CH 66

“Our sole plea: the truth!”

“Our sole desire: the truth!”

“The only solace for the unjustly sacrificed heroes’ souls: the truth!”

“The Claude family must respond, or we won’t leave!”

“We protest against the noble Claudes’ abuse of power. We are all equal under the empire’s sky and have the right to seek equality in life!”

“The souls of the wrongfully deceased heroes are watching you, Eddie Claude. How can you sleep with a clear conscience!!!”

Since Eddie Claude’s live broadcasting accident, the Claude family has attempted to silence the voices of the media and the people. Eddie Claude himself, along with his residence, has been surrounded by Empire citizens demanding the truth.

Hiding inside his house, Eddie Claude looked through the window and saw a dense crowd of demonstrators, with bloodshot eyes almost overtaking his entire eyeballs.

At first, there were only a few dozen people, but later, the relatives of the victims jointly released a letter with one hundred thousand signatures in blood, demanding justice for their sacrificed family members and General Pei.

The release of this letter on Star Network caused a sensation beyond imagination. Thousands of imperial citizens spontaneously went to the imperial government, the prosecutor’s office, and various administrative institutions to protest.

The place with the largest gathering was the Claude Mansion, where tens of thousands of angry and excited people had gathered. The historical iron-barred gates of the Claude Mansion’s elaborate and expensive stained glass windows were smashed by the furious crowd, nearly allowing the rioting protesters to break into the mansion’s main entrance.

If there weren’t too many people, the Imperial police, fearing a potential bloodshed, wouldn’t have sent officers to disperse the demonstrators. Otherwise, the trembling Claude family, currently sitting calmly in their chairs, wouldn’t have had the opportunity to discuss their situation.

Eddie Claude was extremely agitated because after the live broadcast, it was discovered that his blood contained alcohol. Everyone in the family blamed him, and Second Prince Kyle angrily stated that if he didn’t handle the situation properly, the Claude family would be expelled from the nobility.

The demonstration had been going on for over a week.

The second son of the Claude family, who served in the Imperial Foreign Affairs Department, had moved out to avoid the limelight. Only Eddie Claude, his father Charles Claude, and his Omega sister, Karma Claude, remained in the family.

During this week, the servants of the Claude Mansion didn’t dare to step out of the door, let alone go shopping. The Claude family, who had always regarded themselves as dignified nobles, had employed top-notch traditional chefs to cook with fresh ingredients. But now, they have been consuming nutritional supplements for several days in a row.

Karma Claude, looking at the unappetizing supplements on the dining table day after day, and thinking about the declining reputation of the Claude family, realized that even her close friends no longer wanted any association with her. Suddenly, the entire noble circle had exiled the Claude family.

The glamorous and shining life was no longer the same. Prince Kyle, whom she admired, repeatedly called to reprimand her father and older brother. Seeing their increasingly haggard and restless appearances, her ears were filled with the noise of the protesting crowd outside.

Karma Claude, who had never experienced such a blow, leaned on the table and burst into tears. Unable to control herself, she blamed her older brother, who had caused such trouble in the live broadcast, saying, “If it weren’t for you blabbering during the news broadcast, our Claude family wouldn’t have fallen into such a state!”

After speaking, Karma Claude wiped her tears, lifted her skirt, and cast a gaze full of resentment and dissatisfaction at the now weary and worn-out Eddie Claude before leaving.

Eddie Claude hung his head low, his eyes red and dimmed. He repeated the question in his mind, why… why did he lose control of his rationality and utter those words on such an important occasion?

His father, Charles Claude, had just received a call and temporarily left the hall. When he returned, his face wore a grave and dark expression as he walked towards Eddie Claude with heavy steps, his eyes filled with complexity and hardship.

“Eddie, you have always been the son I was proud of, but this time you have deeply disappointed me. The Imperial Prosecutors are about to arrive, and the one overseeing the case is the Empire’s renowned and impartial Chief Justice, Bruce. No matter how many connections I have or how much profit the Claude family is willing to give up, no one dares to touch this mess,” Charles Claude said with a heavy heart, his disappointment evident in his eyes.

Faced with his father’s disappointed and dejected gaze, Eddie Claude trembled, his head hung low in darkness. His eyes were filled with desolation, and his voice, hoarse and parched from days of sleepless nights, trembled.

“I’m sorry, Father. I have burdened the family with my actions.”

Charles Claude felt deep pain in his heart. Eddie, his eldest son whom he had nurtured for so long to inherit the family, now had no choice but to obey the orders of Prince Kyle in order to protect what remained of their family.

“Eddie, drink this,” he said, handing Eddie Claude a bottle of gray-purple liquid.

Eddie Claude looked at his father with a bewildered expression, his eyes vacant. He murmured, “What is this?”

“It’s a medicine that will temporarily prevent you from speaking. Your illness hasn’t been cured yet, and in order to prevent you from speaking recklessly in court, we have no choice but to resort to this measure.”

Eddie Claude’s eyes widened in astonishment. He covered his face with both hands, his unseen mouth twitching into a mocking smile.

— What illness? Telling the truth?!

Now his own family was personally trying to silence him. Everyone blamed him, but wasn’t it someone else who orchestrated this? Why should he bear all the consequences?

Did they even realize that a mute person can’t refute his evidence in court? In order to seal his lips and protect the remaining culprits from being exposed, they were even planning to render him mute. Admitting guilt would only lead to one outcome — the death penalty for the lives of countless innocent soldiers.

Dream on if they think I’ll go down alone!

Eddie Claude took the bottle of mute-inducing medicine and, under his father’s gaze filled with complex guilt, fiercely threw it to the ground!

Crash—

Glass shattered all over the floor, and the look in Charles Claude’s eyes transformed from surprise to horror in an instant.

Emotion surged within Eddie Claude, and a taste of blood filled his throat. He casually wiped the bloodstains from his lips, seemingly unfazed, and stared at his father with eyes filled with malice.

“Why are you afraid of me telling the truth? Since my future and life are already ruined, why do you, my blood-sucking family members who enjoy noble lives, get to go on? If it weren’t for you ordering me to assassinate Prince Edward back then under the family’s command, I would have been promoted to Lieutenant instead of being stuck as a Second Lieutenant for several years!”

“Father, no, Charles! If I die, the Claude family will be buried with me!” Eddie Claude’s eyes, burning red, gazed at Charles Claude as he laughed.

A sinister and triumphant smile instantly twisted the image of his devoted son, who cherished and respected his father, in Charles’s mind, turning it into utter chaos.

Charles Claude sighed disappointingly and half-closed his eyes as he said, “Someone, restrain Young Master Eddie. He has gone mad!”

Suddenly, four or five unfamiliar guards rushed out of the room and violently pinned down Eddie Claude, who was attempting to escape. His limbs were forcefully held, and in the midst of his agony, Eddie Claude coughed up a mouthful of blood. The pain intensified, making his organs ache unbearably. With a gaze filled with guilt, he stared fiercely at his father, his bloodshot eyes fixed on him, as he reluctantly poured the mute poison into his mouth.

Eddie Claude struggled fiercely, but his arms were violently twisted and dislocated by the guards. His eyes burned with immense hatred towards his father, his lips stained with blood. Yet, his father, still burdened by a cheap and laughable guilt, continued to pour the poison into his mouth. The anger he felt was overwhelming!

Less than an hour passed.

The officials from the Imperial Prosecutor’s Office took Eddie Claude away for interrogation.

A hurried visitor arrived at Judge Bruce’s residence.

“Would you like some tea?” Judge Bruce looked at the handsome Beta, who had visited him not for the first time. He couldn’t help but wonder if he was the illegitimate child of King Edmund, exiled to the outside world, with his pure royal azure eyes.

Si Huaixi’s deep and cold blue eyes met Judge Bruce’s gaze as he calmly handed him a stack of documents and a storage disk. The white gloves on his hands showed signs of wear, revealing faint traces of a circular metal ring on his finger joints.

Judge Bruce took the documents and looked inside. They contained confidential letters proving the collusion between the Claude family and the Federation, mentioning the smuggling of prohibited explosive materials in the empire and the conspiracy to persecute Pei Zhaozhou. The storage disk contained evidence of video calls between the two parties.

Among them were the scandalous deeds of members of the royal family, the sinister plot of Prince Kyle and the Claude family, their alliance with star pirates, the attempt to take Pei Zhaozhou’s life, and the subsequent plan to collude with the Federation. They were responsible for the deaths of Pei Zhaozhou, innocent civilians, and imperial soldiers. He even found evidence of Prince Kyle’s previous attempt to kill his half-brother, Crown Prince Edward.

If this evidence were presented in court, Prince Kyle’s reputation would be completely ruined, and the resulting turmoil would likely cause the royal family to lose the support of the people.

What startled Judge Bruce even more was the growing concern he felt for Si Huaixi.

He could tell that this young man was extraordinary. He had dared to come alone to his house, facing the barrel of his gun with calmness, negotiating with him as the judge of the K108 hostage case.

Judge Bruce was known as the conscience of the empire. Regardless of class or status, he impartially delivered judgments, fighting for equal rights for the disadvantaged. Even at his retirement age, he was reinstated as a lifelong judge of the Imperial Court, receiving the highest honor. He had even been proposed by the king to be bestowed with a noble title, but he declined. As the second son of a noble family, he had refused the title when he was young, and now at the age of 158, with an average life expectancy of 180 for the empire’s people, why would he want to become a noble again? So he declined.

Judge Bruce had faced numerous assassination attempts over the years due to his work. The scars from gunshot wounds still adorned his aged chest. The security and defense system of his residence, personally designed by him, was considered the most firm in the empire. Yet, this young man still managed to break in.

There was no murderous intent in the eyes of this young man, he didn’t want to kill him. He only hoped that Judge Bruce would take over this case, and the judge agreed.

Little did Judge Bruce expect that this young man was not only extraordinary, but he also discovered that a large number of senior officials in the Federation had recently died, causing widespread fear and an inability to identify the perpetrator.

It was quite a coincidence that this young man arrived here with confidential information about the Claude family’s collusion with the Federation, evidence that could only be obtained from the Federation. Combined with the news of this young man’s recent disappearance in the empire, it made him wonder even more.

TL: This is an early update. I won’t be posting any more updates until Monday!

Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ