Ch. 54
The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became ObsessiveThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Notes
TL: Now that Jonok is in the picture, isn't it exciting? Everyone, be seated and wait for the twistss ~ Comment down below!
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
TL: Now that Jonok is in the picture, isn't it exciting? Everyone, be seated and wait for the twistss ~ Comment down below!
Ardion shook his head firmly. "Right now, just having Jonok's testimony is enough to win the case."
His gaze was much sharper than usual. Reluctantly, I nodded and got out of the carriage. Soon, it sped off down the road.
"Master, Ardion seems like a coward." Derol poked his head out from my pocket. I absentmindedly patted his head while thinking deeply. Derol seemed pleased and closed his eyes, resting his head on me.
I entered the courthouse at a slow pace. Honestly, I could understand Ardion’s concern. Since I had nearly died twice, he probably didn’t want to expose me to more danger. Moreover, my mana was still unstable.
But if I thought about it, I had always been in dangerous situations. Duke Orchid’s mansion was a prime example of that. In the end, I had survived by handling it well, but Duke Orchid had been no easy opponent.
"Let's observe the trial first and then decide."
Derol nodded in understanding. I looked around, scanning the area. Delzion was supposed to be here. It definitely seemed safer to be with someone than alone.
Besides, this was a place where Rowell would also come.
"Laila!" Delzion approached from a distance. His height made it easy for me to spot him.
"It’s been a while. Have you been well?" Delzion greeted me cheerfully.
I nodded and looked around. "There are a lot of people. Where is the trial being held?"
"The second floor. Let’s go quickly."
Delzion cleared the path for me, pushing through the crowd with his arms. I glanced at him. While Ardion was suffering because of a false accusation, Delzion seemed to be in a much better mood.
"You seem to be in a good mood."
Delzion chuckled. "Ah, can you tell?"
"Yes, your voice even seems brighter than before."
"Actually, with His Highness lying low, my workload has reduced considerably. When I was at the palace, I was buried in work, feeling like I might die from it…"
"Did Ardion make you work that hard?" The revelation surprised me.
"Yes, I’m sure it’s not just me. Other people must feel relieved too. Of course, His Highness has to temporarily avoid the ridiculous charges, so it must be difficult for him."
Delzion checked my expression carefully.
"I won’t tell His Highness."
"Thank you. You really understand us well."
Finally, we arrived at the location of the trial. People were waiting in line to enter.
Delzion confidently approached the person in front of the door and handed over two pieces of small paper. "We have received special permission from the House of Nobles."
The doorman inspected the papers thoroughly before signaling to the gatekeeper. Delzion and I were allowed to proceed immediately into the courtroom.
The room was quite solemn. Many people were already seated, mostly nobles, and their faces didn’t look cheerful. They were whispering to each other in low voices.
"Here." Delzion pointed to an empty seat. It was in a location where both the judges and the witness stand were clearly visible.
"How did you manage to get a seat like this?"
"It’s all thanks to His Highness. We have allies among the nobles in the House, and we negotiated well with them."
Now that I thought about it, Ardion was always coming home late and looked busy. On top of that, he was even preparing for the wedding.
I, on the other hand, had barely been able to leave the mansion, let alone go outside. After my fight with Serina, I hadn’t been feeling well, so it was no surprise that I hadn’t been active.
The past week had been better though, as Ardion had been giving me mana frequently, which had helped me recover somewhat.
More and more people filled the seats, and before long, the courtroom was packed. It was clear that the trial was attracting a lot of attention from the empire’s citizens.
Soon, Jonok and Rowell entered separately. I was momentarily taken aback when I saw Jonok.
His face looked quite disheveled, as if he had been through a lot. His hair was neat, but his clothes were nowhere near as fine as before.
At that moment, someone in the center of the courtroom stood up. "The judges are entering. Everyone, please rise."
Everyone stood, and once the judges sat down, people began to take their seats.
As the trial was about to begin, my heart raced. Finally, this matter was coming to light, and I had high hopes that Jonok and Rowell would pay the price for their actions.
The person sitting with Jonok started speaking. Most of it was information I already knew, nothing special.
Then Jonok began his testimony. "I saw the crown prince kill my father."
His words caused a stir among the audience. On the other hand, Rowell didn’t show any change in his expression. He appeared relaxed, as if he were somewhere far away.
But then, someone from Rowell’s side raised their hand. The judges ignored him and gestured for Jonok to continue speaking.
Jonok briefly nodded at the judges and continued, "My father obeyed the crown prince’s commands, as he would die if he didn’t. If anyone in high society said anything bad about the crown prince, he would crush their carriage wheels or track them down and injure them."
I winced inside. That was something that Laila—before I became her—had done in the past.
"Your Honors, this is clearly…"
"Sit down. The witness still has more to say."
The person from Rowell’s side sat down with a stern face. Jonok glanced at Rowell and then smirked. Yet the crown prince didn’t flinch, maintaining his laid-back demeanor.
I didn’t like Rowell’s attitude.
Why is he so relaxed, even after all the terrible things he’s done?
As I cursed him in my mind, Jonok’s voice continued, "And when my father didn’t listen, the crown prince abandoned them in the wilderness and even forced them to take poison. There was a servant who was coerced into doing such things."
My past came back to me. I had done some tasks for Duke Orchid, but I had always tried my best to avoid doing truly evil things.
Hearing Jonok’s words now, I couldn’t help but reflect on the past with a sense of nostalgia.
“Also, my father followed the orders of the crown prince and took care of Prince Ardion. The crown prince abandoned Prince Ardion in our mansion and ordered all of his mana to be drained because he didn’t like the sight of the prince’s mana.”
Jonok looked at Rowell as he said that while the people whispered among themselves.
“So, the prince is also a victim?”
“Well, there were rumors like that. The crown prince had no choice but to spare the prince because of the oracle, but he didn’t treat him like a human being.”
When Rowell heard those words here and there, his face began to crack slightly. Jonok looked relieved after revealing what Rowell had done.
He was just sad that Ardion wasn’t here.
At that moment, a man from Rowell’s side suddenly stood up. “Your Honors, Jonok is talking about something unrelated to the arson incident at the Duke Orchid mansion. Above all, isn’t this a place to find the culprit, not to give false testimony?”
“False testimony! I saw and heard this myself. And I saw it clearly. The crown prince set fire to our mansion and blocked all the doors, stopping the servants inside from escaping.”
“Your Honors! This is a false statement without solid proof. Please…” Another man from Rowell’s side stood up, but his voice was drowned out. Jonok’s testimony was too shocking.
“You blocked the doors on purpose?!”
“What a piece of crap!”
The courtroom became even noisier than a market. The commoners sitting below jumped up from their seats and shouted. Someone even threw an egg at Rowell.
At that moment, one of the judges struck down his gavel. The noisy surroundings became quiet in an instant.
“Please be quiet!”
A few knights arrested the man who had caused the disturbance. When the surroundings were somewhat cleared up, the judge spoke again. “Now, we will hear the testimony of the crown prince.”
Rowell remained seated. Instead, the person who had been speaking to the judges stood up. He was a man with his hair tied back excessively, and at first glance, his gaze seemed arrogant.
He greeted the judges politely, but when he saw Jonok, he looked down as if he were looking at an ant passing by. “Your Honors, Jonok’s testimony has no evidence and is just a fabrication.”
“What? Fabrication! I, myself…”
Rowell’s man looked at the judges, who gestured to Jonok.
“Now, it is time to hear the testimony of the crown prince.”
Jonok sat down with a stiff face. On the other hand, Rowell had a faint smile on his face. He seemed relaxed, as if he had anticipated what Jonok was going to say.
“Jonok just kept talking about what he had seen without any evidence. But we thoroughly investigated who Jonok is.”
The people on Rowell's side handed over several documents to the judges.
“This is the circumstances of Jonok’s illegal gambling operation and criminal records such as money laundering. There is also a record of his drinking and gambling after the Duke Orchid mansion arson incident.”
The surroundings stirred again.
“Then is it all a lie?”
“That could be true. He might be trying to somehow discredit the crown prince and get money.”
I shook my head. His personality, which had been formed since Duke Orchid was around, seemed to have not changed since the arson incident.
Well, there was no way that someone who had tried to brutally kill Derol would change overnight.