Picking up the book, Torral opened it to the last page before his face fell, finding what Dell knew would be an intact tamper seal. A seal that only Dell could have put there.

Gritting his teeth, Dell cursed himself for not tearing the factory apart to find the Ledger when it had gone missing, but he had been so taken aback by what Lan had been doing that it had slipped his mind. But how did he get it? Dell demanded to know? There was no way Lan could have gotten back in.

Then it hit him: why Lan was so willing to use a truth stone, he hadn’t stolen it. Someone else had. Although Dell thought most of those fools were too stupid to see the value in that book when they were stealing everything else.

Looking back to Torral, Dell found the man staring at the tamper seal. For a moment, it looked like the man would try to break the Seal. An honourable thought if not for the second Seal that the custodian would have placed, making it so that the book would have to be returned to the boy as it had been when he handed it in.

Torral closed the book with a sigh, ‘Very well, this… piece of evidence will be accepted.’ The duplicitous magistrate said, placing the book down to the side. No doubt, he was planning to act as if he never saw the book.

‘My Lord magistrate.’ Lan said with a calm voice, making Torral freeze. ‘Seeing as that Ledger contains proof of my statements. I think it would be wise to look at it now. I think none of us wish for you to make a ruling without considering every factor.’ Lan said in a tone as if daring Torral to try and dismiss the Ledger as his eyes took on a dangerous edge.

At that moment, Dell knew he had played this game wrong. He had expected Lan to be focused on getting the claims dismissed, but instead, he was targeting Torral, and as long as he was, the man would be more cautious, more by the book.

Having come to the same conclusion, Torral picked up the Ledger and started to look through it, and despite knowing that it would be different from what Dell had offered, it didn’t stop the man on more than one occasion from snapping his head up to look astonished at Lan or to frown at Dell before returning to the Ledger.

Every fibre of Dell’s body wanted to say something, but his better judgment won out. No doubt Lan wanted him to protest, but as long as the Seal on that book remained, it would be his word against his own. So Dell said nothing, knowing that it still wouldn’t be enough to stop him.

‘Hmm, this is very well done, Master Cross. I may not be a merchant, but even I can see that you have accomplished something quite impressive here.’ He said, shooting Dell a look that said, “which is why this book should never have reached my courtroom.”

Dell cursed under his breath. How dare that man… did Torral think that he didn’t already know that. Moreover, what seemed to be something else, like he was judging Dell for how he had treated Lan.

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‘That may be true, but I think that you will find that Master Cross’s record ends before his workers destroyed my warehouse.’ Dell said, glossing over the inconsistency of the rest of the Ledgers.

‘Hmm, you… are right…’ Torral nodded. ‘Master Cross, although it is clear that you did the best with what you had.’ Torral started shooting Dell another look. ‘It can not be denied that the damage caused by those you hired is your responsibility.’

‘I have to challenge that, my Lord magistrate,’ Lan tried, ‘as you will see, those same men never even thought of stealing when they were under my charge. What they do under another’s charge can not be held against me.’

‘The fact that they could not work under anyone else is the reason that I can hold you to it, as at the end of the day, they were employed by Master Dell.’ Torral said, seeming to remember which side he was on simultaneously as he found his backbone. ‘The fact that they would only listen to you is part of the reason that you are held accountable. If you have nothing else to say in your defence, then I will now pass judgment on the amount owed.’

It looked like Lan would say something momentarily before sighing and dropping his head. Although he had his run with that little stunt, it was time to end this, and although it would vex Dell until his last day, Lan had to know that he had gotten away with more than he should.

Even still, he should have enough to get the shop. Dell coddled himself. With that, he could find a way to take everything else.

‘Then, as the magistrate charged with this matter, I charge you, Master Landrin Cross, to return the sum of one thousand gold.’

Hearing this, Dell almost laughed. It was higher than it should have been, given the reason offered. But the magistrate could choose the amount if they thought it appropriate, and Torral could think that this was appropriate even if the boy tried to bring this before a higher magistrate, and looking at the frown that had re-established itself on his face, the boy knew as much.

‘Moving on, we shall determine how this will be paid back.’

‘On that, Lord magistrate.’ Dell cut in. This was it. This was the moment that he had been waiting for. In just a few minutes, Dell would have this revenge.

‘As this is such a unique case, I think that the parents of Master Cross should be liable for the repayments just as much as the charged.’

‘What!’ Lan cried, ‘this… this has nothing to do with them!’

‘Not so, is it not the responsibility of the father to pay for the sin of the son? In this case, I think it necessary for them to, at the very least, give an account of themselves. And if they did know how inadequate their son was, then I think it is only fair that they help repay their son’s debt, no?’ Dell reasoned in a way that not even Lan could argue against.

And yet, the boy wore a determined frown. ‘My lord magistrate, as you can see, no one in my family is here. I think that speaks for itself regarding where I stand with them.’ Lan said, and Dell could tell that he was choosing his words carefully.

Knowing him, Lan hadn’t told his family, either thinking he could handle this alone or for this exact reason. But… it couldn’t work. Dell had made sure of that. While they had been going through the trial, Dell had arranged for a runner to be sent to Lan’s family.

If he hadn’t told them, he was sure this would be enough to get them to come, either believing that he was in trouble or that he might do something stupid, depending on their thoughts of him at this point.

And if that didn’t work, the runner was ordered to lie or threaten them until they came. All in all, the door would open in a few moments, and he would usher his family in. and the moment they did. They would become part of the trial and subject to all its rulings, including the Law of Stone. Dell thought with a smile as the door opened.