The child’s father positioned himself between Nora and the child, watching her with a guarded and serious expression.
Nora offered so explanations, but those present were unsatisfied.
The atmosphere within the villa increasingly hinted at familial discord.
After Portia reported the events of the previous night to Howard, Howard pursed his lips, asking, "How did Nora deal with those people?"
Portia replied, "Apart from her nephew, even mbers of the Habsburg family were killed.
None of the servants or maids involved in the incident survived."
Howard frowned, comnting, "She remains as bloodthirsty as ever, whether strategizing for in the past or acting now, she always displays such a cold and rciless deanor."
Portia inquired, "Your Majesty, the forces we infiltrated with our gold have been eliminated. What shall we do next? My n are still stationed outside the villa, and they have already blocked dozens of attempts by people wanting to leave."
"Nora has gone too far; she killed a mber of the Habsburg family." Portia speculated on Howard’s intentions, "Does that an Nora will soon be overthrown by her own family?"
Howard nodded in affirmation.
"How is Neplon’s condition? Has he woken up today?" Portia’s expression turned peculiar.
"He’s doing well, and my vassal tinnis has been by his side, watching over him."
After a mont of thoughtful consideration, Howard decided to visit Neplon personally.
Neplon is currently lying in the palace built by the Habsburg royal family years ago.
Indeed, the palace is grand and exquisitely beautiful, sprawling over a vast area, so allocating a room for Neplon was no issue at all.
Upon seeing Neplon, Howard found him still in a comatose state.
tinnis, evidently having not slept all night, was by Neplon’s side.
Startled by the arrival of Howard and Portia, he quickly scrambled to his feet, panic-stricken, and paid his respects.
Traditionally, tinnis would have been expected to bow only to his direct lord and offer rely a courteous phrase to Howard.
However, tis have changed, with the monarchy in the Fran Kingdom growing increasingly authoritative, even to the point of Lois proclaiming "I am the state."
Thus, tinnis now found himself bowing to Howard.
Portia cast a glance at tinnis, feeling a twinge of discomfort.
He considered tinnis his protégé, having plucked him from Bosiden’s diplomatic corps.
Despite tinnis’s eloquence and diplomatic prowess, he was underutilized and not favored by Bosiden.
After spending three years in a subordinate role within Bosiden’s team, without any prospect of promotion, it was Portia who, during an investigation into Bosiden, identified tinnis as a valuable asset.
He then negotiated tinnis’s transfer, appointing him as his own vassal.
Now, Portia felt a sense of investnt gone sour as tinnis chose to honor the king before him, a sign of misplaced priorities in Portia’s eyes.
However, it was clear tinnis hadn’t thought so deeply about his actions; he was simply overwheld and under significant stress.
Howard, oblivious to the tension between Portia and tinnis, was solely focused on Neplon’s condition.
He inquired of the doctor, "How is his injury?"
The doctor assured him there was no serious harm; the knife had been removed, the bleeding stopped, and with so rest, Neplon would recover well.
Ness rushed to the infirmary, briefly speaking with Howard upon arrival.
Her deanor towards Howard had improved significantly from before, shedding so of the previous distance and aloofness for a subtle sense of reliance.
Howard, puzzled by this change but always generous in his treatnt of vassals, listened as Ness apologized for encouraging the apple-on-head duel that resulted in Neplon’s injury.
"Don’t apologize to ; apologize to Neplon. He’s the one who got hurt," Howard replied.
Ness pouted in response.
Seeing this, Howard advised, "Don’t be so impulsive next ti," to which Ness nodded vigorously.
After leaving the room, Howard instructed the palace’s dical team and maids to take good care of Neplon.
By noon, a dramatic turn of events had unfolded at the Habsburg villa: Nora was expelled.
Upon her exit, Portia and others, who had been waiting outside, escorted her to Howard.
Howard, in a fit of anger, shattered a cup and scolded Nora for daring to harm his vassal.
Nora, with her cunning eloquence, refused to admit any wrongdoing, claiming there was no evidence to prove she plotted against Alonso.
Howard then brought up the matter of Boshni and the Habsburg military officer, urging Nora to stop her evasions.
Nora, with a flick of her head and a swirl of her white pleated skirt, retorted, "Where is this Boshni? Bring her out to face !"
"And this military officer from my Habsburg family you speak of, call him too!"
Howard’s expression darkened as he glanced towards Portia.
With a blink, Portia confird the grim reality: both Boshni and the officer had been executed, leaving no living witnesses to testify.
Howard found himself in a quandary, reluctant to act the tyrant, so he summoned Bosiden and Vettel to discuss the matter.
Bosiden, having left yesterday’s banquet early to indulge in excessive drinking, was still intoxicated and thus, a disappointnt to Howard.
Vettel arrived but showed little interest in dealing with Nora’s case, his comnts veiled attempts to shield Nora.
As the situation seed to drag on towards a deadlock, Howard called over servants and maids from Alonso’s castle to attest to Boshni and Nora’s cris.
One man recounted, "I was moving furniture that day, heavy stuff, so I took a break. That’s when I overheard the Duchess and a man whispering. I listened closer and discovered they were plotting to kill the Duke with a slow-acting poison."
A woman shared, "I was hanging laundry on the balcony and watering plants. I accidentally splashed water on the Duchess. Normally, she would scold , but that day, she didn’t."
"Later, I found the poison the Duchess was giving to the Duke. I figured she was acting out of guilt, not daring to cause a scene, which is why she didn’t scold ."
Howard also summoned the designer who had overseen the renovation of Alonso’s castle three months prior, asking him, "It was you who designed the renovations for Alonso’s castle, right?"
The designer affird.
Howard continued, "Then why did you design a huge hole in the second floor of Alonso’s castle, connecting it to the first floor?"
The designer replied, "That was not my design at all. It was a Habsburg officer nad Krei who forced to do it. I refused that day, believing such a design would tarnish my career as an architect. But Krei drew his waist knife, pressed it against , and coerced into complying."
Howard summoned Maximilian and inquired about Krei’s identity.
Facing reality, Maximilian revealed who Krei was: a close confidant of Nora’s, her first cousin once removed, and a mber of the Habsburg family.
Pointing at Nora, Howard said, "With that, it seems we have a complete testimony. Do you have anything to say?"
Nora, defiant, responded, "Complete testimony? It’s all been one-sided from the start. Boshni and Krei are dead, without any chance to defend themselves. It’s just you slinging mud."
"Howard, if you want to kill , then do it. You’re the king, with vast power and a realm that spans the entire empire. The capital is under your control. You’re powerful enough to want to kill , your forr strategist and secretary."
Howard, inexperienced in matters of adjudication and now regretting the hasty executions of Boshni and Krei, realized the impossibility of bringing them to testify against Nora.
Rubbing his head, he felt unable to reach a verdict, pondering the complexities and challenges of justice and retribution within the confines of power and loyalty.
Catherine approached Howard, whispering in his ear, "You indeed cannot judge her here, but the Habsburg family can. Nora has committed murder within the family, including the killing of a Habsburg mber, an act universally acknowledged by their family."
"You could return her to the Habsburg family, allowing the newly appointed head of the Habsburg family to deal with Nora."
Howard found this suggestion appealing and sent Nora back to the Habsburg villa, where the new family head, Ferdinand, exiled her.
Nora was stripped of her noble title and Habsburg mbership, becoming an ordinary person without any claim to her forr status.
...
Bosiden and Vettel were frightened by these developnts.
Bosiden turned to Vettel, asking, "How long have we known each other?"
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