Chapter 91 --91
"And this," Elara continued, pulling out a document Dimitri hadn’t known existed, "is a signed confession from your warehouse supervisor. Obtained by the Shadow Guild two hours ago."
She unfolded it and read aloud: "’On the fifteenth day of this month, Merchant Lord Carver personally instructed me to add a prepared substance to specific spice containers destined for the Fourth Princess’s establishment. He provided the substance in a sealed vial and specified exact mixing ratios. He stated the mixture would cause illness but not death, and that I was to tell no one.’"
Silence.
Carver’s face had gone pale. "That’s... I don’t know what you think you have, but—"
"Your supervisor is currently in custody," Elara said. Her tone didn’t change—still flat, clinical. "Along with your personal assistant and two delivery workers. All four have provided detailed testimony about your direct involvement in poisoning my customers."
She folded the document and handed it to the magistrate, who stepped forward.
"Merchant Lord Carver," the magistrate said formally, "under imperial authority granted to Princess Elara Blackwood, you are hereby charged with deliberate poisoning, attempted mass harm, commercial sabotage, and conspiracy against a member of the imperial family." He unrolled an official warrant. "Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Carver stared at the warrant. At Elara. At the ten beast knights standing in formation behind her, hands resting on sword hilts.
His expression shifted—shock to calculation to anger, cycling through in seconds.
"This is absurd," he said finally. His voice had an edge now. "You can’t just march into my home with fabricated evidence and—"
"The magistrate verified every piece of evidence before we arrived," Elara interrupted. "The testimony is legally binding under imperial law. The physical evidence was examined by the city physician. The confession was witnessed by three separate officials." She paused. "And the charges carry a minimum sentence of twenty years in imperial prison. Maximum is execution."
She let that sink in. Watched his face process it.