Chapter 92 Checkmate [1]

Click—!

With a subtle clicking, the door was swirled open.

In came a boy with spiky orange hair and a long katana tied to his waist. He held a black and red jersey in his hand as he walked over to Yelena.

The elven beauty turned to me and gave me a long glare.

"Plead guilty and beg," she commanded, crossing her legs and leaning back on her chair which looked more like a throne than anything. "You're not my brother. He is dead. But I will still give you one chance to plead guilty and beg for mercy. If you do that, I might just let you off easy."

Lies.

One look in her eyes and it was clear that she was lying. She had no intention of letting me go easy.

A glance into her eyes and it was obvious that she had no intention whatsoever of being merciful. 

Even if I were to kneel before her and plead for mercy, she would scornfully say something like, 'A Morningstar groveling like an insect. You are not worthy of that name.'

Furthermore, if I had truly tried to put my hands on Grace, Yelena would not have had the authority to pardon me easily.

After all, despite being one of the vassals of the Morningstar family and serving under them, Goodwills are a noble house.

And the Western continent can't afford a conflict between nobles right now. So if I really had done something as foolish as that, I would be receiving an appropriate punishment.

"I will not do such things," I declared with conviction, rejecting Yelena's proposal. "Despite being not guilty, I carry the name of Morningstar house with me. I'm a noble. To beg and plead would be to lower myself to the level of a commoner, a disgrace to our family's legacy."

"Of course. You only use that name when you feel like it, don't you?" Yelena scoffed while rolling her eyes. "You think you can understand the weight that name carries? The sacrifices made by those before you to uphold its honor and dignity? You, who have shamed and tarnished it with your actions, dare to speak of its worth? Our father should have stripped you of that name the moment he disowned you!"

Again with this?

What's her problem?

It's just some big surname. I mean, I know family names are a big thing in this world but still.

I know Lucas wasn't the best example of nobility, but some of the heirs of other ruling houses and noble families aren't any better either.

Is she just that upright? 

Believing that arguing with her was futile, I looked away with a bored expression.

"Tsk," clicking her tongue, Yelena ordered. "Dylan, scan for any trace of this bastard on her uniform."

"Right away," Dylan nodded, placing Grace's jersey that was in his hands on a nearby table and tapping his smart bracelet. 

Within moments, sharp blue laser rays projected from his device and quickly started scanning it.

"Heh," from beside me, Grace flashed me a victorious grin. In her mind, she has already won.

Bringing her head close to my shoulder, she whispered in an almost inaudible tone, "I warned you to stay the fuck out of my way, didn't I?"

Haa.

Her whole confidence was based on the fact that she had my fingerprints on her jersey from back when I caught her from a fall during the Unit Test.

Normally, relying solely on fingerprints found on someone's clothing would not be sufficient grounds to convict them of a crime as complicated as sexual assault.

I mean, what can fingerprints alone actually prove?

But you must not forget I was in Lucas' body. 

The fact that he has already committed the offense of sexual assault in the past is enough to take the circumferential evidence against him and make the final verdict without giving him a chance to defend himself.

Not to mention, the one who is accusing me happens to be a noble. And the one who's judging me is my sister who detests me.

Taken together, these factors suggest that I cannot expect to receive a fair trial if any incriminating evidence were to come to light.

However…

"...Yelena"

That is, 'if' any incriminating evidence were to come to light.

"What?" Yelena turned her gaze towards Dylan upon hearing her confused voice. "What is it?"

"There are no traces of him on this jersey," Dylan raised his hand that held Grace's jersey up and spoke. "There's nothing we can use against him."

Woah, woah! Did I hear that right? That's a weird way to frame that sentence– 'Nothing we can use against him'?!

It's like they really are hell-bent on trying to make me prove guilty.

"....."

Instead of using words to react, Yelena turned to Grace and gave a long, questioning gaze.

Grace, on the other hand, stood aghast with her mouth hanging in shock and eyes bulging out.

"Wh-What do you mean?" she finally spoke, stuttering. "That's not possible!"

"Heh"

I can't hold back. 

I tried but I couldn't.

No! No, I must hold back… I can't laugh yet. I shouldn't laugh yet!

"Hehe"

But her expressions are so funny!

"Aahahahaha!" 

All the eyes in the room turned toward me and I couldn't help but burst out in a fit of erratic laughter.

Yelena's face contorted as she gritted her teeth, "Lucas Morningstar! Behave yourself! You're in the presence of the Cadet Council!"

"Ahaaa," wiping the tears from the side of my eyes, I calmed myself down. 

On my right, Grace was looking at me with confusion and disbelief, her eyes practically coming out of her sockets.

"It's not p-possible! I-I…I don't know what he definitely did but he did something!" Grace started yelling as she pointed a finger at me. "I'm telling you, did something!"

"Heh," my lips pursed up into a smirk and I turned to Yelena. "Do you really think I, someone who's on ‹Iron-2› mana core rank, overpower and force myself on someone whose mana core has already reached ‹Bronze-3›?" 

This isn't my home Earth.

Unlike the Earth where I am from, there's no difference between the strength among genders.

Men are biologically stronger than women– that fact was overridden in this world when mana started flowing here.

With mana cultivation, no matter your gender, race, or birth status, you can have unimaginable strength in your grasp if you just have the talent for it.

If you're blessed by the heavens, you can crush the world with a mere flick of your fingers.

This is a world where strength is cultivated not inherited biologically.

No matter who you are, if your mana core rank is higher than a person, you are stronger than them.

So while I don't want to admit it, Grace was like three ranks above me. It's literally impossible for me to overpower her into submission.

In fact, right now, her mana core rank is on the same level as Quinn's. Of course, she's not as strong as him, but her mana output is the same.

There's no way I can 'assault' her like a mindless animal.

"That's not–" 

Before Grace tried to initiate an argument, I tapped on my smart bracelet.

"And then there's this recording."