Chapter 104: No Feast Here—Only Beheading or Becoming My Dog!

The thick, unyielding stench of blood, mixed with the foulness of entrails and the greasiness of fat, filled the hall.

Warm liquid slid down the rigid cheeks of the nobles, dripping onto their lavish robes and blooming into ugly, glaring dark red flowers.

“Urgh…”

At last, a noble could no longer suppress the turmoil in their stomach, bending over to retch violently, even vomiting bile.

The acidic water, mingled with blood and filth, snaked across the floor.

The entire world was reduced to nothing but nauseating blood and a soul-devouring silence.

“Monster…”

“Devil…”

No one knew who, in a voice as faint as a mosquito, tremblingly uttered these two words.

Yet even this weak sound was like a drop of water in boiling oil, instantly igniting the panic into a frenzy.

At last, a pampered countess could no longer endure the mental torment.

She let out a piercing, inhuman scream, turned, and bolted madly toward the hall doors.

There was no trace of noble dignity left in her panicked, scrambling flight.

With a “thud,” she tripped over her own frantic steps and crashed heavily into the pool of blood, only to immediately scramble up again and continue her desperate escape.

This action became the fuse that ignited the powder keg.

“Run!”

“Get out of this hell!”

“I don’t want to die, aaaaaah!!”

What remained of their reason was completely swept away by the instinct to survive.

The nobles surged toward every possible exit like cattle driven to the slaughter, mad with terror.

Their cries, screams, and curses mingled together, turning the throne hall into a true scene of carnage.

On the throne.

A trace of icy disgust flickered in the purple magic eyes of Astreia.

“The noise of ants. So loud.”

She couldn’t even be bothered to stand, lazily raising her right hand once more.

Vast magic power began to gather in her palm, forming a twisting, dark purple sphere of energy visible to the naked eye, radiating a terrifying, chilling aura.

In the next second, these noisy insects would be turned, like Agnes Veid, into blood and flesh to nourish the marble floor.

At that moment.

A hand gently pressed down on the Witch Queen’s arm as she was about to strike.

It was Wendy.

The magic in Astreia’s palm faltered slightly. She turned her head, a rare hint of confusion appearing in those eyes that looked down on all creation.

“A king can rule through fear, but not by slaughter alone.”

Wendy’s voice was hoarse from earlier suffocation, but his tone was as calm as ever, even tinged with a hint of amusement.

“And besides, just killing them all…would be too much of a waste.”

The Prince lifted his head, his gaze cutting through the chaos below to land precisely on the “Miss Rival” who had just recovered from suffocation in the corner.

“Laxana.”

“Ah?”

Miss Klein was still lost in a swirl of fear and excitement.

At his words, she jolted upright instinctively.

“The thing?”

Wendy winked at her playfully.

“The little toy I asked you to prepare to control pets.”

“Pet… toy?”

Laxana’s mouth twitched involuntarily.

It was, in fact, a very fitting description.

She steadied herself, forced down the lingering tingling at her neck, and with feigned elegance, swung her staff.

Buzzzz—

Dozens of Thunderlight Collars, identical to the one from last night, materialized out of thin air, floating silently in midair.

Each collar was wrapped in ominous black arcs, crackling softly, like venomous snakes flicking their tongues, thirsting for warm necks.

“This is…”

From atop the throne, Yekaterina, who had remained silent, saw the dangerous collars. Her emerald eyes filled with confusion and curiosity.

Wendy didn’t answer, but instead offered a “friendly” smile to the nobles below, who had frozen in terror, eyes fixed on him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet.”

His voice was not loud, but it carried a strange magic that quelled all noise.

“Her Majesty the Queen and Her Highness the Crown Princess are merciful and dislike needless slaughter. Therefore, we have decided to give everyone a chance to atone for your sins.”

The Prince extended a slender finger, pointing at the sinister ‘toys’ floating in the air.

“From today onward, you will continue in your original posts, serving the kingdom.”

“Only… you will be required to wear this.”

He paused, savoring the growing horror on the nobles’ faces before continuing.

“I call it the ‘Loyalty Collar.'”

“Its function is simple. Attached to your neck will be a miniature Magic Array. If anyone is judged guilty of embezzlement, bribery, deceiving superiors, shirking duties, or any act that defies Her Majesty the Queen’s will…”

Wendy’s smile grew ever brighter, and more sinister.

“…It will immediately release a just-right current to help clear your muddled brains and remind you of your loyalty and duty as subjects.”

“Of course, the intensity of the current depends on the severity of your crime.”

“As for the upper limit…”

He feigned a troubled look, then snapped his fingers.

“Well, let’s say it could turn a young dragon into charcoal in an instant.”

Once again, the hall was plunged into a silence more dreadful than death.

All the nobles stared at the smiling, innocent-looking Prince on the throne as if seeing a demon.

How vicious! How cruel!

This wasn’t punishment—it was outright enslavement!

It was to treat these high-and-mighty nobles as livestock, to be electrocuted for amusement at any time!

A hot-tempered countess, shaking with rage, pointed at Wendy’s nose, about to hurl abuse.

“You… you snake-bat…!”

Before she could finish, Astreia cast a cold glance at her.

“Urgh!”

The countess immediately rolled her eyes, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed, twitching violently on the floor—her limbs jerking in a grotesque rhythm, like a fish tossed onto land.

The other nobles instantly knelt in terror.

An example had been made.

No one dared voice even a whisper of dissent.

Wendy nodded in satisfaction.

However, his gaze never once left the corner of the hall.

Cardinal Allison Visseran.

From the moment Agnes Veid exploded into a rain of blood, to when he produced the Loyalty Collar, this woman’s face had shown neither panic nor fear.

As if everything before her was no more than a dull play.

Wendy’s heart sank.

In truth, he had already signaled Astreia in secret.

If this old fox revealed even a hint of hostility or resistance, the Witch Queen’s thunder would descend instantly, erasing her from this world.

But—

Nothing.

There was nothing at all.

Now, Allison Visseran even stepped forward, ignoring the blood at her feet, picking up a Loyalty Collar and examining it closely.

After a moment.

“Such a delicate creation. It should purge corruption from the kingdom and reshape the bureaucracy.”

She adjusted the gold-rimmed monocle on her nose, her phoenix eyes smiling behind the lens, as if admiring a work of art.

“Truly, it is Valoran’s great fortune.”

“I, Allison Visseran, and the entire Civil Officials’ Faction behind me, fully support Her Majesty the Queen and Her Highness the Crown Princess in this wise decision.”

As her words fell, under the stunned eyes of all present—

The Cardinal smiled, and personally fastened the dangerous, sparking Loyalty Collar around her own neck!

The Prime Minister of the kingdom, leading by example!