Chapter 193 - Proving Innocence

Lara's smile deepened a little, "You don't have to worry about that." 

Hecathe sighed as he heard this and nodded his head, "Then I'll naturally take you up on that offer." 

Lara crossed her arms and patiently waited with great interest to see what Alphius had to say for himself. 

Hecathe took a deep breath in and exclaimed, "I would like to first bring forward some of my men as witnesses!" 

Suddenly a few mecha-suits came out of nowhere and stood in a line as they heard this. It almost looked as if this had all been rehearsed or planned beforehand but only Hecathe and the mecha-suits knew that this was not a part of their plan. 

"Now, to speak on my behalf, I would like to call a person called Xanie," Hecathe spoke and Xanie who was hiding till now suddenly got a little stunned as she heard her name being called.

The girl gulped as she stood up and made her way to the stage where everyone else was gathered. 

She had a complex expression plastered on her face as she cluelessly looked at Hecathe for an explanation. 

"Xanie, I'll let you handle the questioning," Hecathe looked at the girl and spoke with a nod. 

Xanie frowned as she heard this and it could clearly be seen that she had a lot to say to the man, but she forced herself to be silent as she nodded her head and simply agreed. 

Xanie turned to look at the mecha-suits who had randomly appeared as witnesses and for the next few minutes, she was silent as she thought about things a bit deeper. 

Nobody rushed her and it seemed that even Lara had a lot of patience as she sat back down on her throne and attentively looked at the girl, waiting for her to speak. 

Xanie took a sharp breath in as she finally understood what she was supposed to do. 

"The night that Orgon was killed, did any of you see Captain Alphius?" 

Hecathe gulped as he heard this and blinked as he wondered if he had made a bad decision. 

This question... Rather than proving his innocence, wasn't it just going to prove that he really was a suspect...?! 

The mecha-suits looked at each other and shook their heads as they honestly answered, "We did not see him." 

Xanie seemed to have expected this response so she nodded her head and asked, "Do you normally see him every day?" 

The mecha-suits shook their heads once again as they heard this and one of them spoke up on behalf of the others, "Captain is always busy so he stays up in his room and only comes down for food. It is quite hard to catch a glimpse of him in a day." 

"Then does Captain Alphius never go out?" Xanie asked as she raised her head proudly. 

"That's right, he doesn't go out much. The only times that he had stepped out were times when he was forced to." 

Xanie, "Then have you seen him wearing his mecha-suit when he goes out?" 

"No. Captain doesn't need to depend on a mecha-suit. He is much more powerful without it so his mecha-suit has never been used by him."

"That's right," Xanie nodded her head as she unconsciously agreed with the man, "Then what about the day when Orgon was murdered?" 

"Well..." This time, the mecha-suits looked to be a little hesitant as they secretly glanced at Hecathe. 

"There is no need to hide anything," Xanie re-assured as she looked at the man that had been answering for the rest of them. 

"That day... His mecha suit was stolen," The man revealed as he looked down with guilt, "Captain Alphius had always treasured his mecha-suit since it was a gift left by his father. He had cared about it so much that he didn't even dare to wear it. However, that day, his mecha suit suddenly disappeared and we didn't dare report it to him because we feared for his reaction. Thankfully enough, the suit eventually returned and we decided to pretend that this incident had never happened." 

"Do you believe that Captain Alphius was the one who took his suit that day?" Xanie asked as her eyes narrowed down on the man. 

This was the most important question and if it was answered incorrectly, Xanie would lose her chance to save Hecathe. 

The mecha-suit gulped as he shook his head, "It's not possible." 

"Why do you say that?" 

With a sigh, the man closed his eyes and revealed, "Because he doesn't know how to use a mecha suit." 

"..." 

Suddenly, there was silence all around as the news hit everyone with shock. 

"Wait!" It was Asgarian who had suddenly shouted, "Isn't he the one who created them? Isn't it quite a famous fact that he is the most skilled at it...?!" 

The mecha-suit nodded his head as he heard this and responded without any hesitation, "That's right but those are just rumors. Whenever the captain tried to use his suit, he had always created disaster." 

Hecathe pursed his lips into a thin line as he heard this. 

It was certainly the first time that he was hearing this. He had no idea that this was the reason why Alphius refused to wear the suit nor did he know that the suit was actually a gift left behind by his father. 

Xanie chuckled softly as she spoke up, "I can also play witness to this if you'd like. Our Captain is really not someone who can successfully kill a person while wearing his suit. Even if he had tried, he would not have succeeded." 

"How can you prove that you people are not lying?" The third willow of spring spoke up and this man was wearing a mecha-suit himself. 

However, the mecha-suit he wore was not the same as the one's worn by everyone else. 

It was a suit specially designed for him and Hecathe guessed it to be one of the very first mecha-suits that had been created by the great Edler. 

Xanie smirked as she heard the man and it seemed as if she had expected this as well. 

"Of course I can prove it," Xanie confidently spoke with a smile. 

She lifted her hand and immediately pointed at Lara as she spoke, "If I'm not wrong, don't you have the ability to read a person's mind? If there is anyone that can prove the truth, it should be you." 

Lara chuckled as she heard this and nodded her head. 

The girl once again stood up and clapped her hands as she spoke, "You're right. I can read a person's mind, but what makes you think I'll speak the truth?" 

"..." 

"If I take your side and confirm that they have not lied, would there be no one criticizing me for being biased?" 

Xanie gulped as she heard this and glared at the girl. 

This Lara... She was clearly not on their side... 

"Alphius, I'd have to ask you to collect more proof if you want to prove your innocence. Is this really all you have?" Lara asked with a small wicked smirk. 

Hecathe gulped as he heard this but luckily enough, he had already gathered enough proof. 

Before Hecathe could even say anything as a response to the girl, Marvin raised his hand as he shouted. 

"I have proof!" 

Everyone immediately turned to look at the boy who had been standing amongst the audience.

"Marvin?" Lara spoke as she titled her head and spoke, "I thought you had some business to do." 

Marvin pursed his lips into a small smile as he nodded his head, "That's right. I do have some personal business to deal with and it is the very reason why I'm here." 

Marvin immediately pushed a man forward as he spoke up and added, "Death shall be avenged with death! Fairness shall see no title! With the three willows of spring, our land will not forgive sinners!" 

"What are you trying to do?" It was the third willow of spring named Darius who had spoke up and questioned with an apparent frown on his face. 

"I am here to uphold the laws of our world. I am here to avenge the death of my father," Marvin calmly spoke as he continued, "I am here to save a friend that had been wrongfully accused." 

As soon as the latter half of the sentence was spoken, people looked to be shocked and confused as they started whispering amongst themselves and carefully looked at the boy with their eyes wide open. 

"So this is the reason behind your confidence?" Lara chuckled as she looked at Hecathe and asked, but the man only smiled as a response and didn't bother clarifying anything. 

"Who is he?" Darius questioned as he looked at the man that had been pushed forward by Marvin. 

"An accomplice and a witness," Marvin responded without any hesitation, "He is the proof that I have brought." 

The witness shivered as he heard Marvin and it looked like he had been struck with fear as he knelt down and kept his head facing down, not even daring to say anything.