Chapter 52 Assassination at the Celebration
Chapter 52
52.1
When the assassin loudly called out the name "His Royal Highness Prince Richard", the square fell into deathly silence for a moment.
Countless eyes were cast towards the slightly plump and unremarkable Prince Richard standing beside the platform.
Indeed, when an emperor was assassinated, one of the biggest beneficiaries was her children, especially the eldest, Prince Richard.
Prince Richard stood there, a blank look on his face. "What?"
George Blier's face was still splattered with blood from the knight's earlier attack. He looked a little frantic, and his speech was somewhat incoherent. "You said you would save me! You let me kill the Queen, and you could become the new King... You promised me that you would make me Duke Blier. You couldn't let me endure that torture."
Prince Richard seemed to finally understand what the assassin was talking about. A look of extreme fear appeared on his face.
"W-what are you talking about? I don't even know you."
In the square, a low voice of discussion gradually rose:
"Prince Richard... How is this possible?"
"In order to secure the throne, Prince Richard ordered George Blier to assassinate Queen Lucinda, is that correct?"
"This is crazy."
"I really can't tell. Isn't Prince Richard always very loyal and dull?"
"Maybe that's his disguise."
Prince Richard's face turned pale. He couldn't help but take a step towards Queen Lucinda and Prince Rochlan.
"Mother, Father," Prince Richard's voice was trembling, "I really don't know this person... I really don't know what's going on."
Queen Lucinda looked at him and neither rebuked nor comforted him. She simply said calmly, "You are not a sinner until you are judged."
Prince Richard was stunned. Sabina, the "commoner princess" beside him, had been silent the whole time. At this moment, she stepped forward and said softly, "Your Majesty."
King Lucinda looked at her, and Sabina nodded gently. "Richard is a loyal man. I am willing to believe that he did not order the assassination. The assassin's origins are unknown. His true accomplice may be hiding in a corner of this square. Several high judges are here. Your Majesty, please immediately try Richard and George Blier and find the person who really planned this assassination."
Queen Lucinda looked at Sabina and smiled.
"Rose Goode," she said.
The Chief Justice of the Empire came out.
Her face was serious and her tone was calm: "Your Majesty."
"Rose," said King Lucinda, "I ask you to judge this matter according to the Laws of Hydebot."
The Grand Judge nodded slightly and said, "Knight Commander."
The Royal Knight Commander gently stamped his golden tasseled spear on the ground. The Grand Judge solemnly declared, "Until the trial is complete, please seal off the square for the celebration."
The Knights of Kaderinburg received the order, and the sixteen Centaur knights next to the platform were the first to line up and block the platform on both sides to protect King Lucinda; while the Centaur and Orc knights around the square immediately changed their formation, grasped their golden tasseled spears, and surrounded the entire celebration square.
Shields, weapons, and armor made a cold clash of sounds. He Song took a step back in panic: "What...what's going on?"
Oledsi calmly supported his arm.
"This has nothing to do with us," she whispered. "We just need to be spectators of this trial."
However, Hesong still sensed something was amiss. He secretly exclaimed in shock, "All the royal children, the old noble families, and the new nobles, are all... all confined to this celebration square."
Even Hesong sensed something was amiss, and the other guests in the celebration square also sensed the tension. The once orderly formation began to disarray, with the crowds mingling together, and the newly appointed nobles subconsciously siding with their own families.
Cecilia had returned to Lady Agnes, and the red-haired Felixes stood together; the two barons of the Ebrard family walked towards Lorenz Ebrard and Princess Matilda, while Simon Karagaran began to tremble and unconsciously approached Hesong and Euridsi.
The crowd was somewhat panicked and agitated, and began to push and shove each other. The Centaurs in the square stomped their golden tasseled spears in unison, making a loud "bang" sound, and shouted in unison: "Quiet!"
The people in the square shrank back, afraid to move. Grand Judge Ross Goode's voice rang out calmly and clearly: "No one may leave Cardinal Square until the trial is over. Everyone, please bear witness to the truth together."
It was the sixth lunar month of the cold season, and although the weather had begun to warm, the air in Kaderinburg was still bitterly cold. Thick, grayish-white clouds had gathered over the square at some point, hanging low over the castle. The golden "Sun, Moon, and Nine Lights" banners fluttered, and even the sunlight seemed chilled.
People stood together, looking at each other, and realized:
Something is developing secretly.
Some people unconsciously looked in the direction of the Karagaran family and the Felix family. However, the attitudes of Duke Karagaran and Count Felix were very calm, and they did not seem to feel the siege and oppression from the Knights of Cardlin.
Even the red-haired Countess Alice Felix smiled and said, "According to the Hydebot Code, the guilty will receive appropriate punishment, and the innocent will be safe. As long as we haven't done anything wrong, there's no need to worry. The Knights can't just kill us for no reason, right? The Chief Justice is here, and I believe we will definitely see a fair trial and verdict."
Count Felix's words did comfort some people:
King Lucinda had always governed the empire according to the Hydebot Code. Indeed, she would not kill without clear charges. If she violated her principles, she would lose her royal dignity.
The emperor also has a sword hanging over his head, and King Lucinda will not kill people easily.
Thinking this way, the crowd's restlessness was gradually calmed down.
In the square, people's attention was once again focused on the assassin George Blier and Prince Richard who was "identified" by Blier.
Grand Judge Ross Goode waited until the crowd quieted down before calmly saying, "Now, the trial begins."
The judge stood in the center of the platform. She was wearing a dark purple robe, holding the "Hydebot Code" in her left hand and the "Scales of Themis" in her right hand, a symbol of fairness and justice. She spoke clearly:
"George Brill committed murder in public with premeditation, a first-degree felony under the Hydebot Code, and the evidence is overwhelming. George Brill claims that his murder was directed by Richard Mayfield. Therefore, we proceed to the trial of Richard Mayfield."
The Grand Judge said this, waving his hand slightly.
George Blier was escorted to the side of the platform by two human knights.
The judge said, "George Brill, under the Hydebot Code, an accusation without proof is libel. You claim that you committed the murder at the behest of Richard Mayfield. Do you have evidence for this?"
The blood on George Blier's face had not yet been wiped off, and he looked a little scary. His previous madness was gone, and the assassin seemed to have realized his fate and his expression became a little dull.
He said: "If there is no huge profit temptation, who would suddenly go crazy and assassinate the Supreme King of the Empire?"
George Blier calmed down after saying this. The assassin stared at Prince Richard and sneered.
"His Royal Highness Prince Richard said that if I could pull off a surprise attack during the celebration and assassinate King Lucinda, he would be the new male king. Then, as a meritorious counselor, I would become Duke of Blier and receive my own territory and order of knights."
Prince Richard was not one to argue. Upon hearing these words, his face had turned a deep red, and he would only repeat over and over again: "He's lying. I don't know him at all. I really don't know him!"
But Judge Ross was not affected by the emotions of the two men. She just said, "George Blier, evidence."
George Blier gritted his teeth and shouted, "I have evidence! I have the parchment scroll that His Royal Highness Prince Richard secretly gave me before!"
The judge's focus was on the evidence. She looked at him and asked, "Where is the parchment scroll?"
George Blier paused and coughed. "In the lining behind my underwear."
Hearing George Blier say this, some people in the square frowned and showed disgust; however, the judge Ross's expression remained calm, without any movement of his eyebrows, and he just said: "Knight Commander, find the parchment."
The Knight Commander didn't frown, but quickly and calmly took out the small piece of sheepskin scroll.
It was a burnt part of a letter, the edges were charred and broken, and only the words in the middle could be barely seen.
The Knight Commander handed the parchment scroll to the judge. Ross showed it to the people in the square and read:
"...Do it at the celebration, no one will know... In the dungeon, I will save you... R.R.M."
When the judge read out the abbreviation "R.R.M.", Prince Rochlan's expression became a little strange.
That was the abbreviation of "Richard R. Mayfield", which was indeed the name of Prince Richard - no one outside the royal family knew the middle names of the princes and princesses.
Cold sweat dripped down Prince Richard's forehead, and his eyes became more and more desperate.
"It's not me..." He argued weakly, "It's really not me. I, I don't know what's going on."
Prince Richard kept repeating this, saying only this one sentence. It was Princess Sabina beside him who calmly said, "Your Excellency, there is no seal of Richard on this parchment. Just based on the abbreviation 'R.R.M.', we cannot conclude that Richard was behind the assassination. If someone knew Richard's middle name, they could frame him."
Judge Ross nodded slightly, and George Blier gritted his teeth and suddenly said loudly:
"I have other evidence—Richard was unfaithful to Queen Lucinda. He secretly hid weapons, scepters, and sacrificial vessels that did not belong to him in the secret compartment of his bedroom!"
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