Chapter 209

Chapter 209

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Chapter 209

There had been an uproar for a while, but at the conclusion of the tumult, Lenore's servant, Pip, managed to finish what he had to say. Having served by Lenore's side for a long time, he knew more about the entire situation than expected.

When Lenore decided to support Beltrail's research to gain an advantage in the family succession struggle, Pip, as a servant, delivered messages between the two several times. He had also frequently escorted Awakeners brought from various places all the way to the mansion. As he narrated every detail, including dates and names of all those involved, even the representatives of the Apeto family had to grit their teeth, unable to completely deny the veracity of his claims.

As Pip rattled off the names of the fellow servants he last worked with, and further revealed that many of them had been killed for their silence or as scapegoats, the gallery was filled with shock and excitement. His daring act of exposure, to the extent that it was hard to understand what he was relying on, was so audacious that even the grand judges opened their eyes wide, shattering their stern expressions.

It was not unusual for servants in noble houses to die without apparent cause. However, it was also certain that if such events became publicly known, they deserved criticism and investigation.

It was a historic moment when the justification and dignity of the Apeto Ducal family, which had always enjoyed various privileges while bragging about their sacrifices for the Empire, was being trampled upon by a servant who was less significant than their toes.

Amidst everyone's excitement, Pip caught his breath and wiped his sweat. He looked terrified, but there was a sense of relief within him.

"Do you think it's okay for him to say so much?"

Ever whispered with concern, to which Kishiar turned his head slightly as if he heard.

"He's planning to leave the Empire with his family as soon as the trial ends today. Several of the Peletta Knights are waiting nearby to assist in that."

"Ah..."

Including the Deputy Commanders, Yuder finally understood why Pip was able to expose everything as if shaking off his burdens.

"But still! Lenore is already departed from this world. The former Elder Priest Beltrail is nearly dead, now you're saying the innocent members of their families should pay for their sins?"

A representative of the Apeto family far away stood up and burst into a passionate argument. Despite the witness's turn not being over, he pointed at Revlin, Dandenion, and Pip, arguing that their testimonies were too exaggerated.

"How can you believe just the words of a common boy and a resentful former servant and claim that the Awakeners were forcibly brought here? It makes no sense for the Apeto family to do such a bothersome thing! It is even uncertain if the Cavalry properly investigated this matter from the beginning, let alone without any valid evidence...!"

"Valid evidence, good point."

Then, for the first time, Kishiar, who had been sitting leisurely, raised his voice so everyone could hear.

"That's why we're here, aren't we? If it wasn't for someone's impassioned rant, we would have already presented more than enough evidence. It seems like we have a representative here who doesn't even know the rules of a trial. If he had a bit of manner, everything would have been done by now. What do you think?"

"..."

As soon as everyone recognized the implication of Kishiar's words, which were not loud but clearly pointed, all fell silent at once. The face of the representative, mocked as someone who doesn't even know etiquette in front of everyone, turned beet red.

"I got excited and... I rudely interrupted. I apologize."

Taking a deep breath, he gritted his teeth and slowly took his seat. Kanna smirked faintly as she observed the representatives and witnesses of the Apeto family, taken aback. The other Deputy Commanders also seemed a bit relieved, wearing smiles on their faces.

Taking the attention in stride, Kishiar slowly rose from his seat. Standing in place of the retreating group of Revlin, he opened his mouth again to address everyone.

"Do you mean to imply that this is related to the current case?!" an Apeto representative bristled, to which Zachlis just tilted his head with a serious expression.

"I just meant to say such incidents have been on the rise. The tension is making me say other things as well."

"What kind of wordplay are you...!"

"While everyone involved in the kidnapping at the time died, luckily, two mercenary Awakeners and a few Awakeners survived. I brought them here at the request of Duke Peletta. Listen to what they have to say."

Ignoring the representatives' interjections, Zachlis finished his piece. The Peletta Knights stepped forward, leading the restrained mercenary Awakeners. They had been bound with a magic oath and spell that prevented them from using their abilities.

Humbled, barely able to raise their heads, they began to speak with a tone of deep subjugation.

"We... we did not know who our employer was serving. He was called the warden, and he occasionally communicated with the 'main house'... Sometimes, people directly from the main house came."

They described the Apeto warden they knew by name and appearance and those who came from the main house. The Peletta Knights who brought them forth passed on the information about the Apeto employees they had identified based on this information to the grand judges.

"We lived in fear every day. None of the Awakeners who were taken to that so-called main house ever returned alive. They claimed to give us work, but anyone could see that wasn't the truth!"

The Awakeners rescued from Hartan cried out, trembling, their words echoed by other Awakeners who had suffered even worse at the Apeto estate.

"I still bear many scars from that time. Some died vomiting blood due to the drugs they were forced to consume, drugs that were purported to induce heat period. And you say that none of this happened?"

The representatives from the Apeto estate turned their heads in defeat, their expressions fallen, as they listened to the outraged voices of the rescued Awakeners. Any claims of the stories being lies weakened and finally faded away.

Had the victims of the kidnapping been the only ones to come forward with their testimonies, they could have easily dismissed them as lies. But starting with the composed testimony of Revlin, a blood relative of Apeto, then through the incident in Hartan, the situation had grown so tense that it was impossible to quell it, like a dam that had burst.

The spectators were no different. Being able to sit in those seats signified that they had a certain status and power. Normally, they would look down on these individuals as mere commoners, their problems being of no concern. But the stories of Revlin Shand Apeto and Zachlis Hartan had sequentially resonated with them.

The conflict between the Apeto and Diarca houses was what truly drew their attention, but that was enough.

There was no better weapon when assessing the severity of a crime than to draw sympathy from those around. Yuder recalled the crowds at the public execution site, cheering and throwing flowers without judging whether the crime was real or not, and then brushed it aside.

As the heated atmosphere resembled that of his memory, the judge once again stepped forward.

"The testimonies are now concluded. Next, we will decide whether to accept the reading of the confidential evidence that Duke of Peletta had requested. The seven grand judges will take a brief moment to share their opinions. We will take a short break. This time, no one is allowed to leave their seats."

"What did he just say?!"

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