There had been an uproar for a while, but at the conclusion of the tumult, Lenore's servant, Pip, managed to finish what he had to say. Having served by Lenore's side for a long time, he knew more about the entire situation than expected.
When Lenore decided to support Beltrail's research to gain an advantage in the family succession struggle, Pip, as a servant, delivered messages between the two several times. He had also frequently escorted Awakeners brought from various places all the way to the mansion. As he narrated every detail, including dates and names of all those involved, even the representatives of the Apeto family had to grit their teeth, unable to completely deny the veracity of his claims.
As Pip rattled off the names of the fellow servants he last worked with, and further revealed that many of them had been killed for their silence or as scapegoats, the gallery was filled with shock and excitement. His daring act of exposure, to the extent that it was hard to understand what he was relying on, was so audacious that even the grand judges opened their eyes wide, shattering their stern expressions.
It was not unusual for servants in noble houses to die without apparent cause. However, it was also certain that if such events became publicly known, they deserved criticism and investigation.
It was a historic moment when the justification and dignity of the Apeto Ducal family, which had always enjoyed various privileges while bragging about their sacrifices for the Empire, was being trampled upon by a servant who was less significant than their toes.
Amidst everyone's excitement, Pip caught his breath and wiped his sweat. He looked terrified, but there was a sense of relief within him.
"Do you think it's okay for him to say so much?"
Ever whispered with concern, to which Kishiar turned his head slightly as if he heard.
"He's planning to leave the Empire with his family as soon as the trial ends today. Several of the Peletta Knights are waiting nearby to assist in that."
"Ah..."
Including the Deputy Commanders, Yuder finally understood why Pip was able to expose everything as if shaking off his burdens.
"But still! Lenore is already departed from this world. The former Elder Priest Beltrail is nearly dead, now you're saying the innocent members of their families should pay for their sins?"
A representative of the Apeto family far away stood up and burst into a passionate argument. Despite the witness's turn not being over, he pointed at Revlin, Dandenion, and Pip, arguing that their testimonies were too exaggerated.
"How can you believe just the words of a common boy and a resentful former servant and claim that the Awakeners were forcibly brought here? It makes no sense for the Apeto family to do such a bothersome thing! It is even uncertain if the Cavalry properly investigated this matter from the beginning, let alone without any valid evidence...!"
"Valid evidence, good point."
Then, for the first time, Kishiar, who had been sitting leisurely, raised his voice so everyone could hear.
"That's why we're here, aren't we? If it wasn't for someone's impassioned rant, we would have already presented more than enough evidence. It seems like we have a representative here who doesn't even know the rules of a trial. If he had a bit of manner, everything would have been done by now. What do you think?"
"..."
As soon as everyone recognized the implication of Kishiar's words, which were not loud but clearly pointed, all fell silent at once. The face of the representative, mocked as someone who doesn't even know etiquette in front of everyone, turned beet red.
"I got excited and... I rudely interrupted. I apologize."
Taking a deep breath, he gritted his teeth and slowly took his seat. Kanna smirked faintly as she observed the representatives and witnesses of the Apeto family, taken aback. The other Deputy Commanders also seemed a bit relieved, wearing smiles on their faces.
Taking the attention in stride, Kishiar slowly rose from his seat. Standing in place of the retreating group of Revlin, he opened his mouth again to address everyone.
"The Cavalry and I have thoroughly investigated this incident upon His Majesty's order. Based on the testimonies of the Awakeners we rescued from the Apeto House on that day, we were able to find substantial evidence after a lengthy investigation."
"..."
"Did the Apeto House say there was no need for them to commit such a troublesome act? They themselves would know better than anyone why they had to do so. That's an interesting statement."
The representatives of the Apeto family, who wanted to yell something at Kishiar, furrowed their brows in unison. They recognized the implied meaning in Kishiar's words.
Kishiar slowly smiled at them. His mouth opened and a statement that the Apeto family least expected flowed out.
"I, Kishiar La Orr, the Commander of the Cavalry, will call the victims from Hartan, one of the places where the Apeto family systematically kidnapped and recruited Awakeners, the acting Lord of the place, and the arrested criminals as the next witnesses. Additionally, I request the reading of part of Beltrail Shand Apeto's research records, which were submitted confidentially as they were deemed to contain too secretive information, only for the grand judges to view. That's all."
At Kishiar's words, everyone buzzed even louder. The representatives of the Apeto family froze. They had only planned to cause enough trouble to minimize the punishment of the Apeto House, not to make the issue bigger.
"What on earth is going on? Wasn't this trial supposed to only deal with the case related to the third prince Revlin?"
"That's all a ploy to drive the atmosphere. Didn't they say that there won't be much in Beltrail's records? Prince Aishes said so...!"
"Where on earth is Hartan? Hasn't the Duke of Apeto never mentioned such a region?"
"It's in the east. The east."
"The east? Isn't that the power of the Diarca family? Could they have conspired with the Duke of Peletta...?"
The representatives gathered to urgently discuss, but no one could come up with a countermeasure. Unlike the opposing side where Kishiar himself stood, they did not have the Duke of Apeto or Prince Aeshes on their side.
While they were hurriedly sending a letter to the Apeto family through a servant, many people appeared from the inside of the corridor. Their appearances were truly diverse. There were old men with weak legs, young women, young noblemen in armor, and ragged middle-aged men.
A young man with chains around his ankles, trembling in fear, and two Awakeners, both equally scared, were led by people in Peletta Knight's uniforms. The first to step forward in the chaos was Zachlis Hartan, the acting Lord of Hartan.
"My name is Zachlis Hartan. I am currently the acting Lord of Hartan and was formerly a Knight of the Silver Cross Knights."
Zachlis, with his righteous visage, gave a knightly salute, prompting whispers among some about the Silver Cross Knights. It was a well-known order in the east, and many recognized the name.
"First, I would like to discuss the dreadful crimes committed by my naive younger brother, and those who manipulated him into action."
Zachlis recounted how his younger brother, Zakail, had conspired to usurp their father's position as the lord, framing it as a fatal accident involving fire that resulted in the deaths of his father and sister. The crowd gasped as he mentioned how Devran and his family were wrongly accused and almost entirely abducted due to the incident.
As Devran, his family, and those who were rescued from the kidnap site each shared similar testimonies, the faces of the grand judges grew increasingly grave. It was clear to everyone that the Apeto House had committed organized atrocities.
Kidnappings, human experimentation, and murder over a long period of time. Everyone gradually began to wonder what the Apeto House had hoped to achieve through all these heinous acts.
"Had I not returned to the village once again, my brother might have achieved his vile intentions. Zakail wasn't inherently evil, but over the course of a year, someone had twisted him."
The witnesses finished their testimonies, and a grave Zachlis turned his gaze towards the Apeto representatives.
"Do you know that many young people in the East, like Zakail, are now turning against their families in pursuit of power due to someone's manipulations?"
"Do you mean to imply that this is related to the current case?!" an Apeto representative bristled, to which Zachlis just tilted his head with a serious expression.
"I just meant to say such incidents have been on the rise. The tension is making me say other things as well."
"What kind of wordplay are you...!"
"While everyone involved in the kidnapping at the time died, luckily, two mercenary Awakeners and a few Awakeners survived. I brought them here at the request of Duke Peletta. Listen to what they have to say."
Ignoring the representatives' interjections, Zachlis finished his piece. The Peletta Knights stepped forward, leading the restrained mercenary Awakeners. They had been bound with a magic oath and spell that prevented them from using their abilities.
Humbled, barely able to raise their heads, they began to speak with a tone of deep subjugation.
"We... we did not know who our employer was serving. He was called the warden, and he occasionally communicated with the 'main house'... Sometimes, people directly from the main house came."
They described the Apeto warden they knew by name and appearance and those who came from the main house. The Peletta Knights who brought them forth passed on the information about the Apeto employees they had identified based on this information to the grand judges.
"We lived in fear every day. None of the Awakeners who were taken to that so-called main house ever returned alive. They claimed to give us work, but anyone could see that wasn't the truth!"
The Awakeners rescued from Hartan cried out, trembling, their words echoed by other Awakeners who had suffered even worse at the Apeto estate.
"I still bear many scars from that time. Some died vomiting blood due to the drugs they were forced to consume, drugs that were purported to induce heat period. And you say that none of this happened?"
The representatives from the Apeto estate turned their heads in defeat, their expressions fallen, as they listened to the outraged voices of the rescued Awakeners. Any claims of the stories being lies weakened and finally faded away.
Had the victims of the kidnapping been the only ones to come forward with their testimonies, they could have easily dismissed them as lies. But starting with the composed testimony of Revlin, a blood relative of Apeto, then through the incident in Hartan, the situation had grown so tense that it was impossible to quell it, like a dam that had burst.
The spectators were no different. Being able to sit in those seats signified that they had a certain status and power. Normally, they would look down on these individuals as mere commoners, their problems being of no concern. But the stories of Revlin Shand Apeto and Zachlis Hartan had sequentially resonated with them.
The conflict between the Apeto and Diarca houses was what truly drew their attention, but that was enough.
There was no better weapon when assessing the severity of a crime than to draw sympathy from those around. Yuder recalled the crowds at the public execution site, cheering and throwing flowers without judging whether the crime was real or not, and then brushed it aside.
As the heated atmosphere resembled that of his memory, the judge once again stepped forward.
"The testimonies are now concluded. Next, we will decide whether to accept the reading of the confidential evidence that Duke of Peletta had requested. The seven grand judges will take a brief moment to share their opinions. We will take a short break. This time, no one is allowed to leave their seats."
"What did he just say?!"
There had been an uproar for a while, but at the conclusion of the tumult, Lenore's servant, Pip, managed to finish what he had to say. Having served by Lenore's side for a long time, he knew more about the entire situation than expected.
When Lenore decided to support Beltrail's research to gain an advantage in the family succession struggle, Pip, as a servant, delivered messages between the two several times. He had also frequently escorted Awakeners brought from various places all the way to the mansion. As he narrated every detail, including dates and names of all those involved, even the representatives of the Apeto family had to grit their teeth, unable to completely deny the veracity of his claims.
As Pip rattled off the names of the fellow servants he last worked with, and further revealed that many of them had been killed for their silence or as scapegoats, the gallery was filled with shock and excitement. His daring act of exposure, to the extent that it was hard to understand what he was relying on, was so audacious that even the grand judges opened their eyes wide, shattering their stern expressions.
It was not unusual for servants in noble houses to die without apparent cause. However, it was also certain that if such events became publicly known, they deserved criticism and investigation.
It was a historic moment when the justification and dignity of the Apeto Ducal family, which had always enjoyed various privileges while bragging about their sacrifices for the Empire, was being trampled upon by a servant who was less significant than their toes.
Amidst everyone's excitement, Pip caught his breath and wiped his sweat. He looked terrified, but there was a sense of relief within him.
"Do you think it's okay for him to say so much?"
Ever whispered with concern, to which Kishiar turned his head slightly as if he heard.
"He's planning to leave the Empire with his family as soon as the trial ends today. Several of the Peletta Knights are waiting nearby to assist in that."
"Ah..."
Including the Deputy Commanders, Yuder finally understood why Pip was able to expose everything as if shaking off his burdens.
"But still! Lenore is already departed from this world. The former Elder Priest Beltrail is nearly dead, now you're saying the innocent members of their families should pay for their sins?"
A representative of the Apeto family far away stood up and burst into a passionate argument. Despite the witness's turn not being over, he pointed at Revlin, Dandenion, and Pip, arguing that their testimonies were too exaggerated.
"How can you believe just the words of a common boy and a resentful former servant and claim that the Awakeners were forcibly brought here? It makes no sense for the Apeto family to do such a bothersome thing! It is even uncertain if the Cavalry properly investigated this matter from the beginning, let alone without any valid evidence...!"
"Valid evidence, good point."
Then, for the first time, Kishiar, who had been sitting leisurely, raised his voice so everyone could hear.
"That's why we're here, aren't we? If it wasn't for someone's impassioned rant, we would have already presented more than enough evidence. It seems like we have a representative here who doesn't even know the rules of a trial. If he had a bit of manner, everything would have been done by now. What do you think?"
"..."
As soon as everyone recognized the implication of Kishiar's words, which were not loud but clearly pointed, all fell silent at once. The face of the representative, mocked as someone who doesn't even know etiquette in front of everyone, turned beet red.
"I got excited and... I rudely interrupted. I apologize."
Taking a deep breath, he gritted his teeth and slowly took his seat. Kanna smirked faintly as she observed the representatives and witnesses of the Apeto family, taken aback. The other Deputy Commanders also seemed a bit relieved, wearing smiles on their faces.
Taking the attention in stride, Kishiar slowly rose from his seat. Standing in place of the retreating group of Revlin, he opened his mouth again to address everyone.
"The Cavalry and I have thoroughly investigated this incident upon His Majesty's order. Based on the testimonies of the Awakeners we rescued from the Apeto House on that day, we were able to find substantial evidence after a lengthy investigation."
"..."
"Did the Apeto House say there was no need for them to commit such a troublesome act? They themselves would know better than anyone why they had to do so. That's an interesting statement."
The representatives of the Apeto family, who wanted to yell something at Kishiar, furrowed their brows in unison. They recognized the implied meaning in Kishiar's words.
Kishiar slowly smiled at them. His mouth opened and a statement that the Apeto family least expected flowed out.
"I, Kishiar La Orr, the Commander of the Cavalry, will call the victims from Hartan, one of the places where the Apeto family systematically kidnapped and recruited Awakeners, the acting Lord of the place, and the arrested criminals as the next witnesses. Additionally, I request the reading of part of Beltrail Shand Apeto's research records, which were submitted confidentially as they were deemed to contain too secretive information, only for the grand judges to view. That's all."
At Kishiar's words, everyone buzzed even louder. The representatives of the Apeto family froze. They had only planned to cause enough trouble to minimize the punishment of the Apeto House, not to make the issue bigger.
"What on earth is going on? Wasn't this trial supposed to only deal with the case related to the third prince Revlin?"
"That's all a ploy to drive the atmosphere. Didn't they say that there won't be much in Beltrail's records? Prince Aishes said so...!"
"Where on earth is Hartan? Hasn't the Duke of Apeto never mentioned such a region?"
"It's in the east. The east."
"The east? Isn't that the power of the Diarca family? Could they have conspired with the Duke of Peletta...?"
The representatives gathered to urgently discuss, but no one could come up with a countermeasure. Unlike the opposing side where Kishiar himself stood, they did not have the Duke of Apeto or Prince Aeshes on their side.
While they were hurriedly sending a letter to the Apeto family through a servant, many people appeared from the inside of the corridor. Their appearances were truly diverse. There were old men with weak legs, young women, young noblemen in armor, and ragged middle-aged men.
A young man with chains around his ankles, trembling in fear, and two Awakeners, both equally scared, were led by people in Peletta Knight's uniforms. The first to step forward in the chaos was Zachlis Hartan, the acting Lord of Hartan.
"My name is Zachlis Hartan. I am currently the acting Lord of Hartan and was formerly a Knight of the Silver Cross Knights."
Zachlis, with his righteous visage, gave a knightly salute, prompting whispers among some about the Silver Cross Knights. It was a well-known order in the east, and many recognized the name.
"First, I would like to discuss the dreadful crimes committed by my naive younger brother, and those who manipulated him into action."
Zachlis recounted how his younger brother, Zakail, had conspired to usurp their father's position as the lord, framing it as a fatal accident involving fire that resulted in the deaths of his father and sister. The crowd gasped as he mentioned how Devran and his family were wrongly accused and almost entirely abducted due to the incident.
As Devran, his family, and those who were rescued from the kidnap site each shared similar testimonies, the faces of the grand judges grew increasingly grave. It was clear to everyone that the Apeto House had committed organized atrocities.
Kidnappings, human experimentation, and murder over a long period of time. Everyone gradually began to wonder what the Apeto House had hoped to achieve through all these heinous acts.
"Had I not returned to the village once again, my brother might have achieved his vile intentions. Zakail wasn't inherently evil, but over the course of a year, someone had twisted him."
The witnesses finished their testimonies, and a grave Zachlis turned his gaze towards the Apeto representatives.
"Do you know that many young people in the East, like Zakail, are now turning against their families in pursuit of power due to someone's manipulations?"
"Do you mean to imply that this is related to the current case?!" an Apeto representative bristled, to which Zachlis just tilted his head with a serious expression.
"I just meant to say such incidents have been on the rise. The tension is making me say other things as well."
"What kind of wordplay are you...!"
"While everyone involved in the kidnapping at the time died, luckily, two mercenary Awakeners and a few Awakeners survived. I brought them here at the request of Duke Peletta. Listen to what they have to say."
Ignoring the representatives' interjections, Zachlis finished his piece. The Peletta Knights stepped forward, leading the restrained mercenary Awakeners. They had been bound with a magic oath and spell that prevented them from using their abilities.
Humbled, barely able to raise their heads, they began to speak with a tone of deep subjugation.
"We... we did not know who our employer was serving. He was called the warden, and he occasionally communicated with the 'main house'... Sometimes, people directly from the main house came."
They described the Apeto warden they knew by name and appearance and those who came from the main house. The Peletta Knights who brought them forth passed on the information about the Apeto employees they had identified based on this information to the grand judges.
"We lived in fear every day. None of the Awakeners who were taken to that so-called main house ever returned alive. They claimed to give us work, but anyone could see that wasn't the truth!"
The Awakeners rescued from Hartan cried out, trembling, their words echoed by other Awakeners who had suffered even worse at the Apeto estate.
"I still bear many scars from that time. Some died vomiting blood due to the drugs they were forced to consume, drugs that were purported to induce heat period. And you say that none of this happened?"
The representatives from the Apeto estate turned their heads in defeat, their expressions fallen, as they listened to the outraged voices of the rescued Awakeners. Any claims of the stories being lies weakened and finally faded away.
Had the victims of the kidnapping been the only ones to come forward with their testimonies, they could have easily dismissed them as lies. But starting with the composed testimony of Revlin, a blood relative of Apeto, then through the incident in Hartan, the situation had grown so tense that it was impossible to quell it, like a dam that had burst.
The spectators were no different. Being able to sit in those seats signified that they had a certain status and power. Normally, they would look down on these individuals as mere commoners, their problems being of no concern. But the stories of Revlin Shand Apeto and Zachlis Hartan had sequentially resonated with them.
The conflict between the Apeto and Diarca houses was what truly drew their attention, but that was enough.
There was no better weapon when assessing the severity of a crime than to draw sympathy from those around. Yuder recalled the crowds at the public execution site, cheering and throwing flowers without judging whether the crime was real or not, and then brushed it aside.
As the heated atmosphere resembled that of his memory, the judge once again stepped forward.
"The testimonies are now concluded. Next, we will decide whether to accept the reading of the confidential evidence that Duke of Peletta had requested. The seven grand judges will take a brief moment to share their opinions. We will take a short break. This time, no one is allowed to leave their seats."
"What did he just say?!"
