Chapter 252 I am innocent (9k)
The dusk gradually deepened, and in the ancient meeting hall of the Mosgra family, figures were moving around.
In the evening of the same day after the meeting in the Council Hall ended, most members of the Mosguera family, including Marquis Fred, gathered there and discussed Saint Laurent VI's decision today with indignation.
"You could have just executed this demon, but you had to hold a trial by the Holy Tree."
A young member of the Mosgra slammed his fist on the long oak table. In his opinion, this was completely unnecessary.
His remarks resonated with many people present.
"That's right, Your Majesty should not create unnecessary trouble. For such a vicious criminal, since he has voluntarily surrendered himself, you can just go straight to the final judgment!"
A haggard-looking woman responded in a hoarse voice.
She was Eunice's mother, and she had witnessed her daughter being pierced through the body by Lynn with a spear at the dinner party, draining every drop of blood from her body.
Hatred had already permeated every inch of her soul, completely devouring the once elegant and calm lady.
"Quiet!"
Marquis Fred sat in the main seat, his hawk-like eyes sweeping over every family member present.
His eyes were red, as if he was suppressing his anger, but in the end he still restrained himself and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty has his own considerations."
Although most of the people here are his own people, based on his understanding of that person, he might be able to tell whether there is Saint Laurent VI's spy among the people present.
So there are some things that cannot be said.
"I don't think there's anything to worry about. The Sacred Tree Trial process is absolutely fair and just. According to our intelligence, at least killing the Fourth Prince Joshua is a crime that Lin En cannot refute no matter what."
Theodore Mosguera, who had long, slightly curly hair, spoke up.
As the youngest grandson of Marquis Fred, he has always been known for his calmness.
Even at banquets where the sons of the nobility indulged in pleasure, he habitually stood quietly by the colonnade, acting as a listener and observer.
As soon as he said this, the originally noisy meeting room immediately became much quieter.
Obviously, everyone thought what he said made sense.
"Since the founding of the Saint Laurent Empire, there has never been such a vicious incident where a prince or princess was killed by a gangster. Lin En's behavior is not only murder, but also a shake to the foundation of the empire and a blatant provocation to the sacred imperial power!"
"That's right, what awaits him will be the most cruel punishment in the entire Saint Laurent Empire!"
“…”
Everyone was talking at once, except Marquis Fred, who had a serious look on his face, as if he was waiting for someone to arrive.
Coincidentally, the next second, the door of the conference room was knocked.
Everyone stopped talking for a moment and looked over, then they were surprised to find that the person coming was Cardinal Connor of the Tianli Church.
The two old foxes looked at each other and nodded tacitly.
As for the others, they were somewhat surprised by Bishop Connor's sudden visit, and for a moment they felt a little awkward and frightened.
Only Theodore Mosguera was not surprised.
The reason is simple.
Killing Lynn was a common aspiration for both the Tenli Church and the Mosgra family.
Therefore, in order to nail that evil young man to the gallows once and for all, Bishop Connor personally came to discuss with Marquis Fred in order to ensure that the trial was foolproof.
As the cardinal of the Tianli Church, Connor has an extraordinary status, even Marquis Fred is slightly inferior to him.
You know, the appearance of the cardinal of the Tianli Church at the private meeting of the Mosgra family was itself a major event that was enough to shake the imperial capital.
"Good evening, everyone." Bishop Connor walked slowly to the center of the room under everyone's gaze, walking on the soft red carpet. He said calmly, "It seems that you have encountered some troubles."
Marquis Fred stood up to greet him and asked, "Mr. Bishop, what do you think about the Lynn Bartleron case?"
After he welcomed Bishop Connor to his seat, he waved his hand to dismiss some of the family members around him, leaving only the core members and direct descendants to listen.
Hearing this, Bishop Connor shook his head and said, "It's not a brilliant idea, but Marquis Fred, are you absolutely sure that you will sentence Lynn to death?"
Marquis Fred's expression remained unchanged as he took out a parchment scroll from his arms: "This is the detailed arrangement of the trial procedure. The Holy Spirit Tree will only read Lynn's memory of that night in the old factory."
“Then the whole city will witness with their own eyes how he brutally murders His Highness Joshua.”
"So, Lin En is definitely going to die!"
After receiving confirmation from Marquis Fred, Bishop Connor breathed a sigh of relief.
He still understood the process of the Holy Tree Trial.
The Holy Spirit Tree can read the host's memory and play it on the sky screen for the whole city to watch, so it is very important to select the memory node.
Although Bishop Connor knew that Lin En was hiding many secrets, if he could use the Holy Spirit Tree to read his memory, he might be able to obtain many unknown secrets, and might even be able to peek into some of the Third Princess's forbidden delicacies.
Bishop Connor was very interested in this.
Unfortunately, if too many memories are read, complications may arise, leading to an unknown outcome for this trial that was originally predetermined.
Therefore, it is undoubtedly the safest option to only read Lynn's memory of that night in the old factory.
What's more, the trial method of the Holy Spirit Tree is fair and just, and they cannot manipulate the specific details.
However, after a moment of silence, Bishop Connor changed his mind and realized that there had been so many times in the past when the Third Princess was in desperate situations, but they were all easily resolved by the young man.
Perhaps, no matter how much they value this enchanting young man named Lin En, it cannot be too much.
After realizing this, Bishop Connor's Adam's apple rolled, and a hint of madness surged in his eyes.
“In addition to the Mosgra family, it seems that we have to prepare a trump card that can completely kill Lin En.”
Thinking of this, he narrowed his eyes and came up with a plan.
At this moment, the last ray of sunset outside the window was also swallowed up by the night.
“Dang, dang, dang…”
The large pendulum clock in the attic struck seven times, as if counting down the days to the coming trial.
…
Several days have passed since Lynn was taken away.
During these few days, there was no news from him, and the third princess Yvesette was still in a coma. This made everyone in Bartleon Manor who was rescued by Lynn again - Morris, Graya, Rhine, and Lynn's sister Eleanor, feel as if their souls were sucked out, wandering between the corridors and halls in a trance all day long.
It seems that if I stop, I will be swallowed by despair.
There is no doubt that after losing two backbones, everyone fell into deep anxiety and despair.
Not only Morris, Graya, Rhine and others, but even Lynn's sister Eleanor tried her best to run around through the family's connections, trying to find a way to release her brother.
But at this point in time, who would dare to risk the world's condemnation and mention anything related to Lin En?
Eleanor bit her lower lip and read through the family letters over and over again, trying to find old friends who had benefited from the Bartleron family.
But everything is destined to be in vain.
The reason is very simple. This time, Lin En killed the fourth prince Joshua, and offended the royal family of the Saint Laurent Empire.
Even blood relatives would most likely retreat at this critical juncture.
Therefore, these days, everyone has been rejected countless times, and now they are gathered in the manor with pale faces, not knowing what the future holds.
"Failed again..."
Three days have passed since I sent a letter to the chief judge of the Imperial High Court, but I still haven't received a reply. It's like a stone sinking into the sea. Eleanor murmured softly, her voice sounding drained of strength.
You know, Chief Justice Cornell, who is now high up in the legal world of the Saint Laurent Empire, is Eleanor's last hope.
On that snowy winter night forty years ago, Cornell was just a skinny young man huddled in the slums of the downtown area of the imperial capital, full of ambition but frustrated.
When he collapsed on the steps of the library, his frozen fingers were still tightly grasping half of the "Codex Saint Laurent" that was soaked in snow water.
If Eleanor's grandfather had not happened to meet the head of the Bartleron family who had just finished a court meeting, and had not found this young man who was still thinking about legal provisions in the snowstorm interesting and brought him home, there would probably not be the chief justice who is now famous in the imperial legal community.
"It's useless. Judge Cornell is known for his integrity. If you hope he will save Lynn, you might as well believe that I am Saint Laurent I."
Rhine sighed.
Graya stood silently by the window, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the scratches on the window frame, his voice so soft that it was almost inaudible: "Everyone is afraid of being implicated, which is actually human nature. After all, who would offend the entire noble group and His Majesty the Emperor for someone who has nothing to do with them?"
Everyone understood this truth, but no one was willing to do nothing. They just had to watch Lynn being tried and hanged. This was something they could not accept.
"Is there really no room for turning back on this matter?"
"Even the slightest miracle?"
These people who had fought together until the last moment in the battle to defend the manor now regarded each other as companions they could trust completely.
Therefore, despite the previous grudges, everyone still asked questions to Rhine, the only one who could be considered to have some wisdom at the moment.
As a result, the other party gave a merciless answer of "you will definitely die".
Because no matter from which angle you look at it, Lin En, who is trapped in the vortex, will inevitably be swallowed up by the nobles of the entire imperial capital without Ivester's protection.
This answer made everyone even more discouraged and they didn't know what to say.
"Then we can only watch him being executed?"
Morris stood up suddenly, and the chair made a sharp sound on the floor.
Rhine looked up at him, his eyes calm and almost cruel: "Unless you plan to break into the prison and then be hanged on the gallows together."
The air suddenly froze.
After trying all methods and finding no results, perhaps the only way left is to forcefully break into the prison and take Lin En away. However, doing so will result in death for everyone involved.
Just when everyone was in despair, the door of the conference room was suddenly pushed open.
Accompanied by a burst of brisk footsteps, everyone discovered that it was Afiya, who had been missing for a long time, who had returned.
At this moment, although the cat-like girl's eyes were red, her posture was very upright and her complexion looked much better, as if she had suddenly unloaded a heavy burden and felt much more relaxed.
Everyone then remembered that she was responsible for going to the eldest princess to ask for help, and hope was ignited for a moment.
After all, Hillina holds an extraordinary status in the empire, and the power she holds is far beyond what Ivester can match on her own.
Just as everyone looked at Afiya expectantly, she shook her head and said:
"Her Highness the Grand Princess also expressed that she was helpless."
Upon hearing this, the expectations on everyone's faces froze instantly, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over them.
Morris frowned and looked at her:
"Afiya, you obviously came back with nothing, why are you so happy?"
Everyone then came to their senses and realized that Afiya's expression seemed somewhat out of place with everyone present.
Everyone was almost in despair and unwilling to accept the cruel reality that Lin En was going to be executed.
But Afiya didn't look sad at all, which made them confused.
Unexpectedly, Afiyali then answered as a matter of course: "Although Her Highness Hilina said that she was helpless in this matter, when she went to visit Lin En in prison, the bad guy asked her to convey a message."
She paused for a moment, her eyes sweeping across everyone's tense faces, and then repeated word by word:
"Don't worry, just wait until I come back."
This sentence is like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples.
The name "bad guy" was Afiya's exclusive name for Lin En. After realizing this, everyone subconsciously sat up straight.
The air in the entire hall seemed to freeze.
For a moment, everyone was silent, with different expressions.
It is true that when they first heard these words, they felt a little bit of fear in their hearts, but they immediately recognized the cruel reality before them.
They thought it was just Lin's words to comfort them.
"Ha!" Morris laughed a little weakly. "Has that guy been tortured to death in prison? Why would he say such things at this time?"
"Maybe he just doesn't want us to worry."
Graya lowered his head, his voice so soft that it was almost inaudible.
"But this guy is really speechless. Even when he is about to die, he still cares about us in his heart. It's really hard to hate him."
Rhine sighed.
Although there were some grudges between him and Lin En because this guy's own reputation was ruined, in the final analysis, he was the one who took the initiative to cause trouble.
And after spending these days together, his hatred for Lin En has weakened a lot.
Even... there is a hint of admiration.
On the other hand, compared with the despairing expressions of others, Eleanor and Afiya can be said to be different.
The two's eyes were shining, and it was obvious that they did not think that Lin En's words were just a comfort to them.
"My brother said he would come back..."
"Then I will definitely come back!"
Eleanor suddenly spoke, her voice soft but firm enough.
She stood by the window, the afterglow of the setting sun gilded her profile, and her eyes, which were exactly the same as Lin En's, were filled with unquestionable trust.
"That's right," Afiya walked to Eleanor's side, then looked around at everyone with a sweet smile on her face, "Everyone, when have you ever seen Lin En break his promise?"
The flames in the fireplace flickered, casting changing shadows on everyone's face.
Some people frowned, some were skeptical, but the two girls standing in the light had eyes brighter than the fire.
…
Time passed quickly and soon the day of execution arrived.
The Priest Square, the most magnificent place of judgment in the imperial capital, has already been submerged by a sea of dark crowds.
Noble carriages drove into the outskirts of the square one after another, and the coachmen had to shout loudly to barely open a narrow path through the crowded crowd.
The citizens stood on tiptoe and stretched their necks, wanting to witness this "holy judgment" with their own eyes, as if Lynn's death could wash away some of the uneasiness in their hearts.
On the high platform in the center of the square, the shadow of the gallows fell on the ground, like a hideous crack.
If nothing unexpected happens, after the trial, Lynn will end his young and "sinful" life on this gallows.
In the aristocratic viewing area on the east side of the square, several nobles in gorgeous costumes were talking in low voices. Their voices were very low, but they could not conceal the contempt and pleasure in their words.
"I have finally waited for this day."
Marquis Saxton sneered and tapped lightly on the silver wolf carving on the top of his cane, which was the symbol of their family.
The Silver Wolf Family and the Bartleon Family are old enemies. The ancestors of Marquis Saxton and Lynn both once served in the Third Legion of the Empire.
The two should have been comrades fighting side by side, but they turned against each other completely because of a strategic difference.
The ancestor of the Marquis of Saxton advocated sacrificing the lives of thousands of civilians in a small town in exchange for the final victory of the battle. Lynn's ancestor strongly opposed it. That night, he arbitrarily led his cavalry to launch a surprise attack from behind, although he finally won a great victory.
When Lynn's ancestor returned victoriously, he found that the ancestor of Marquis Saxton still ignored his opposition and sacrificed all the civilians in the town on his own initiative.
Because of this incident, Lynn's ancestor was furious and broke off completely with the ancestor of Marquis Saxton, and reported the matter to the military.
In the end, the ancestors of Marquis Saxton were punished, and he was finally named Marquis instead of Earl based on his own merits, and he also blamed Lynn's ancestors for this.
The Bartletleon family is now in such a state, and Marquis Saxton has made great efforts behind the scenes.
Originally, he thought that the Bartleon family had completely declined, but he didn't expect that Lin En, who had originally become a waste, would suddenly rise up again, and even hook up with the third princess Ivester. It seemed that he was regaining his strength and was about to lead the declining Bartleon family to rise again.
This made Marquis Saxton extremely uneasy.
Unexpectedly, before he could make a move, Lin En fell down. Having committed such a heinous crime as murdering the Fourth Prince, he was doomed to die.
"I think hanging is too lenient for him. A lawless lunatic like him should be tied to the gallows and let the crows eat his flesh and blood until his bones are weathered."
Lady Olivia, who was standing next to Marquis Saxton, had a sarcastic smile on her face. Although she had no hatred towards Lynn and the Bartlion family, she personally hated Yvesette very much.
As Lynn was Yvesette's lackey, she would naturally be happy to see Lynn being hanged.
"Oh, you are so anxious."
Earl Wallis slowly straightened his clothes, his eyes sinister, "Don't forget, the third princess is standing behind him. Who knows if she will suddenly wake up and cause trouble again?"
"That freak?"
Madam Olivia sneered at the side. "She can't even protect herself now. It's unknown whether she can wake up. What kind of trouble can she make?"
Earl Wallis narrowed his eyes and glanced at the other side of the square, where several guys with serious expressions stood. They were obviously supporters of Lynn.
And at this time, the only ones who can still firmly support Lin En are obviously Morris and Graya.
After taking his eyes off them, Earl Wallis sneered and suddenly lowered his voice and said:
"How about...we make a bet?"
"What's the bet?"
Lord Saxton raised an eyebrow.
"Bet on whether he will die today."
The corner of Earl Wallis' mouth curled up in a cruel arc, "I bet he will be hanged in public, and his body will be hung for three days to appease the anger of the people."
After all, there are quite a few civilians who have died at the hands of limb transplanters.
"Then I bet he will be torn to pieces by the angry citizens before his execution." Olivia chuckled, "After all, who would allow a murderer who killed a prince to live even for one more second?"
Marquis Matthew Augustine, who had remained silent, pondered for a moment and suddenly smiled meaningfully:
"I bet... he won't die at all."
The people around were stunned when they heard it, and then burst into laughter, as if they had heard some ridiculous joke.
"Matthew, are you dizzy from the sun?"
Olivia sneered, "If he can walk out of this square alive today, I will swallow the badge on his chest alive..."
Matthew did not refute, but looked at the podium meaningfully, and then met Olivia's gaze.
"Forget about swallowing the badge, Olivia. You'll probably choke to death."
Matthew spoke lazily, with a smile on his lips and a mischievous gleam in his gray-blue eyes. His mentality today was not entirely consistent with that of the nobles around him.
Olivia glanced at him coldly, "Who gave you the confidence to think that Lin En would walk out of the Priest Square alive?"
Matthew shrugged and said frivolously, "I just think that your badge is crudely made and has ridges on the edges. If you swallow it, it might cut your throat."
"How about...you swallow mine?"
Matthew paused, which made Olivia think for a moment that the boy was making a dirty joke about her, and a blush instantly appeared on her face.
As the only heir of the Augustine family, this kid seems to be only eighteen years old this year. His father died suddenly when he was sixteen, causing him to inherit the title at a young age. I'm afraid he hasn't even grown all his hair yet.
But before Olivia could open her mouth to refute this young man who dared to tease her, Matthew suddenly took out an exquisite silver family emblem from his arms and flicked it lightly at his fingertips:
"Look, our Augustin family emblem is polished to be round and smooth, and tastes great."
The badge drew a silver arc in the air and was slapped away by Olivia. Her eyes seemed to burn a hole in Matthew's face: "Are you looking for death?"
Matthew opened his eyes wide in pretended surprise: "I am saving your life, dear Lady Olivia."
Earl Wallis chuckled and interrupted the farce between the two: "Okay, Matthew, your mouth will kill you sooner or later."
Matthew picked up the badge that had fallen to the ground and nonchalantly pinned it back on his collar, smiling: "Rather than my mouth, shouldn't you be more concerned about your wallet?"
"Since you proposed the bet, if you lose, each of you will give me 10,000 gold coins!"
"It's settled then."
After saying that, Matthew looked past the crowd and towards the platform.
At the moment, the entire Grosstin is deserted, and everyone is eagerly watching this unprecedented event.
When the sun was high in the sky, everyone finally saw the culprit who was handcuffed with heavy shackles. However, many people were stunned when they saw him, because they never expected that the culprit behind the limb-replacement serial murders would be such a young boy. Although he was in tattered clothes and looked weak, his handsomeness could not be concealed.
Afterwards, Lin En was taken to the trial stand, and the shackles around his neck shone coldly in the sunlight.
Matthew looked Lynn up and down, and in the depths of his eyes, a hint of admiration appeared, which was very inappropriate at this moment.
He slowly turned his head and looked at the nobles around him who had made a bet with him one by one:
"hey-hey……"
"Don't forget...he is Lin En."
Seeing Matthew's somewhat crazy look, Marquis Saxton and Lady Olivia looked disdainful.
Yes, Lynn’s achievements are verifiable, and he has created many miraculous feats.
But in the current situation, they don't think Lin En has any chance of turning the tables.
Needless to say, just the killing of the fourth prince Joshua alone would make Saint Laurent VI absolutely impossible to let him go!
At this moment, whether it was because of shock or something else, the square that was previously bustling with excitement suddenly became silent.
Then, the trial process officially began!
Chief Justice Cornell stood on the podium, his old and majestic voice echoing over the square, reading out Lynn's charges - "assassinating Senator Black in public, causing him to be paralyzed for life, murdering the fourth prince Joshua, and being the mastermind behind the limb graft case..."
With each charge read out, the anger in the crowd grew, and citizens waved their fists and cursed like a tide.
The relationship between Chief Justice Cornell and the Bartlett family was no secret, but Saint Laurent VI still let him preside over the trial, which was enough to show that his integrity was recognized by Saint Laurent VI.
"Hang him!"
"This demon does not deserve to be tried and should be executed immediately!"
"God, please punish this demon with divine punishment!"
The citizens started to curse.
In the crowd, everyone from Bartleon Manor looked at Lynn with worry and heavy hearts, but to their surprise, the other party looked very calm and even smiled at them comfortingly.
This smile did not make them feel relaxed, but made them feel even more depressed.
Even though Eleanor believed that her brother would return safely, she still felt as if she were being cut by a knife.
If possible, she really hoped that she could stand there and stand trial in her brother's place.
"Lynn Bartlett," Chief Justice Cornell said in a cold and solemn voice, "Do you plead guilty to the above charges?"
The square fell silent in an instant, and everyone held their breath, waiting for his answer.
However--
Lin En just stood there quietly, with a slight smile on his face, but said nothing.
He chose to remain silent.
Justice Cornell frowned, obviously displeased with Lynn's attitude, but the trial process must continue.
"Since the defendant refuses to plead guilty, we will proceed directly to the Holy Tree Trial." He announced in a deep voice, "The Holy Spirit Tree will decide your fate."
Chief Justice Connor gave a wink, and two professional staff members took Lynn to the Holy Spirit Tree to prepare for trial.
However, at this moment.
Something unexpected happened!
A ferocious murderous intent suddenly flashed in the eyes of the two guards who were responsible for escorting Lin En. Under the gazes of the whole city, they suddenly burst out with the power of extraordinary beings and attacked Lin En from the left and the right!
They wanted to skip the Holy Tree Trial step and kill Lin En directly!
Outside the crowd, Bishop Connor, sitting in the carriage, had a gloomy expression. It was obvious that this was his work.
Time seemed to slow down at this moment. Everyone in Bartleon Manor looked at the scene in despair, as if they were almost unable to prevent the tragedy from happening.
"Die, you unforgivable devil!"
One of them growled, and a sharp ice blade condensed in his hand, piercing Lin En's throat!
The other man pulled out a poisoned dagger from his sleeve and stabbed it directly into Lin En's heart!
The people in the square were in an uproar, some exclaimed, some shouted excitedly.
However, at this critical moment, the ice blade and the poisoned dagger were only inches away from Lin En. Suddenly, a familiar and powerful red light burst out from his body, activating the power of the Third Princess Iviste!
The light was not as magnificent and vast as when Ivester used it, and its power was less than one-tenth as great, but it was equally blazing, like burning blood.
The two guards didn't even have time to react before they were killed on the spot.
The whole place was dead silent.
Everyone stared with eyes wide open, looking at the scene in disbelief.
Lin En slowly raised his head. At this moment, his face no longer had the previous sickly look. Instead, it was replaced by a calm and solemn expression, as if he had been reborn.
The change and reversal happened so suddenly that no one had time to react.
It turned out that he had deceived everyone these days. After Ivester used life sharing on him, the causal punishment and injuries of the Prisoner of Fate in his body had been mostly healed. At the same time, because his life and that of the princess were tied together, or perhaps due to some special characteristics of his own, Lin En was able to use a small part of Ivester's abilities alone.
Although it was not powerful, it achieved his goal - to buy time for himself!
“Stop him!”
Judge Cornell shouted coldly.
The next second, countless extraordinary people who were monitoring Lin En suddenly jumped up. Although they didn't know why the two guards took action, their mission was to monitor Lin En and prevent him from escaping.
Of course, there were also some guys with ulterior motives among them. Following the orders of their respective masters, they wanted to kill Lin En in one fell swoop and on the spot to avoid any more trouble.
But it was too late.
Lin En suddenly turned into a shadow, shuttled through the gaps between countless attacks, and arrived in front of the trunk of the Holy Spirit Tree almost in the blink of an eye.
Then, under everyone's dull gaze, Lin En slowly raised his hand and pressed it on the ancient tree trunk.
"I don't admit any of the charges you've brought against me."
(End of this chapter)
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