"Silence," Lucien issued a command towards the raging crowd, "You are in the presence of the Prince of Veridia! Behave yourself!"
The crowd got a bit startled and realized their fault.
Lorian raised his hand to halt Lucien and addressed the crowd, "it's alright. Everyone be silent, and let any one person, among you all speak. When everyone of you speak, it just becomes a noise. And, I don't like noise!"
The last sentence had such a cold, threatening tone that the raging crowd felt an oppressive chill and fell silent. They looked at each other to select the one who would speak to the Prince for themselves.
"Anyone?" Lorian nudged them again, for he grew a bit restless. The suspense was pressing him internally.
The old man, who was the first to become vocal last time, spoke up again, "Your majesty..."
"That is my father, Lord Elmsworth Thorne. I am his son. I request you not to address me with such title in future, it is akin to treason!" Lorian spoke coldly again.
Lucien was a bit surprised. From the little he had witnessed of Lorian lately, he was a very good-natured and soft guy, and him acting so coldly and unnecessarily strictly with these people sounded a bit strange to him. He took a mental note of discussing this later.
"Please forgive me, my lord! I am an illiterate commoner!..." the old guy fumbled.
"You are excused," Lorian stopped him in his track, "now proceed!"
"Yes, my lord!" the old guy nodded, "This, my daughter Rosalina. She had run away with her good-for-nothing lover Timothy two months ago. I had not heard of her or that scoun…. forgive me, that boy since then. But I never could imagine she was in such condition, in this city only!" The old guy broke into tears, so did the girl. "I knew the boy was good for nothing. See, he sold you to this Baron..." the old guy tried to scold his daughter in a teary voice.
"Watch your mouth, you cretin..." the Baron hissed.
"No, Papa!" the girl protested, "Timothy is innocent. Both of us were caught by the Bistro Guards while we were trying to sneak past the city, and they brought us here. And this evil guy, after listening to our story, threw both of us in prison."
"Where is he?" Lucien asked.
"He was transferred last week, probably sold. The Bistro Guards dragged him from his cell and beat him unconscious before taking him out," the girl broke into tears, as she pleaded to Lucien, "please my lord, I beg you, I beg you with my all, please save my Tim, please save him."
Lucien sighed and patted her head. "Don't worry, child, I will give my all to find your Timothy. Don't you worry, child!"
Now Lorian found it a bit odd. Well, this girl really deserved attention and care, but it seemed the Lord Commander was breaking his character to show affection to this girl, like a big brother or father figure. It was Lorian's turn to take a mental note to talk to him regarding this.
However, in the meantime, other people from the crowd approached them one by one, identifying all the human captives they had rescued from Bistro's chamber. It was discovered that all the incidents of kidnapping and disappearance in the city of Veridia and the surrounding area were tied to Bistro Manor. So, it could be safely assumed that all the past missing cases were also linked to Baron Bistro.
Anyway, Lucien addressed the crowd about taking these captives under the care of the Throne Guards, for their care and safety, till the trial was over. After all, they were going to play a pivotal role in the upcoming trial of the Baron, and they would be in much more danger if they returned to their home. Auric Spire was going to be their best refuge till the trial was over.
The relatives found that argument reasonable. They agreed to leave the rescued prisoners to the care of Commander Lucien, and agreed to meet Lucien in his office next morning for their part of the testament to be recorded.
The same was decided for all demi-human prisoners. There was total four Dwarves (two male and two female); six Elves (two females, four children, among which three were females); and one female Panther Beastman. These total eleven demi-humans would stay in the Throne Barracks, and would be presented at trial. Although demi-human testimony did not carry much weight in Human courts, this time so many demi-humans' testimonials would surely add extra weight to the testimonials of the human prisoners. Lucien looked at the Baron. He did not utter a word, but his eyes and smirk delivered the message loud and clear, "You are finished, Baron Bistro!" In return, the Baron just glared back, in a vain attempt to burn Lucien to cinders with his fiery gaze.
Before Lorian and company could leave, a servant rushed to him, huffing. "What's the meaning of this?" Lucien fumed. The servant bowed and delivered a message from the house: the pearl of House Bistro wanted to meet him, urgently.
Lorian did not understand the message, but Lucien's face became grim. He whispered into Lorian's ear, "My Lord, if you wish, we will dispatch the entourage to Auric Spire, while I will stay with you as you meet. I do not think leaving you alone in this hostile house at this moment would be a great idea. You can be turned into a hostage in the best possible outcome."
Lorian got more puzzled by this. "Exactly what are you trying to say? I mean what is pearl, what meeting, and why should I meet that guy?"
Now it was Lucien's turn to get puzzled. "That's 'lady', My Lord, not 'guy'! I beg your pardon My Lord, but, are you serious?"
Lorian realized they were conversing about something in his past, of which he had no memory. It was the time when Lorian's body grew without his soul- the Idiot Prince era!
Lorian rubbed his face as an act of desperation, and spoke in a troubled tone, "I.... I can not.... I can not remember,... my mind is getting foggy,.... Head is hurting...." Lorian tried to act dramatically, as he had seen actors in movies and dramas used to do as a symptom of memory loss.
Lucien grabbed the Prince, "No need to worry, my lord, let's go back to Auric Spire, and you take rest. Anyway, the whole day was hectic for you!"
The offer sounded good, but Lorian was not the one who could let go of his curiosity easily. He gave in to his urge and said, "No Lord Commander, I need to meet her. I need to regain all my memory. I can't run away from my past or things. I agree to what you said. Let's dispatch the captives along with the guards to Auric Spire, and let me and you go and meet her. Meanwhile you please fill me in about her."
"I can not or should not speak in detail, my lord," Lucien nodded as they followed the servant, "you two used to love each other as a kid, and she was supposed to be your betrothed."