Tynesday, 7th of Maia, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

When King Tagam had entered into the great hall of Palmerton, he couldn't help but whistle at the moderately grand wooden structure. "For a building that you people managed to build in less than a year, I have to say I'm quite impressed by the design of this all. It almost looks nicer than my own halls… For some reason, I now have a small desire to burn this thing down." The king said as he approached George's throne room.

"We had our mages help out with the construction. One of our veterans was a part of the republic's construction corps and he dabbled somewhat in architecture. He also specialised in wood-based magic which considerably aided us in building the hall and the palisade." Gregory explained before he turned to one of the veterans that had represented the former bandits in their surrender. "Andrew Macwilliam, a fourth-circle earth mage. The genius behind most of our infrastructure."

The king turned toward the middle-aged mage before nodding to acknowledge him. "A fourth-circle mage, eh? Impressive to say the least. How many mages did you say you have in total?"

"We have a total of six people capable of using magic, but only three of them are really capable of wielding it to any useful capacity in combat. Sir Andrew is one of them."

The king nodded before taking his seat upon George's former throne with a long sigh. It looked to Gregory that the king had found the throne to be quite comfortable. Well, either that or he was just tired of walking. Soon enough, Lord Parulian and the other Halak lords had gathered and taken a seat on some of the cushions that were on the carpet.

Gregory couldn't help but slightly grimace, however, when he was reminded that the carpets and cushions had just barely a few hours ago been used for less-than-decent activities. The group of about two dozen half-naked girls and women were still kneeling and huddled up together upon the carpet. Some of them were still visibly shaking in fear especially with the imposing arrival of the Halak king.

The king seemed to have noticed the women and could only frown when he saw their frightened state. He audibly clicked his tongue especially when he saw that many of the girls were barely even in their teenage years. King Tagam finally called Lasta over and directed her to see the women returned to their proper homes if they had any and to leave those who were slaves to be dealt with afterwards.

The king had also requested the Great Elder Sorceress Ester of Goria to help his niece in taking care of the younger women. The old woman only gave an understanding nod as she followed Lasta out with the women who had homes within Palmerton or the villages surrounding it. All that was now left of them in the hall were about six women.

Gregory couldn't help but have an awful scowl on his face as he had his eyes trained towards the Fox woman Yonemi who had decided to paint herself as another victim of his brother's crimes. King Tagam had noticed the intense hatred within his expression and decided to call out to him, "Why are you looking at that eastern beast woman with such hatred? Did she perhaps do something to upset you?"

"Forgive me for being so brash, your majesty, but I am of the mind that we should execute that whore with haste!" Gregory blurted out an insult directly to the woman without caring too much about the presence of the Halak lords. "She sits there as if she were a victim of my brother's crimes, but I swear to God that she's the cause of my brother's decline into madness and tyranny!"

"That is not true!!" Yonemi implored to the king as she dropped herself on all fours to grovel towards him "I was but a slave, taken far away from her homeland and traded between wicked men like a toy, great king! What power would a pitiful woman like myself hold over a mighty warrior like the previous bandit king?"

"LIES!! YOU VILE TEMPTRESS!!" Gregory had instinctively unsheathed his sabre as he tried to approach the sobbing Yonemi but the younger Halak warriors quickly held him back in his rage. "Your majesty, we must kill her to end all evil in these lands!!"

"Calm yourself, man!" Josias held the enraged Gregory back along with the other warriors.

"Why does Lord Gregory hate me so?! What sin have I committed towards you?" Yonemi sobbed as she faced Gregory with an anguished expression, tears streaming from her eyes. Gregory could not trust the vixen for a second though as he still struggled to put an end to what he considered the most apparent source of trouble in the hall.

"ENOUGH!!" The king finally shouted as he stood up and pointed towards Gregory. "I shall have order within this hall! If you dare act out of line once more, I may forget my oath to my beloved niece in regards to you!"

With the king's clear threat, Gregory had no choice but to cease his more aggressive actions. He stopped struggling with the Halak warriors as he placed his sabre back into its sheath. However, he refused for even a second to hide his contempt for his brother's most favoured paramour. If it weren't for the future of his family, Gregory wouldn't have cared and would have done all in his power to end her life regardless of his own safety.

"Now, tell me again more clearly why you think this woman should be dealt with in such severe a fashion?" King Tagam asked once more as he had sat back upon the throne. "From what she's saying, she seems to be just another slave of your brother's."

"It is the truth, your majesty. I had no say in-...!! *BANG* Ahhhh!!" Yonemi was about to beg once more while pleading to the king with an expression intent to garner sympathy but King Tagam had cut off her unsolicited pleading with a shot from his pistol. The bullet had landed just a few short inches in front of her which caused her to panic.

"You shall remain silent unless I bid you speak!" King Tagam said firmly as he blew the smoke from his pistol's barrel. He then once more turned his focus towards Gregory who had a slightly bemused expression towards Yonemi's panic.

"While it is true that she was indeed a 'gift' given to my brother by one of our Povorian merchant contacts, the same one who'd given us the cannons, she was by no means an innocent party!" Gregory maintained his accusation towards the beast girl. "Before she came into the picture, my brother made no mention of foolish conquest within these realms, nor did he make any grand plans of declaring himself a king. My brother was cruel, but he was not a fool. At this point, I'm not even sure how to differentiate which decisions were my brother's and which ones were the result of her poisonous whispers into his ears!"

"Great king, please allow this lowly slave to beseech you once more!" Yonemi kept up with her persistence and this time the king had allowed for her to speak. "What is a woman to do to survive being loved by a madman if not by whispering sweet nothings into his ear? I have made no explicit calls to dominate his brother, far from it! Almost each and every day of my miserable existence in this place was to do nothing else than to pleasure him!"

Gregory was incensed each time he witnessed the cunning vixen try to paint the narrative her way. However, he still had many things to say in regards to the beast whore. "Your majesty, when I said that we had six people capable of wielding magic, that vile whore is one of them! I have seen with my own eyes the subtle mana she exerts towards my brother, even during their more debauched acts! Don't you even dare to deny it for I have many witnesses within this very room!"

Gregory had looked to Sir Andrew who could only give a silent nod to corroborate his accusations. Many of the other veterans also started voicing opinions similar to Gregory's. As all of this was happening, Yonemi couldn't help but cry in tears as her already pale skin seemed to have lost more colour. Whether or not this was an act to garner sympathy or was a result of genuine fear, no one besides herself could know.

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As the voices of the former bandits were starting to reach a consensus, King Tagam had raised his hand to settle down the hall once more. He finally turned his attention to one final person he had wished to request an account from.

Reverend Hazelby had stood up from his floor cushion when the king had pointed to him to give an account towards the former bandits' accusations towards Yonemi. Reverend Hazelby exchanged a few glances with both Gregory and Sir Ambrose before he laid his eyes on the sobbing wreck of a woman. He then blew a tired sigh before he started speaking.

"When I was first captured by the marauders, a fight had ensued between George and a faction of his followers led by Sir Ambrose regarding what fate to befell me." The Reverend started "I am thankful everyday that the late George had not chosen to follow his more severe tendencies and acquiesced to Sir Ambrose and his faction's request to spare my life on the virtue of my service to the Good Lord. And the Lord has also shown his providence to Sir Ambrose and his men that they now stand here not as condemned criminals, but as men seeking atonement and a new righteous path. To that it is written, 'In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.'"

As Reverend Hazelby said that, Gregory noticed many of the veterans nodding in agreement with the priest's statement. Sir Ambrose's eyes had even visibly started to redden as he bowed his head and folded his hands in front of him.

"But for whatever reason, Lady Yonemi has always been a contradictory voice in regards to what I have just said." Reverend Hazelby finally continued his witness as his expression grew more forlorn. "My lady, the same way you have asked what wrongs you had incurred towards Lord Gregory that he now seeks for your demise, I ask you these things. What wrongs have I done upon you that you'd seek for my death? What wrongs have half of those girls done towards you that you'd play a hand in George forcing himself upon them? I dare not recount all the times you had abused those girls in his presence for some sickened sense of pleasure…"

Yonemi continued to sob with her face towards the ground, her white bushy tail curled up to a ball and her white fox ears folded back.

"The wages of one's sin is death. And you have committed many sins." Reverend Hazelby put his hand around the pectoral cross he was wearing as he continued to look at the sobbing woman in sorrow. "Will you absolve yourself of any blame by saying, 'I had to do such and such to survive.', or 'Those people must suffer for me to live in comfort!'...?"

"...Please Great priest, spare me…" Yonemi finally looked up once more as she sought to look at Reverend Hazelby directly to his eyes. Reverend Hazelby quickly averted his gaze from her as he showed her his back instead.

"Her powers of magic and suggestion work mainly through enchanting her targets through her powerfully seductive gaze as an initiation to her charm. Once she has them in her clutches, her soft whispers would further manipulate them to do her bidding." Reverend Hazelby said "I have seen these abilities being used with my very own eyes. Men who would say one thing before gazing at her, would quickly fall head over heels for her the moment they laid eyes upon her. And it would be over these men that her influence would shine through,"

"If that is the case, dear reverend…" King Tagam had posed a question "Then why was her influence limited to only that of George or why do these men here hold so much resentment towards her?"

"... Tales from the far east tell stories of the great power the Fox-folk - especially the vixens - held over the lives of men. It was said one of these most legendary figures managed to seduce the entire court of a powerful king and ruled behind the shadows for centuries. However, Lady Yonemi here is no full-blooded member of the Fox Clan, therefore her powers in turn would also not be as pronounced or as powerful as the legends recount. Regardless, it is still quite the useful tool for manipulation on weaker-willed and faithless men of flesh."

With Reverend Hazelby's explanation, Gregory was finally able to piece so many disparate pieces of information together. He had wondered why Reverend Hazelby had kept such a thing secret for the longest time, but then again, if George were to hear the reverend say such things, there was little chance he'd believe them. Hell, he would've even ordered for his execution on the grounds of slander.

"Then, if that is indeed so, I am now partial to Gregory's request to execute the vile temptress!" King Tagam said as he nodded and was prepared to finally hand out a verdict, but Reverend Hazelby turned around once more to face the king.

"However, as is taught in Holy Scripture, no one is too far gone to not receive the Lord's mercy and forgiveness." The Reverend continued as he looked to Yonemi once more. Gregory thought it was a foolish thing to do right after he had gotten done explaining how the vixen's powers of magic worked. However, the priest's expression didn't contort into something that looked like he had been enthralled. No, his face showed more sorrow than before.

This time, Reverend Hazelby squatted down and caressed Yonemi's head like a father would to his daughter. In a solemn tone he asked, "Will you truly let the child in your womb suffer more than it has to?"

"...How did you know-..?!" For a brief second, Yonemi had stopped crying and her expression instead turned confused at the priest's words. She wasn't the only one who was surprised though. Gregory couldn't help but question Reverend Hazelby's words either.

"Reverend, how are you saying these things? By what power do you know when she has yet to even say anything regarding that?" Gregory asked.

"By the same power that told me you had impregnated Lasta before she told me anything about it. I had sensed the child in the womb. The same way I had sensed the young Prince Panghirimon when he was still in my daughter Therese's womb." Reverend Hazelby answered to which the king nodded, corroborating his claims.

This whole situation threw Gregory for a loop. Now, not even he was able to zealously call for the vixen's execution. The morality behind executing a pregnant woman was questionable enough - even downright evil as some would say - but the fact that she was now carrying his brother's bloodline.

Gregory wanted so badly to instinctively just shout that it wasn't his brother's seed, but he knew better than that. He knew how possessive his brother was on things which he considered to be his. There was no way in hell he would ever let any other man touch Yonemi, and with how difficult he was and how the other bandits dared not make unnecessary trouble for him, there was a very little chance that the child in her womb belonged to anyone else but George.

Reverend Hazelby finally approached Gregory as he laid a hand on his shoulder, "I know you don't consider yourself to be a christian or a believer in God for that matter, but I implore you at least for the sake of your brother to stay your anger and practice patience, mercy, and forgiveness…"

Gregory was at a loss for words. He was at a loss as to what to do too. He now had a turbulent mind as well as an unsettled hard as he looked to the wretched vixen. After a few moments of silent contemplation, he finally breathed out a sigh before he faced the king.

"Your majesty… In light of the new facts that had been brought to light… I wish to suspend any verdict in regards towards… Lady Yonemi…" Gregory finally said "At least until the birth of my brother's child is confirmed. Afterwhich, I shall defer judgement upon the child's mother back to your majesty."

King Tagam could only scratch his beard before he nodded and raised his hand. "It is against the tradition of my people to harm a woman during her pregnancy. The most we could've done under our laws was to exile her into the wild forests and leave her fate in the hands of God. However, in consideration towards you and the possibility of the child being your kin, I shall grant the rights of parenthood of the child unto you and Lasta… But that now leaves us with the difficult choice as to what to do with the mother until then."

"If I may, your majesty." Reverend Hazelby spoke up once more "I propose that Lady Yonemi be put under house arrest until the birth of her child. To ensure its safety and to prevent the Lady from escaping or manipulating anyone further, I shall have a few older women to watch over her throughout her sentence. If an infringement by her were to be discovered, then we may inflict more corporeal punishments upon her, though I do pray that it won't have to come to that… What say you, Lady Yonemi?"

Yonemi could only stare blankly for a few seconds before tears sprung once more from her eyes. She knelt down and through herself to the ground while proclaiming, "I thank my lords for their mercy… May the gods and the ancestors bless you always…"

"May you come to know that true mercy and forgiveness comes from Christ and His sacrifice." Reverend Hazelby said once more as he made the sign of the cross to Yonemi's forehead.

And with that, the verdict had been passed upon Yonemi's fate. The court of the king had decided to wait for Lasta and Elder Ester to return before they would have Yonemi be placed under house arrest.

After that ordeal, the court proceeded well into the next day deliberating on various other matters, detailing the transition of power and how Palmerton and the surrounding areas would be governed in its future within Hutangali.

Gregory would once more be unable to find restful sleep, but so long as his future remained secure and he was treated with dignity, he didn't care. If it was for his family, he would be willing to do anything. There was still much work to be done to ensure such a future.

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