Ch57 - [Arguments and evidence] Without actual evidence to support the debate, it’s hard to avoid deteriorating into arguments.

In this moment, the crowd finally received an answer to the numerous predictions and assumptions they had towards the Honored Prince.

Not only did this infamous criminal suspect not look terrifying and heinous, even more so, he didn’t look like a petty villain who’d cause trouble for the Admiral left and right. There wasn’t even a hint of repulsiveness on him. On the contrary, in this time period where the royal bloodline has been reduced to only a representative symbol, he looked extraordinarily like a genuine aristocrat.

Nalun’s exterior appearance was extremely disarming.

Adding the fact that because he was attending this trial, he didn’t have too much expression on his face. Lips pressed taunt, and countenance stern and cold, he looked just like a feline creature in a state of alarm, both arrogant and indifferent. With a sideways sweeping glance, he seemed like he could give people a swipe with his claws at any second.

In unison, the same question appeared in the minds of many of the gossip group.

Huh? Why was this completely different than what they had imagined?

Under many circumstances, a person’s personality would imperceptibly influence their manner and conduct. No matter what kind of outstanding appearance or luxurious clothes they wore, an atrocious manner and conduct was hard to like.

Clearly, Nalun Charvey was a very attractive man. No petty or vulgar qualities could be seen on him. This was a direct contradiction to his identity as a criminal suspect. Or perhaps he was just too good at pretense.

The people in the back row actually didn’t even see his appearance clearly. However, the moment that he appeared within their views, their gazes froze inexplicitly.

Excluding the people who truly cared about the case, the gossipy melon-eating crowd already felt very restless inside.

A small portion of the people looked towards Princess Shasha and thought: This is the ‘repulsive countenance’ that you mentioned? This is the ‘obstinate and unreasonable’ that you mentioned?

Princess Shasha sat with her hands crossed and placed on her knees. Feeling the ‘roasting hot’ line of sights, she gave a haughty huff.

The crowd: “……”

Hmph hmph hmph?

Hah.

Intangibly, the Princess once again gained a new wave of hatred.

The crowd only remained gloomy for three seconds before throwing their attention and gaze back onto the Honored Prince.

The Charvey family seemed to have inherited a dislike towards appearing in public. To the extent that it’s only today that the crowd finally shockingly discovered that the Imperial Capital actually hid such an excellent single and unmarried, aristocratic youth.

–Although this excellent unmarried youth was suspected of being a criminal……

This didn’t prevent people from seeing beautiful things from an appreciative perspective.

If it weren’t for the <<Rules of Observers>> not permitting them to whisper to each other, they really wanted to conduct an intense discussion right now!

As soon as Nalun stepped into the courtroom, he felt like something was peeking at him from behind.

Therefore he turned his head, and saw the gallery–

“……”

Are all of the Imperial citizens in love with studying law now?

Why would there be so many people present right now, sitting in on a national holiday?

If people could hear his question, they’d probably say: Because the courtroom doesn’t allow live streaming, video recording, or pictures! Otherwise, they’d definitely be snuggled up in their blankets and looking at a video proceeding!

The bored gossip group was naturally even more bored during the holiday rest period……

Under the gaze of hundreds, the Honored Prince slowly looked away and faced the grand, majestic judgment seats. There were a total of five judges dressed and present; three of them had terrifyingly dark faces……

After he sat down, he heard one of the younger judges say: “You’re late.”

However, a crime of this nature couldn’t be tried in absence in the Asha Empire. Without Nalun present, the judges could only wait. They could only announce a postponement half an hour later.

In face of criticism, Nalun opened his mouth and said his first words: “The escort vehicle of your esteemed court needs to be updated.”

Nick looked over stunned, thinking to himself: No, that was his personal car.

“The highest speed is not only for decoration. At certain times, it’s fine to speed up appropriately.” Nalun ruthlessly threw the blame onto the escort staff.

In actuality, Nick and most of the people were the same. They didn’t think highly of a roller coaster speed. Even if they realized they were about to be late, they’d still hesitate about adjusting the speed into an uncontrollable gear.

Right now, Nalun threw the reason for his late arrival onto the car speed, Nick can only acknowledge his mistake solemnly.

The Chief Judge ended this topic and announced the start of the trial. Then he read out Nalun’s areas of suspicion to the court.

“…… This is treason, Your Highness” The judge’s tone was very stern: “Every word you speak in this court will be considered seriously, influencing the final outcome of this trial.”

Nalun gazed directly at the judges: “I also won’t permit any false accusations to land on my head.”

“This is natural.” The Chief Judge calmly spoke his usual opening remarks: “All lies will be exposed. Untrue words will result in unforgivable consequences. Even if these lies have nothing to do with this case, they will make your testimony seem false and dishonest.”

Nalun said: “I will answer relevant questions truthfully.”

This case involving the Scepter and the Insectoids finally, finally started officially, and it lasted for a very long time.

Nalun’s personal lawyer made thorough preparations. He was first to stand up and respond to each of the suspicions.

Although Nalun was very suspicious, there’s actually no substantial evidence. No, it should be said that all of his so-called ‘substantial, ironclad evidence’ have sufficient leeway to become ‘insubstantial’.

Even though he was accidentally seen meeting with the Insectoids inside the forest, who’s to say it wasn’t a coincidence? Perhaps Nalun noticed an abnormality, went forth to question it, and just happened to be seen by the Imperial soldiers at the same time?

Or perhaps he was deceived. If you must know, the Insectoids’ human forms basically were no different from the appearance of Asha people– Lan Jia was using his human form while speaking with Nalun.

As a well-known deceiver-insect and enemy spy, Lan Jia’s testimony didn’t actually have a lot of credibility. Dragging Asha’s Honored Prince down after his plans fell through was a very easy and convenient thing to do.

In addition, the accuracy of comparing body structures has not reached the standard of ‘being used as decisive evidence’. It does not possess that much worth for consideration.

As for the Metal Devouring Bug…… this was even simpler. He had practically appeared out of thin air. It would be too far-fetched to insist that it was due to a connection to Nalun.

The family lawyer was very professional. With a few minutes of elaboration, he separated everything that happened cleanly from the Honored Prince.

The judges exchanged looks, each with a different expression.

“Your explanation seems meticulous and logical, but there’s actually no proof.” The Chief judge expressed calmly: “Mixing all sorts of coincidences together is enough to create suspicion. I hope to see more direct evidence.”

Nalun said: “But the accusations towards me seem logical and reasonable, yet they have no evidence behind them either.”

His tone was filled with discontent.

Before coming here, Nalun had already gained a general understanding of every one of the judges. He knew that this Chief Judge was a very virtuous and reputable person, not biased or unfair. However, at certain times, he’s also very obstinate– He preferred people using evidence to refute accusations over using verbal disputes to fight and deny the issue.

Nalun’s eyes darkened– but what he was lacking just happened to be evidence.

Without actual evidence to support the debate, it’s hard to avoid deteriorating into arguments.

“I know. Perhaps this will allow you to avoid imprisonment. However, do you want today’s shadow to accompany you for the rest of your life, forever carrying the suspicion of treason on your shoulders?” The Chief Judge shook his head: “No, innocent individuals shouldn’t assume infamy that does not belong to them. Thus, the method to completely remove everything is to provide evidence.”

Nalun fell into silence. This was indeed true. Without any actual evidence, the audience would only feel like there was a loophole in the Imperial law. How could there be so many coincidences in this world? Why was he the one to bump into them all?

This really makes it hard for people to believe there wasn’t anything fishy going on.

Just as the crowd thought the Honored Prince was about to get angry and retort, they found the situation taking a new turn.

Expression carrying a slight disappointment, Nalun lowered his eyes; those grayish green eyes almost losing their luster. He revealed a slightly bitter smile and questioned the judges: “When did the allegation of an enemy gain more weight than the trust in a fellow Asha citizen?”

He then said: “Facing this unjust interrogation, I have been enduring patiently this entire time, yielding again and again, just to cooperate with the investigation so the real criminal could be found quicker…… If you must know, actually I could have declined standing here.”

Although the process was somewhat troublesome, in a situation that lacked proper evidence, the courthouse actually had no right to make rash judgements just based on the ‘confession’ and ‘presumptions’ of other criminals. And to even open court with such great fanfare, Nalun was fully justified to file a complaint.

The Honored Prince’s tone was slow and steady. He held his head up high proudly, like an highly educated and cultured individual who’s wrongfully persecuted. Even though he was suffering injustice, he still maintained his intellect and reason.

The disadvantage wasn’t actually enough to make him compromise.

–However, it did make him lower his stance, just to execute a weak counterattack.

When he lowered his eyes, a darkness flashed across the depths: When facing the accidental display of weakness from a proud individual, how could the self-proclaimed righteous judges and extremely sentimental audience not feel softhearted?

Mercy and sympathy would occupy their thoughts, ultimately making them lean towards the bias that ‘he was innocent’.

Nalun was well versed in the principle that ‘The strong break easier’. Displaying weakness occasionally was not enough to hurt his pride. Not to mention, this display of weakness was very subtle, seeming more like a true expression of indignation and grief.

“I trust the Empire wouldn’t wrongfully accuse an innocent. Every word of those ‘arguments’ of mine is true. Even if they are bizarre, filled with coincidences, and seem only like some far-fetched excuse…… It’s not a reason to convict me.”

His tone continued to remain calm. Landing on the marble floor of the courtroom, it almost gave people a sense of admiration.

The judges’ expressions changed. The young judge, who criticized him for his ‘late arrival’ at the start, looked at him with a slightly gentler expression.

Before the trial started, they had already gained a comprehensive understanding of this young master of the Charvey family. Knowing that he’s usually an extremely prideful character, and listening to the words he’s spoken up until now, they couldn’t help but wonder if he had truly been wronged unjustly.

A brief moment of clamor appeared within the courtroom. The buzzing of discussion came from the gallery. However, this definitely wasn’t a place for random remarks. On the contrary, it’s sacred and couldn’t be desecrated.

Receiving warnings, the observers quieted down very quickly.

The Chief Judge’s expression, however, did not change from the start to finish. Because those aged and murky eyes looked as if they could see right through the man standing on trial.