"You shut up and let me do the talking, alright?" Marquis Johnson commanded Baron Turner as they stood in wait for the King to arrive. They had come to the Royal Court to attend the Case against them set by Marquis Booker and Duke Rant. Behind them stood Grant and Patricia, Marquis Johnson's son, and Baron Turner's daughter respectively. Patricia had her head down but Grant stared front ahead with a resolute expression on his face.

After returning from the Booker Mansion two days ago, he had a lot of time to think about a lot of things and he had made peace with what's to come.

On the other hand, Patricia had a frightened expression on her face. Things had really been going horrible for her lately. Her reputation was in the gutters, people would snicker behind her back and sometimes she would distinctively hear someone say, 'slut' or 'whore' from time to time. Not to mention, her Father's current predicament was indirectly caused by her. Sure, she had no role to play in their parents' behavior but this whole thing was started because of her and Grant. 'Did I make the right choice?' she thought to herself. As if in response to that, she heard a soft voice from her side.

"Hey..."

Patricia looked up to see Grant with a tired smile on his lips.

"Whatever happens... happens. I will not leave your side." Grant said to Patricia with a tone that did not have any regret in it.

Patricia almost teared up. Grant had been avoiding her for the past week and she had started to assume the worst. But, having him here, saying that he will not leave her side, lifted a huge weight off of her heart. She nodded to him with a small trusting smile and went back to looking down again. Her heart might be a bit lighter but it still weighed heavily under guilt for what happened to Selena. Grant and Patricia were both friends with Selena and they ended up hurting her deeply. Selena almost killing herself jolted Patricia's love-struck brain and made her realize how horribly she treated her childhood friend. She realized that her inexperience in love and immaturity in handling the situation almost killed her friend. She had dared not meet Selena after that because of fear of Selena's reaction towards her.

Ccreeaakk...

The Huge Door of the Royal Court opened which made the Accused party turn around to look. It was Duke Rant, with a haughty look on his face. His Record Crystal, which cost him 1/10th of his fortune to buy was broken by Baron Turner when he went to provoke Selena. This huge loss had made him angry and he teamed up with Marquis Booker, who was following closely behind him.

Duke Rant teaming up with Marquis Booker was a huge and decisive blow to Marquis Johnson. The Duke knew intimate details of the incident which made him a key witness to the whole case. Even if Marquis Johnson tried to deny provoking Selena, the Duke had a contract with him. In the contract, it was written that Marquis Johnson would be borrowing the Record Crystal. Although, the reason wasn't mentioned, just the fact that he borrowed and broke it made him liable to compensate the Duke.

Behind the Duke, was Marquis Booker. Unlike they thought, the Marquis did not have an angry expression on his face. Instead, it was one of confusion and worry. As if, someone had just told him something odd. However, when his gaze fell upon the Marquis and Baron duo, his face changed to one of disgust and hate as if he had a chance, he would strangle them both with their entrails.

The Duke and Marquis made their way to the other side of the court and stood there waiting for the King to arrive. It was then that the Accused duo noticed someone standing behind both of them. They were shocked. They were too concentrated on the accuser duo to notice this blue dressed person walking softly behind them.

The person in question was Selena, of course. The Centerpiece of this whole damned thing. Selena was the one who was abandoned by Grant for Patricia. Selena was the one who almost killed herself during the Birthday of the Third Royal Prince due to it. It was Selena who smashed a cup on the Baron's face and got away with it... and according to recent rumors, she also assaulted her teacher with a Fireplace Poker and injured her to such a point where the latter is in a hospital, still unconscious.

The last incident, though it is still a rumor, was a silver lining for the Accused Duo. The whole reason they borrowed the Record Crystal was to have Selena behave like this and record it. If they used this to question her character and deem her unfit for Grant, they may stand a chance in the Case.

"All Kneel for His Majesty, The Sovereign of Evergreen, King Russell Valentinus...!!" A soldier announced the arrival of the King. Everybody present immediately kneeled down and a middle-aged man with a Powerful demeanor entered the room. He had red hair, a pair of sharp eagle-like eyes, and a Royale type Beard that added to his majestic appearance. He wore Long Red Robes over his golden clothes and wore a shining Gold Crown with Jewels on it. He was closely followed by two old men. On his left, was the current Bishop of the Church of Light, Bishop Brian. To the right of the King, was the current Prime Minister and the King's closest Aide, Sir Bernard Castello.

After they entered, The King made it to the throne and sat down. After which, the Prime minister stood by the throne with his head slightly lowered. Then, the Pope made his way to a chair that was placed especially for him next to the King. The Chair was also lower in height and a level below the platform where the Throne was. Just by having a seat next to the King, even though it was in a lower position made it clear on how Bishop Brian's position was only below the King making him on equal standings with the Royal Princes and Princess.

"Rise..." The King spoke with an authoritative tone. Everyone kneeling slowly stood up. In the midst of everyone standing up, the King continued talking.

"...Let's make this quick. I couldn't go to the bathroom this morning and I would like to give a try again after this."

Crash...!!

Everyone almost lost their balance after that, except for the Prime Minister who simply rubbed his forehead and the Bishop who simply looked at the King and said.

"Are you having problems with peeing or pooping?'

Double Crash...!!

Even Selena lost her balance. This was the first time she met the Bishop and the King. She expected them to have a godly demeanor, why the hell were they talking about bathroom problems like a pair of street beggars.

"The King and Bishop have always been like this..." the Marquis explained to Selena after seeing her confused face. "They are both franks with their words which believe it or not, makes them pretty popular with the common people and the Army because Aristocrats are rarely honest when speaking to the public."

'There's a difference between being frank and having no boundary at all.' Selena thought. But she also understood why the King trusted the Church and vice versa. The current Bishop and the King shared some similarities. It was doubtful whether any other Pope could accomplish something like this.

"Oh, I am having trouble pooping..."

"Really? Then you need more fiber in your diet. It's all the rich guy food you eat that is the cause of this. It's blocking your hole out."

The Conversation between the King and the Bishop continued leaving everyone feeling awkward and felt their held tension releasing slowly. It was not until the Prime Minister intervened, that they decided to stop.

"Sigh, fine... Let us take care of the matter at hand first." The King said in the previous authoritative tone again. However, after hearing him talk about poop made the impact, severely limited compared to last time.

Selena gazed around the Court. Everyone had calmed down a little from when they first entered. Selena's eyes sparkled. The King did it on purpose. He broke everyone's line of thought with random talk and calmed the situation. It is not a secret that the results of this case will severely affect Marquis Johnson and Baron Turner. So he tried to calm everyone down in hopes that the Duke and Marquis Booker would lighten their punishment. After all, everyone present were his subjects and the ones who handled his country on his behalf. If the punishment is too severe, then it may lead to discord between Aristocrats and even fear towards their King. Fear may be a good controller, but too much of it can lead to revolt from the oppressed.

However, Selena did not want them to get away easily. She made sure to make a mental note to not fall for the King's tactics.

The King was observing the crowd in front of him the whole time. He saw Selena's reaction and a small invisible smile of approval formed on his lips. His information network had dug up almost everything about everyone present. He was also fully aware of Grant bringing Urak and his plan to threaten Selena with it. Everything he had, told him that Selena was not a simple person. He was really curious as to how she will handle today's situation. After all, this was the girl who made his stone-faced elder son turn his head. It was worth the effort.

The Prime Minister stepped forward, and after clearing his throat, he spoke.

"We are here today to resolve the differences between Duke Rant and Marquis Booker versus Marquis Johnson and Baron Turner." He then paused, looked at the crowd, and continued.

"Before we begin, would anyone like to say something? You all should know, that once the case begins, no one allowed to back out."

There was a moment of silence. 'Back out? If we could, we would have backed out a long time ago...' the accused duo thought. But before they could react, Marquis Booker stepped forward and kneeled on one leg.

"Your Highness, forgive my insolence, but my daughter would like to say a few words before the Case if you would allow it."

The Crowd was stunned. Even Duke Rant was confused. Hell, even the one who said it looked confused. Buddy, you suggested this, why are you the one who looks confused? Unknown to them, it was Selena who asked her Father to ask of this. This is why the Marquis had a confused and distressed face when he first entered the room.

"This..." PM Bernard was surprised. Usually, kids are not allowed inside the Royal Court let alone talk. But since the case included Selena, they had to bring her in. He looked behind him. The King simply closed his eyes for a second and nodded.

"Fine, but please be concise with your words..." PM Bernard replied.

"Thank you." The Marquis stood up and stepped back while Selena stepped forward. She bowed down.

"Greetings to his Majesty, the holy Bishop Brian and the honorable Prime Minister, Sir Bernard."

The three of them nodded in response.

"As you all are aware, this whole incident started after I almost took my own life in grief." Selena began talking.

"However, for the past few days, I had the time to think these things through and realized I probably over-reacted."

"Selena...?!" the Marquis was surprised.

"This..." The Duke started sweating too. One must know that if Selena took back the case, he won't get compensated as he heavily relied on the Marquis to make his case. If Selena backed out, then the Marquis won't interfere needlessly and the accused duo may get away scot-free.

In response, the accused duo's eyes glowed and Grant and Patricia had a confused look on their faces.

The King nodded approvingly. He knew that Selena's near-death experience was due to a cursed red bangle she was wearing. Mage Aldrin was clear on that. If Selena had used her near-suicide as an excuse to hammer Grant and Patricia, then the King would have lost interest in her as they both were simply unaware accessories to it and didn't honestly deserve severe punishment.

"So, does this mean you intend to dissolve the Case?" PM Bernard asked.

"I may..." Selena nodded which sent off a wave of the same reactions from earlier within the crowd, but she continued talking ignoring them and turned to face the accused party.

"...I will drop all charges and forget this ever happened if..." Selena's eyes narrowed as she finished her speech with the following sentence.

"...If all four of them bowed and asked for forgiveness."

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