Turning
chapter-207

Yuder watched as Kishiar straightened his shoulders and approached with impeccable strides. His mere existence there made everything seem infinitesimally small, his tremendous presence overflowing. At the sight of his relaxed face adorned with a leisurely smile, the spectators in the stands stirred slightly.

“That’s the Duke of Peletta.”

“His appearance really does live up to the rumors…”

“Who would've expected him to come here himself? Duke Apeto didn’t even show up… Is that a sign of his confidence?”

While the murmurs from the amphitheater-style stand surrounding them overhead were enough to warrant attention, Kishiar never once looked away until he reached his destination.

Upon reaching the chair, Kishiar met eyes in turn with the three Deputy Commanders who were bowing in courtesy. His gaze finally landed on Yuder, standing to his right. After receiving Yuder’s greeting, he whispered in a low voice, audible only to the four of them.

“I hope you weren’t too bored waiting for me.”

“Not at all.”

“You won’t have a dull moment from now on. I have diligently prepared for this, so let's watch.”

He winked lightly at Yuder and took his seat. Shortly after, the seven grand judges introduced themselves, declared their commitment to render a fair judgment based on truth, and took their seats as well.

Yuder studied the faces of the grand judges, who wore solemn expressions. Despite introducing themselves as substitutes for the Emperor, not all of them necessarily acted solely according to the Emperor's will. There could be those seeking to rule in favor of Apeto, or perhaps some influenced by others' intentions.

Regardless of the grand judges' inclinations, it was certain that Apeto would not triumph in this trial. The leisurely smile on Kishiar, sitting at ease, assured such an outcome.

“May we bring forth true glory to dispel blinding lies before the light that impartially illuminates all things. Let there be not a speck of darkness.”

As per tradition, a priest dispatched from the Divine Palace began with a brief prayer towards the holy symbol.

“The trial begins.”

Following the proclamation, two grand judges who had been presiding over the case stepped forward and briefly explained the case's summary.

The well-known case regarding Revlin Shand Apeto, the third son of Apeto's entry into the Cavalry, which led Kishiar to visit the Apeto house with a few members due to the incident. The horrific truth they happened upon by chance that day, suspicions related to the corruption of the Apeto house, and their subsequent investigation and accusations led to the present situation.

"...And so, His Grace, the Duke of Peletta, under the authority as the Cavalry Commander has expressed his wish for a rightful punishment for Lenore Shand Apeto and Beltrail Shand Apeto, who perpetrated this horrific incident, their accomplices who assisted them, and the Apeto family, who knew everything and remained silent."

Although everyone knew this story and had experienced it firsthand, hearing it from a third party felt peculiar. As Yuder reflected on past events, one of the grand judges raised their hand, calling in the first witnesses and representatives from both sides in turn.

“We’ll begin with the Apeto family's side.”

The Apeto family, accused by the Cavalry, was granted the first opportunity to defend their stance as per tradition. Yuder shifted his gaze towards the faces of the few individuals emerging from the Apeto family's waiting room.

Today, the representative who was to speak on behalf of Duke Apeto, who was absent due to poor health, and the people who were to support their opinions, stood in place with exceedingly arrogant and insincere expressions.

Amid the curious gazes of the crowd filling the gallery, they made a declaration to speak only the truth in front of the Sun God and began to speak.

"Firstly, we want to clarify that His Grace, Duke Apeto, has no relation to this matter whatsoever."

Just as Yuder had expected, he was trying to wriggle out from the start. Yuder swallowed a cold laugh as he watched the representative talk as expected.

"It is true that a family head should be responsible for everything, but there is a stark difference between bearing responsibility and directly committing a wrongdoing. Surely, no one would argue that it is only natural for His Grace to know everything happening within the family."

Even after that, he went on to mumble lengthy and convoluted opinions. To summarize, it didn't matter what else happened; Duke Apeto had no involvement and there was no reason to implicate him. The people who claimed to support his opinion also simply repeated similar statements.

"Apeto has never been involved in a similar incident before this one. Outside, there are a number of rumors aiming to defame Apeto in relation to this incident. Even the death of the key figure of this incident, the second son Lenore, did it not happen at too opportune a time? With the mouth to tell the truth gone, some people must be quite pleased."

One of them didn't hesitate to make a sly comment, glaring straight at Kishiar. Kishiar merely narrowed his eyes and smiled calmly, but his Deputy Commanders standing behind him were quite angry.

"What the hell is that bastard blabbering?"

The kind-hearted Steiber clenched his teeth and murmured curses, while Ever showed ominous signs, flexing and clenching her fists, and Kanna's face turned red with anger.

"Can he say such things freely?"

Of course not. But no one jeered at his words. Only a low-ranking judge explained with a somewhat awkward expression that 'the remark is out of the scope of the testimony.'

Yuder looked at the face of the speaker with a cold gaze. He had been a stranger until now, but from this moment onwards, he wouldn't be.

'What was his name again.'

Anyway, he said he works for the House of Apeto. Yuder made sure to remember everything about him.

Next came Beltrail Shand Apeto, the former Elder Priest from Apeto, who started this whole thing. As his name was mentioned, there was a ripple of murmurs among the crowd. Seated in his wheelchair, Yuder failed to recognize Beltrail emerging from the waiting room at first glance.

Beltrail, who looked much older and more haggard than the last time he saw him, stared blankly into space, muttering something under his breath. Despite being a criminal, he was not shackled and wore clothes made of expensive fabric, but his appearance was far from appealing, causing everyone to frown. A regular priest, pushing his chair, opened his mouth on his behalf.

"As you can see, Beltrail is not in a state to freely testify. However, when asked about the events of that day, the direction of his remarks is always consistent."

The priest claimed that he had been taking care of Beltrail on the day when Kishiar had gone to the Apeto mansion with his Cavalry members. He had not been able to witness the incident firsthand, since he had been guarding Beltrail's room in the mansion. However, the lack of sincerity was evident as he endlessly praised how excellent Elder Priest Beltrail was.

"Though he has been caught in a scandal this time, he is a person who has served the Temple and the Empire for a long time. He lost a beloved nephew that day and witnessed the death of priests who were like his own children. He's been wounded at heart. I fail to see how such a man could have inflicted wounds upon others."

Yuder thought it fortunate that the Alpha Awakeners they had rescued then had not personally heard these words. If they had, there might have been a serious uproar in the court.

"Now I will show you one last thing. Elder Priest Beltrail."

The priest knelt and asked Beltrail, who was sitting in a wheelchair.

"...Eh... Heh... Heh..."

"Elder Priest Beltrail, what happened that day?"

"That... that day... that day..."

"Please confirm your innocence, Elder Priest Beltrail."

"Innocent... innocent... I... am... Ahh..."

Beltrail, who had been mindlessly repeating after the priest, began to shake spasmodically, dribbling saliva and looking fearful. Suddenly, when his eyes caught Kishiar, they widened in terror. He started to thrash his arms and legs, screaming.

"Ahh! Awakener! Awakener! Monster! Monster! Monster!"

Following the direction of Beltrail's screams, everyone turned to look at Kishiar. Kishiar watched Beltrail's fit with disinterest, resting his chin on the back of his hand that was placed on the armrest.

"Monster!"

Beltrail was eventually led away after repeating that one word over and over. The courtroom became silent in an instant. The one who broke the silence was one of the representatives who had come from Apeto.

"While he was still alive, Lenore repeatedly argued that he did not think this matter was serious enough to warrant such severe punishment. As we all know, Beltrail's research records have been submitted as evidence. To be honest, I believe some consideration should be given to the fact that this matter involved people who had agreed to participate in the research for money through contracts."

"Contracts, you say? Is there evidence?"

"Of course, there is. Please forgive us for the time it took to find and bring them."

A stack of contracts was handed over to the judge by the Apeto side.

"Elder Priest Beltrail has been wanting to study the Awakeners since they first appeared two years ago. He's an outstanding scholar who has uncovered many facts about the Awakeners and named many of them. He paid a considerable sum of money and made research contracts with the Awakeners."

"He's an excellent piece of garbage."

Yuder heard Kanna mutter next to him. His sharp nerves felt a little relaxed at her words.

After a much longer time than expected had passed, the long and verbose excuses of the Apeto family to reduce their crimes finally came to an end. Due to tradition, after a certain period of time, there was a break. A recess was declared for the time it took for one hourglass to run its course.

"There was nothing unusual after all."

In Kishiar's brief comment as he rose from his seat, there was no hint of a reaction to those who had tried to defame him. Yuder felt a measure of relief in the fact that no one, including the deranged Beltrail, had managed to mar Kishiar.

"Then I should also pay a visit to the waiting room. Yuder, follow me."

"Understood."

Leaving behind the three Deputy Commanders, Yuder followed Kishiar into a small corridor on the left. The waiting room, where the witnesses and representatives taking part in the trial were resting, was located there. As they opened the door and entered, familiar faces turned to look at them all at once.

"Commander!"

"His Excellency Duke Peletta, to come all the way here..."

"We're, we're sorry for the inconvenience."

Devran and Revlin quickly stood and greeted him with bright faces, and the commoner Awakeners from Hartan and the Awakeners rescued from the Apeto family all bowed deeply at once. Among them, Yuder felt a touch of joy upon seeing Zachlis Hartan, who was standing tense next to Devran's younger sister, acting as the representative of Hartan's lord.

'I didn't expect him to be here.'

And Nathan Zuckerman emerged from among the Peletta Knights, who stood as if guarding them, at the very back of the room by the door.

"You're here."

"There were no issues, I presume."

"Yes. There were a couple of attempts to enter, but all were blocked."

"And below?"

Below the court, there was a temporary space for keeping prisoners who were needed for the trial but needed to be confined to a jail. Recognizing the question that hinted at that place, Nathan promptly provided the answer his lord sought.

"The ones we captured from Hartan are all well."

"Good. I'm looking forward to it."

Kishiar's lips curved upward in a smile.