Chapter 44

Rey felt an itch at the back of his throat.

His stomach rumbled as a few beads of sweat dripped from his face.

He had been mentally preparing himself for this moment, but now that it had finally arrived, he couldn’t help the nervousness that assailed him.

At the moment, he was kneeling before the five members of the Royal Council.

Conrad Listrio, as always, sat at the center of the group.

Listrio's long, flowing blond hair cascaded over his shoulders, framing his calm expression as he fixed his gaze on Rey.

Beside Listrio, a woman with a slightly feline smile studied Rey intently, adding to his discomfort.

It almost felt like she was a cougar who desired to devour his flesh.

The other three members of the Royal Council maintained neutral expressions, their faces betraying neither happiness nor sadness, just sternness.

‘Oof! Tough crowd…’ Rey muttered under his breath, stealing a quick glance at the array of cold-faced guards observing him

The pressure was overwhelming.

Rey could see his classmates seated on one end of the room—almost as if they were members of the jury.

Brutus and Lucielle stood right beneath the elevated platforms that the Royal Council occupied.

Despite the strangeness of it all, Rey did his best to stay composed and take in the scene as calmly as possible.

‘I never thought I'd find myself in this kind of trouble, so I didn't bother to learn much about this world's judicial system…’

Still, he knew they wouldn’t be too hard on him about formality since he was an Otherworlder.

‘I also know the punishment won’t be too harsh. Not only will Adonis object, but I still have the status of an Otherworlder.’

As long as those two factors remained unchanged, he was at least certain of his safety.

“Let the trial begin,” Conrad spoke up, and the murmurs instantly stopped.

The Royal Court fell into absolute decorum, with everyone standing still.

‘Here goes…’

*******

The trial commenced with a detailed reading of Rey's potential crimes, beginning with his blatant disregard for a direct order from the Royal Council, which topped the list.

It was followed by accusations of trespassing and unauthorized loitering both within and outside the Royal Estate.

Charges of conspiracy and non-compliance were also brought forth, among other allegations.

“Potential act of stealing the Monster Cores” was also added to the list.

Rey wasn’t surprised when he heard that, even though he could see Adonis and a few others gasp.

‘I mean, think about it,’ Rey reflected internally. ‘What legitimate way could I have obtained that many Monster Cores?’

Sure, he was powerful enough to get even more than the amount he was being accused of, but none of these people knew that.

To them, he was none other than ‘Rey The Extra.’

‘Honestly, I would have preferred to maintain that than whatever this is…’

As the list of potential offenses was read out, he was asked how he pleaded to each of them, and he responded with the only valid option.

“Not guilty.”

It was merely a plea, so he was not exactly making a claim, rendering the Truthseeker's abilities useless at that moment.

However, once the formalities were concluded, the real heavy hitters began.

First, the evidence and testimonies were presented to the Royal Court.

It was essentially a retelling of everything Rey already knew, with a few extra details.

Nothing too surprising.

The sack filled with Monster Cores was also brought out, and the contents were properly accounted for.

‘A total of one hundred and fifteen, huh? Interesting…’

Rey knew there had to be a lot more Monster Cores, which meant that whoever set him up was currently sitting on thousands of Platinum Coins.

‘They probably thought that this meager amount of Magic Cores wouldn’t raise any alarms.’

Rey sighed internally.

‘I can’t wait till I figure out who this bastard is…’

The trial continued as Rey sorted his thoughts.

Stuff like;

“We found his signature on the Monster Cores.”

and

“He has no alibi.”

Were constantly mentioned.

The opposition had built up a strong case against him, but he had anticipated every move they made. As their arguments concluded, it was finally Rey's turn to speak in his defense.

“It’s not true.”

Those were the first words he uttered and the Truthseeker did not detect any lies in his words.

“I believe I’m being set up by someone. A lot of what I’m hearing sounds strange and absurd. I would never do any of these things.”

‘Not without precautions. I'm not that stupid!’ Rey’s thoughts echoed.

Once again, the Truthseeker justified him.

“So are you saying the evidence and testimonies are all worthless?” Lord Conrad asked with a calm tone.

“I am just as confused as you are. You can imagine my surprise when I was accused of all this.”

Rey had found a good way to skirt around the issue so far, but he knew it wasn’t enough.

The worst was yet to come.

“So are you saying you didn’t have that sack of Monster Cores in your possession?”

The moment Rey heard this, he froze.

He couldn’t lie that he didn’t have the sack since he actually did.

“Answer the question, Rey Skylar.”

Once again, he wasn’t given a chance to defend himself.

Saying the truth required little time for consideration or calculation, so any delay in his response might make him seem suspicious.

“A sack full of one hundred and fifteen Monster Cores? That sounds absurd! There’s no way I would have something like that in my room.”

Once again, the Truthseeker verified he was telling the truth.

‘All my sacks had at least three hundred Monster Cores in them. I'm not lying… technically speaking.’

Rey could feel his heart stop racing in relief, but the next question caused it to spike up yet again.

“What about leaving the Royal Estate? Do you admit to not doing that as well?”

The one who asked this question was the only female member of the council—Lady Vida Origa.

She looked about thirty, with a mature face that anyone would describe as pretty.

Her major appeal, however, was her curvaceous body. Her overflowing chest was a sight to drool over, and her thin waist, wide hips, and huge buttocks could not go unnoticed too.

Since she was fond of dressing in body-hugging attires, there wasn’t anyone in the Nation who didn’t know about her stunning physique.

‘Goddamn!’ Rey himself had thought when he saw her take her seat right before the trial began.

Her lack of a wedding ring on either of her ring fingers indicated she was yet to be married.

Rey couldn’t believe it—and no one in the entire United Human Alliance could, unless they knew her personally.

‘Urgh! Now isn’t the time to get distracted, Rey!’

Pulling himself from staring where he wasn’t supposed to, Rey thought hard about how to tackle her question.

“I… erm…” Rey hesitated, struggling to formulate a response.

“Come on, boy. It’s a simple question.” Lady Vida prodded with a smile, leaning forward and staring at him with an intense gaze

It seemed she was enjoying every minute of this, especially the way Rey squirmed under her intimidating gaze.

‘I can’t think of a way to answer this properly, at least not in time…’

This was already beginning to look like a checkmate.

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading.

Looks like we have Milf in the building.

… Or maybe not.