He pointed at her with a shaking finger, his voice dripping with venom.
"You are DISGUSTING! What kind of monster are you?! Your own sister! Your own flesh and blood! And you would dig up her body like she’s nothing?! Like she’s garbage to be moved around?!"
Adrian’s mother’s parents—her own father and mother—also rose from their seats, their faces twisted with horror and fury.
Her father shouted, "YOU ARE A DISGRACE! A DISGRACE TO OUR FAMILY!"
Her mother wailed dramatically, "How could we have raised such a heartless daughter?! Your sister was an angel! A saint! And you—you’re jealous even of her grave?!"
Her father continued, his voice shaking: "She loved warm places! She hated the cold! That’s why she was buried in the Adrian family cetery—because it faces south, gets sunlight, stays warm! And you would move her to our family grounds in the cold northern section?! You would make your dead sister suffer?!"
Adrian’s mother’s brother stood up and shouted, "Sister, have you lost all human decency?! All compassion?! She’s DEAD! Let her rest in peace!"
Adrian’s father was nearly frothing at the mouth now: "You evil, spiteful woman! You’ve always been jealous of her! Even when she was alive! And now that she’s dead, you STILL can’t let her have peace?! What kind of twisted, vile creature are you?!"
The entire court was in an uproar. Nobles were whispering, shocked, horrified.
Even Heena had to admit—this was brutal. Calculated, but brutal.
Adrian’s mother stood there, taking all the abuse, all the accusations, her face completely calm.
Then she spoke, her voice cutting through the chaos like a knife:
"Jealous?" She laughed—a harsh, bitter sound. "You think I’m ’jealous’ of my dead sister?"
She turned to her parents.
"You want to talk about how I’ve treated her? Let’s talk about how YOU’VE treated !"
Her voice rose, gaining strength.
"When I was eight years old and she was my sister yet, she pushed down the stairs and broke my arm. You told I must have fallen. When I was twelve and she ruined my dress for the harvest festival, you said I should have been more careful. When I was fifteen and she told lies about to potential suitors, you said I should be more like her—more gentle, more sweet!"
She pointed at Adrian’s father.
"And when SHE died, when she was gone—you married to HIM. Not because you loved . Not because you wanted to be happy. But because you wanted to keep the alliance! Keep the connection to the Adrian family! I was a ’replacent’!"
Her father shouted, "That’s not true—"
"IT IS TRUE!" Adrian’s mother scread back. "You’ve said it yourself! Multiple tis! ’If only your sister had lived!’ ’Your sister would have made a better duchess!’ ’Why can’t you be more like her?!’"
She turned back to Adrian’s father, her eyes blazing.
"And you! You married while still in love with her! You put her portrait in our bedroom! You visit her grave every week! You whisper her na in your sleep! You’ve compared to her for TWENTY YEARS!"
Her voice broke slightly, but she pushed through.
"You pushed into a frozen pond because I wore white—her favorite color! You threw out of a carriage in winter because I said she wasn’t perfect! You’ve punished again and again for the cri of not being HER!"
She looked at her parents again.
"And you! You’ve supported him! Every ti he hurt , you said I must have deserved it! ’Be more understanding!’ ’Be more patient!’ ’Rember how much he loved your sister!’"
Tears were streaming down her face now, but her voice remained strong.
"So yes! I want her grave moved! Because she’s been between us for twenty years while alive in his heart, and I’m DONE! If he cannot let her go, if you cannot let her go, then FINE! Take her back! Let her rest in your family cetery! Let HER be cold for once instead of !"
The throne room was dead silent.
Adrian’s father looked stricken. Her parents looked shocked.
Adrian’s mother continued, her voice dropping to sothing cold and final:
"You have a choice. Sign the divorce papers and let leave this marriage with my dignity and my freedom. Or refuse, and I will pursue this petition to have my sister’s grave relocated. And we can have this entire ugly ss dragged out in public for months while the courts debate grave desecration laws."
She looked directly at Adrian’s father.
"Either way, I’m leaving this marriage. The only question is how much of your precious image you want destroyed in the process."
Adrian’s father was trembling—whether with rage or shock, it was unclear.
Heena watched carefully, then spoke: "The court will take a brief recess. Both parties will have fifteen minutes to decide how they wish to proceed."
---
Fifteen minutes later, when court resud, Adrian’s father sat with his face buried in his hands.
His voice ca out broken and bitter: "I’ll sign the papers."
Adrian’s mother nodded once, her face expressionless.
The divorce was granted.
Adrian’s mother received half of the family wealth, custody rights to any disputed property, and full severing of all family ties.
As she stood to leave the courtroom, her parents tried to approach her.
She looked at them with cold, empty eyes and said quietly:
"You chose her. Even after she died, you chose her over . Live with that choice."
Then she walked out, head held high.
Adrian sat motionless in his seat, his face pale.
He’d just watched his mother destroy her entire family, burn every bridge, sacrifice every relationship—just to escape his father.
And he’d done ’nothing’ to help her.
For the first ti, Adrian felt sothing that might have been sha.
---
Heena sat on her throne, exhausted but satisfied.
All four divorces were complete.
The dukes were financially weakened and politically isolated.
The duchesses would beco her advisors.
And the consorts had been forced to watch their parents’ marriages crumble, showing them exactly what happened when you betrayed powerful won.
The ssage was sent.
Now, she could finally focus on the Church.
Taking down the Church was actually not as difficult as many would have expected—because Heena had been secretly investigating them for quite so ti.
Thanks to the new police force and investigative officers she’d established and empowered, they had been keeping careful surveillance on the Church’s activities. The evidence had been mounting for months.
Many suspicious transactions. Many illegal activities. Many lists of corruption.
Heena had been waiting for the right mont.
And now, with the consorts weakened and the duchesses secured as allies, it was ti.
She let the whole scandal break publicly.
Within a single day, many Church officials were arrested. The people learned how the Church had been taking bribes, using donation money for illegal activities, embezzling funds ant for the poor.
They discovered that many nobles were involved in the conspiracy.
It caused absolute chaos—but thanks to the police force Heena had established, order was maintained. If anything, it made her image even better. A ruler who brought law and order to even the most powerful institutions.
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