Chapter 257

“It’s Duke Hayman.”

“Oh my…”

The nobles looking down from the upper floor whispered, covering their faces with fans.

Though Hayman’s eyes and posture remained fierce and unblemished, his shabby attire made him look every bit the criminal. It was said that half the gold coins circulating in Bariel had passed through the duke’s hands, and he had always maintained such a noble appearance.

The nobles frowned, inwardly groaning. Even if they stood to gain from the downfall of these families, weren’t they all bound by the identity of nobility?

‘Duke Hayman has fallen to this state.’

‘To think the mighty Hayman would end like this…’

‘We must lie low for the time being, no matter what.’

The same thoughts spread through dozens of minds. Even Hayman had fallen to this. Didn’t this imply that they too could easily end up the same way?

Who were they to think they could stand against the authority of Jin and Ian? The pitiful sight of the seven families’ backs clearly showed that the era of nobles was setting.

“My, is that all for the defense counsel?”

Though there were twenty-one bound individuals, only two defense attorneys stood beside them. They were children from the indicted Avalia and Chen families. The two stood at opposite ends, gently grasping their parents’ hands.

“Both of them are direct descendants of the families. The young master is from Avalia, and the young lady is from Chen. I heard they received a lot of help initially.”

“They’re perceptive. What madman would argue for the family’s innocence there? Since the verdict for the family will be their own verdict, no one but direct descendants would defend them.”

When the central nobles were first arrested, there were efforts from various quarters to help them. It was seven families, after all. They had established dozens of schools, hospitals, and religious facilities through their patronage, and countless talents had passed through those institutions.

But when the Sereau family united the opposition and submitted a petition with signatures to apply pressure, they cleanly broke away, reading the flow of the political situation.

The nobles glanced at Sereau’s direction and whispered.

“Did you see earlier? He just greeted Lord Ian once. It seems there’s still some misunderstanding about the Chetur district.”

“Isn’t it more likely they’re at odds over the marriage proposal?”

“You mean he proposed to Lord Ian, but it turned out he was involved with the second son of Hayman?”

“Shh. Be careful. It seems you only heard one part and not the other. I heard Lady Alenara tore out all the hair of the rumored second son.”

“Goodness, how violent.”

“They say she’s also chasing after those who spread the rumors with fire in her eyes, so everyone is keeping quiet about that at least.”

“By the way, who’s that gray-haired person next to His Highness Jin?”

“I heard it’s a guard assigned by Lord Ian.”

“Lord Ian assigned one directly to His Highness? As expected…”

“Let’s not do this. After it’s over, we should directly approach Lord Ian…”

Akorella’s perception of the nobles’ strange silence before the trial was not mistaken. They were engaged in subtle power struggles among themselves.

Jin, watching the trial from the front row, glanced back slightly. He clearly looked uncomfortable. Xiaoshi also shifted his gaze following Jin.

“What’s wrong, Your Highness?”

“…It’s nothing.”

It’s truly pathetic. Of course, changing one’s stance was important for survival, but they were taking it to an extreme, without any sense of moderation.

In the flow of political circumstances, how foolish do those who prioritize mere survival without principles or convictions appear? What little dignity they had left has all fallen to the ground. The inherent nature of humans that couldn’t be disguised by fine fabrics and dazzling jewels was palpable.

“Xia, it might be better if you sat in those seats instead.”

Xiaoshi was silent, unusually flustered. Though he was about to be freed from slave status, he was still a slave for now. How could he sit in a noble’s seat?

Fortunately, Jin didn’t seem to expect an answer, as he immediately turned to focus on what was in front of him.

“State your name.”

“Gaudino Hayman. I am a duke.”

“The charges against Duke Hayman are as follows: Conspiracy in Prince Gale’s rebellion and the assassination attempt on His Majesty the Emperor, assault on the royal family, special property damage, violation of the Dragon Sanctity Agreement…”

Rustle.

As the chief judge turned the pages, rustling sounds could be heard from various places. The indictment was so thick that Romandro couldn’t hold it with one hand. As it took quite a while just to list the charges, the crowd watching from outside started murmuring.

“Why are there so many? Are all of those really crimes?”

“If it’s seven families, did they do those things seven more times? It’ll be sunset by the time they finish reading.”

“Those, those bastards! So it was those nobles’ fault that the palace was closed?”

“Hey, you there! Be quiet! Do you want to be thrown out?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I apologize.”

There were broadly ten charges, but including the details under each, it was truly a long list. Moreover, there were seven families. The chief judge had to catch his breath a couple of times before he could strike his gavel.

Bang! Bang!

‘The matters related to Arsen have been bundled into the treason charge and disappeared.’

Jin, who had been listening quietly, nodded as he touched the scar on the tip of his chin. Wasn’t the Arsen incident absolutely top secret? Of course, it couldn’t be disclosed in front of so many imperial citizens.

As the child naturally turned his head towards the window, his eyes met squarely with the imperial citizens who were pressed close.

‘Gasp.’

They were both surprised. The prince saw the imperial citizens for the first time, and the imperial citizens saw the prince for the first time.

As Jin’s face turned red and he quickly averted his eyes, the imperial citizens shared their excitement, whispering to each other. It was like watching adolescent boys and girls.

Jin bit the inside of his cheek and barely regained his composure as the chief judge’s voice came through clearly.

“…Do you admit to all of the above charges?”

“I do not admit to them.”

Duke Hayman immediately denied the charges, insisting on his innocence. His attitude showed not a hint of hesitation, to the extent that if an uninformed person saw it, they might truly misunderstand it as the truth.

“You do not admit…”

The chief judge lightly pressed his temple as he repeated his words. Irrefutable testimonies and evidence had already been perfectly presented. Refusing to admit to this would only mean a waste of time.

“I understand. Let’s review them one by one.”

Sighs erupted from here and there. Still, everything had to follow procedure. If Hayman was going to respond like this, the Department of Justice had no choice but to take a different approach. They would have to go through each charge one by one, by the book.

Bang! Bang!

Ian sat with his back straight, leaning back, looking at Hayman. Below the desk, he could see the duke and duchess holding hands. They were still a married couple, after all.

“First, I refute the charge of conspiracy in Prince Gale’s rebellion and the assassination attempt on His Majesty the Emperor. As already testified in previous investigations, the black armor used by Hayman Bank has extremely powerful magical armor capabilities, able to withstand forces equal to a hundred men. At the time, Prince Gale requested that some of the armor be dedicated to strengthening the empire’s defense, and Hayman responded with the intention of serving the empire.”

Hayman’s eyes did not waver. And his voice was even more solid. As if reading a memorized rebuttal in his head, the flow and coherence of his sentences were as natural as flowing water. It was befitting of a man who had tightly held the economic flow of Bariel.

“But I swear, I had no idea that Prince Gale would use it for rebellion. As proof of this, when I realized things were going wrong midway, I did not hand over the remaining half of the armor.”

In court, in front of so many onlookers, in a fight whose end was predetermined, how many could defend themselves? Even the direct descendants of the families who volunteered as defense counsel stood quietly, having lost their enthusiasm.

“The duke testified as such. Yes, it’s confirmed. However, according to the letters, contracts, and testimony later submitted by Prince Gale… it is judged that the duke was already aware of Prince Gale’s intentions.”

Rustle.

The chief judge turned the pages and pointed to one. The fact that Gale had promised Lady Melania the position of “empress” was particularly significant.

“Furthermore, while you said you didn’t hand over half of the magic armor, the rebellion preparations were completed the night before. There is evidence of Prince Gale inquiring by letter why only half was given. This contradicts your claim that you realized the intention midway and didn’t provide the rest. I reject Duke Hayman’s claim.”

Bang! Bang!

Gale was dead, but his traces still remained in the palace. In Ian’s grasp, who had mediated between Mariv and Gale at the time.

Did you think it would be even slightly advantageous at the trial if Gale died? That was assuming Arsen was a mage, not a magical beast. Hayman’s rebuttal was immediately denied.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Moving on to the next. Assault on the royal family.”

Assault on the royal family. The charges related to the Arsen incident were secretly included here. Whether they were deceived by a magical beast or not was not a particularly important point. They supported a magical beast, and as a result, Dilaina and Gale died. No excuse would be accepted regarding this.

“Your Highness. Was Duke Hayman also under a gag spell?”

“Yes. It was sealed along with the interrogation.”

Xiaoshi quietly asked with a worried heart. She was concerned that Hayman might mention Arsen to turn the situation around, with everyone’s attention focused on him.

“…Therefore, there was no intent on my part in the deaths of Lady Dilaina and Prince Gale.”

As Jin said, Hayman struggled to complete his defense, unable to connect his words smoothly, perhaps due to the gag spell.

“Rejected.”

Bang!

Although he put in a lot of effort, it was denied in an instant.

The chief judge struck his gavel sharply and briefly, as if to hurry things along.

“Rejected.”

Special property damage.

Bang!

“Rejected.”

Violation of the Dragon Sanctity Agreement.

Bang!

It must have felt like their hearts were being sliced with each strike of the gavel. Duchess Hayman finally burst into tears. The heir, their son, embraced his mother, and the other nobles waiting their turn covered their faces, looking deathly pale.

The chief judge paused momentarily as he turned the pages.

“Here, His Highness Jin’s testimony is requested.”

Ian raised an eyebrow as if surprised. The chief judge, who didn’t seem like it, had a talent for acting. This was something Ian had prepared to allow Jin to give his first speech in front of the imperial citizens.

The chief judge lowered his glasses slightly and called out to Jin.

“Your Highness. What would you like to do? Shall we proceed?”

“Of course.”

Jin stood up boldly, as if he had been waiting for this. Ian also stood up and extended his hand to the child.

Jin, coming down the stairs escorted, tightly held Ian’s hand, nervous until he reached the witness stand. Ian also responded by squeezing lightly.

“Your Highness. This way.”

“…Thank you.”

Only after confirming that the prince had properly taken the witness stand did Ian step back far away and signal the mages. It was a look that promised punishment if there was any problem with the magical devices amplifying His Highness’s voice. The mages hurriedly concentrated and raised their magic power more grandly.

Zing. Zing.

“Witness, please state your identity.”

At the chief judge’s kind request, Jin turned his head towards the window.

An endless crowd. The people recognized the young prince, the future of Bariel, the little emperor, and their eyes were filled with excitement. The energy was palpable even to the child.

Jin, as if entranced by that sparkle, stared blankly outside before stating his name.

“…I am Jin Verocion, the Fifth Prince of Bariel.”

Clap clap clap!

Ian raised his hands high and applauded as if to show off. The palace officials followed suit, then the nobles joined in, and the people cheered.

It was the moment when Jin first witnessed his Bariel.