The way she used their names directly, avoiding their royal titles made it seem as if they had an incredibly close relationship. The lucky halo on her head was already working over time, arousing feelings of pity for her from the noble lords in the court.
Unfortunately for Emmah, the king was not one of those being influenced by the lucky halo. He was wearing a thumb ring that Elarin had given him. The ring had come from Sigrid and it kept the king from being influenced by outside magic forces, especially the lucky halo.
The doors opened and prince Benjamin breezed in, talking at the top of his voice. "Lady Emmah, there is no need for you to be weighed down by guilt for doing the right thing. All you did was inform the king about what you were told and what you witnessed. If it is true that these things are facts, I am sure that the king will reward you.
As my brother the crown prince likes to say, in Eldoria, we are all subject to the law and must adhere to it."
He stopped right next to Emmah and bowed before the king. "My apologies father, I did not mean to...."
"Save the apologies Benjamin, I have had a very tiring day and as far as I know you are still being punished so your presence before me right now is a direct slap to my face. You have grown a habit of disobeying my commands lately."
Benjamin’s face immediately paled, he shook his head frantically. "It is not disobedience father, I just rushed here when I heard about the matter of the Thorin’s hidden gold. I guessed that you would need one of us, your princes to oversee the case and as my brother our crown prince is married to a Thorin, his judgement in this case cannot be trusted." He gave Roland what looked to be a an apologetic smile.
Roland sneered in return which made Benjamin uncomfortable. In the past, no matter what he did or said, his brother brushed it off with a simple smile. It seemed, things were changing.
King Raff’s response was not what Benjamin expected to hear.
"Benjamin you are grounded for another month. I do not want to see so much as your shadow in the city and if I hear that you have flaunted my orders for any reason, you will spend the rest of your time out in a dungeon. Am I clear?" King Raff gestured for red knights to remove Benjamin from the throne room and return him to his estate.
The was closed a little too loudly when he left but it did not deter others from what was going on. They were still in shock by the way the king had dismissed Benjamin with ease but there were bigger matters to settle.
"Prime minister Windrider, your adopted daughter should be dismissed as well. Before my presence she has been disrespectful to the crown prince and princess. She dared to address them by their names in this throne room."
Emmah stumbled backwards a bit. This was not how she saw things going.
"She is lucky that I am not ordering for her to be flogged in the city square. As she is new to nobility, I will write off her mistake as ignorance but should there be a next time, the consequences will be worse than flogging. She will have to give up a part of her body like an arm or a leg." King Raff leaned forward. "Perhaps a head."
Emmah gasped and nearly fell to the floor. It was Lysander who caught her in time.
"Apologize." he whispered to her.
Emmah was quick to regain her senses and she curtsied immediately and said, "I apologize your highness, it was not my intention to be disrespectful. My mistake was made because I saved the life of the crown prince and he told me to address him by his name on our long journey back. Rest assured your highness, I will never make that mistake again."
King Raff’s eyes flashed with hostility for a moment as did Sigrid’s and Roland’s. In Emmah’s words, they could detect a double meaning. One was an apology and two was a hidden message that she would never save Roland again.
"I have changed my mind, take her out for a flogging, thirty strokes ought to wake her up." The king ordered.
More than a few noble lords gasped, Emmah clutched Lysander’s arm, her wide eyes sought his for help. Lysander almost said something but the warning his father shot him with one glance kept him from speaking up.
Helplessly, he watched as Emmah was dragged out by red knights to be punished.
[Congratulations host, you have completely broken any loyalty the king had to Emmah. Even the minor gratefulness for saving the life of the crown prince is gone.
Rewards: A working mobile phone model from a mage in Medoris {the divine messenger} who also happens to be a transmigrator.
Ten scripts for ten series including the dark rise of Lady Blanche.
A working model of a refrigerator also from Medoris.
A reminder: In a week, Eldertwead and Faerie falls will suffer a mage made flood that will result in a plague, homelessness and many deaths.]
Initially, a smile had been forming on Sigrid’s lips but the last reward stopped it mid-way.
"What flood?" she asked the system. That had not been part of the novel, not the copy she read anyway. "What plague? Does mage made mean a mage will cause the flooding?" she asked.
"Host, you were reminded that this is a real world, the novel covers only a small part of the many events happening."
The system’s reminder made her sigh, a week was not sufficient but if she made enough preparations, the disaster could be avoided. Roland tapped her on the arm and she looked up.
"Mmm." She responded.
"The king is asking if you know anything about the gold mines." he whispered.
Sigrid lifted her head and eyes, meeting the almost bored and tired look in his eyes. "I know nothing of the prime minister’s accusations. It is true that the land he speaks of belongs to my family but we have never mined for any gold. As for his claims that witnesses saw chests of gold being moved into the Thorin castle, they are nothing but unsubstantiated claims."
Prime minister Windrider was excited about bringing down the Thorin’s. The nervous looks on the faces of the duke and duchess had him thinking that he was on the right path.
"Your highness, this matter can be solved easily. Please allow a search of the Thorin estate."
The noble Lords he had come with to support his cause repeated the same words together like an organized church choir.
King Raff looked at the Thorin’s, the duke to be specific. "Your grace, aren’t you going to refute these claims? You are very silent."
The prime minister thought that perhaps, the king was trying to cover the Thorin’s sin and he would not allow that to happen.
"Your highness, their silence is an admission of guilt. If they have nothing to hide, they should consent to the search voluntarily."