Cessilia nodded, and before she could add anything, the doors slowly opened. Aglithia stepped out, and was surprised to see the two extra guests accompanying Cessilia. She quickly hid her surprise though and bowed politely to the two of them.
“Your Majesty, Lady Kareen, it’s an honor.”
“...You know who I am?” Kareen raised an eyebrow.
“Of course. We have eyes and ears everywhere.”
“Ha,” scoffed the older lady. “...My kind of people.”
Cessilia smiled. Indeed, it was exactly like her grandmother. Even years and years after the last battle in the Dragon Empire, she still had spies in every noble and Imperial residence, so that even while visiting once in a while, no one could hide anything from her. The Cheshi were probably no stranger to those kinds of practices either... Cessilia wouldn’t have even been surprised if they’d been followed all along.
“Please, do come in,” said Aglithia. “We have some tea ready. It’s a good thing you came, Your Majesty, we have already interrogated quite a number of prisoners.”
“The invitation got lost then,” grumbled Ashen.
Cessilia grimaced. So maybe not everything was forgiven yet, after all... but Ashen was right. Even though those were his prisoners, Aglithia had looked for her, not for the King himself. It probably wasn’t out of shyness either. Aglithia pretended not to hear that.
“My granddaughter mentioned that you and your people have interesting knowledge about dragons,” said Kareen, with a mighty tone in her voice. “I’m curious to hear what you pretend to know better than our family.”
“Oh, we are not that arrogant, my lady! But, our clan takes its pride in centuries-old knowledge which we have preciously kept and studied relentlessly... I do have something to show you, if you’d like. As Lady Cessilia’s grandmother, it’s only right for you to see it too.”
“The prisoners first,” said Ashen. “I don’t care much for your legends, I need to sort out what to do with our war prisoners and the Yekara Clan.”
Aglithia nodded.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Just as we suspected, a lot of the Yekara tried to commit suicide before we could interrogate them, but luckily, we managed to stop most before they took their own lives. We lost a dozen this way, but all the others have stopped trying. All the men who weren’t part of the Yekara Clan to begin with were, as we expected, either hired mercenaries, former survivors of the Kunu Tribe, or random bandits. All of them were promised they’d be able to loot after the battle and take what they wanted, but from what information we have gathered, it is more likely that the Yekara had planned to get rid of their allies right after the battle.”
“Where are they now?”
“We decided to detain most of them in our fortresses, and some are still held by the Royal Guards that remained loyal to you, Your Majesty. What do you intend to do with them...?”
Ashen remained silent. It was clear that was no light question, Aglithia’s eyes were scrutinizing him. Cessilia could also tell: whatever Ashen planned to do with the survivors would have long-term consequences on the future of the Kingdom. If he was too lenient, he’d be taken as a weak leader, and expose himself to more attacks in the future. On the contrary, if he was too cruel in his punishment, he would be considered a tyrant no matter how hard he had worked to improve his image. It was truly a difficult choice...
“It’s going to take a while,” he suddenly muttered.
“A while?” Aglithia seemed surprised.
“The Kunu have already betrayed me twice,” he said. “I won’t give them another chance. Those who were captured will be executed.”
“...Understood. What about the others?”
Cessilia couldn’t help but be a bit upset at Aglithia. Although she would obey his orders right away, it was clear the Cheshi were still testing their King. She had hoped they would have already made up their minds after all this.
“The Yekara will pay their debt as war prisoners,” Ashen declared. “They have caused a lot of damage to the citizens’ homes and our Capital’s streets. They will be forced to work and repair everything, and the clan’s money and goods will be confiscated to pay for all the repairs, including some compensation money for those who have lost their family members in the battle.”
This time, Aglithia seemed genuinely surprised. Cessilia glanced toward her grandmother, but Kareen had a faint smile on, one of those smirks that meant she was content with Ashen’s decision. In fact, even without confirming with her, Cessilia would have thought his suggestion was good too. Moreover, judging from what Aglithia had said, there would be Yekara who would commit suicide either way. For them to choose death was not the King’s concern, and their suicides would not stain his honor nor make any citizen cry for them. In fact, having them repair the damages was a far better way to punish them. Even once all the repairs were done, their clan would be ruined, and its members considered traitors. It was truly the end of that clan, a downfall they had paved for themselves.
“...I think that’s a good idea, Your Majesty,” finally said Aglithia. “May I ask why you said it would take a while, though?”
Ashen suddenly glanced toward Cessilia, a bit enigmatically, before turning back to the Cheshi woman.
“The mercenaries were mostly chosen amongst men that were out of jobs, desperate. Many of those we thought had little to no experience with sword fighting. I want all of them to be interrogated one by one. It is unlikely they will also try to commit suicide, so I want their trials to be held fairly. ...As their King, I want to hear each of their stories. How they came to this, how they will redeem themselves, and what is their better alternative. The state of our Kingdom is partially at fault for pushing those men to risk their lives in a fight that wasn’t theirs. I want to hear it all.”
Cessilia was genuinely impressed. So he had listened to her plea, and was willing to go that far to listen to those men. Most leaders would have simply gotten rid of them, or treated them like the others, as war prisoners and criminals. Yet, Ashen was taking a different approach. He wasn’t only going to hear those men, he was going to listen to the troubles his people were facing, to their hopes for the future, and to all the difficulties that were still blocking their way. It was a lot more than what he would have allowed just weeks ago.
“...With all due respect, Your Majesty, what are we supposed to do with those men in the meantime? The Cheshi can provide prisons to hold them, but we won’t feed prisoners with our own money, and if all of the Yekara’s goes to the repairs–”
“I will take care of that,” announced Kareen.
They all turned their eyes toward her, surprised. However, the matriarch already had a sneaky smile on her lips.
“Why not?” she scoffed. “Young man, I will need men to build my palace here, will I not? You just need to save a few necks, and they will work for me.”
“You’re not to dispose of war prisoners as you please, Lady Kareen,” sighed Ashen. “This is my Kingdom’s matter.”
“I’m being more than generous to offer to feed a bunch of ruffians,” she retorted. “Didn’t you mention most of those people were desperate for a job? I want my palace, I will have it, and I will need servants, guards, and workers for that. I am just making a headstart and a small investment for my own future ambition. Consider this as indulging an old lady.”
Cessilia and Ashen exchanged a look. They both knew this had little to do with Kareen’s desire for her future residence. The cunning old woman was actually offering to lessen one of their burdens for them. Ashen wanted to rely on the Cheshi as little as possible, but the current state of the Kingdom was such that no one else would be able to pay for food for so many criminals while they were waiting to be judged individually. Ashen would have probably saved a lot by simply executing them all, but the young King was choosing the harder path. And Lady Kareen had just offered him the help he needed to keep up with that. It might have been a bit of a stain on his pride, but accepting the older woman’s financial help was a better alternative than requesting that money from any other family. For now, Ashen wouldn’t be able to accept any tribe or clan’s help. If they were planning to reform the Kingdom, they couldn’t give too much power to one of the tribes by owing a debt.
“...Fine,” he finally muttered. “Then those prisoners will repay their debt toward Lady Kareen for their food and clothing after their sentence has been decided. They will work for the lady as compensation for as long as it takes for their debt to be settled. Is that alright with you?”
Aglithia nodded, visibly impressed. Thanks to Lady Kareen, the King had solved two problems already. Not only would he be free from any debt toward Kareen if the prisoners repaid their food by working for her, but that would also provide those men with jobs as soon as their trials were over. Cessilia smiled, glancing toward her grandmother, who responded with a little wink. She did like Ashen after all...
“Understood, Your Majesty,” said Aglithia, bowing to him.
It definitely felt like something had changed between them. Aglithia was now acting much more respectful of her King, acting more cautious too. She glanced quickly toward Kareen, but the tall lady was simply standing still, her attitude the same as earlier. It was as if she confirmed the person who deserved the utmost respect in the room wasn’t her. Then, Aglithia turned to Ashen once more.
“I’ll relay Your Majesty’s orders, and we will immediately start with the executions. I need to inform Your Majesty, the Royal Guards also insisted on taking care of the traitors amongst them. They are holding those that were arrested elsewhere.”
