The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 246: If you got to come out, then come out with a bang

Chapter 246: If you got to come out, then come out with a bang

"I would like to add a new charge to this trial."

The whole court was silent then, looking up at the Lord with a mix of surprise and confusion. Even the High Council on the judge’s stands didn’t seem like they knew anything about it. The only ones who did not look surprised were, of course, Eruha and Malta.

even the judicial committee members did not expect that, much less the three defendants and their solicitor team. I could see the second those fake pitiful faces, which had already shown a sign of relief, morphed into confusion and anxiety.

Bet the people you bribe did not tell you that, huh?

Lesta had warned me that the Elders in the judge’s seat and some of the magicians might have been influenced to help sway the Council’s decision on lowering the punishment. They would try to appeal so that their clans wouldn’t get affected, and that would suck, because what Natha wanted was to weaken their power, not just imprisoning a figurehead. For all we know, these Elders were already going to give the patriarch’s position to their successor anyway.

But of course, someone like Natha would have had something up his sleeve.

"Might we hear this new charge, my Lord?" the judicial committee asked.

Before doing anything, however, Natha looked at me first. Once I gave him a nod, he glanced at Eruha, who then stood up with a thick book in his hand. I obviously had no idea what was that, but that was why Lesta was here to babysit me.

"It’s the Murad’s Book of Law," Lesta explained. "It’s what we based all our legal matters on."

Just as Lesta finished giving me a short explanation, the vampire on the stand proceeded to open the thick book just once, and it seemed to open right on the page that he wanted because he immediately read the passage.

"Chapter seven article fourteen of inter-realm conflict," Eruha started to read, and I watched Ma Dirga narrow his eyes in confusion. Actually, most of them did, including the High Council members.

"Those who, intentionally or unintentionally, act in a way that causes an inter-realm dispute, will be found guilty of endangering the life and sustainability of the whole realm," Eruha continued, and then closed the book and looked at the defendants. "And thus, we will move forward with an additional charge of realm endangerment by triggering inter-realm conflict."

It was truly silent in the court hall for a few seconds, prompting Jade to chirp in confusion. Slowly, the gear in their mind whirred, trying to digest what Eruha just said. Even Uncle Head Magician blinked repeatedly in surprise.

"What?" similarly sounding question spreading out inside the room. Actually, it was easy to think about it when they were very adamant about mentioning how I was not, in fact, a demon.

But I get it. I was a neglected, abandoned tool of war. Certainly, no one would think that the human kingdom would foolishly start another war just because of me, when they were so eager to let me die.

"My Lord, what do you mean by inter-realm dispute?" Uncle Head Mage, Sol Eldriga, asked Natha curiously. There was a twinkling in his eyes that were no longer dull, as if he was finding this trial to be amusing.

Well, at least two of us were entertained, right?

Before Natha could even reply to the question, the old demon in the defendant’s stand stood up and, returning to his pitiful and desperate act--although I reckoned he was probably genuine in the desperate part--he started to speak frantically. "T-that is why I want to throw him back to the human realm! So they can’t use his presence against us!"

Ouch--that was hurtful, but I guessed it made sense on his part. I was sure it wasn’t his original intention, but whatever bullshit goes, I guessed.

That statement stirred the courtroom again, but this time, Natha immediately froze the air--quite literally. "Silence," he said, even though the other demons had already stopped talking from the blast of cold air filling the room. The silver eyes glanced at Eruha again once the audience started gulping. "Continue."

"Providing additional evidence number 18.4.01 and 18.4.02," Eruha continued without missing a beat as if nothing was happening between his statement reading earlier.

Malta stood up then, and brought two formal-looking, luxurious parchment--the kind they usually used for state business--to the judicial committee, which immediately performed authentication through appraisal magic and anti-forgery spell.

Once they verified it, Malta brought one of the parchments to Hagai’s grandfather, and the other one to Uncle Sol. The two proceeded to read the content of the parchment, and all who were there in the courtroom could see the shift in their face as they read the letter.

Well...I happened to read the letter already, so I could guess what was happening inside their mind as their eyes widened and morphed into shock.

"What is..." for the first time, I could finally see Ma Dirga’s confidence crack. "What? What evidence?"

"Oh, my Lord..." Uncle Sol exclaimed quietly while putting his hand over his mouth, flicking his amused gaze at me.

When I could only blink at his stare, he stifled a chuckle and began to address the confused audience that had been waiting impatiently.

"To the rest of the High Council, the audience, and the defendant, I would read a part of the letters--they both have more or less the same nuance, I guessed," he glanced at the Elder, who proceeded to show him the other letter. They nodded in agreement and he continued after clearing his throat. "Ahem--’We, the High Council of Elvendom and the Circle of Chiefs of Druid, demand an explanation for the harm befalling His Royal Highness, Valen Valmeier Sil Sealh, during his stay in the Realm of Greed’..."

He paused, probably for some dramatic effect, or to give time for the other to digest the content of the letter.

Especially the three guilty Elders, their family members, and those who were on their side.

Ah, this was where I needed to keep my poker face, because I knew they instantly looked over to me. But it was okay, I had prepared for this ever since we discussed it in the greenhouse after I heard about Natha’s adventure. After a long sound communication later that night, we received confirmation from Issa and Amarein of their cooperation, and those two formal letters were the product of that.

Also, yeah...this was the first time I got my full name on paper. Of course, Valmeier did not actually have a last name, but since I was indeed a direct descendant of the royal family, I would automatically receive the surname Sil--for the blood blessed by Mother--and Seahl, of the Royal House, from the moment I was born.

For comparison, Amarein was also a Sil, but not a Seahl.

Honestly, I had never planned to reveal this thing to the public, and I had prayed I wouldn’t have to. But alas...

"’We have entrusted the safety and well-being of His Royal Highness to the Realm of Greed, and we can only see this incident as a breach of trust and good relationship between us...’", Uncle Sol continued. "’...We expected an explanation and justice to be delivered promptly. Until then, we will cease all diplomatic activity with the Demon Realm.’"

The Head Mage stressed his voice as he said ’demon realm’, to emphasize that the embargo wasn’t just happening to the realm of greed. Of course, to actually pull it off would need more than a few days of process, but the seal on those letters was real, so there was no reason for them to doubt it.

"’...Should the Realm of Greed fail to comply with our demand, we would see it as an act of ill faith toward our future relationship’...is what written here," Uncle Sol stopped reading and relayed the parchment to the other members of the High Council.

"Wha...what does that..." Ma Dirga opened his mouth, but ignoring the old demon, the Head Mage already spoke again.

"Sil Seahl," he muttered, tapping on his armrest, before turning his head to look at Natha. "My Lord, is it right for me to assume that your betrothed is a member of the Druid kingdom’s royal family?"

To which Natha answered while looking at me. "Yes, my sweetheart is the grandson of Princess Yuralein Sil Seahl."

Oh, come on! Can’t you stop the pet name in a formal setting, Nat? Must you embarrass me like this?

He curled his lips slightly at my failure to keep the blush away from my cheek, before shifting his gaze to Hagai’s grandfather. "Elder Di should already be privy to this."

"Ah, yes," the old demon nodded. "The Young Master’s purifying ability could only mean he is a member of the royal family."

The confirmation from the two Tower’s Head instantly shattered any doubt that might still linger in their mind, and the other Elders suddenly nodded their head enthusiastically.

"Princess Yurelain! That’s right! So that’s why he looked familiar!"

...really? You didn’t seem like you recognized me at all before, Gramps.

"Ah, I see," Uncle Sol, who easily became my favorite among all those Grandpas, nodded and spoke in a serious tone. "Should the attack meet its success, the Realm of Nature might wage war against us."

"As you can infer from the letters," Natha affirmatively responded.

The Head Mage shifted his gaze toward the three guilty Elders. "Now, that’s definitely a fatal one for us."

"W-wait..."

"Right. We are right at the border, so they wouldn’t need to declare war on the whole demon realm, just us," now that their leader had taken an active role, the other magicians started to speak. "Against the combined forces of elves and druids...that would be crippling..."

"How is it, Ma Dirga," Uncle Sol tilted his head, and asked in a strangely cheerful voice. Right, I did hear those two towers weren’t really in a good relationship. "Your ’patriotism’ might cost us a war with the whole realm of nature."

"B-but...I didn’t...mean to..."

Ignoring the increasingly pleading voice--truly a genuine fear and pleading now--the Head Mage continued. "You should know that in terms of power, we are nothing compared to children of nature, yes?"

Well...theoretically, we could harness the power of nature, so quite literally anywhere could be our battleground. But Mother was a pacifist, so attacking other realms was a big no-no, unless for self-defense.

And I guessed avenging me was self-defense enough?

"B-but he is...he’s human!" Ma Dirga argued, abandoning his pitiful act.

Hmph--this racist demon!

"He’s also a Royal Druid, and someone who Lord An’Hyang acknowledges," Uncle Sol remarked, reminding the whole courtroom while at it, and reminding me that he was, in fact, my favorite among the Gramps.

Ma Dirga opened his mouth, but nothing was coming out. I could see the other two Elders started panicking, but the solicitor teams looked like they were already giving up. And so, as you could guess, the trial was quickly wrapped up.

"For the crime of realm endangerment, the stipulated punishment is to pay compensation for every loss incurred due to the act," the judicial committee stated at the end, informing us further about the details of the sentencing. "In this case, the defendants must pay for the calculated economic loss incurred from the termination of diplomatic relations with the realm of nature."

What was that? Did I hear the sound of your clans’ coffers draining?

The guilty patriarch and their clan members slowly looked at me, and for the first time since I stepped into the courtroom, I let out a smile.

My sweetest, most innocent smile.

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