When the royal advisor heard about this saga, he said,
"Broadly speaking, the situation of the Razor family resembles the family in that saga. However, we were not at war with the Kingdom of Amoritchi, and the Razor family was abandoned rather than officially dispatched. They were forsaken, exploited, and could be considered useful dogs for the Kingdom of Amoritchi."
The head of the Razor family listened to every word in disbelief at the situation he was in, and King Jord Joul said,
"I sentence the Razor family to execution and the confiscation of everything they own."
The family head showed no reaction, for he had already reached the end of the road of rationality. He merely sat there silently.
Everyone's gaze then shifted to the next person — the head of the Ranus family, who stood there terrified, as though naked before a snowstorm.
The advisor prepared another report and ordered several pieces of evidence to be brought forward. They were boxes filled with numerous prohibited tools.
He said,
"If the Razor family was responsible for acquiring these tools and receiving instructions, then the primary warehouse and distributor was the Ranus family. After examining the family members, we discovered that all of them had used these tools except for four individuals: the second wife, her two sons, and Shion Lan when he still belonged to the Ranus family."
Several gazes quietly turned toward Shion, whose icy eyes pierced through his father as the latter shouted furiously,
"I told you that bastard brat used the tools too! Otherwise, how do you explain his abnormal strength?!"
Hatred deepened within Shion's heart. He could hear whispers throughout the hall regarding his unnatural power, but the king declared,
"Silence!"
After calming everyone, he looked at the advisor and asked,
"How did you verify Lord Lan's condition without directly examining his body?"
The advisor replied amidst the chaos,
"When Lord Lan was injured after the attack of the Dark Crow Army, his condition was already critical, and the academy physician thoroughly examined him without finding anything unusual. Then, when he was injured again during the incident at the Neumann Family Providence, I personally supervised his treatment and confirmed that he was completely clean and that nothing abnormal existed within him."
He then looked toward Shion's father and said,
"What he said is merely slander against Shion Lan because he wishes to drag him into this chaos as well."
The king then said,
"Continue listing the charges, Advisor. And you!"
He looked coldly toward the head of the Ranus family.
"If you interrupt again, your punishment will become even harsher!"
The advisor continued,
"The Ranus family was strangely cooperative with the Razor family. There were even blood relations between them, almost as if they were one family. They engaged in extortion and domination over other families, stored prohibited tools, and distributed them among commoners under the guise of accessories that enhanced magical power and aura. However, through the imposed contracts, those who purchased the tools would effectively be excluded, as though they had bought slavery with money. Fortunately, this phenomenon only appeared within his province, and we managed to contain the situation. Still, I must say this — the Ranus family is truly bold!"
The audience focused on him as he pulled out a document and said,
"I discovered that the family head attempted to blackmail the head of the Light family, a second-rate noble house, and I found the blackmail document itself."
Although he did not reveal its contents, the head of the Light family broke into a cold sweat.
The advisor continued,
"He also investigated matters concerning the Shine family through the people working under him and managed to obtain several unofficial documents. While they do not qualify as evidence, they are sufficient to raise concern and would have dealt a heavy blow to Elai Shine, the eldest son of the Shine family!"
At those words, immense pressure filled the room.
The head of the Shine family said,
"Your Majesty, forgive me, but I wish to know what kind of blackmail material could make my son betray someone."
The king gestured toward the advisor, who handed him a copy of the report. After reading its contents, the pressure disappeared, but the atmosphere around him became even more terrifying.
Inwardly, he thought,
'I'll kill that bastard if this evidence is real.'
The advisor continued,
"After the investigation, we concluded that the Ranus family is guilty of treason, and we can pass judgment immediately. However, I ask Your Majesty's permission to add another case."
In reality, this was something the king had already discussed with the advisor beforehand.
The king asked,
"Is there another matter as serious as treason?"
The advisor nodded.
"I believe everyone already knows that Shun Ranus, the eldest son of the Ranus family, attempted to sacrifice Shion Lan at the Kito Family Providence. I found the matter strange because there had been no hostility aside from Shion's separation from the family, so I conducted further investigations. It turns out that Lord Lan not only faced mortal danger during academy missions, but his very life within the Ranus family was a living hell. I discovered that he nearly died multiple times throughout his life, and the family head himself attempted to kill him four times!"
"What?!" everyone shouted in shock.
'Did she...?!'
Shion looked toward the second princess, Jina Joul, to see whether she was responsible for this chaos, but instead he found her genuinely surprised and confused. When she noticed his gaze, she tried to explain herself, but he simply turned back toward the advisor and said,
"Does Your Majesty permit me to speak?"
The king replied,
"Although the attempted murder of a noble certainly deserves investigation, you are the directly involved party here. Do you wish to pursue the matter?"
Inside, the king cursed,
'Must you oppose this?! He tried to kill you, and you know it! Just let me investigate and learn a few things about you! Unless you possess some great secret…'
Shion interrupted the king's thoughts by saying,
"I already know about his attempts to kill me, but I believe the charge of treason alone will result in execution. I don't think adding another crime will change anything."
The advisor responded,
"But the law must still be enforced."
Shion said,
"And the law also permits me not to reveal the details of my personal life. It likewise allows me to drop the case."
Shion felt deeply uncomfortable with anyone learning about his life inside the Ranus family.
But then his father shouted,
"If the laws are truly fair, then I also wish to file a case against the so-called Lord Lan!"
Everyone stared at him in astonishment.
The king asked suspiciously,
"What case do you wish to file against him?"
The family head answered,
"The murder of a noble!"
Everyone looked toward Shion in shock.
Shion himself was stunned.
"Which noble did I kill?"
His father roared,
"You killed my father, you bastard!!"
The advisor froze for a moment before erupting in anger.
"Your father?! Your father died seventeen years ago!!"
The family head replied,
"I'm certain Shion is the murderer! My father was a six-star fighter at the sixth level, so how could he die so easily?!"
Shion calmly responded,
"Death does not need a reason to arrive. When the time comes, you will die even if you are at the ninth level."
He then looked toward the king and said,
"My apologies, Your Majesty, but there are limits to this nonsense, and…"
He turned toward the academy director.
"I apologize for what I said earlier."
The academy director, Tim Air, replied,
"It's fine. You spoke the truth… death does not seek a reason to come. When the time arrives, we simply die."
But the family head interrupted,
"I have evidence I can prove right here in this hall!!"
He looked toward the advisor.
"I believe the Healing Heroine Hyurin is currently within the royal palace, and the Pure Spirit Solan Neumann is here as well. Now I shall explain why Shion is the killer!"
"..."
Solan looked at him confusedly.
When he realized everyone was listening, he attempted to stand proudly, but suddenly an overwhelming pressure descended upon him, forcing him to his knees and lowering his head.
King Jord spoke majestically,
"You have already overstepped your boundaries in this court. You are already guilty, and now you wish to condemn your own son to death. Nevertheless, I will allow you to speak as you wish, but…"
His golden eyes lit up, and his aura manifested as chains that shot toward the family head, piercing both his heart and soul.
The king declared,
"(Royal Command: If your next words fail to convince anyone, you shall suffer agony that crushes both your heart and soul. You will beg for death, yet it shall not come until your punishment is complete.)"
Instead of fear, confidence filled the family head.
He said,
"Seventeen years ago, I married the daughter of the Razor family and had a son with her. I swore I would never betray her, but I never expected that I wouldn't even endure a single night of drinking, because I…"
Before he could finish, he suddenly found a sharp sword at his neck, accompanied by a raging stellar aura behind him and murderous eyes staring into him.
Shion said mercilessly,
"Continue speaking, and I will execute you myself!!"
Yet nobody moved to stop Shion, because his father was already considered scum.
His father sneered,
"Stop pretending with that fake aura! Show everyone your true aura!"
The king said,
"Shion, I will let you execute this man eventually, but I need answers first. And you…"
He turned toward the father. With a mere motion of his finger, the man screamed madly in pain as though his heart were being torn apart.
"AAGHGGAAA!!!!"
The king commanded,
"Speak only about Shion and nothing else!"
Shion still stood there, his starry eyes fixed upon his father as the latter continued,
"When his mother became pregnant, my wife found out. So I decided to eliminate the problem. One night, using my fifth-level strength, I struck her stomach with a punch."
He then added,
"For an ordinary common woman who was pregnant, could anyone survive such an attack?!"
The king replied,
"I highly doubt it. Yet Shion appears perfectly fine."
The father smiled.
The king coldly said,
"You still haven't convinced me, therefore—"
"There was an evil spirit possessing him!! It was that spirit that killed my father!!"
Everyone was shocked.
The father continued,
"After what I had done, I went to sleep. But Shion appeared in my dream — except he had black hair and dark black eyes devoid of life. He smiled as he approached me and touched my body. I didn't understand what had happened, but in the next moment he opened his hand, and the spirit of my father appeared — the same father I had left sleeping. A cold aura of death emanated from Shion's body, and he said, 'I'll kill you later.'"
When he finished his story, Shion was inwardly shaken, though he maintained a calm exterior.
The advisor scoffed,
"So you're saying Shion Lan, who was still a fetus, appeared in your dream as an adult and murdered your father? What kind of nonsense is this?!"
The father shouted angrily,
"And you forgot that he touched my body! When I woke up, I found that I could no longer train beyond the fifth level! Tell me then! How could that happen?!"
Shion replied coldly,
"So you claim I killed your father but chose not to kill you personally? What a ridiculous story!"
Yet inwardly, the king thought,
'An aura of death… That description does resemble Shion when he used that technique. Could it be that he…?'
At the same time, Jina thought in shock,
'Could he really be the Head of the Shi family like Uncle said?!'
She gripped the armrests of her chair tightly.
The advisor then said,
"I have a method to determine whether you are telling the truth or not. But will Lord Lan cooperate with me?"
At that moment, every gaze in the hall turned toward Shion.