The Extra Villain's Second Chance: A Hero's System
Chapter 49 - 48 - The Trial pt. 3

Chapter 49: Chapter 48 - The Trial pt. 3

Despite opposition from many nobles, King Vlasdislav seemed determined to give them a place to voice their thoughts.

"This cannot be, Your Majesty. Why are you allowing those lowly people to enter the palace?"

"That’s right, Your Majesty! What if they tell lies?"

Most of the nobles seemed worried that the people who were allowed to enter the courtroom would speak lies.

"I am the one who will decide. Remember that! If you continue to babble, I will expel you from here." In the end, King Vlasdislav gave them an ultimatum.

Unlike the soldiers who simply paid their respects by kneeling on the ground, the commoners who were allowed to enter the courtroom immediately placed their palms and foreheads on the floor. They prostrated themselves in unison.

"Are you aware of the case of the people who have disappeared over the past few years, Your Majesty? We are victims of that case."

Upon hearing the explanation of the commoners, King Vlasdislav immediately furrowed his brow as if sensing something was wrong.

Lev did not know how King Vlasdislav viewed the case of the mysterious disappearance.

It was actually quite strange that King Vlasdislav did not know that Andrei was the perpetrator.

Then, if King Vlasdislav knew, how could Andrei continue to kidnap people? Wasn’t the capital of Frostgard the center of the Royal Family’s power?

Lev was sure that King Vlasdislav was more inclined to not know about Andrei’s actions.

Actually, Lev already knew a little about King Vlasdislav from his previous life.

According to what he knew, King Vladislav would not be biased in judging this case.

"... The person who actually kidnapped us is Duke Andrei Razanov. Meanwhile, Young Master Lev is the one who saved us."

Heard what the commoners said, the nobles present in the courtroom immediately voiced their complaints. However, unlike their previous loud voices, this time they were not too noisy.

"Do you have any evidence?"

When the people were asked to produce evidence, they only trembled without being able to answer.

"... If the decision to blame Young Master Lev has been made, we are willing to be executed together with Young Master Lev."

They said this in unison.

Were their lives so valuable that they were willing to free Lev from the grip of execution? Of course not.

Did Lev feel touched that they were willing to risk their worthless lives for his safety? Of course not.

Lev’s lips curled slightly when he saw the scene before him.

Most of the people who came forward to testify that Lev was innocent were parents of children who had been kidnapped by Andrei.

Some of them had their children kidnapped and were very grateful to Lev for helping them get their children back in their arms.

Some of them were victims themselves, but because they managed to survive and reunite with their families—whom Lev had taken in at the Dreamhouse Brothel—they were willing to risk their lives for Lev’s freedom.

’Could Madam Fleur have brainwashed them into defending me with their lives?’

Lev did not underestimate their attempt to defend him with their lives, which were considered worthless by the nobles.

He knew their testimony would not have much effect—only if Lev did not know King Vladislav’s nature.

Because Lev already knew Vladislav’s nature, he was confident about what decision would be made at today’s trial.

In his previous life, Lev had met Vladislav on a battlefield.

It wasn’t because Lev was an important person that he was able to stand beside Vladislav, but because Vladislav himself had demoted himself to a common soldier.

In his previous life, after the timeline of the novel Hero’s Destiny reached its happy ending, the kingdoms on this continent began to fall one by one.

The first kingdom to fall was the Dragomirov Kingdom.

Even though the Dragomirov Kingdom fell, King Vladislav managed to survive.

He earned the nickname The Paper King.

On paper, he was still a king, but he no longer had his kingdom.

Therefore, Lev was able to meet King Vladislav as a fellow soldier on the battlefield.

In the middle of the night at a camp, a fire lit up the surroundings. There, Lev met and spoke with King Vladislav.

The face of King Vladislav he saw at the soldiers’ camp was different from the face of King Vladislav sitting at the judge’s table in the courtroom now.

Sitting leaning against a tree with his sword in his arms, King Vladislav’s face was full of darkness. His eyes were dull as if his soul had left his body.

When Lev asked why he was still alive, King Vladislav replied, "To exterminate the demons in this world and avenge my people by killing that person!"

It was unclear who King Vladislav was referring to when he said "that person."

In the end, King Vladislav died on the battlefield.

From the brief conversation Lev had with King Vladislav, he knew that King Vladislav was a good king who loved his people very much. He also cared deeply about his people and his kingdom.

"If only I had known the truth sooner..."

"... If only I had met you first."

Those words came out of King Vladislav’s mouth for Lev.

Lev did not know what King Vladislav meant. From then until now, he did not understand why King Vladislav said such words.

Regardless of Lev’s confusion over King Vladislav’s words, he appeared very calm during the torture and during the trial because he already knew King Vladislav’s nature.

There was no way he would let himself die before the trial was held and Lev was unable to prove his innocence.

He had also anticipated the arrival of those who would defend him. So, even if Astaroth had not yet risen, at least he would be given more time to live and not immediately be sentenced to public execution.

Luckily, Astaroth had appeared so he could end today’s trial immediately.

"... In that case, let’s postpone today’s trial." King Vladislav was about to bang the gavel after hearing the testimonies, just as Lev had expected.

"Wait, before you make your decision, can you take a look at this, Your Majesty."

When King Vladislav wanted to postpone making a decision, Lev raised the memory orb he had taken out earlier—he felt strange having to keep his hand in his pants, after all.

King Vladislav looked like he wanted to ask Lev where he got the memory orb, but Lev immediately played what he had recorded in it.

A large screen opened above the memory orb in Lev’s hand.

A scene immediately began to play.

The first scene begins when Lev finds the families of the victims who had been kidnapped by Andrei in a slum area.

On the screen displayed by the Memory Orb, Lev was seen presenting painted portraits of several individuals. Then, the people he interviewed stated that they recognized one of the faces in the paintings Lev showed them.

Some of the people Lev had interviewed earlier also came to the courtroom. Their faces looked shocked upon seeing the recording on the memory orb. "So, the one who questioned us earlier was Young Master Lev himself?"

"It seems like our visit was in vain. It appears that Young Master Lev has planned everything." Andrei’s kidnapping victims, who had come to give their testimonies, began whispering among themselves.

It was natural for them to know that the man in the black cloak who had approached them earlier was Lev, but since he did not appear in the memory orb, the other people in the courtroom did not know about it.

Lev then explained to King Vladislav that the faces depicted on several pieces of paper in the recording were the faces of Andrei’s soldiers.

"... If you don’t believe me, you can go to my family’s private mansion to confirm it. You can arrest them and interrogate them, Your Majesty."

"Is that all?"

As if the evidence Lev had presented was not enough, King Vladislav still wanted more.

The first scene Lev showed was simply to ensure that those involved in the kidnapping cases would be punished for their crimes and have their identities exposed to the public.

The point was, that Lev did not want them to remain part of the Razanov family’s military. He wanted to get rid of Andrei’s important people, who had proven to have helped Andrei commit his crimes.

The scene in the memory orb then changed.

The second scene immediately began.

The scene began with Andrei’s arrival in the field boss.

A red aura emanated from Andrei’s body.

King Vladislav widened his eyes as if he knew that the aura emanating from Andrei’s body was a demonic aura.

Not stopping there, after beating Lev’s body and intending to kill his own son, Andrei then raised his hands and eyes, which resembled those of a demon.

The part where Lev used the One with the Shadow skill had been deleted, so Lev appeared helpless throughout the scene.

Bzzzt—plop!

Finally, the scene ended there.

The courtroom became very quiet when the memory orb in Lev’s hand stopped working.

People seemed to find it hard to believe what they saw—or perhaps they were too shocked by what they saw.