The temple was crowded since Princess Isabel’s trial would be held that day. Driven by curiosity, many people came to the temple courtyard as this was the first time for a noble to face a trial. The royal guard had been on standby while waiting for the royal family.

Not long after, the king’s entourage came. Andrew Alderman—Isabel’s brother—was also present with his parents. Despite his young age, the prince had the honor of a crown prince. He was furious at hearing his older sister was imprisoned like a criminal.

When the time come, five jurors entered the courtyard and sat in the front, behind a long wooden table. Karl opened the trial with a prayer and then ordered the two defendants to be brought into the courtroom.

Two gerpas entered the court while dragging Bram and Isabel to sit in front of the judges.

“Bram Galadriel and Isabel Alderman, you two have been caught having extramarital affairs. Did you know that it was wrong?” asked Karl.

“Yes, sir,” said Bram. As a gerpa himself, there was no way he didn’t know such a rule. Meanwhile, Isabel shook her head with her head down.

Seeing the reactions of the two, Karl threw questions at the audience. “Is there anyone here who can testify to confirm their statement?”

A gerpa sitting on the edge of the room suddenly stood up. “I can testify that Isabel’s statement is a lie, Your Majesty.”

“How did you know that?” asked Karl.

“She once listened to my lecture on the city street last month. She even asked whether it was still a sin if the relationship was carried out with a servant of God,” said the Gerpa.

“What a shame,” Karl whispered to the other gerpas. Meanwhile, Agra’s face turned red with embarrassment. He didn’t know his daughter had ever done such a stupid thing.

Karl then continued the trial by presenting witnesses. They were the young gerpas who did the raid at the inn that night. They testified that Bram and Isabel were caught together in a room. All these testimonies were incriminating the defendant, making Bram and Isabel lower their heads down in shame.

“Are there any defense witnesses for them?” Now Karl opens the opportunity if anyone has information to lighten the sentence for the defendant.

The courtroom was silent for a few moments until Prince Andrew stood up and addressed the jury. “Mr. Karl, I’m sorry if I’m presumptuous. I just wanted to ask. My sister did something that you call sin because of love. Then is love a sin? If it’s a sin, who feels wronged by it?”

Hearing that question, the people present there started whispering to one another. Some felt that Andrew’s views contained truth, but others thought that God’s law was not to be debated.

As the court was getting noisy, Karl stood to calm the audience down. “A critical question, young prince. But Herod’s teaching sees sin not only in human relationships but also in their relationship with God. Even though no one feels offended by an action, violating a religious commandment will damage the relationship with God, which will eventually lead to disaster.”

“Can you show me what your God is like?” asked Andrew. However, his mother immediately pulled him back to sit down. “That’s enough, Son. You can make matters more complicated,” said Queen Julia to her son.

Karl smiled sarcastically. “Okay, if there is no other defense, we will discuss the appropriate sentence for the defendant.” The five jurors then gathered to discuss.

“Cocky prince,” said one of the jurors to the others.

“Yeah, that’s how it is when a king has absolute power. Even at such a young age, his son is already so arrogant.”

“Nevermind, let’s focus on discussing a fair punishment for Bram and Isabel.” Karl ended the debate of his own members to speed up decision-making.

Meanwhile, Andrew protested against his mother for not letting him speak. “I just wanted to ask, why do we have to obey the laws made by something that isn’t here? We can’t even see it.”

“I, too, get annoyed with those gerpas. But in this case, we had to admit that Isabel’s doing was wrong. What matters is not who makes the laws, but whether the application of those laws makes us better human beings,” said the king.

“Then what are you going to do? As a king, you can’t let your daughter be punished, can you?”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got something planned.” Queen Julia cut off the conversation, then whispered something in her son’s ear.

About half an hour later, Karl and the other four judges took their seats again. The atmosphere in the room was gradually quieted down.

“After careful consideration of various matters, we decided to whip Isabel on the back fifteen times, and thirty times for Bram.” Karl spoke out loud, announcing his decision. Bram was judged worthy of more punishment because he was a gerpa—someone who was supposed to lead others to know the teachings of Herod—rather than making her into doing sin.

“Please, forgive me.” Isabel pleaded with her eyes watery. The announcement felt like a lightning strike. However, Karl was nonchalant. In a blink of an eye, a gerpa dragged her out to the yard where the sentence would be carried out. There was nothing she could do but cry in desperation.

The gerpa then tied Bram and Isabel’s hands to a beam and forced them to kneel before receiving their punishment. While Bram and Isabel looked at each other in tears and deep regret, two executioners came forward to the center of the field and prepared to carry out executions.

However, before the execution could be carried out, a strong wind blew around Bram and Isabel. Everyone covered their faces because the flying dust obscured their view and made them difficult to breathe. The two executioners could do nothing but remain still while wondering what was happening.

Bram and Isabel were also confused. They had no idea what was going on. In the midst of the chaos, a bald man with a white beard appeared in front of the two.

“I’m Ronald, your father’s friend,” he said to Isabel. “Don’t worry, I’ll set you free.” After introducing himself, the man crouched, put down the long wooden stick he was holding, then untied Bram and Isabel’s hands.

“Follow me.” Ronald held Isabel’s hand and then rush out of the temple grounds. Bram also followed him from behind. Ronald raised his wand and miraculously, the dust and the violent wind that had wrought the chaos couldn’t touch them, as if there was a magic shield protecting them.

Because of the chaos, no one noticed their departure. They walked in a rush and arrived at the city gates. By the king’s command, the guards gave them two horses.

The three then rode through the forest, heading towards Ronald’s hut. Sitting behind Ronald, Isabel just kept silent during the journey. Though relieved, her heartbeat was still racing.

Arriving at Ronald’s hut, it turned out that Agra was already waiting there. Seeing her father, Isabel ran to hug him tightly. “Thank you, Dad.” Her eyes were wet from tears.

“Thank him. Didn’t he be the one saving you?” Agra said and smiled as he stared into Ronald’s eyes.

“Thank you, sir.” Isabel bowed her body respectfully to Ronald.

Bram, who felt very guilty, followed to bow his head. “Thank you, Mr. Ronald, and Your Majesty. Forgive me for causing all this trouble.” The boy did not dare to look into the king’s eyes at all.

Agra walked over to Bram and slap him hard in the face. “This is a punishment for your actions! From now on, I don’t want to see you wandering around the city!”

Bram knelt before the king and then said, “Alright, Your Majesty. Thank you for your kindness.”

Agra allowed Bram to stand and then approached Ronald. “Thank you, my friend. That young gerpa is yours now. You can make him your servant or whatever you like,” Agra said, while shaking Ronald’s hand tightly.

“Not a problem at all. I’m glad to help.” Ronald smiled as he patted Agra’s shoulder.

“Okay, I’ll go now.” Agra and his daughter got on the horses and then galloped away, leaving Ronald and Bram in the forest. Without having time to say anything, the lovers parted. Isabel must return to the palace while Bram will live with Ronald in the forest.

Meanwhile, the people who gathered on the temple grounds began to disperse. Strong winds and flying dust were very disturbing. Karl himself backed away to catch his breath. The gerpas finally stood around outside the whirlwind.

Damn, he’s so sneaky. I thought we agreed not to use magic in the city, Karl grumbled in his mind. His anger grew even more because after the whirlwind subsided, the two defendants had disappeared from where they had been tied up.

The gerpas then talked to each other about what they should do now. Their captives had run away and they couldn’t possibly get them back. Castle’s guard will definitely be increased for the safety of the princess. For the time being, there was nothing they could do except return to their respective residences.

Karl walked unsteadily out of the temple grounds. His idealism failed to happen. Law enforcement for everyone was still a dream far from reality.

It didn’t take long for Karl to reach his resting place. The residences of the gerpas were indeed within the temple complex. He entered, slamming the door to vent his anger.

Suddenly, someone—who had been hiding behind the door for a while—hit Karl’s head with a stick. The gerpa fell unconscious. Prince Andrew smiled as he successfully did the mission. Apparently, he had conspired with his mother to get rid of Karl. They thought the old man’s presence would make the relationship between the temple and the kingdom got worse.

After confirming that the victim was unconscious, Andrew covered the old man’s head with a sack and carried him away. The prince put Karl on a horse that he had moored nearby and spurred it out of the temple. Some gerpas who saw them could not catch up because the horse was running fast. The prince’s identity remains safe because he has worn a face covering.

Andrew took Karl out of town. He did not lower the speed of his horse even though he had entered deep into the vast forest. The thick leaves that grow on tall trees reduce the intensity of the sun’s heat, making the day less scorching. As his mother had told him, he had to make sure the gerpa couldn’t find its way back to Kingsford.