Courtroom of Chaos
Bang! Bang!
"Defendant Rudy Fafnir! Do you admit to the fact that, in defiance of imperial law banning polygamy, you sent a large number of marriage proposals to the daughters of the Four Great Faction Families?"
"…I admit it."
"Then you may speak now, if you have any objections to the unfavorable facts before this court."
Objections? Oh, I had objections.
A whole mountain of them.
Was it really fair for me to answer for crimes I never even committed?
"……"
But I couldn't say a word.
Because there was no way to explain it.
That I'd transmigrated into a dating sim my friend had played without my permission.
That I wasn't actually Rudy Fafnir — that my real body was one Kang Baekho, citizen of South Korea.
Tell the truth? No one would believe it in a hundred years.
"Then… we shall now determine the punishment for Rudy Fafnir, who violated the laws of the Empire."
The imperial judge adjusted his glasses and turned the page with a grave expression.
"May that wretched man receive a punishment befitting his crimes."
"I couldn't agree more."
"Ugh, he made eye contact with me. Disgusting."
Those crazy women…
Even while dutifully repaying a debt I'd never deserved.
I had kept sending them letters of apology, one after another, trying to clear up the Four Princesses' misunderstanding.
I'm sorry. There must have been some mistake.
Always accompanied by tribute, of course.
And yet they hadn't believed a word of it, and had hounded me all the way to this.
All because they were miffed that I'd proposed to all of them at the same time.
Are they even human? Is it acceptable to ruin a man's entire life this miserably over a few scraps of paper?
"To think the descendant of House Fafnir, once a pillar of the Empire, would stoop to this…"
"Proposing to all four heiresses at once — what a Casanova."
"Mommy, what's a Casanova?"
"You don't need to know. Don't look at that man."
"……"
The jeers from the gallery were starting to crack my sanity.
I didn't do any of it, damn it…
Just as I was quietly dying inside—
Threat detected.
The System will activate automatically to ensure the holder's safety.
Converting a portion of the Lust stat into Charm……
…So this thing triggers even for social threats?
A hollow laugh escaped me.
But how exactly was it supposed to protect me?
I was about to be sentenced to prison this very moment — what good would a Charm boost do me?
"Defendant Rudy Fafnir."
The imperial judge called my name as he turned another page.
"Your silence will be recorded as a waiver of your right to object."
"……"
Bang! Bang!
"I hereby sentence the defendant, Rudy Fafnir, to forty years in the underground prison!"
"…!"
Forty years?
N-no, this can't be happening.
They wanted me to rot away my blossoming twenties in a cell — and my ripe thirties on top of that — the whole lot of it?
As I stared at the judge with a dumbstruck expression—
"Pfft, classic criminal look."
"So this long-running farce ends today."
"…Isn't forty years a bit short?"
"That's because you're an elf, Ines. For a human, forty years is quite long indeed."
The snickering of the damned Four Princesses rang out through the courtroom.
I felt the blood rush backward through my head.
Then, dozens of imperial knights who had been waiting in reserve began advancing toward me.
"Don't move, criminal."
Ah. Ahh.
Is this really how it ends for me?!
"…! Who— hngk!"
"Halt."
At that moment, a woman seized the arm of the knight trying to restrain me.
Her cold voice echoed through the courtroom.
Her identity: none other than the Great Spirit Mage of the Lien Spirit Kingdom.
She was only a spectator here — she should have had no authority to interfere with the trial at all.
Yet there she stood, blocking the knight's path, and at this absurd sight, every eye in the room went wide.
The imperial judge asked cautiously.
"Lady Rose? Is something the matter?"
"My disciple is about to serve a prison sentence over a wrongful misunderstanding — am I expected to simply stand by?"
"Y-your… disciple…?"
Everyone in the courtroom —
Charlotte Cleyret of the great sword house, Shion Freesia of the great magic family, Ines, elven princess of Elundir, and even Aria, the Saintess of the Grand Cathedral.
All four of the Empire's princesses had been flustered from the start, unable to understand why a national power like the Great Spirit Mage had come to watch an imperial trial as a mere spectator.
But now, at the sight of her pointing at me and calling me her "disciple," they visibly reeled in shock.
Amid the growing confusion, the judge tried to restore order.
By changing how he addressed me.
"It is truly regrettable that Lady Rose's disciple should face punishment. However, the fact remains that her disciple sent simultaneous marriage proposals to the heiresses of the Four Great Faction Families. This is a clear violation of imperial law, and no matter that it is Lady Rose who asks…"
"Then I shall lodge an objection as well."
"No, now who could possibly— hngk! Th-the Second Prince?!"
It was a moment where everyone gaped like fools, jaws hanging open.
This time, it was—
Second in the direct line of succession to the Agnis Empire.
The Second Prince, Julian, sitting in the gallery with legs crossed, raising a hand to lodge his objection.
YES! I have no idea why he's helping me, but keep leaning on them, Your Highness! We cannot let it end like thiiiis!
All I could do was cheer my heart out from the inside.