Chapter 101: The Crown Prince's Trial
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LOCATION: STELLARUS EMPIRE ROYAL PALACE
****COURT OF TRIALS****
"SILENCE!"
The spectators within the court shut their mouth as the Emperor's voice resonate within the courtroom and all of them didn't want to speak for now as they didn't know what kind of crime that the Emperor's treasured Crown Prince, Alois, had done for him to be on the center of the courtroom and was labeled as a criminal in charge.
When everything within the courtroom had settled, the Emperor stood up from his throne seat and then walked two steps forward on the platform and then he looked at where his son, the Crown Prince, stands at the trial courtroom as the criminal in charge as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath for a moment.
'Just how could this happen? Is Alois truly involved in this case? If the truth came out that he truly was involve then, I don't know what to feel right now.'
The Emperor, Leirano thought as he remembered the last time he saw Ezekiel, the Third Young Master from Chevalier household, and Lady Aryna's child.
The last time that the Emperor saw that child was when he got an invitation that summons him to the Royal Palace by the Crown Prince himself.
Emperor Leirano knew what the Crown Prince was thinking at that time since the rumors about the Third Young Master as a neglected child and had been labeled as a half-noble child because of his biological mother's commoner background ever since he was brought back in the Chevalier household in his younger years.
From what the Emperor could remember, he had met that child two times. The first one is at his mother's funeral and the Emperor only hide within those shadows as he watch how that child arrange the ceremony for his mother all by himself without the help of others.
And the second time that he met that child was when he got summoned to the Royal Palace by an invitation coming from the Crown Prince's Palace.
According to the reports that he got from one of the spies that he had dispatched from that time, it seems like the Crown Prince and Ezekiel didn't have much to talk about as the Third Young Master became sick all of the sudden during that time.
'However, to think that would be the last time that I would have met Aryna's son, and I didn't even know what could have transpired to his sudden death all of the sudden.'
Emperor Leirano didn't suspect the Chevaliers since he had known the household of war heroes for a long time and even though Marquis Augustus was someone who didn't show affection to his children, but the Emperor knew about that man.
'He is not totally good with words, and I can understand the reason why he didn't bother with Aryna and her son the moment he took them back at their household.'
The reason, of course, for the two of them to be left alone and the noble society wouldn't bother them, especially the Marchioness, the Marquis didn't want the Marchioness to target those two and that's why they were placed far from the main household.
He snapped from those thoughts as that's not important right now since he needed to sort things out from here.
He diverted his eyes away from the Crown Prince and then looked at the other side where the Chevaliers are present and Emperor Leirano could feel the pressure coming from the Marquis— no, from Grand Duke Chevalier.
'After all, those are truly their noble title to begin with and it's their right if they wanted to be address as Grand Duke or Marquis, it's up to them.'
He thought as he watch the other three Chevalier siblings who keep on shooting glare daggers at the Crown Prince and if looks could kill, the Crown Prince should have been death on the spot.
However, Emperor Leirano take a note at the heir apparent, the First Young Master Altron Zerux Chevalier as he noticed how much the young man tried to restrain himself not to dashed forward where the Crown Prince is now standing at the trial room.
'I hope that this trial would at least calm their minds for now.'
From the moment he receive some reports regarding the incident that happened to the Third Young Master from one of the Royal knights who reported back to him, the incident that the Chevalier knights found the Third Young Master's battered body and within those battered hands of the young master, there is a piece of ripped golden cloth that has the symbol of the Crown Prince's Palace, and it makes the situation even worst.
At that time, Emperor Leirano didn't know what to do at the moment because this incident had impacted the Stellarus Royal family and not only that, but this incident also shouldn't be taken lightly.
After all, the victim is from the Marquis Chevalier household that even he, as the Emperor, couldn't afford to offend them in the slightest.
After giving some thoughts from that moment, Emperor Leirano had no choice but to put his son, the Crown Prince into the trial for fair judgement.
And right now, at this moment, they were now in the courtroom.
He took a deep breath as he spoke.
"Before we start, is there someone who wanted to ask some questions about this trial? Because when the trial starts, only the Crown Prince, the Chevaliers and I, the Emperor would only be speaking and no one else within the spectator's seat would try to involve in this case. Are we clear?"
After he said those words, he watched the spectators within the courtroom as he observed them from where he stood on the platform.
He waited for a minute or two, but no one objects and once again, Emperor Leirano looked down where the Crown Prince stood at the center of the courtroom.
"Now, let's begin!"
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He didn't know how this could happen to him?!
'What the actual f*ck is happening right now?! Why am I, the Crown Prince, was being stand by and labeled as a criminal in charge on top of that?!'
He thought as he gritted his teeth, but he still remained calm and silent for a while as he didn't want to make a scene that would put him into more embarrassing situations.
Just a while ago, he was about to hopped into his royal carriage for him to attend the entrance ceremony in the academy since he was delayed for almost four days already and when he got into the academy, more paper works within the student council office that he needs to partake and review those documents.
However, before he could depart from the Royal Palace, he was stopped by one of the Emperor's trusted aides as he noticed the symbol of the Emperor's within its cloth and as much as Alois wanted to scream at the person's face, but he couldn't since this person wasn't just an ordinary servant or something.
He is one of the Emperor's people and even though Alois is the Crown Prince the person in front of him wasn't his people, but the Emperor's and he didn't want to delay his journey even further, so he halted for a moment.
"Is there something you need? If it was from the Emperor, could you please tell the Emperor that this Prince needs to attend the school as this Prince had delayed things within this Palace."
After he said that, Alois was about to turn around when he heard what the Emperor's aide stated.
"This lowly subject would have to apologize but the Crown Prince, no, under the orders by His Majesty, the Emperor, the criminal in charge, Alois Henri de Stellarus, is the primary suspect for the sudden death of Ezekiel Zephyr Chevalier, the Third Young Master from the Marquis Chevalier household."
Alois' eyes widen in shock because of that statement; "WHAT?!"
'What kind of accusation was this?! Also, did he say that the Third Young Master from the Chevalier household, that good-for-nothing Ezekiel Zephyr Chevalier, is dead?! How come?!'
He didn't know what kind of absurdity this and the mere fact is that he, the Crown Prince, being suspected of the crime that he didn't commit?!
'I'm not guilty and I'm not the one who ordered to kill that brat?! How come that the Emperor even think about the he killed the Chevalier's Third Young Master?! I'm not an idiot to do that!'
Well, sure he wanted to manipulate the Third Young Master into his own bidding since he was known for being the abandoned child of the Marquis but issuing an order to kill him? No, he won't stoop down that low!
Alois knew to himself that he was innocent, and he will prove that within the trial court that this false accusation is an absurd and ridiculous!
He turned around once more and looked at the Emperor's aide and then he noticed that there were Royal knights around them, and he found it insulting that these knights were circling him to block his escape.
'As if I'll do that!'
Alois glared at the knights and said; "Lead the way towards the trial courtroom! I'll prove to myself that I'm innocent and has nothing to do with that absurd claimed that you were all speaking with!"
And right now, the Crown Prince, Alois, stood at the center of the courtroom, calm and proud as he wasn't afraid of anything since, he is innocent.
"Now, let the trial of the Crown Prince Alois Henri de Stellarus inside this courtroom begins!"
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