The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 769. Trial

Chapter 769: 769. Trial

Mauve sat in the courtroom beside Jael. From her left to his right, lords made a half circle around the room. Mauve blinked as she looked around. She didn’t even know they had a courtroom in the castle, but what was even more astonishing was the number of lords in attendance. In one glance, she could count at least twenty.

Jael had wanted her to stay out of the trial, but Mauve had vehemently refused. She was the reason Seraphino was standing in court; there was no way she would not be a part of this. Whispers floated through the room, and more than a few glances were sent her way.

"Why are we here?" a lord asked.

"Didn’t you get the Primus’s letter?"

"I did, but it wasn’t exactly very detailed. But did you see her stomach? I didn’t know she was that heavily pregnant."

"Shh! What if the Primus hears you?"

"I didn’t say anything wrong."

There were a lot of familiar faces. Sabrina was there with her father, but there was no sign of her mother and her younger sister. Lord Levaton was missing from this, but his daughter was in attendance, and behind her stood Damon. According to Jevera, her father was too exhausted from the last trip to travel again, and she was representing him. Jael didn’t care about this and didn’t comment on the matter. Lord Phelan was also in attendance; he seemed the most anxious of the bunch, but his son, however, was nowhere to be found.

Mauve glanced at Jael, and he met her gaze. The past few days had been a bit tough, especially after she found out what Seraphino had done. Seraphino had been brought to the castle, where he was kept in the underground dungeons. Jael often went to see him, but Mauve was unsure what went on down there. However, she would be lying if she said she couldn’t guess because even though Jael always cleaned up before meeting her, she could still smell the blood on him.

Suddenly, the doors of the courtroom were thrown open, and Louis walked into the room, pulling something behind him. It was a chain, and at the other end of it was Seraphino, with his hands in front of him as the chains pulled him in. Erick walked in behind Seraphino; a few other guards could also be seen, but Louis was the only one pulling him in.

"To be treated like a criminal," a lord said.

"Was his offense really that grave?" another asked.

"Did you hear what he did?"

"No, but I heard it has something to do with Lord Phelan and his son. The latter has even been chased from the castle."

"I think the Primus’s mate might be involved," another said.

"What?"

Seraphino looked like he had lost some weight, but he still had the snarky look in his eyes, and when he met eyes with Mauve, he grinned, then ran his tongue over his teeth, his crooked fang gave him an ominous look. Louis yanked on the chain, and Seraphino tripped over himself, almost falling. Louis didn’t stop walking until they got to the stand. Once Seraphino got into the square-shaped stand, Louis unlocked the chains.

Seraphino lifted his hands and rubbed his wrists. The chain had cut through his skin, but it was already healing. He wore a coat that covered his inner garment, which looked like it had been ripped in several places. He pulled at the neckline of his coat, doing his best to cover the damage, then turned his gaze to Jael.

"Seraphino, Son of Bhoren, you are on trial on allegations against you for poisoning the Primus’s mate and attempting to kidnap her."

Gasps echoed through the hall, and one lord looked from one person to another.

"What?" a lord whispered.

"I didn’t hear these parts."

"Then what does Phelan and his son have to do with this?" another asked.

"What do you say to this?" Jael asked.

Seraphino shrugged. "I didn’t poison the Primus’s mate," Seraphino simply stated.

"Do you deny these allegations?" Jael asked darkly. It was taking everything in him to keep his emotions in check. As much as he wanted to rip Seraphino’s throat out, this was unfortunately the only method he could use right now.

"Yes," Seraphino blatantly replied.

Jael’s eyes narrowed. "Even though there is more than enough evidence against you?"

"Evidence?" He laughed and turned his attention to Phelan. "What evidence?"

Jael smirked. It couldn’t be that Seraphino was this stupid, or he really thought nothing would come out of this trial, that he could do as he usually would and nothing would happen because Mauve was human? Jael clenched his palms, and Mauve put her hand on his leg. He glanced at her, and she smiled at him. He resisted the urge to touch her and turned his attention back to Seraphino.

Jael moved his hand, and a guard moved forward, holding a piece of paper. Lords strained their necks as they tried to get a look at what the guard held. The guard placed it in front of the box. There was a bit of wood over the edge; it served as a table.

"Recognize it?" Jael asked.

Seraphino didn’t even glance at it. "There is no proof this is mine."

Jael narrowed his eyes. "It has your name on it."

"Yes, but that’s not my blood."

"It’s Otis’s, and he is your second in command."

"Clearly, Otis was plotting with the Phelans in my name. This has nothing to do with me." Seraphino lifted his hand as he spoke, and his tone was condescending as if he were speaking to a child.

Jael sighed. "Clearly, you think this is a joke and it would only end here." Jael addressed his words to the rest of the lords. "It is no surprise that not a single truth has left Seraphino’s mouth, and I don’t think that will change in the process of the trial. I was hoping we could unravel the case, but that won’t happen. Louis here will give you all a briefing, and we can decide the verdict."