"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
...
Naofumi stored the whole cart and all the unfinished pieces at days end and they returned to town, for dinner and rest.
Tomorrow promised to be quite the day.
...
Naofumi woke up earlier than intended. It was probably because he was looking forward to today. He was able to slip out of bed without Raphtalia waking up as he sat on the edge of the bed, fiddling with his shield and status magic. He has mastered the other three family series already, today they'd walk into the castle with the cloaks that his last shield provided. It may not seem like the right time to be showing off, but they needed to show themselves as strong, even if it was only meant to show the queen what she could lose by siding against him.
Naofumi was fully convinced in his choices of shield for Filo, Teal, and now Leon, but Raphtalia and Monti would be without. Monti has the replica now, but he wondered how Raphtalia would take it. At one point, she was rather upset at her stats, but something told Naofumi that it wasn't as much of an issue as before.
He decided to read some more of his grimoires for a bit before softly coxing Raphtalia to wake up. She was unresponsive at first, but a slowly forming smile told him she was well awake at this point and he just scooped her up, out of bed.
"Good morning." He offered with a smile.
"...Good morning." Raphtalia replied.
They wished for another easy day, they had a few, but it wasn't enough for winning a war. They knew that the easy days were probably over for now. Either they'd leave Melromarc and begin their global travel or they'd stay and need to carve out a place for themselves.
After too much waiting around, Naofumi had lost the time advantage his early rise gave him and he needed to wake the others and get there early. If he showed up late, then the queen might try to start the trials before Naofumi revokes the staff. He saw that as maybe too blatant of a move, but he couldn't know her play.
He woke the kids up and had to help remove Leon from Monti. He argued that it was warmer in bed, but Naofumi knew that he was plenty warm in his robes. Filo also needed coxing, but Naofumi just picked her up and carried her out the room.
"Huh? That no fair, I wanna be carried too." Leon whined.
Raphtalia quickly picked him up and they moved to Mia and Godiva's room to find them both ready to go. Mia handed Monti back the replica, having finished her large observational notes. Even with her talent, it wasn't like she could simply recreate the replica at this point, but she had learned all she could from studying the replica directly. Not that she'd want to recreate it. She now understood its faults and wanted to explore how to avoid them and how to weaponize its faults. She'd need to spend a lot of time and resources to do so.
They all exited the inn and none of them renewed their room, just in case. They saw the streets were alive with people whispering back and forth, talks of the queen arriving or having already arrived. They sped up a bit, but it was a little difficult to start making it through the crowds when they wanted to stop and stare at the family with their energy cloaks. They began to push their way through and that made most of them have the good sense to move.
They arrived at the front gates to see Eclair waiting for them.
"You arrived just on time, the queen is due any minute now." Eclair explained.
"Can we go ahead inside?" Raphtalia asked.
"Yes... Melty is waiting for you in the throne room." Eclair eventually said.
They heard her reluctance and didn't question further, moving inside the castle, for hopefully the last time. Naofumi walked the all too familiar route to the throne room. The moment Melty was in sight, Filo was suddenly not tired and sprang to life to go hug her friend. Seeing that Filo was no longer being held, Leon wanted down too. Raphtalia showed no sign of being annoyed or bothered and sat him down.
"Mel-chan~!" Filo exclaimed.
"It's good to see you, Filo-chan..." Melty said honestly, something else on her mind.
"...Don't worry, everything will be okay." Filo felt Melty's worry and gave her some reassurance.
"...Right." Melty felt a bit better.
The rest of the party approached Melty soon after.
"Hello again... Please wait to the right of the throne when mother arrives." Melty told them.
Naofumi felt guilty for putting Melty through this, but he wanted his answers and his justice. He'd get his answers and his due, then what happens to the king will depend on what the king's answers are...
The court soon came alive as nobles bustled in and took their places, Naofumi quickly saw a major difference in these nobles. They were the same people as the first time he was in here and during his first duel with Motoyasu, but they sure didn't act like it. They didn't snicker or smile, they all wore serious and almost worried faces and while they still whispered among themselves, it was to a much lesser degree. The queen scared them it seemed, good.
Next, a number of knights entered the room, lining the walkways, making a noticeable barrier between everyone and those who entered next. Next were some familiar faces, Liviccic and Van came in taking appropriate spots. Eadwig was there too, but Naofumi never met the man. The fact that Sophia wasn't with Liviccic seemed odd, probably done for appearances, Naofumi didn't like that and Liviccic seemed to not like it either.
Now the moment everyone was waiting for. The queen came in with Eclair at her back. A few more knights were with them, but Naofumi saw no one else.
The queen walked up to her throne and turned around, but did not sit. She addressed the crowd.
"There will be a large series of announcements at the end of this day in court. These announcements are of incredible importance to Melromarc and its people. Because of this, no one is allowed to leave until it is over." The queen declared with a loud voice.
As the queen finished, many guards went to all exits, excluding the main door. The main door gave way to reveal Malty and the king, both in chains. Many other figures were in the back, cloaks hiding them. Four people holding orbs came to the four corners of the lower level of the court, holding those orbs outstretched in their hands. Malty wasted no time pleading with her mother.
"Mama! Tell them to let me go! I've done nothing wrong!" Malty begged.
"You will not speak unless ordered to for the rest of the day." The queen ordered.
"I am a princess! You can't do this to me!" Malty argued.
"Regardless of your station, your will be quiet!" The queen gave a loud warning.
Naofumi had to admit that he was loving his view..., but something was off. The king wasn't yelling as Malty was.
"Based on everything I experienced of the man, he should be too proud to take this. Maybe that was just how much authority the queen had... or maybe..." Naofumi eyed Melty a moment. "She convinced him to behave? Dammit." Naofumi half scowled.
He really wanted the king to squirm, but he might not get to see that now.
"You two stand here accused of many crimes. They range from human trafficking and attempted murder to the usurpation of my authority and gross misuse of that ill-gotten power. The evidence against you both is staggering and numerous, but I will allow both of you to defend yourselves from such accusations..., but first we must be assured that neither of you can spit falsehoods nor tell half-truths." The queen began with that announcement.
The queen motioned to the man next to her to step forward. She added a drop of her blood to a mixture of ink as the professional began to ready the mixture.
"What is this? You know that this will not work on me?" The king asked in confusion.
"Melty didn't tell him that, huh?" Naofumi thought to himself.
"It just might... Shield hero." The queen called.
Naofumi walked forward and stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at the pair. The king wanted to say all sorts of things, but he was holding back, for Melty's sake more than his own. Naofumi held his hand out openly towards the king as he spoke.
"I, Naofumi Iwatani, the shield hero find you unworthy of your weapon. By my [Divine Authority], I hereby strip you of your weapon, so that someone else can be the hero this world needs." As Naofumi spoke he began to shine brighter.
As he finished, the staff appeared before the king, floating in place a moment. Naofumi felt like it didn't want to abandon him, but it did. It shot off and landed in Naofumi's hand. It burned, as if it disliked that Naofumi did that. Naofumi looked at the staff a moment.
The king was blown away by that. He saw his SP stat disappear and his stats lower significantly. He saw all the levels added to his spells disappear. He felt it in every way that mattered, he was no longer the hero of the staff.
"What... What the hell was that!?" The king couldn't contain his bitterness over something like that.
"Purposely sabotaging the heroes that actually fight the waves while also not doing so yourself has resulted in you being stripped of your hero title, weapon, and power. Now, you're nothing but trash." Naofumi said as he walked down the stairs, passing the king.
The guards had to really put in effort to hold the king in place as he fought to free himself and attack Naofumi. Naofumi felt the staff trying to leave his hand, he felt he had only moments to hand it off. Naofumi ignored him and walked up to Liviccic, presenting him with the staff. He reluctantly took it into his hands. The weapon heated and hummed a moment. It seemed that Liviccic wasn't its most preferred candidate, but with Naofumi's recommendation, it did not reject him and ultimately grew quiet. Everyone in the room just saw the beginnings of a new hero.
The king saw the staff rest easily in the hands of another and grow still. He was devastated and enraged. The shield hero had taken something from him he never thought possible. Before he could scream out at him further, Malty screamed. A man placed a crest on Malty, making her the queen's slave for now. The king wasn't going to stand for all of this, even with his weakened power he could destroy this whole court with a single spell, he'd-
His eye's caught sight of Melty, quietly doing her best to keep it together.
"..." He stopped himself, if barely.
The man came up to him and placed the crest on him as well. The crest forming only proved further to all that he was no longer a hero. After applying both crests, the man returned to the queen's side, bowed to her, then went to the back wall. Naofumi finished, returning to the others.
"I have placed slave crests on the both of you... With this, you must do as I say. My only orders are thus, you will not lie and you will fully answer all questions asked of either of you." The queen commanded.
"..." The room was very quiet now.
"Firstly, Malty... I have reports that you stole money from the treasury in my absence, is that true?" The queen started her questioning softly.
Starting the trial off lightly with crimes of coin. It was the least offensive crime that would be judged today.
"N-no, of course I-" Malty spoke no further as the crest attacked her, shocking her head to toe.
Naofumi noticed the seal used was way higher powered than the one's he'd seen.
"I-I... Yes, I did, I am the princess of this nation, it's my coin to use." Even in her confession, she argued her innocence.
Monti and Filo were not fans of the screaming, they wished this would be over soon.
"Next, Malty... I have four victims who say that you had them sold into slavery, all four of them were the spear hero's party members. They were all human, making the act even more illegal than otherwise. Do you deny this?" The queen asked.
The crimes went straight from theft to human trafficking.
"I'd never-raaah!" The crest attacked her again. "I didn't, I-aaah!" She collapsed. "...Yes, I did it, fuck!" She managed.
The king was shocked at that, as was the court. Mirellia didn't waste time on pitying her.
"Malty, is it true that you conspired with the three heroes church to overthrow me?" The queen asked.
The whole audience grew loud at such a question.
"I... this is too cruel... mama I-aaaaah!" She was shocked again.
"You must answer." The queen reminded her.
"Y-Yes...!" Malty said after a moment.
"You also planned to have Melty killed, correct? You even tried doing so yourself, do you deny it?" Mirellia's anger was now showing in her voice.
"...No, I don't deny it." Malty answered. Finally learning to speak truthfully.
The king took a step away from his daughter. He was horrified by what was just said. He was being thrown for a loop and the heightened emotions were about to make him do something stupid.
"Can you ask, that question?" Naofumi asked out of turn.
"...Very well... Malty, did the shield hero assault you as you originally claim?" The queen asked.
Even the king grew quiet, his eyes full of confusion.
"No, h-yes... Yes he tried to ra-aaaaah! Okay, okay, he never touched me, stop!" Malty still tried to lie, showing how much lying was a part of her.
"...Malty, remain quiet for now." She turned her attention to the king.
The king hadn't noticed, he was too busy looking at his daughter like she was a complete stranger. He was wondering how any of this could be true, wondering where he went wrong as a father...
"Aultcray Melromarc XXXII, why did you summon the four heroes? Even knowing that it was a betrayal of all the greater nations, many of them allies." The queen began his questioning.
"...It was because of the waves. I was convinced that I needed to summon all four heroes or more villages would end up like Lurolona Village." The king answered clearly.
At the mention of Lurolona Village, Raphtalia nearly ran out and yelled at him, but Naofumi grabbed her and held her. They'd get their answers, but they'd let the queen play her hand. She had Malty admit to things he didn't know about, so they should wait and see if the queen had more to throw at him.
The queen and Melty were both relieved by his answer. These kinds of answers might spare him the brunt of Naofumi's wrath.
"Who convinced you of this?" The queen asked.
"Biscas T. Balmus. He came to me and told me of his fears and doubts... I was unaware of his intentions at the time." The king answered.
"But you know them now? That the pope of the three heroes church, Biscas T. Balmus, planned to kill Melty, you and myself, then kill Malty and take control of Melromarc?" The queen phrased it like that as to announce it to the onlookers.
Malty's eyes nearly popped out of her head at that. This was the first time she was hearing about the fact they planned to stab her in the back.
"Yes..." The king reluctantly answered.
"Your actions allowed for several of my own greater lords to conspire against me and have some loyal ones killed. The only greater lord today who was a greater lord a year ago is Aldreick Wymarc, the rest are all dead. Lord Seaetto's is the only one who's death I can't in some way blame you for..." The queen explained to the king and by extension, everyone else.
It wasn't a question, so the king said nothing.
"Did you usurp the authority I granted Melty?" Mirellia questioned.
"Yes." Aultcray answered promptly.
"Why?" The queen probed.
"I know that Melty is very smart for her age and growing to be quite capable, but she is a 10 year old child..., my 10 year old child... I'd do anything to protect her, legal or otherwise." Aultcray answered.
Mirellia was appreciating these answers, even if she couldn't show it.
"You sanctioned a duel to strip the shield hero of his legal property. You did so with no legal grounds and I suspect no moral ones either. During the duel, Malty illegally interfered and it was only after you stole the shield hero's property that the verdict was challenged. That was clearly an abuse of my authority that you were merely borrowing. Do you have any defense or excuse for those actions?" The queen questioned.
"Does it really matter if in the end he kept his slave? It cost him nothing." Aultcray argued, the crest began shocking him for not answering her.
"That he managed to keep his party member due to his fair treatment of them does not excuse the laws broken and ignored. Any other excuses?" The queen shut him down, she needed him to behave.
"...None." The king reluctantly answered, the pain stopped.
Naofumi went to offer the video evidence of the exchange between the king and himself, but she moved on quickly, possibly purposely avoiding it.
"You were supposed to protect the people, but you listened to the words of the enemy and abused your position... Next question..." The queen looked at Naofumi as she finished.
Naofumi and Raphtalia walked forward. They looked just as angry at the king as he did at them. Naofumi wanted to drink in the moment..., but honestly spending time with the family in the field was more enjoyable than this...
"I have to know... When you found me guilty back then, when you refused to see that I had 1 attack stat and struggled and clawed my way through my first day in this world... Did you know that it was a lie? Did you know I was innocent?" Naofumi asked slowly.
Naofumi just wanted to know the answer to this one question.
"I refuse to anserrrrrrr thisss bastard..." He was being shocked by the crest. He eventually relented. "Dammit! No... I had suspicions, I did not know for certain that you did the crime, nor did I care to look into it. I'd trust my own daughter over the damned shield hero." He admitted.
Without the queen's prompting, Naofumi asked another question.
"Why do you hate me? What is it about the shield hero that makes you hate me?" Naofumi needed to get to the source of this.
The rule infused by the crest was he had to answer all questions, so he did.
"Why? Because Siltvelt worships you, that's why! Siltvelt killed nearly my entire immediate family, save a single crippled sister! I came to this country and became a hero in service to it and Siltvelt found a way to kill the only family they missed the first time! All the people who killed my family... They love and cherish you. When I was told that my daughter was harmed by you... It seemed so obvious, like it was the way of things. Siltvelt's god would do as they did and take the family I managed to make since the last time they took family from me..." The king spoke loud enough for most to hear it, but it was meant only for Naofumi.
Naofumi wasn't expecting that kind of an answer and found himself identifying with that trash king. Not just that family was his motivation, but he had also formed a family after losing his old one, but at least in his own case, his family was happy and alive, he just couldn't be with them. The idea of actually losing his family in the truest sense and then finding the strength to form a new one... He had to admit, his vigilance in their safety would have him willing to do some pretty awful stuff. In fact, would there even be something off the table to protect them?
"So, you admit to allowing your own personal feelings to direct your decision-making as the king of this country? That your hatred led you, not your care for the people?" The queen didn't ask as much as she re-framed his statement.
Raphtalia now had a similar experience to the king. She was beginning to understand him, but she needed an answer herself.
"Did you order your knights to attack Lurolona?" Raphtalia asked out of turn.
The crowd went completely silent. None of them ever heard the specifics of what happened.
"No." The king answered, providing no further context.
"What do you know of the attack?" Raphtalia saw what he was doing and asked a broader question.
"...I was made aware that there was to be an attack on Lurolona via stolen castle equipment. Those involved were mostly not actual knights of Melromarc, but bandits, slavers, and vagabonds. The few of them that were knights stole armor and weapons for the others to wear. Using the look of Melromarc knights to avoid tolls and inspections." The king answered, hating that he couldn't leave out details.
"And where are they? The men who attacked Lurolona? The men that attacked your subjects?" Raphtalia asked, gritting her teeth.
Raphtalia was angry. While he didn't order the attack, he allowed it to happen.
"The six Melromarc knights that assisted them are in the dungeons for stealing from the castle. I have no idea as to the whereabouts of the other riffraff." The king answered.
Raphtalia kind of wanted to ask him why he didn't save the village, but whatever answer he gave was only going to hurt and anger her.
"Are there any more questions you have for either of them?" The queen asked, hoping this was enough satisfaction for Naofumi and Raphtalia.
Teal raised her hand.
The queen would be sporting a frown if her fan wasn't covering it. She wanted the questioning to be over because Aultcray performed well. She didn't want any more surprises. That said, disrespecting Naofumi's children was literally the only thing she needed to avoid doing.
"Approach." The queen bid Teal to her side.
They whispered a moment.
"I have a line questions for Malty, only because I can tell who some of those in the back are..." Teal whispered.
"I don't want to reveal them while recording." The queen informed her.
"It won't, but I think it'd do him a world of good to hear the answers." Teal already saw the queen's full angle, at least as far as today's event were to played out.
"...Proceed." The queen said louder.
Teal looked down at Malty, who flinched, remembering her beating.
"Malty, do you care about Motoyasu?" Teal asked.
Malty's face went to confusion.
"Why are you asking me that? It has nothing to do wii-aaah, fuck! No, I don't! Dammit!" Malty couldn't seem to help herself.
"Malty, do you have any respect for Motoyasu?" Teal asked, not giving Malty time to recover.
"Stop asking these questions! They have nothh-rrrr, no. None at all." It was like she was being punished by her own inherent nature.
"Malty, if Motoyasu died this instant, would you care at all?" Teal asked, again, with no pause.
"...Right now? ...No." Malty said.
"..." Teal quietly walked back over to the others.
The queen was actually quite upset by what those questions meant for her daughter's future. She wanted her to remain in Motoyasu's party. Her options for keeping Malty from a horrible fate had just lowered dramatically.
"I'll need to offer quite a few of the good looking women from the three heroes church as compensation...and even then that will only allow a delay. He wants Malty, not a substitute..., but if I can give a verdict that sends her away or can keep her in a hero's party... I can argue I had to for the shield hero's justice. That, plus the three heroes women... I should still be able to delay him long enough to alter the deal." Mirellia was planning to do quite a bit of evil if it saved Malty.
"If there is nothing else...? It's time for the sentencing. Naofumi, their actions affected you most of all. What would you do to them?" The queen asked.
It wasn't lost on him that she asked 'would' and not 'will', he doesn't get final say. He looked at Raphtalia. They had indulged in revenge plenty up to this point, but they wanted something else, something more. Safety, security, the chance to be happy...
"...In the king's case... I'd want him to lose whatever power I haven't already stripped from him. I'd also want him to remain a slave with an order to leave my family and I alone... After that, I don't care." Naofumi finished.
No sooner did the words leave his mouth did he feel a huge weight left off of him. He never realized how much of a grudge he held in his heart until now. The relief was very welcoming.
The king looked up to Naofumi in shock. He had all the power to destroy him and he did so little. Simply wanting to protect his claimed family... Aultcray looked past Naofumi to the others who all wore a cloak on energy, signifying they were this family. The demi-human from before, these child monsters that Melty told him of... The similarities between Naofumi and himself was almost laughable. Had he only saw things clearly from the start...
The queen was truly grateful that Naofumi asked for such a light punishment. If he was going to be this easy on Aultcray then she made the right decision about her plan for the day... That said, his punishment had to be seen as harsher than that, at least from the outside.
"And for Malty?" The queen asked.
Naofumi feelings on Malty were very different. He wanted her to suffer and in his mind, she had no redeeming qualities.
"She tried to kill all of us to become queen? Let her know what being a queen really is, what a leader's purpose really is... Have her..." Naofumi had the perfect punishment planned. "Have her stay a slave with the orders to help all those that ask for it. Have her serve as a public servant in the most literal sense. Let her see what serving the people really means." Naofumi said with a smile.
The queen was confused. "That punishment isn't very-"
"I'm talking about a permanent punishment... I don't want it to end. I want her to have this punishment to the grave. Going around and giving to people endlessly, working herself to the bone... If she does that until the day she dies, then she might become a net positive by the end of her life." Naofumi clarified further.
"...I see... This punishment doesn't stop her from learning to be happy, falling in love and starting a family. It benefits the people and gives her an environment to become a better person... I agree." The queen stood from her throne and stepped forward.
"I have reached my verdict then. Using these crests, I will ensure the punishment of the guilty and safety of the people..." She began her announcement.
She first faced her daughter.
"Malty S Melromarc, you are hereby stripped of any and all rights, privileges and possessions granted to you that are not on your person. You are no longer royalty, nor are you allowed to claim that your name is Melromarc. I order you to help the citizens of Melromarc in all that they ask of you from this moment until you die. You are not allowed to lie, steal, or threaten any citizen of Melromarc. You are not allowed to leave Melromarc under any circumstances. You are allowed to bypass these rules only at the immediate threat to your life. That is your fate. Serve the people well. As the shield hero put it, be a queen to Melromarc in a different way." The queen announced.
And just like that, Malty was placed as the lowest of any person in the country. Even other slaves had to only listen to their masters, but now everyone was her master. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was lower than a pet now.
"No! Stop this! You expect me to just accept this!? I'm the future queen of this country, not Mel-this fucking backup plan! I will not! Even if this crest kills me! I will not!" Malty screamed.
The crest kept shocking her and everyone watched as she writhed on the ground screaming, only needing to give up to gain relief. Monti was really wishing the screaming would stop, he didn't want to be here. Malty didn't relent for nearly a minute, screaming so loudly that she started to lose her voice.
"I-I give up! Dammit, dammit! Waaah!" She gave up and began to cry to herself.
The queen stood there the whole time watching her daughter suffer, not seeming to care at all. When she finally succumbed, the queen quickly moved on to the king. Filo broke off from the family, going behind the throne towards Melty.
"Aultcray Melromarc XXXII, you are hereby stripped of any and all rights and privileges granted to you. You are no longer royalty, proving yourself unfit to serve the people as hero or king. From this moment, I order you to never harm or plan to harm the shield hero or anyone who he claims as family... You are no longer king or hero..., but you are still my husband and my adviser. I hope you learn to serve me better. Be glad that you are still useful or your sentence would be far harsher." The queen paused, relieved beyond words.
"...Yes, my queen." The king said, lowering his head.
Melty was also relieved, so relieved that she nearly fell down. Her legs failed her, but Filo did not. Filo made it to her side in time to keep her upright. Melty couldn't hide her appreciation towards both Filo and Naofumi.
The queen continued. "That said, your punishment is far from over. More than 500 people are dead, nearly half of those were our allies, all of them were our people. You tried to undermine the shield hero, who saved four villages, while spouting about betraying me for the sake of saving villages. While that crest shows that you are not lying, your words are far from the truth." The queen began to chant.
[Drifa Icicle Prison]
The queen captured the king in a prison of frigid ice. His face stuck in an image of agony.
"Men, carry Aultcray to our room. I will be seeing to his punishment in all the personal time I have..." She said in a cold, threatening voice.
They took him to his room and guarded it. The queen waited until they had managed him out of the room before continuing.
"...Malty, leave Castletown and travel your country, serving it well. Never enter this castle again..." The queen said in an icy tone. "Goodbye, my daughter." The last words she said with warmth.
Malty was a ball of unending hate in this moment, but she couldn't voice her feeling or even speak at all until the following day. Despite all that she wanted to do or say, she still stood and left, the knights parting the doors for her. It was the last royal courtesy she was to receive the rest of her life.
The queen allowed a moment for the nobles to speak to one another. It was often useful for them to express themselves where her shadows can hear them.
"Sir Fitts, approach." The queen said loudly.
The audience somehow grew even more quiet than before. They all knew that name. They expected him to be dead or had escaped the country. Surviving to trial was never a possibility in the nobles' minds. Two of the cloaked figures stood and walked towards the front. They removed their cloaks to reveal themselves, but even more shocking than Fitts appearing was that he was not chained or bound. The nobles could not help but begin whispering again at this.
Fitts stopped more or less where Aultcray and Malty were, Chloe beside him. Naofumi noticed that Chloe was shaking, she seemed more than unnerved. Fitts seemed fine.
"For transparency and confidence in all the information that is about to be discussed, I will place a slave crest on those who wish to speak, objections?" The queen announce.
Before Chloe could freak out, Liviccic stepped forward. He had been learning to understand his new abilities, but was able to tear himself away from his menus long enough to pay attention.
"I can no longer receive a crest, but I wish to testify, is that okay?" Liviccic asked.
"Of course." The queen granted.
"Th-These slave crests will be removed a-afterwards, right?" Chloe asked while fidgeting.
"As long as you are not found guilty." The queen warned.
Chloe was utterly terrified of the slave crest, it had been a source of all the suffering she'd ever experience..., but she had to clear Fitts' name.
"No matter what way things went down, the crest WILL be removed." That's what she kept telling herself.
The man came forward with the crests again and placed one on the both of them. Chloe had to keep herself from crying. Once placed, he again bowed to the queen and went to the back wall.
"Sir Fitts, you will not lie and you will fully answer all questions asked of you, you as well." She motioned to Chloe. "You have been accused of assassinating three of the greater lords of Melromarc. Did you do so?" the queen asked calmly.
"No, I did not." Fitts answered quickly.
"Did you conspire with others to do so?" The queen asked.
"No, your majesty." Again, he answered swiftly.
"Were you aware of the plan before it happened?" The queen asked.
"No, I was not." He answered promptly.
Quickly, the crowd of nobles began to understand why Fitts was not in chains.
"Are you aware of who assassinated my greater lords?" The queen asked.
"Yes." He responded.
"Who did the deed?" She asked easily.
"The late Olivia Grimwald, the lady of Evergreen. She poisoned them, through their drinks as I've been told." Fitts answered.
"And where did you get this information from?" The queen asked.
"From Chloe." He said, motioning to her.
"Is what he said true?" The queen asked.
"Y-Yes." Chloe was nervous to be shocked, she feared it greatly.
"How would you know this information?" The queen asked.
"I was a shadow employed by the church. I was privy to most internal information. Lady Grimwald's deeds were an open secret." Chloe answered.
"I see... and tell me, why did you give this information to your employer's enemies?" The queen asked, slightly interested in this answer.
"Because if I didn't, I would have been made a slave." She answered.
"Yet, you allow yourself to be branded here?" the queen probed.
"If it's temporary, I'll suck it up. I-rrr-ark! I'm doing it for Fitts' sake." Chloe received a shock and corrected herself quickly.
"...Do you plan to be my enemy or my ally?" The queen asked.
That was cruel, Mirellia admitted to herself. Using a slave crest on a former slave to probe her when it's supposed to be a trial, but an enemy shadow is always a threat worth addressing.
"It depends on how you treat Fitts. I won't be your enemy, but we may not be allies." She answered.
If she wasn't an enemy, it was fine with Mirellia.
"...Liviccic, please add your own testimony." The queen prompted.
"Lady Grimwald admitted to me that she killed my father and the other loyal greater lords minutes before I killed her. She admitted it freely and gained nothing from telling me this, except death. I can't see a reason for why she would lie." Liviccic added.
"...Thank you... It appears to be an ironclad case. Sir Fitts seems to be innocent of all charges. Does anyone else wish to ask further questions or present countering evidence?" The queen asked the whole room.
A few nobles stepped forth.
"My queen?" One asked.
"Proceed." She granted.
"What happened to all those that were sent after you?" One noble asked aggressively.
"I killed them." Fitts answered in monotone.
"All of them? The good knights of this city, dead!? What excuse do you possibly have for that kind of slaughter?" The man was livid.
"I only killed in self-defense. If I could have even simply thought up a good excuse to myself, I'd have let them live. They didn't give me a choice. Sorry for you los-fuck! I'm not sorry, that was a lie." Fitts answered.
"He's right. He only spared me initially because he wanted what information I had. He then tried to find any excuse he could to spare me. Provoking him had no effect." Chloe added.
"...Dammit..." The nobles retook their spots. They weren't satisfied with the answers personally, but they knew that they'd not win.
"Anyone else?" the queen asked.
"..." No one answered or motioned. She proceeded with her judgement.
"I, Mirellia Q Melromarc, do hereby find Sir Fitts to be innocent of all charges and wrongdoing. He is to not be attacked or threatened due to lies that were spread by the enemy any further, nor for the things he did in self-defense. The royal bounty is hereby rescinded and I further find third party bounties of Sir Fitts to be illegal at this time... Release them." The queen announced.
The man who applied the crests removed them quickly and repeated his motions to return to his position.
"With these three trials concluded, some of the truth has likely been understood by many, but let me announce the whole truth to you all... The three heroes church attempted to kill the royal family and usurp this nation for themselves. They also incited others to do so and attacked innocent people. They also attacked the shield hero, whom we now have proven to have done no wrong doing." She began.
"In fact, the shield hero has been traveling this land under an alias of the savior of the heavenly fowl. He has saved countless people and four entire villages. To target him specifically is even worse." The queen continued.
Naofumi cursed to himself. Her reveal of his alias makes it harder for him to hide, even when he travels to other countries. If that was meant to disincentivize him leaving, then she'd learn. He had to travel to other hourglasses. Period.
"So, as of this moment, the three heroes church is considered a heretical religion and not recognized by Melromarc. All those who continue to practice this religion will be seen as domestic terrorists and enemies of the state." The queen announced.
There was a lot of noise between the nobles now, but the queen quieted them as she spoke further.
"I ask for all of Melromarc to wait patiently. While we have lost many greater lords, we are not short on power. Many powerful people rose to meet the challenges that threatened Melromarc in our trying times. I swear to replace the greater lords and restore Melromarc to full strength! If anything, Melromarc is stronger today than it was a year ago, as you all yourselves will see in the coming days." The queen finished her little speech.
She snapped her fingers and the four people holding orbs began to leave, as did the man with the slave ink.
"The public trials are now over." Eclair told the crowd.
Naofumi began to feel very disappointed, but he stopped when he noticed that only about half of the attendees were leaving, the other half stayed firmly in place... The trials were not over... Maybe the 'public' trials are over, but 'private' trials seemed to be up next on the menu. Though they tried to stay, the knights motioned for nearly everyone to leave.
After everyone was forced to leave, save a few select people, the queen motioned for the doors to be barred again.
"I needed those previous verdicts and announcements to be spread throughout my kingdom... These following trials are not of national importance, but need to be done all the same." The queen explained
"Guards." The queen spoke loudly.
The guard proceeded to remove the hoods of all those that remained in the back. Those being the three heroes and their parties. Motoyasu looked dead on the inside, Malty's words really showed him the truth. Ren was unreadable, even to the queen. Itsuki's eyes shifted between everyone, he was having a lot of thoughts.
Naofumi immediately shot a look at the queen, wondering what changed her mind...
"...Now we will begin the trials of the bow, sword and spear heroes, as well as their parties." The queen announced.
.
[Author's Notes]
I'm sure some people are mad, while other people are happy with the first half of the trials.
Liviccic is now the staff hero, yay! Don't fuck it up.
I believe that Aultcray's defanging and the humiliation combined with the reveal of his motivations (which are canon) combined with Naofumi's own family focus was a good enough set of reasons to give him some mercy.
Malty's punishment is the one I love though. A queen's duty is to her people. In that, she is now the queen of Melromarc in a working every waking minute. Never having the power over anyone and helping others constantly will be hell for a while, but it also allows someone to become... a lot less bitchy.
I am half tempted to write a rather nasty encounter with someone asking Malty for her 'help' in a sexual manner and her realizing she has no choice but to do so, but I might not... Still tempting, but that's cruel.
Fitts' name is cleared and Chloe proved to care enough to suffer the slave crest a few minutes, which really shows her motivations.
The name change to Trash and Bitch never happens. Personally I felt it was just juvenile and pointless.
Next time the three stooges have their day in court!
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