Chapter 192: Responsibility (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 192: Responsibility (9)
The Imperial Audience Chamber, the very heart of the Imperial Palace.
The chamber was bustling, filled with the Emperor himself, his vassals, court nobles, and high-ranking clergy.
Yet, not a single person uttered a word.
“The accused shall raise his head.”
They were in the presence of the Emperor.
Cloud knelt, his hands bound in handcuffs. Even for cuffs made of magic-coated orichalcum, they were hardly enough to restrain a Hero like him. But what mattered wasn't whether the cuffs worked, but Cloud's attitude of compliance.
At the Emperor's command, Cloud lifted his head and looked at the monarch.
“Accused, Cloud. You stand accused of murdering the Hero, Lorian, after a physical altercation. Do you confess?”
The charge against Cloud was the murder of a Hero.
He had turned himself in, carrying Lorian’s body, and was now on trial after being taken into custody.
“I confess.”
“The investigator’s autopsy concluded that the definitive cause of Lorian’s death was lung damage resulting from broken ribs. There were also clear handprints on his neck, as if he had been strangled. The investigator reported that the accused strangled Lorian to confirm the kill after he was already struggling to breathe. Do you confess?”
“I confess.”
Again, he admitted it without hesitation.
At that, the spectators in the audience chamber began to murmur. They had known that Cloud killed Lorian, but they hadn't been aware of such graphic details. It was no surprise they were aghast at the shocking truth.
“Silence.”
The Emperor tapped the armrest of his throne and murmured the word. The audience chamber fell silent in an instant, as if it had never been noisy at all.
The Emperor continued.
“The accused murdered Lorian with clear and malicious intent. The murder of a Hero during wartime is punishable by death. By rights, the accused should have his limbs severed and be beheaded, and his entire clan annihilated. However, as the accused is also a Hero and a valuable asset in the war against the demons, I shall postpone the final judgment until the war is over. Does anyone object?”
The Emperor looked around at the people filling the chamber. Each one of them held some measure of influence, but not one voiced any opposition to the Emperor's ruling.
“None, it seems. Then this court is adjourned. Knights, escort the prisoner.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Two knights in platinum armor stepped forward and stood on either side of Cloud. Cloud rose to his feet on his own and left the audience chamber with them.
The trial for the murder of a Hero—an event with the power to shake the continent—ended so anticlimactically.
Frillite watched Cloud’s retreating back, clenching her fists so tightly they could have drawn blood.
*
The incident had occurred one month before the trial.
It was the day after she, disgusted by Lorian’s sudden confession, had sent Cloud away, saying she wanted to be alone.
The next day, Cloud turned himself in with Lorian’s body.
His surrender threw the Imperial Palace into absolute chaos.
A Hero had been murdered.
By another Hero, no less.
It was a catastrophe of the highest order, and fearing the fallout, no one dared to step forward.
Not until Frillite did.
“Cloud? What is all this…?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for? F-First, just explain…”
“I’m sorry.”
No matter how many times she asked, Cloud only repeated that he was sorry. It was only later, when they were alone, that he whispered to her.
“When this is all settled, I’ll tell you everything that happened. Until then… I’m sorry, but please bear with it.”
Cloud wore such a bitter expression as he said this that she couldn't press him any further.
I shouldn’t have sent him away that day.
Frillite was filled with regret.
If only she hadn't sent him away just because she was in a bad mood, this would never have happened.
The fight had occurred after Cloud left her room.
Because of that, she even felt a sliver of guilt over the matter.
She wanted to help him with all her heart, but… to help, she needed to know something.
Cloud… what in the world are you hiding?
Am I still not someone you can confide in? As Frillite’s expression turned melancholic from the disheartening thought, a knock came at the door, followed by the voice of the knight guarding her guest room.
“Lady Frillite. Princess Lorraine of the Kalita Kingdom has come to see you. Shall I let her in?”
Frillite’s brow furrowed at the name Lorraine. She was a woman who had been exceptionally fond of her older brother, Lorian.
Is she here to complain to me about Lorian’s death?
Since she couldn't go to the imprisoned Cloud, she was coming to her instead.
Or perhaps it was a simple request to pass on a message.
After a moment of thought, she answered.
“You may let her in.”
As soon as she spoke, the door opened, and a youthful beauty with light brown hair stepped into the room. Lorraine surveyed the room, then pulled up a chair and sat opposite Frillite without being invited.
It was a slightly rude gesture, but Frillite let it pass.
She had no intention of picking a fight over such a triviality with someone who had just lost a family member.
“So, Lorraine. What brings you—”
“I hate you.”
But the sudden accusation made even Frillite’s brow crease.
She was about to ask what she meant by that, but there was no need.
The answer came before she could ask.
“You have everything I’ve ever wanted. It wasn’t enough for you to bewitch my brother, you had to bewitch Cloud, too. Because of you, I could never be happy.”
“…Why is Cloud’s name coming out of your mouth?”
Lorraine took off the fur coat she was wearing. Her belly showed a beautiful curve that even the wide folds of her dress could not hide.
“Honestly, I don’t want to say it, but you need to know. What happened to Cloud… it’s all my fault.”
“…What?”
Bewilderment filled Frillite’s eyes. The question turned to suspicion the moment she saw the swollen belly. No way. It can’t be. That’s impossible. As Frillite visibly wavered, Lorraine delivered the final blow.
She gently caressed her own stomach and said, “It’s Cloud’s child.”
Frillite’s eyes flew wide open. Lorraine was pleased by her reaction but didn't let it show.
“Utter… nonsense…”
“It’s true. The child in my belly is Cloud’s…”
“Cut the bullshit!”
Frillite’s fierce voice instantly changed the atmosphere in the room. A crushing pressure, like having her head in a tiger’s jaws, bore down on Lorraine.
“Considering the tragedy you’ve suffered, I will overlook this. But if you spout such nonsense one more time, I will make you pay the price for this insult on top of the last. Now, leave.”
The words echoed coldly.
The pressure was unbearable for Lorraine, but a mother could withstand it.
Having given up her own life to choose the life of a mother, she refused to yield to the pressure and continued speaking.
“Cloud’s cock is special. It always hits just the right spot.”
“..!”
“How about that? Is that enough… Ugh!?”
The formless pressure crushing her intensified.
“Fine. If you know that much, I suppose I must acknowledge it. However…”
The pressure grew stronger.
If the pressure before was a tiger cub, what she felt now was a full-grown tiger—the difference was that stark.
“Aren’t you being a little too brazen, revealing you had an affair with another woman’s fiancé?”
“…What? An affair?”
Though crushed by the pressure, Lorraine was so incensed that her mouth moved on its own.
“Don’t make me laugh! If you think about it, you’re the one who had an affair with my man!”
“What did you say?”
“I was first! I opened my heart to him first, and I slept with him first. I was ahead of you in everything! So—”
“Enough.”
Frillite cut Lorraine off with a frown.
“The same words… I suppose you can’t deny your bloodline.”
“What? What does my bloodline have to do with this?!”
Frillite simply shook her head as Lorraine screamed at her.
“Honestly… what am I doing, arguing with a pregnant woman…?”
A sigh escaped her lips as she felt utterly pathetic. Frillite released her aura, and only then was Lorraine freed from the intangible pressure that had been crushing her.
“Enough with the chatter. Let’s get to the point.”
Frillite said, leaning back in her chair. She was trying her best to restrain herself in front of a pregnant woman, but she couldn't hide the displeasure, irritation, and anger in her eyes.
“Why did you come to see me? To hold me, Cloud’s fiancée, responsible for your child? If that’s the case, I accept. When the child is born, I will formally adopt—”
“That’s not it! This child is my child, and I will raise her. Stay out of it!”
Lorraine shrieked as if her most sensitive nerve had been struck. Frillite watched her seething form with cold eyes.
“Then what is it? Why did you come here? You’d better answer carefully. If you dare say something as ridiculous as you came here to show off your child, I will shatter your family to pieces.”
A promise to destroy the royal house of a kingdom.
Words that might have sounded like a bluff became a threat when spoken by someone who could actually do it.
Lorraine swallowed hard.
After fumbling with her words for a moment, she finally revealed why she had come to see Frillite.
“Help him. If you want, I’ll never appear before him again…”
With tears welling in her eyes, she continued.
“Please, just help him…”