My Queen Of Terra - Chapter 237 COMPENSATED HONOR
“Are they all right? Didn’t you encounter any hindrances along the way?”
“They are safe, your Highness. It seemed that they were on the way to Lord Howe Island.”
Raigon’s heart sank as he faced the reality that Zoe was already miles away from him.
His eyes darted towards the east where Lord Howe Island is and heaved out a deep sigh.
Then a muscle from his jaw clenched as he was more determined to fix Terra quickly so he can see her at the soonest time possible.
“Well, it seemed that my dear cousin is truly a man of his word. You have brought back our prisoner before nightfall.”
A sly grin crept up Lord Vigo’s face as he saw them barge in at his quarters.
“Your Highness?”
Azra’s eyes quickly darted towards Raigon. He has no idea that it was part of Raigon’s initial plan.
Lord Vigo’s half-grin turned into a huge one as he saw the surprised look on Azra’s face.
But to his dismay, a triumphant smile spread across Raigon’s face as he answered him back.
“I am not here to put him in prison. I am here to let you know that I am setting him free.”
He pulled out a letter from his Hanfu and rolled it out so Lord Vigo could clearly see.
“This case is now open for re-investigation. And unless it has been proven that Azra is the culprit, you have no right to detain him.”
He thought that Lord Vigo would feel defeated with his written weapon.
But Lord Vigo just stepped back and sat down. He then crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at him.
“Then let the re-investigation begin. He will just be taken back because there is no other suspect than him.”
Azra clenched his fist but still kept his calm. “I am innocent.”
Raigon continued to threaten Lord Vigo and added fuel to the awkward fire.
“How can you say that Azra’s the ONLY felon here when the royal guards were involved? You should be the one who’s hiding now if I were you.”
Lord Vigo didn’t flinch at all.
“Does that mean that I am connected just because they are involved? How can I do that to my own sweet auntie?”
He rebutted, making Raigon’s head tilt back, though he didn’t let his opponent notice how it affected him.
‘Does that mean that he was not involved in this? Then who could have put that arsenic on the cupcakes? Or was he just bluffing?’
“You are still innocent with the ways of the world, my dear cousin. Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
“If not you, then who? You’re the only one who has the ulterior motive of taking over the throne.”
“I thought that’s the purpose of this RE-INVESTIGATION?”
Lord Vigo sniggered as he pointed to the letter with a raised eyebrow.
“It’s all right, your Highness. I am not guilty. I believe the truth shall be made known in the end.”
Azra bowed down to him.
Raigon nodded at him as he was reminded that whether it was Lord Vigo or not, it is inevitable that they would find out what the caused the probable assassination of the Queen.
No matter how disappointed he was at her, she is still his mother. And he would make sure that that person would pay for his crimes, whoever he is.
“If you are so concerned with your dear Auntie, then you should give your best in catching up the real culprit. Just like how you beat up Azra thinking that it was him.”
Raigon snickered as he rolled up the royal command and put it back inside his Hanfu robe.
This seemed to have an effect on Lord Vigo as his face turned pallid white. His tendons stood out in his neck, his pulse became visible.
‘If not him, then does that mean that there is another one involved in this and he knew about it?’
Seeing him being cornered, he followed up with another intriguing remark that would take him off balance.
“I also would like Azra to be compensated both by bestowing double honor to him by the royal military. And those who have done this to him -”
He then pointed to Azra’s bandaged wounds.
“They would receive the punishment four times.”
At the flash of lightning, Raigon stood up from his chair, his feet unconsciously stepped backward.
“This is my order as the Crowned Prince of this land.”
Raigon’s feet widened in stance as he crossed his arms in front of him.
“Have you heard it, Azra?”
At a fraction of a second, Azra positioned himself so he could make a formal bow to Raigon.
He was befuddled at his last order. But after realizing his advantage, a smirk crept up his lips.
Then he lifted his eyes and gazed at the horror-strickened Lord Vigo and his assistant who was also there at that time.
He looked like a rat that is trapped inside a mousetrap.
“Do you hear that royal guards?”
Raigon’s voice now bellowed through the royal guards’ quarters where even the guards from the adjacent room who were eavesdropping could hear.
“Yes, your Highness!”
They all saluted him, including Lord Vigo even though his teeth were gritting under his head as he bowed down.
On the other hand, a grin that cannot be contained appeared on Azra’s face as his head was tilted in honor of the master that he has served all his life.
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In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.
Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn