works day and night to provide for them and feed them and they many children and for them to turn around and lie to you our Emperor! Those who spoke all this…this lies to you they are the ones who should be in chains in front of you not us! For we have done nothing!"
Then the room fell in silence. Earl Maxtim head bow in disappointment and shame his two children mindless nodding they heads in agreement with the clown women. Hans giving me a look of ' did she just really say that.'
Hans (POV)
There is a time in life where you know when to speak and when not to speak and this particular time is when to just keep your mouth shut.
Catherine Betty Ann Maxtim married to Earl John Mint Maxtim II children BettyAnn Milly Blue II and future Earl John Mint Zo MaxtimIII (Zo is apparently after a late grandfather or something (rolling eyes)) who came up with is names.
Crime:
*Human trafficking
*Extortion
*Bribery
*Bullying
*Illegal gambling
*Illegal selling and trading goods and people for sexual favours.
That is just the crimes that we know about and the beginning of the Earl's charges I know there are more of his underground works, but from what just happened now. The Emperor allowing them to speak confused me for a moment cause the Emperor never allows prisoners to speak. The crime are known and present to the empire and he the Emperor cast judgement on to them. Either they are hang in the city square or they are sent to the out land to be slaves for the rest of the days and they property and wealth gets given to a new person who is worthy or get put back in the empire treasury.
While this…this is new, even when the Emperor is having his fun with guilty party he never stray way from what needs to be done. What are you up to?
"Is that what you believe madam." He asked in a slow melodic tone. Not a question but a statement like he is trying to fish for something that is not there or…
"Yes, that is what I believe your majesty. You know how people are who aren't born noble. They can do anything for quick money to discredit the people that feed them. Geed is a powerful thing your majesty and this people that gave you this information about my family are liars and they must be punished" the women huffed. Earl Maxtim just sat there on the ground hands on his lap in total silence head bowed like he has no right to speak. Odd.
"Earl Maxtim do you have anything to say. This crimes may effect your family but you will bare the harshest punishment among them." The Emperor said.
And that when it happened! I see what he was doing now the Earl.
"What do you mean? I-" he said in confusion.
"Well you know all your crimes. The… Hans can you read them out for me."
I grab the paper and began to read to the room.
"Crime:
*Human trafficking
*Extortion
*Bribery
*Bullying
*Illegal gambling
*Illegal selling and trading goods and people for sexual favours.
*Murder
*Stolen property
This are the crimes that your house has committed against the empire. The result of punishment is 100 lashing for the children and banishment to the out lands 100 lashing and banishment to work in the out land for the rest of they days for your wife and for the Earl will be hang in the city square to death." I said as I folded the paper away.
The man looked shocked like some of the things I readed couldn't be true and his wife started to look side to side like she was looking for a way out like she nervous about something.
"Wait…I don't understand…I …I don't know about those crimes …I never did any of those things. There must be a misunderstanding your majesty. Please I didn't" he crook out. He looked between at me and his majesty trying to see if we believe him or not for all of this is all a mistake.
"Your majesty there must be-" she started.
"No, there isn't madam. This crimes are clear and we have the evidence to proof his crimes." His majesty said as he smiled down on them. But something was still missing.
For the longest time I have known his Majesty he has always been like this. Never following the rules of be 'kind' Emperor for the people. No, he was ruthless, cold, calculated, manipulative and detached, never letting people fool him nor trick him into doing thing he didn't want. He stood on his own, fought battles alone and always come out winning. In the last few years as him being Emperor has removed laws that gave nobles power to increase they wealth while leaving the poorer commoners with nothing for them to grow on. Also making nobles pay taxes, removing slave trade in the empire and child labour. He also gave job opportunities to the poorer communities in the slums by giving them rebuilding projects. He built the first school in the slums and gave them new homes to live in. For a person who was born and bred in the slums and the only one who was lucky enough to be able to read I was lucky his majesty found me at my young age and let me work in the palace as his servant.