SWNOVELS Chapter 225
Chapter 225 Two Hundred and Twenty-Five
Lucianne challenged her mate with equally fierce eyes and tone, "And he ENDED it, my King. Are you saying that doesn’t matter? At all?" Silence ensued and she continued, “You very well know we were hitting a dead end with the corrupt ministers. The audits Ellia gave us were flimsy because they were in hard copies, hidden for almost two decades. It wasn't possible to authenticate those. The court was ready to throw it out as suspicious evidence. Even if we got Ellia and the others to testify, there was a chance that the sentencing wouldn't be as heavy as it now is. Greg's evidence came in a chip, and it was authenticated with ease. The strength of the evidence he handed over put those people he colluded with behind bars. Now, he's even given himself up.”
Xandar argued, “If I remember correctly, we arrested him, Lucy. He couldn't run.”
Lucianne’s eyebrows raised as she questioned him, “Do you really believe that? Do you really think he couldn't get out of anywhere if he wanted to? How do you explain his impeccable disappearance for the past couple of weeks? And if he wanted to run, why didn't he do just that right after sending us the location of the Kyltons' residence? Why did he wait for us to get there to bring him back with us?” Xandar averted his eyes and breathed in anger because he wasn't able to answer her. No one could answer Lucianne, or argue against her. She turned to face everyone and said, “We only have him now because he is giving himself up. I don't know why he’s doing it but if there isn't a alanced indictment for Greg, then every other
criminal lurking in the dark corners of the Kingdom would never see the point in leaving their ways and coming to us. We CAN'T have that. We can't disregard the help that a criminal has given to the government and the monarchy. Omitting to take their contribution into account amounts to a form of punishment that is greater than torture, greater than any punishment that can be imposed by the law.”
“What's that? What can be greater than torture or death?” Juan asked the question running through everyone’s minds.
Lucianne’s eyes met her brother's, and she declared, “Betrayal.”
The room started to simmer down. Lucianne knew that word better than anyone else there. Every bond-snap before she met Xandar was excruciating. She felt the anguish from the rejections and the betrayal from two of her past mates. She also felt betrayed by the Moon Goddess, who was not supposed to hurt her if she didn't do anything wrong, and who was not supposed to bond her to creatures who would hurt her. On many nights, she wished that she would just wake
up dead. It was no secret that it took her many weeks and even months before she started being okay again.
Every creature in the room was really listening now. Lucianne went on, “Torture and death are merely a consequence of betrayal. We punish criminals because they betrayed the system and its people. We take care of creatures who display loyalty to defend the system and the people in it.”
With suppressed anger, Christian noted, “Greg doesn't fit into the second category, my Queen.”
“Are you saying he fits perfectly well into the first, Christian?” Lucianne asked.
Like Xandar, Christian averted his eyes from her because he couldn't deny that Greg had been helping them. After taking a deep breath, he stared at the table and asked, “So, what do we do? What should we put in the monarchy’'s recommendation?”
Lucianne's voice turned soft and doubtful when she uttered, “I don't know. But there's no way he should be let-off scot free.”
Toby then suggested, “Lower prison sentence? Maybe lighter punishments, too? You know, less whipping compared to the rest?” “We could also strip him of his dukedom.” Xandar said, and when all eyes fell on him, he only locked his onyx orbs on his mate and explained, “No royal member in history has ever had their title stripped from them. The punishment is severe enough to make up for what he did.”
“And what's the balancing factor?” Lucianne asked. Xandar responded, “Lower sentencing?”
“How low?” Lucianne’s eyes burned into his when she detected that he had no intention to balance things out.
Xandar breathed heavily in jealousy before his murderous onyx eyes fixed on Lucianne as he asked in a slow, low voice, “Why are you defending him?”
Registering his jealousy, Lucianne emitted a low, angered growl and declared, “Because it's what's right. He helped us. Throwing him under the bus does NOT serve the Kingdom in the long-run. If you even THINK that I'm doing this because I am in love with him, I'd suggest you check the mark on your neck AND mine, your Highness.” «
His hand immediately moved to gently push her hair to the back, and his fingers traced the mark he made on the most beautiful and amazing creature in the Kingdom. She was his. Only his. The sight calmed him, and the sensation he made on her skin calmed her.
Between his calamity, he felt something else. Hurt. But that wasn't his emotion. When his partially lilac eyes returned to Lucianne's teary orbs, she spoke in a whisper, “How could you not trust me to stay with you? How could you even think that I would want someone else? We've marked each other. Should I be worried that you would want someone else despite what 1 did on your neck?” s He instantly pressed her into his chest and uttered, “No. Never. There'll only ever be you.” After planting a deep kiss on her hairline, he muttered, “I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry.” Her hurt cut right through him, and his animal was having a hard time coping with their mate's pain knowing that they were the ones who caused it.
After a few quiet, awkward moments, Annie's voice rang through the room, “Stripping the dukedom may be taking it too far.” Her statement even made her own mate surprised. Annie went on to say, “It's like Lucy said. He helped us. He did a lot of unforgivable things in the past but what he has been doing recently...changes things. The severity of our recommendation should...probably weigh in how sorry he feels about everything he did.” «