Chapter 116

Kyle rose from his seat. He was dressed in an unusual suit. The man who was chatting nonchalantly with Noah yesterday had disappeared, and the investigator, who had no ounce of sympathy, asked the first question calmly.

“Are you, Eleonora Asil, the one who stole the dragon’s egg from Laurent Fortress and imprinted with the dragon?”

“Yes,” answered Noah.

“The reason you tried to make contact with Yulem is to test the dragon’s power, right?”

“Yes.”

“Does the Yulem terrorist incident on Train 6478a and Angelic have anything to do with you?”

“No, Yulem attacked me first for the dragon, and at that point, my contract with Yulem was nullified.”

The questions Kyle asked were similar to those that had driven Noah into the interrogation room a few days ago. Her reaction was much calmer than it was then. When she admitted her crimes without much rebellion and answered in a gentle manner, a small roar rose from the audience.

Kyle asked a few more questions as it was in the script, and finally stated. “…So, I demand a five-year prison term and a thousand hours of community service after that.”

It was the lawyer’s turn to defend next. The lawyer poured out his words without hesitation. 

“Your Honorable Honor. I know the nature of the defendant’s crime cannot be easily forgiven, but please take into account that she is fully remorseful. The motive for the crime was not to harm Laurent, and that it was that dragon, Muell, who chose her as the imprint.”

The next moment, a hundred or so self-written letters of apology, which Noah had written over five days, were handed to the presiding judge. The presiding judge glanced at her letters of apology and nodded. 

“Any last words, defendant?”

Now was the time to express her deep sentiments. Noah would say “I’m so sorry. From now on, I will sacrifice myself for the sake of the Laurent Empire.” and after that, her role would be over, and if the judge ruled, the trial would be over.

As soon as she opened her mouth to speak, inhaling deeply, the door of the court room opened wide. Everyone’s eyes turned towards the door.

There stood an investigator. He casted a troubled glance at Kyle, who looked at him in confusion. 

“Paulo, what’s going on?” Kyle asked.

“That’s…”

Paulo looked around at the crowd’s baffled faces and quickly approached Kyle, whispering something to him. Noah clenched her fist nervously as she saw Kyle’s face horribly stiff.

What is it, what is it, again?

“……”

Soon, Kyle rose from his seat and headed onto the podium where the Justice Minister sat, an evident frown on his face. His conversation with the Minister was not heard among the crowd, but seeing the Minister surprised, something unexpected seemed to have happened.

Kyle returned to his seat, and after a few seconds of silence, the presiding judge pronounced in a low voice.

“We will allow witnesses to attend.”

“Witness?” Witnesses weren’t in the script Noah had received. Anxious, she turned her head towards the door. 

The closed door was opening again. Someone’s foot stepped onto the floors of the court and soon it appeared…

Blonde hair. 

Noah gasped. “Oh, you!”

There was only one blonde Noah knew of. Her bewilderment quickly turned into embarrassment. Unconscious, she jumped up from her seat. “Stalker!”

The man who stormed into the court was none other than Adrian Rossinell. The man who turned out to be the Minister of Magic and who had been nothing but an annoying brat all along the train bound to Battuanu.

Adrian, dressed in a white shirt and gray pants entered without a hitch and stood on the witness stand. 

Noah retorted violently, her face contorted. “What are you suddenly here?”

“The defendant will remain quiet.” The judge ordered. Noah flung back into her seat, frowning.

Adrian looked at her with a mischievous smile, as if he had something under his sleeve that Noah knew nothing of. The sight of his determined and captivating smirk immediately alarmed Noah. What was he planning to say?

“Your Honor.” The words rolled smoothly from his lips.

“All of Laurent’s wizards are under my control. So far, I’ve defended Eleonora Asil’s natural magical talent, but this is a high-risk crime that’s hard to ignore, and of course, the sentence stipulated by the investigator is undeserving. In order to assist the judge’s decision, I would like to testify as a head of the Ministry of Magic.”