Public Trial (3)
"Shall we go through it one by one? The treatment Elvin received after enrolling in Aiter and graduating, during his time in the court mage corps."
Eunhyeon shifted his gaze, glancing at the audience seated around the chamber.
Those connected to Aiter—staff, alumni, and current nobles in the court mage corps—trembled and averted their eyes from him en masse.
The more they'd envied him, spread rumors, assaulted him, or demeaned him for his commoner status, the more Eunhyeon's words pierced their hearts like arrows.
"Are you defending a criminal right now?!"
"I'm not defending him. Practicing black magic is evil. There's the unified code that explicitly states black mages must be resolutely rejected and punished across the continent. Using black magic, forbidden among mages, is undoubtedly evil and illegal. But."
Eunhyeon let out a scoffing laugh before continuing.
"Mocking someone's dignity, citing class differences to justify nobles assaulting commoners, fabricating and spreading lies to slander—isn't that a crime? Isn't that evil?"
These were the unjust acts a powerless commoner mage had endured and suffered in silence.
"I'm not defending a criminal. I'm just saying it's laughable and absurd how you treat your own violations of the law—and the privileges you wield—as natural, all under that chosen-people bullshit. Right?"
There was something called 'Stockholm syndrome.'
A phenomenon where people hear a criminal's backstory, get emotionally swayed over reason, and end up defending them.
But Eunhyeon wasn't swayed by Elvin's story or pitying him.
Elvin was a criminal.
No matter how tragic his past, breaking the explicit laws and touching the taboo of black magic was illegal and evil.
That's why Eunhyeon had killed him without hesitation.
He'd even explained it to Erin that way.
But that didn't mean his entire life deserved erasure.
He'd already paid for his crimes with death, so denying every trace he'd left behind was unjust—which was why Eunhyeon had created this stage to clear his name.
"There's no proof anywhere that they persecuted or slandered that black mage! And you expect us to believe uncertain claims from a criminal's testimony? Don't muddy the waters with unverified nonsense!"
"So you're saying you can't trust what I say because I'm the criminal."
Eunhyeon grinned as if he'd been waiting for it.
Count Orba's eyes flickered with unease at the smile, but Eunhyeon spoke first.
"Then you probably won't believe the demon intel I've gathered either."
"W-what...?"
"From my investigations, the demon lurking in the capital Fernin isn't just the succubus we uncovered this time. There could be one or more—hell, a whole group."
"D-don't lie! What evidence do you have for that bullshit?!"
"Let me flip it: What makes you so sure there are no more demons in Fernin?"
"T-that's..."
Count Orba could only glare at Eunhyeon, speechless.
Demons had already infiltrated Fernin once, even extending their reach to Aiter to cultivate a black mage—and they'd lurked undetected for years, as this incident revealed.
If they'd succeeded once, wasn't it entirely plausible they'd targeted Fernin again and were hiding in plain sight?
The first time is the hardest; everything after gets easier.
The courtroom atmosphere grew restless again as nobles murmured, shifting into outright chaos.
Count Orba tried to dismiss Erin's testimony as lies and smooth things over, but it was like dropping a stone in still water—the ripples spread, amplifying suspicion and unease.
The watching nobles verbally denied it as absurd nonsense from Eunhyeon and Erin, but deep down, they knew it rang true.
"Speak. What information have you obtained?"
"Wasn't the criminal's word worthless?"
"This isn't a place for games with words!"
"Don't get mad. You'll go bald faster."
"Y-you...!"
"Isn't it about that age where you need to manage it?"
"You insolent bastard!"
"Pfft..."
Erin burst out laughing at Count Orba, whose face turned beet red as he glared murderously at Eunhyeon.
Until moments ago, she'd bottled up her boiling, inexplicable rage at the count's insults against her brother Elvin.
But Eunhyeon verbally toying with him and flipping the mood had deflated her tension in a bizarre rush.
Alex nudged Erin's arm with his elbow, pulling a weird face as he warned her.
"S-sorry..."
"Even I can barely hold it in."
She apologized hastily, struggling for a serious expression, but seeing Alex's desperate, contorted attempt to stifle his laughter made Erin slap a hand over her mouth.
Whew, that was close, she thought, glancing around frantically.
Thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed her slip. She sighed inwardly in relief and stared straight ahead.
"Ah..."
Her eyes met a woman's, and Erin let out a small sigh.
It was Dianne, the queen regent—the highest authority in the kingdom—seated on the jade throne higher than the moderator's podium.
Did she see...? Did she see?
Trembling slightly with anxiety, Erin scanned Dianne's face, but the queen just narrowed her eyes and glared.
"......"
A gaze screaming disapproval.
Erin panicked under it.
Was her stifled laugh in this courtroom really that offensive? Dianne stared solely at her.
She's pretty pissed... What do I do...?
Erin instinctively looked to Eunhyeon.
Whenever trouble brewed now, seeking him out had become her habit.
But he was still locked in a one-sided verbal spar with Count Orba, unable to help.
Feeling cornered, Erin finally bowed her head to escape the queen's stare.
Their lopsided exchange—Eunhyeon stoking the count's fury while holding the reins—neared its end as a third voice intervened.
"Enough."
"...Yes, Your Majesty."
At the curt command, Count Orba—who'd been glaring daggers at Eunhyeon in impotent rage—instantly backed down.
"Criminal. Is your information that other demons have infiltrated Fernin reliable?"
"Would you just execute me if it wasn't?"
"Answer the question."
Irritated by his retort, Dianne furrowed her brow and issued a warning.
Eunhyeon caught the subtext—don't push it—and nodded with a smile.
"I see it as highly probable."
"I see."
Dianne gave a small nod at his words.
"We hereby conclude the interrogation of the criminal Eunhyeon and withdraw the main trial."
"Wha—Your Majesty!"
The most shocked was Count Orba, who'd been steering the trial.
His plan—to pin everything on Eunhyeon as the criminal, then drag in Riod, the Artia Knights, and even Illyana Kenifer—had crumbled to nothing.
Ignoring his outburst and stare, Dianne continued.
"Tracking the black mage's traces since the Hersha baronet incident, and slaying the demon behind Fernin's serial assaults—these are remarkable feats."
Count Orba and many nobles paled at her words.
They grasped her intent from the references, but her throne and station silenced any opposition; they could only gape at her in stunned silence.
"In recognition of these merits, we grant Eunhyeon the honorary noble title of baronet and restore the 'Hersha' house of Erin Hersha to baronial status."
"Your Majesty!"
"That's absurd!"
"How can you elevate such filth?!"
A beat of silence, then outraged nobles surged to their feet, protesting en masse as the courtroom erupted.
At the center, Eunhyeon and Erin simply stood still.
Or rather, their reactions differed.
Erin wore a dazed, confused expression—unable to process her family's title's restoration, more bewildered than joyful.
Eunhyeon, meanwhile, just grinned like it was all amusing.
"W-whoa..."
"Congratulations."
Alex's voice came from beside her, but Erin stared blankly at him, her face a mask of complexity.
"I-is this... something I should be happy about...?"
Erin's family title had been stripped and the house ruined due to her father and brother's crimes, relegating her to 'fallen nobility.'
Restoring it was an incredible achievement, but Erin had never cared much about her house to begin with.
She barely grasped the concept of titles, and her memories were tainted by her father's abuse—nightmarish recollections she loathed recalling.
She'd never felt attached to the Hersha name beyond it being the sole link to her brother Elvin.
To the state, reinstating a house of notorious traitors was a bold reward, but to Erin, it wasn't much.
Besides, she was the only woman left in the Hersha baronetcy—how was she supposed to rebuild it alone?
"At least for clearing your brother's name, gaining fame and merits like this will be effective."
"But..."
The nobles of this kingdom are the reason he ended up like that.
Doing things beneficial to the kingdom just to exonerate him felt emotionally repulsive to the still-young Erin.
As these tangled thoughts swirled in her mind, Eunhyeon raised his cuffed hands high, requesting to speak.
Dianne, seeing it, opened her mouth.
"You have something to say?"
"Well, about that title... it's a bit tricky for me."
"...What?"
For the first time, Dianne's consistent frown twitched with surprise.
"I'll pass on the honorary nobility."
"What?!"
"That lowly commoner dares—!"
"Refusing the queen regent's gracious boon?!"
"There's a limit to arrogance!"
The nobles who'd screamed against granting it now glared at Eunhyeon like they wanted to kill him for refusing.
Which tune am I supposed to dance to?
Wearing an incredulous look at the absurdity, Eunhyeon turned to the queen glaring daggers from her throne.
"See, I already have a boss—the witch. If she finds out, she'll kill me. So please, spare me? Your Majesty? Pretty please?"
The man who'd verbally dismantled Count Orba moments ago was gone; this one pitifully begged for his life.
Alex and Erin exchanged stunned looks at Eunhyeon's shameless performance—changing expressions while knowingly acting with Illyana present.
"That demon, and now another woman eyeing my man."
"......"
The surrounding nobles parted like the sea as Illyana strode toward Eunhyeon from the center, creating a path for her.
Ignoring their reverent deference—as if serving the queen herself—Illyana approached him and locked eyes with Dianne.
"If you're declaring him not guilty, stop there. Rewards? What, trying to collar him with a title?"
Scowling, she grabbed Eunhyeon's collar and yanked him close.
"...Illyana?"
Before he could react to her sudden move, Illyana boldly pressed her lips to his.
"Mmph?!"
He startled, trying to pull away in surprise, but she went further, slipping her tongue into his mouth.
"Mmm... smooch."
"W-whoa..."
Erin was the most flustered.
Her face flushed crimson, yet she couldn't tear her eyes from the intense kiss between Eunhyeon and Illyana—nor could anyone else.
The brief kiss ended as they parted, plunging the courtroom into stunned silence.
That silence soon exploded into uproar.
"What is this outrage?!"
"Such irreverence!"
"The witch... has a lover...!?"
"Quiet!"
Dianne's roar silenced the chaos once more.
Scowling fiercely at Illyana, she spoke.
"Witch, even for you—this lascivious display before so many nobles is intolerable."
"Just marking my territory."
"Marking...?"
Illyana licked her lips, savoring the feel of his, and snorted defiantly.
"He's mine. Hands off. Oh, you can have that one—she was a noble's daughter anyway. Lucky you. Congrats."
"Lady Illyana... that's mean."
Erin tugged Eunhyeon's hem toward her, glaring at Illyana's territorial warning to Dianne with genuine hurt.