episode_0095

‘ah… .’

Sylvia almost jumped up from her seat and ran away.

Far away.

Ian opened the door to the second floor and headed toward the jury box.

‘Ian… .’

He was just like he knew.

After breaking up with him, Sylvia suffered so much that her body became thin and her complexion became dull.

He had changed so much, but it was as if nothing had happened to him.

It was like a piece of stuffed ice.

That was very fortunate.

‘Because I’m the only one suffering… .’

Sylvia slowly followed Ian’s movements.

Although I didn’t mean to do this.

I even thought it was a good thing I didn’t see it earlier.

The longer you put off seeing him, the more your longing will double, and the happier he will be.

Sylvia cried internally and swallowed a greeting that could not be heard.

‘… I miss you.’

Ian sat in the middle of the jury box.

Even then, Sylvia’s gaze never left, and Ian just looked around the courtroom indifferently.

I want to run and say something.

How are you?

It’s been a while.

Did Kylie get hurt last time?

I missed you a lot.

I really, really missed you a lot.

Words like that.

Maybe, I could treat you kindly as if nothing happened.

I even harbored such vain delusions.

‘… That can’t be possible. What did I do… .’

Sylvia’s sentiment did not last long.

“The trial will begin now. Due to the nature of the case and the defendants, we ask for the understanding of the guests who participated in the fact that it was conducted all at once.”

*

“The two persons who will make oral arguments for the crime, please come forward.”

At the words of the Supreme Court Justice, the leaders of Wolfgang and Lazuli stood before the judge.

The two bowed one by one to the judge’s seat, the jury’s seat, and the audience.

The greeting given in a solemn atmosphere even had a reverent feel.

The first person to make a statement was Wolfgang.

“This is Wolfgang, the commander of the military police. From now on, I will argue against the defendant’s charges. Our military police met ‘Henry Somerset’ in the city of Fiorene a few weeks ago. He is a descendant of the leading figure of the ‘Anti-Imperial Coalition’ who planned an imperial revolt four years ago… .”

Wolfgang thoroughly followed the facts and explained how the First Hero Party became entangled with the Anti-Imperial Coalition.

Henry Somerset and Gustav von Brehem.

The first warrior party met with them at the Badenberg banquet.

He talked about not only the financial support he received during the process, but also the conversations he had while drinking.

‘I was drunk… ‘That is something to take into account, but it is not something that is recognized very much in this world.’

From Ian’s experience, alcohol is a must for important and public conversations here.

A situation without alcohol is considered insincere.

So, Ian is the only one here who is debating whether or not to acknowledge the conversation he had while drunk.

He didn’t necessarily want to go against the common sense here, so he continued listening.

“Also, in the case of Beatrice, she told Henry Somerset that she would volunteer for mercenary work… . As a result of the investigation, it was revealed that this project was a plan to mobilize private soldiers of the Anti-Imperial Coalition, and it is possible that the letters exchanged were conducted in code… .”

“Don’t be funny… ! What kind of nonsense is this? !”

Beatrice intervened during the argument.

– Perfect! Perfect!

The judge struck the gavel.

“Defendant. I will give you time to defend yourself later, so please be quiet.”

“… … .”

Beatrice lowered her head as if in despair.

“… There is a possibility.”

Wolfgang finished speaking, and Lazuli’s leader was next to speak.

“In addition, Henry and Gustav, who came into contact with this first warrior party, were people who had a connection with the Holy Unification National Plan.”

Those words caused a small uproar not only in the audience but also in the jury box.

That’s right, the plan for a unified nation was disbanded by Ian early on, and only a very few people within the Seonghwa Church are aware of it.

Didn’t even the emperor find out about it only recently?

– Perfect! Perfect!

“Everyone, please be quiet.”

Ian guessed the intentions of the Emperor and the Holy Emperor.

‘It’s going to be a big show.’

Holy Unification Nation Plan.

That means that the Seonghwa Church was trying to overthrow the empire.

Regardless of how important the matter is, if the first hero party is involved, it is not the case.

However, the majority of the public who come here are likely to be swayed by the words ‘Holy Unification National Plan’ regardless of the facts.

In the end, the Emperor and the Holy Emperor are trying to somehow tarnish the heroic image of the first warrior party.

‘Are they trying to leave it in their hands? But Kylie and Beatrice’s arms are like that… . I’m not sure if this is a good method. But how did my arm get blown off? ‘Did you two fight?’

Rajri continued.

“The two, Henry and Gustav, are people who consulted with ‘Berthold’, one of the main pillars of the plan for a unified nation… .”

Starting with hearing Bertolt’s name at McDerlin Abbey, Bertolt Schultz and the remnants of the Holy Unification National Plan whose whereabouts are unknown.

And Henry and Gustav.

The explanation of various conspiracies has ended.

“… This concludes the defendant’s argument against the charges.”

Whether this is true has not yet been proven.

However, the majority of the audience was already swayed by the public opinion created by the imperial family and the Seonghwa Church.

‘Is it now your turn to ask a question?’

The atmosphere of the trial here is quite liberal.

Jurors, as well as citizens participating as spectators, can ask as many questions as they wish to the defendant, defense attorney, and accuser.

Of course, the judge can ask questions, and when all is said and done, the judge makes a ruling.

Here, the role of the jury is secondary.

You can choose between guilty, not guilty, or abstention, but this does not directly affect the verdict.

This means that even if all the jurors declare guilt, if the judges agree that the case is not guilty, the case is not guilty.

That’s only in theory.

Judges cannot easily ignore the will of the jury.

Because the meaning of the jury is the ‘tendency’ of the majority.

Additionally, the more the verdict directly contradicts the jury’s decision, the greater the likelihood of appeal.

Ian just watched the courtroom, thinking about his own business.

Someone from the jury spoke.

“Isn’t that circumstantial evidence? It’s also very indirect. There is insufficient evidence to tie the 1st warrior party to the suspicion of rebellion.”

Even though the reputation of the first party had fallen and they were forced to stand in court as defendants, they were not without anyone to defend them.

Also, his argument was valid.

Several people in the audience also raised their voices as if they agreed with the claim.

Wolfgang nodded and answered as if he had been waiting for those words.

“That is correct. It is difficult to claim that the first party of warriors, who were renowned as heroes of the empire, participated in the rebellion simply based on this evidence. But what if you could see it from a different angle?”

Wolfgang took out another document and waved it.

“This is a complaint written by those who presented Margrave Frederick as a group of accusers.”

This is not a place simply to judge the charges of rebellion of the first warrior party.

It is a place to expose everything they have done so far.

‘You’re going to have a public opinion war. Guilt or innocence is not important, but it seems like they are trying to control and deprive the first warrior party of its autonomy. If so, the direction of the trial outcome will have already been decided to some extent.’

The flow went as Ian expected.

People who suffered damage due to the dark beer promoted by the 1st Hero Party.

In particular, there were even deaths in military operation areas.

It is said that he did not die after drinking beer, but he was unable to use his strength in battle because of the stale beer.

“Not everything is directly related!”

There were still people left supporting the first warrior party.

However, as Wolfgang revealed the first hero party’s misdeeds, the voices gradually quieted down.

Killed 4 of Beatrice’s SS-class warriors.

It was clearly self-defense, but there was no way to prove it.

On the other hand, the circumstantial evidence that she murdered those four people was very clear.

On the other hand, Ian was familiar with the name of one of the four people.

‘… ‘Thirteen evils?’

He was one of the 13 evils that ran rampant in Ian’s second episode.

‘I was already worried about those guys, but you relieved me of one thing.’

Beatrice was not the only one to blame.

There was also an incident involving Kylie injuring a civilian.

“… … .”

Kylie and Beatrice kept quiet.

“It’s not just this. According to rumors, contrary to their reputation as heroes, they often verbally abused civilians… .”

It was completely unrelated to this trial.

However, public opinion was clearly tilted in favor of Wolfgang.

Before becoming a warrior, it was revealed that Kylie had committed a number of murders to gather strength.

Beatrice’s crimes such as robbery and looting were also revealed.

It was also revealed that Aria extorted money in the name of donations or embezzled donations from the church.

Ian was a little embarrassed.

‘… There are a lot of things I don’t know.’

After recruiting the first warrior party, memories of visiting the victims who had been harmed by them in the past, apologizing and providing compensation on their behalf came to mind.

“Letter of testimony from the surviving family members of victims involved in various serious crimes, including verbal abuse and assault… .”

While Wolfgang continued speaking, Ian looked towards where his group was.

It was easy to see where Vivian, Helena, Lucia, Mercy, and Kati sat side by side.

Vivian and Helena looked shocked.

Lucia and Mercy watch the court proceedings seriously.

And, Kati is staring at Ian as if she had been doing so since before.

Ian chuckled without realizing it.

At that time, Vivian noticed Ian’s gaze and also smiled and waved his hand.

Starting with her, Helena, Lucia, and Mercy.

They looked at Ian in turn.

It was quite funny to see them looking back at each person one by one.

“… Due to the above events, it cannot be concluded that the first hero party would never have participated in the rebellion. At the same time, it would be difficult to claim that the circumstantial evidence presented above was just indirect. They have been committing crimes with anti-social tendencies even before they became heroes. Also.”

Wolfgang saw Penny, whom he had never mentioned before.

She was cowering in a spot a little distance away from the first four warriors, and carefully looked up at Wolfgang.

“All of this happened simultaneously with the appointment of a new manager named Penny. Our military police suspect that she actively encouraged the first party.”

“… What?”

“It was also revealed that it was Penny who accepted the request for the banquet and promotion of Badenberg’s dark beer. In addition, she had a history of moving around a well-known criminal group in the past, and circumstantial evidence was captured that she committed multiple murders and then covered them up.”

“Uh… .”

Penny was speechless.

Ian nodded his head slowly.

‘Are you planning to disparage the first party appropriately and use Penny as a sacrifice? Tsk… . ‘Politics is dirty.’

The prince sitting next to him, Edipus, asked cautiously.

“Do you feel uncomfortable seeing it in person?”

I was saying this because I heard Ian click his tongue slightly.

“Not really. Not really.”

“Still, they must have been precious at one time.”

“It was like that.”

It was clearly past tense.

“This concludes the oral argument.”

Although there were fewer people than before, there were still those who supported the first hero party.

What they sacrificed was a penny.

The argument that Penny was the problem and that the first hero party was the victim gained considerable strength.

But Wolfgang did not accept it that far.

“It is clear that this is an incorrect attitude for a hero representing the empire to adopt. Ignorance cannot be an excuse.”

After that, a small war of words continued.

On the other hand, the four people in the first party and Penny were quiet.

Although they had a right to speak, they had nothing to say.

Sylvia and Kylie were conscious of Ian.

Beatrice was just resigned.

Aria just hoped this situation would end quickly.

Penny was just distraught.

And then suddenly.

“Ian Shouldn’t that be suspicious too!”

Someone said so.

“… ?”

Ian, who had been silent, looked around at the eyes focused on him.

Those words were a signal.

“That’s right! Haven’t Ian been with you longer than that bitch Penny!”

“In fact, Ian might be more involved!”

The claim spread like a fire.

“So what kind of person is Philip? Is it here?”

“If the first hero party is suspected, shouldn’t Philip be suspected first, more than anyone else!”

“Philip may have ordered all of this!”

For the first time, confusion spread across Wolfgang’s face.

He carefully looked at the place where the commotion had spread and at Ian.

Ian and the others were busy turning their heads like meerkats.

“These bastards… .”

Kylie growled lowly, and Sylvia glared at those who suspected Ian with sunken eyes.

“Hmm.”

Ian crossed his arms and tapped his fingers on his forearms, thinking.

A former manager who was close to the 1st Hero Party for a long time.

Therefore, he is the person most likely to know Philip’s whereabouts.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on him.

– Perfect! Perfect!

“Quiet… ! Anything unrelated to the proceedings… !”

-Drur.

Ian stood up, roughly pushing the chair.

He looked around the crowd with his usual dull and indifferent face.

From left to right.

From right to left again.

He seemed to have something to say, but was silent for quite a while.

The murmurs subsided, as if absorbed by his silence.

Like gravity, he drew people’s attention and absorbed noise.

In an instant, the entire courtroom became quiet as if everything had died.

It was so quiet that not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

Ian, carrying that silence, looked around at the people once again.

In the meantime, I made eye contact with a few people.

Emperor, Holy Emperor, Wolfgang, Prince, etc.

The pillars of this empire who knew their true identity.

Vivian, Helena, Lucia, Mercy, Kati.

They briefly made eye contact with Ian and realized what he was going to say.

His towering position in the middle of the jury box seemed to be the center of attention.

Breaking the silence that felt like it was going to burst.

Finally, Ian’s low voice rang out.

“I am Philip.”