Chapter 17 : Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Three days later.
The square of Winter City was packed with people.
Nobles dressed in luxurious clothing stood on both sides of the platform.
Polite smiles hung on their faces, but their eyes were full of calculation.
Civilians and soldiers were kept at the outer perimeter, standing on tiptoe as they tried to look inside while whispering among themselves about the newly arrived princess.
“I heard she is only twenty-two?”
“Can she really handle it? Even His Grace the Grand Duke, someone so capable, can barely hold on anymore.”
“Who knows? We are just here to watch the show anyway.”
Logaris stood in the shadows behind the crowd with his hands in his pockets.
The lenses of his glasses reflected the light of the square.
Lilith shrank beside him and whispered quietly.
“Professor, do you think Her Highness the Princess can suppress these old foxes?”
“Stop talking.”
Logaris did not even look at her.
“Just watch.”
The ceremony began.
The honor guard led by Akash marched into the square in perfect formation.
Their military boots struck the stone pavement, producing dull, heavy thuds.
Then Sylvia appeared.
She was wearing the old-style military uniform left behind by Fenrir.
Over it she wore a black sable cloak.
Her hair was pinned high, revealing her pale neck, and the lines of her profile were cold and sharp.
The dagger Fang of the Winter Wolf hung at her waist.
Step by step, she walked onto the platform.
Her silver-gray eyes swept across every face below the stage.
The murmuring in the crowd gradually faded.
Sylvia stood on the platform in silence for several seconds before finally speaking.
“My name is Sylvia Van Astrelia.”
Her voice was not loud, yet it clearly carried to every corner of the square.
“From today onward, I will take over all affairs of the Northern Territory.”
“I will not say anything pretty.”
“The Northern Territory is currently poor, chaotic, and weak.”
“That is the truth.”
The nobles below the platform looked at one another in surprise.
Why was this princess speaking so bluntly?
“But this will not last forever.”
Sylvia continued.
“I will make the Northern Territory stronger, richer, and into a place that no one can afford to underestimate.”
“As for how I will do it, I will prove it through my actions.”
She paused.
Her sharp gaze swept across the nobles below.
“Everyone, please wait and see.”
After speaking, she turned around and walked down from the platform.
The square remained silent for several seconds.
Then scattered applause began to sound.
The applause was sparse and half-hearted.
It carried an unmistakable sense of perfunctory politeness.
Logaris pushed up his glasses, a cold sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth.
“A group that refuses to shed tears until they see the coffin.”
Lilith whispered.
“Professor, Her Highness the Princess' speech… it does not seem very effective.”
“Effective?”
Logaris glanced at her.
“She never wanted applause in the first place.”
Night fell.
The conference hall of the Duke’s residence was brightly lit.
People filled both sides of the long conference table.
They were all influential nobles and officials of the Northern Territory.
Sylvia sat at the head of the table.
A stack of documents lay open before her.
Her expression was calm, and her tone was gentle as she discussed routine matters with everyone one by one.
They talked about food supplies, taxes, and border defense.
“Count Marcus, how is the progress of the autumn grain collection in your territory this year?”
“Your Highness, seventy percent has already been completed.”
A middle-aged noble with a fleshy face answered respectfully.
“Very good.”
Sylvia nodded.
“Try to finish the remainder within next month.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Viscount Edwin, have there been any problems with the output of the mines under your jurisdiction recently?”
“No problems, Your Highness.”
A tall, thin man replied with a smile.
“Everything is normal.”
“That is good.”
The meeting continued like this.
The atmosphere was calm.
It was even somewhat dull.
Those nobles harboring ulterior motives, especially the seven who were planning to flee, gradually relaxed.
The tension slowly faded from their faces.
Their previously stiff bodies loosened.
This princess did not seem particularly impressive after all.
Young.
Inexperienced.
The questions she asked were all superficial.
Easy to deal with.
One elderly count with graying hair even yawned.
He was already calculating in his mind that once he returned, he would quickly pack his belongings and escape overnight.
At that moment, Sylvia picked up her teacup and gently blew on the steam rising from it.
She set the teacup down and raised her head.
The silver-gray eyes that looked up had suddenly lost all warmth.
They were terrifyingly cold.
“Now, let us talk about betrayal.”
The air inside the conference hall froze.
Every smile stiffened on the nobles’ faces.
The moment she finished speaking, the heavy doors of the conference hall were violently pushed open.
BANG!
Akash rushed in with the royal guard.
They were all wearing Guardian Magitech Armor, their bodies radiating a cold metallic sheen.
They moved swiftly and headed straight toward the seven nobles.
“What are you doing?!”
“Let go of me!”
“I am a viscount! How dare you touch me?!”
The seven men were violently dragged from their seats and forced to the center of the hall.
The other nobles turned pale.
None of them even dared to breathe loudly.
The captain of the Shadow Guard walked in carrying a large stack of dossiers.
He threw them directly onto the long table.
SMACK!
The thick pile of files struck the table with a heavy vibration.
“Tax evasion.”
“Embezzlement of public assets.”
“Smuggling prohibited goods.”
Sylvia stood up and slowly walked toward the seven men.
“All the good deeds you have committed over the years.”
“I have them all recorded here.”
“Your Highness! This is a false accusation!”
One of the fat nobles shouted loudly.
“Our family has served the Northern Territory loyally for generations! How could we possibly do such things?!”
“A false accusation?”
Sylvia sneered.
“Then what about these letters?”
The captain of the Shadow Guard took out another stack of letters and threw them directly into their faces.
These were the letters they had written to outside contacts while preparing to flee.
They were requests for help.
Black ink on white paper.
The handwriting was perfectly clear.
The faces of the seven nobles instantly drained of all color.
The conference hall fell completely silent.
One count who had a marriage alliance with one of the families gritted his teeth and stood up.
“Your Highness, they… they may simply have been momentarily confused.”
“Considering that their families have served the Northern Territory for generations, could you perhaps—”
BANG!
A gunshot rang out.
The alchemical bullet brushed past the count’s ear and shot straight through the wooden backrest of the chair behind him.
Wood splinters exploded.
The chair collapsed instantly.
The count froze in place.
His face turned pale as paper.
A burning pain spread beside his ear.
Logaris sat in the corner, slowly lowering the smoking Magitech Gun in his hand.
Behind the lenses of his glasses, his pale blue eyes were frighteningly cold.
“What do you think you are?”
His voice was soft.
Yet everyone present shivered.
“And you dare plead for them here?”
After speaking, Logaris no longer restrained his Mana.
It burst outward in every direction.
The count’s legs went weak.
He collapsed back into his chair, not daring to breathe loudly.
Sylvia walked to the seven men.
She took out a separate report from her coat and threw it onto the floor.
“Your Highness! We did nothing!”
“We are innocent!”
The seven men knelt on the ground and desperately kowtowed.
Sylvia ignored them.
Instead, she turned to look at the other nobles.
“The evidence is conclusive.”
“There is no room for argument.”
She paused.
Then her voice suddenly rose sharply.
“In the name of the Duke of the Northern Territory, I hereby declare.”
“The above seven families are guilty of treason!”
“The principal offenders will be executed immediately.”
“All family property will be confiscated!”
“No—!”
The desperate screams of the seven men echoed throughout the conference hall.
The remaining nobles turned pale.
Several elderly ones were trembling so violently that their hands shook like sieves.
Sylvia swept her gaze across the entire hall.
“Does anyone else wish to plead for them?”
No one dared to speak.
“Very good.”
She turned around and walked back to the head seat.
Then she sat down.
“Take them away.”
“Yes.”
The royal guards dragged the seven men out of the conference hall.
Their cries and wails gradually faded, disappearing into the night.
Sylvia picked up her teacup and took a sip.
“The meeting is adjourned.”