The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride-Chapter 84: Punishment (2)

In the morning, Tobias gathered the court to once and for all put an end to their interest in Tyrion’s marriage to Penelope.

Tobias had far too little time to prepare his son Teo to take the throne and to find him a wife. He couldn’t listen to any more of the court’s questions about Tyrion.

The marriage had happened, and Tyrion gave up his title. What more was there to be discussed?

Solomon stood at the front of the men, puzzled by what the king wanted to speak of. He looked at the young prince, who was in dire need of guidance.

Solomon regretted not being more involved in Teo before now. He could have had the boy well under his command.

"I have heard there are more questions about my son’s marriage to Lady Penelope. It was my misunderstanding that we had moved on from it and we were to place all focus on preparing the crown prince for the throne," Tyrion said, looking directly at the men who opposed his order.

"I have been quite busy with my sons, so you have all taken that as a chance for you to act as you please. You are the court, and I am your king. You take orders from the Castros. Your existence is simply to offer us some opinions," Tobias said, tired of the court thinking it was bigger than it was.

"With all due respect-"

"I am not done yet," Tobias spoke over Solomon. "There is no respect here. You have all claimed that I have been unfair with my judgments. You accuse me of allowing Edgar or my son to get away with their actions. Well, you have been unreasonable."

Tobias believed he made fair judgments. Edgar was never an enemy to the throne or the town. He only ever went after those who troubled him or brought harm to the town.

"You have all been unreasonable with your request. You target anyone who threatens to expose you or whose plans do not align with your own. Tyrion might no longer be the crown prince, but he is still the prince and my son," Tobias said as he stood up.

Tobias eyed the freshly sharpened blade of his sword. It was calling for someone’s blood to decorate it.

Tobias pointed the tip of his sword at the men in the room, watching them cower. Most of them had never held a sword. They only ever fought with their words, so he never held any interest in their opinions when it came to war.

"Tyrion Castro is not a man you can speak so carelessly about. No matter where he stands, he is a Castro through and through. I’ve grown tired of you fools going behind my back to stir up panic. I know what you did," Tobias said, approaching the group.

Solomon remained still, waiting to see where the king was going with this talk. They had every right to voice their concerns. They needed to be the voice of reason when Tobias was blinded by the fact that it was his son causing trouble.

Still, Solomon remained silent, leaving it to the other men around him to speak up. His position in the palace could not be threatened now.

"Listen carefully to what I have to say now. The men of the court are servants of the Castros. I know you often like to place yourself well above the other servants in the palace and not see yourself as such, but you are here to serve me and my family," said Tobias.

Tobias continued to say, "Since you are servants to the Castros, I find it only fitting that I get rid of those of you who don’t know your place. Some of you are pledging loyalty to men in the court instead of your king out of fear. You should fear your king more."

"From this moment onward, anyone who speaks ill of Prince Tyrion Castro and his wife will be placed in the dungeon or hanged if they have plotted against them. Anyone who shares private matters of the palace with anyone outside will be killed before their families and their homes will be taken away," Tobias announced.

Lionel looked to Solomon, hoping he could talk some sense into the king. The king’s orders were going too far for their actions to affect their families.

Seeing that Solomon would not speak up, Lionel took it upon himself to address the king.

"Your Majesty," Lionel bowed as he stepped forward. "Might I speak?"

"You may," Tobias allowed it. He was waiting to see who would be so bold as to question his orders.

Solomon’s gaze flicked from Tobias to Lionel, who should have been silent now. Still, it would be useful if Lionel asked anything he had some interest in finding out.

"Is it not too much of a punishment to strip someone of their homes? What of their innocent families?" Lionel asked. "They should not be without a home because of someone’s actions."

Tobias pointed his sword at Lionel. "Tell me, what is it that you are doing which makes you concerned about this order? A man with clean hands has nothing to fear of where his family will rest their heads."

Lionel looked down at the floor. "You misunderstand me, My King. I am only speaking out of concern for my peers, not for myself."

"Oh," Tobias smiled, moving the sword out of Lionel’s face. "You are concerned for your peers. That sounds like you know they are up to no good. I want a list of the men you are concerned about and an explanation for why you are concerned."

Lionel looked up, surprised by the order. "M-My king,"

"If I am not given a list by the end of the day, I will assume that you have been speaking on your behalf all along and that there is something you are plotting. Either give me names, or I shall punish you," Tobias gave Lionel a choice.

Lionel bit his tongue, regretting speaking up now since he had to expose someone’s wrongdoings to save himself.

This was going to put him in a terrible position with the other men as he would look like a traitor, but that was something to be concerned about another day. Right now, Lionel had to save himself.

Lionel glanced at Solomon only to find that Solomon wasn’t paying him any mind.

"The court shall not speak of Prince Tyrion and Lady Penelope. We shall act as good servants of the palace to point out anyone who dares speak ill of the Castros. You have my word," Solomon promised, playing along with the king’s wishes for now.