Chapter 374: The King Who Will Not Kneel
The King Who Will Not Kneel
Aurelian’s voice sounded, filling every inch of the great hall, relentless, like a tempest crashing against stone.
"Better to die on the field of battle with steel in our hands than to decay behind walls, whimpering like curs!"
The phrases snapped through the air, hot and absolute, loaded with a truth no one dared to challenge. His voice was not merely sound—it was iron, it was blood, it was fire.
This kingdom was not forged in fear," Aurelian bellowed, his gold-hued eyes blazing as they raked over the quivering council. "It was forged in conquest, in sacrifice, in the blood of men who would not bend. And so long as I occupy this throne—Moonstone shall not bend!
The final word ripped from him like a war cry itself. It bellowed, thundering out across the room with the power of lightning striking a mountain face. The chandeliers above shook, crystal pendants crashing into wild, nervous bells. Ministers recoiled as if shoved by some gust of wind. Some even clasped hands over their chests, gasping for breath beneath the sheer force of their king’s rage.
Each one in that assembly knew: Aurelian was angry. Really, perilously angry.
And when the king’s rage flared, it was no trivial fire. Aurelian’s anger was the sort that consumed kingdoms.
They knew their king well—the man who set himself above all, even above the throne he occupied. His pride was a byword. His ego grew taller than the very spires of the palace. It had once been wounded before—betrayal at Edric’s hands, the hurt of defeats he could not undo—and now, in this room, the unimaginable had occurred again. The Revenue Minister, in his shaking timidity, had had the temerity to speak of negotiations with Vellore.
He had been bold enough to press a finger against the King’s pride.
The instant was taut as a drawn sword.
Aurelian’s molten gold eyes pinned the hapless minister. The man flinched like paper, sinking to his knees as if struck by intangible chains. His palms slapped down on the marble floor, his shoulders shuddering.
"Y-your Majesty—!" His voice came in terror, his throat chocked by something greater than fear. He gulped, choking on his breath, his face flushing red as if the air itself had left him. His lips struggled, trying to form a supplication. "M-my ki-king... I-I am so-sorry... I d-did not mean... this... I only wished—to... save—"
His voice degenerated into stammers, pieces, like a flickering flame dying.
Aurelian went down the dais step by step, each boot hitting the stone floor with a bell-like toll. His cloak trailed behind him in dark folds. He did not lift his hand, but it was as if the air itself weighed more on the kneeling minister, as if the presence of the king was what commanded obeisance.
"Don’t you dare offer me this wretched rubbish," Aurelian’s tone snapped, a sword’s edge sharp. He hunched forward, his shadow cast over the shaking man. "Save our people? Save our kingdom? Tell me, Minister—how do you save it? By crawling like worms? By prostrating ourselves before the very enemy that dares spit on our lineage?"
The forehead of the man slammed against the marble in desperation. "N-no, my lord! I... I never meant to insult you! I am no traitor, I am not like Edric, I only... I only thought—"
"Thought?" Aurelian’s voice lashed like a whip, causing the council members to shudder. "You thought? Or did you forget what became of Edric? You witnessed how traitors meet their end, yet you stand before me and spew the same venom!"
The minister’s body shuddered, breath scraping at his throat. He attempted to speak, but a staccato wheeze was all that emerged. His eyes bulged out of his head, veins straining against the reddened flesh as if his very lungs were being compressed by unseen shackles.
"No—no, my lord," he ground out, hardly audible. "I... I only wish to save lives... save our people from constant war..."
Aurelian’s eyes did not blink. He covered the distance in three steps and halted before the kneeling man. Slowly, deliberately, he stooped, his voice dropping into a tone more menacing than his initial roars.
"For the kingdom?" Aurelian’s words twisted with contempt, his hot breath against the minister’s ear. "Never speak that falsehood to me again. Today I release you alive... but not for your quivering allegiance."
The minister had the courage to look up, eyes filled with panic, confusion, and hope all at once.
"You live because once—once—you provided me with information that spared me an assassin’s dagger. That debt purchases your life this evening. But listen well, Minister..." He leaned in closer, his voice dropping yet another octave, a whisper of steel. "...if you ever again presume to suggest bowing this kingdom’s knee—I will peel the meat from your bones personally."
He stepped back with a sudden movement, the weighty cloak billowing like a tempest cloud.
The silence of the chamber was oppressive. Even after Aurelian stood upright, the air would not lighten. His mere presence continued to oppress them, as heavy as a mountain.
The minister fell forward, gasping great breaths of air as if he had been under water. His shaking hands grasped at the marble. He coughed, flushed, soaked with sweat, but alive.
Aurelian spun, his eyes scanning the ministers gathered before him. All eyes fell to the ground, none of them braving his glare.
"You all saw this," Aurelian’s voice boomed, low and unshakeable. "This is your last warning. You all know what happens to those who betray me. To those who imply cowardice in this chamber. This kingdom does not bow. Not to Vellore. Not to anyone."
He stood for a moment, his gold eyes burning.
"If you hold your lives dear, remember this."
A shudder ran through the ministers, united in it. Automatically, near-desperately, they bowed their heads, voices rising in faltering unison.
"Understood, my King."
The hall reverberated with their promise, though the sound was strained, cracked by fear.
Aurelian’s face still showed no change, was still hewn from stone. Gradually, he raised his hand and beckoned towards the chamber doors.
"Back to your rooms. Sleep soundly." His tone changed from fury to icy order. "Tomorrow... we march. To defend this kingdom with our own blood if necessary."
He did not wait for their answer. The king wheeled, his boots thudding like war drums. He walked across the hall, his black mantle flowing behind him, his back erect and impassable. When he came to the huge doors of the council hall, they swung open by themselves, as if the stone itself were afraid to refuse him.
He walked into the corridor outside, and as soon as his form disappeared through it, the great doors boomed shut behind him with a resounding echo.
The chamber sighed.
Each man within gasped, at last pulling air back into their lungs as if freed from intangible shackles. Ministers sank into chairs, their hands shaking so hard they could hardly stay upright. The weight in the air had cleared, but the tension lingered—a shadow cut into their bones.
Not one of them uttered a word. They looked at each other, but the only words between them were sighs, acid silence, and the shudder of mutual terror.
The Minister of Revenue, still kneeling, pushed himself to his feet. He grabbed at his chest, the ragged gasp of breathing as though his ribs had been splintered. He stumbled once, twice, before he planted his feet firmly on the ground. His face was white, drained of all color, sweat trickling from the brow.
He did not glance back.
Shaking his head with a bitter curl of lips, he shuffled towards the door, the ring of his footsteps hollow on the marble. Everyone knew what lay in store for them tomorrow—war. Life or death. Fortune or destruction.
But one thing remained firm: no one would ever challenge their king again.