Chapter 121 Closed Trial.

Esteban was having a nice breakfast with his family in the dining hall, talking about his eldest son who was in an academy. Suddenly his butler came in with a letter in his hand and whispered something into his ear while offering the letter. He looked at the letter and his expression looked a bit pale after he heard about what it was. He left the room and went to his office to read the letter in his hand. He looked at the seal and it was the seal of the Union of South Neva. He slowly unfolded the letter and read the content. It was a summon letter directly from Thalior himself, and the fact the carriage had been waiting for him outside made it impossible for him to run away. He looked outside the window and the knights were stationed outside his mansion. He had nowhere to run, but he tried to calm himself down because he didn't know what the summon letter was for. "Tell them that I'll be ready in a minute," Esteban said to the butler quietly, hiding his anxiety. The butler nodded and left to inform the knights outside the mansion. ... Esteban arrived at the Supreme Court and he didn't see anyone around, not even journalists. He had a bad feeling because it seemed like nobody knew about this whole situation. seaʀᴄh thё nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Please come with me," the knight captain with the Union crest on his cape said. The crest of four rings entangled together, forming a diamond shape. Esteban nodded and walked up the stairs toward the door to the courthouse. He looked back when he heard another carriage come, and when he saw the person that came out of it, his face turned even paler. It was another member of the Red Grins. His hands turned cold and the tingling feelings began to crawl on his fingers and toes. He knew what the trial was about, and he knew he would be doomed if he didn't run away. When he entered the court, that was when he saw Uriel Goldmane, the Queen of Swords, standing still next to the entrance. She wore her golden armor and a red scarf around her neck down to her back. Their eyes met and Esteban immediately looked down, but Uriel kept staring at him with a cold and stoic expression. Esteban knew that it was over for him, and the only way out was to use his mastery skill in speech to dodge and evade all the accusations. The moment he entered the courtroom, his feet felt weak as all his accomplices were standing in front of the court. All the members of the Red Grins, trembled in fear as they all looked at him with desperation. He looked at Thalior who was on the bench, acting as the judge of the trial. When their eyes met, Thalior's eyes were menacing as if he already knew everything and would sentence everyone in front of him to die. "Now that everyone is here, does anyone know why I summon all of you to this court?" Thalior asked and looked down at all the nobles and accomplices of Esteban. Nobody answered Thalior's question, but then suddenly one of them raised her hand. A woman who could barely stand because of fear as she began to hyperventilate. "It's all Marquess Esteban's doing! We are just following him!" The woman said in panic as she pointed at Esteban. "I'll tell you everything, your grace! Please, spare my life!" She added as she went down to her knees. Another one confessed and begged for his life as he went down to his knees. More and more said the same thing that Esteban was the one behind everything. "Your Grace!" Esteban said loudly with a serious expression. "May I ask what this trial is about? How can these people accuse me of something that we don't even know yet?" Thalior didn't show any expression as he stared and listened to Esteban's words. "Take those who have confessed away from the room. Interrogate them and gather as much information as you can," Thalior said to the knights as he nodded his head. "Wait, Your Grace! With all due respect, that's against the court rule to do interrogation during a trial," Esteban said as he looked at those accomplices of his who were about to rat him out. "If you do this, your Grace, the trial should be postponed and you can't continue this trial." Thalior slowly got up from his chair and rested his hand on the bench. He didn't say a word, but his gaze was enough to tell Esteban that he didn't care. "As we speak, the officials are currently investigating your place and to get more evidence for what you have done. We know everything and we don't need any reason to follow your demands," Thalior responded as he looked at the knight and gave him another nod. The knight began to read the document in his hand out loud, letting Esteban and the others hear the content. The knight revealed human trafficking, drugs, bribery, murders, and lastly the organization, Red Grins which Esteban and his accomplices partake in. An organization where it taught the members about the existence of demons and how they would be their saviors. "We have gathered and captured some of your devotees, the children of darkness. That's what you called them?" Thalior looked at those who had confessed. "Yes! That's right! There are records of demons and they are taught about their existence. They believed in salvation and the savior!" The woman answered as she nodded repeatedly. "Some of them have become dark priests and will lead the people to follow their teaching." Esteban gritted his teeth, frustrated, and wanted to strangle that woman with his hands. He didn't want Thalior to know about them, at least not yet because of how weak they were and how close they were to becoming the true devotees of the savior. "And this savior of yours is that person who turned a wasteland into a fertile land?" Thalior asked. "And those dark priests, they're currently following that person as we speak?" He added. "No, he's just one of the emissaries of the savior. That's what we believed in, and yes, those dark priests are going to follow him and spread the religion," the woman answered. Thalior had enough to hear and immediately sent all of them to prison until further notice. He looked at Esteban and he could see the anger in him. He informed the knights to separate Esteban from the others because Esteban held all the information about the demon worshipers. They were escorted by Thalior and Uriel to prison without anyone knowing. The whole journey to the dungeon, Thalior looked troubled and Uriel could see it in his expression. "What's the matter, Your Grace?" Uriel asked as soon as they left the dungeon. "A lot of things," Thalior placed his hands behind his back as he looked at the capital city. "About those children of darkness, the dark priests, and how far they have spread across the continent. This is only one of the many organizations, and we might not have the force to deal with all of them," he explained. "But that's not the main issue right now," he pointed out as he looked at the sky. "This nation, the Republic of Cruen. Almost half of parliament members are imprisoned and the balance is no longer there and this will raise problems. The worst part is we are the ones who are responsible for it because we can't tell the people about the demon worshipers, so we have to make some kind of solution to this issue." Uriel had never been fond of politics, but unfortunately, she had no choice since she held the power to protect the people and it became her responsibility. She didn't want to deal with more work than what she already had on her desk. "Esteban might be a demon worshiper, but his skills are needed to run this nation and keep everything running," Thalior sighed as he closed his eyes. "I think it's time for us to tell the parliament and the prime minister the truth about the existence of demons and their followers. We have no choice, Your Grace," Uriel suggested as she looked at Thalior. "It's not ideal..." Thalior shook his head. "But we don't have a choice, do we?" He glanced at Uriel with his brows raised.