12 Trial (1/2)
As a red grand coach touches the ground with it's route directly heading to the Imperial Palace, the coach took great stride passing the monuments of the Palace; and the red coach finally stopped in front of the Palace's grand stairs. The coachman had opened the coach's door discreetly, as the Duke sets his foot on the ground. He turns and he sees his daughter for the last time, Ekaterina had bid farewell in expectation that her father will join her later; but her father wasn't thinking the same way she did. 'Farewell my daughter, Ekaterina. May god help you on your way to this perilous journey you're going to take.' he said to himself.
The couch's doors finally closed and the coachman obeyed the duke's last orders to him. The coachman immediately alarms the horses, and the coach finally leaves the entrance. The duke could see the coach in the distance leaving in grandeur. 'Whatever might happen to this country, i'll make sure i will lay the way for Ekaterina to save our nation from this chaos we're about to face'. He turns and walks into the entrance lifting his footsteps to go upstairs through the grand staircase, the extravagance of the staircase could be seen with statues representing the Empire's military achievements throughout it's history. As he enters the Main door to the interior of the palace, he is welcome by a long red carpet, made of the finest silk from the east. undoubtedly signifying the wealth and glory of the emperor to its visitors, he could immediately feel the Emperor's authority in the Palace. He is welcomed by the servants and guided to go through the Throne Room, they walked in the halls of the palace. The halls are decorated with ornate golden symbols in the walls, often several meters apart. As he breathes heavily and thinks to himself 'Just how much did the furnishing of the Imperial Palace cost? the palace is built extravagantly that i think the Imperial Treasury might be running out of funds soon' he turns all over the hallway to see the paintings commissioned by the previous emperors, the paintings often portrayed the emperor riding in a horseback in a victory a battle against the decisive battle of Ophelburg in which the forces of the Summerwyn Kingdom was invading the empire a hundred years ago.
The battle was a turning point in the history of the continent, as the Kings of Summerwyn began to lose power and influence after the battle of Ophelburg 108 years ago. The duke was proud in part that his grandfather played a huge role against the defeat of the Summerwyn forces, as when the duke was young. His grandfather would used to spend time with him in his childhood telling tales about his grandfather's epic journey's and battles he spend through his lifetime. The duke remembers and still cherishes those joyful carefree days of his childhood. He turned and continued walking in the hallways ”We are here Sir”,the servant said to the duke. He built up his courage and proceeded to walk in the room, as the doors open; a strange looking tall object can be seen erected touching the ground in the throne room.
As he steps his foot on the Throne Room, the guards had pointed their muskets towards him ”RAISE YOUR ARMS OR ELSE WE WON'T HESITATE TO SHOOT!”, the duke immediately raised his hands in the air and assured the guards he didn't bring any weapon. The guards proceeded to handcuff him, and tied in a post in front of the presence of the Emperor to avoid his escape.
”So, if i am mistaken; you are the the Duke of Ophiel. Am i correct?” The Emperor calmly asked directly to his father in-law.
”Yes, Indeed i am your majesty.” The Duke humbly replied,
”Gustav Von Ophiel, you are hereby charged by the following crimes committed against the state; Treason”
As the Emperor and his subordinates charged Gustav his' crimes against the state, he isn't guilty of the crimes he committed. Because he knew what he was fighting for.
One of the General Staff stood up and explained as the eyewitnesses of this supposed crime.
Maria stepped out and firmly stood in front of the Emperor, she took something out of an envelope she bought with her, in it is a mail and she immediately reported her account in the presence of his highness,
”Your highness it is my pleasure to serve as an eyewitness to this crime, around a week ago, the General Staff just finished the general war meeting in the HQ. So i headed to my office in the main building which is ,not far away from the war planning room in which where i came from. So, someone had sent me a letter in my mailbox.”
”So i decided to take it and read at it in my office, so while i was at it and read every content of it, the letter was from the duke according to letter with his official signatures on it. I searched through my documents and even asked the others to find any documents with a similar Duke's signature with it, and we found one document which has the signature of the Duke. We compared it with the letter and confirm the authenticity of the letter. According to the contents of the letter, the duke is persuading me and the General Staff to conclude the war and negotiate immediately on the peace table. Which is hugely humiliating to the Empire” She added,
Maria kneeled and gave the letter to the imperial servants before returning to her seat, she is deeply in honored. the Emperor received the letter, read and analyzed every contents of the letter.
While the Emperor was reading the letter, the duke whispered 'i will sacrifice myself for my daughter,my grandson, and the homeland' he said,
The Emperor didn't heard what the duke said so he asked the duke if he has any objections and explain what happened so that he has a chance to live.
But to the Emperor's dismay, the Duke did not answer...
The military bureaucrats have been wanting to eliminate the influence of the Ophiels for a long time, and it is now the perfect chance. They want to execute the Duke as soon as possible, so that the military can finally rule the empire.
”He is a Traitor!!”
”Get off with his head!”
The demands of the military bureaucrats can be heard all throughout the room, they demand the duke's head. They wanted to show off the duke's head to the masses immediately. As the Emperor stands from his throne, he begins to deliver his speech from his most ornate throne made of precious metals,
”As the Holy Emperor of The Holy Estermage Empire, it is my utmost duty to uphold justice and peace to my loyal subjects. I will never tolerate disloyal subjects in my empire, those who betray the name of the Empire will be severely punished!”
”And as such, Duke Gustav von Ophiel. You are stripped off of you noble privileges, and you will be sentenced to death by the guillotine.”
'i can not let this man be alive, he must be eliminated as soon as possible or else my plans will fail'
the Emperor thought to himself