The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 244: I swear I only meant to watch the trial peacefully!

Chapter 244: I swear I only meant to watch the trial peacefully!

"If you can do that, you should have done it for me!" Izzi hissed once we arrived in front of the court hall’s door.

"I can’t control it well enough for just individual usage," I shrugged. "But if you want to feel like you’re in a furnace, then by all means..."

I raised my hand again, and Izzi stepped back, hiding behind the smaller Zia. "Do you not know moderation, boss?"

"I haven’t got my formal lesson, yet, my dear employee," I patted the elf’s shoulder and this time, really put on my poker face as Lesta once again offered his hand for me before we stepped into the court hall.

Two guards bowed and opened the door of the court hall for us, and I could hear noises again. This time, it was somber and filled with whispers, finally matching the vibe of a courthouse. Unlike the plaza, however, the noise instantly died down once we stepped inside.

One by one, they turned and stared at me, and for a few short seconds, I could feel their gaze. Just for a short time, because they either instantly averted their gaze or bent their waist to greet me with a bow, which I returned with a nod.

Poker face, Val, poker face.

I kept my gaze steady, telling myself to not waver in front of the crowd. Thankfully, I didn’t have to talk to anyone, and Lesta led me to the second floor, following Caba who took the vanguard position and made sure no one would approach me, while Haikal followed us from behind.

Usually, this kind of excessive security measure would make me flustered and uncomfortable, but this time, I was glad that it deterred people from approaching me.

Don’t want people to find out I only pretending to be cool, you know?

The seat reserved for me was perfect. I could see the defendant’s stand well, which means I would be able to see their face; the assassin, as well as the three patriarchs. And it was probably intentional, but the family members of the three families were seated across from me, so I could stare at them from the moment I sat down, before the trial even began.

It was interesting seeing the plethora of emotions in that section; kind of like looking at a box of candy with different flavors. The ones who came were mostly the next in line to be a patriarch--those who shouldered the unknown future of their families--as well as the wives and sons of the defendants. Some of them looked at me with a glare, some just averted their gaze altogether, and some I couldn’t see further because they dipped their head so low I couldn’t see their face anymore.

"How impudent!" While I enjoyed observing the defendant’s family, Arta hissed beside me, glaring back at those demons.

Zia, who was sitting behind me, leaned forward and whispered viciously. "Do you want me to pull a mind trick on them? I can do it, you know."

Whelp--guessed Zia was still a lust demon after all. Just like her brother, I bet she had an inherent suggestive skill written in her genetic codes.

"Calm down," I suppressed a laugh and patted her hand, which was on my shoulder.

"How do you feel, Young Master?" Lesta asked me quietly.

I could see he was looking at those demons too, but with a very calm countenance that I always wanted to have--a little bit different from Eruha who was just cold-looking, and Malta who was stone-looking. He also didn’t sound concerned, almost as if he was testing me.

Looking back at those demons again, I merely shrugged while patting Jade on my lap. "Nothing," I said, honestly. I just looked at them because I was a little bit interested to know what the family of the people who wanted to get rid of me would feel. "I don’t have to concern myself with them, do I?"

I mean...I didn’t even know them, and they were basically screwed in the future. If they still failed to get me even in their peak condition, did I really need to be concerned about them once they were much weaker?

"You don’t," Lesta replied with a smile, sounding satisfied with my answer as he nodded toward the clerk minding the High Coucil’s stands--who immediately signaled the guards manning the doors behind the judge’s podium.

Oh? Were they actually waiting for me before starting the trial?

Just then, the door behind the podium opened and I saw the demons in long cloaks with runes all over them come out--that must be the magicians, right? One of them looked middle-aged, with deep eyes and even deeper dark circles, as well as an unkempt beard. Lesta told me the uncle who looked like he hadn’t touched any bed for a long time was the Head of Mage Tower.

The sleep-deprived demons glanced in my direction, and I could see a slight smirk beneath his mustache--which also needed some trim, I reckoned. I was only a second, before he focused back on reaching the top Judge’s seat without stumbling from lack of sleep.

"Is he our customer?" I asked Lesta, who nodded with a smile.

Good. He should be pretty pissed if the supplier of his magic tools got murdered, right?

And then the representatives of the Elders Council came out next. They didn’t look as distressed as I thought, perhaps because none of this would implicate them. In fact, they might be slightly happy because losing three of the Elders would give the remaining family a bigger influence. Oh, well...it was the land of greed after all.

I watched Hagai’s grandfather take a seat parallel to the Head of the Mage Tower, which meant he was now considered the leader of the Council of Elders. I see...a power shift, huh? The old demon might even foresee this result from the start, ’using’ me to get more power. I guessed it was fine as long as he did not harm me intentionally, but it might be better to keep our caution near him for now.

Not that I had any intention to voluntarily be near him.

Last but not least, as all the Elders took their stands, Malta and Eruha came out, followed by my dear Demon Lord. The audience stood up then, including the ones on the second floor. I was about to follow them, but both Arta and Lesta held my shoulder lightly, telling me to keep seated.

Natha walked to the Judge’s podium and took a seat on the highest seat, just a tad bit higher than the Head Mage and Hagai’s grandfather. Once he sat down, the silver eyes flicked over to the second floor, and he smiled once he found me, fingers tapping the green necklace on his chest.

Must you really make me blush even in this setting, my Lord?

I swallowed my sigh and unconsciously fiddled with the ring on my finger, feeling the softly pulsing marks as the other finally sat down again. Someone from the judicial committee or something--I wasn’t sure--opened the trial.

"We are here today for the trial of Ma Dirga, Ha Misla, and Gu Haerti, in a case of treason," the demon announced, and I could see the family members tensing up even more than before. "Please bring the defendants."

The door creaked open again, and because it was so quiet now, the sound felt eerie. Jade jumped in surprise and dove into my coat, hiding behind the fur lapel. Right then, the guards came out flanking three Elders I saw during the trial; two of them were in the group that faked worrying about me, and the last one was actually the one who stood in front of me when I was about to head to the lake.

Huh...could it be that the old demon was doing this because he got angry when I told him to move away from my path? Even now, he still had this indignant look in his eyes, which made me feel he would still try to wiggle out of this somehow.

That being said, I had faith in Natha, so let’s just see what this old demon would do.

The Elders--the defendants--took a seat on the accused stands, along with neatly dressed demons who I reckoned were their solicitors. Once they were seated, the demon from the judicial committee began to recite the case; the crime took place during the night of the trial, the confession from the agents, as well as the witness’s statement from the Elders who supervise the use of the truth serum. The sound recording of that confession was also provided for the rest of the Judge Council and the audience to hear.

"Ssh...calm down," I had to soothe the little bird trembling angrily behind my coat. It was also my first time hearing the confession of what exactly they were planning to do to me.

It seemed like there were two different operations. One of them was orchestrated by the two Elders who faked worrying about my result, and it was as cunning as I thought. The agents were tasked with giving me a concoction of poison that would result in an extreme overdrive of mana.

Basically, they were trying to destroy my circuits which would lead to my ’natural’ death.

Yeah, it was no longer a blockade. They aimed to shatter my astral veins completely--something that could also occur if I ingested a whole bottle of Amrita in one sitting.

From another witness, which was the members of the Ha and Gu clans, the aim was to either kill me or crippled me until I was nothing more but a useless piece of meat. In the case that I managed to survive, they expected Natha to throw me away from being...well, useless.

I had to admit that the sound recording triggered some traumatic memories about my past insecurities. And while I managed to maintain my facial expression, Jade must have felt my internal emotions.

Have you ever heard a bird hissing?

Yeah, it was a first for me too. By the end of the recording, Jade was no longer hiding behind my coat, but standing on my lap in its true adolescent form. The colorful tails were whipping the air, and I had to stroke the green head to prevent Jade from lashing out toward those Elders.

"It’s fine, baby, they will get punished," I stroked the bird that was no longer little, trying to calm my mind so Jade would also calm down.

Jade eventually calmed down as the recording stopped, but did not turn back into the little bird form. Well, I guessed it was alright, as long as it didn’t make Ignis want to be the big Salamander again.

I was here to spectate a trial, okay, not playing arson.

Once that recording ended, the committee member read another summary and played another recording. The other operation was planned solely by the one who looked angry--the Elder from the Ma clan. It was to kidnap me and throw me back to the Lenaar, who was still looking for the Spear of Judgment even to this day, despite believing me to be dead.

This time, I also had to soothe the little gecko whose head was suddenly flaming again.

Please, guys, let’s not destroy the courthouse, okay?

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