Praesidium (WMMAP Fanfic)

Chapter 15

The next few days Rabia ignored her brother, who was sending her longing looks everywhere they cross paths with each other. She even sends away her favorite snacks that he keeps on sending her as a form of apology. It made all the servants certain that their precious Princess is really mad because she never refuses snacks no matter who they were from

"Olive, is the report ready?" Rabia asked her handmaid while sitting on her work desk inside her room

"Yes. Here it is your highness" Olive handed Rabia two separate thick stacks of papers, which she skimmed over immediately

"The doctors still haven't found out why father is unconscious without health complications" Rabia mumbled quietly and leaned back in her seat staring at her ceiling, thinking about all the possible causes before suddenly frowning "... black magic"

Olive gasped at what she heard come out of her Princess' mouth, dabbling in black magic is completely illegal and punishable by death. In Gaudin it is seen as selling ones soul to the devil, because it stains your soul black

"If it really is black magic, we have no way of concretely identifying it, since ancient texts about it are either destroyed or being kept secretly by real black magicians..."

"Real black magicians would never reveal their identity"

"Exactly, so we'll just do the next best thing" Rabia then waved some of the paper Olive handed to her regarding the illegal activities of the nobles that are punishable by death "we'll weed out the people who are doing illegal things and sentence them to death with these evidences, if we're lucky at least one of them would be the black magician who harmed father"

"Will you be speaking with his highness, King Regent Azrael about this?" Olive carefully asked since she knows the Princess is still not on speaking terms with her brother

"I have to, I can't sentence nobles to their death without the King Regent knowing about it" Rabia said with a sigh, she's already feeling tired just thinking about how Azrael would react when they talk about the personal issue they need to address

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"Your highness, Princess Rabia would like to request an official audience with the King Regent" Orto announced suddenly as he entered the throne room where Azrael was sitting miserably hunched, thinking about how he could make up with his sister

"Sister wants to speak to me?" Azrael perked up happily and he suddenly stood up from the throne to go to Rabia's room and speak to her but Orto stopped him from leaving "get out of my way, my sister is waiting for me"

Orto wasn't deterred by his glare but instead cleared his throat and repeated what he said earlier

"The Princess wants to have an official audience with you, your highness"

Azrael stared at him blankly before frowning and walking back to the throne. If his sister wants an official audience then it was an official business and not catching up between siblings

"Tell her the audience is granted"

Orto bowed briefly and went to fetch Rabia, who was waiting outside the door with her handmaid

"I greet the sun of Gaudin, King Regent Azrael" Rabia greeted formally with a slight bow

"Raise your head" Azrael said and turned to his attendant "bring a seat for my sister, I don't want her to get tired standing"

Once she reluctantly accepted the seat offered, Rabia gestured to Olive to give Azrael the documents they have as evidence against the nobles

"These are evidences we have gatherer against various nobles, who dabble in illegal activities punishable by death. The citizens are suffering because of them... I am here to ask your permission to punish them accordingly. If a supplementary investigation is needed, you may —"

"No need, these are enough evidences to punish them" Azrael cut her off "even without evidences, if you say the word they will be killed"

"What?" Rabia said in surprise. Did she really just hear her brother say he'll kill them if she just so much as says so?

Azrael bit his lip when he realized he said that out loud in front of his precious sister and showed her an ugly side of his personality

"I mean, we were already investigating them even before you put this evidences forward" Azrael explained smoothly with an innocent smile on his face but she was still looking at him with suspicious eyes and he had to do something to put her suspicion to rest

"... but sister, why are you suddenly interested in the nobles doing illegal activities? I don't doubt your desire to do right by the people they trampled on but why the suddenness?"

She momentarily hesitated on telling him the real purpose behind the purging of the nobles, but she thought she could trust her brother. Who else should she trust, if she couldn't trust her family?

"I've reached the conclusion that father has been cursed by a black magician"

The announcement caused Azrael and Orto to freeze and stare at her in alarm, but they forced themselves to calm down and figure out how far she knows about the black magic curse on the King

"Do you have any evidence? Or have an inkling as to who may have done it?"

"I've already talked to different physicians and they all said the same thing, father is healthy and yet he is still like that... it was the only plausible conclusion" Rabia explained

"Anyone suspicious that caught your eye?" Azrael pressed, he was holding his breath as he waited for her answer... what if she was suspicious of him? What would he do then? Even Orto who was standing behind him was frozen like a statue

"I don't have a specific one, but slave trafficking is definitely a medium for a black magician to get blood sacrifices" Rabia said confidently in her assumption "we need to stop them quickly, so that no one else will become a victim"

Her thought process definitely amazed Azrael because she was correct and knowing she was able to figure that out in just a few months that she was back, he was almost proud. His expression suddenly became grim at the prospect that she may figure out it was all him, if he makes the wrong move

"If there is a possibility that they use black magic then we must proceed swiftly. The crimes that we have evidence of is enough to convict the nobles... I'll make sure to take care of this personally, thank you sister" Azrael said with a smile

"Of course" Rabia said as she stood up from her seat "and I would like to speak to you about a personal matter later if you're free"

"I'm free now" Azrael automatically said as he passed the documents Rabia brought towards Orto and escorted her towards her favorite drawing room for afternoon tea