Chapter 575 - Five Hundred And Seventy-five: Search His Cellphone

The third point of view:

If there had been awkward silence previously, now was a shocking one. Except for the sound of their breathing, the great hall was so quiet that a pin dropped would reverberate greatly across the room.

"What did you just say?" The queen was the first to recover from the impact, already at the edge of her seat. She wanted the truth.

"Lord Albert is planning a treason!" Ailee supported her brother. They were in this together.

There was a great uproar in the hall as everyone - the other lords and guests - began to deliberate the accusation. It was simply unbelievable.

"Oh my God," Reina pinched the space between her brows. She was regretting it, taking the kids to Lincolnshire was a huge mistake. Reina had always felt this would happen, she just never wanted to acknowledge the feelings.

"We have to stop the kids now," Niklaus' jaw was clenched. He knew how worried Reina was right now and it wasn't good for the babies. He had specially warned the kids not to upset their mother and yet, they did it.

"No, leave them," Emerald stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"What?" Niklaus eyed him. 

"They've already begun, it's not worth stopping them now. Moreover, who knows, they might be speaking the truth," 

And thanks to that comment from Emerald, the others who had wanted to stop them as well, took a step back. They just silently hoped the kids were right and that this wasn't one of their many pranks. Else, they were doomed. 

"Do you fully grasp the gravity of your allegation? You accuse one of my lords of treason and that is a capital offense punishable by death?" 

"Yes, we know that and are confident that we are right," stated Allen, eliciting another uproar from the crowd. 

"Your highness!" Lord Albert spoke up, "You don't possibly believe a bunch of kids who just stole my cellphone -".

"His cellphone is the evidence!" Neon announced. 

Another gasp from the crowd. 

"This is getting bad," Reina turned to her husband, "I'm not comfortable with this anymore. We should stop the kids before they add more fuel to the burning flame," 

Niklaus nodded and at once, stood up, saying, "Forgive my kids, your highness, the queen. They must have lost their mind. If you can please -"

"Let them speak," The queen was adamant, "They claim they have evidence, I would love to see it," 

Niklaus couldn't say anything more and stood helplessly. God save his children.

Neon took that as a cue to continue, "The first day we arrived, I bumped into lord Albert in the hallway. His phone dropped and I helped him pick it, that was when I saw the message. Although I couldn't see the person he chatted with, they definitely discussed treason,"

There were murmurs within the crowd, everyone pointing out their view on the matter.

"Your highness! Don't tell me you believe a mere kid's words over your loyal servant?" Lord Albert argued. 

"Did you or did you not bump into the kid on the said day?" The queen questioned him sternly. The matter of treason was not to be treated trivial - they learned a hard lesson from the invaders. 

"We indeed bumped into each other, but I'm innocent of what he accuses him of, "He turned to Neon, "You can't trust a kid who isn't even sure of the recipient of the said message. Also, how long had he stared at the screen enough to know I was planning treason against you? Our contact barely lasted a second. His evidence is unreliable," Lord Albert claimed.

"We should search his phone then," Ailee stated, raising the phone in the air so everyone could see it.

"They met three days ago which means the chat wouldn't be too far off. Even though we don't know who he chatted with, the case of treason is broad and we would surely find more than one contact in cahoots with him which is enough evidence to implicate him,"

Another roar of murmuring arose.

Reina began a silent prayer. Her kids better be right because this wasn't a normal case - they were accusing a lord. If all of this turns up negatively, even though they are kids, she was sure they will be punished severely.

"Fine, someone should search the phone," The queen ordered.

"I'll do it," Judy volunteered with his hand raised, standing up from his chair.

Lord Albert frowned at the turn of events but said nothing.

"Fine, do it," The queen permitted.

Judy went over and took the phone from Ailee before asking Lord Albert to unlock his password. And while he began his search, the debate continued.

"Also," Neon added, "I was in the garden the other day playing with my mouse when I saw Lord Albert come in with another man I couldn't recognize because I was hiding in the bush. They said the queen needed to go and they had control of the guards. He also mentioned he would promote him if it all goes well," he recalled as much as he could. 

The crowd gasped in shock once more.

By now, the queen had her hands clenched by the side. She was so angry, but above all, she was disappointed - she had trusted him.

With red eyes, she turned to Albert saying, "What do you have to say about this, lord Albert? Did you or did you not have such a conversation and with who?" 

At once, everyone turned to Lord Albert, waiting for his response. This was a dire situation and his answer determined his survival. 

"Yeah, I did," the man said and the crowd gasped. The queen felt as if a sword just went through her chest. How could he? 

"But then," Lord Albert said, "The reasons are totally different from the lies the young boy spewed. I only spoke with the captain of the tenth division to sort out the security of the palace considering the influx of guests with the royal wedding at the corner - security shouldn't be lax. I asked him how many guards were assigned to the royal family and the rest of the details are confidential and accessible to me as your defense minister. In the end, I promised to promote him if he does his job perfectly,"

"It's a lie!" Neon said. 

"I think this child already misunderstood me from the beginning and has a conceited view of me," 

"But I'm telling the truth!" Neon whined. 

"Would you believe me, your royal lord who stood by you for years and fought alongside you during the invaders or a kid still in diapers, your royal highness?! " 

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