A low murmur passed through the crowd at my words, but they dissipated as Evelyn spoke.
“Due to the unique circumstances surrounding the case,” she glanced at Sylvia, “the format of this trial will be… unique. Archmage Lucille stands before us accused of being the Demon King of Pride-”
“The incarnation of Pride,” Sylvia interrupted.
“...Yes, the incarnation of Pride,” Evelyn said. “With the potential to become the Demon King of Pride. As we all know, Demon Kings are usually highly dangerous, and their appearance signifies the coming of great strife in the world. However, not all Demon Kings are inherently dangerous, or evil. In this trial we will be working to determine the truth of this statement, as well as what our reaction should be.
“The accused will be interrogated by Humility in conjunction with the Orb of Truth in order to ascertain her abilities and intentions. Then, if it is deemed necessary, Humility will be given an opportunity to provide evidence and witnesses for crimes that the accused may have committed that would-
“That she did commit,” added Sylvia with a sneer.
“That will be determined shortly,” said Evelyn, looking down at Sylvia with furrowed brows. “I ask that you refrain from interrupting me until then.”
Sylvia glared angrily at the Saintess for a moment, then bowed. “My apologies.”
“As I was saying,” continued Evelyn. “Any crimes that she may have committed would allow us more insight into the nature of the accused and her potential danger. However, should the interrogation reveal that she is not the incarnation of Pride, the trial will be immediately adjourned and continued at a later date in a more private setting where her crimes will be judged by ordinary standards.
“If she is the incarnation of Pride, as Humility believes her to be, then after the presentation of the crimes the accused will be given a chance to defend herself, and explain her reasons. At the end, she will give a closing statement, and we judges shall retire to make our verdict. Archmage Lucille, do you have any questions before we begin?”
“Yes,” I said. “Why don’t I get witnesses?”
Evelyn glanced down at Sylvia again before answering. “It is a result of the unique nature of the trial. If you are the incarnation of Pride, then this trial is to determine your abilities, personality, and intent. Only your words are necessary for that. If not, then the trial will be adjourned, and you will be given an opportunity to summon your own witnesses for your later trial.”
“That sounds like a load of bullshit,” I said.
“Please do not use such language in my presence,” she said, eyes repeatedly flicking down to Sylvia. “And it is not your place to question the church’s procedures.”
I had already guessed, but the unspoken words in her eyes, and her curt and vague response told me everything I needed to know. This was Sylvia’s show. She was in charge, and Evelyn would not be able to help me.
“...Fine,” I said. “Let’s get this over with then.”
“Then Humility, you may begin the interrogation.”
“Thank you, Saintess,” said Sylvia as she turned to me with a grin. “Lucille. Are you the incarnation of the Demon God of Pride?”
“Yes,” I responded instantly. “But not of my own volition.”
As I listened to Evelyn explain the format of the trial, I had been formulating how best to answer the question. I debated stalling, or refusing to answer, but ultimately decided that doing either of those things was pointless. The question was nothing but a formality, and any attempt to delay the inevitable reveal would only make me look worse. Instead, honesty was the best course, as they would be evaluating my character more than anything. And adding a caveat about the involuntary nature of my position would help even more.
Sylvia’s smile shrank as she began to speak again. “As the incarnation of Pride, you were chosen because you are the most prideful, correct?”
“No,” I said.
Sylvia looked over at the still-blue orb. “W-What? Why-?”
“Were you chosen as Humility because you were the most humble?” I asked.
“That’s irrelevant,” she said. “If you weren’t chosen for your pride, then why were you chosen?”
“I was chosen because I am the best,” I said, causing a stir in the audience.
“What do you mean, ‘the best’?” asked Sylvia.
“I mean the best. Pride wanted the most competent incarnation. The one able to do anything and everything better than everyone else. The one with the best chance of winning his stupid game. So he chose me.”
“Ah, I see,” said Sylvia, her smile returning. “So you are the most prideful, and you have simply deluded yourself into thinking that you are not.”
“I am not delusional,” I said. “I am the best. For someone such as myself, objective self-assessment appears to others as vanity and arrogance, but I can assure you that it is not pride that makes me say such things.”
“Of course, of course,” said Sylvia in a patronizing tone. “It’s not pride, it’s confidence, right?”
“Precisely,” I said.
“I see, I see,” she said, grinning widely. “And as the incarnation of Pride, what powers were you granted?”
“Just one skill. A passive called [Pride]. It makes me immune to mental skills and negative status effects. But you already knew that, seeing as you are able to nullify it. Unless you were lying about the function of your ability."
“I was not lying, but that is not relevant,” she said
I glanced over at the orb as she spoke, but it did not change.
“Is that the only ability you were granted?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Hmmmm…” she said looking at the constant orb. “Well, that, along with your opening statement, concludes the interrogation phase. Unless the judges have any questions.” She looked up at them, daring to speak.
“I have a question for the accused,” said High Priest Donovan, the elderly man seated to Evelyn’s right.
Sylvia glared at him with annoyance, but did not say anything
“You said earlier that you did not become the incarnation of Pride of your own volition,” he continued. “Could you elaborate on that?”
“Gladly,” I said. “I woke up in Pride’s mansion. They told me that I would be their incarnation. I tried to reject them, but they didn’t give me a choice in the matter.”
“It doesn’t matter how she was chosen,” said Sylvia. “The fact that she was chosen by a Demon God says all we need to know about her. Now, if were done, it’s time to move on to-”
“I also have a question for Lucille,” interrupted Evelyn. Her face remained steady, but I thought I saw a glimmer of glee as she looked at Sylvia’s angered expression.
“Are you all trying to take my position as the one in charge of interrogation?” asked Sylvia.
“No, but you offered us a chance to ask questions,” said Evelyn, frowning. “We are merely using that opportunity.”
“Whatever,” said Sylvia. “Go ahead. But make it quick.”
Evelyn’s frown deepened, but she did not otherwise respond to that statement. “Lucille, when you were chosen by Pride, were you commanded to do anything?”
“No,” I said. “I was told that the Sins were choosing incarnations, and that I would need to defeat them, but that is all the information I got pertaining to my role in this world.” The orb turned red. “Dammit. Well, that’s not all they said about it, but that’s the only thing they said that was even kind of close to a command.” The orb turned blue again.
“What else did Pride say?”
“Nothing useful,” I said. “They seemed to find it funny that they were sending me in with almost no information.”
Evelyn looked at the cerulean orb for a few seconds before looking back. “That is all. Thank you.”
“Now, if that is all, I believe we’re ready to move onto the crimes,” said Sylvia, looking up at the judges once more. When they did not say anything else, she spoke again.
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“While Archmage Lucille claims to have no intentions of harming anyone, or destroying or conquering the world, many of her actions thus far have directly contradicted those statements. This leads me to believe that she is dangerously delusional, and that allowing her to live freely would be a grave error.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but decided against it. Whatever she had planned, she was confident it would put me away. Saying anything right now might make things worse. It would be best to wait until she had played her cards before playing any of mine. My decision proved to be the correct one when Sylvia paused her speech to look expectantly at me.
“The crimes that she has committed are not numerous, but they are severe,” she continued. “In the Great Puppet War of 1476, an international treaty was signed by all nations, classifying the use of mental skills to remove the free will of other sentient beings as taboo. However, Lucille has completely disregarded this treaty, and has enslaved multiple people in the past five years, with one of those people being a member of Ravellian royalty.”
The audience collectively gasped, and their combined muttering slowly swelled to a deafening volume.
“Silence!” shouted Antonio, his voice magically amplified.
The sound of the crowd quickly died out and was replaced by a tense near-silence, punctuated by the occasional whisper.
“As evidence of this,” said Sylvia, “I have gathered some of her victims, though I do not doubt that there are more. I now summon my first witness.”
To my right, the crowd parted and a tall, bearded man approached, flanked by a pair of armored guards. At first I didn’t recognize him. The only tall, bearded men I knew were Alphonse and Casimir, and this man was clearly neither. He was a foot and a half too short to be Casimir, and 50 pounds too light to be Al, and his pitch black hair matched neither. But as we made eye contact, I recalled the first day after I had arrived in Astraeus, and the uncomfortable cart ride to the river. He had lost weight, and moved with a confidence and competence that was absent in our initial meeting, but his face and eyes were unmistakably Jacques’.
“Present yourself,” said Evelyn once he arrived at the foot of the stairs.
“I am Jacques, a tailor in service to Baron Humphries,” he said in a deep, smooth voice.
What the fuck, I thought.
I quickly used my [Create Thrall] skill to observe his stat sheet out of curiosity. He was indeed a Tailor now, and a level 45 one as well, which put him well within the requirements for employment at a small barony like the Humphries. While I had left geas on him in hopes he would turn his life around, I hadn’t expected it to be so effective, and, as much as I hate to admit it, I was a little proud of his growth.
“Saintess, this man has been subjected to Pride’s skill, and is unable to speak freely,” said Sylvia. “If you would…”
Evelyn held her hand out, and for a moment a beam of soft white light emerged from it and engulfed Jacque entirely. As it disappeared, I received a System notification.
Your connection to [Thrall] Jacques has been severed!
“It is done,” said Evenlyn in a monotone.
“Thank you,” said Sylvia. “Now, Jacques, how long have you been enslaved to Lucille?”
“Well, I wouldn’t call it enslaved,” said Jacques. “It was more of a contract really.”
“Did you enter this ‘contract’ of your own free will?”
“...No,” he said.
“Then it is enslavement,” said Sylvia happily. “So, how long?”
“...6 years,” he said reluctantly. “But she never made me-”
“Irrelevant!” interrupted Sylvia. “What she made you do is irrelevant! What matters is that she used a mental skill to forcibly rob you of your free will, yes?”
“But she-” he started to say.
“It doesn’t matter!” shouted Sylvia.
“Humility,” said Antonio sharply. “Calm yourself.”
Sylvia glared at the cat man for a few seconds before huffing in frustration and turning back to Jacques.
“So, Jacques, would you please walk us through the events preceding your enslavement?”
“Well…” Jacques tapped his fingers on his legs nervously. “Well I-”
“Did you intend to harm her?” asked Sylvia.
“Not exactly, but-”
“So you were not trying to harm her, but she enslaved you anyway?”
“No, I was, I just wasn’t aware of it,” he said. “Her actions were reasonable, and justified.”
Sylvia frowned. “You believe that her actions– taking away your free will, and enslaving you– were reasonable and justified?”
“Yes,” he said confidently. “Like I was trying to say-”
“Saintess, are you sure you properly cured him?” interrupted Sylvia.
“Are you questioning my abilities?” asked Evelyn.
“No, no, I was just making sure that there hadn’t been some kind of mistake,” said Sylvia hastily.
“Perhaps if you allowed him to finish his explanation, your concerns would be resolved,” said Antonio.
“No need,” said Sylvia. “Regardless of how he feels about the events, Jacques was forcibly made into Lucille’s thrall, and his free will was taken from him. That much is undeniable. Jacques, thank you for your testimony, you are dismissed.”
“But-” he started.
“I said you are dismissed!” said Sylvia.
Jacques looked up at the judges, hoping for one of them to jump in to help him, but none came. High Priest Donovan was the only one who even made eye contact with him, and he merely shook his head. Evelyn and Antonio stared at Sylvia, frowning, while High Priestess Elaina and Orderbound Blade Tobias scowled. Realizing that he would not be able to say anything more, Jacques gave me a final, apologetic look before slowly walking back the way he came.
“I would now like to call my second witness,” said Sylvia after Jacques disappeared into the crowd.
This time, they arrived from my left side, and the crowd parted much wider to allow them passage. In addition, instead of two guards, there were over a dozen heavily armored knights, led by Rubén, the Ravellian Lion who had been guarding the duke’s castle when we went to capture Ophelia. In the center of this procession was the duke himself, hunched over and leaning on the side of his cane as he shuffled his way to the foot of the stairs. He had deep, dark circles under his eyes, and the scowl he directed at me was even fiercer than usual.
“Present yourself,” said Evelyn.
“I am Duke Louis Lyon of Ravel, ruler of the Lyon territory and 7th in line to the throne,” he said in his jarringly strong voice.
“Saintess…” said Sylvia gesturing toward her father.
Evelyn held out her hand once again, and again, I received a System notification.
Your connection to [Thrall] Louis Lyon has been severed!
“So, Duke,” spat Sylvia. “How long have you been enslaved to Pride?”
The duke glared at his daughter. “Around a month, and it’s been agony.”
“How so?”
“I’ve hardly been able to sleep, and I haven’t been able to do any work to care for the duchy at all.”
“And you do not believe that her actions were in any way justified?”
“Of course not!” he said indignantly. “She broke into my castle and attacked me for no reason!”
I snorted with laughter. He and Sylvia stared at me.
“Sorry. Carry on,” I said.
“Do you think that this is funny?” asked Sylvia, with poorly acted rage. “You think that enslaving the mind of a duke is amusing?”
“No, I just thought that his words were absurd,” I said. “He really believes that there was no reason for what I did?”
“There is no reason that could possibly justify taking away the free will of others,” she replied.
“That’s a pretty ridiculous statement too,” I said. “But my explanation can wait. And it has to wait, right? Wasn't that the format of this trial? I have to wait until you list all my crimes before I’m allowed to defend myself?”
“Yes,” said Sylvia. “So be silent and wait your turn.”
Behind her, Tobias raised his hand to his face. I shrugged and gestured toward the duke, indicating that she should continue.
“That is all from the duke,” said Sylvia. “You are dismissed.”
Duke Lyon shot her an angry look, but did not protest his dismissal, and shuffled his way back to his guards.
“I’d now like to call my third and final witness,” said Sylvia.
I looked to both sides, and for a few seconds, I was confused. Then, my confusion was resolved when a large shadow appeared on the ground in front of me. Shortly thereafter, the shadow’s source slowly descended. It was Beatrice, wearing a baggy, midnight blue dress decorated with floral patterns. This time, Evelyn did not wait for Sylvia’s prompt, and used her [Purification] skill immediately. As soon as the light from her hand disappeared, Beatrice’s real form was covered by her original illusion.
“Present yourself,” said Evelyn.
“I am Beatrice Langley, an archmage contracted to Duke Lyon,” she said, her voice still high enough shatter glass.
“Beatrice,” said Sylvia. “I believe you were enslaved around the same time as the duke.”
“Yes,” responded Beatrice. Her illusion had adopted a pitiful expression, and tears welled up in its eyes, but beneath it, she was staring at me coldly.
“Can you describe the sequence of events that led to your enslavement?”
“Y-yes. I had summoned Lucille to an isolated area in order to teach her a lesson about magic-” she glanced nervously at the orb, but it remained blue, so she carried on. “-and then we had a- a disagreement, and we fought, and at the end, she drank some of my blood, and suddenly, I couldn’t move anymore.”
“Could you describe how it felt to not be able to control your own body?” asked Sylvia
“It was terrible,” said Beatrice, as her illusion wiped tears from its face. “I was trapped in my own body, watching from the inside as it did whatever she told it to do.”
“Thank you for your testimony,” said Sylvia. “It must have been difficult. You may leave now.”
“Thank you,” said Beatrice, her illusion nodding in Sylvia’s direction before flying off.
My leg was bouncing up and down rapidly in anticipation of finally getting a chance to speak. It had been difficult to remain silent during this joke of a trial so far, and I was glad to finally be through the worst of it. The judges seemed to be having similar feelings based on their expressions. Evelyn’s face remained impassive, as did Antonio’s but his ears, which had been folded back, were now perked back up. High Priest Donovan was frowning at Sylvia, as High Priestess Elaina scowled at her. Tobias had finally lifted his head out of his hand and was now looking directly at me.
The spectator’s reactions seemed mixed. I tried to tune in on a few of the muffled conversations around me, and though I didn’t have much time, I did catch a few snippets of people talking about how odd and biased the trial seemed.
Sylvia, oblivious to the reactions of those nearby, turned to me with a wide smile.
“With that, the presentation of crimes is concluded,” she said happily. “Lucille is a manipulator, willing to enslave others at the slightest provocation, and, as we saw with the duke, she feels absolutely zero remorse. She still believes she’s done nothing wrong. I’m very curious to see what excuses she could possibly have for her actions.”
“Am I allowed to talk now?” I asked.
“Yes, you may,” said Sylvia.
“Good. Now don't interrupt me. You had your turn to speak, now it’s mine. So stay quiet and listen.”
“You-” started Sylvia.
“Humility, these are the rules you decided on,” said Antonio. “Please try to follow them.”
She glared first at Antonio, then back at me, before folding her arms and tching. I watched her for a moment to make sure she had nothing else to say before launching into my own speech.