There were not a lot of witnesses for this case, which was odd for a case of such scale. But it did not surprise Kael that the council had only allowed a dozen people into the hall (not including those involved in the case).

If it were up to the council, then this case would not even be happening in the first place.

But Kael had written directly to the High Judge and threatened his oath. The man had no choice but to call for this meeting.

"I assume you are all aware of what this trial is about. Grand Master Kael, you may present the witness first."

Kael nodded and dragged the butler toward the stand.

Suspicion filled the eyes of everyone around him as soon as he took the stand, but Kael already knew he had no allies in this crowd.

At least, not yet. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Head Judge, can we even trust anything Grand Master Kael’s witness says? He might be under the Grand Master’s influence and lie to save himself. How can we even trust such a process?"

One of the nobles yelled, and Kael immediately marked him as a fool.

To stand in court and question the High Judge’s authority was a foolish thing to do. Kael could see the High Judge getting irritated by the question.

But the High Judge showed immense patience by taking a deep breath and calming himself down.

"Sir, this is the High Court. Any magic here is nullified once you enter, unless you specifically ask to cast something. Or, are you saying that you don’t trust my authority over my domain?"

The High Judge was not born naturally powerful, but he was given unquestionable authority over his domain. At the same time, he was also tasked with protecting justice within this domain.

So questioning him regarding this place would be akin to an insult.

The noble realized that he had made a mistake and immediately walked back his words.

"I apologize. Asking that was not my intention."

The judge nodded before turning to look at the witness Kael had brought with him.

"State your name and your affiliation, witness."

The butler shook in place and opened his mouth to lie. But one look from the High Judge told him that trying a trick would not end well here.

"My name is Joseph Kard, and I am Sir Ridley’s...or used to be Sir Ridley’s butler. Today, I am here to expose all his crimes as well as his connections to the council that resulted in deaths and millions in lost revenue."

Everyone gasped at the butler’s words, and the nobles immediately tried to bury the matter.

"High Judge, this is slander! How can you let that man speak such nonsense? None of this is true-!"

"Please stop talking unnecessarily. And you, Sir Kard, may continue."

The judge gave his ruling, and the butler nodded before he started to spill all the secrets he knew.

"Sir Ridley often conspired with other nobles to smuggle goods and money in and out of the country. In return, they supported him financially and also gave him slaves and girls they had kidnapped as children. This included not only slaves and commoners, but also the children of lower noble families. They were all ultimately killed for sport or because our lord got bored. B-but I had nothing to do with it! Please spare me."

The butler bowed to show that he was sorry, and the nobles looked furious at the confession.

It was hard to tell whether they were angry at the butler or at the council for what they had done.

Even the High Judge looked taken aback by this confession, but he needed to do his job well in order to lower the panic. So he coughed to get everyone’s attention before turning back to question the butler.

"So, all of this is the nobles’ fault? Is that what you are implying? Are the nobles in question?"

The High Judge asked, and the butler shook his head.

"I cannot say. I am not nobility myself, so I only had limited interactions with them. I can provide you with a list, but it might take some time."

People sighed in relief at those words, and Kael made note of who did and did not look guilty.

"I see. In that case, we shall issue a verdict once we have the names and have verified their crimes. Now, as for the second part of the case...I suppose we can dismiss it based on the evidence provided so far."

There was a gasp of shock, and the nobles immediately panicked.

"Sir, you cannot do that! Even if Grand Master Kael is in the right, he still killed a person. We cannot dismiss his case-"

"Punishing Grand Master Kael would mean making this case public. Are you all sure this is something you want?"

The High Judge asked, and everyone fell silent.

No one wanted this case to go public since they had reputations to maintain. But they also knew that they were scapegoats, thrown out to die by the council.

Their only way to save themselves was to take Grand Master Kael down as well.

"We don’t care! Justice should be the same for everyone. Whether it is for us or the Grand Master!"

The nobles demanded, and the High Judge turned toward Kael to see what his reaction was.

Kael shrugged and decided that if the council wanted to hand him their heads, then they were more than welcome to.

"Sure, I don’t mind. The public should also know what kind of leaders they have."

Kael smiled at the way the council members flinched and trembled in anger. They looked ready to chew him alive...not that he cared much about what they wanted.

The High Judge sighed and shook his head. His disappointment in the nobles’ foolishness was clear to see.

"Fine! Since you all have demanded it, the second part of this case will be held in open court. We shall begin in two hours."

The timeline was given, and the news was distributed.

The public quickly flocked toward the courtroom to show their support for the party they wanted to see win.

The nobles held their heads high, their eyes showing certainty that the public was on their side. But all of that went out the window once the public opened their mouths to show their support.

"Grand Master Kael, please win!"

"That bastard Sir Ridley took our daughter! Please make sure he and his accomplices do not get off scot-free."

"Get them! Show the nobles that they are not at the top."