Public Trial (2)
"What is the meaning of this!"
"Are you saying the demon targeted our kingdom from the very beginning?!"
"That the demon in this incident was connected to that black mage...?"
The bomb Eunhyeon had dropped turned the courtroom into a cauldron of chaos.
The most bewildered of all was the host of the trial, Count Orba, who had been leading the proceedings.
From the start, the purpose of this trial had been predetermined.
It was to execute Eunhyeon—a commoner with no apparent background—and to savage Artia and Riod for failing to resolve the recent assault.
This trial was also a hearing meant to drag down Eunhyeon alongside the Artia Knight Order and its leader, Riod, in one fell swoop.
It had been orchestrated by Queen Consort Dianne, who for some reason despised Riod, and by factions that resented his fame and the renown of his knight order.
The one who had shown the most zeal in convening this trial was Walter, captain of the royal guard knights, Cracir.
Walter, who prided himself on believing that his royal guard knights should be the kingdom's finest, had long viewed the excessively famous Artia and Riod Olivion with suspicion.
The knight order led by the great hero who had ended the Arkena Great War twenty years ago wasn't just renowned domestically—it had spread far and wide among dignitaries of foreign nations, bringing immense benefits to his home kingdom of Pernias.
After the war's end, it hadn't taken long for young knight aspirants across the kingdom to shift their top choice for enlistment from Cracir to the newly formed Artia under Riod.
Cracir's long-standing reign as the undisputed number one knight order had crumbled the moment Walter took the captain's seat.
For Walter, the current captain deprived of that honor, it was a profound humiliation. He had been lying in wait for any chance to tarnish the culprits—Artia—and now the opportunity had arisen.
This is my chance.
Thinking that, he had mobilized his knights upon the report from the two male students—Ashton and his companion—who had fled the abandoned warehouse.
He had imprisoned Eunhyeon and Erin, who had surrendered there, buying time to interrogate them.
But Walter had scowled at Eunhyeon's bold offer of a deal, only to be thwarted by Princess Yuria's intrusion, forcing him to release the girl named Erin.
Not long after, Artia had publicly announced that the newly freed Erin had captured the demon—just as Eunhyeon had declared—leaving Walter fuming at the lost chance to claim credit.
He had reported Princess Yuria's interference to Queen Consort Dianne and placed Eunhyeon, the incident's central figure, on trial, creating a pretext to tarnish Eunhyeon, Riod Olivion, and Artia's reputation. That was how Eunhyeon had ended up standing in this courtroom.
But that was no longer the issue.
The new fact Eunhyeon had revealed here was twisting the trial's atmosphere into something entirely different.
"What... what in the world is this?!"
"It's a spell that recreates the past. But that's not the point—isn't it clear now? Why the demon targeted this kingdom from the beginning."
"......"
Eunhyeon's past-revealing magic was astonishing in itself, but the revelation that the demon had targeted Pernias Kingdom from the outset was deeply humiliating for the kingdom's nobles.
Moreover, it had infiltrated years ago and contributed to creating the black mage who had once stirred chaos in the kingdom—a fact now exposed before everyone watching.
"Th-this is unbelievable! Who would trust a mere illusion conjured by a criminal's magic?! Don't cloud the essence of this trial with fabricated lies!"
"Shall we summon the parties involved and ask them directly, then?"
"What...?"
"I request the appearance of witnesses: Alex Armitas and Erin Hersha, who fought the demon at the time."
"How dare a criminal act so insolently...!"
"Alex Armitas, second son of the Armitas ducal house. I will appear."
"E-Erin Hersha! I will appear as well."
Caught off-guard by Eunhyeon's sudden call, they hesitated briefly, but Alex spoke first in agreement, prompting Erin to hastily echo him.
Alex rose from his tiered seat and descended slowly toward Eunhyeon.
"Make way."
Iliana spoke curtly in her indifferent tone, and the surrounding nobles flinched, stepping back to clear a path for the girl they dared not touch.
Erin, newly impressed by Iliana's untouchable status, bowed gratefully at her encouraging glance before hurrying toward Eunhyeon with quick steps.
"Hyeon...!"
"Hold."
Alex grabbed Erin's shoulder mid-dash, stopping the girl who hadn't seen Eunhyeon in nearly three days and was fraught with worry.
"This is a trial. I understand your concern, but any rash action from you would harm not just you, but him as well."
"O-okay."
Erin nodded reluctantly and halted.
Eunhyeon turned, smiled at her, and waved. Erin's face visibly brightened as she waved back enthusiastically.
Alex sighed, realizing his warning had been futile as the pair created an atmosphere utterly unfit for the courtroom.
After a brief hand-wave greeting with Erin, Eunhyeon's expression turned serious again as he regarded Alex and Erin.
"First, allow me to thank you both for appearing as witnesses. Do you promise to answer truthfully about what you saw, heard, and experienced in this trial?"
"I swear on the name of Armitas, ducal house of this kingdom, to speak nothing but the truth."
"I-I swear too.... Um, but I don't have a name to stake...."
"Pfft."
"Hee hee."
The surrounding nobles shot mocking glances at Erin, who fumbled to mimic Alex.
Hearing the nearby nobles' overt snickers, Erin's face flushed crimson, and she bowed her head deeply.
"That girl's the one who caught the demon?"
"No way that's true."
"Still, she's quite the beauty, isn't she?"
The girl's frail, cowering figure—impossible to imagine slaying a demon that terrorized the kingdom—drew the eyes of many nobles.
"Don't shrink."
"Yes...."
Alex's quiet encouragement, audible only to her nearby, made Erin nod faintly. She slapped her cheeks hard with both hands and looked up at Eunhyeon.
Seeing her eyes shift from timid to brimming with inner confidence, Eunhyeon smiled approvingly and nodded.
"First, please explain how you two encountered the demon."
"Erin had been imprisoned but was released from the palace dungeons. Shortly after, we encountered the demon and engaged in combat."
Their exchange felt distant and businesslike, laced with formal honorifics—unlike their usual casual banter.
Erin, already tense in this official setting between two close allies, could barely follow their words.
"Erin Hersha."
"......"
"Erin Hersha."
"Y-yes! Ah!"
Her heart pounding blankly beside Alex, Erin bit her tongue answering Eunhyeon's call.
The nobles began mocking her comical reaction as she grimaced and clutched her mouth.
Eunhyeon continued unfazed by her antics.
"It has been revealed that the demon, a succubus, had some connection to the black mage Elvin Hersha, who died during the prior Hersha embezzlement case. You heard this directly from the succubus yourself?"
"...Yes."
Erin's mood sank at the mention of Elvin, her response subdued.
"The succubus stated directly that when Elvin Hersha enrolled at Aiter, she infiltrated as 'Lira Baranov' and built a friendship with him."
"A demon infiltrated Aiter?!"
"That's absurd!"
"Lira Baranov...?"
The name was unfamiliar to older nobles, but intimately known to younger ones who had graduated around Elvin's time or their heirs.
—Hmm, her grades were nothing standout, as I recall. But her beauty drew stares from boys and girls alike. Even boys from the next class over would peek into her classroom or loiter nearby just to see her.
This confirmed that the succubus had disguised herself as human under the name Lira and approached Elvin back when he was a student at Aiter—verified by his homeroom teacher at the time, Cecilia Clarice.
As well as her sudden disappearance after Elvin's graduation.
"Furthermore, Lira Baranov passed information to Elvin about a hidden inheritance of a now-deceased high-rank mage in a northern cave, luring him there where he discovered a 'black grimoire.' That marked the beginning of Elvin Hersha's fall from court mage to black mage."
If true, it proved the kingdom had been utterly incompetent—blind to a demon strolling its streets and toying with nobles.
"Cr-criminal! How do you know all this?!"
"I heard it directly from Elvin Hersha himself, just before his death, alongside Artia's captain, Marquis Olivion."
"Marquis Olivion! Why have you concealed this vital fact until now?! Had you reported it to the kingdom sooner..."
"It had to remain confidential until fully verified. We couldn't sow panic among the people with unconfirmed information."
"Urgh...."
He referenced how, at the prior court council, the demon theory had been dismissed for lack of evidence and certainty.
Count Orba let out a groan.
"Even so, this wasn't something to reveal here, before all these eyes!"
"Why not? This concerns the kingdom's honor and prestige."
"Even if so, it's unverified, and to air it now, in this venue..."
"Unverified? We have a witness right here who heard it firsthand."
"......"
"Or are you trying to cover it up again, like when the demon's prior infiltration was hidden from the people's eyes and ears?"
"Wh-what nonsense is that?!"
Feeling cornered, Count Orba hastily denied Eunhyeon's accusation.
"That commoner girl claims she heard it herself! Can you swear she's not lying? She's the black mage's sister! She might be fabricating sob stories to garner cheap pity, claiming her brother was tricked by a demon and had no choice! There's no reason to trust her word—it's purely subjective and unreliable! Her testimony holds no weight whatsoever!"
Erin's arms trembled at the host's insulting tirade, his finger jabbing accusingly at her.
The middle-aged man on the distant dais invoked her brother with absurd excuses to demean her and tear at her heart.
She squeezed her eyes shut, desperately swallowing the retorts rising in her throat against this injustice.
Endure. I have to endure.
If she lost her temper here, the damage wouldn't stop at herself.
Erin knew that well, so she restrained herself, telling herself to hold back.
But the explosion didn't come from her.
"You shouldn't spout off with that gaping mouth of yours."
"Ah...."
A voice cold and rational yet laced with gentle fury over the insults to her brother and herself reached her ears, making Erin's body quiver faintly.
It was pure joy to have someone defending her in this moment.
"What's your grievance? That Elvin became a black mage?"
"Of course! That man mastered black magic, the root of profane sorcery..."
"Who did he hurt with that black magic?"
Eunhyeon's icy tone cut Count Orba off.
"Elvin Hersha, you say? Yes, he fled with his embezzling father's gold. Irrefutable fact. But."
In truth, Elvin had never taken Lenion Hersha's gold and fled.
Eunhyeon brought up Elvin now out of duty and responsibility.
It was his obligation to frame the narrative so that truth became reality, pinning all blame on Elvin and fueling the circumstances.
But Eunhyeon had no intention of revealing Elvin's full truth himself.
He glanced at Erin, locking eyes with her trembling gaze.
Silently, he mouthed his intent to her.
"Ah...."
No sound reached her, but Erin clearly understood and let out a soft sigh.
Someday, with your own mouth, reveal it yourself. Your brother's truth.
"You—this kingdom, its nobles, you—are the ones who drove Elvin to that point."
This wasn't just for Count Orba.
It targeted the nobles who graduated Aiter around Elvin's time, despising him for his commoner status, envying his rapid talent, fearing he'd usurp their places, and suppressing him—along with the kingdom's culture that normalized such thinking.
The entire courtroom fell silent at Eunhyeon's solemn declaration, holding their breath.
"If you brand Elvin 'evil,' then you are the 'perpetrators' who helped forge that evil."
This was all Eunhyeon could do for Erin now.