July 14th, 1513; 18:00 hrs;
"You're leaving so soon, Your Highness?" Megan asked, looking at Lucien, who was putting his sword back in the weapon rack.
"You were training till midnight for the last two days. Did you lose your motivation already?" Megan threw a jab at Lucien.
Lucien glared at her, his mood already serious due to what was going to happen. "I don't think the Palace pays you to spew shit."
"I will be back in a few hours." Saying this, Lucien walked away.
"Tsk!" Megan clicked her tongue as she also started to leave. "What a snob."
…
After taking a quick shower and getting ready, Lucien headed to the King's court to hear his punishment.
His face was serious, and as expected, he wasn't exactly thrilled about this.
'If they restrict my freedom, I'd run away.' He thought, crossing bridges to different spires and finally to the King's court.
The door was massive, gold platings etched on the designs, as he looked towards his watch.
18:58 hrs;
He would enter at sharp 19:00, just as Gerald had instructed.
2 minutes later, the heavy wooden door was opened by the guards inside.
Lucien could feel the heavy atmosphere inside, noticing King sitting on his throne, and 8 more people sitting on either side in groups of 4.
Their faces were blurred out, but he knew everyone already.
'They really are playing psychological games out here, aren't they?' He thought, entering the court with measured steps.
His throat was going dry from all the pressure he was being put on.
He stood in the middle of the hall, his back straight, facing the king with a resolved gaze.
"Lucien Callastre," The King started, "You are standing here because you have committed a crime of defying me and using a forbidden technique. Do you have to say anything in your defense?"
Lucien shook his head without hesitation, "I don't."
He didn't want to complicate this anymore and be done with it.
"Council elders, do any of you have something to add?"
""No!!!""
They all collectively denied, since they had nothing to add to this case either.
Gerald nodded. "Lucien Callastre, are you aware of the crimes you have committed?"
"I snuck in a spirit core inside my birthday banquet, and secretly used it to awaken my spirit energy through the forbidden Ingestion method, instead of the Baptism assigned by the Royal Palace and bishops of Caelum."
Lucien paused to take a breather and continued, "And not only did I use a forbidden technique to awaken, I did it in front of you, to protest against your decision to force me into a marriage."
Gasp!
This was news to many of the council elders.
They were aware of what he did, but they didn't know why.
Now they did.
"That's right. You used a forbidden technique, and you did it in front of me to defy my own decision that I have already made." Gerald stated, his voice cold, sharp, and dominant.
"You are not special, Lucien." Gerald stated, attracting a few gazes, "I even chose Edric's fiancée, and I am currently in the process of choosing Jessica's fiancée.
"If you want to break off the engagement, that is tying two nations together, you must have to offer something of a bigger value." His constant berating was something the council elders rarely ever saw.
They weren't dumb.
They realized that instead of just berating him, Gerald was actually offering him a deal, even though it was nearly impossible to fulfill.
It meant that he had started valuing Lucien to a certain extent, even if it wasn't at Edric's level.
Interest flared inside their eyes as they looked at Lucien's posture, which was still straight and nigh fearless.
They could see why the King was like this.
Gerald liked fearless people and hated timid ones.
"I understand." Lucien bowed, accepting the deal from Gerald.
"Now, onto the punishment part." As he stated, the council elders got serious, "Council Elders, what do you suggest?"
As per the procedure, the King asked the council first for their suggestions on the matter.
—"Banish him from the Royal family."
—"Strip him of his position as the heir candidate."
Immediately, two responses came that took Lucien by surprise.
Needless to say, these two people were in Ophelia's faction.
—"I object."
—"Yeah, the crime isn't that bad for such harsh punishment."
And to his defense came two elders from Maria's faction.
'This is a shit fest of politics.' Lucien shook his head in disappointment.
"Raise your hands if you think banishment or relieving Lucien from his position as an heir is the right punishment for this," Gerald stated, going through the proper procedure.
Even though the King had veto power, he tried not to use it as much as possible, not to appear as a dictator.
Three hands were raised, and five weren't.
The majority was in Lucien's favor.
Only elders from Ophelia's factions raised their hands, while elders from Maria's faction, Hazel's faction, and the neutral faction were against it.
"The majority is against the decision," Gerald stated, "Next suggestions."
The King was supposed to ask for suggestions three times, and if they couldn't come to a collective agreement, he would have to punish the guilty himself.
And that's what happened next.
The next two suggestions were thrown out of the window through voting.
The elder from Maria's faction suggested too light a punishment, and the last suggestion was so harsh that it was rejected by even Ophelia's faction.
It was to send him to the Limbo to fight against spirits, and even Ophelia's factions wouldn't dare to risk a Prince's life.
'Madman.' Lucien could tell who this madman was.
Gerald's younger brother, one of the two elders from the neutral faction.
Now, it was time for Gerald's turn to give him a punishment.
"Hearing others' suggestions and given the severity of the crime, my decision is…" Gerald paused, ramping up the tension in the hall.
"First of all, Lucien Callastre cannot participate in any social gathering as a representative of the royal family for 6 months.
"Secondly, he would be stripped of 90% of his allowance and all privileges as a member of the royal family in the Lumen Academy for 1 year, or unless he achieves something extraordinary."
The hall was silent, elders nodding, as they silently agreed to this.
The punishments were harsh, but they had a limit.
It satisfied every elder there, except from of course, King's brother.
"Do you have any objection, Lucien Callastre?" Gerald asked Lucien coldly, staring straight into his eyes.
"I do not." Lucien stared back, accepting the punishment, since he was not much affected by those.
Sure, the loss of privileges would hold him back a bit in the Academy, but that still wasn't as bad as he thought.
"Alright, you can leave," Gerald ordered.
Lucien bowed deeply once again, "As you wish, Your Majesty," and turned around to leave.
He still had to train a lot and prepare for the Academy, and now that he had even lost most of his privileges for a while, he had to work extra hard.
It was a race against time.