Chapter 12: In the Name of Reichart! (2)
From the traces of mana left on the Family Sword, all that could be known was that someone other than me had touched it.
However, I pressed forward with an expression of absolute certainty, convinced that the owner of those traces was Alain.
“Alain, if you are a knight of the Reichart family, then you should know this. Because the Reichart Family Sword is forged to contain the traits of its owner, if anyone other than its rightful owner lays a hand on the sword, traces are inevitably left behind.”
“Th, that is…….”
“You used to say this often. That unlike other ignorant knights, you possessed a fair degree of knowledge about magic. Someone like you wouldn’t dare claim not to know what this scroll is.”
“…….”
Just as I said, Alain knew.
He knew that the magic engraved on the scroll I had just torn apart was mana detection magic.
The Reichart Family Sword and the mana detection scroll.
What these two pieces of evidence pointed to was clear.
I spoke in a resolute voice.
“Family Head, here and now, I stake all of my honor to assert that Alain Vispon dared to lay his hands on my Family Sword, deceived me, and concealed the Family Sword.”
“Young master! We still do not know whether the mana left on that sword belongs to Alain!”
Belkent cried out as if thrashing about, but I did not stop.
“Alain Vispon recklessly touched the Family Sword permitted only to the family’s direct line, and through delusional false testimony attempted to cloud the Family Head’s judgment. I seek to hold the criminal accountable for the sin of defiling the honor of the Reichart family and the Family Head.”
“Family Head, the claim that Alain touched the Family Sword is nothing more than the young master’s unilateral assertion. Furthermore, the authenticity of the magic scroll the young master just used has yet to be clearly verified!”
Originally, this trial had been meant to question my guilt.
In an instant, it transformed into a proceeding to determine whether Alain had touched the Family Sword.
“At present, there is nothing but the young master’s unilateral claims here. There is no notarized evidence. Please take that into consideration, Family Head!”
Belkent appealed in a desperate voice.
At this point, holding me accountable no longer mattered to him.
The weight of the crime placed upon Alain—deceiving the Family Head and defiling his honor—was simply too great.
“There is one thing that must be confirmed. Alain Vispon, you clearly testified in the previous meeting that you had never once seen my Family Sword. Do you remember that?”
“F… Family Head, that is…….”
As Redin listened to the arguments between Belkent and me, his gaze turned toward Alain.
Alain avoided Redin’s eyes with a pale face.
“I do not…… remember clearly.”
But despite those words, Alain remembered everything.
He clearly remembered testifying at the knight order meeting held shortly after I lost my Family Sword that he had never touched my sword.
Because he felt guilty, Alain had deliberately spoken in an even stronger tone.
He had falsely testified that he had not seen me, let alone my sword, at the Hunting Ground.
“We will verify the meeting records. Patrick!”
“I obey your command, Family Head!”
The moment Alain claimed he could not remember, two guard knights lined up behind Redin immediately headed for the meeting records archive.
“Family Head, I will say it again. There is no evidence anywhere that the traces left on the Family Sword belong to Alain!”
“Oh my. It seems the commander of Harm is quite curious about that matter.”
At the moment Belkent cried out again in near desperation, Bolpar, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
“Fortunately, this old man believes he can provide an answer to the matter the commander of Harm is so curious about.”
Only then did I understand.
This was why I had insisted that Bolpar attend this place.
“If the Family Head grants permission, I would like to verify the matter that Sir Belkent is curious about immediately. Will you allow it?”
“How long will the verification take?”
“It is a simple matter, so it will not take very long. About thirty minutes? Ah, of course…….”
Belkent’s sharply curved nose turned toward Alain.
“That is assuming Young Master Alain cooperates willingly. Since this is a process to prove your innocence, I trust you will cooperate sincerely.”
“F, Father!”
Alain looked toward Belkent with eyes that seemed ready to burst into tears.
“We have brought the meeting records, Family Head.”
At that moment, the knights who had gone to the records archive returned and placed the meeting records from that day before Redin.
“…….”
Belkent hurriedly turned his head toward Rishu.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before what I claimed was proven true.
If the meeting records were confirmed, it would also become unmistakably clear that Alain had given false testimony.
Alain and Belkent looked at Rishu with the desperation of those who had fallen into hell and were grasping at a single lifeline.
But—
Clench.
Rishu merely closed her eyes and turned away from their gazes.
And at the very moment Redin’s hand touched the first page of the meeting records—
“I’m sorry, Family Head. Please forgive me, Young Master!”
Unable to endure the pressure, Alain dropped to his knees and confessed.
“I…… I was foolish and committed an unforgivable sin against the Family Head and Brother Hein. Please, please…….”
Alain prostrated himself on the floor and begged Redin for mercy.
“Alain Vispon. Are you admitting that you hid my Family Sword and concealed that fact as well?”
“Th, that is correct. However, that was not my true intention…….”
“Hein Reichart. Answer me. Since when did you know this?”
Redin did not ask how Alain had hidden the Family Sword.
Nor did he ask why.
What mattered most was the fact that Alain had deceived him all this time.
The reason could come later.
“I knew from the day I lost my sword.”
“Then why did you not speak of it until now?”
“No matter what scheme Alain employed, in the end, I believed that losing the sword was my own fault. And even if he committed wrongdoing, Alain was still a member of the Vispon Family, a blood ally of our family. I did not wish to stir up unnecessary trouble by exposing it.”
“Then was the reason you assaulted Alain that day also rooted in Alain’s fault?”
“Yes. I believed that was the minimum lesson I could give him.”
“As of this moment, I declare the termination of all trial proceedings initiated by the Vispon Family against Hein Reichart.”
Ordinarily, no matter how powerful the Family Head was, he could not arbitrarily terminate a formal trial.
But because Alain’s grave crime had now been clearly revealed, Redin ended the trial.
No one objected.
That included the Vispon Family, who were the original party to the trial.
“Ares, immediately detain the criminal. We will proceed with the process of enforcing punishment befitting the crimes committed.”
“Yes, Family Head!”
Although Redin did not name the criminal, Ares immediately restrained Alain and forced him to kneel in the courtroom.
“Family Head, I have one request.”
“What is it?”
“The authority to judge crimes that insult the family belongs to you alone. However, I understand that with your permission, that duty may be delegated to another.”
“Are you saying you wish to punish Alain in my stead?”
“If you permit it, that is what I wish to do.”
Redin fell silent for a moment.
It was true that such a provision existed in the family laws.
However, entrusting Alain’s punishment to me carried weight.
‘What are you thinking, Hein?’
Once a crime was established, the punishment would not be light.
To personally carry out the severe punishment of Vispon’s promising successor was a heavy burden.
“This matter began due to my own fault. May I also be allowed to bring it to its conclusion?”
As Redin hesitated, I pressed once more.
In the end, he nodded.
“I grant permission.”
“Thank you, Family Head.”
With his approval, I crossed the courtroom and stood before Alain, who was kneeling.
Murmurs rippled through the audience.
“Is that really Young Master Hein? Contrary to the rumors, his demeanor is far too resolute.”
“Indeed. I misunderstood him after only hearing the rumors.”
“It’s not just his demeanor. His handling of matters leaves no gaps.”
“Just last month he was nothing but trouble, and yet…….”
“Are you sure you didn’t see wrong? He hasn’t yielded a single step before the Vispon Family. He’s overwhelming them. Alone.”
Ignoring the noise, I pulled the Family Sword from where it had been embedded.
“Young master, please forgive the rudeness I committed that day, and the wrongs committed by my foolish child.”
Belkent dropped to his knees and clung to me.
“Alain is still young. His wrongs are my failure to teach him properly. Please show mercy to Alain and hold me accountable instead.”
I did not even look at him.
“Carry out the punishment.”
Those words were directed not at Belkent, but at Ares behind Redin.
Ares immediately moved.
“Young master, please! Mercy!”
As Belkent was dragged away, he continued to beg.
“You’ve waited long enough. Alain, let’s end this.”
“……Ugh…….”
Only then did Alain recognize me, his eyes unfocused as he groaned.
As I turned my sword toward him—
“Hein.”
“Please speak, Grand Madam.”
Rishu finally broke her silence.
“I know well that Alain committed a grave sin. However, he is a knight with a promising future, and he has rendered many services to Reichart.”
“So what is it you wish to say, Grand Madam?”
“There are ways of judging a criminal that do not involve inflicting irreversible harm upon the body.”
Rishu bit her lip.
Given her temperament, it was not difficult to guess her thoughts.
‘Imprison him and plan for what comes next.’
Even amid humiliation and burning rage, she needed to prevent Alain from becoming irreparably crippled.
The Vispon Family’s standing could not be allowed to fall further.
“I only ask that you reconsider what the ‘best’ choice truly is.”
Each word carried pressure.
A warning.
Facing that weight directly, I asked calmly.
“Grand Madam, may I ask one thing?”
“Go on.”
“When you say the best choice, for whom is it best?”
“What!”
At that moment, she understood.
I was provoking her.
“Do not worry. Even without your concern, I have already prepared to make the best choice.”
Thud.
I smiled once at Rishu, then kicked Alain square in the chest.
As he collapsed, I stepped down on his shoulder.
“Ugh…… F, Father!”
Panicked, Alain could only groan.
I raised the gleaming Family Sword high and shouted so all could hear.
“Everything is for Reichart!”
Slice.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
A scream unlike any heard in the courtroom pierced the air.
Moments later, Alain’s right arm, severed from its owner, flew high into the air.