Demian took his seat as every other eye was fixed on him, petrified after what he had ordered. Seraphina was still standing beside his chair with wide eyes and contemplating the situation as the atmosphere became thick with deafening silence.

"Th— What are you saying, Your Highness?" Lord Heartstone spoke with a praiseworthy courage even when his voice cracked.

"You have heard me, Lord Heartstone, or shall I assume that you have an auditory problem now?" Demian said as he gestured to a servant to pour him wine. The servant came and with shaky hands he poured the sparkling red wine in his golden cup and went away as soon as he came. 

"75 percent! You may have heard it wrong, Your Highness. It's no more than 10 percent." Lord Heartstone said as Demian raised a brow in amusement.

"You certainly have the courage to lie to the face of your Prince, Lord Heartstone. You do know it can get you severe punishment, don't you?" 

Lord Heartstone's face paled as the other noblemen around him froze. 

"Tell me, how did you improvise this city within two years with only ten percent of the tax?" Demian asked, "Alonzo, tell me how much it would take to make the whole city within two years?"

"It will take more than ten years with 10 percent tax if you don't add the other expenses of the needful things which is, providing goods from other cities." Alonzo informed and continued, "but if they had a good trading centre along with a large merchant's market. They may be able to do it within two years however, it is just an assumption." 

The only large trading market was Rockmond that was under Dragon city and Heartstone wasn't that sharp to think of its development for other sources of earnings. If it was his father then there was a chance but then if it was the late Heartstone, things would never have turned this dire.

"Hmm..." Demian nodded, "but as far as I had the information, your city doesn't do well in its trading market and nor does it have any large market to provide you that many coins."

Lord Heartstone's eyes drifted everywhere as he tried to find anything to say against these accusations. "But, isn't it good to improve the whole city system and if we decorate it to the fullest, it might attract the attention of outsiders. That way we can earn more."

"Indeed. But a city with only beggars doesn't attract customers." Demian hissed which made all the noblemen flinch away. Demian added, "You have ran out of goods, you have ran out of food even you don't have anything other than these decorated buildings," he scoffed, "even the buildings are looking hollow without its people."

Demian smiled as he mocked, "Are you supposedly trying to run a city without anyone in it?"

"No, Your Highness! I—" Lord Heartstone could not finish as Alonzo spoke, "May I, Your Highness?"

"Yes."

"Well, after every detailed report and measurements, I found you have to take a minimum of 75 percent of the tax from the commoners if you want to make such a city. However, I found you didn't even buy their crops and goods at the rate of 30 percent."

"That's ridiculous!" Lord Heartstone disapproved as his face grew red with his anger, "I had bought their goods giving them 50 percent of the profit!"

"Indeed?" 

"Yes! I can show you the proof!"

"Then it's settled, show me the proof." Demian said, his smirk turning into a wicked grin as if a devil had possessed him. The men under him exchanged their gazes as their women and children sniffed.

Lord Heartstone called his attendant, "Irwin!" 

The poor smashed-faced attendant came with stumbling feet as Heartstone screamed, "Irwin, get me all those papers and scrolls!"

Irwin looked between his master and Demian as he said, "B—but you had never written any receipts, my Lord?"

Demian laughed. A hysterical laughter that made everyone in that great hall shiver with fear. Seraphina all the while stayed silent as if someone had restricted her movements. She couldn't even blink. She saw how Demian's features changed as if he was some entirely different person. Her stomach tied into a knot yet she could not gather her courage to speak.

"Now, now, Lord Heartstone, you don't have any proof and all of you had been extorting the commoners all this time. I want all the money all of you collected within two days." Demian leaned back in his chair and added, "You should be glad that I am very considerate that I haven't asked the lands that you have snatched away from the poors."

At that, all the noblemen felt as if they had gone through a trauma as one of the noblemen asked with a pleading voice, "How could we give you the money when we have spent it on our cities?" 

"Is that so?" Demian asked as he feigned thinking and said immediately with matter-of-factly, "Then I want every land that you have under you including the land you are all living on." He finished with a devilish smile.

Lord Heartstone had been calming himself down as all he had been hearing was some nonsense from this child who was the so-called Young Prince of their Dragon nation. But now he could no longer take his blabbering as he said he wanted his land! The land he had been living on since his birth and his father had made it for their future. All he had done to build his own empire to keep himself and his future generations safe and wealthy was now getting snatched away. This little devil was trying to take it because he had power? Ridiculous!

"Do you call yourself a Prince?" Lord Heartstone growled at Demian, unable to keep his anger anymore as his wife tugged at his arm and shouted, "What are you saying? He is our Prince! Are you going insane!" 

He shoved his wife away as she fell back on her seat and her face carved with pain. Seraphina was about to go to her as Demian caught her hand in his grip.

"Seraphina, sit." He ordered her in a calm voice as she looked at him with her pleading eyes. Lord Heartstone might be a vile man but his wife wasn't. She was a good person and it pained Seraphina to see her so helpless where her house was crumbling down and now her husband had challenged the Prince of the nation.

Demian looked at her and repeated, "I told you to sit down."

Seraphina helplessly sat beside him, her heart thumping loudly as Lord Heartstone growled, "You have come here to rob your own people and you call yourself a Prince!"

"Haven't you been doing that with your people too?" Demian asked back and shrugged, "I am only imitating the act you have done so far. I don't find it wrong."

"This is unjust!" He banged his fist on the table, "There should be a rule that will apply on you too. Just because you have the whole nation under you doesn't mean you get away with it."

Demian had never found anyone so daring —other than his wife, that is— however, it was what he needed. He wanted to play with him and it was amusing how Lord Heartstone was acting on his anger. The more he gets angry, the more he would get holes in his made up stories. It was just as he planned. 

"Ho! Is there really such a rule?" Demian asked his voice laced with mockery as he said, "No, Heartstone, you rephrased it wrong."

Heartstone's face twisted with anger as Demian added, "I make the rule and I can break it if I feel like it."

The Lord shook in his place as his fists clenched tightly beside him as if the volcano would erupt at any moment.

"This conversation is finished." Demian said, "You and every nobleman in this hall will give me each of the land, money, goods, and everything you have."

"I will rebel before handing you my land!" Lord Heartstone said as Demian grinned at him as if he had been expecting to hear those words. 

Lord Heartstone's wife screamed at Heartstone as tears ran down her round face, "Don't be so egoistic! I had told you from the start that don't do this to our people. Look now what happened! Your daughters aren't even married yet. I told you not to listen to that vile man—" She tried to shake his husband up with her small hands but she was too weak against him as he growled at his wife and slapped her, "You weak woman! Get away from my sight!" 

Lady Heartstone tumbled down on the floor, weeping and cradled her swelling elbow.

Seraphina's blood boiled at how Lord Heartstone treated his wife and she felt her fists were itching but Demian still had held her hand in an iron grip. She wanted to go out there and show him how to treat a woman.

"Rebel with what? 200 men who might not want to fight against me?" Demian asked as Lord Heartstone growled, he had long forgotten that starting a riot against his king would take him to his annihilation along with his men.

"My men had taken an oath to serve me and they would do it even if they were to go against you."

Demian hummed, "Interesting. Let's see what they do if a whole city comes against them."

For a moment, no one could not understand what he meant and soon they heard a noise from outside of the palace. Noise of a crowd throwing bad omens at them, shouting at them with names and insulting them. All of the families of nobles were horrified as they heard the palace gate breaking down. The cacophony of the yelling masses echoed off the walls drenched in wealth and blood of the poor. 

"Wh—what the devil have you done?" Lord Heartstone asked as one of his knights came rushing and exclaimed with a horrified face, "My Lord! The commoners have broken into the yard and right now, they are trying to break the first entrance of the palace!"

The knight had wounds on his forehead, arms as blood clotted on them. It was certain that they were having a hard time handling that many people.

The young prince sat there with a smile on his face as Heartstone got furious. He hissed, "They are breaking into my house!"

"Exactly, that they are," Demian raised the glass at him and gulped the wine down. "Now, you have two options. One, either you give me everything and I may let you all live or, two, I let them take back whatever you've snatched from them and your lives will be at their mercy."

Demian took his knife and fork and cut the meat as he said, "The choice is yours, Heartstone. Your time is running out and your men are outnumbered."