Sentence

Among them were war veterans, strategists, and even magicians. Finally, behind them came the king, all neat and tidy, dressed in the execution robe used for such matters.
They each sat in their places, with the king in the center and the sages on either side. Then, with a gesture, King Kazuma announced the beginning of the sentence.

<Zouken, repeat in front of everyone what you saw.>

<With pleasure, your majesty.>

The old magician in the white robe gave Issei goosebumps.
I've seen that man before.

<In my crystal sphere, I saw the knight Issei weak in front of the enemy. He revealed the secret of the mountain, only to save his family.>

Issei had been framed; that magician was the true traitor. He wasn't part of this kingdom; in fact, he had joined the council of elders not long before.

<Issei, are you aware of the damage you've done to the kingdom?>

The king asked calmly. Issei cleared his throat.

<This action caused the destruction of two villages.>

Issei's response wasn't that of a guilty person repenting, but of an innocent person explaining the facts.

<That's just one of the problems you've caused!>

Said an angry elder. One of those villages was the home village of the war elder Kira. The king silenced him with a gesture, trying to maintain calm in the room.

<The problem of revealing the location of the secret passage has created far worse problems.>
<The enemy, knowing the location of the passage, could return at any moment.>

The king explained calmly.

<But the worst thing is that our mission to unify the East and West has been completely ruined.>

A sage added, his eyes bulging, revealing his concern. Issei was getting nervous, but he patiently waited his turn to speak.

<Issei, your actions have caused serious damage and a series of irreparable problems. Do you have anything to say in your defense?>

The king pressed Issei. As calm as King Kazuma was, he was scary. Issei had to keep his words to himself, lest he risk more than he was already risking.

<I... I've already seen that magician. He's on the enemy's side. I haven't revealed any secrets.>

The king frowned.

<Don't you dare address one of the great sages like that.>

The king was about to lose his temper, but after rubbing his face, he calmed down again. For the good of the kingdom, he must always remain composed.
Then a sage stood up with a piece of paper in his hand. It was a list of recent crimes. A list of people who were due to be sentenced, like Issei.

<We also found your wife stealing bread.>

My wife...

Issei's family was already very poor, and the little money Issei brought home was often stolen by criminals. And his wife, Sofia, being all alone, didn't have the strength to defend herself from thieves. Without food, the young woman would starve. She didn't have many choices. But this only made Issei's situation worse.

<A family of criminals.>

Said a wise man, stroking his beard.

If only the kingdom paid me properly. I'm one of the best knights, and yet...

As vast as the kingdom was, it was suffering from great financial losses; maintaining the kingdom cost more than the profits they made from trading goods. Furthermore, the kingdom continued to wage war with other neighboring kingdoms. The kingdom's economy was slowly falling apart.

<I am deeply disappointed.>

Said the king, who considered him a promising knight, destined one day to join the ranks of the royal knights.

<His fighting style is even a problem. The cost of armaments is limited, but he always wants the best armor for himself and his squadron.>

Said the sage in charge of the kingdom's economy. Then the sage of war, Kira, stood up again.

<And even with these precious weapons, he managed to get captured by advancing alone against the enemy.>

<And he leads a squadron?!>

Issei had made a grave mistake that further aggravated his situation. He had been arrogant; he thought he could proceed alone, but that was not the case. His squadron was defeated because it had no leader to give orders, and Issei himself was captured, interrogated, and tortured.

<Calm down, now I want to hear your judgment calmly.>

The sages descended from their seats to whisper their judgment to the king. Kazuma remained impassive. Their judgments were to remain secret from all but King Kazuma.

Once all the sages had finished their judgment, the king stood up.

<Death sentence for you and your family.>

Those words took Issei's breath away. He wasn't afraid of dying; that fear had passed since he joined the military. He was worried about his wife.

<Or at least that's what the elders decided. But I don't agree. It would be too painful for me. You're a man of your word; I don't want to lose you. So I've decided to put you to forced labor.>

Issei still wasn't calm, though. His wife was weak; she wouldn't last long. It was well known that for women, forced labor was akin to the death penalty.

<Please, spare my wife.>

The king sighed. He didn't really want to do it; in fact, before this situation, the king had been considering promoting him to royal knight. But now that was out of the question. He was a traitor.

<I can't grant you that. I've already spared your life; I can't do more.>

King Kazuma was a good man, but he couldn't afford to be too good, or his status as king would become nothing more than a joke.

Issei wanted to cover his face with his hands, but being tied up, he could only stare into space, heartbroken. He was imagining the worst possible scenarios.

The two knights from before lifted him up and carried him away. In the castle corridors, Issei saw the walls decorated with tapestries recounting the deeds of the kingdom's great knights. Until a few days ago, Issei had hoped that, one day, his name would be embroidered on one of those fabrics.

Now he walked in front of them with his hands tied.

The maids turned away when they saw him, others whispered something and laughed. The knights' glares shot at him like arrows.

When they reached the inner courtyard, Issei saw a row of carriages covered in iron cages. Inside were dozens of chained men and women, and among them he saw his wife. She tried to smile at him, but her lips were trembling too much.

<Sofia, my love, how are you?!>

Issei tried to speak to her, but the soldiers slapped him to silence him. Then they opened the door of a carriage and ushered Issei inside.

For the first time in his life, he was no longer a knight, but a prisoner.

The journey lasted several hours. The further they got from the castle, the mudder the road became. The walls of the kingdom disappeared behind the hills, giving way to barren mountains.