3 bar menu

Death’s Daughter Chapter 52

Author: “FoodLovingPanda”

CHAPTER 52: THE TRIAL BEGINS

The day of the trial arrived, and by now I was quite familiar with the city and the castle surroundings, so I had no problem finding my way to the court which was adjacent to the castle.

This building was specially made for such events and it looked extremely grand, not paling at all to the extravagance of the castle. I was curious how long the trials held here usually last, but the only response I ever got from the Earl is “too long” before he would go back to napping.

Since I was a witness in this case, I was allowed entrance to the court, otherwise only nobles could enter this place. No commoners could participate in the trial unless they were directly involved with the case.

“All bow to His Majesty the King.”

The entire hall stood up and knelt down. I followed in the same manner. A man in his forties walked towards the throne that was also the judge’s place. Just from his aura you could see that this man was royalty. At his side he had a sword that had seemed to have a glow on its own, even though it was still sheathed. I could sense it, that item is a true treasure, and if I am to believe Kort, it should be one of the seven swords I am looking for.

Behind him four royal guards and twelve heroes stood proudly. I immediately noticed Hii-chan and his group. All of them looked like idols, models and actors. Honestly, I felt pissed just seeing them. Luckily I was sitting in a far corner of the room so nobody paid any attention to me at all. Only when the king sat down did we all stood up.

From another room, the Prime Minister brought Duke Loren in front of the king. Finally, the trial can start. One of the guards stepped up front holding a scroll. Unfolding it, he began speaking in a loud and clear voice.

“Duke Kasim of the house Loren, second of his name, son of Ishmir and Nadima, ruler of Loren Dukedom under the King of Elicia, 14th generation head of the Loren house, you have been brought here before His Majesty King Erik von Elicia, fifth of his name to face the trial under suspicion of high treason for sheltering a member of Black Hand knowingly and willingly, as well as attempted murder of another high noble Earl Toriwa Orzak, of the house Orzak, first of his name…”

Thus began the most boring day in my life. I finally understood Earl’s words “too long”. The entire day was wasted introducing each and every member of nobility that was attending this trial, starting with the highest rank towards the lowest. And even after three hours, when the break for lunch was announced, not everyone had been announced. Even the break took two hours and afterwards, introductions continued on for forever. At six o’clock the trial was paused and would be continued tomorrow when witnesses will be introduced and statements would be taken from those present.

Seriously, how can anyone endure this? Why did they have to recount every single detail about every noble present? Couldn’t they have said the names of the involved parties and just get on with it?

I kept on looking at the Heroes standing behind the throne and with each passing second their eyes became more and more dead. I could see them regretting all their life choices up until this moment. When the day was done, first His Majesty left, followed by his guard and the heroes and only then were we allowed to leave.

I don’t think I will be able to endure this much longer. And this will definitely go on for days if I am to compare it to today. If I am lucky it will end in three days, but I don’t think I have that much luck to rely on it. To use Earl’s word; too long.

***HIIRO’S POV***

I want to die, the only reason I went to this trial is to meet the Elemental Empress who was said to have unfathomable beauty and strength, but nobody like that was in the room. Also, this introduction was way too long. And since we were present on the first day, we must stay until the very end. I should have remained in the eastern provinces, actually willing to live and not endure this torture.

I held Mai’s hand as we stood wasting our lives watching this bunch of nobles become overly excited just by hearing their name. If only I could disappear from this place at once.

***TAICHI’S POV***

I Ishiwaka Taichi am cursing all gods and my party members for deciding to participate in this trial. I heard rumors about a great person that will come here, but I never thought that I’d have to endure all this just to see her.

Back on Earth I used to play a very popular VRMMO. Inside, there was a player named Miiko that was one of the best PvP fighters, a master swordsman using the most beautiful sword art that made it seem like she was dancing while fighting.

But, she was much better known for her alias, a nickname the crowd gave her after defeating all previous rankers in a tournament causing an upset by accepting all challenges afterwards and not losing a single battle. That name is Calamity of Crown Coliseum. The reason why I was interested in this is because I heard that name mentioned while talking about Elemental Empress.

I’m certain that this person was not part of the natives, nor is she one of those heroes. That leaves me with the conclusion that she, much like us is from Earth and has been summoned, but not as a hero. Which makes me wonder who was the one that brought her here and is she really the same one that I know from “Free World” that I used to play.