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IGIWS FIRST DRAFT: Vol.6 Ch.374 The Insignificant Little Man
🕑 Added 2025-07-01 19:33:39 +0000 UTCThe Duke turned and saw everyone staring at him and it was mostly cold eyes.
'No! It can't be true! It's got to be some sort of trick. She must be using her own magic to make it seem like my daughters have Mage Veins. She trying to play us for fools and it's working,' The Duke was frantically searching for a way out of this. 'I can only press her on the murder—'
"You don't seem excited to see your daughters have Mage Veins, My Lord," Rya spoke cutting off the Duke's thoughts.
Sweat started to trickle down the sides of the Duke's face. He glanced over at his family and noticed they were all looking at him, even his wife didn't know how to respond.
"I don't know if this is a trick—"
An audible grown came from the audience as Alaric was once again denying his daughters' Mage Veins.
"A trick, Alaric?... It seems the only one here that is trying to trick everyone is you. I can assure you all, that everything I've said is the truth," Rya said.
Alaric's eyes twitched at Rya's remark. "You can deflect all you want! But the truth remains that you murdered—"
Rya blinked from the edge of the crowd to a few inches in front of the Duke, which made everyone, especially the Duke, flinch.
"Your son, Alaric? Me?" Rya asked with a bit of annoyance in her voice. "I don't remember murdering him." She said while walking around him.
The Duke tried to regain has calm composure as Rya continued her verbal assault.
"You see, here's what I don't get. If I was the one who murdered Marcus, then why didn't you say that to the House of Lords during the emergency session?" Rya asked, as she walked around him, like a predator stalking her prey.
For the second time in his life, his face went pale, as he completely forgot that he accused Quinus of murdering, Marcus. 'H-How did I overlook that! I-It's fine! No one from the meeting is here to—'
As Alaric was trying to find a way out, he was cut off when Rya noticed Hilda's face react. The Foreign Princess was the only one who wasn't a part of friends or Allies that was in the Emergency Session that day. And Rya hoped that Hilda would play ball with her after having their little breakthrough earlier today. It was a long shot, but she had another idea to get Ysandra Fairchild to help her if Hilda was against her.
"My, My... it seems the foreign princess knows something, or am I wrong?" Rya said, looking over at Hilda, who flinched in surprise.
The room went silent at Rya's words, as everyone looked over to the young girl. Hilda looked nervous at first.
'What do I do?... She almost convinced me that she's a good person. However, the goddess is in my side, and it is painfully clear that the "Foul Noblewomen" she spoke of is Leandra... The Goddess knows that they fail to outwit this Dark Elf... I-I need to make sure she doesn't suspect me. I know that this goes against my beliefs, but it is true... The Duke claimed that my Prince was the murderer, and he's nothing like that! Quinus is perfect! And this Duke needs to learn some humility...' Hilda thought as she glanced around the ballroom before settling on Alaric who has a bombshell revelation.
The duke's eyes grew wide as he finally realized that he was going to lose. His mind raced, trying to come up with a way to salvage the situation. He gritted his teeth as Hilda began to speak.
"It's true... The Duke claimed that it was the Crown Prince who killed his son out of jealousy or fear that he would be seen as the true heir to the throne... I was in there as well as the Duchess..." Hilda said softly but it was quiet enough for everyone to hear. Leandra covered her face in embarrassment, while Rianna and her friends smiled at how well this situation was turning out. The other ladies stared in disbelief.
"I-I don't remember my husband saying such things!? It was over two months ago!?" Leandra blurted out in an attempt to help her husband.
"We can asked the Major Lords that attended the meeting. I'm sure they would remember," Hilda stated.
"QUIET! You're not helping!" Leandra snapped at the Foreign Princess.
Rya couldn't believe that Hilda outed the Duchess at the same time as the Duke. It made her life way more easier now that she didn't have to counter his lies and focus on the last part of her plan. 'Damn! I might have to apologize for all the bad things I said about you Hilda. Just when you think you know someone, they go and do something like this. Now! Time to help the Revelia daughters.'
Rya thought, shaking her head, before looking over at Alaric and saw the rage building inside of him. The duke was furious by this betrayal.
"So, which is it, my Lord? Was it me who killed Marcus? Or was it your nephew? Who is the one who's telling the truth?" Rya asked, raising her brow, and smiling smugly.
"YOU!? YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HIM WITH YOUR HEALING MAGIC! BUT INSTEAD, YOU LET HIM DIE!!!" Alaric screamed.
Rya rolled her eyes, "So you're admitting that I didn't murder him?"
Alaric became quiet again as he cursed his own mouth.
"Let me be the one to tell you all what happened to Marcus Revelia!" Rya said loudly and firmly to the audience as she walked around Alaric. "I could have saved Marcus, that is true, but I didn't for many reasons. First, I saw his true character when he left Quinus to died at the hands of the hobgoblins. It was I who came in to save the Prince and his Retainers before the hobgoblins could kill him. There's nothing like a traitor trying to kill his prince that makes me sick to the stomach. Second, when we did catch up to Marcus, he took on the Prince's retainer, Sir George! If he was the next coming of the Wind Gods, then he would have beaten Sir George in combat as well as my friend Dalia who surprised contact him and got struck his Achilles tendons.
"But alas, he lost, and lost his right hand to George's blade. And the third and final reason, I didn't save him because Quinus ordered his death for his treachery! And I couldn't agree more with my fiance," Rya turned to face Alaric coming up to inches away from his face, "You have the gall to come up here and accuse ME of murdering him! You're son was nothing but a coward who used others to do his dirty work, and yet, when he needed the help most, they were all gone! Used as human shields by Marcus!"
The Duke gripped the Sorcerer's Slayer in his pocket as the sweat poured down his face.
Rya looked him in his gray eyes and smirked, "Do you really think that artifact can save you from me?" she asked in a low tone.
"What do you mean?" he replied trying to play dumb. He felt a lump in his throat as his mouth became dry.
"Do you really think you have a chance to defeat me? If you do, then you're more delusional than I thought," Rya said as she walked around him.
Alaric took a few steps back while keeping Rya in front of him. "Do not question my loyalty to Fiafyr! I sacrificed everything to make sure my Kingdom see the next dawn were others fail to see my intellect! I am meant to rule! Where you were not!" he screamed.
He was losing the fight in his voice, and the guests could see the cracks forming on his facade. He knew that everyone was watching him. He had a reputation to uphold however it was quickly crumpling down around him.
Rya chuckled, "You were meant to rule!? You weren't meant to rule anything, Alaric... For all your scheming, for all your manipulations, it all ended up as nothing, didn't it?"
Alaric tried to put up a brave front once more, "And you think the Minor Nobles will accept your rule!? You're nothing more than a monster, a dark elf. There's no way that they'll trust you!"
"Is that what you think, Duke?" Rya asked, smiling. "There's a major difference between how you want to rule and how I will rule. You think that fear is the best way to keep control over your subjects. But fear always needs to keep a tight grip, or its hold on people will disappear. And once it does is when those you think are most loyal to you will stab you in the back. Fear takes too much energy, fear doesn't give you respect, fear is for weak rulers who will do everything in their power to maintain their status quo. This fear will inevitably destroy their country that they are trying so desperately hard to get others to respected..."
Rya paused and looked at the audience of mostly women, "And what he fails in seeing is that respect isn't given, but earned. By doing the right thing. Not by demanding obedience. But by giving back to the people you lead. By building what is already there, instead of taking away. What he and the other men like him at the top don't understand is that the only thing they have left is the title of a lord. And when you lose that, what else do you have?"
She glanced over at the Duke again. "I'll tell you what: nothing. And that's what you are, Alaric... Nothing... For all your plotting against me and my friends, you're nothing more than an insignificant little man, who doesn't realize how merciful I've been. If I was more like you, I would have destroyed everything that you cared about by force... And do you know why I haven't just ended your life months ago?"
Alaric stood there shaking as he stared at the Dark Elf, who's eyes were glowing with power, the very air around her charged with energy.
Rya answered, "It's because I need to use my strength, or my magic to destroy you... All I needed is my words and your lovely personality to utterly annihilate you and every single thing that you hold dear... And the funny thing is, all of it is self-inflicted. The only person who's destroying everything that you love and cherish, is yourself. I didn't have to do a single thing. Except stand here, have fun with good people, and watch you fall on your face. It would be humorous if so many people didn't suffer because of your selfish actions."
The sense of dread that washed over Alaric was like nothing he had ever felt before. Never before has he felt so vulnerable and weak, even when he was captured and brought to his brother for treason didn't compared to the sheer power and presence of Rya.
"Y-you can't do this..." Alaric stuttered out.
Rya couldn't help but smile at the Duke. He was a stubborn one for sure. However in his stubbornness brought up an idea to get the three oldest Revelia daughters out of their marriages while earning the respect of the Ladies of the Court to Rya's max. She probably had around 60 percent or more now after the show she was putting on. And the little stunt she had in mind would probably get 20 percent more. Solidifying her place in the Ladies of the Court's future. Rya just hoped that the locations that the Revelia daughters lived in weren't too far away from her Portal spell.
"I can't do what? Take away everything that you hold dear. Here. Let me show you how insignificant you are. I just need a volunteer to show you how weak and helpless you are," Rya said with a smirk before glancing over at the oldest Revelia daughters, who were confused but also intrigued about what she meant.
Comments
Marek Gwalt
TFTC
Micheal Kennedy
Thanks for the chapter, it would have been for Hiro to be distracting Rya, so she is a little off her game.
