Awakening Love Reborn to Be His Duchess (Elowen Hale) novel Chapter 588

Chapter 588 No One Walks Away Clean

The remark landed exactly where it was meant to.

Not just at Piers, but at Gareth.

Piers’s brow furrowed, ready to answer.

Gareth spoke first.

“That’s a curious argument,” he said calmly. “A moment ago, you questioned the integrity of the Ministry. Now you insist the case stay with them. So which is it?”

Quentin froze.

Gareth didn’t slow down.

“You said the confession might have been influenced. That the process could have been compromised. Those were your words.”

He turned slightly, locking eyes with him.

“So if the same offices handle the case and deliver a verdict, will you accept it? Or will you question it again?”

His tone sharpened just a fraction.

“Because if this continues, we’ll be trying the same case over and over until it no longer means anything.”

Quentin was completely thrown off by the rapid–fire questioning, his mouth opening but no words coming out, while a thin sheen of sweat gathered at his temples.

Damn it…he knows exactly what he’s doing.

He wasn’t just arguing.

He was turning Quentin’s own words back on him and sealing off every way out.

“That said, you’re not entirely wrong.

Quentin’s chest tightened.

“Your Majesty shouldn’t be buried in every detail,” Gareth continued. “So here’s a better solution.”

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Chapter 588 No One Walks Away Clean

His voice carried clearly across the chamber.

“Bring the case here. Hold the hearing in open court. Your Majesty presides. The court

witnesses. Summon the Duke of Duskmoor. Lay out Dominic’s testimony piece by piece and examine it in full view.”

He let that settle.

“No shadows. No speculation. No room to twist the truth. If someone is lying, it will show. If someone is hiding something, it won’t hold.”

His gaze swept the room.

“And when it’s done, there will be no argument left. The Crown Prince is either cleared, or he isn’t. The Duke is either wronged, or he isn’t. The truth stands on its own.”

The chamber erupted. Quentin’s vision blurred slightly.

He actually said that out loud.

What did it mean to try a case in

open

court?

It meant everything would be laid bare.

Every accusation, every piece of evidence, every hidden thread would be pulled into the light, examined in front of the entire court.

For the Crown Prince, there would be no middle ground.

He would walk away cleared of all suspicion.

Or he would fall beyond recovery.

“No…” Alaric dropped low, his voice unsteady, his lips trembling as the instinct to resist rose up before he could stop it.

But from the throne, the emperor’s voice came first.

“Granted.”

It wasn’t loud.

It didn’t need to be.

The single word carried through the chamber like the deep toll of a cathedral bell at dawn, steady and final, leaving no space for argument.

Chapter 588 No One Walks Away Clean

Alaric froze, his mouth still parted, the world tilting around him as the weight of it settled in, crushing and absolute.

No way out. Not now. Not anymore.

Gareth was the first to move, lowering himself fully and pressing his head down in a formal show of deference, his voice ringing clear.

“Your Majesty’s judgment is wise.”

One after another, the officials followed, bowing in unison as voices rose across the hall in a swelling wave of assent.

Theodric turned slightly. “Quin. Bring the Duke of Duskmoor.”

Quin bowed and moved quickly out of the chamber.

Members of the King’s Guard were already heading for the gates.

At the same time, a palace attendant slipped away quietly, avoiding notice as he made for the queen’s residence.

Inside, Isla stood near a tall window, trimming back a flowering branch with a pair of silver shears. The light from the wall sconces cast a warm glow across the chamber.

As the report reached her, her hand jerked.

The blade slipped.

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