The noble visibly broke. He tried to stand up but Lilith’s pressure pushed him back down to his knees.

"Thats impossible!"

"Is it?"

"The royal family would never murder the crown prince."

Atheline raised an eyebrow. It seems Igrad was going to be made the crown prince eventually.

"Royal families murder each other constantly, " Atheline replied flatly. "It’s practically history. "

The noble opened and closed his mouth helplessly. He couldn’t come up with a sound argument for that because everyone in the room knew he was correct.

Lilith rose from the throne again. Dark Aether drifted around her like dark mist, heavy and oppressive.

The noble began to tremble even harder.

"Listen carefully, "she calmly said.

"The prince of this kingdom died while under the protection of the dark elven kingdom."

Atheline glanced sideways briefly at her wording but said nothing. Lilith continued to walk slowly towards the corpse.

"His death occurred during the annual hunting competition."

The nobles’ breathing became uneven. The knights who had come with him shifted uncomfortably against the wall.

"And immediately afterwards," she continued softly," your royal family abandoned the palace and fled before our arrival. Do you see the confusion in that?"

The implications alone were catastrophic but only a few people could get it at the moment.

Atheline unfolded his arms quickly.

"To the outside world," he said, " this appears as though the Gladia kingdom attempted to assassinate the future king of the dark elves during the competition and sacrificed their best prince in the process. He put quiet the show of it during the competition. "

The noble looked horrified.

"W... we would never..."

"It no longer matters what you intended."

Silence be fell the room. Lilith looked down at the dead prince’s body emotionlessly.

"The moment they fled, guilt became official."

Atheline had come armed with every argument to show how much they were victims and why Lilith slaughtered the royal family but it seems he had wasted his time. The trash had taken itself out.

Outside the palace, bells began to ring frantically across the capital. Citizens started gathering immediately after and panic had started to set in because news quickly spread.

And nothing spread faster than the death of a royal plus the abandonment by the royal family. Imperial Manipulators who had been sent home to rest that night breathlessly entered the throne room moments later before kneeling immediately.

"It seems news of my arrival has already spread," Lilith said in amusement.

One of the kneeling Manipulators nodded then stepped forward. Lilith didn’t add any more pressure on him. The man had long blond hair and brown eyes that carried concealed terror at the moment.

"Yes, Your majesty. The throne registers different Aether signatures and sends them to the tower in case of an invasion," he calmly said, " we unfortunately did not expect to be abandoned by our own monarch. I would like to request your forgiveness on behalf of everyone."

"I see," Lilith quietly said.

Atheline waited for her to continue but she didn’t. She had clearly dismissed him.

"If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?" He calmly asked him.

"Arnold, your highness. "

His smile widened at that. The name was funny

"Can you prepare an amplification spell," he quietly said.

The Manipulator, Arnold nodded and walked back to his kneeling group. Harsh whispers filled the room. It was clear they had found some way to not let anyone else hear whatever they were discussing.

Atheline and Lilith weren’t in a hurry or curious so they let them talk as much as they wanted. One of the manipulators bowed towards them and left the throne room.

Ten minutes later, he came back and knelt where he had been kneeling before and whispered something to Arnold.

Arnold stepped forward.

"Your majesty. The amplification spell is prepared. "

Atheline closed his eyes briefly to confirm.

"Mmh, that’s good."

Lilith glanced at him briefly then back to the Manipulators.

"Lets begin."

Aether burst outwards across the palace. Invisible spell circles ignited beneath the throne room floors one after another. This was something that almost all kingdoms had.

Across the continent, the skies began glowing a faint orange.

People stopped walking, soldiers looked upwards nervously and nobles froze mid-conversation because everyone recognised the emergency continental broadcast magic.

No one knew who had used it but its activation signaled a war with the other species or a huge catastrophe was coming.

Atheline rubbed his forehead tiredly.

"This is going to become exhausting."

Lilith stepped forward calmly as her voice merged with the amplification magic. Then, the world heard her speak.

"To all the human kingdoms."

Her voice echoed across cities, mountains, churches, battlefields, and the smallest of the villages. It was absolute, cold, and elegant.

"The Gladia kingdom royal family has fled its kingdom following the assassination of Prince Igrad and the attempted murder of the future king of the dark elven kingdom."

The continent exploded into chaos instantly. Inside taverns, people dropped forks in shock, royal courts erupted in panic and even military commanders froze because everyone understood what those words meant.

It was basically a declaration of war.

Lilith continued mercilessly.

"The act constitutes direct provocation against the dark elven throne."

Lightning spread across the skies as though agreeing with her.

"The royal family of Gladia has seven days to surrender themselves before imperial judgement is carried out."

Atheline watched calmly from the side while those in the throne room looked seconds from collapse.

No one doubted her and that was the terrifying part. She was known for her straightforwardness hence this wouldn’t be much different.

Lilith was known not to make empty threats. Her voice echoed one final time across the continent.

"If the preparations are not delivered willingly..."

The palace windows shattered outwards.

"... The Gladia kingdom will cease to exist."

The broadcast ended.

Silence crashed down afterwards like physical weight, even the air felt frozen.

Far from the palace, screaming erupted throughout the capital and panic spread instantly through the streets.

Somewhere hidden far away, the fleeing royal family had just become enemies of the whole continent and kingdom they had proudly built.

Lilith turned back towards the throne. Atheline looked at her for several moments.

"You looked beautiful doing that."

She glanced at him, a small smile on her lips.

"Should I do this more often?"

"I wouldn’t mind."

The old nobleman near the throne could not hold on and collapsed unconsciously.

Neither of them reacted.

Outside, the warning bells continued ringing endlessly across the kingdom while storm clouds gathered slowly overhead.

And for the first time in centuries, a human kingdom was on the brink of destruction.