“… What do you mean it’s empty?”

I placed my hand inside, making sure that my eyes weren’t fooling me. It was definitely empty.

“I’m telling you, the box is empty!” I sighed, taking my hand out and staring back at the box. I placed the lid back. “Are you guys sure this is the place?”

“Yes, yes, we are confident that this is the place,” I heard Be murmur from outside. I carefully closed the drawer and decided to walk back out the room, not seeing a use in remaining in the room. I was starting to get nervous about possibly triggering a bomb the longer I stayed here…

“The place is correct.” Ai finally replied, facing their partner before turning to look at me. “You saw the boxes, and you saw the name. There is no doubt that we brought you to the correct location, however…”

“Could it be that someone interfered?” I said, sharing my thoughts out loud. It wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to sabotage my temporary life ever since coming here; the assassin, Neveah, and now this. Although I couldn’t sense a direct connection between them, they all meant to harm me in some way or another.

The two eyeballs looked at me. Be replied first. “That is highly likely; taking the evidence that points you to the crime could be used as blackmail.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Ai interrupted, shaking their head. “It is more likely that the guards already took it to present it as evidence on the trial… but even then…” They paused, and then they turned to me. “We’ll think about this at a later date, human, but for now we must return you to that room so that the trial could resume. It is scheduled for this afternoon and you don’t have much time left.”

I was still biting on my fingernail when Be gave me a warning glance and I put my hand down, forgetting about that little problem momentarily. “Yeah, okay… then let’s go now.” The three of us made our way out of the eerie hallway; although, it was mainly me following them since I forgot where we came from.

Soon I reached the doors to the interrogation room and I looked back at the eyeballs that waited for me to go inside. “So Be, you’ll come for me, right?”

The yellow-winged eyeball grinned. “You mean during the explosion? Of course, the escape will resume as planned.”

“If Ce doesn’t make a mistake, that is,” Ai muttered under their breath. I couldn’t help but grin slightly at their annoyed behaviour.

“Now, human, you must remain strong during the trial,” Be said as they stared down at me. “Especially now since the evidence seems to be stacked against you and we have nothing to prove your ‘innocence’. Continue to plead non-guilty until your very last breathe, and we’ll make sure you don’t get executed.”

I let out a nervous sigh. “That’s reassuring… I’m honestly hoping they just condemn me to execution right away so that I could leave this place sooner.”

Be grinned. “Don’t get funny ideas now, human. You must show your resilience to live, or we’ll change our minds.”

“And you still need to return to your world,” Ai remarked and I nodded with a somber expression. I didn’t waste time as I entered the room, realizing now this would be the last time I see the eyeballs before the explosion.

I could only hope it works.

***

A few hours had passed in an instant before I knew it, I was standing in front of a crowd of eager strangers awaiting the trial. My trial.

The guards had pushed me towards the centre of the large auditorium until I was standing underneath a round carpet, almost acting as a cell in itself; it seemed to emit intense energy that prevented me from going outside the perimeters, probably as a security measure to make sure I don’t escape.

I hoped that the eyeballs knew what they were doing when they decided on this plan because I was starting to think that maybe dying by execution was the only solution to going back to my world…

While there was still time, I decided to look around, beginning to notice a few strange things; the people around me didn’t seem to have the eye-catching… aura?-- that others like the eyeballs and Neveah had. I frowned, wondering if this was the side effects of being inside a book or something.

‘Could it be because they aren’t main characters of the book?’ I thought and then shook my head. That didn’t explain the eyeballs, however, that I could remember were barely even mentioned—at least from what I’ve heard from Jian.

It really was unfortunate that Jian wasn’t here; she would’ve adored this world, aside from the execution, that is.

Soon, I could hear the voices around me begin to quiet down and I looked ahead, wondering if the judge (judges?) decided to enter the room yet.

I froze when my eyes landed on the judge that confidently entered with her flowy attire, golden bracelets decorating her wrists as she placed them on the raised desk. I almost didn’t believe my eyes, for this would be the first person I meet with resemblance to someone from the real world—my world.

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‘Why the hell does she look like my English teacher?’ That was the first thing I thought of when I saw her. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t dreaming; brown skin, a warm smile on her face as she stood proudly, and striking golden eyes… I frowned.

‘Maybe not the golden part though.’ I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a rare eye colour, aside from Neveah’s violet eyes, that is.

And I was pretty sure my English teacher didn’t have golden blonde hair either… although I do remember it being curly like that…

I could feel her attentive gaze on me boring through my head, but I avoided all eye contact possible. She was standing too far away for me to confirm anything... and perhaps I didn’t want to become disappointed if I started believing in something I shouldn’t. As far as I knew, I was the only one stuck in this world.

‘Or maybe there are others after all.’

I didn’t have time to contemplate over possibilities because the judge struck the gavel, silencing the lingering talking within the audience. “You may all take a seat.” She stood with her back straight, watching as the crowd seated themselves before turning to face me.

I could swear I saw the tip of her lip edge into a smile.

The whispers continued a bit after everybody sat down. A loud sound rang across the courtroom again, directing all attention to the judge standing confidently in the front. “We will now proceed with the trial,” she declared, loud enough for everyone to hear. “As a reminder, justice will be upheld no matter the background of the culprit and its defendants; thus, we ask of the royal family and the nobles to not interfere with the jurisdiction.”

Murmurs resonated after the short speech, but no one objected. It seemed that was a rather normal occurrence… but I was beginning to wonder if there was another meaning behind her addressing it again.

I started feeling uneasy. I haven’t lived long in this world to grow accustomed to its environment, but something was telling me that my trial was not going to be a normal one. I turned to face the man who had introduced himself as my lawyer, standing a few feet beside me to see what he was thinking. As expected, he had wiped his forehead with a handkerchief before placing it back inside his pocket; I had to admire him for being willing to defend me, really.

This was going to be a long one, I thought.

***

The opening statements had gone by smoothly, or as smoothly as a trial could be with me as the culprit. I couldn’t stop biting my fingernail the whole time despite knowing it would only make it worse. I just knew that Be was somewhere staring at me disapprovingly.

As expected, evidence was presented against me, however, I slowly came to understood why the eyeballs were confused when we didn’t find anything in the box back in the hidden room; the attorney, probably working for the protagonist, seemed to be looking a little stiff from time to time, shooting ugly looks at my way whenever possible. I didn’t know whether to find that unnerving or relieving.

Maybe some of the physical evidence did get stolen after all.

One thing that also seemed to be missing was Idris himself. I wasn’t knowledgeable on law rules, but I was pretty sure that the prosecutor needed to be during the court hearing or it would at least get cancelled for the time being. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in a position to say anything because I wasn’t sure how the authorities would take it if I spoke up… this world really seemed to function on a structure of its own.

The trial proceeded for a while, the lawyer and other members of the court taking turns to throw out their claims and defenses. It was all fine until it to the questioning period where I had to respond to recounts of the scene, and that fact that I did not know the detailed events of the story only made it harder for me to give a good answer.

“Lord Raphael Cicolleros,” the attorney started, “the reports state that at the time before your arrest, you were engaging in rough combat with the daughter of the Wilhelm family, Lady Neveah.”

I nodded but then quickly decided it would be best to respond with words. “Yes…the both of us.”

They narrowed their eyes. “It also states here that you attempted to murder her with your sword.”

“That is untrue,” I swallowed my saliva as I spoke again. “It, it was a duel that we had agreed to, to settle our differences,” I added.

“Certain circumstances are set before a duel proceeds, as you are well aware,” the attorney continued, stepping closer. “The sword that you had equipped did not follow the guidelines. A duel is an honourable pact between the two parties, thus, your choice of weapon must not be lethal enough to kill… or poison your rival through alchemic means.”

“Lord Raphael, breaking such a rule can be punishable by death.”

I bit my tongue. ‘What stupid rule is that? Duels are duels for a reason, god dammit!’

While I was slowly starting to panic, I decided to test my luck with an idea. “That sword… can you show it to me?”

I could see the attorney tense a little and that was all I needed to confirm; they did not have the sword. I was starting to think I might have a shot here.

“The authorities are taking care of it right now.” So they can’t show it.

“If you can accuse me of acquiring such a weapon, then you must be willing to present it and link it to me, right?”

“How insolent of you to demand such a request—“

“—Or you do not have it in your possession.” I fought off the grin that was threatening to appear on my face. “Tell me, sir, is it fair to accuse me of breaking a rule based off words alone? One that could even have me executed?”

The attorney looked at me for a moment before replying. “The prison guards can attest to my words, they prosecuted your weapon at the scene.”

“Their words are unreliable,” I stated. “Especially since… they could have mutual interests with a higher up.”

The attorney looked like they were trying to suppress a chuckle. “And pray do tell me who you are referring to?”

I was really digging my grave with this one. But I didn’t know if it was because the eyeballs assured me that I wouldn’t get executed or the fact that I’ve been lying the whole time that I was becoming bold with my words.

“Miss Neveah,” I said. “After all, she is the link between the information we have and Idris himself.”

I didn’t know what else I could say based off the little details I remembered from Jian, but I hoped it would suffice for whatever is to come. A long silence ensued and I turned to look at the judge who seemed like they were ready to end the questioning period.

“Very well,” seeing the satisfied look on the attorney’s face, I immediately knew that they were up to no good. “May I call the first witness then, your honour?”

The judge replied without a second hesitation. “You may.”

The attorney smiled. “Then I’d like to call Lady Neveah Wilhelm on the podium.”

***

A/N: Oh, to be a law student… I really dreaded having to write this chapter but I think it turned out okay.