The great throne room of Melromarc was illuminated by tall stained-glass windows that filtered the evening light, dyeing the polished marble shades of gold and crimson. In the center, upon the imposing ebony and silver throne, sat Mirellia Q Melromarc, her posture impeccable and her gaze cold as steel.

She wore her royal attire: a purple silk gown embroidered with gold threads that clung to her slender figure, while her heavy and ornate crown featured a red gem that hung right in the center of her forehead, glittering with every movement. Her purple hair, tied back in an elegant bun, was framed by the crown, wavy strands falling on either side of her face, accentuating her sharp features and calculating expression.

Before her, kneeling in submission, were three landowners from the southern agricultural regions and two heads of foreign affairs, all men of influence… and, it seemed, of low morals.

“My queen, we don’t know what you accuse us of—” one of the nobles stammered, sweating beneath his heavy doublet.

Mirellia didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to. With just interlacing her fingers and leaning slightly back on the throne, the silence grew thicker than fog in a swamp.

“Really?” Her tone was soft, almost musical "Because the reports from my spies say otherwise. They say they've been trafficking demihumans like cattle. That they're selling them wounded to Silvert mercenaries… and that they're lining their pockets with the suffering of others."

One of the heads of foreign relations paled "Th-It's a misunderstanding, Your Majesty. We just—"

"Just what?" Mirellia interrupted, leaning forward, the gem in her crown flashing like a warning "Just broke my laws? Just sabotaged years of diplomatic effort? Or just thought I wouldn't find out?"

The air turned frigid. They all knew what it meant to anger the Queen.

"Let me make something clear," she continued, smiling with a poisonous sweetness as her fan hides her mouth "Melromarc is no longer my foolish husband's kingdom. Here, betrayal is repaid in kind... and I have a very imaginative mind."

The men gulped. The hearing had barely begun... and they were already sentenced.