Chapter 110
Merian furrowed her brows.
Christian was doing something incomprehensible again.
He looked like he was scheming something.
Nordion let out a chuckling laugh.
“I wonder what bold stunt that boy’s about to pull this time. What on earth is going on inside that head of his?”
Nordion smirked and said something completely unexpected.
“I should attend this trial in person.”
“!!”
“This much should be fine, shouldn’t it? I’m only planning to watch.”
The head of house personally attending the trial.
Despite how lightly he said it, it was a decision that would send the entire household into an uproar.
Especially for Ashid, the true culprit of this incident and the one who would be standing in court as the accused.
No matter who he was, Ashid wouldn’t be able to pull any dirty tricks in front of Nordion.
In other words, by personally appearing at the trial, Nordion was implicitly choosing to support Christian.
Count Ribery’s House—Annihilated!
The entire Dark Demonic House was in an uproar.
But no one could criticize the House of Count Khazar.
It was the Burssen Principality that had revealed the truth.
That Count Ribery had colluded with Burssen and engaged in human sacrifices.
It was also revealed that it had been Count Ribery who framed the House of Count Khazar.
Public opinion flipped completely.
The House of Count Khazar was cleared of all charges, and all attention turned toward Ashid instead.
Of course, there was no concrete evidence linking Ashid to the human sacrifices.
That was because Count Ribery had gone to great lengths to ensure there were no ties left between them.
However, many magi had already been suspicious of Ashid.
Above all, if Count Ribery had committed human sacrifices—who else could it have been for? There was only one answer.
Every time the magi of the Dark Demonic House met, they talked about the situation.
“How do you think the trial will go? Young Lord Ashid is under suspicion and will stand in court.”
“Well, there’s no evidence directly connecting him, so wouldn’t it be difficult to do anything to him? Even if evidence did come out, a severe punishment is unlikely. He still has many loyal retainers, after all.”
The other magi nodded in agreement.
“Since Count Ribery’s entire house has been wiped out, won’t they just end it here?”
“I think so too.”
The majority of the Dark Demonic House shared the same view.
That even though Ashid had suffered a heavy blow, it wouldn’t change the overall balance of power.
Meanwhile, after hearing such talk among the magi, Merian approached Christian and spoke.
“Are you really sure you don’t need my help?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Think it over again. As you know, Ashid isn’t someone to take lightly.”
Instead of replying, Christian quietly stared at Merian for a moment.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
"Well, I was just wondering if you're not being too biased toward me. As far as I know, a direct elder of the family shouldn’t privately favor a specific successor…."
Merian snorted through her nose.
"What does that matter? Do you not like that I'm on your side?"
"No, I said it because I like it so much. I love you, Aunt."
"Hmph, says the nephew who doesn’t even bring cookies. Still spouting nonsense without even wetting your lips, as usual."
Chris chuckled softly, and Merian spoke seriously.
"How about I take over and oversee the trial?"
"I’ll be fine."
"Think it over again. This is originally something I should be doing. More importantly, it would be much more intimidating for me to step in than you, a mere collateral line."
She was right.
However—
"I appreciate the offer, but please leave it to me."
Chris calmly shook his head.
"I’ll make sure to give Ashid the punishment he deserves."
"!!"
Merian noticed that Christian was completely confident, and fell silent for a moment.
"Fine, I’ll trust you and leave it to you. But remember. Who are you?"
"A proud temporary Black Shadow Knight, aren't I?"
Chris lifted the black crescent badge hanging from his collar.
He was still a temporary member of the Black Shadow Knights.
But unexpectedly, Merian shook her head.
"Yes, that’s true. But there’s something even more important."
"Ma’am?"
"You’re my nephew. The one I trust the most."
"!!"
Merian spoke with unwavering eyes.
"So go, and crush that bastard Ashid properly."
* * *
The moment he stepped into the courtroom, the air was stiff and frozen.
A tense atmosphere was expected in a courtroom, but this felt excessive.
Chris quickly realized why.
‘…Why is the head himself here?’
Over in the observation seats.
An old man was sitting there.
An overwhelming presence that seemed to crush everyone in the room.
It was Nordion.
"Cluck cluck, why is everyone so frozen? I only came to watch, so don’t mind this old man."
"……."
But the pale, rigid atmosphere showed no signs of easing.
Especially on Ashid’s side, which was completely frozen.
Ashid’s face had hardened, perhaps sensing something ominous.
‘Damn it, why is that old man here?’
Ashid clenched his fist tightly.
With the head of the house sitting there like that, the retainers who might have helped him were bound to be restrained.
‘It’s fine. There’s no evidence left anyway.’
But why?
An unshakable sense of anxiety kept creeping in.
It felt like something disastrous was about to happen.
Meanwhile, as the courtroom remained silent, Nordion clicked his tongue.
"Cluck cluck, didn’t I say not to mind me? What are you doing, Marquis? How long are you going to keep worrying about this old man’s gaze? At this rate, people will think I’m the presiding judge."
"…My apologies. I’ll begin the trial."
Marquis Langham rose from his seat.
As the head’s proxy, he would be delivering the judgment in this trial.
Marquis Langham glanced briefly at Nordion before speaking.
"We shall now begin the trial regarding the human sacrifice incident that occurred in the House of Count Ribery. Christian, step forward."
"I am Christian von Baron Khazar. I will testify regarding this case."
Christian stood at the podium and looked around at the people.
"You are all likely aware of the events. Count Ribery conspired with Baron Bord of the Principality of Brussen to conduct large-scale human sacrifices. Fortunately, both Count Ribery and Baron Bord have already been executed. What remains now is to uncover who else was involved in this horrific ritual."
Christian turned his gaze.
It was directed at Ashid.
"Let me ask you first. Prince Ashid, were you in any way involved in this matter? I understand that you stayed at the House of Ribery until recently."
Ashid’s brow twitched slightly, but he soon smiled leisurely and answered.
"Well. I have no idea about any of that. I would never have imagined that Count Ribery was secretly committing such atrocities."
"So you’re saying you have absolutely no connection to this incident."
"Of course. If I had known in advance, I would’ve personally executed Count Ribery myself."
A shameless answer.
Chris nodded his head.
"Thank you for your response. In fact, I initially suspected Prince Ashid. But no matter how deeply I investigated the House of Ribery, there was no evidence tying you to the case."
Ashid nodded as if it were only natural.
However—
"During the investigation, I discovered completely unexpected evidence. Not of Prince Ashid, but of others involved in the human sacrifice."
"!!"
The courtroom stirred.
"Who could it be?"
"Sadly, there are many. Baron Valhamon, Viscount Malcolm, Baron Shannon, Count Woodcock…"
"!!"
Everyone wore a look of shock.
Each and every one of them was a key retainer.
Not on the same level as Count Ribery, but major pillars of the Dark Demonic House.
And at the same time, supporters of Ashid.
"What nonsense is this?!"
"We have never done such a thing!!"
The accused shouted in confusion.
Their faces showed genuine grievance.
Naturally so.
‘Because they’re innocent. This is a frame-up I orchestrated.’
Chris inwardly grinned with a wicked expression.
That’s right.
Chris had planned to falsely accuse them today.
Why?
To bait Ashid.
“I didn’t believe it at first either. They didn’t seem like the type. But in Count Ribery’s secret vault, I found unbelievable letters. Please take a look.”
Chris pulled out several letters.
“These are letters in which those retainers petitioned Count Ribery for human sacrifices. I wondered if they might be forgeries, but they weren’t. The handwriting and seals all matched.”
“!!”
The reason they matched was simple.
Chris had forged them.
Of course, even for Chris, forging letters was no easy task.
Because of the seals.
A noble family’s seal isn’t just a simple stamp.
To prevent forgery, the spot where the seal is pressed has a complex magic pattern engraved into it.
Each time it's stamped, variables like angle, pressure, air humidity, and paper texture alter the pattern multidimensionally, making it impossible even for high-ranking sorcerers to replicate.
Even for Chris, it was a challenge.
‘But this time, it was doable. There were thousands of samples.’
Count Ribery was a primary vassal.
So his subordinates had sent him an enormous number of letters, all of which were neatly preserved in his study.
Chris used those thousands of samples to analyze each family’s seal pattern and succeeded in forging them.
“Let us verify whether those letters are authentic.”
Marquess Langham gave the order.
The black magicians of each house thoroughly examined the letters Chris had presented as evidence.
“The magic patterns of the seals engraved on the letters match each house’s seal perfectly.”
“The handwriting also matches.”
“The weathering of the paper and ink matches the time the letters were supposedly written.”
“The fingerprints on the paper also match.”
Every angle was investigated.
And a conclusion was reached.
“No evidence of forgery was found.”
The letters were judged to be authentic.
The courtroom was thrown into shock.
“!!”
The ones just accused were indeed supporters of Ashid, but they weren’t men of bad reputation.
No one could have ever imagined them being involved in something like this.
“No! We would never!!”
“This is unjust!!”
“We’ve been framed!!”
At that moment, Christian said something unexpected.
“I also believe they’ve been falsely accused.”
“?!”
Everyone looked at Christian with bewildered expressions.
He had just branded them criminals—why say now that they’re innocent?
“The reason is simple. The owners of these letters aren’t the kind of people who would participate in something like human sacrifice. Of course, we can never fully know someone’s heart. But even the reasons given for their involvement are terribly unconvincing.”
“……”
“Baron Valhamon supposedly wanted to extend his lifespan, Viscount Malcolm sought financial blessings, Baron Shannon desired physical beauty, and Count Woodcock, of all things, petitioned for his mistress’s health.”
Chris let out a quiet scoff.
“Isn’t it all too crude? That these men would partake in human sacrifice for such petty reasons—I simply can’t believe it.”
The courtroom fell silent.
Everyone wore a confused expression, unable to grasp Chris’s intent.
Especially Ashid.
‘What’s he scheming?’