Colonialism is the cousin of slavery.

After Zane confessed that he didn’t steal the relic and his faith was true, the Emberlord brought the topic to his maid. His maid who was none other than Milo.

Zane hadn’t brought her to the Cathedral for the prayer to keep her safe and because of this Emberlord said she deserved to die.

At that, Zane laughed and said one thing that Coin was trying to do, the thing that was taking place since ancient times:

"If you kill enough of them, they stop fighting."

The Enforcers flinched.

The Emberlord squinted his eyes.

The people in the Cathedral watched Coin with their mouths open.

They could not believe that a Gutterborn talked like that with an Emberlord.

The Gutterborns in the back of the Cathedral felt Zane’s words in their bones.

The visuals of the raid flashed in their eyes as they found complete understanding of Zane’s words.

However, the Emberlord appeared to be made of stone.

Not once did he lose his composure.

"Your argument is meaningless, Zane Atlas. I don’t want to kill her because I want control. She did not attend the prayer of First Flame and that makes her a possible Infidel. It’s as clear as that. She might not have the original relic with her and I can even forgive her for having the relic, but how can we let go of someone disrespecting our God?"

"She disrespected no God." Zane slammed his chains. "She is a child. The only god for children is the one who cares for them. She had not yet developed the part of the brain that begs for a supreme existence to take the blame of our lives!"

"It’s the job of adults to teach children what is right or wrong. If she does not know God, she will know one today."

Zane clenched his jaw.

"She does not have the original relic. She doesn’t even know about a relic. I am under the oath. Each word of mine is true to their last syllables!"

The Emberlord shook his head.

"Yes. You are under the oath. But it is not impossible to lie."

He faced the crowd.

"If I asked you right now if you have eaten Sundrop candies today. The truth will be: no, you didn’t. But if you wanted to lie, you could simply say: yes, I ate those sweet things today. And the sweet things, they could be anything. You might have eaten sugar but the people will think that you ate Sundrop candies. That’s how you can lie under the oath."

Zane laughed.

"Too bad for you, Emberlord. If you asked me that question, I still can’t lie."

He stopped laughing and again eyed Coin.

"I have never tasted something sweet in my entire damned life."

Silence took place once more.

All of them waited for a punishment for lying under the oath but even after ten seconds, nothing happened.

Xavier and Tesla watched Zane with eyes full of pity.

The Halocrats and Commoners could not believe their ears.

Something that they had eaten with no care and with no problem, something that was easily available to them. Simple sugar that rots in their kitchen, candies that they roam around with in their pockets, the Gutterborn in front of them had never eaten such things.

He never experienced anything sweet.

The Emberlord slammed his scythe.

"That does not change the fact that she did not attend the prayer of the First Flame. Each and everyone present in the Citadel is here except the Discipline Sentinels who are busy protecting the borders of our Veyndral City, and your infidel maid who is resting in your room without any care of the world!"

Zane slammed his chains.

"Why should she care for a world that never cares for her?"

Coin turned towards Zane.

"The world cares for her. The fact that she is alive. The fact that she is alive and inside our Citadel even after being a maid and a Gutterborn is proof that the world cares for her. And the world has the right to know why she did not obey the God who created this world and prayed to him!"

Zane gritted his teeth.

"You just want to torture her because you weren’t able to defeat me, Emberlord—"

SWISH!

Coin swung his scythe. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The blade stopped inches away from Zane’s throat but the Gutterborn did not flinch. He gulped, sure. But not flinched.

Breaths were held as the Emberlord emanated pressure that choke the air out of everyone present.

He glared at Zane.

"You think I am here to defeat you?"

Zane remained silent.

"I am here for one thing only..."

The Emberlord pulled the scythe away from Zane’s throat and leaned towards the boy.

"Justice."

"And you will get justice by dragging a little girl here?"

Coin narrowed his eyes.

"Why are you so against her being here? Why are you so worried about a mere maid?"

Zane fidgeted his fingers.

"Because I am a human. And she is a human too. Since when do we need a reason to be worried about someone else?"

Coin shook his head.

"This is not just worrying, Zane Atlas. I smell fear. You are afraid of something. You are afraid of her coming here. Even if she does not have the original relic, she has something that is enough to make you fear her appearance in the Cathedral. No one would fight this hard for a maid."

Zane opened his mouth but Coin raised his hand.

Even so, Zane wasn’t afraid of the Emberlord’s hand so he would speak anyway.

But before he could speak, the Emberlord addressed the woman with the glasses.

She sat in the Commoners’ section and she was the same woman who made everyone know that Zane had brought a maid with him.

The woman who allotted Zane his room.

"Tell me, how was he talking with his maid? How was his behavior with her?" Coin asked.

The woman answered right away.

"He talked roughly to her. He called her good for nothing. He dragged her through the stairs as well."

The Emberlord nodded and looked around.

"Can anyone else confirm this?"

Hands were raised.

Be it Halocrats and Commoners, many hands were raised.

The Emberlord gestured to them to talk and they did.

"Yes. He was dragging a little girl forcefully."

"She was crying."

"He was holding her very tight as if she was an animal."

"He was calling her useless."

"He was.."

"He also.."

Those who have seen Zane with Milo shared everything that they saw him doing with Milo. They shared everything that Zane had shown them.

The Emberlord listened to each one and when they finished speaking, Coin went silent as well.

He stroked his chin and ran his mind with what happened in the trial today and what everyone said just now.

The entire Cathedral remained dead quiet and after a minute, the Emberlord glanced at Zane.

"You behaved cruelly with her. And yet, here you are defending her. Zane Atlas, I understand now. I do."

The Emberlord smiled and for the first time since the start of the trial, fear crept inside Zane.

"Not only a liar, everyone..."

The Emberlord spread his arms and with the same smile, he bellowed:

"Zane Atlas is also a great brother!"