Anthony's POV:
At the same time that Caroline broke free from Jennifer's grip, I took out my gun and rushed to Austin.
He was already a spent bullet, so it didn't take me much effort to pin him on the floor with my knee on
his back.
"Stop struggling, Austin," I said coldly, pressing the barrel of my gun against Austin's temple.
"A lot of your men are dead or wounded.You've as good as lost.Your days are done.Surrender quietly
while you can, and don't bring destruction on yourself.My patience is limited."
"Yes, it's not too late for you to surrender now,"
Jennifer added, pulling Caroline up again and pinching her neck.
Despite her bleeding hand, she looked calm and steady.
Somehow, seeing her maintain her composure in this situation made me feel sorry for her.Caroline had
to pay for everything she did!
"You son of a bitch!"
Struggling to get up, Austin glared at me.
"I curse you to die a miserable death.You just want to steal the throne from me! How dare you covet it?"
Right now, in my eyes, Austin was nothing but a contemptible scoundrel.
Ignoring his curses, I asked my private guards to bring the elders who had fled in all directions back
here.
These elders had all huddled in the corners during the battle.
A few of them who didn't know that the fight was over were still squatting awkwardly under the dining
table.
When they were led to me, their faces turned red.
"Everyone, you have witnessed the evidence to Austin's crimes with your own eyes.The evidence is
irrefutable,"
I announced, staring pointedly at the elders who dodged my eyes.
"Now, are you still in support of this tyrant as our king?"
My question was met with tense silence.
I knew that for these powerful elders, the utmost priority was to guarantee their own safety.
They wouldn't take sides unless I put pressure on them.
"Elders, you are all important officials.It would be a dereliction of duty for you to flinch at such a critical
moment.Let's all take a vote.Those who support Austin to continue to be the king, please raise your
hands," I snapped.
The elders exchanged glances.A few seconds passed, but none of them raised their hands.
"Bastards! You traitors!"
Austin scolded, glaring daggers at them.
Under the pressure of his abuses, two of the elders hesitantly raised their hands.
They were both Austin's loyal followers.
But that was all; a whole minute passed, but no one else raised their hands.
Austin had lost.
"Majority wins.Austin, you have officially been dethroned.From this moment on, you are no longer our
king."
I made Austin get back up on his knees and twisted his head around, forcing him to look around the
hall.
The floor was littered with corpses and stained with blood.
"Look, Austin, this is your crime.These people were supposed to be responsible for protecting our
kingdom.But because of your selfish desire, they've sacrificed their lives for nothing.You have caused
too many deaths.You don't deserve to be our king."
"Ask Austin to abdicate!"
"Yeah, Austin’s not qualified to be the king!"
Hearing my words seemed to arouse the anger of the others in the hall, who soon echoed after me.
Even the elders joined in the shouting to scold Austin.
"Humph! Even if I abdicate, Anthony can't be the next king.Just now, all of you saw his mate's good
friend control the wind, right? She's a spy sent by the vampires.Anthony is colluding with the vampires!"
Austin roared, attracting the attention of the people around us.
I knew he was trying to distract them by bringing up how Skylar had saved Jennifer earlier, but I wasn't
about to let that happen.
"It's still to be investigated whether Skylar is a vampire or not, but it's an irrefutable fact that you killed
the former king.On top of that, you're also guilty of murder, smuggling, and drug trafficking.Do you think
we are fools, Austin?"
I abruptly let goof Austin, making him fall to the floor.
"Your greed and selfishness are disgusting."
The people around us nodded fervently in agreement, and their voices against Austin grew louder and
louder.
"This bastard is finally getting the retribution he deserves!" Dana said sharply with tears of happiness
welling up in his eyes.
He had been a loyal subordinate of the former king, so there was no one more satisfied than him to see
Austin being humiliated and overthrown.
"Kill this bastard!" Gary cursed Austin.
"Put Austin and Caroline in a jail cell for the time being," I ordered my private guards.
"Why? I didn't commit any crime! I'm the queen of this kingdom!"
After Austin was escorted away, it was Caroline's turn, but she protested, struggling desperately
against the guards.
"Caroline, let me tell you what crime you have committed."
I walked towards Caroline step by step and stared at her expressionlessly.
She shivered and didn't dare to meet my gaze.
"First of all, you colluded with the wizard to harm my mother.The reason she couldn't wake up was
because you asked the wizard to use the sleeping curse on her.Second, you used the wizard's black
magic to make me lose my memories and my sense of smell so that I wouldn't remember my mate,
and you even lied to me that the baby in your belly was mine," I said slowly.
"And then you colluded with Austin."
"You don't have any evidence!"
Caroline retorted loudly, shaking her head.
"Larry, the grand wizard who appeared just now, is the evidence.He clearly used black magic on us."
But even as I spoke, I frowned, suddenly realizing that Larry was absent.I turned around and looked at
my private guards.
"Where is Larry? Bring him here."
"I'm sorry, Mr.Jones! Larry got away!"
At this time, Roy ran over to me with several other wizards, panting for breath.
Regret was written all over his face.
"After the battle, we kept a close eye on him.When he made a move to escape, we tried our best to
stop him, but we couldn't defeat him.He is too strong!"
"It's not your fault.Larry is a cunning wizard." I shook my head.
Hearing this, Caroline burst into wild laughter.
"Anthony, do you have any other evidence?" I stared at her, lost in thought.
We did have a witness, of course: my mother.
However, she was still recuperating in my private residence.
"I can testify!"
A high and familiar voice suddenly sounded outside the hall.
I looked over in confusion, only to find that my mother had entered the banquet hall with the help of a
servant.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" I hurried forward to support her; Jennifer followed suit.
"I'm glad that you are all right.I hope I'm not too late."
My mother had obviously rushed here, because she was out of breath.
She held my hand and mustered up a smile at Jennifer.
"I was worried about the two of you, so I insisted on coming here.
"Don't worry, Mrs.Jones.We have succeeded,"
Jennifer assured my mother, patting her hand.
"Caroline, stop with your shameless lies.You almost made it impossible for me to wake up!" my mother
snarled as she tried her best to walk towards Caroline.
Her eyes flashed with anger, and she raised a trembling finger to point at Caroline.
"I fainted after eating the bowl of porridge that you gave me.If Anthony hadn't found a wizard who could
wake me up, I would still be lying in bed! Caroline, I always treated you as my own daughter, but you
betrayed me like this!"
As soon as Caroline saw my mother, her face turned pale.
In the face of my mother's questions, she couldn't say anything to defend herself.
She had no choice but to let the guards escort her out of the banquet hall with resentment on her face.
"Anthony! There is no antidote to the Love Curse! Even though I've failed, you won't be able to live a
good life.You will always bear the piercing pain until you die!"
Austin shouted, cursing me one last time before being dragged out of the banquet hall.
Jennifer and my mother both looked worried after hearing Austin's words.I didn't have words to comfort
them, so I quietly held them in my arms.
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