Chương 188: 23. Mudslings and Accusations 1

"Good. Let's begin." After Ignicia said those words, the room got quieter still. Not the quiet of people too scared to speak. The quiet of people who understood that whoever opened their mouth first wouldn't be producing words—they'd be throwing knives. Ignicia didn't sit down immediately. She stood at the head of the long table, fingertips resting lightly on the chair back—poised to sit at any moment, yet somehow conveying that sitting was beneath her current concerns.

That effortless authority pressed down harder than any outburst could have managed. Haerdin stood to her front-left, pale as official documents that had been soaked and dried out again. The harbor commander stood to the right, arms crossed, face broadcasting a clear message: whoever dragged me into this had better have an excellent reason. Lei Lian stood straight as a blade propped against the wall—sheathed for now, but not for long.

As for me— I stood half a step behind Ignicia's right shoulder, working very hard to project emergency diplomatic envoy rather than man recently fished back from the sea whose knees still aren't entirely reliable. Marro leaned by the door, arms folded, that one eye half-lidded, wearing the expression of a man taking private bets on who in this room would collapse first. Ignicia finally spoke.

"Lord Haerdin. Let's start with the simplest question." Her tone was as casual as asking what was for lunch.

"There was cannon fire outside this port. Were you aware of it?" Haerdin's throat bobbed.

"…Your Highness, the port district did register certain… anomalous sounds." Anomalous sounds. I nearly rolled my eyes out of my skull. The kind of exchange that had rattled half the sea—and in his mouth it became anomalous sounds. This wasn't even lying with a straight face anymore. This was burying yourself neck-deep in sand and maintaining you'd never seen the sun. Ignicia looked almost amused. The corner of her mouth curved.

"Anomalous sounds?" she repeated.

"Yanxia Empire warships firing in Dragon Kingdom waters, sea-dragon gunboats flanking from both sides—that's what we're calling anomalous sounds?" Sweat appeared at Haerdin's temple.

"Your Highness, I merely—""Don't rush to your merely just yet." She raised one hand and pressed his defense back down.

"You acknowledged hearing it. Second question: why was the port not sealed immediately? No inspection? No warning beacons?" Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Haerdin's jaw twitched. His eyes went immediately to the harbor commander. There it is. His survival strategy. Not defending himself—scanning for someone suitable to take the plunge with him.

"Port sealing and coastal defense mobilization," he said, voice strained but still wearing bureaucratic armor, "require the harbor commander's authorization by regulation. Without formal military report, I cannot act unilaterally—""Absolute rubbish." The harbor commander dispensed with courtesy entirely.

"Your people heard the guns first. You sent the pilot boat yourself. Now you tell me you had no formal report?" Haerdin fired back immediately—clearly rehearsed.

"Precisely because the pilot boat was dispatched, precipitous action was inadvisable." Words came fast, like he feared slowing down meant being caught.

"What if it was misidentification? A pursuit that strayed across the border? If we sealed prematurely and the assessment proved wrong—who bears responsibility?" I almost wanted to applaud. This was the craftsmanship of someone who'd earned his position. Fighting for his life, but making it sound like noble bureaucratic burden-bearing. If I hadn't watched his color drain earlier, I might have believed he was wronged. Unfortunately, Ignicia understood this type far better than I did. She didn't argue.

She turned to Lei Lian.

"Tower General. Did the dragon tower receive advance warning from the port district?" Lei Lian's posture didn't shift. Her answer fell like a blade.

"No, Your Highness."

"Any formal notification of maritime irregularity?"

"No, Your Highness."

"Standard tower protocol when enemy vessels breach borders and open fire?"

"Aerial reconnaissance. Tower alarm. Dispatch to capital. Request Yinglong Guard deployment pending assessment." Lei Lian paused. The final cut: "Prerequisite being that port district or coastal watch must first report." The air tightened another degree. Haerdin went paler. Because Lei Lian had just laid the entire chain of command flat: port district heard first, dragon tower received nothing. The gap between those facts wasn't accident. It was people. The harbor commander let out a cold laugh.

"Hear that? Tower got nothing. My coastal watch received no formal urgent report from your side either. Want to try a different version?" Haerdin bit down, sweat finally breaking free. But he still wouldn't fall.

"I acted within standard procedure," he said, voice drying.

"When gunfire reached us, situation was unclear. Had the harbor commander activated coastal alert first, rather than waiting for written authorization—""You're bringing up written authorization?" The commander stepped forward hard enough to rattle the table.

"Enemy ships shelling the port and you're waiting for paperwork?"

"If dragon tower patrols were more frequent—" Even Lei Lian's eyes moved fractionally. She said nothing. But that glance told me: Haerdin had stopped arguing. He was looking for bodies to fall on top of. Marro produced a low, appreciative tsk by the door—a connoisseur finally satisfied. His crew collectively held their breath, afraid to miss the line that would get someone hanged. Only then did Ignicia truly smile. Not her usual thorned amusement. The smile of exactly as expected.

She released the chair back and stepped forward once. Just one step. Haerdin's shoulders locked.

"I see," Ignicia said quietly.

"Initially I assumed you simply took money, went blind, kept quiet." She spoke slowly—identifying the last exit and closing it.

"But now, Lord Haerdin—you're not just covering your failures." Her gaze moved across the commander, settled on Lei Lian, then fixed on Haerdin like a pin through paper.

"You realized you couldn't protect yourself, so you decided to drag others down—turn this into mud so thick no one washes clean." Haerdin's lips trembled.

"Your Highness, I have not—""You know exactly what you've done." Ignicia's smile faded. Lamplight caught her gold-red eyes, making them look genuinely lit from within.

"Listen carefully, Haerdin." One word at a time.

"If you're planning to walk out with nothing worse than dereliction of duty—I can save you the effort." Her chin lifted slightly.

"Because the moment you started pulling others down, this stopped being dereliction." A pause. In the brittle silence, she said it with absolute finality:"This is what traitors do." Haerdin went rigid.