Chapter 111
Friends! Calendians! Kings!
“Hogwash!! Slander!! How dare you accuse us like that!!” Tonio roared.
“I speak no falsehood. Kamiya and I fought after she returned to her real form. This was after she took out Kasheem.”
“To my shame,” the dark-skinned warrior sighed. “It won’t happen again.”
“This is just conjectures. There is no proof,” Gianni said out loud. But he was already sweating fiercely. This was getting out of his calculation. How was he supposed to win against this? All he could say was to deny the accusation.
“Proof again? Then again, I shall give you proof,” Connie turned to the only Judicial Officer who was female in the Chamber. ”You, what’s your name?”
“Greta, Lady Steelheart.”
“Alright, Greta. Can you reach into my clothes and take out a piece of cloth in the pocket inside? Slowly does it.”
Greta, a plain-looking Officer looked at Lord Audrick, who nodded silently. She then did as she was bid, thought it was with great difficulty as the Dark Elf was staring daggers at her.
She pulled out a palm-sized piece of cloth. It was crusty with a lot of red blotches, but there was also a lot of dried green stuff on it. Greta came forward and showed it to Lord Audrick, who examined it closely.
“What is this?” Lord Audrick asked.
“It’s a piece of my undergarment.”
“What?!” Lord Audrick drew back in horror.
“How uncouth!” Serin said in displeasure. “How barbaric.”
“You are still here? Just go back to your seat,” Connie rolled her eyes. “It’s just a piece of dirt cloth now. Nothing more. But it has a role at this point in time.”
“That piece of undergarment is a piece of evidence. As you can see, the red part is my blood. And the green…is the blood of Kamiya. Her blood seeped onto it while I was fighting her in Zelbes Forest.”
That piece of cloth was what was left of her undergarment which was made out of Yao-Er’s silk. Illumca had wanted to burn them but found out to her dismay that she was unable to, even with her Fireball. That was why she kept it in a box as it was a very rare thing for a piece of cloth to be able to withstand a Fireball cast by someone at above level 40.
It was to Connie’s luck that she told her about it before the Trial. Otherwise, she had to resort to some more dangerous options.
Gianni was about to snatch it, but Abbas was faster. He ran his thumb along with the dried green blood, sniffed it, and took a bit of the crust between his fingers. He was an Alchemist; he knew the difference between dried blood and colorings. His Passive Skill, “Item Appraisal”, also allowed him to understand the content of what he was holding.
Finally, he announced with a grave voice. “This is blood. Green blood.”
Those from Vorzenny was about to object at this shocking revelation, but Connie did not let them. Instead, she spoke to the audience.
“I am sure it is no secret that the Hero Of Vorzenny is a lecherous fellow. And that all members of his party are his intimate lovers.”
“I shall give to you my next statement. Such as it is - as truth and fact - as I have spoken throughout this fair trial. That Kamiya the Flash of Steel is a Demon,” Connie paused, eyes slowly moving from the audience to the King. “That Kurosaki Yuuji, the so-called Hero of Vorzenny consorted with Kamiya. And he knew what Kamiya is.”
It was the truth; she did not say when Kurosaki Yuuji knew of that fact. The Chamber of Licai was stirred into a frenzy.
“There is no need for me to say anymore. I am sure everyone here knew what it meant even without me saying it. That the Hero had blasphemed against his God and fornicated with Demons.”
By this time, there was no longer any hope for the Envoys. Thus, Connie delivered the finishing statement.
“You accuse me of killing a Hero. Sir Tonio. You told me that I, and those who aided me in my most dangerous hour, to be able to take the life of a Hero? Someone blessed by the God of the very wind itself? How could I slay someone who is blessed by Olnadyn if he does not will it so? If he was good and just? That atrocious traitor, most foul. That blasphemer of sanctity and love? I say to you, Sir. I say to you this as I have said to you from the start. I did not kill a Hero! We did not kill! a Hero!”
Her voice boomed in that chamber. Indignant, shamed, angry. Her chest palpitated as he took shallow breaths. “What we took is the life of a traitor! A traitor who eschewed the Blessings of the God of Vorzenny and fell to the temptations of a Demon!”
“And you, you who sat there so shamelessly. Your very own Vice-Captain of the King’s Guards, the King’s Watchmen, did this. Is it not safe to say that your King knew of this? Or even masterminded this?”
“Lies! You dare!”
“I! dare!!”
Connie’s voice and bloodlust suddenly exploded, causing all the knights to reach for their weapons. The sliding of metal against metal resounding as they were pointed at her. Only after they reacted did they realize what they were doing. Akira felt his Grunford rattle against its sheathe and quickly placed his hand upon it.
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Shouts and screams of alarms came from the audience, spooked by the sudden hostility.
And Connie was there, unperturbed by the swords, as she leaned back against her chair and spoke. The roar of rage suddenly turning into a voice cold as steel.
“Do you think we did not notice that not one of your King’s Entourage is female? Or that your King did not bring his Queen?! Do you think Calendia as fools?!”
“But yes, this Trial is not about the fact that your Hero fornicated with a Demon, assaulted the Daughter of a Duke of Calendia and the Hero of Al-Khemiya, and under the guidance of the King of Vorzenny Charmed the spouses and daughters of the Noblemen to sabotage Calendia. This is about me and my companions.”
“So, let us not tarry. I have laid down my facts and I shall stand by it!” Connie bellowed, not even waiting for Lord Audrick to speak. “People of Calendia and Al-Khemiya!! Those who love the just and the kind!! Are I and my companions guilty of murder?! Are we sinners who took the life of a Hero?!”
Connie raised her voice, which echoed in the Chamber like thunder. “What say you, everyone?! What say you?!”
The answer was instant and unanimous. Like a wave crashing against a withered pier. The envoys’ words were nothing compared to the voices of those who stood at the top of Calendia.
“NO!”
Not those who wished her harm. Not even those who hated her. Not one of them dared to say yes.
“No! No! This is impossible! We wouldn’t -! The King wouldn’t - !”
Gianni and the envoys could not believe it. Could their Country have been working with the Demons? Have they betrayed the human race? Impossible! Impossible!!
Unfortunately, their words meant nothing at this point.
Connie used a certain sequence of actions to represent a story. But the motives, the facts she gave were just there to corroborate the narrative she was pushing. It did not matter if she speaks the truth at this point, as everyone’s thoughts were already led to one conclusion. That Vorzenny was working with the Demons. A sin and a betrayal against their Gods most grave.
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“From today on, you should lay low,” Duke Gladstone said as she stared at the girl sitting behind the stand with hate.
“Why, father?” she asked with worry as she had never seen him with such a grave expression.
“…you have spoken ill of the girl. The girl that was from now on to be hailed as a Hero in the eyes of the people of Calendia. Once the news comes out, who will dare to criticize her? Who will dare to trade with Vorzenny, or anyone who traded with Vorzenny?”
Duke Gladstone bit his thumb. It was fortunate that I sent my daughter out. I could wave it off as the act of a foolish daughter. But this? To stay calm and collected while being attacked by high-ranking officials and turning it around like this was beyond what a childish little girl could do.
No, I should consider her a proper threat.
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Prince Elhart sat back as he put down his glass. His lips traced a small curve across his face as he placed both his hands across his bloated stomach as if content. “Marvelous. Truly. A masterpiece in itself. Simple in execution. Devastating in result.”
Even if there is no mention of demons, to punish someone who would risk their names, and indeed their lives for the sake of protecting the interest of the Kingdom would be impossible. It would decrease morale and would make people question the King. Especially when it was done in public.
He turned to the plain maid that had been serving him. Whose expression was that of utter disbelief. “Such a good performance, wasn’t it, my dear? It was enlightening.”
“…I have no comment, Milord.”
“I want to talk with her. If she is half as cultured as she is as an orator, then I think I have found a worthwhile protégé,” he laughed when he saw the stricken expression of his nephew. “Ah, dear boy. You have cast a pearl into the sea only to replace it with river rock.”
“Uncle?” despite his unwillingness to see this ugly man as an uncle, he still had to deal with him cordially. “This…this is just a fluke. She just admitted that she killed the Hero! How is she not guilty?!”
The neckless man shook his head in disappointment. “Dear boy, you need to learn more instead of gallivanting around with that fiancée of yours. The fact of the matter is this: Can you say that she is guilty? Even as a joke, at this moment?”
“Well, I…no – but -”
“That’s right. What she did just now was not politics. This was something simpler. So simple that it is almost impossible to overturn,” the obese man said, a tinge of humor in his tongue. “She used our belief and our identities as a weapon. Our very nature as god-fearing men.”
Alrond nodded solemnly, unable to reconcile that little thing who dreamed of being a Knight with the devious creature before him.
“Not one person in this chamber can say that she is guilty. Not the Nobles, not the Knights, not even your own father,” Alrond commented. “It turns out that I am the one who is underestimating the other.”
Because of their virtue? No. Because they are humans. They were essentially social creatures. And shared perceived value was more important than that of an individual. If anyone of them dared to say that she was guilty, he or she would be damned in life and even in death, denounced as a traitor to the Races. This was not to mention that they were under the watch of the Maiden of Water and within the very Chamber of Licai, who represented Junnaveil’s mercy.
This was the pillar of Connie’s play.
Faith.
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“Did you hear that, Illumca? Even if I murdered the whole entourage, they will not be able to find me guilty,” Connie spoke to Illumca as the Chamber of Licai turned into chaos around them.
Watching how she overturned everything in such a way, Illumca fell into deep thought. This…if I had her ability, would I have fallen to such a state back then? Would I have been forsaken by my tribe? She shook her head. Such idle thoughts. There was no need for what-ifs and whatnots. She knew her past self well. Coddled and loved without knowing suffering.
No. I’d still have fallen. For I don’t have her wisdom nor her courage.
Without saying anything, Illumca was filled with an urge which made her move her arms over Connie’s shoulder, making her chain clink and squeezed.
“W-what came over you?”
“I just feel like it.”
At the same time, this also sparked the beginning of a long war that would engulf the Alliance.
For how could one sleep easy knowing that another country that was in the Alliance had had dealing with the hated Demons? Those who understood this knew that it was unavoidable. So now, their minds spun over what to do after.
As Lord Audrick tried to confine the escalating excitement that was happening after the proclamation. Knights came in and immediately had the envoys of Vorzenny captured. The Nobles screamed as one of the envoys tried to resist arrest and grabbed at the nearest item and threw it at the incoming Knight. He missed and hit a random Noble Lady instead. As retaliation, the Knight drew a sword and cut his arm off in anger.
Quickly the Chamber of Licai devolved into further chaos.
And in the midst of this, Connie sat unperturbed. As if what was happening had nothing to do with her. She was tired. Not in body but in mind.
She leaned back into Illumca’s awkward embrace. A smile like a snake upon her lips. And in that smile lied satisfaction of a job well done.
O Heavens. You have thrown your best against me, kicked me down, and spat on me. You saw me at my weakest, and you laughed. But now see as I use the faith of your people as weapons against you. To dash and ground my enemies into ashes.
She then gazed through the giant window of the Chamber of Licai, out to the sky above. She then spoke against the Heavens.
“Look well, O Heavens. Look well,” she began. “This is the seed of my defiance.”