Chapter 195

Lucianne sat up and held her breath, as did everyone else. On the side,

Greg seemed like he couldn't care less what happened to him but it did

concern him that Lucianne looked worried. She shouldn't be under any

stress given how hard the past few weeks had already been for her. He

was only stealing momentary glances of her before but he was finding

it difficult to look away now, until his cousin threw him a glare, 1

Greg rolled his eyes just to annoy his cousin one more time before

reluctantly looking away. Lucianne felt Xandar's jealousy, so she pecked

a quick kiss on his jawline to calm her beast. Xandar's face softened,

and he closed his eyes to take a whiff of her hair, indulging in her scent.

Judge Cook cleared his throat and continued reading the judgment, “By

law, the Duke's act of poisoning the Duchess to render her infertile

justifies invoking the punishment of death or etemal torture. And

conspiring against the King, which enabled the perpetrators to establish

the very corporation to siphon money from the government and for

countless rogue attacks to be launched against our cousin species

should subject him to, at the very least, solitary confinement,

electrocution, whipping, a hefty fine, and even the stripping of his

dukedom with the monarchy’s permission. However..."

His stem voice tumed a little gentle when he continued, “This court

acknowledges that as much as the Duke is culpable for the crimes

perpetrated against the government, monarchy and werewolves, this

court must also acknowledge the fact that the said Duke had been

instrumental in the successful prosecution of corrupt ministers, the

founders and accomplices of Wu Bi Corporation, and also those who

sought to harm and murder the Queen. As much as he is to be blamed

for the lives that were lost, h e is also credited for the lives that were

saved when he surrendered credible and reliable evidence and himself

to the monarchy.”

Judge Cook was careful to not say that the evidence was surrendered to

Lucianne in particular, being sensitive to the King’s temperament. Greg

rolled his eyes again at the old man’s consideration for his cousin's

feelings.

The judge continued, “The monarchy's recommendation for the said

Duke is, in this court's very humble opinion, too punitive for an accused

who has willingly offered more incriminating evidence than any

accused person in history without asking for anything in return”

“The said Duke has also fully cooperated throughout the entire legal

process, and had already returned the commissions received b y him

from Wu Bi Corporation, which he kept in a separate bank account

under an alias, as verified. He has also offered to pay the fine with

revenue generated from his long-established stationery export business

which has been verified to be legitimate, the fine of which is double of

the stolen value. Taken together, this bench of judges has unanimously

agreed to mitigate the sentencing imposed by the law.”

“Contrary to the monarchy’s recommendation of imposing two whips

per week for a period of fifty years imprisonment, this bench finds that

it is fair to impose only ten whips. Not ten whips per week but only ten

whips in total. His imprisonment term shall be thirty years. The Duke

may be released earlier, or placed under house arrest for good

behaviour if and when such a time comes.”

Judge Cook placed the sheet of paper he held in his hand back on the

bench table and said, “Crimes are taken seriously in the Court of Law.

The violators shall be punished in order to protect the society at large.

That being said, those who choose to come to the law by...admitting to

their crimes shall be shown...an appropriate amount of mercy,

depending on the severity of the crimes and the circumstances of each

case. Our job as judges is to find the right balance, and after much

deliberation, this is our decision.”

Judge Cook stood, and the other judges followed suit, leaving the

courtroom through the side door which they entered from.

Lucianne was relieved that they went easy on Greg. Annie was satisfied,

too. Their mates, on the other hand, were still in the midst of adjusting

that this wasn't one of Greg's tricks, and that he helped them, really

helped them, with no strings attached this time,

Xandar unceremoniously buried his face in Lucianne’s neck, greedily

taking in her scent as Greg stole one more glance of Lucianne when he

was being escorted out by a policeman.

Disregarding all the growls being thrown her way, Kelissa was

screaming like a madwoman on her way out, shouting about how

everyone would regret taking those pictures of her and reporting on

the case, that she would “come back and make you all pay!". She also

kept repeating that when she returned as their Queen one day, they

would regret prosecuting her.

When she was finally out of sight, Christian muttered, “Psychotic,

delusional b*tch.”

Xandar's lips trailed up Lucianne’s side profile, and stopped at the top

of her head, where he pecked a kiss and said, “The...podcasts in her

confinement cell ought to help with the craziness.”

Lucianne narrowed her eyes, and questioned, “That's your choice of

word, Xandar? Podcasts? And what do you mean “help with the

craziness'? She's going to be driven more insane than she already is,

darling.”

Christian chuckled at her response to his cousin, and Xandar met his

mate's annoyed gaze before he uttered, “Then the next step would be

to transfer her to a mental asylum, sweetheart. I'd say we're right on

track.”

Lucianne shook her head and got up because it was time to leave the

courtroom. She then muttered, “Indecent beast.” Her body was

immediately spun around, and before Xandar’s lips crashed on hers, her

fingers came between them and pressed on his lips as she whispered,

“MY indecent beast.” Xandar kissed her fingers and declared, “Always.”

A peck on her forehead, and he continued, “And forever.”