The Unemployed Prince Covets My Nephew - Chapter 33
“You mean you never went near Lint Harbor with the child?”
“Yes. The child fell asleep, so we stayed briefly at the inn. I was also shocked when the child disappeared while I dozed off.”
“Witness! If your perjury is discovered, you will face severe punishment! Are you aware of this while testifying?”
“Representative Rethel is threatening the witness!”
Marianne pretended to cry again as she answered.
“I was scared! When I found out the child had run away, I heard that the Vasans who had helped me were all captured, and the situation had become too big…”
“So, the child’s testimony about being locked in a warehouse at Lint Harbor is not true?”
“Yes. I don’t know why he would lie… The child is very attached to my sister Hailey, so he would do anything for her.”
“Objection! The witness is slandering His Highness and the Princess Consort with unverified claims!”
“Witness and Representative Lore, be cautious with your statements.”
Hailey could guess that the Duke of Brahe had already arranged for an innkeeper to testify. She could deduce that much.
‘Perjury, huh.’
It was an absurd situation, but proving perjury wasn’t easy. That was the loophole.
“…Your Honor, I would like to call His Highness Prince Theodore von Otte to the witness stand once more.”
“What does Representative Lore want to say? Do you have more questions to ask?”
“I also have more questions. I agree.”
Marianne stepped down from the witness stand, and Theo walked up to it again, brushing past her.
Theo briefly looked up at Marianne with curiosity, but Marianne, perhaps feeling a last bit of guilt, avoided making eye contact with the child by covering her face with her long hair.
In the end, Marianne and Theo didn’t even exchange glances. Hailey thought it was truly cruel.
As Theo sat back on the witness stand, Ainous approached.
“Your Highness, after losing consciousness at the baron’s house, did you wake up in a warehouse?”
“…Actually, I was awake the whole time. But my memories are fragmented.”
“What do you mean by fragmented memories?”
“I couldn’t open my eyes, but I could hear sounds. Before putting me in the box, they wrapped my body in something like a large cloth and threw me into the luggage compartment of a carriage. I felt the jolting of the ride, and then it suddenly stopped. A man removed the cloth covering me and said some very… strange words.”
At Theo’s testimony, the Duke of Brahe’s eyes widened.
‘Parmakia didn’t work on him? How?’
Parmakia was so potent that even a small amount could knock out an adult man for an entire day. There had never been a case where Parmakia didn’t work on someone.
In fact, the amount of Parmakia used on Theo wasn’t small. It was enough to keep him unconscious for at least three days, and it wouldn’t have been surprising if a child had died from it.
Only a dark mage who had trained for a long time or someone with very strong magical power could resist it.
If he could hear sounds even with his eyes closed, and if the box opened by itself earlier…
‘Could it be… magic?’
The Duke of Brahe suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body.
“Do you clearly remember what you said you remember intermittently?”
In response to Ainous’s question, which was meant to emphasize that Theo clearly remembered that particular phrase despite intermittent memory lapses, Theo nodded.
“Yes. It’s… a very strange thing, but the man said something, and others repeated it like a song. So, I remembered it.”
“Can you say what it was here?”
Theo nodded again and began to mumble something incomprehensible.
It sounded like a song, or perhaps a spell.
Even the King frowned, looking down at Theo in the witness stand, wondering what this could be.
Theo continued, as if trying to recall something.
It was neither in the language of Zenovia nor Vasa. It seemed that no one in the courtroom understood what he was saying.
However, one person, Duke Brahe, began to tremble slightly.
“What… what on earth is that?”
The King, puzzled, asked directly.
“Is there anyone here who understands this language? If so, step forward.”
As the King spoke, the Duke’s face turned pale, and his pupils dilated.
One of the judges raised his hand. He was over eighty years old, a professor who taught religious studies at the academy, and the only remaining researcher of ancient languages in Zenovia.
The judge hesitated, as if even speaking was uncomfortable, and cautiously began to speak.
“Your Majesty, that is… not just a foreign language.”
“Then what is it?”
“It is an ancient language that has now disappeared.”
When Theo first uttered those words during a mock trial practice, neither Axel nor Khalid had any idea what he was saying.
Fortunately, Princess Anais, who had briefly taken an ancient language course while studying abroad, guessed that it might be an ancient language. She even searched through foreign books related to ancient languages and managed to decipher its meaning.
Axel was confident of victory at that moment.
The elderly judge, who had been hesitant to interpret Theo’s words, finally spoke.
“‘When the golden sun sets, and the god of the sky worships the god of the earth, you shall become the masters of this land, so cut out the rotten souls and offer them as tribute.’”
“……!”
Zenovia was often metaphorically referred to as the Empire of Gold, as it was a land that never ran out of gold.
Therefore, the setting of the golden sun symbolized the fall of Zenovia’s king.
Worshiping the god of the earth was a doctrine of Mortism, the religion of Vasa, which contrasted with Zenovia’s state religion of worshiping the god of the sky.
In other words, what Theo heard was a denial of Zenovia and a call to offer sacrifices for the revival of Mortism.
“Your Honor, I submit additional evidence to support this. These are books possessed by those who claimed to be Vasan merchants. The contents just mentioned have been confirmed to be written in them as well.”
Zenovia was extremely strict about treason. Any attempt at treason, or even the slightest hint of it, was dealt with summarily, with no room for trial. In Zenovia, treason was punished above all other crimes.
This was exactly what Axel had aimed for.
‘A trial is just a play. One dramatic twist, and we win.’
A strategy to make them fall into their own trap.
No matter what evidence the Duke presented, Axel could not lose this trial.
Duke Brahe clenched his fists tightly. Sensing victory, Axel smiled crookedly.
The judge received the evidence submitted by Ainous and confirmed that the ancient language in it matched the contents Theo had spoken, then handed it to the King.
The King closed the book with a loud snap.
“The witness may step down.”
Before the words were even finished, Theo jumped off the witness stand and quickly walked over to Hailey, who embraced him.
Over Hailey’s shoulder, Theo’s small fist lightly bumped against Axel’s large fist.
It was a gesture of shared victory between today’s director, Axel, and the best child actor, Theo.
“Representative Lore, can you present evidence to refute this?”
“Well, that is…”
Not just a testimony. It was a clear demand for ‘evidence,’ which was impossible to provide.
The King did not wait any longer.
“I will now pronounce the verdict.”
As both representatives stood, the King announced the judgment with a stern face.
“The kidnapping of His Highness Prince Theodore von Otte is recognized as an attempted regicide by some Vasans and nobles, and is also deemed an act of treason.”
Representative Lore hung his head in despair, and Hailey’s sister Marianne, who had attempted perjury, was trembling and unable to escape, held by the palace guards.
“In addition, those who attempted perjury, those who committed perjury, and those related to this matter will have their additional crimes revealed. Baron and Baroness Langston, as well as Count Roman, are recognized as the main perpetrators of this incident and are sentenced to beheading. The involved Vasans, as subjects of a vassal state, are also charged with attempting treason against their suzerain state and are likewise sentenced to beheading.”
As the King struck the gavel three times to confirm the judgment, cries of despair erupted from one side, and cheers of joy from the other. Without further ado, the King left the courtroom.
As soon as the King exited, Axel stood up and lifted Theo high, just as he had done when they entered.
“Well done, little one.”
“Did I defeat the bad guys?”
“Yes. You have now become the bravest hero in the world.”
Delighted, Theo wrapped his arms around Axel’s neck.