I, reincarnate as the leader of the villainous knight order

Chapter 34: Trial [Part One]

“Vandière, come out. You’ll be back here again soon enough.”

The day after being thrown into the cell, Constant appeared. I thought he was bringing my magic bag for breakfast, but it turned out to be a summons.

“Can I have breakfast first? Or if you’re in a hurry, you can eat in the carriage,” he said.

If a noble like me were to be tried, it would likely be at the courthouse in the noble district. The headquarters of the Second Knights is also there, just a street over from the residential area.

“It seems the Crown Prince will also be attending the trial. We can’t keep them waiting, so it’s best to eat in the carriage.”

“Understood. Please take my sword and magic bag so they can be returned to me immediately after the trial.”

“…Got it.”

Until yesterday, they seemed to think I was the culprit, but now they were starting to doubt themselves, seeing my consistent denial.

“Hey, when you come back, share your food with me, okay? Think of it as a little bet?”

The guy who’d been bothering me since yesterday grinned through the bars.

“Huh, if I come back here, I’ll share one meal.”

“Promise!?”

“Absolutely!? It’s a deal, okay!?”

I raised my hand to the prisoners who were asking one after another and left the dungeon with Constant. My beard wasn’t thick, so skipping a day of shaving wouldn’t be a big deal, but wouldn’t it leave a bad impression at the courthouse if it were coarse?

We rode in a carriage to the courthouse. It was a street lined with offices, like a typical business district. Knights from the Second Division surrounded us on all sides, with knights on both sides inside the carriage and Constant sitting opposite me. It looked like a complete transport of dangerous criminals.

Upon arrival at the courthouse, we were fitted with magic handcuffs at the entrance. This was because someone had gone berserk in the past.

Today’s trial was hastily convened, so only about half of the seats in the courtroom were filled with early-arriving nobles and merchants. The Crown Prince, with a triumphant look on his face, sat at a seat the same height as the presiding judge’s.

Wait a minute, where’s my defense attorney? Stepping up to one of the two witness stands in the center, led by Constant, the judge banged a gavel, declaring:

“From this moment on, we will hold the trial for the attempted abduction of Lady Diane de Taleraan, the Marchioness of Taleraan’s daughter! Defendant Justin de Vandière, you attempted to abduct Lady Taleraan and injured the maid who tried to help her escape. There is no doubt about it, correct?”

“Mistakes… abound. To be precise, everything except the name of the incident is wrong.”

As soon as I opened my mouth, the spectators seemed to think I was admitting guilt and leaned forward eagerly. But as soon as I denied it, they began to murmur. At the same time, the Crown Prince stood up.

“Don’t lie! There are witnesses who saw you and Diane together! And Diane came back with an injured maid who had fainted! There is evidence and witnesses!”

I ignored the Crown Prince and kept my eyes on the judge. I hadn’t said a word about Lady Diane’s testimony, and while the evidence likely referred to the dagger I threw at the time, who was the witness? The culprit from back then?

“Well, what do you have to say?”

“…Judge, may I speak?”

“Go ahead.”

Instinctively, I felt that the judge seemed to have a higher favorability toward me than the noisy Ernest.

“Is there no charge for obstructing the court against those who disrupt the trial?”

“Oh, court obstruction… I’ve never heard of it, but indeed, there should be such a law. I’d like to bring that up as a topic for discussion.”

“Please do. For us, the testimony of Lady Diane de Taleraan, or her maid Annabella, is enough to prove my innocence. To call anyone else a witness apart from them seems like a fabrication.”

“There’s no way we’d be able to meet the person who put us through such terrifying experiences! It’d be painful for them to speak! Judge, call the witness already!”

I felt like both the judge and I were in sync, eager for the swift application of the charge of court obstruction. Ernest, who was facing the same direction as the judge, wouldn’t be able to see it, but it was clear to me from the front. The furrow in the judge’s brow.

“…Now, on the plaintiff’s side, do you have anything to say regarding the defendant’s denial?”

The person who stood up as the plaintiff was someone I had seen several times at the royal palace before. I had once scared him so much that he nearly collapsed from fear, or maybe not.

“As physical evidence, I submit this dagger.” The plaintiff raised my dagger, which I had unsheathed, and a frightened teenager, who had been brought in through the door I entered from, was led to the other witness stand. “This dagger has been confirmed by the knights to be the one used by the defendant Vandière. And the person injured by this dagger is this squire of the Holy Knights.”

The plaintiff said this, presenting my unsheathed dagger, and a teenager who appeared to be in his mid-teens, who looked oddly frightened, was brought in from the door I entered from to stand at the other witness stand.

“The witness will testify.”

“Yes! I happened to hear the lady’s scream and rushed over. I was injured by a dagger thrown by the thief, but I managed to prevent the lady’s abduction!”

“Where were you injured?”

I interjected from the side.

“U-um, well… um, on my left calf.”

With this, it was confirmed that he was connected to the mastermind at that time. It was already known that my dagger was here.

“In that case, you won’t be able to become a Holy Knight anymore.”

“Huh!? W-why…”

The squire was taken aback by my words, and the commotion among the spectators grew louder.