Chapter 23 - Agravain Accusing
If not for the metal footsteps of the enforcement knights as they followed Agravain's command, the room would have been so silent that you could hear a needle drop, before Jaune finally found his voice, pointing to himself in disbelief as he asked: "... me?"
Then the knights finished wading through the crowd to reach him, and he quickly protested: "Wait, hold on, there's got to be some sort of mistake-"
Before the first could grab him by the arm, however, Mordred stopped him, almost crushing the knight's wrist in her grip as she growled: "Keep your hands off of him."
"Stand down, Sir Mordred," Agravain barked, as the other five knights hesitated, knowing that even together their chances of prevailing against Sir Mordred were non-existent. "Lest you also be found suspect."
But the enforcement knights weren't the only occupants of the room, and Sir Gawain quickly stepped in, forcefully removing the poor knight from Mordred's grip as he warned: "I think you should obey Sir Agravain's instructions, Sir Mordred."
"And I think you should stay out of this, Gawain," Mordred snarled, as Gaheris came up behind him.
"Uh, Sir Mordred..." Jaune tried to calm his mentor down, looking around worriedly at all of the unarmed knights around them as some of them began to move, whilst a din growing around them as people began to recover from the shock.
Fortunately for him, however, one of those people was Artoria, whose voice silenced the entire room as she stepped forward, demanding: "What. Is the meaning of all this. Sir Agravain?"
"My King, Jaune Arc is too dangerous to continue freely roaming our halls," Agravain explained earnestly. "I have proof that he has been consorting with otherworldly forces and withholding vital information regarding his background, which when combined with his actions leads me to believe he conspires against you and the Kingdom, Your Majesty."
That got the crowd talking again, and Jaune felt like shrinking away at the multitudes of piercing stares he was receiving, but he forced himself to endure them as he tried to defend himself: "But... I didn't... why would I even-"
"Silence, Jaune Arc," Agravain interrupted him firmly.
Before he could continue, however, Artoria cut him off, barely keeping the anger from her voice as she chastised him: "And why, Sir Agravain, was this proof not brought before me in private? Why have you ignored the cornerstone of our laws from the time of the Empire, the presumption of innocence, and instead levelled charges publicly, and during a solemn knighting no less?"
"Apologies, Your Majesty, but I fear it is likely you have already been compromised," Agravain lowered his head. "Your private meetings with him are no secret, after all, and if he was as dangerous as I suspected I doubted in my ability to apprehend him alone."
Jaune couldn't hide the look of utter disbelief as he took in Agravain's words, and he imagined the confused look he gave Sir Mordred was echoed by his mentor.
Were... were they talking about him?
Consorting with otherworldly forces, conspiring against the King, and being too dangerous for Agravain to risk confronting by himself... Jaune found it hard to reconcile whoever that description applied to with... well... him!
"Do you doubt your King, Sir Agravain?" Artoria thundered, before someone else spoke up as well.
"Excuse me, my liege..." Sir Lancelot began with a cough, attracting the attention of all in the room.
As the room fell silent, however, he took a moment to look at the face of his hopeful squire, and then the clearly-terrified Jaune.
He had been the one to suggest bringing him to Camelot, after all, and seen the positive impact he'd had on Sir Mordred.
Months ago, this entire situation would have been utterly unthinkable.
But that had been before he'd known Guinevere, a lifetime ago.
Unlike the British, he held to the creed that he would take the hand of the woman he loves if she is in peril, even if it meant abandoning his oaths, his liege, and his own country.
Remembering the mysterious letter he'd received earlier that day, one that had threatened to expose Guinevere's infidelity with him should he not support Sir Agravain in whatever might happen this day, he stopped hesitating, choosing to put the well-being of the woman he loved ahead of his own chivalry: "I... support... Sir Agravain's actions."
"Sir Lancelot?!" Gareth couldn't help but ask, completely shocked by his words.
"These are... serious charges, that Sir Agravain has brought before all of us," Lancelot slowly said, keeping his eyes far, far away from his squire's, Jaune's or the King's, while Agravain nodded appreciatively at him. "Considering the... severity and urgency of the situation... and bearing in mind that he may have already bewitched yourself, my liege... and considering that as members of the Round Table we are all equal, all of us should hear Sir Agravain's evidence and come to a decision as soon as possible."
That was all he could do for the young man; as disgraceful as a public interrogation may be, at least the King's presence would serve to temper Agravain's harsh methods. This was far kinder than if he'd simply allowed Agravain to take Jaune away for private questioning (who while never malicious or sadistic could be cold and callous, sometimes to the point of cruelty, in the pursuit of discharging his duties), which would have been the inevitable result even without his intervention... or so he told himself.
Perhaps, if he repeated it enough times, he'd believe it, too.
Artoria was able to keep the disgust from her face as she heard Lancelot's words only through years of conditioning and experience, and even then it was a close thing.
But even as she saw the look of betrayal on Jaune's face, however, the logical part of her pointed out that no matter what he'd been doing with Guinevere, she could see no reason for him or Agravain to be biased regarding this situation; if anything, Lancelot should have had every reason to defend Jaune.
And if Lancelot, Agravain, and Gawain were in agreement on something... then shouldn't it be more likely that she was in the wrong than them?
Reluctantly, Artoria looked down, refusing to meet her friend's as she relented: "If that is so, then begin, quickly, Sir Agravain, though you will bear in mind that Jau- that the accused has every right to defend himself."
"You have my thanks, Your Majesty," Agravain bowed, before turning his attention to Jaune, who was still being guarded from the various knights by Mordred. "I had originally intended to allow you to maintain your dignity by coming quietly, Jaune Arc, but a public questioning is of no concern to me. But I will offer you one last chance; will you come along quietly, or will you subject yourself to the scrutiny of your peers?"
Mordred made the decision for him, refusing to budge as she confidently stated: "He's not going anywhere, and I'm sure he's got nothing to hide. Right, Jaune?"
"Uh..." Jaune genuinely didn't know how to answer that, considering at that very moment he was hiding the fact that his mentor, the very person who'd just spoken up for him, was the bastard child of the King, among many other things.
"Very well then, so be it," Agravain coldly accepted his decision, gesturing for the knights he'd brought with him to take a step back. "Then, I shall begin."
Jaune gulped.
To his surprise, however, Agravain simply asked: "Jaune Arc... how did you come to our lands?"
"Didn't I already tell you?" Jaune couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"Please, repeat your answer. How did you come to our lands?"
"I was fighting a dragon and a witch, and then I lost, and then I woke up here," Jaune gave the same answer as he had before.
"That does not answer the question," Agravain pointed out. "There were no reports of dragons and witches in the region of Snowdonia in the months leading up to your arrival, so I will ask you again - how is it that you came to wake up in our lands, Jaune Arc?"
"I..." Jaune paused uneasily, before finally deciding to settle on the truth: "I don't know. That was the last thing I could remember, before I woke up in that forest, I swear."
Instead of pressing the subject, however, Agravain simply nodded: "Very well then. Next question - where are you from, Jaune Arc?"
"The Kingdom of Vale?"
"And where is the Kingdom of Vale?"
"It's... far away?" Jaune tried, immediately not liking where this was going.
"How far?" Agravain pressed relentlessly. "How do you know it's far? Why have you discouraged any attempts by the rest of us from looking into your home, let alone helping you return to your home?"
"I-I mean, I just checked the library and your maps..." Jaune could feel the stares burning through his Aura. "And, I... just... there was nothing..."
"The absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence," Agravain rebutted. "Moreover, you mentioned to Sir Lancelot and Sir Gareth that it would take at least a lifetime to reach. How do you know this specifically? How could we get to the Kingdom of Vale? And how did you come to our lands from your home, if it would take a lifetime to make the journey?"
"That..." Jaune's mind had been racing ever since Agravain had opened up this particular line of questioning, and now he was trying to remember when he'd mentioned such things. That had to have been, what, months ago?! And had he even been so specific? He knew he'd said it'd been far, but...
"Or is it that you have been concealing the whole truth all this time?"
"No, I really am from a Kingdom called Vale-"
"Of that, I do not doubt," Agravain cut him off. "What I was referring to was the fact that the Kingdom of Vale, and by extension you, are of another world entirely."
The room fell silent once more, and this time even Mordred looked back at her squire, though whether out of concern, surprise, or confidence in his ability to defend himself perhaps not even she could say for certain.
Whatever the case, she definitely wasn't expecting a pale-faced Jaune to quietly whisper: "... h-how did you...?"
"I wasn't certain about the Kingdom of Vale, not even after I checked all the records you had accessed and found nothing definitive," Agravain admitted tonelessly, as the room exploded with chatter at Jaune's admission. "But of your nature, at the very least, I was certain; Morgan made it clear that your soul magecraft, your Aura, was utterly unnatural."
Sir Mordred was saying something now as well, but Jaune couldn't hear it, focused as he was on trying to defend himself: "Okay, yes, I... I am from another world, but I wasn't trying to hide it or anything! I just... I didn't even realize it for the first few days I was here!"
"And why did you not mention anything once you had come to a realization?"
"How was I even supposed to explain that I was from another world?" Jaune shook his head helplessly.
Agravain looked him over with a critical eye, before summarizing: "Regardless, am I correct to state that you are indeed of another world, brought here through means unknown, and have been if not lying about your origins then deliberately obfuscating the truth and misleading us?"
"It wasn't deliberate..." Jaune weakly protested, well aware of just how hollow it sounded. But he couldn't let that Agravain's statement go unchallenged; even if everything he'd said was technically correct, the way Agravain was framing things was designed to portray him in as negative of a light as was possible.
"Even with all of that established, Sir Agravain," Artoria interjected, her gaze flickering between the two of them, "none of those things are against the laws of our lands, let alone warranting a charge of high treason; no small number of our knights have suspect backgrounds, after all, and if having connections to another world were a crime than I myself would have to be jailed, to say nothing of the Court Wizard or your own mother. I still fail to see what Jaune has done to deserve any of this, Sir Agravain."
"I have yet to be finished, Your Majesty," Agravain patiently reassured the King, before turning his attention back to Jaune and continuing: "I believe you said you spent almost three days in that forest in Snowdonia before stumbling across Sir Mordred, Jaune Arc. How did you survive?"
"..." Jaune carefully considered his answer this time, though try as he might he couldn't figure out what Agravain was getting at with this question. Finally, he asked for clarification: "What, do you mean, what did I eat, or...?"
"No," Agravain shook his head. "I repeat, you spent three days, lost and alone, in the Addanc's territory. Once again, how did you survive?"
"I... guess I just got lucky? I never even saw any sign of the Addanc, let alone the monster itself, until I saw Sir Mordred battling it."
"You set traps at the shores of its lake, and even speared fish and drank from its waters; I do not believe mere luck can explain your survival," Agravain pointed out, before theorizing: "Rather, it is far more likely that the water demon noticed you, and decided that your death was not in its best interest."
Jaune blinked, needing a few moments to process the accusation, and his tone was utterly incredulous as he asked: "... why would you think the Addanc wanted me alive?"
"Are you suggesting Jaune was working with the Addanc?!" Mordred demanded, her ability to contain herself all but gone, and the knights around her flinched nervously as she furiously reminded Agravain: "You do remember that it was Jaune who helped me slay it, right, Agravain?!"
"Perhaps that, too, was by its wishes," Agravain mused cryptically, before conceding: "Regardless, that is not necessarily what I was insinuating. Rather, this ties into what else Morgan told me.
"Jaune Arc, not only is the world you hail from so utterly distant from ours that Morgan, with all her power and connections in the Reverse Side of the World, could find no information regarding it whatsoever, but during her brief encounter with you Morgan observed something else, an otherworldly influence on your soul made noticeable due to your usage of it as armor."
"Wait, what?!" Jaune had no idea what to make of this new information. How was he supposed to react to being told that there was something on his soul?!
"If I may be so bold," Agravain ignored him. "I would like to posit Jaune Arc did indeed fall during his battle, in his world, but something used his death to instead bring him to our lands, something that marked him so that its fellow demons and monsters would leave him be, something that intended for Jaune Arc to be brought to Camelot, armed with a sympathetic story and a noble dream that would endear him to any among us, the perfect infiltrator.
"After all, let us look at the actions you have undertaken upon arriving here; you have successfully befriended multiple Knights of the Round Table within months, you have begun making a name for yourself especially through the seemingly-miraculous use of your unnatural magecraft, and now you would even have us believe that the King requests your presence privately on a daily basis merely because he is curious about another Kingdom, or that he requires the services of a mere squire?"
"Well, n-no, I mean, but..." Jaune stuttered, words utterly failing him as he tried to figure out how to convey that everything he'd done had actually had a logical, reasonable, non-sinister explanation; he'd agreed to join the Knights of Camelot because he'd had no idea what to do once he'd realized he wasn't on Remnant, he'd only been able to befriend multiple Knights of the Round Table because, well, strangers were just friends you hadn't met yet (right?), he'd used his Aura to heal people because it could heal people and he couldn't just turn a blind eye to the suffering to others if he knew he could help, and as for the King... well...
"Unless you would care to enlighten us on just what was so vitally important that required the King to personally seek you out," Agravain challenged, "or what had happened last week that had caused Sir Mordred to utterly lose control and almost destroy a section of the castle before you somehow managed to calm him down?"
Jaune could only look around helplessly, unable to say anything at all. After all, what could he say?
That the former had been because Arthur had wanted his help dealing with the fact that the Queen was having an affair with Lancelot, and the latter because Sir Mordred had found out about his parentage from his mother?
Even if anybody would believe such fantastical tales, he'd promised not to ever reveal it, and an Arc never went back on his word.
With a final short glance at Arthur and his mentor, Jaune looked down, and admitted through gritted teeth: "... I can't."
"Very well then," Agravain simply nodded, before turning back to the King and concluding: "And there you have it, Your Majesty. Consorting with otherworldly forces, knowingly or unknowingly, and obfuscating the truth, which in light of the otherworldly taint on his soul makes his actions in Camelot extremely suspect. Regardless of whether it was all intentional or if he was but an unwitting pawn, in my humble opinion Jaune's continued presence here presents a clear and unacceptable danger to both your person and to the Kingdom, even if we know not the ultimate goal behind it."
Artoria simply looked down at Agravain and Jaune impassively, ignoring the uproar of the crowd around them as internally her mind raced.
Logically speaking, it was certainly concerning that Jaune hadn't clarified his origins, and if what Agravain had theorized was true then his actions required investigating.
Emotionally speaking, however, she could not help but feel anger towards Agravain for turning Jaune's honor against him, using her request for the young squire's aid as a point of suspicion, and under her cloak her knuckles had long ago turned white from how hard she'd been gripping her throne. The only reason she hadn't chastised him for prying so deeply into her privacy was that she knew Agravain didn't know the full circumstances and was only trying to protect her, that such magecrafts to enchant one did indeed exist, and that her rebuke of him without being herself able to explain what she had required his services for would only serve to make Jaune look even more suspect, that the King would come to his defense over his own nephew and long-serving secretary while refusing to elaborate any further.
But what could she do? Publicly admit that she had sired a bastard child with her half-sister, initially rejected said child as her own, and had to thus turn to said child's squire for advice? Or perhaps admit that her wife was having an affair with one of her knights, and thus condemn Guinevere and Lancelot and risk fracturing the realm?
"..." Artoria took a deep breath, both to steady herself and to stall for time while she tried to think of her next course of action, and after yet another review of Agravain's statements she seized on something: "... Sir Agravain, thus far you have only been able to posit as to the nature of this otherworldly influence. Would I be correct in saying that you have been unable to definitively identify it?"
"That would be correct, my liege," Agravain nodded. "But considering all the available evidence, it is more than likely something foul and demonic."
"But considering his otherworldly nature and the... uniqueness of his soul magecraft, is it not possible that such an influence might simply be inherent to any from his world, where such abilities are more commonplace?" Artoria offered.
"That... is certainly a possibility, Your Majesty..." Agravain reluctantly conceded, though even as Jaune's eyes widened, a spark of hope returning to them for the first time since this had all begun, Agravain protested: "But the risks...!"
"Your concerns are certainly valid, Sir Agravain," Artoria conceded, before continuing on: "But all of it hinges on said influence being something malicious in nature, something which thus far cannot be proven beyond a doubt. Sir Bedivere!"
"Yes, Your Majesty?" Bedivere stepped forward, not having expected to be called out so suddenly.
"Find and bring back the Court Wizard, Merlin," Artoria commanded. "He shall examine Squire Jaune's Aura and come to a verdict."
"What about my mother, Your Majesty?" Gawain suggested, stepping forward even as Bedivere rushed from the room. "If she was the one to initially find out about it, perhaps she too would be able to identify its true nature with further investigation?"
Artoria turned to her eldest nephew, marvelling at how her scheming elder half-sister had produced such a naive child, that he could make such a suggestion so earnestly. Hadn't he been there when her trickery had caused Caliburn to be broken by King Pellinore? Regardless, whether or not he was blind as to the true scope of Morgan's ambitions, considering everything she'd done (the most recent of which that she'd discovered now being somehow procuring her seed without her knowledge and using it to create a bastard child who aged at more than twice what was normal for human, which she'd then subjected to a training regime best described as "nigh-impossible" before sending the result to Camelot in secret) Artoria wasn't inclined to leave this to her, and so she gently rejected Gawain: "Perhaps, but Merlin's return to Camelot is long-overdue anyway, and I'm sure your mother has much to do, both in her position as Queen of the Fairies and of Orkney."
"Are you sure? I can always ask..."
"That will not be necessary, Sir Gawain," Artoria replied, before turning back to Agravain and Jaune, and delivering her verdict: "In any case, while I will chastise Squire Jaune for not being entirely truthful regarding his origins, the charge of high treason will be put on hold, pending Merlin's investigations. Until then, while he is not to go anywhere unattended by Sir Mordred or another knight, he shall still be considered innocent, unless his guilt can be conclusively proven."
As the commotion in the room rose following her judgement, she continued: "If there is nothing more, then all shall vacate the room, save for Sir Mordred and Squire Jaune."
Author's Notes: So concludes the accusation of Jaune Arc in a short(ish) and definitely-controversial chapter (I did apologize for it pre-emptively last chapter), and before anybody starts trying to bring actual legal procedure into this, this scene was not meant to resemble a courtroom in any way (considering the judge is friends with the defendant, I'd certainly hope not). Also, apologies for how much of a stretch is required to follow Agravain's thought process, but by the end of it you should hopefully be as proficient in mental gymnastics as he is.
Anyway, before the pitchforks and torches come out, when you think about it there really are a lot of questions surrounding Jaune's circumstances. How did he get to Camelot from Remnant? Why did he come here? Why did the Addanc ignore him? Why was he constantly attacked by wild animals while travelling with Sir Mordred, between Chapters 14 and 15? Why didn't I ever address any of those, along with Morgan's reaction to meeting Jaune despite my tendency to address everything in my Author's Notes? Why did the first letter of each paragraph of Chapter 21's Author's Notes spell out "DEMON ARC"? Is the otherworldly influence on his soul something sinister and demonic or is it simply related to what the Brother Gods did to Remnant's humanity that allows them to use Aura and Semblances? Why has a mere squire been fraternizing with multiple Knights of the Round Table, and even meeting the King in private frequently?
To anyone who is genuinely expecting definitive answers to those questions and more... I'm sure some of those questions can be answered very easily (the reader is privy to far more information than most characters), and the rest can perhaps be answered by answering the question of what is this story is. After all, isn't it typical of isekai stories, that such questions are often overlooked or handwaved? I'm sure most people know me well enough by now to know my writing process is less "long-term planning" and more "improvization by the seat of my pants"... hopefully...
But even so, some of those questions also exist in-universe as well, and after going through all of the reports and records regarding Jaune at Morgan's request, and finding all the inconsistencies previously excused due to "grief" or "confusion", the paranoid spymaster Agravain clearly is not accepting "cosmic accident", "coincidence", or "I don't know" as an answer any longer.
And that brings us to Agravain's eventual actions - the ideal scenario would have been to, of course, confront Jaune privately; it spares the King embarrassment, as well as him, Jaune, Gareth, and Mordred, especially should Jaune actually be innocent. But that carried the risk of him being similarly bewitched (if Jaune could bewitch the King he would certainly not be immune), and if Jaune was truly an otherworldly demon it was more than possible that Jaune would be able to slay him or escape. Hence, the alternative - a public arrest of the unsuspecting squire, during a ceremony where he would be surrounded by Knights of the Round Table, and he would affect the arrest at noon when Gawain would be strongest. He would have to answer to his family and the King, of course, but it was the safest course of action, as far as he was concerned. And just to be sure, there was also his leverage over Lancelot.
As for Lancelot... yeah, just like in canon, Morgan told Agravain about that as well (and of course, he also looked into it, knowing that Morgan was Morgan). In canon Agravain then began using it to threaten the Queen, which then caused Lancelot to take drastic measures to protect her. Here, he instead uses knowledge of the affair to threaten Lancelot into supporting him now... what, were you expecting Lancelot to do the right thing? To be fair, he tried to change the script, giving Jaune the chance to defend himself in front of the script instead of being privately interrogated by Agravain, but still...
And as for why Artoria acquiesces regarding letting Jaune be questioned... just to point out, it's very much a world where magic, bewitching, charming, and enchanting exist; after all, Mordred was only conceived because Morgan charmed Artoria after Merlin gave her a dick (and that is a sentence I never thought I'd type...).
On a side note, for those who may have been bothered about Jaune only interacting with a handful of people in Camelot... that was intentional. To Jaune, he's just being awkward around crowds of people he doesn't know (especially when they're gossiping about him), which is why he mainly sticks to his friends, but to everyone else? Just recall Bedivere's perspective of Mordred and Jaune entering the crowded hall. The way he remained isolated, the way he never bothered to address any of the rumors about him that flew around... despite him trying to get Mordred and Artoria to actually communicate, his lack of communication with the rest of Camelot is now biting him in the ass.
Lastly, for the guys who really got up in arms about me saying Jaune was a normal guy surrounded by people of exceptional talent like Bedivere... just remember, in this story alone, Jaune survived Mordred's training and her meltdown, and he held his own against Gareth, who defeated multiple foes with far more experience in a joust. And in a similar vein, Bedivere was one of the first members of the Round Table, meaning he was there at King Arthur's side long before she defeated Vortigern and claimed Camelot, and he earned his rank as Artoria's care-taker and/or Imperial Guard (the translation's a bit iffy). The both of them are, in their own ways, exceptionally talented and hardworking individuals... but just as Jaune surrounds himself with Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, and Team RWBY, Bedivere is constantly surrounded by the superhumans of the Round Table, hence why they both view themselves as normal people.
Moreover, Jaune's true talent in battle, in my opinion, isn't his skill with the sword and shield; it's his analytical mind and leadership abilities. Just look at Episode 8 of Season 1, Players and Pieces. That was Jaune's first day meeting the rest of Team JNPR, and quite possibly his first day actually fighting Grimm, let alone a Death Stalker. Within minutes, he was able to identify a weakness in the Death Stalker and coordinate JNPR to take advantage of said weakness to kill it. And hell, just look at Volume 3, during the first round of the Vytal Festival. Sadly, it really feels like that aspect of him kind of got ignored as time went by, but then again I haven't actually watched anything past Volume 5...