Chapter 93 - Wounds May Heal, But The Scars Remain (3)

Basil looked at Catherine, who died while crying. Even so, her face wasn't filled with sorrow. Her mouth contradicted her eyes. While her eyes are flooded with tears, her mouth formed a smile.

Basil didn't really have any personal grudge against Catherine. However, he didn't want to leave any possible problem alone. In the past, Catherine had done many wretched things that had indirectly troubled him.

She, with her body, had managed to seduce quite a few high ranking officials, and completely controlled them on her whim. Such a woman was dangerous to be left alone.

She hadn't besn on her right mind anymore. If he had left her alone, she would do many ridiculous things later.

In the end, birds of a feather flock together. Nicholas and Catherine were equally unstable. They were both two broken people met by fate.

Basil looked away from Catherine, and moved toward the bound Justin who was looking at him emptily. He had emptied his tears reservoir. Tear stains decorated his cheeks, and his gag completely silenced him.

Slash!

Basil cut the gag, thus freeing his mouth from any constraint to speak. Looking down at the idiot who had been played around by Catherine, Basil asked him a simple question. His voice was bereft of any emotion.

"What is your worth, Justin?"

"..."

Justin didn't answer him. He merely raised his head, and looked at Basil with the same empty eyes. He stayed that way for a few seconds, before turning his gaze to Daniel who was shriveling in the corner in fright.

"I have no worth. I am failure as a father. I am a failure as a friend. I am a failure as a human being. What worth do you think I have?" Justin muttered with voice that was void of emotion.

His eyes were still planted on Daniel, who he had never thought would have joined Nicholas in his wretched act.

"I can not return your previous worth." Basil said, attracting the attention of Justin. "However, I can give you a new worth." Basil ended his word, while looking at Justin deeply.

Justin opened his mouth only to find he could say nothing. In the end, he merely chuckled soundlessly. Such an unsightly fate for someone like him. However, he had no qualms. He held no worth in himself any longer.

"How?" Justin asked emptily. "Be my witness." Basil answered simply.

Justin nodded his head in understanding. A Viscount had just died, and he had been killed by his own son. The case would be usually considered as a family conflict. However, the matter was different if another Noble was involved.

It might be considered as a premeditated murder, thus punishable by law. Therefore, Basil needed Justin as a witness to free him of charge. He didn't want to be a criminal this soon. He had no time to dilly-dally in the prison.

Paying no attention to Justin anymore, Basil moved to Irene instead. Her scorched skin was already healed. However, he knew more than anyone, her injured innards weren't healed yet.

Putting his hand on top of Irene's exposed abdomen, Basil channeled his Qi to his palm to heal her. He could only wait until the people from Philosopher — which Shirley had notified before — came with the necessary medicine to help Irene.

"Shirley, are you alright?"

At Basil's question, Shirley turned her empty eyes to him. He received her gaze calmly. Not once did he dodge her gaze.

"Father, and mother..." Shirley struggled to keep talking. She was choked by her own tears. "Brother... This is a dream, right? None of these is real, right?" Shirley covered her mouth with her hands.

She couldn't bear the truth. Basil's eyes conveyed it all. Everything was indeed real.

Suddenly, Shirley felt nauseous. Her mind was so overwhelmed with stress that her stomach couldn't bear it any longer.

"Ueeekkk..."

She emptied the content of her stomach. Everything was let out of her stomach.

Basil looked at the scene with absolutely emotionless eyes. He didn't sympathize with Shirley, nor would he comfort her. Reality is harsh, and the world is cruel. She needed to get through this to grow.

Being clueless and naive in this world is poisonous. Snakes in the form human are always lurking around, looking for the perfect opportunity to strike. One needs to experience the harsh truth firsthand to survive.

Shirley was currently undergoing the phase. He wouldn't help her, until he deemed her couldn't get through her predicament. Before that, he would let her cope with it by herself. For now, his role was merely as a remainder she was not alone.

"Where is the patient?!"

Two people came in, and they were the people Basil had asked Shirley to call. They were Hanz and Clara of Philosopher Alchemy Store. They had come here due to Shirley's urgent call.

"Here!"

When they heard Basil's voice, their eyes were planted on Basil's glowing hand on top of Irene's abdomen. They wanted to admire that, however they had something more important to do. That was, treating the patient.

"What in the bloody hell happened here?"

Clara exclaimed in shock at the scene she was seeing. Seven bodies and one bloody mass littered the ground. Out of the seven visible bodies, only one remained intact. The pungent smell of blood permeating through the room was enough to make anyone vomit in disgust.

Clara was about to open her mouth to ask Basil what happened, when the littered swords on the ground flew at him, and entered his Spatial Ring. She shut her mouth instantly. She didn't need to ask for confirmation. She knew instantly who was the culprit.

"Do you think she could make it?" Basil asked Hanz calmly. Hanz didn't answer immediately. He merely kept mixing the medicines he would feed to Irene. "I can't guarantee. It depends on her will to live." Hanz finally gave his response after some time.

Basil nodded his head calmly, before taking Shirley in his embrace. He would do do her the favor of being the platform for her to cry her heart out.

By the time they realized it, the sun had crept up the sky. Whereas everyone else started the day with delight, Basil and the others started the day with the end of the tragedy.

It didn't take long until Irene was moved to Basil's manor, and Investigators came to the scene. Just like that, the tragedy ended, and the trial started.

...

Three days had past since the tragedy everyone called as Cobham Internal Strife. It gained so many attention the Kingdom's law authority personally handled the matter.

The massacre of an entire Noble family had been committed previously by Charles Blois 12 years ago. The similar case had happened to Cobham Household, and it attracted the attention of the Kingdom's authority.

They wanted to make sure the history wouldn't repeat itself. They had enough of one Charles Blois already. They didn't need another one.

Today was the day where Basil would be called to the court to be judged. The witnesses would also be there, recounting what they had seen, that would be surely in Basil's favor.

Basil wasn't worried with the trial. He knew he would be free of charge. What he worried about was the person lying on the bed motionlessly, who was no other than Irene. She hadn't regained her consciousness since that day.

Although her injury was quickly treated, nothing can beat age. She wasn't a powerful Mage, nor was she a powerful Knight. Her body didn't have the power to live longer than any human.

Thus, no matter how much he had healed Irene, her damaged organs would never be the same. Currently, her body was too weak to let her regain her consciousness.

"Brother... It will be the time soon."

Shirley looked at the back of Basil, who she had figured out wasn't her biological brother, solemnly. She had passed through her shocked state due to the support of the people around her.

Although she had lost her parents, she didn't feel alone. She had Basil — despite not being her blood related brother — to stand beside her.

Sure, she had been shocked at first. However, after realizing Basil had known it long ago, and still being a good brother to her, she quelled her anxiousness of being alone. Blood related or not, Basil was her brother.

Therefore, her heart bleed Everytime she looked at the well hidden sorrow in her brother's eyes. For her, Irene was merely a very close caretaker. However, for Basil, Irene was his mother — his real mother.

Seeing Irene suffered under the injury her father had inflicted must be hard for him. She didn't even know how he didn't go on rampage, and hate her for her father's act.

"Are you ready for the trial, Shirley?" Basil asked while caressing Irene's hand softly. "I am ready, Brother." Shirley answered surely. Basil smiled, and remarked, "You are a strong girl."

He had to give her credit. He didn't expect Shirley would eventually accept everything in three days. She was a strong hearted girl, who didn't even hate him for killing her parents.

Her reason was simple.

—Father deserved it, and mother desired it. Even if you had left her alive, she would have ended her life by herself.

Such way of thinking was very mature for a 16 year old girl. Surely, she had cried when she had said it. Still, she had eventually passed that phase like a champion.

Basil held Irene's hand for one last time, before standing on his feet, and headed outside with Shirley in tow. Danzel, Clarissa, Julia, Chester, Blake, and surprisingly, Julia's mother were there to greet him.

"You don't have to be worry, Basil. I have many acquaintances as juries. You will absolutely win this case!" Julia's mother exclaimed brightly, when she saw the sight of Basil.

"It is alright, Viscountess Diana. I have done nothing wrong. Therefore, we don't need to resort that way." Basil shook his head faintly at the enthusiasm Julia's mother, Diana, was showing.

Just like Julia, she was an independent, and carefree woman. She had divorced her husband merely because he had told her she would have been nothing without him. Years later, she had eventually achieved a higher standing than her Baron husband.

She was a quite impressive woman.

"Aha-ha-ha! I mean it to lighten you up. In case, they play something weird, we got my friend to rescue you!"

The other people surrounding Diana chuckled awkwardly at the dirty play she was implying. Likewise, Julia slapped her forehead due to the second hand embarrassment. Still, they laughed it off right after.

Just like that, they set to move.. Their destination was the court.