Ch 15.3

A man stood within the witness box, his appearance drawing immediate attention from everyone in the courtroom. His face was swollen, one eye nearly shut from bruising, while dried blood stained the torn remains of his shirt. Heavy shackles bound both his wrists and ankles, rattling softly whenever he moved.

It was none other than Wallus, who had apparently enjoyed the generous hospitality of Barville's city guards while in their custody.

The arrogant diplomat who had terrorized the Pavilion was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Wallus stood before the court with a vacant expression, staring into the distance as though he had already accepted whatever fate awaited him.

A court attendant approached, carrying a holy scripture from the Church of Virtues.

At first, Wallus didn't even seem to notice him. The attendant cleared his throat and extended the book toward him.

Wallus finally broke out of his reverie. He glanced at the attendant and the scripture before slowly placing his hand upon the book.

"I swear by the holy scripture that the testimony I provide shall be truthful," Wallus announced.

The attendant nodded and withdrew the book.

Judge Nendalf glanced down at his notes before speaking.
"Very well, Mr. Wallus. Speak truthfully. Your testimony shall be recorded and reviewed by this court—"

Before the judge could finish, Wallus suddenly collapsed onto his knees. The chains around his wrists and ankles clattered loudly against the wooden floor as he fell forward onto all fours.

"Please!" Wallus cried. "I beg you, please spare me! I shall confess, so please spare my life!"

The entire courtroom froze.

Tears streamed down his bruised face as his shoulders shook violently.

"I was only following orders!" he shouted. "Everything I did was under the instructions of the Church! Every action I took, every decision I made, every order I carried out came directly from Abbess Chloe Worth! She was acting on behalf of the Church, and I was nothing more than a soldier obeying her commands!"

The room remained silent for several seconds as everyone struggled to process the outburst. No one had expected this. No one had expected Wallus to immediately throw himself at the mercy of the court.

Wallus continued desperately.
"Please! I had nothing to do with any of this! Everything that the rat fellow said earlier was true. I was ordered to protect the Abbess and obey her instructions. That's why she was able to infiltrate the Pavilion so easily!"

Several jurors stared at one another in disbelief. Even the people seated on the bench appeared baffled.

"The Abbess befriended the girls, gained their trust, and manipulated everything from behind the scenes. She was the mastermind. I was simply following her orders!"

Wallus's voice cracked as he lowered his head.
"I confess to everything, so please... just spare my life."

He dropped onto his knees and began sobbing uncontrollably, tears streaming down his bruised face as he begged for mercy. The moment he finished speaking, the courtroom erupted.

Jurors began speaking over one another. Guild representatives exchanged heated opinions while scribes rushed to record every word. Some appeared convinced by Wallus's testimony, while others looked deeply skeptical.

But regardless of whether they believed him, one thing was certain. Wallus had just thrown the entire trial into chaos.

Amid the growing commotion, another voice rose from behind Nosmos's bench.

"There it is." A rat beastman stood from his seat, his features bearing a striking resemblance to Nosmos. "My brother was speaking the truth all along. Those Church bastards were up to no good."

Several people immediately recognized the rat who had spoken.

It was Pilos, Nosmos's younger brother. He was the same man Chloe and Benjamin had encountered in the marketplace shortly before the Tranquil Pavilion incident.

His statement only fueled the chaos.

Tevu shot to her feet so suddenly that her chair nearly toppled backward.

"You shut your trap!" she barked. "What a load of nonsense! Those two bastards were clearly working together! That man is lying!"

Gina rose beside her. "As Sister said, you lying pieces of—"

Before she could finish, Fina grabbed her sister by the arm and forced her back into her seat. "Sit down."

Another member of the Tooth and Nail Guild rose from across the bench.
"You dare sully the name of Lord Nosmos after all this?" the guild member shouted defensively.

"Maybe you're still brainwashed and need to get yourself checked," Pilos muttered, glaring across the courtroom.

"Like hell we are!" Tevu barked.

Meanwhile, Aisha struggled to restrain Tevu. "Calm down, Tevu."

Tevu turned, glaring at Aisha,
"Calm down? They're making this entire thing up!"

"I know that, but getting all worked up will do no good," muttered Aisha.

By then, the jury benches had descended into complete disorder. Arguments erupted among the representatives as they debated whether Wallus’s confession was genuine or merely another attempt to shift the blame.

Voices rose throughout the courthouse, with people shouting over one another until the chamber sounded more like a crowded marketplace than a court of law. The carefully maintained order of the proceedings had all but vanished.

At last, Judge Nendalf slammed his gavel against the bench.

BANG.

The sharp sound echoed throughout the courtroom.

"Silence."

The noise diminished slightly.

BANG.

"I said silence!"

The authority in the judge's voice immediately brought the room under control. Conversations died down, arguments ceased, and even Tevu and Pilos reluctantly sat back in their respective benches.

Nendalf slowly surveyed the courtroom from behind his raven mask.
"This court is still in session. Any further interruptions will result in immediate removal from the chamber."

The warning was enough. Within moments, the room had fallen silent once more.

The judge turned his attention back toward Wallus, who remained kneeling inside the witness box. The former diplomat looked less like a proud representative of the Church and more like a terrified informant desperately bargaining for his life.

"Mr. Wallus," Nendalf said calmly, "do you also confess to placing the curse seals upon the girls of the Tranquil Pavilion? Furthermore, do you admit responsibility for the circumstances that led to one of those girls taking her own life?"

Wallus immediately nodded.

"Yes! Yes, I confess!" he blurted out. "But I never wanted any of it. The Abbess insisted it was necessary for the Church's greater plan. I was merely carrying out orders. I never wanted to harm those girls, I swear it. Please, you have to believe me."

Wallus remained on his knees, prostrate before the court, tears and mucus streaking his bruised face.

The jury exchanged uneasy looks. This was not how trials normally proceeded.

Most defendants denied the accusations. They challenged evidence, disputed testimony, and forced the court to uncover the truth piece by piece. It was a slow process that could take days, sometimes even weeks.

Wallus, however, seemed determined to confess to everything as quickly as possible.

Not only was he admitting guilt, but he was also actively redirecting the blame toward Chloe. Every answer he gave reinforced the same narrative Nosmos had presented moments earlier.

The Abbess was the mastermind. Wallus was merely following orders. And the Church was supposedly behind it all.

Several jurors began whispering among themselves while the scribes continued recording every word.

"This was a tad too easy. It almost sounds rehearsed," one guild representative quietly muttered.

"Or perhaps he's simply trying to save his own neck," another replied.

Judge Nendalf made no comment. He merely continued taking notes as Wallus's testimony was entered into the official record.

Once the witness had finished speaking, the judge nodded toward the city guards.
"You may remove the witness."

Wallus nearly stumbled as the guards pulled him to his feet. His chains rattled loudly as he was escorted away from the witness box and returned to the defendant's bench. Throughout the entire process, he never once looked toward the Pavilion girls.

Aisha watched him leave with narrowed eyes, her ears lowered in concern. Tevu looked ready to throw a chair at the man, while Gina muttered several words that would have earned her a reprimand had anyone heard them. Fina, meanwhile, remained composed, though the cold glare she directed toward Wallus suggested that she was no less furious than the others.

The judge waited until the courtroom had settled before speaking again.
"Having heard the initial testimonies of all principal parties, the court shall now proceed to cross-examination."

The announcement immediately drew everyone's attention.

Unlike testimony, cross-examination was where trials were won and lost. This was the stage where the counsels would take the narratives presented before the court and dismantle them, challenge their inconsistencies, and expose whatever truths lay hidden beneath them. Their questions would ultimately force the jury to weigh the evidence and determine where the testimony held up and where it fell apart.

Judge Nendalf rose slightly from his chair and gestured toward the two elevated seats beside him.
"Counsel Verdant the Wise shall represent the defense. Counsel Old Monk Rugbert shall represent the plaintiffs."

Verdant nodded, a playful smile appearing across his beak. Rugbert gave a quiet nod as he stroked his mustache. Both veterans acknowledged the judge's instruction.

From this point forward, Nendalf would intervene only when necessary. The responsibility of challenging testimony, exposing contradictions, questioning witnesses, and uncovering the truth would fall largely upon the two counsels.

Verdant rested his elbows upon the armrests of his chair, his sharp eyes moving between Aisha, Nosmos, and the now-empty witness box. A faint smile remained on his face, as though he were eager to see how the pieces of this puzzle fit together.

Rugbert, on the other hand, looked thoroughly unimpressed. The old monkey slowly stroked his mustache while reviewing the notes placed before him. Unlike many members of the jury, he appeared completely unconvinced by the convenient narrative that had emerged from Nosmos and Wallus.

The atmosphere in the courtroom changed noticeably.

The testimony phase was over. Now, the real battle of wits would begin.