Luna's delicate brows furrowed slightly, but she didn't turn toward the voice.
Orion acted as though he hadn't heard them, his warm gaze settling on Aqua, who stood to the throne's right beside Luna.
Pointing at the seat of royal authority, he said softly, "Aqua, sit here."
Aqua timidly glanced at the kneeling royals and nobles before hesitating at the throne's edge.
Standing on tiptoes, she whispered into Orion's ear, "Uncle, I'm scared."
"Luna will stay with you."
With that, Orion turned to Luna.
"Fleet Admiral, I—"
Luna met his gaze, flustered by the unexpected honor.
Mid-sentence, under Orion's steady stare, she abruptly fell silent.
Then, drawing a deep breath, she mustered her courage and stepped forward, lifting Aqua onto the throne before sitting beside her.
The moment Luna settled Aqua onto the throne, King Ocreus III scrambled forward on his knees, his voice breaking with desperation.
"Fleet Admiral, this is all a misunderstanding! Had we known Aqua was connected to you, we'd never have dared harm her or her mother—not even with ten extra lives to spare!"
Before Orion could respond, Colon—still dizzy from kowtowing—crawled to Ocreus III's side, pointing accusingly at Luke behind him.
"It's all his fault! He's the one responsible for this!"
Orion remained silent, standing before the throne, his expression calm as he observed the two.
Seeing this, another royal minister approached the two, but instead of pleading with Orion, he pinned his hopes on Luna.
"Miss Luna, please speak for us! If the Fleet Admiral allowed you to sit on the throne, he will surely listen to your opinion! We... we are truly innocent!"
Hearing this, Luna looked at Orion with trepidation.
The fact that Orion had seated her on the throne was already overwhelming enough—how could she dare utter a single word of dissent now?
Yet, seeing these royal nobles and ministers, even the once lofty king himself, kneeling before Orion like whimpering stray dogs, she felt an indescribable thrill deep in her heart.
She remembered how her father had once knelt in this very hall, begging the king to reduce their taxes, only for the king to fly into a rage and banish their family from the royal capital.
With their noble status stripped away, the young aristocrats who had once dared not lay a finger on her came knocking repeatedly, even attempting to claim her right in front of her parents.
In the end, her parents were beaten to death protecting her.
If she could, she wished every royal and noble in this palace—especially those gathered in this hall now—would perish.
As if reading her thoughts, Orion said calmly.
"Miss Luna, I hereby grant you the supreme authority of this nation. The fate of these people is now yours to decide."
At these words, Luna jolted to her feet in shock.
"Fleet Admiral, I—"
Orion raised a hand, his tone brooking no argument.
"Do as you see fit."
"Yes!"
Swallowing her words, Luna turned her gaze from Orion to the crowd in the hall, her eyes gradually turning cold—as if she had long since decided who must die.
Trembling, she pointed at Luke, who lay limp on the ground.
"Captain Morgans, this man is Luke."
"Understood!"
Morgans stepped forward, signaling to the marines behind him.
Two soldiers immediately rushed out, dragging Luke who's already paralyzed with fear from the crowd.
"Fleet Admiral, you have no right to execute me!"
The moment he was hauled out, Luke seemed to snap, glaring at Orion with wild eyes as he roared.
"I am a noble minister of the Orenfence Kingdom! Everything I did was permitted by this nation's laws! I—am innocent!"
"How dare you!"
Infuriated by Luke's sudden outburst after acting like a dead fish moments before, Morgans stepped forward and backhanded him across the mouth.
The force shattered Luke's teeth and split his lips.
"You dare claim innocence before the Fleet Admiral? Who do you think you are? Noble or not, even if you were a Celestial Dragon, in the Fleet Admiral's eyes, you're nothing but an insect!"
"Drag him out and hang him on the palace walls for three days under the sun."
"Wait," Luna suddenly spoke up before the two Marine soldiers could drag him away.
"Captain Morgans, not just Luke! The entire Luke family deserves to die. They not only ruined dozens of commoner families in the royal city but also abducted women from the streets and sold them to traffickers!"
"And then there's Colon—those abhorrent policies like Noble Priority, Killing Priority, and Bride Priority all originated from their family! Because of them, every bride in the Orenfence Kingdom must first be offered to the nobles and royalty before their wedding..."
At this point, Luna turned her tear-filled eyes to Orion, her voice trembling as she continued.
"Marshal, I hope all the royal nobles and ministers in this hall today receive the punishment they deserve—including King Ocreus III. They've enjoyed every privilege in this country, and no one but you can judge them!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Orion replied in his usual calm tone.
"Then kill them all."
"Carry it out, Morgans. Dunn."
Morgans and Dunn stepped forward simultaneously, responding in unison.
"Understood, Marshal."
...
A bloodbath targeting the royal and nobles of the Orenfence Kingdom quietly began.
As Marine soldiers divided into dozens of squads stormed the mansions of the aristocracy, screams erupted one after another, soon echoing across the royal city.
On the streets of Orenfence's capital, three men had just turned a corner when they saw four Marines forcefully breaking down the gates of a mansion not far ahead.
Before they could react, a barrage of gunfire erupted from inside the estate, startling them into retreating to crouch behind the corner.
One of the men gasped in horror.
"What's happening? That's the mansion of the Colon family! How can the Marines—"
Another man, calmer, replied flatly, "What's Colon worth? Didn't you hear the gunfire from the palace? The Marine Fleet Admiral came to Orenfence to pass judgment on this kingdom!"
"Judge this kingdom? What... what does that mean?"
"No one knows the exact reason, but one thing's certain—after today, there won't be any royalty or nobles left in Orenfence!"
As he spoke, the composed man decisively pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket and dialed.
The moment the call connected, he spoke first.
"I have fresh intel—you'll definitely be interested!"
"What intel?" came the voice of Vinsmoke Judge from the Den Den Mushi.
"The Marines are purging Orenfence's royalty and nobility. Without a doubt, this Marshal will soon launch an unprecedented crackdown across the entire North Blue! Just like when they issued the execution order against pirates in the East Blue."
"The difference is, back then it targeted pirates—this time, it's aimed at all affiliated kingdoms!"