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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 14
"You must be… Christian’s friends. Why do both of you look like that?"
The friends swallowed nervously before speaking hastily.
"We tried to stop Christian from making a mistake, but he assaulted us."
"…A mistake? What are you talking about?"
"He was drunk… He murdered a servant and dumped the body in the river."
"!!"
Count Khazar staggered, his face turning pale.
"Are you saying… that’s true?"
"Yes, it’s the truth. We’re sorry! We tried to stop him, but we weren’t strong enough."
Count Khazar covered his face with his hands.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Without anyone noticing, Butler Kox exchanged glances with Christian’s friends.
'Well done.'
They had done exactly as Butler Kox had intended.
But then… why?
The friends flinched and averted their gazes.
It was odd, but Butler Kox was too pleased with Christian’s downfall to dwell on it.
'Now that I’ve finished off that bastard Christian just as He ordered, I’ll be handsomely rewarded.'
He.
Butler Kox concealed his sly smirk.
Feigning deep concern, he turned to Count Khazar.
“…What should we do about Young Master? This matter won’t be easy to overlook."
Count Khazar spoke gravely.
"Bring Christian before the Magic Tribunal. I will invoke my right to summary judgment."
* * *
Christian was soon brought before the tribunal.
All the key figures of the Khazar household were present.
"This way, Young Master."
A Magi led Christian into the courtroom.
[TL/N:a Magi is a Specialized mage having mastery over punishment style dark magic]
But as he appeared, those gathered frowned in confusion.
He was too clean.
There was no trace of drunkenness, nor any sign of his usual debauched behavior.
Rather—
‘He looks like… he’s regained his senses?’
Some of the Magis had that thought.
Count Khazar grit his teeth and asked,
"…Is it true that you committed murder?"
Before answering, Christian looked at Count Khazar.
His gaze was clear—almost as if he had returned to his former self.
"No. I did not."
A firm answer.
Count Khazar’s eyes wavered.
"Are you lying? There are witnesses who saw everything."
“Witnesses, you say? Who are you referring to?”
The friends, who were standing in the witness stand, stepped forward with pale faces.
“W-We are.”
“I have a question for Count Khazar. Are these individuals' testimonies trustworthy? I mean, do you have any evidence to confirm their claims?”
Count Khazar became like a mute person who had swallowed honey.
“There are witnesses who saw you lead the servant you were attending to into a secluded area.”
It wasn’t just Count Khazar’s testimony.
The situation had been investigated separately, and it was confirmed that after Christian took the victim to a secluded place, the victim went missing.
“Hm. It seems there’s some misunderstanding.”
Christian shrugged his shoulders and spoke behind him.
“Come in.”
“!!”
At that moment, an individual appeared in the courtroom, and Butler Kox’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The girl, who was said to have been killed by Christian and thrown into the river, appeared perfectly fine!
“W-What?”
“What’s going on?”
The girl spoke with a trembling voice.
“T-The young master pitied my situation, gave me money, and told me to leave secretly so no one would find out. He didn’t harm me.”
“So, that’s what happened.”
Christian chuckled lightly.
“How did this happen?”
People were flustered.
The case had been cleared up so perfectly that it was almost absurd.
The gaze of the people turned toward the friends who had given false testimony.
“If I’m innocent, the reason all this commotion happened is obvious.”
Christian spoke coldly.
“They framed me.”
“!!”
The atmosphere in the courtroom shifted.
Count Khazar shouted furiously.
“Make them kneel!”
“W-We…!! C-Crack!!!”
The Magi forcefully made the friends kneel on the ground.
They swallowed their tears with pale faces.
They had tried to frame the heir of the Khazar household, so now their lives were forfeit.
There was no way they could survive.
But they had no choice.
‘We didn’t want to do this either!’
In reality, this was a plot orchestrated by Christian himself.
They had carried out the plan under Christian’s orders.
But they couldn’t refuse.
The mark of the curse.
The curse Christian had branded them with forced their actions.
Under the curse, they once again opened their mouths against their will.
“We... we were just following orders.”
“Orders?”
“Yes. We were ordered to slander the young master. Ugh.”
Count Khazar’s eyes blazed with rage as if they were about to explode.
“Who is it, that bastard?”
Everyone’s gaze turned to the friends.
They raised their trembling faces and looked at a person.
A person with a face as pale as theirs.
“It’s Butler Kox.”
“!!”
Everyone was shocked.
It was an entirely unexpected accusation.
Especially Count Khazar, who looked dazed.
Butler Kox had worked for the Khazar household for a long time.
He was trusted so much that when the Count led the knights to battle, he would entrust the household’s affairs to Kox.
But for such a trusted person to have instigated this?
Butler Kox naturally jumped and denied it.
“That’s a ridiculous accusation! No, this... this is clearly a prank by the young master and his friends! Young master, to go this far with such a horrible prank!”
Butler Kox quickly realized that this situation had been orchestrated by Christian.
He bared his teeth and reacted harshly.
“Do you know how much I’ve cared for the young master up to now! To have such a false accusation thrown at me! No matter how much of a troublemaker the young master is, there are things that can be done and things that can’t!”
‘I have to insist that this is the troublemaker’s fault!’ Butler Kox thought desperately in his mind.
It was a convincing method.
He had built trust over a long period, but that troublemaker had always been met with distrust from others.
If he insisted, he could probably pin the blame on the troublemaker.
However, Kox hesitated.
Christian’s gaze was completely unwavering.
As if he had expected Kox to react this way.
That assumption was correct.
Christian thought inwardly.
‘Did you really think I wouldn’t expect this from you?’
“Count, as the victim of this incident, may I ask one thing?”
Christian spoke to Count Khazar in a formal tone.
“…What is it?”
“May I, with the authority of the Count, directly question Butler Kox about this matter?”
Questioning.
Christian was asking to personally interrogate Kox about the incident.
Count Khazar was silent for a moment.
‘...What on earth?’
Count Khazar looked at Christian’s face.
He did not trust his son.
It was only natural.
But even so.
What was with that gaze?
The arrogant and boldly confident gaze that shook his chest.
Count Khazar made an incomprehensible decision.
“…Alright, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Count!”
Butler Kox shouted in surprise.
“However, if there is any inappropriate behavior or speech, I will revoke your authority immediately.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Christian smiled slyly.
“I’ll finish it quickly.”
Everyone looked at Christian with bewildered expressions, wondering what he would do.
“On behalf of the great ruler of the Magus Empire, His Majesty the Demon King, and as a representative of Count Khazar, who governs the eastern wing of the southern Magus Kingdom, I shall now question the defendant.”
When Christian spoke those words, those present couldn’t help but admire him.
Though he had never conducted such a trial before, the phrasing was precisely what was required before an interrogation.
“Defendant Kox, do you swear to tell only the truth in response to the questions of this court?”
“…I swear.”
“As a representative of the Demon King, I ask again. Do you swear to tell only the truth in response to the questions of this court?”
“…I swear.”
Two oaths.
It was merely the customary oath for an interrogation, but Christian raised the corner of his mouth meaningfully.
“Then I will ask. Have you ever incited others to slander this court?”
“No.”
“Can you swear to that fact?”
“…I can.”
“I ask again. Can you truly swear to it?”
Just as Kox was about to answer that he could, his eyes froze.
‘What’s happening? I can’t speak?!’
An incomprehensible phenomenon.
He tried to answer, but his tongue wouldn’t move.
In his eyes, Christian’s face appeared.
A face with the smile of a victor.
Kox instinctively realized that the strange sensation in his body was related to that troublemaker.
“W-What... What are you doing to me...?”
“What am I doing? I’m helping you speak the truth.”
Christian extended his hand forward and opened his palm.
“Didn’t you just swear to me? To answer only with the truth.”
“!!”
When the demons saw the pattern that appeared on Christian’s palm, their faces filled with shock.
“The Mark of Binding!!!”
It was a horrific dark magic curse that could control someone like a slave under certain conditions!
It was a 4-star grade dark magic. How?
“No, it’s a bit different!”
“Could it be an improvement? Who would improve it like that?”
The people didn’t even imagine that Christian could have done such a thing.
Improving a 4-star grade dark magic was something only a higher-level dark magician could do.
Of course, for Christian, it was an exception.
‘If you perfectly understand the principles of the magic, even with a low level, you can improve it. Though, the power is much weaker.’
Christian smiled slyly.
The Binding Seal was originally a dark magic that he couldn’t use at his level.
He lacked the necessary magic power, and his achievement in dark magic was insufficient.
So, he fixed it in his own way.
He drastically reduced the effect to decrease magic consumption and strengthened the ‘condition’ for the curse so that even with insufficient achievement, he could still use it.
This was the result that was born.
‘I can make him follow exactly what he swore to.’
The improved Binding Seal wasn’t like the real Binding Seal, where he could control the opponent at will.
It only forced the opponent to follow what they had sworn.
And that wasn’t possible with just one oath.
They had to swear twice.
That’s why he had set up this situation.
When in a courtroom, two oaths were typically sworn.
‘Now, that guy can only answer my questions with the truth.’
The moment Butler Kox realized the situation, his face went pale.
“T-this… this can’t be…”
Butler Kox gathered his magic power.
He was also a 3-star grade demon in his own right.
He was trying to break the curse.
The curse that Christian had cast wavered.
‘Maybe it’ll last 1-2 minutes?’
At most, it would only hold out for that long, since it was a 1-star grade curse.
But it didn’t matter.
One minute was enough to make him spill all the truth.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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