Ch49 - [The first round of cross-examination] He already prepared his script.

Someone better looking than the Admiral?

Impossible.

The reply was immediately taken as a joke and very quickly thrown mercilessly to the back of people’s heads.

Instead of fantasizing an appearance and guessing the validity, they felt more committed to excavating the truth! This was the true essence of a high quality gossip group.

Therefore, the crowd turned their gazes back onto little Princess Shasha.

–This was the only weak point they knew right now.

At certain times, this well spoiled little Princess was very simple minded and naïve. With only some words of guidance, they could obtain an unexpected result.

The scheming citizens of the Empire put on their disguises, all in tacit mutual understanding, as they stood on the same battleline as the little Princess to denounce Nalun Charvey. From his clothing tastes to poise and upbringing. Every minor detail was nitpicked and criticized. Nothing escaped.

A round of denouncements targeting the Honored Prince started just like this.

Seeing so many people supporting her, Princess Shasha blurted out smugly: “Yes yes yes, he’s a very despicable fellow!”

She publicized how Nalun insults and criticizes the Admiral overtly and directly every time the two people meet. She even expressed: “He’s really too outrageous!”

The crowd all expressed: That’s right! Outrageous! Despicable!

Such an outstanding person like the Admiral… actually had an arch nemesis like this?

Immediately afterwards, the crowd started to feel astonished. There was actually someone in this world who dared to ridicule their God?

Although Princess Shasha was never well reputed, concerning the Admiral, her protective feelings were still very sincere. Hearing her descriptions, this Honored Prince Nalun was clearly a petty clown who took advantage of his birthright and bloodline to cause trouble for Sirius repeatedly. He didn’t seem like someone likable from her descriptions.

However……

Despite all this, the Admiral would rather feed the other grapes than sit together with the Princess.

For a moment, the crowd didn’t know which side they should take.

They attempted another wave of picture requests.

Princess Shasha immediately posted countless beautiful selfies.

“…….” They wanted the Honored Prince’s pictures.

The Princess was no longer happy. Why do you guys want to see Nalun?

Because we want to see how ugly he is. So we can continue helping you insult him.

Gossip changed people beyond recognition.

In order to reach their goal, the crowd shed their pride momentarily. It was the sacrifice before a victory!

However, to their surprise, the Princess immediately expressed that there are no pictures in a very willful manner.

The crowd attempted to incite her some more, but they failed to achieve their goal.

They discovered that regarding showing a photo, Princess Shasha’s stance was incomparably staunch: Not showing, definitely not showing anything!

“…….” Very disappointing.

Discovering that they couldn’t dig out any more information from the Princess, the crowd all stripped off their disguises, went back to their main accounts, and sent a wave of reverse bombardments at the little Princess.

Messages like [In order to maintain distance from the Princess, the Admiral would rather endure the ridicule of a colleague] swiftly occupied the comment section.

During the span of drinking a cup of water, Princess Shasha abruptly discovered that the world has changed……

Just at this time, the late-night cultivating Mona started to live-stream.

This reputable female streamer just returned from the Hunting grounds. She even carried a hint of exhaustion between her brows. According to prior agreement, before going to sleep, she planned to discuss some interesting things that happened during the game with her little friends.

“We won!” Her first words were good tidings.

Then, she sighed regretfully: “However, the Honored Prince, who had the highest points on the team, didn’t show up. The Admiral also vanished. Something seemed to have happened in the depths of the forest. Someone left early. However, the party in the end was very rowdy. The reward was also very satisfying!”

The well-behaved fanboys in the live stream still hadn’t started playing attention to the Admiral’s development yet. Hearing her words, they all asked ‘what’s the reward’.

Therefore, Mona started narrating how she was ambushed by someone, unfortunately landing in the enemy’s grasp mid game, and the miserable experience she had. Then with a smile, she talked about how she had made all sorts of terrifying requests towards that person after the Prey Team won.

“……”

A vengeful woman was really very scary!

After that she started talking about the scenery in the forest, giving high praise to a certain rare plant.

Someone couldn’t sit still anymore and asked spontaneously: “The Honored Prince you mentioned was Nalun Charvey? He also participated in the competition? With the Admiral?”

Mona was almost somewhat surprised. She didn’t answer immediately.

Attracted to the stream by the photo she posted, the other crowd finally reached their destination. They posted the back view that Mona posted previously, as well as the screenshot from the opening ceremony during the day, and asked about the identity of this person.

Mona blinked, dumbfounded by this powerful and loud collective inquiry.

This was destined to be a not very peaceful night……

The galactic net was in complete chaos, still discussing continuously even to the early morning. What they didn’t know was, in a few hours, the topic of their discussion was about to face a very grave and severe trial.

The courthouse was located in an administrative area a street away from the Royal Palace.

This classic, traditional style building was built several hundreds of years ago. After many renovations, it gave a very strong sense of respect for history.

When the first ray of light hit the face of the big clock on the top of the building, the golden, arch shaped grand doors opened and all 12 of the courtrooms opened for trials in unison. Everyday, countless cases would conclude in this place. At the centermost area was a circular auditorium, which was usually idle all year round. Once used, it signified that the Empire was about to have an important individual on trial. The nature of the case often involved national manners.

“I hope I won’t be seeing you in the suspect seat in the center auditorium.” Diya pointed to the left side: “We’re going to the interrogation room first.”

The first wave of cross-examination was completed in the interrogation room. The content gained in the cross-examination was used as reference for the trial. If suspicions can be successfully cleared during this period, there’s no need to even head into the courtroom.

Speaking frankly, the interrogation room was only a warm-up activity.

Nalun withdrew his gaze and buried all of his emotions inside his lowered eyes.

Very quickly, he was brought into the private room.

The lighting inside the room was dim. A few inspectors sat properly behind a long table, currently flipping through a pile of materials. Nalun guessed that information for his case was written inside.

He found a seat and sat down.

The first question from the other party went straight to the point: “Where were you on the night of the banquet?”

Nalun heard himself say: “I drank a bit of wine. I was in the courtyard sobering up.”

He looked like he was doing his best to recall the memories, but actually, his thoughts were spinning wildly– Of course he remembered, he even had a very deep impression. However, the truth clearly couldn’t be spoken honestly.

A husky man’s voice said: “Is there anyone else there?”

Nalun shook his head: “Only myself.”

“Then that makes things a bit difficult. It can’t be considered a proper alibi.”

“It’s not that it can’t be considered.” Nalun corrected in a calm and composed manner, saying: “I don’t need an alibi to prove anything because I didn’t steal the Scepter.”

A woman’s voice reminded him: “We haven’t asked about the Scepter yet.”

Nalun shrugged in cooperation: “Okay. Understood. Then what’s your next question?”

The female voice sounded choked. It took awhile before she said: “On the day that the Scepter disappeared, you were sobering up in the courtyard. Did you manage to see anything then? Or an object that gave you a deep impression?”

Nalun had the answer well-prepared.

The Princess’s coming of age ceremony banquet sounded very proper and important. However, in reality, it was only an extravagant party.

“I went to sober up.” He emphasized: “My head was already fuzzy and dizzy at that time. Do you really expect me to focus enough to remember some insignificant details?”

The husky male voice at the start said: “Many innocent individuals are highly resistant to being labeled as ‘guilty’ and become uncooperative with the investigation. From our perspective, this kind of behavior doesn’t actually solve the issue and even prolongs the trial, making things worse.”

Nalun: “You make a good point, but I’m not attempting to be uncooperative. I’m only stating my personal opinion realistically and factually…… If you guys have investigated my past, you should know that I always speak frankly.”

His grayish blue eyes were exceptionally serious.

The inspectors fell silent for a few seconds– The Honored Prince did indeed have some characteristics that differ from the ordinary people. For example, he didn’t need to learn how to speak tactfully like many others.

The male inspector tentatively accepted his answer.

“If I really must say something that gave me a deep impression……” Nalun’s tone became profound: “If bumping into an affair counts, I might have accidentally caught sight of adultery.”

This was something that Alida had told him.

On the night of the banquet, the Scepter vanishing and Sirius getting drugged up weren’t the only two events that happened. The marriageable aged men and women of the Imperial Capital also experienced a wonderful time.

This group of energetic, vigorous young men and women can always develop ambiguous encounters anytime, anywhere.

Alida had once complained how he saw a ‘good man’, who was well-known for being loyal in the Imperial Capital, embracing a pretty young girl and cheating on his spouse to his heart’s content. This was just an unintentional gossip that his little buddy Dada shared with him. At this time, however, Nalun was able to use it to make his words sound more credible.

He didn’t directly say the man’s name. However, from the inspectors’ unsurprised expressions, clearly they knew something too.

Mixing together partial truths, and then adding some credible information to this lie, was how to change this whole thing into truth.

When asked why he was conspiring together with the Mist Bug in the forest, Nalun’s entire countenance became unsightly.

“Conspiring? This is even more ridiculous. After discovering a suspicious person, it’s human nature to go forth and inquire a bit. On the contrary, it’s more suspicious to ignore it.”

“But other people all heard your conversation. You have a rather close relationship with the Metal Devouring Bug.” This was a statement.

Nalun knew it was very hard to completely clear this up. Managing it improperly would only make matters worse. Therefore, he nodded his head: “The Metal Devouring Bug is my friend.”

His magnanimous acknowledgment made the others feel surprised.

The inspectors adjusted in their seats.

“En. Provide a detailed explanation.”

Nalun raised his brow: “Not ‘you ask, I answer’?”

“…… This is a subjective question. You can answer freely.”

Nalun nodded his head. He already prepared his script, and was just missing the opportunity to perform. Now that the time was ripe, he naturally planned to express himself properly.

“He’s called Xi Jin. He lost his memories. He doesn’t know where he came from or how he got lost so far from his homeland. He’s penniless. When I encountered him for the first time, he was living with a group of vagabonds…… I didn’t see anything suspicious on him. Even though the Empire and Insectoids have a tense relationship, I still don’t regret becoming friends with him.”

Nalun thought briefly and then said: “However, everything that happened last night gave me no choice but to re-examine Xi Jin’s identity. I can tell that the Mist Bug clearly recognizes Xi Jin…… Although he lost his memories, what did Xi Jin do before he lost his memories? Did he come to Asha coincidentally or with purposeful intent? I’m unclear about all of this. This is my mistake. I have no excuse.”

His half truth-half lies explanation, which avoided important aspects while admitting minor points, didn’t even seem particularly spectacular. However, it was sincere enough.

The cross-examination room sank into silence.