The Kingmaker System
Chapter 181 - 180. Devil’s Advocate (1)

Chapter 181: 180. Devil’s Advocate (1)

The court was a marble building boasting the aesthetic architecture with the carved pillars and arched ceiling.

There were a lot of people gathered outside the building and most of them were commoners, there was also a line of carriages of the nobles who were currently attending the trial.

I had purposely gone a little late as I knew a lot of attention was already gathered for this particular incident but I had made preparations for my entry.

The defendant from Baron Oberon’s side was Earl Ludwig Clive, Luke’s father who was also an advocate by profession and I had asked him to become a stand in until I arrive with the real piece of evidence.

He had agreed solely because I had protected his son and their family’s dignity, and he also knew that I was basically trimming the Esmertia family one by one.

My carriage stopped right in front of the stairs that led up to the courthouse and even before I could step out I could feel the attention that the crest of my family name had garnered.

The carriage door opened and I stepped out of my vehicle. I didn’t look around but I could hear people gasping and whispering my name as I was an enigma.

"Ryujin family crest?!"

"That’s the rumoured Baron?"

"But wasn’t he an old man?"

"It must be his representative."

"No! Look clearly, that’s the real Baron."

"The real Baron Ocean Ryujin!"

I walked up the stairs ignoring the attention as I knew I would have even more impact on my desired people now.

The large wooden doors of the trial room opened up and I walked in hearing the voice of the judge.

"With all the evidences presented, it is clear that-"

"Wait!" I spoke up loudly pulling all the attention from the huge courthouse to me.

"Who dares to hinder the working of the court?" The judge demanded.

I stepped down the stairs that were lined with the pews where the audience sat. On my way, I briefly met the gaze of Grand Duchess Dahlia Montaire who was present for the trial and walked up to the center where the witness box was.

"I apologise for the hindrance in the hearing but, I wish to bring forth the evidence that hasn’t been presented in this court yet." I announced and then looked up at the Queen.

A wave of whispers ran through the hall and the judge glanced once at the Queen who was also present sitting in the balcony. She looked down at me with a piercing gaze before she gave him a subtle nod.

"And who might you be?"

"I’m Baron Ocean Ryujin," I announced and the whispers grew even more fervent.

"Silence in the court!" The judge slammed his hammer on the table making the nobles grow quiet.

"Pardon the intrusion, Your Honor," The prosecutor Earl Wesker Demonte rose to his feet, I was wondering when he would take his stand.

"I couldn’t help but wonder, why Baron Ocean Ryujin who is usually aloof and unaffiliated with any matters is suddenly present here with some alleged groundbreaking evidence? And why didn’t Earl Clive mention it prior to the hearing?"

He was siding with the Queen and Peter, his task was to take out Baron Oberon so, he would have a problem with me.

Earl Clive stood up calmly and explained, "Your Honor, the time to gather the evidence to prove Lord Oberon’s innocence was less and that’s why, Baron Ryujin had to arrive like this. Please forgive us for the sudden interruption but this evidence is vital for this case."

"Lord Clive, are you trying to say that you couldn’t gather evidence that’s why you asked an outsider for help?" Demonte threw a smug look at me.

"Prosecutor Earl Demonte," I regarded him with a cool gaze.

"I am here as a conscious and responsible citizen of the kingdom of Sestia which is guided by our great King and Queen. It was only recently that I got to know of this eye-opening evidence which would turn the tide of this trial, that’s why I arrived here as soon as I could." I explained.

"And may I ask where and how you acquired this evidence from, Baron Ryujin?" Prosecutor Earl Demonte asked.

"And to be honest, you have nothing to do with this matter at all, Baron Ryujin. So, it would be better if you don’t delay the hearing and return to your estate."

"Baron Ryujin is in reality connected to this matter, Lord Demonte." Clive corrected.

"And how?"

"To explain that, I would request Grand Duchess Dahlia Montaire to come to the witness box and tell about the night when she had defeated those rogues." Clive said.

The judge didn’t seem to have expected that Lady Dahlia would step ahead but he allowed it.

Lady Dahlia stood up from her spot and the audience’s eyes followed her as she made her way down to the witness box.

She took the oath solemnly before Lord Ludwig Clive asked her to explain.

"Your Honor, Baron Ocean Ryujin is directly connected to this trial because, on the night of the incident, it was Baron Ryujin who aided me in protecting the people. If not for him then we might have had more casualties than the current number."

Her eyes drifted over to Demonte as she continued, "And the Baron is also giving those victims free medical treatment in his Oasis Foundation hospital and those who had lost their homes and livelihood are currently provided an abode in his town."

"No other noble bothered to see what happened with the victims, they all were eager to find the culprit and ended up framing an innocent man just because they were too desperate. But if not for Baron Ryujin then nobody else would have displayed the gesture of Noblesse Oblige."

The people started talking again and I wouldn’t be surprised if they did know about me giving a place to stay to those who lost their homes on that night. But with the Grand Duchess taking my side, this trial was as good as out of the hands of the judge.

The judge seemed like he was ready to bolt as the situation was getting out of what they had staged. After explaining her part, Grand Duchess went back to her seat.

"It still doesn’t answer the question of how he acquired such an evidence." Earl Demonte pointed out and I looked once at Lady Dahlia who had a scowl on her face.

"I own the best information guild in the kingdom, Earl Demonte and everyone here is aware of my business so, I guess it is self-explanatory that the source of my information is my guild." I answered in a composed tone.

"Besides, you do realise that you are interrogating a man who is here with the evidence and not the accused, right?" I asked making the some of the people scoff and his cheeks to turn red.

"What evidence do you have to present, Baron Ryujin?" The judge asked.

"If Her Majesty allows, I wish to present it in front of the court." I spoke up looking at the Queen.

She stared at me for a moment while the others in the court looked up at her, their eagerness would be clear at this point. A sealed trial was suddenly thrown into chaos by a man who never showed his face to the social world and the Grand Duchess who had returned from an enemy country as a Hero was also siding with me so, everyone would be dying to know what I had to present.

She couldn’t disallow it after I made a presence in the middle of the hearing. The public were like jury here, and not even the Queen or judge could deny any new evidence or information about this infamous incident.

"I allow it." The Queen allowed making me smirk.

I pulled out the documents from my vest and handed it to the recording person who took the papers tentatively as they were drenched in blood.

"Please have a look at these documents, Your Honor. And you will realise that the real culprit who fabricated the horrifying incident of ’Night of Terror’ is not whom you are thinking." I said as my eyes roamed over and fell on Lord Oberon who sat in the place of the accused.

His eyes held the emotion of relief while his face was quite pale and weak. The dungeon time must have been quite stressful despite my assurance that he would be a free man.

My eyes stayed on him for only a few seconds before I turned to look at the prosecutor who seemed like he had bit on something bitter. I turned my eyes on the judge after that as he looked at the documents and his eyes went wide as he started reading. His eyes flew over to the Queen before he continued reading and then he looked at me.

The audience seemed curious to know what the contents of the papers were and I could hear the conversations going around. From the corner of my eye, I could also see Count Peter Erkens who was fidgeting in his seat.

He wouldn’t dare run, even if he did, he would be caught and dragged back by my people who were already stationed outside.

"What is the meaning of this, Baron Ryujin?!" The judge gasped.

"Precisely what you see, Your Honor."

"What is it, Your Honor?" Prosecutor Earl Demonte asked.

"It is the record of the locations and observations about the rogue shifters which were gathered at... Respel town."

"What?!" Demonte gasped.

The people also gasped as they heard the name of Respel town. It wasn’t a town that belonged in Albagard territory, it was rather, the town which was a part of Irmens territory which was governed by Count Peter Erkens. Respel was also the closest town to Lozar and the other affected towns.

"There is also a list of those who handled these shifters and I have brought them all here to provide their honest testimonies, Your Honor." I announced and the men who were sitting in the last row stood up.

"With your permission, Your Majesty and Your Honor," I spoke and the judge looked once at Katherine whose face was devoid of any emotion.

"Please proceed," Katherine said making me smirk and I beckoned the witnesses.

The eyes turned on them as they all formed a line and started walking down the stairs towards me.

These men were kidnapped just yesterday from their homes, I also had my assassins stationed at their places with their families under the dagger’s tip. If they dared to utter even a word of lie then their families for whom they did this dirty work would be killed without any mercy.

[Defender of Divine Glory questions your morality.]

"They don’t deserve mercy," I stated, "Are they the only ones who love their families? Other people’s families are toys?"

"They should know the pain of losing a loved one just like they subject it on others. If you expect mercy from me for such people then don’t, I’m not a God or angel like you. I’m a Dragon and I will feed on those who dare to stand up against me."