Chapter 56
A few days of grueling travel had finally come to an end.
During that time I had recovered the souls of the victims sacrificed at Jacob and located the operating key for the Elfs Bone artifact.
As for the supply routes of these jewels and the source of their mana injection, we planned to continue tracking them with the full cooperation of Nora, who had been released under the condition of her testimony in the capital defense force special investigation.
**Finally, our daughter has returned!**
The headline on the front page of the newspaper showed the father and daughter reuniting.
With just that single photo, the empire was seething.
The empire citizens, confronted by the ugly truth hidden behind the peaceful society, were boiling with rage and shock.
The empire citizens who had been consuming from the Jacob department store in their familiar daily lives lamented their own ignorance and incompetence.
“The new incidents over the past few days will not be allocated.”
A one-sided declaration.
On the surface it was for the Noris Molton trial preparation, but honestly, I just wanted some peace.
A single pebble tossed into the well of a heart by Crown Prince Frederic had created ripples that were impossible to ignore.
And then there was the mysterious voice I had confronted in Noris’s secret vault.
*‘I am the last foreigner?’*
The voice had not described me as a heretic but as a “foreigner.”
The word used by the Gilorian Empire’s imperial family was not it. It was a term written in the ancient texts of the Hetia Library.
That meant the voice I had heard like a hallucination belonged to some ancient being.
That voice had been forcing me to make a choice.
*‘What choice exactly do I have to make?’*
Is it to lead the heretic extermination in front of the order protectors of the Gilorian Empire? Or should I open a secret door for the ones trembling with fear somewhere, without knowing the full story?
Caught in a whirlwind of unanswered questions that chained one after another, I prepared for the Noris Molton trial.
* * *
“Your Honor the judge enters. Please rise from your seats.”
The courtroom officers rose along with the voice, and everyone in the courtroom stood up.
“Please be seated.”
In the gallery, the families of the victims were present. Between them, pale-faced elf women could be seen. Victims of Noris Molton’s crimes.
The long-term isolation of souls had caused side effects on their flesh; their faces showed prominent blue veins.
“I will begin the trial.”
The court, mindful of fairness, had assigned this case to a dwarf judge. It was the judiciary’s measure to avoid excessive rulings that might favor elves.
Considering the dwarf’s physical build, the lowered lectern was eye-catching.
“Does the defendant not attend this trial?”
The judge pulled out a protruding microphone above his head and asked.
The figure of Noris Molton was not in the courtroom.
“Senior, isn’t Noris this kid out on bail?”
A small whisper from Marian.
From the opposite side, a skinny man rose unsteadily and answered.
“T-that’s right. The defendant who showed signs of despair just now made an extreme choice and was transferred to the hospital.”
He was Noris Molton’s defense attorney.
His voice was barely audible as he mumbled.
His suit on his bent shoulders looked as though a goblin had donned a knight’s armor—shabby.
The expectation of a glamorous defense team had completely fallen through.
The gallery was buzzing.
“He tried to commit suicide, right?”
“This bastard’s a show-off.”
But the buzz did not last long. Noris Molton’s vicious crimes had already turned the entire empire against him.
People did not believe him.
But there was always a blind spot somewhere.
“Demons!”
“When the truth comes out, you’ll all end up in hell!”
“Release the wronged Noris right now! Release him!”
The group following him shouted slogans roughly.
As I said before, the Gilorian Empire had an extremely strong protection of freedom of expression.
In other words, the voices of the fervent fanatics of Noris Molton were still in full swing.
Even now, tens of thousands of petitions for the innocent release had arrived at the courtroom.
“Defense attorney, under the Gilorian Empire Criminal Procedure Act, the trial cannot proceed if the defendant does not appear. Does the defendant know this?”
The dwarf judge asked the defense attorney for Noris.
For minor crimes like petty offenses, it might be tolerable, but for a case of this magnitude, you could not hold a trial without the defendant’s presence.
“Yes, Your Honor. I will quickly check the defendant’s condition.”
Looking at the defense attorney answering in a standing-sitting awkward posture, the dwarf judge said, “Wait, I will recess.”
At that moment when the judge was about to bring down his gavel.
“No need.”
I stood up.
“What do you mean by the prosecution side? Under the Criminal Procedure Act…”
“I will amend the indictment.”
The dwarf judge showed an interested expression at my words.
In criminal trials, the defendant must appear in person to exercise their right to defense.
But there was an exception: minor crimes.
In other words, petty offenders could be tried without their presence.
That was the rule: if the defendant’s absence did not hinder the protection of their rights, such as a fine or surcharge under five million cram, it was allowed.
“Prosecution side, please repeat.”
The dwarf judge asked.
“I will amend the indictment.”
With that, I pulled out a purple jewel from my pocket.
A jewel emitting an ominous aura.
“The defendant Noris Molton placed this item in his secret vault on the Hermitia Plain and caused confusion and fear to the soldiers guarding the imperial borders.”
I held it up so that not only the judge but everyone in the gallery could see it clearly.
A faint purple light emanated from the jewel, and a grotesque lifeform was summoned into the courtroom.
“Hyik! It’s a monster!”
The courtroom guards rushed over.
I raised my hand to stop them.
It would only be for a moment, after all.
As expected… they reacted immediately.
“Eh? That just looks fake…”
“A ghost?”
“It’s a phantom, a phantom.”
The courtroom guards stopped and approached.
“What is that, prosecution side?”
The dwarf judge asked with curiosity.
“Your Honor. As you can see, this is a jewel with phantom summoning magic injected. Press the right button to summon the grotesque lifeform’s shape, and press the left to summon the cute puppy shape.”
I pressed the protruding button. A red-furred, shaggy puppy shape appeared in the air, tail wagging vigorously.
“The defendant used this jewel to spread grotesque screams in order to protect his secret vault. Because of this, the main forces of major Gilorian Empire strongholds were thrown into chaos, and a state of emergency alert was even issued at one point.”
After silencing the noisy gallery, the dwarf judge asked, “According to the prosecution’s claim, isn’t this a major crime punishable by thirty years in prison under the Gilorian Empire National Security Law?”
Violating the security of the imperial territory made it a serious offense.
But this was just an additional charge I would add later. The crime to dispute now was different.
I stepped closer to the judge and said, “What I want to charge is the acquisition route of this item.”
“Acquisition route?”
“Yes. Two years ago, Noris Molton obtained a monster-shaped jewel from the bag of a kindergarten child who was visiting the Jacob department store. That is the jewel. I submit the related evidence.”
I went to the evidence table and submitted the lost item report and the proof that the jewel belonged to the child’s possession.
I had scanned all three years of records from the Jacob department store incident.
What was discovered there.
The dwarf judge began carefully examining the evidence.
“Prosecution evidence received. Let’s see… a jewel-shaped toy that won first place in the national black magic competition…?”
The dwarf judge read the evidence, stopped, and looked at me.
That jewel had been a toy made by a toddler.
“Kkuk.”
Laughter leaked from the gallery.
“This is a crime of acquiring stolen goods under Article 362 of the Gilorian Empire Criminal Code, punishable by a three-million-cram fine. I will amend the indictment accordingly.”
A legendary criminal was being tried for the theft of a kid’s toy.
The voices shouting “Release Noris Molton!” in ignorance from the gallery gradually subsided.
“Your Honor, amending the indictment on the day of trial makes it difficult for the defendant to exercise their right to defense. Please consider this and reschedule the schedule…”
The defense attorney for Noris tried to appeal politely, but…
“Do you need a defense right for a kid toy thief?”
The dwarf judge’s reaction was cold.
“The prosecution accepts the indictment amendment. We will resume the trial after a ten-minute recess.”
The dwarf judge brought down his gavel but stopped and spoke to the defense attorney. “Also, defense attorney. Before you really change the indictment facts, tell the defendant not to try any tricks and appear in court. If they do not appear twice or more, the judgment will be handed down as is.”
* * *
In the end, a warrant for arrest was issued.
Noris Molton, not thinking he would obey the court’s command, was lying in prison, then dragged in by imperial knights wrapped in aura.
“We will resume the trial.”
The fervent fanatics of Noris sitting in the gallery howled at the sight.
Some fell asleep.
But he still looked relaxed. It seemed he had something he believed in.
I remembered that sight while listening to the judge’s words.
“Prosecution side, please state the indictment facts.”
By the judge’s authority, the amended indictment and the original case were merged.
In other words, two cases would be reviewed in this single trial.
I could only be grateful for the Gilorian Empire’s court system that allowed such discretion.
The indictment facts for Noris Molton were overflowing. It took more than ten minutes to read them all.
Elf women human trafficking and confinement, stock manipulation, false market making, murder and large-scale terror conspiracy, of course, also the crime of acquiring stolen goods.
If all were admitted, Noris Molton would never set foot on external land again in his life.
“Defendant, do you admit the indictment facts?”
After discussing with Noris Molton for a long time, the defense attorney stood up.
“I deny it.”
I stood up without delay and said, “I submit the evidence of related crimes.”
Marian and Pijae submitted the materials they had painstakingly collected.
The materials were also delivered to the jury. Unable to hide their astonishment at the absurd and horrific scene, their faces were completely wrinkled.
I also displayed the pre-prepared materials on the courtroom.
The scene from the day of the incident reproduced in the air like holograms.
From the blood transaction scenes to the figures of elf women without souls sitting around Noris Molton.
And the shape of the spirit that had been left in a critical state in the garden after his death by the elf he had contracted.
“This is the real appearance of Noris Molton.”
I looked straight at him and pointed out each crime. But Noris still looked relaxed. Next to him was a defense attorney who looked uneasy.
“Defendant, are there any objections?”
The defense attorney stood up from his seat in a hurry at the judge’s question.
“The defendant has a personality that cannot refuse requests from his acquaintances. He only shared good information and provided some conveniences so that they could make stock transactions more easily. He had no intention of committing an illegal act of realizing profits from specific stock transactions.”
A defense attorney too unskilled.
With such a defense, it was impossible to convince the judge and the jury.
Mentioning sympathy for stock fraud. The expressions of the gallery visitors sitting behind were also cold.
“Also, regarding the human trafficking claim by the prosecution side, it contradicts the victim’s claim. I request the application of related witnesses.”
“Witness applications accepted.”
In the end, the strategy taken by the Noris Molton side was witness recruitment.
It was something I had already expected.
It was too obvious to believe the fanatics’ support and attempt to color the testimony to their advantage.
But perjury was impossible in the Gilorian Empire courtroom.
The defense attorney and Noris could not have been unaware of this.
Nevertheless, Noris Molton maintained a consistent relaxed appearance.
It was unsettling.
There was definitely something he was hiding.
At that moment, the courtroom door opened, and a young elf woman entered with the courtroom guards.
Wearing a luxurious silk outerwear, with her hair neatly rolled up, she recited the witness oath.
“I swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth according to my conscience, and if there is any falsehood, I will receive the punishment for perjury.”
After the oath, a magician approached and cast the perjury detection magic.
Blue mana swirled above her head. It was a simple but powerful magic that would turn red if she lied.
Unlike the perjury detection magic that gave intense pain when I stood at the hearing, it was intuitive and thus more commonly used in practice.
“Defendant, begin the witness examination.”
The witness examination began.
The defense attorney for Noris Molton stepped forward.
“Witness, where were you on the day of the incident?”
“I was in Noris’s office at Jacob department store.”
She was one of the women confined in the office.
“What were you doing that day?”
“Yes. I was praying while listening to Noris’s words as usual.”
An elf woman answered in a calm and composed voice.
The mana’s color remained unchanged, blue.
“Did you only pray? Was there no other activity?”
“Midway, a visitor came and I stopped praying.”
“Do you remember the visitor?”
“Yes. He said he was an investor. He mentioned connection to the imperial financial performance and said he would invest a large amount of money.”
A witness who remembered the situation accurately. The defense attorney continued the examination.
“An investor came. After that, was there no other activity?”
“I don’t know the details well, so it’s not exact, but I clearly remember that if I didn’t cooperate, the Jacob department store would go bankrupt. He also threatened that the imperial financial performance would not stay quiet either.”
It was not a complete truth, but it could not be called a lie either.
The mana above her head still shone blue.
“Besides the coercion, was there no other activity? Did the visitor leave immediately?”
“No. The two of them talked for a while, and suddenly the visitor got angry…”
The witness paused for a moment.
“Please continue.”
“That… with an ugly expression, he took out a weapon and started breaking the office. Then he took out a short sword wrapped in lightning and started stabbing my precious people indiscriminately.”
It was not the truth.
Nevertheless, the mana’s color was still blue.
The witness began to tremble.
The defense attorney, looking at the witness with worried eyes, said, “Can you continue your testimony, witness?”
“Yes. That, then, with the knife…”
As he said this, the witness took off her outerwear.
On her wrist was a deep scar.
“If it hadn’t been Noris, this scar would have been engraved on my belly instead of my arm, and I would have been found as a corpse. At that time, my colleague…”
The witness covered her mouth with her hand and began to sob.
It was a lie.
She could not have heard the conversation I had with Noris that day.
With the perfect elf enchantment, all sounds were blocked, and during the subsequent suppression process, she had been safely protected inside Marian’s magic net.
Above all, the scar on her wrist had been self-inflicted by her biting under Noris Molton’s control.
But the perjury detection magic still said her testimony was the truth.
The mana was still blue.
“Do you remember the name of that visitor?”
“He said his name was Eric Van Ton.”
“Can you recognize that person’s face?”
“Yes.”
“Is he here?”
The defense attorney asked.
Then, raising her trembling hand, she slowly extended her fingers toward me.
“That man.”
Above her head, the mana shining blue was spinning.