Chapter 40
Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Trial, and False Accusation
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Today felt especially suffocating. Even after finally seeing Lily after so long, my body and mind were far from at ease.
After the visit, I returned to Wing C and sat there blankly, trying to sort through my thoughts.
[And Oppa, they say the trial is starting soon. I'll do everything I can. I'll push hard for an acquittal, but even if that doesn't work, I'll try to reduce your sentence somehow.]
The sentence can't be reduced. It's not the kind of crime where a few pieces of physical evidence or circumstantial hints can lighten the load.
Death penalty or life imprisonment without parole.
Best case, life with parole.
[If I bring up everything we've investigated so far, it'll definitely give weight to the argument that you're innocent.]
Still, Lily had reassured me. She said she'd salvaged a few pieces from the evidence that was vanishing fast.
It wouldn't be perfect, but with her help, at least we could sow some doubt about my punishment.
[See you then, Oppa.]
The trial took place exactly three days after my visit with Lily.
The process was so agonizing that I don't even want to describe it. Still, I'll do my best to record what I felt.
First, I finally met my lawyer. It was bewildering that it was only happening now.
"I'm your defense attorney."
His expression didn't look promising.
Defending someone like me, who'd already been pummeled by the entire nation, clearly wasn't going to be easy.
"Well, am I going to be much help?"
He shook a finicky ballpoint pen that barely wrote while filling out formal paperwork.
The day before transfer to the courthouse, they started injecting me with drugs. They said it was to prevent me from rejecting the verdict and causing a scene.
"Good to go."
Orca supervised it personally. Cold sweat broke out as the burning drug pierced my arm. Today, it felt like they'd given me a stronger dose.
"Take him away."
Then they cuffed my hands and loaded me straight into the transport van. I could tell they were giving me special treatment.
Even with two guards restraining me on either side, several fully armed Hero Association agents waited on the opposite seat.
I recognized their faces. But none of us exchanged words.
From the moment we arrived at the courthouse and stepped out, reporters swarmed us. Beyond them, temporary fences held back a sizable crowd shouting something or other.
I couldn't make out what they were saying. At times like this, the heavy dose of drugs was almost a blessing. My senses were dulled enough that the noise didn't register.
But the sharp jeers piercing through as I climbed the stairs made it clear they weren't cheering me on.
"Why did you betray the Association?"
As I faced the crowd, one reporter thrust a microphone deep into my space.
"I didn't betray them."
With every word I spoke, shutter clicks and murmurs grew louder. The agents pushed back the reporters, forcing them away.
"When did you start planning the REP project?"
"Crow! Did you have a grudge against the Director?"
Still, the questions kept flying.
And I told the reporters,
"I'm innocent."
The shouting from afar grew louder too.
Now even I could hear distinct voices clearly.
A barrage of curses and outbursts of rage.
Or cheers from those reveling in it.
In front of the building, amid that cacophony,
I held a very brief press conference.
"You just claimed innocence, but what evidence supports..."
"Why did you kill him?"
"Is there infighting in the Association?"
It was truly short. The agents and guards wouldn't let me speak long.
In exactly one minute, I faced the cameras and proclaimed my innocence.
"I didn't kill him. The claim that I masterminded the plan is a fabrication."
"Are you saying all the publicly released documents and the Association's position are lies?"
"Yes. All of them are lies."
As the agents began pulling me away, I resisted just enough to shout louder.
"They arrested me without due process and, using the excuse that no detention center was ready, threw me into the Superpowered Terrorist Detention Facility. There, they treated me like any other inmate, ignoring all my statements and demands."
That was my last sentence. They dragged me inside the courthouse building, and the reporters couldn't follow.
The trial wasn't open to the public.
The Association wanted to downplay the scandal.
"..."
And the head of that Association
was Justice.
Maybe they were keeping it quiet to avoid public backlash.
Yeah, maybe...
After that, I sat quietly in the defendant's seat prepared for me, waiting.
My lawyer stared at his smartphone screen. In contrast, the prosecutor across from him looked extremely competent.
The judge and several others entered, and the trial finally began.
Basic questions about my name, age, and such. Verification of personal details.
Then straight to listing crimes I hadn't committed. Reading of the indictment.
Evidence was presented and exchanged at request,
photos of all sorts, my gun, my clothes, data from my accounts, materials gathered by the Association's investigation team—all revealed to everyone,
and I just sat there, answering questions.
Something like this, for example.
"On the day of the incident, the defendant used this issued firearm to murder the Association's Director and attempted to flee. Is that correct?"
"It was my gun, but not the one I used that day. And I didn't attempt to flee."
My lawyer's face soured. Realizing things were getting more complicated, he irritably sorted his files and clicked his tongue.
"I could have escaped easily. But I followed Association protocol instead of fleeing because I didn't kill the Director, and I hadn't even properly realized he was dead."
"This isn't the time for the defendant's argument. Please restrain yourself."
The judge cut me off. I held my tongue again and sat quietly, waiting for witnesses to be called.
"Yeah, well... don't say too much, or it'll backfire. Just wait for now."
Even a half-hearted lawyer wouldn't object to calling Lily as a witness.
Unlike me, she was still a Hero.
But as the trial progressed, something felt off.
I sensed unease from the reactions of the Association agents dispatched here.
It was like they were receiving new info through the earpieces covering their ears. They all looked visibly flustered.
"We'll call the plaintiff's witnesses first."
The agent J who'd investigated me and the Director's secretary appeared as the prosecutor's witnesses.
Then it was time for my witness.
"Has the defendant's witness not arrived?"
Lily didn't show.
I couldn't see her anywhere,
"..."
And in the midst of this major case, Justice—the Association's new top leader—was nowhere to be seen either.
"We'll proceed with examining the plaintiff's witnesses first."
Anxiety started to build bit by bit. Just days ago, that girl had smiled at me, but now she wasn't here.
The voices of others faded from my ears. Worry and concern for Lily filled my head.
More than the trial going south, not knowing where Lily was sparked overwhelming dread.
"Lawyer, Lily..."
"Uh, yeah. No idea. She just said she'd come today."
My mouth went dry. My throat stung.
A bad premonition gripped me.
The trial was mere formality. With all circumstances and evidence pointing at me, no upset occurred.
I had no idea what evidence Lily had prepared, but even if she presented it, acquittal seemed nearly impossible.
So, everything's fine,
I just want to see Lily.
If she'd gotten hurt while defending me, I wouldn't be able to bear it.
Even after the trial ended,
and they announced the verdict would come two weeks later in the same place,
Lily and Justice never appeared.
Days passed after that, and I still didn't see Lily.
She stopped visiting entirely. I couldn't guess what mess she'd gotten tangled in.
Lily betraying me and running away was impossible. Even if everyone else doubted and wanted me dead, Lily would never abandon me.
I knew that all too well, so
[...the public trembles in fear over yet another incident within the Association.]
Hearing the news report, I collapsed right there.
[Justice, newly elected Director replacing the late Director Mullen killed on the 28th, was attacked by a colleague around 11 a.m. on the 23rd...]
The screen showing both Justice and Lily switched to full footage of Lily.
[She was caught in the act and is currently under investigation for the incident...]
The same kind of case.
Similar developments.
But
Justice hadn't died. She was alive.