Chương 76: Court

As far as farces go, this one was definitely near the top. Levi almost couldn't believe what he was watching. A sudden murder trial sprang upon what was supposed to be a simple disbarment trial with no notice, no counsel, no opportunity to prepare of any kind... By this point, this couldn't even be called a kangaroo court anymore; it was straight up a fucking menagerie. The entire trial should've been classified as procedurally defective and thereby rendered void.

But then again, he supposed that this wasn't an official court trial but rather an unofficial trial held by the Guild, which meant that the typical legal requirements didn't apply here. It was a bad thing because it meant the Council was allowed to use underhanded morally defunct tactics, but at the same time it wasn't entirely the worst, because it meant Levi could get away with this.

"What did you just say?" The head judge, Councilor Henry Arlington, demanded, turning on Levi with a stern glare.

"Counsel for the defense? You're just a bronze-tier adventurer – and we're all aware of just how loosely I'm using the term 'adventurer' here." Several of the other Council members nodded at the allusion to how Levi had, to the greater public, only passed the Ascension Trials and become an adventurer because of the deal made with House Volkov.

"Just who do you think you are, interrupting our proceedings like this?" Levi eyed Councilor Arlington for several moments with an inscrutable gaze. Dmitri had briefed him beforehand on the identities of all the notable figures attending the trial. Councilor Henry Arlington was an adamantine-tier adventurer who had retired from active duty to serve as a member of the Adventurer's Guild Council. He was, incidentally, also highly susceptible to bribes.

Dmitri had known this because Councilor Arlington was the main person Montague had bribed into convicting Liliya Volkov. Apparently now that Montague was dead, Councilor Arlington had sold out once more to the highest bidder. Was it the Royal Sentinels who paid him off? Or was it perhaps a political enemy of House Volkov? Worse yet… Contrary to what one might believe, Levi hadn't waited until the very last possible second to intervene for the sake of dramatic effect.

Well, okay, that had admittedly been part of the reason – he blamed Death's penchant for theatrics – but the main reason was because he had been waiting for the other guildmasters in the gallery to raise their own objections. Since they were here, he had thought that they would attempt to defend Liliya. Instead they had stayed silent. All of them. They hadn't looked very happy about what was going on, of course, but not a single one had seemed like they were going to speak up.

At first, Levi had been confused – if Liliya was successfully convicted, then the Royal Sentinels would have the perfect excuse to impose harsher restrictions on all adventurers. However, he soon realized the reason why. The guildmasters just hadn't been willing to stick their necks out for her. They had already accepted her fate. It didn't even matter whether they thought she was guilty or not. They just knew that there was little to no chance of saving her from the Council's agenda.

They were only here to observe the proceedings and deal with the following inevitable aftermath. Arlington, the Council, the Royal Sentinels, even the guildmasters and the Cardinal in attendance… They were all content to let a girl's life be ruined to save their own skins and further their own ends. Disgusting. These were the so-called leaders of adventurers? The ones who were supposed to be the very best of them? In that moment, Levi understood Hawke on a visceral level.

His magic swirled beneath his skin, begging to be released. For a moment, he nearly gave in. However, as much as he wanted to otherwise, he had to stay calm. His goal here was to preserve Liliya's name and freedom; painting the walls red would run counter to his purpose. And so, he settled for merely narrowing his eyes.

"Who do I think I am?" he asked quietly.

"Well. I believe you all already know me – for some strange reason, it appears my reputation precedes me. But for the sake of posterity, I will introduce myself once more. I am Levi Ironwood, disinherited former heir of House Ironwood, attempted cheater of the time-honored Ascension Trials, complete and utter failure of the Institute – and I disdain you, Councilor Henry Arlington."

Hushed muttering instantly broke out throughout the room, but Levi ignored them all, his glare piercing into Councilor Arlington who stared back with wide affronted eyes.

"I disdain you because you lured an innocent girl here under false pretenses. I disdain you because you gave her no chance to recruit counsel, no chance to prepare a defense, no chance at all to even preserve her own dignity. I disdain you because you drag her name through the mud in front of the guildmasters who might very well one day become her future leaders.

And just know, Councilor Henry Arlington, if you deny me the right to defend my party teammate from these spurious claims in what is perhaps the greatest trial of her life, then I will disdain you all the more. And coming from a despicable, morally bankrupt man like me? That's saying something, don't you agree?"

"Watch yourself, Ironwood!" Councilor Arlington snapped.

"I will not take these accusations lying down."

"Funny," Levi hissed caustically.

"So it's too much when I accuse you of these things, but it's perfectly okay to accuse my teammate of murder? Worse, to convict her without even affording her the most basic right of legal counsel? Have you no shame, no pride as an adventurer?"

"Your teammate is guilty of aiding and abetting the murders of a duke and his heir!"

"Allegedly!" Levi shouted.

"Innocent until proven guilty, that's how it goes, does it not? I don't know about the rest of you, but to me, nothing has yet been proven beyond reasonable doubt."

"It is a good thing, then, that your opinion means nothing, Levi Ironwood," Councilor Arlington spat.

"Perhaps, but what about mine?" a new voice interjected. Levi and Councilor Arlington both whirled around to see Guildmaster Abode lazily raising his cane into the air.

"The boy does have a point," Guildmaster Abode said.

"It's not as though we're in a rush, and as it stands, the evidence does seem rather weak. I don't see any harm in letting him argue her case. If Lady Volkov truly is guilty, then it shouldn't matter either way. I assume my fellow guildmasters are in agreement?" The other guildmasters in the gallery quickly jumped in with their voices of assent as well. It appeared that they were willing to help so long as it wasn't their own necks on the line.

Councilor Arlington glanced around, but it was clear that there might be issues if he moved ahead with the ruling. And so, he visibly swallowed back his disagreement and nodded.

"Fine!" he said.

"Liliya Volkov will be appointed legal counsel. However, it will not be Levi Ironwood. This is a trial before the Council, and he is but a bottom-tier adventurer. He has no legal right to represent her. The Council will find and appoint a guild-approved counsel in her stead–""I do have the right," Levi said.

"What? Silence, boy, you know not of what you're talking about."

"Really?" Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Am I wrong, then, when I say that as a daughter of House Volkov, Liliya Volkov is entitled to representation from her House's retained counsel?"

"You're not wrong," Councilor Arlington said.

"And if House Volkov wishes to send their retained counsel, then by all means, they are free to do so–" He paused as Levi gave him a wide, shit-eating grin. Slowly, his eyes widened.

"No…"

"To elaborate a little on my earlier statement, I am here serving as counsel for the defense – retained by Heir Dmitri Volkov on behalf of House Volkov itself." Levi's words were met with silence. Then, in an almost comical unison, everyone in the room swiveled over to stare at Dmitri Volkov. Dmitri, for his part, simply sighed, as if the proceedings were beneath him.

"On a provisional basis," he clarified.

"You hired him?" Councilor Arlington gaped at him, as though he couldn't comprehend what he was hearing.

"Why?" Dmitri shrugged.

"I'm not at liberty to say. Confidential House matters." Councilor Arlington growled, but he was trapped.

"Very well. Levi Ironwood, you may have the floor. Make your case."

"Thank you." Levi made eye contact with Liliya as he made his way over to the lectern. She had her customary icy expression on her face, but Levi knew her well enough to see the mirth in her eyes. She was enjoying this. Her posture wasn't even tense; it was clear that she had full faith in him getting them out of this mess. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. He wasn't planning on letting her down any time soon.

"Honored Councilors," Levi began, "You've all already heard the case that the Royal Sentinels made. That Liliya Volkov is complicit in the dreadful murders of the Duke and his heir. That her disappearance after the attack on Montague Castle, combined with the traces of ultra-high-tier potions found in her system and the sworn testimonies of the two Royal Sentinels standing guard outside her room who were knocked unconscious, is enough to prove her guilt.

And I admit, the circumstantial evidence does seem rather convincing at first glance – but that's all it is. Circumstantial. But don't just take my word for it. Let's go through this one by one." He whirled to the two Royal Sentinels at the witness stands. They glared back at him.

"Vincent Appleby and Oliver Cox," he said.

"You two were standing guard outside her room during the time of the attack, correct?"

"What do you think you're playing at, boy?" Oliver snarled, but his partner held up a hand.

"Correct," Vincent said.

"We received direct orders from Commander Montague himself."

"And you were both attacked from behind and knocked unconscious before either of you could see your assailant?"

"That is true," Vincent said.

"That means the assailant must've knocked you both out instantaneously, right?" Here, Vincent hesitated.

"I don't see how that's relevant."

"That's fine," Levi said.

"You don't have to. Just answer the question. From the initial point when you were attacked to when you lost consciousness, how much time elapsed?"

"… roughly twenty seconds."

"Oh?" Levi raised an eyebrow.

"I see. And what injuries did you and your partner suffer? Vincent and Oliver exchanged a glance.

"I had multiple broken bones," Vincent said.

"Oliver suffered severe internal damage from blunt force trauma across his entire body."

"Interesting," Levi said.

"I do note the distinct lack of laceration and cuts on the list… Lady Volkov is a Sword Saint, is she not?" Vincent narrowed his eyes.

"She could've used the blunt edge of her sword."

"Right… And throughout all of this, neither of you saw your assailant even a single time."

"What of it?" Oliver snapped.

"We were blinded by some unknown skill–""Oliver!" Vincent hissed, but the damage was already done. Levi smiled.

"I see. A blinding ability… That surely seems like the typical skill found in a Sword Saint's repertoire." Muttered conversation filled the chamber as even several of the Councilors looked intrigued.

"A person's Class isn't absolute!" Vincent shouted.

"The System allows flexibility; for example, a Knight might possess the skill [Fireball] due to magical studies in the youth. Lady Volkov could've also used a magical item to obscure our sights."

"That is certainly fair," Levi said.

"So magical potions and magical items alone are enough to allow a fresh Institute graduate to deal such substantial injuries to two Royal Sentinels. That seems rather embarrassing…" Before Vincent could respond, Levi forged on.

"Anyway, that's all the questions I had. Next, to Guildmaster Abode…" Guildmaster Abode inclined his head. It seemed that he was enjoying the show.

"Yes, counselor?"

"You were able to detect the presence of several ultra-high-tier potions in Liliya's blood with a skill, correct?"

"Correct."

"That seems like a powerful ability. Is it able to discern exactly when the potions were used?" Guildmaster Abode paused for several moments. Then, the implications hit, and a large grin spread across his face.

"It can provide a rough estimation," he said, "but the exact time of usage is unfortunately something that it cannot determine. Judging by the opacity and the specific wavelengths of the… Oh, I'll skip this part. Basically, I know for certain that she used the potion sometime in the last five to ten days with an eighteen percent margin of error."

"So it's entirely possible that she only used the potions after the attack on Montague Castle?"

"That is well within the realm of possibility, yes."

"I see," Levi said, "Thank you for your time, Guildmaster Abode. That'll be all." Finally, he turned to Liliya.

"And as for you, Lady Volkov… Let's hear your side of the story." Liliya looked back at him with a questioning look in her eyes. Neither Levi nor Dmitri had been able to brief her before the trial, and Levi had no way of conveying information to her without someone noticing. Perhaps if he had access to some sort of telepathic spell, but the mind magics had always been too dangerous for him to learn. She looked a little concerned that she wouldn't say the right thing.

Fortunately, since this wasn't an official trial, there was no one around to call him out if he decided to ask a leading question or ten.

"You were Qorbin Ravenbane's apprentice, correct?"

"Yes."

"He decided to take you on because he observed you during your Ascension Trials and thought that you were exceptionally skilled, yes?"

"... yes."

"It was also because as a Sword Saint, you reminded him of his former partner, Professor Aldric Heimler?"

"He never said, but I'd assume so."

"Would you say that Qorbin Ravenbane is an extremely skilled Grand Assassin?"

"I would."

"If Qorbin Ravenbane did target Theodore Montague – may the Goddess bless his soul – and he recruited you to be his accomplice, would it make much sense for him to attack Montague Castle head-on while you dismantle the castle's defenses from the inside?" Liliya's eyes flickered, first with comprehension, then something that looked almost like glee.

"No."

"Why is that?"

"Because I was already arranged to be Montague's wife," Liliya said.

"If Qorbin Ravenbane really did want me to help him kill Theodore Montague, then he could have just asked me to wait until my wedding night to plant a dagger into Montague's throat while we were fulfilling our marital duties." Another round of muttering broke out in the chamber.

"You have a good point," Levi said, resisting the urge to smile. As he'd expected, she had instantly grasped his plan.

"What if he just wanted to kill two birds with one stone? You wouldn't have had access to the Duke."

"That's not true," Liliya said.

"If I did kill Theodore Montague and managed to escape, then Qorbin could've easily used me as bait to draw the Duke in and ambush him."

"That plan would be far too convoluted!" Oliver cut in, his face purpling. Liliya glared back at him.

"It is no more convoluted than Qorbin Ravenbane directly launching an attack on one of the most well-defended locations in all of Luminarche while expecting me to handle things on the inside. Far less potential points of failure as well."

"That makes sense," Levi nodded, stroking his chin.

"So you're saying that you weren't involved in the attack at all, and that you had no knowledge that it was going to happen?"

"Of course not! I was Theodore Montague's fiance!" Liliya cried out, her voice impassioned.

"I would never do anything to hurt him, indirectly or otherwise." It took an incredible amount of willpower for Levi to keep himself from snorting.

"Right. Then why did you disappear from the castle afterward? Was it because Qorbin Ravenbane abducted you from the castle without your consent?"

"... yes, that is exactly what happened."

"Do you believe Ravenbane attacked Montague Castle because he was angry that his apprentice was being taken away from him?"

"Potentially yes."

"And so he was just there to 'rescue' you?"

"Misguided intentions, I'm sure…"

"Interesting. And, judging from what I recall from our mission together, he probably made you undergo more of his psychopathic brand of training, correct?" Levi glanced at the Council.

"He did that quite often while we were traveling as a party," he confided.

"For some reason, he didn't train me much…" One of the Councilors snorted.

"I wonder why…"

"That is right," Liliya said.

"I see," Levi said.

"And I assume that is why those potions were in your system?"

"He wanted me to spar against him," Liliya said.

"He thought it would be fun to see what would happen if he amped me up with those potions."

"That's ludicrous!" Councilor Arlington snapped.

"What sort of self-respecting adventurer would waste literal thousands of iridium coins' worth of potions on a simple training session?" Liliya, Levi, most of the guildmasters, and even a few of the other councilors stared at Councilor Arlington.

"Mythmaker Ravenbane would," Liliya said.

"Seems in total character for him," Levi added. The guildmasters nodded their agreement, several of them with haunted looks on their faces as they no doubt recalled their interactions with the eccentric Grand Assassin.

"That is all the questions I have," Levi said.

"Thank you, Lady Volkov." He turned back to the Council.

"So, there you have it. With her testimony, the story becomes crystal clear. Everything is explained: why she disappeared after the attack, why she had those potions in her system–""What about the unknown assailant who'd attacked the two Royal Sentinels?" one of the councilors asked. Levi shrugged.

"Who knows? Perhaps Ravenbane had another ally. Perhaps it was a third party who sought to take advantage of the opening created by the attack." For the record, Levi had totally been responsible for incapacitating those two on his way to Liliya's room. Not that he was going to admit it anytime soon.

"When it comes down to it," Levi said, "there is no hard, conclusive proof that Liliya Volkov did anything that night. On the contrary, it is clear that she is nothing more than a victim of the circumstances. She was unwillingly abducted from the castle and given potions for a training session afterward. I rest my case."

"You can't possibly expect us to buy this," Councilor Arlington began, but then paused as he realized the state of the room. His fellow councilors were now looking uncertain and hesitant, and the guildmasters who had previously been convinced of Liliya's guilt now looked like they were ready to rally on her behalf. He gritted his teeth. Levi simply offered him a cheerful smile. Then, someone cleared their throat. The room immediately fell silent.

At the back of the gallery stands, Cardinal Winchester of the Holy Church stood up.

"Please pardon my interruption," he began softly, "but if I may, I wish to lend my aid as an adjudicator for these proceedings. The Holy Church has a vested interest in determining who was responsible for the murders." Judging by the shock permeating the room, it wasn't an everyday event for a Cardinal to offer their service to mundane adventurer matters. Was it because of Anastasia's involvement? Councilor Arlington stared at Cardinal Winchester, stunned. Then, his face twisted into an ugly smile.

"By all means, Cardinal Winchester, go right ahead." Cardinal Winchester inclined his head.

"Thank you." He glided his way to the center of the room.

"For reference, I possess a skill called [Truth Imposition]. With it, I'm able to compel someone to tell the truth as they know it." Hushed whispers rippled out throughout the room. Dmitri Volkov practically bolted upward to his feet.

"You're not permitted to use that skill on Liliya Volkov," he said, a note of panic in his voice.

"I invoke the House Protection Act–""That's fine," Cardinal Winchester said.

"She isn't the one I wanted to question." His dark eyes turned to Levi.

"You are no longer heir of House Ironwood, so the heir protection laws do not apply, and no member of House Ironwood is in attendance, meaning nobody can enact the House Protection Act." Off to the side, Dmitri looked alarmed; neither he or Levi had prepared for this eventuality beforehand. Guildmaster Abode also seemed perturbed, but he didn't say anything. Meanwhile, Councilor Arlington looked as though the holidays had come early. Cardinal Winchester smiled a cold smile.

"Levi Ironwood, I will be using [Truth Imposition] on you." His smile faltered slightly as Levi, without missing a beat, grinned right back.

"Sure. Hit me."