Chapter 79: Trial (3)

“Isn’t that guy completely insane?!”

“What the f*ck?!”

“Katana?! Katana?! Why a katana?!!”

The first to shout weren’t the Ponpon mother and daughter seated at the plaintiff’s bench, but Karn’s group in the gallery.

Besides them, quite a few others seemed shocked too. Though not to Karn’s extent, several stood up abruptly or jeered at me.

As the courtroom that should have been quiet became as noisy as a marketplace, the judge struck his gavel to calm them down.

A moment later, when the clamorous atmosphere settled somewhat, the judge asked me again.

“Defendant, is that statement true?”

“Yes, it’s true.”

When I nodded, even his face darkened, as if he too was secretly one of Pierre’s admirers.

Making such a fuss just because I dismantled a rapier and staff… An outsider might think I’d broken some national treasure katana.

While everyone’s expressions soured rapidly, including the judge’s, the plaintiff’s lawyer who had been consulting with the Ponpon mother and daughter stood up.

“Your Honor, we can’t easily believe those words. Perhaps the defendant is lying because he doesn’t want to return the weapon!”

The judge sighed deeply at the accusation of lying in court.

“Counsel for the plaintiff, refrain from rash statements…. Defendant, do you have any way to prove that claim besides the katana in your hand?”

“Of course. If you wish, I’ll request the blacksmith who forged this katana, Otar Goldsmith, as a witness at the next trial.”

When the name of the renowned blacksmith was mentioned, the courtroom buzzed again.

Whether here or on Earth, people seem equally swayed by an expert’s authority. Once Otar’s name came up, everyone seemed to believe it.

“We’ll confirm the defendant’s claim at the next trial… Plaintiff, what will you do? If the defendant’s claim is true, it seems you can no longer get the rapier back.”

As the judge said, even if it was dismantled and made into a katana, that wouldn’t make it Pierre’s rapier again if remade.

However, what they wanted seemed to be money from selling the weapon rather than Pierre’s weapon itself. They eyed the Wolffang I was holding greedily, then whispered to their lawyer.

“Ahem….”

The lawyer cleared his throat briefly, then stood up again and addressed the judge.

“If the defendant’s words are true and Lord Pierre’s weapon is lost, then we demand ownership of that katana made from it.”

“Heh….”

They say that when anger surpasses the breaking point, you don’t go berserk, but rather burst into laughter. Today I learned that saying is true.

To dare say they would take my katana from me – words I could never forgive no matter what.

I had expected they might say something like this, but hearing it directly, I could barely contain my boiling rage.

The anger beyond the breaking point was about to manifest as killing intent, but….

[Skill, Will of Steel activates.]

The skill Will of Steel calmed the violent anger like a blazing sun.

[Skill, Will of Steel activates.]

[Skill, Will of Steel activates.]

[Skill, Will of Steel activates.]

The anger I felt wasn’t something that would stop after just one activation. The skill activation message continued to appear repeatedly.

“Whew….”

The anger within me finally subsided only after the messages filled the entire courtroom.

As I took a deep breath to suppress my rage, the judge, completely unaware of my inner turmoil, casually asked:

“Defendant, you’ve been quiet for a while. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Let’s just proceed with the trial.”

“Very well, then let’s do that. Now, back to the plaintiff’s side….”

As I let the judge’s words go in one ear and out the other, I looked at the Ponpon mother and daughter seated on the plaintiff’s side and thought:

To dare utter words about taking Wolffang from me – that sin can’t be repaid even with death.

‘Just you wait, you f*cking b*tches…!’

“There have been many cases where the discoverer of an ancient hero’s weapon gained ownership. However….”

However, that was because the original owner had transferred ownership, or their bloodline had ended with no one left to claim ownership.

The lawyer argued that in this case, since the Ponpon mother and daughter were claiming ownership as Pierre’s blood descendants, naturally the Wolffang should become theirs.

“Moreover, Your Honor, please look at the evidence previously submitted by the plaintiff.”

At the lawyer’s words, the court clerks seated in front of the judge’s bench began using magic to project the evidence into the air.

What the clerks projected looked like a photo, but was actually an incredibly detailed painting created using memory projection magic, indistinguishable from the real thing.

Floating in the air was the statue of Pierre that I had damaged. Pointing to that statue, the lawyer said:

“Moreover, after defeating Lobo, the defendant insulted Pierre and greatly damaged his statue as you can see! Handing over Pierre’s weapon to such a disrespectful person is neither honorable nor befitting Pierre’s legacy!”

When this fact came to light, the gallery grew noisy once again.

Even those who had cheered me on before the trial now seemed to recall what kind of person I was, and appeared to shudder.

“Quiet! Be quiet! What is this commotion from the children of noble families?!”

The judge, who had roughly struck his gavel, turned to me once the gallery calmed down.

“Defendant, is this true? If not, do you have any rebuttal?”

“It’s all true and I have no rebuttal! In fact, I think I did well! If I could turn back time, I wouldn’t have stopped there – I would’ve burned down the village too!”

Just thinking about those filthy maggots swarming over a corpse, both the statue and that village, made my blood boil.

As the gallery was about to grow noisy yet again at my completely unexaggerated true feelings, the judge raised his hand to stop them.

“Defendant…. From now on, think for about 5 seconds before answering. Understood?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

The judge frowned when I answered immediately despite being told to think for 5 seconds.

“Haah… Well, fine. Now that we’ve heard all of the plaintiff’s claims, does the defendant have any defense?”

“Of course I do. The plaintiff’s counsel said that although I’m the first discoverer, the ownership rightfully belongs to those whore… I mean, the Pierre mother and daughter as descendants, so it should be returned to them, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. According to kingdom law, even if the defendant is the first discoverer, the ownership belongs to these two ladies as Pierre’s descendants.”

“Then what if that premise crumbles? What if those two whore… I mean, those two aren’t the rightful heirs?”

When I threw out such a meaningful statement, the lawyer smirked, seemingly not understanding my implication.

“Heh, you seem to misunderstand the law. Even if their usual conduct was poor, that’s not grounds for revoking ownership.”

“Counsel, you seem to have misinterpreted my words. That’s not what I meant.”

“Pardon? Then what did you mean?”

“I meant exactly what I said. Think carefully about my words one more time.”

“Exactly what you said…?”

Unable to even imagine the truth about the Pierre family that I held, after a long pause he opened his mouth with a disbelieving expression.

“Then do you mean…?!”

The sharp ones had already grasped the true meaning of my words and were holding their breath in disbelief.

The Ponpon mother and daughter also didn’t understand what I said at first, but upon seeing the lawyer’s pale face, they finally grasped the situation.

“De-Defendant…! What you’re saying now isn’t something that can be brushed off as a joke! You must have solid evidence to make such a claim, right?!”

The judge, who had suddenly found himself deciding the fate of an entire family in what was supposed to be a trial about ownership of a hero’s relic, asked in a trembling voice.

“Let me ask in return. Do you think a mere baronet would utter such words without any evidence?”

Recalling a courtroom drama I’d seen before, I stepped forward with exaggerated gestures and said to the clerks seated in front of the judge’s bench:

“Please display evidence item #1 that I submitted in advance.”

“Y-Yes…!”

It wasn’t just the judge who was nervous. With trembling hands, they slowly projected the evidence I had submitted into the air.

“Your Honor, do you know what this is?”

“It looks like a memory-projected painting, but what is it…?”

“This is a painting of Pierre’s gravestone erected by the earth spirit, projected from my memory by a mage from the Academy.”

“Th-This is…?!”

When Pierre’s gravestone was mentioned, everyone stared intently at the evidence floating in the air, even more than before.

“But what are the letters engraved on the gravestone? Is it some ancient language?”

“That’s the cipher Pierre often used, engraving his last words before death.”

“A cipher? Have you deciphered it?”

“Yes, of course. When deciphered, it reads like this.”

Everyone leaned in to hear the hero’s last words, but what they heard was the exact opposite of what they expected.

“Don’t get married, you f*ckers reading this.”

“…Pardon? Defendant, what did you just…”

“I said, ‘Don’t get married, you f*ckers reading this.’ I’m not finished yet, may I continue?”

“Ah, ahem! Excuse me. Please continue.”

“Then from the beginning again: Don’t get married, you f*ckers reading this. Why, you ask? f*ck you, just don’t do it if I tell you not to, you sons of b*tches!”

“…Excuse me?”

While everyone was bewildered by words they couldn’t believe no matter how many times they heard them, the plaintiff’s lawyer, seizing the opportunity, abruptly stood up and shouted:

“It-It’s a lie! How could the defendant know and decipher the cipher Pierre used in life?!”

“Counsel for the plaintiff, was there just a gravestone sitting there? How do you think I found a gravestone deep in the forest in the first place?”

“…Ah, the spirit.”

Of course, in reality I could understand it because I’m Korean, but I hadn’t lied, so what could they do?

Unable to deny my words as false, the counsel quickly changed his line of argument.

“E-Even if he left such a will, that’s not proof that the plaintiffs aren’t Pierre’s descendants! Don’t all married men tell unmarried men not to get married at some point?!”

While everyone was waiting for my response to this seemingly plausible argument, I smirked and said to the counsel:

“Then would it suffice if I brought definitive evidence?”

“Ev-Evidence? Are you saying you have evidence that can prove something from 200 years ago?”

“Yes, or more precisely, not evidence but a witness… or should I say, spirit witness?”

“Sp-spirit, you don’t mean…!”

As the plaintiff’s counsel sensed the situation spiraling out of control, I made a request to the judge:

“Your Honor, please allow me to summon Marga, the high earth spirit who accompanied Pierre, as a witness.”

[raei: the author asks for forgiveness regarding this amateurish courtroom scene. His knowledge of courtrooms comes from two dramas: Legal High and Extraordinary Attorney Woo.]