Chapter 148 - 143: Recantation
The Court of Nobility of the Duchy of Haiti.
The building was constructed from cold, white marble, its dome soaring high, creating a solemn and oppressive atmosphere.
Judge Brian stood at the plaintiff’s bench, his back ramrod straight.
He scanned his surroundings.
’Everything is under control.’
Brian sneered inwardly.
’Those twelve jurors are all pawns I carefully selected.’
’That’s Viscount Barton on the far left. He was nearly ruined by one of Klein’s merchant guilds last year and hates Leman to the bone. Next to him, Earl Delamond—a zealot who spends more time praying before meals than actually eating.’
’Eight mortal enemies, four who sway with the wind.’
’This lineup is perfect.’
His gaze finally landed on the defendant’s bench.
Leman Klein, that old fox, still wore a look of unruffled calm.
And beside him, the young man named Velin... was just as calm?
A flicker of irritation inexplicably flared up in Brian’s heart.
’Putting on an act!’
He cleared his throat, his resonant voice echoing through the courtroom.
"Order!"
Then he abruptly unfurled the scroll in his hands and began to read the charges, which had been composed long ago.
"I, Brian, Judge of the Judicial Court in the Haitian Diocese of the Eternal Radiance Church, hereby accuse Count Leman Klein of Green Vein City of organizing and selling a forbidden medicine that blasphemes divine grace, in open violation of the Bloodline Purity Act!"
As his voice faded, he presented the "evidence," one piece at a time.
"This is a Magic image of the den where the underground auction was held, which we raided!"
"This is an anonymous tip from a courageous believer!"
"And this is the actual forbidden medicine, seized from the residence of Viscount Ferrier!"
As the evidence was displayed one by one, a low buzz of discussion arose in the courtroom.
Count Leman rose slowly, his gaze calmly fixed on the judge.
"Your Honor, these accusations are baseless."
"This evidence only proves that an auction took place. What does that have to do with my Klein Clan? Since the Church seized my shops and workshops, I haven’t produced a single thing."
His voice was as steady as a mountain.
Brian let out a cold laugh.
’I expected as much.’
’The old fox’s sophistry is utterly unoriginal.’
"Your Lordship, your silver tongue will be worthless before a true witness!"
He spun around and bowed deeply toward the judge’s bench.
"Your Honor, I request to call the key witness in this case—Viscount Ferrier!"
A side door to the courtroom opened.
Two Church friars entered, escorting a haggard-looking man.
It was Ferrier.
He wore a dirty prison uniform and handcuffs. His face was pale, his eyes vacant.
A cruel smile tugged at the corners of Brian’s mouth.
’He knew very well that the Judicial Court’s methods had long since broken Ferrier. As long as he promised not to involve the man’s wife, this dog would tear Leman Klein to pieces without a second thought.’
Ferrier walked, trembling, to the witness stand.
"Viscount Ferrier."
Brian’s voice was gentle, almost coaxing.
"Please tell the court, where did you get the forbidden medicine found in your residence?"
In an instant, all eyes were fixed on Ferrier.
He raised his head, his chapped lips twitching.
His gaze swept over Brian’s triumphant face, over Leman’s calm, placid eyes, and finally came to rest, fixed, on the gallery.
There sat his wife, her face streamed with tears.
’He thought of that mysterious letter. He’d made a mistake once; he wouldn’t make the same mistake again!’
He took a sharp breath. "I... I don’t know."
The smile on Brian’s face froze instantly.
’What?’
’What is he saying?’
"I said, I don’t know!"
Ferrier’s voice suddenly rose, filled with the resolve of someone who had thrown all caution to the wind!
"That potion, I bought it at a high price from a mysterious, masked person at an underground auction! I have no idea who he was! I cannot attest that this has anything to do with Count Leman!"
BOOM—!
The courtroom erupted in an uproar.
Brian stood as if struck by lightning, his eyes bulging in disbelief. He couldn’t believe his ears.
’Betrayal!’
’This coward, this worthless trash I saw as an ant, he actually recanted his testimony in open court!’
’He already promised!’
"You’re lying!" Brian roared, losing his composure, spittle flying. "Ferrier, think carefully! Committing perjury is a challenge to the authority of the Church!"
"I am not lying!"
Ferrier stuck his neck out. In that moment, his fear was utterly crushed by a more powerful force.
It was the instinct of a father protecting his unborn child!
"Every word I’ve spoken is the truth! I swear it on my honor, and on my bloodline!"
Bloodline!
When that word rang out, the expressions of several nobles in the jury box changed.
They understood.
For a healthy heir, a noble would pay any price.
Brian felt a wave of nausea.
He stared intently at Ferrier’s determined face, then whipped his head toward the defendant’s bench, at the terrifyingly calm expressions on Leman and Velin.
’A pack of treacherous, god-defying jackals!’
’He wished he could immediately chant the Divine Words and use [Truth-Telling] to pry open the mouths of these filthy nobles! But he couldn’t! The Kingdom’s Fundamental Law was like a shackle, tightly restricting divine power to protect the so-called "honor" and "privacy" of these parasites!’
’Everyone knows exactly what’s going on, but this damned secular court just has to have its ridiculous "direct evidence"!’
This was a dead end.
’It’s over.’
Brian’s heart sank into a bottomless abyss.
Viscount Ferrier’s in-court recantation was like a spark dropped into a pan of hot oil, instantly setting the entire courtroom ablaze.
"Order! Order!"
The judge banged his gavel, shouting himself hoarse to maintain order.
Brian’s mind was buzzing. He stared daggers at Ferrier on the witness stand, wishing his gaze alone could execute him on the spot.
He tried to salvage the situation, his voice sharp as he accused, "He’s lying! He must have been bribed by the Klein Clan! Or threatened!"
However, his accusations seemed feeble and powerless.
Viscount Ferrier insisted he didn’t know the organizer. No matter how Brian threatened or cajoled, he couldn’t pry another word from his lips.
His tragic and heroic demeanor, on the contrary, won him a great deal of sympathy.
Brian knew that the accusation regarding the "Last Masquerade Auction" had completely fallen apart.
He felt a bone-deep chill, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
But he couldn’t lose. He absolutely could not lose here.
The chief judge had indicated that only by successfully handling this case would he have a chance at promotion.
He forced himself to calm down, his mind racing to find a new angle of attack.
’That’s it!’
An idea came to him like a piece of driftwood to a drowning man, reigniting his hope.
He took a deep breath and adjusted his strategy.
"Fine. Since Viscount Ferrier is unwilling to speak the truth, we can set aside the matter of the potion’s origin for now."
Brian’s voice became steady again, but now it was laced with a ruthless edge.
"For now, we will discuss only the potion itself!"
He turned to the jury, his eyes sweeping over each member.
"My lords, regardless of where this ’Final Knight Tournament’ came from, its nature is the same!"
"It is a product that uses illusory power to forcefully interfere with the sacred process of procreation!"
"This, in and of itself, is a grave violation of the Bloodline Purity Act!"