The Space Empress He Craved

Chapter 150

POV: Lyra

­The four ministers felt the tension the moment they stepped into the chamber. With their heads held low, they knelt on one knee before us. "Your Eminences. Your Graces."

I smiled graciously as I spoke in a much gentler voice. "Yarrington, Weaver, Pamela, and Vanessa, it's so nice that you four could join us tonight, despite your current workload."

My warmth was contagious, and the atmosphere took a 360-degree turn, their mood easing with my mellowed voice. Orion matched my smile. "Stand, ministers."

They stood, all looking less fearful than before. Yarrington then handed a grey folder to Christian as he started explaining, "We've negated the last two complaints made against you, Your Grace. I've asked Vanessa and Pamela to trace the roots of the complaints, and they found that all ten false allegations were made from the same network address." He looked behind him. "Vanessa, it's your cue."

When Yarrington stepped aside, Vanessa looked mostly at the encouraging Annie and me as she spoke. "Basically, we traced the complaints to the location they were sent from. Oddly and coincidentally, all ten were made from the same network address and the same device, a data pad registered under the name 'Herbert Horasho Martin', and the network address is the Dawson residence."

"Huh." I muttered in response as all eyes fell on the two Lyrokans who were white as sheets at this point.

Christian and Orion growled at the young couple so fiercely they made Dorothy burst into optical fluid discharge. For the first time, I didn't stop Orion. I was equally enraged. The click-clack of my foot coverings and Dorothy's sobs were the only sounds in the dining chamber as I walked toward them.

Orion, Christian, and Annie weren't far behind me. Every Lyrokan and Kaelari held their heads low when we walked past. When I was right in front of them, Dorothy sobbed even louder. The couple would leave but they doubted the two officers behind them would let them go.

I didn't bother faking a smile and asked curtly, "Why did you both do it?"

Herbert opened his mouth but nothing came out. Dorothy continued to sob as she spoke incoherently, "I didn't w-want to. Her-bert made me."

Herbert seemed taken aback as he hissed, "It was your idea, Dory! I was just ranting after mom got arrested!"

Orion spat, "So, you decided to take your anger out on the High Commander?!" His thunderous voice echoed in the quiet chamber, making Dorothy sob even louder.

Herbert fidgeted uneasily as he said almost in a whisper, "Your Eminence, it m-meant to be a j-joke..."

"A joke?!" Annie's voice scared many, especially the young couple. And she wasn't finished. "Do you have any idea of the distress you've caused me and my match, along with the Emperor and Empress?! How dare you make false allegations against an innocent?!"

Seeing the only way out was to beg for mercy, they knelt before Annie and Christian as Dorothy begged, "We're s-sorry, Your Graces. Plea-se, it was a mistake. A mistake we'll r-regret for the rest of our lives. P-Please, spare us."

"Spare you?" Christian asked rhetorically in a low, homicidal tone. "You both didn't have the decency to respect the system in place to deal with inappropriate conduct. You made allegations against someone defending the system. You acted with nothing but slanderous intentions, and you have the gall to ask us to spare you?"

Dorothy tried begging again. "It...It was a mistake. A very big mistake."

"And it's one you'll regret making for the rest of your lives, correct?" I asked, to which Dorothy hastily replied, "Yes! Yes, of course." Herbert nodded aggressively as well, thinking the Empress might be offering them a way out.

I smiled. "Very well, then. You can spend your lives regretting it in detention." I gave the officers an affirmative nod to cuff them.

"What?" Dorothy uttered in disbelief as she was being cuffed, expecting the little Kaelari to have mercy or at least some respect for Lyrokans, the superior species!

My voice was laced with dark humor. "Why are you so shocked, Ms. Dawson? Don't you know the law on fabricating evidence? Allow me to enlighten you: it's a detention term of fifty cycles and forty strikes with neural disruptors to suppress healing. But seeing you both fabricated evidence against a member of the royal family, the punishment is detention for life, along with five strikes every single day until you both expire. Does that put things into perspective?"

Dorothy was horrified. "No. No no no no no. That can't happen. Please, Your Eminence. I am starting an internship next month. My parents were so proud when my application was approved."

I responded without missing a beat. "You can tell your parents and your future employer there's been a change in plans. That, or you can leave it to tomorrow's news feeds to notify them of what you've been up to with your companion lately."

"No no no..." Dorothy continued muttering.

Orion said, "Get them out of our sight."

"Yes, my Emperor." The officers took them away from the chamber with Dorothy still muttering an endless stream of 'nos' like a malfunctioning unit.

After they left, the two cousins gave each other a brotherly embrace. The ordeal was finally over. The four ministers came forward, and we thanked all of them. Seeing they could manage the complaints so efficiently, Orion and Christian opted to step aside to let them finish what they started while the cousins themselves focused on the Rogue attacks.

Before leaving the dining chamber, Orion called for a government assembly first thing in the morning the next day.

Although it was a rest day, no one dared question his decision because with so many ministers gone, the work was piling up. Either new appointments had to be made, or the work had to be taken up by those in the clear.