I Don’t Need the Prince! 26

Hector and Avina arrived at the Royal Palace. The moment the carriage stopped, an attendant came forward to help them down. Waiting for their arrival, the attendant was told to wait at the gate and be ready to escort them. Upon helping them down, he escorted them to the courtroom.

Avina glanced around at the bustling nobles standing around talking about the trial.

Although their voices were low, collectively, it was loud. Thousands of people lined against the walls grouped by 3s or 4s. Each held a pamphlet covering their mouths leaning closely to others only to chat and laugh.

A servant handed Hector 2 pamphlets, and Hector thanked him before handing one to Avina. Leading her to a corner, Hector flipped through the pages nonchalant at the noisy chatter. Avina noticed as they walked a few stares glanced at them. Eyes would briefly stare at them before looking back to their close neighbors. They were eyes of curiosity and scrutiny trying to find more clues on the Devera siblings' bodies. Unfortunately, there were no clues.

Although Avina was used to being stared at, obviously for her beauty, the kind of investigative stares still made her uncomfortable. She could only nervously grasp the pamphlet and look down as she walked, avoiding the stares aimed at her.

It took them a while to find a less crowded corner. Hector pulled her close to his side hiding half of her body behind his. He looked at her before lifting his pamphlet close to his lips.

"Stay close to my side at all times, and be quiet. The trial is starting soon," Hector reminded her. After that, he lowered his hand and focused his attention on the court below them.

Limited in vision by Hector, Avina pulled up her monitors again. With the monitor, she noticed how large the entire courtroom actually was. With 3 levels - ground, second and third - all of them were full of spectators. The ground level was reserved for the people involved in the trial including the defendant, plaintiff, witnesses, and judge. The Royal Family had minimum authority during trials but they did have a specific area for attendance; they, too, could be part of the trial. The second and third floors were reserved for spectators; Avina and Hector were there.

The loud sound of the Judge hitting the gavel sounded throughout the building. It signaled the start of the trial. At the sound, everyone became quiet looking at the ground level. Once the Judge affirmed there was silence in the courtroom, he announced with a loud voice, "Let today's trial commence! Bring out the defendant and plaintiff."

The doors opened and walking in were Amanda and Earl John. Behind the two of them was Prince George, and behind them were their defense teams. The opposing sides walked to their respective side, and the trial officially started.

Avina, although interested in the demise of the true villains, was bored. There were complex terms and hidden daggers, not really drama-filled as she thought it would be. It quickly got boring, but she had to at least pay attention. After all, she used her puppy dog eyes for this; can't let it be wasted.

'Host, what is smuggling?' 5025 curiously looked at the trial. For Avina, it was a bore, but for 5025, it was the most exciting thing ever! However, there was terminology it did not understand. Part of it had to do with the fact 5025 sadly did not have a data web and the other part was that it just never encountered "smuggling."

Avina did not know what to say. Part of her did not expect 5025 to be so innocent and the other did not want to ruin its innocence. So she gave the most innocent explanation possible, 'It's like stealing.'

'Oh! Then that's very bad. Amanda and Earl John are very terrible,' 5025 drew out and emphasized on the 'very' before focusing its attention back onto the trial.

Avina watched as the little ball of light focused all of its attention on the more than boring trial. She could not understand what was so interesting about it, but whatever as long as 5025 was happy.

Bored out of her wits, she could only focus on George's face. She had to admit, his face was very handsome. As expected from the male lead of course. While a system invested its time learning about human affairs, a human focused on a handsome face.

Although Avina admired the face, she also paid attention to the changing faces of Amanda and Earl John. At the start, Amanda was confident. The case would end, and she would not be guilty. That is if Earl John did as he was told, which we all know he did not.

So as the trial slowly played and evidence was displayed and stacked against her, Amanda's face darkened. Every single thing said against her wasn't even about the accusations; it was her crimes with evidence provided! Now it was her turn to feel stupid. She did not cover her tracks properly!

If it played as she imagined, then all they would find out is that she was a suspect for smuggling, gambling, and trafficking. But they would never be able to trace it back to her because she is smart. Turns out she was wrong, she did not cover her tracks properly, and every single suspected crime had evidence backing it up. Oh, and she wasn't as smart as she thought she was.

Earl John was already worried since the day an investigation was called. Today, he was even more worried and scared. He had nothing to do with the crimes but it was all created with his money. Even indirectly, he was involved. Piled onto the fact that he made false accusations, he was more than guilty. Earl John knew his fate and prepared to be placed in jail. At the very least, he kept his head.

The final verdict was as expected. Amanda and Earl John were found guilty and sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. At the sound of the gavel adjourning the trial, guards walked up apprehending Amanda and Earl John. The two of them were escorted out to prison. Earl John had accepted his fate and obediently followed. Amanda, however, struggled.

The moment the guard walked close to her, she started escaping dodging their hands left and right. A few more guards were called, and they finally caught her, but at the expense of their ears. Amanda, immobile, started screaming and struggling. Like a banshee, she screeched out kicking with her feet and attempting to free her arms.

The original moderately quiet spectators started to whisper and discuss between themselves drawing disturbed but curious eyes to Amanda. Everyone, including Amanda, knew her efforts would be futile. It was her last fighting chance, and she was going to do everything she could to survive.

"Let me go! I am innocent! Innocent!!" her screams echoed against the walls bouncing from the floor to the ceiling. "You'll all regret this! I am innocent!"

With 10 guards surrounding her, she was successfully forced to exit the building.

Everyone who had come to spectate the show slowly started to move out. They received quality entertainment, and it was time to leave. Hector started to move as well, and Avina followed after him.

Walking, she couldn't help but ask him a question she was always curious about, "Why did Countess Amanda do all those things, brother?"

Hector stopped walking and looked at his sister wondering if it was alright to tell her. It was, after all, not that pleasant. In the end, he decided it was better to tell her.

"So you know how Countess Amanda had a daughter? Winley?"

Avina searched through Ariel's memories and nodded.

"And Winley married Count Bailey?"

Nodding again, Avina looked up at Hector's complicated expression.

"Winley fell in love with Prince George once at a young age, but you got engaged to Prince George," looking at his sister's confused expression, he continued, "so she could only enter a marriage contract and marry Count Bailey."

Okay, and? Did Amanda come at Ariel just because her daughter couldn't marry the prince? That is pretty petty.

"Count Bailey's and Winley's marriage was not peaceful, and Countess Amanda was mad. However, Countess Amanda also did not have enough power to stop Count Bailey. So Winley continued the unhappy marriage."

Catching on, Avina replied, "And so Countess Amanda focused her hatred on me."

Avina was right and Hector nodded, "Yes, you're right. Smart little sister." Bopping her on the nose, he held her hands. "Now let's go home."