Chapter 136: The Duke Of The Beast Demons Was Aware All Along
Chapter 136: The Duke Of The Beast Demons Was Aware All Along
Elyn’s POV
I stared at Zorathys like he had just announced the sky was green.
Slowly, very deliberately, I lifted a finger and pointed at my own chest.
"Me?"
He nodded, utterly unbothered. "Yes. You."
"Really?" I asked him with wide eyes.
"Really," he nodded.
Kaelthar’s head snapped between us, mane bristling as his patience finally snapped in two. "What is going on?" he demanded, voice reverberating against the stone walls. "I am only here because you destroyed my castle."
Zorathys tilted his head. "For all our vices, we do not lie against the king," Zorathys said with a shake of his head, like Kaelthar was one naughty demon that needed reprimanding. "I did not destroy your castle, I destroyed part of your castle."
"What’s the difference?" he asked Zorathys.
"That it’s a part and not the whole?" Zorathys asked him. "For someone who claims I’m unfit to rule because I lack intellect, you certainly lack more than I do," Zorathys told him.
Kaelthar’s lips peeled back in a snarl, sharp teeth flashing. "It was not just a part," he growled. "You also destroyed my greenhouse."
Zorathys paused. He tilted his head as if thinking back on what Kaelthar had just said, even though it was true that he had destroyed the greenhouse.
"You know how much the greenhouse means to me," Kaelthar muttered.
"Oops," Zorathys said unapologetically.
I was trying so hard to hold in my laughter because of the scene in front of me. Zorathys didn’t feel anything at all. He wasn’t apologetic for destroying Kaelthar’s greenhouse, and he really had to say oops and not even sorry?
Beside me, Naviel coughed—far too loudly for it to be innocent. I didn’t even need to look at him to know he was hiding a laugh behind his hand.
Kaelthar, on the other hand, looked like he might actually combust.
His body vibrated with restrained fury, claws flexing, tail lashing once against the stone floor. "I am not here for your games," he said tightly. "You will explain now why you destroyed my castle."
Zorathys smiled.
Then he gestured lazily toward the frozen nobles.
With a sharp snap of his fingers, the spell released.
Six bodies jolted violently as air rushed back into their lungs. The chamber filled instantly with gasps, choking coughs, and the raw sound of panic. Knees buckled. One of them cried out. Another fell forward, barely caught by the magic tether that still restrained them from collapsing fully to the ground.
Kaelthar stiffened. "Why are my people bound?" he demanded. "What is the meaning of this?"
Zorathys yawned.
I didn’t think that was physically possible in this situation, but he managed it.
"I’m too tired to explain," he said casually. "My wife will do the talking." He glanced at me. "Besides, she likes working."
I shot him a glare sharp enough to cut stone. But he just gave me back a smile that showed his beautiful teeth.
I gave him the middle finger discreetly, and he frowned at me, but I only smiled back. He didn’t know what the gesture meant. That was a point on my part, at least.
I inhaled slowly and stepped forward. I was the embodiment of calm as I did so, while Zorathys was playing with his fingers, trying and failing to reenact the gesture I had just given him.
Clearing my throat, I faced Kaelthar fully.
"Your people," I said evenly, "have been involved in child trafficking."
The silence that followed was heavy and absolute.
Then Kaelthar laughed.
It was short, dismissive, and also fucking ugly.
"That’s not possible," he said, waving a hand. "My territory has strict laws. Anyone caught trafficking would be executed on the spot."
"The realm has strict laws, you mean," I corrected him.
He waved me off. "It doesn’t matter. We especially take it extremely seriously in my realm."
I smiled. It wasn’t a sweet smile; it was more of an I’m just smiling because it feels like the best thing to do right now smile. It was also the kind of smile that made people nervous.
"The evidence," I said, "proves otherwise."
Kaelthar laughed darkly. "Dear Queen, I know you are new here, but you should know that not all evidence is true. It can mislead you. And besides, you haven’t even been officially recognized as the queen. You should not be presiding over this. The king—"
"I’d advise you control your tongue, ugly demon," Zorathys drawled. "If the queen gets angry, then I’d likely get angry too. And you know what I’m like when I’m angry."
Kaelthar clenched and unclenched his hands. He was visibly vibrating with anger. He nodded.
I was glad Zorathys put Kaelthar in his place because he was annoying me at the moment.
He glared at me, then spoke lowly. "Evidence can be fabricated."
I shook my head. "Not this kind."
I gestured to the prisoners. "We recovered children from an underground network operating beneath a legitimate trade shop. Children from multiple territories. Some of these children were drugged. Their families were drugged too." My voice stayed steady, even as something cold and furious settled in my chest. "Your nobles funded it. Your officials protected it. Your patrols looked the other way."
"That’s a lie," one of the beast demons shouted hoarsely.
Zorathys didn’t even look at him. The demon slammed into an invisible barrier, choking on his next words as the magic tightened.
Kaelthar’s jaw clenched. "If this were true," he said slowly, "I would have known."
I met his gaze without flinching. "That," I replied, "is part of the problem."
I gestured at Morthen, and he nodded.
He stepped forward then, adjusting his glasses. "We traced payments," he said calmly. "Shell guilds. False charities. Supply routes disguised as simple transport." He looked directly at Kaelthar. "All originating within your borders."
Naviel uncrossed his arms. "And before you claim ignorance," he added coolly, "your seal appears on several approvals."
Kaelthar’s breath hitched.
Just barely.
"That seal," he said, "has been copied before."
"Poorly," Naviel replied. "This one wasn’t."
The chamber felt smaller suddenly, like the walls were inching closer.
I took another step forward. "Children were sold like commodities," I said. "Some didn’t even survive transport. Others were..." I paused, swallowing. "...conditioned."
Before leaving the beast territory, I had made sure we got every piece of information we could from those involved in the trafficking of these children. Demons or not, they did not deserve to be treated the way they had been treated—sold away like they didn’t matter.
Kaelthar looked away. It was only for a second. But I saw it.
"You knew something was wrong," I said quietly. "Maybe not this. But you knew enough."
His golden eyes snapped back to mine. "Careful," he warned.
"I am being careful," I replied. "Careful not to excuse monsters just because they wear noble titles."
One of the frozen nobles began sobbing.
Another cursed my name.
Zorathys shifted beside me, giving them all a bored look.
"You brought me here," Kaelthar said slowly, "to humiliate me?"
"No," I said. "We brought you here to stop this."
I gestured again to the prisoners. "These people operated for years. They used your territory because it was profitable—and because no one challenged them."
Kaelthar’s voice dropped. "And you think destroying my castle was necessary?"
Zorathys answered before I could. "It got you here."
I sighed. "We would have preferred diplomacy."
Kaelthar snorted. "You didn’t try."
I looked at Zorathys.
He shrugged.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "We are trying now."
Kaelthar studied me then—really studied me.
"You are human," he said finally. "Barely bound to this realm. What authority do you think you have over beast territory?"
I met his gaze without hesitation. "Enough."
He scoffed. "That’s not an answer."
"It is," I said. "You’re standing in the demon king’s dungeon, facing criminals caught in the act, and you’re arguing jurisdiction."
His tail lashed again.
Kaelthar exhaled slowly. "What do you want?"
Accountability, I thought.
Justice.
Answers.
Out loud, I said, "Your cooperation."
A muscle jumped in his jaw. "And if I refuse?"
My smile sharpened. "Then we continue without you."
I glanced at the prisoners. "This trial will proceed. And you are not free. You are involved in this because you knew and did nothing, so you either work with us or you suffer the same fate as the other prisoners."
Kaelthar cast a look at the prisoners, his face scrunched up in disgust.
"You are already treating me like a prisoner. You are treating me like I am one of them just because you found them operating in my territory," he said in disgust.
Was this demon nuts?
"Did you listen to anything I said?" I asked him with a frown.
"Loud and clear, and I have reached my conclusion. Do with the demons what you want to do with them, but leave me out of this. I have nothing to do with them."
He turned his back, moving toward the door.
"You know, I’ve been kind with you, especially for someone who is actually in charge of this trafficking," I said calmly.
He paused, then turned to face me with a glare.
"What did you just say?"