Chapter 199: An Interrupted Trial

Mid Evening - Late Fall : The Elder Hall, Northern Bahamut

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- Asimi Ragnarok ~

"So what is the plan for today? Any trials?" I asked as I sorted some human-sized paperwork with magic.

"Yeah, we are starting off with one today, but it was a case that was only opened a week ago, so, before you ask, I don't know much either." To my right was a large turquoise dragon, only a tad bigger than me. Her name was Galen Kerato, the sole daughter of a young, but famous ancient known as The Grand Healer. "At the very least, it should be an interesting start to the day."

"Well, after having nothing interesting over the past two months, we can only hope so." Although it was indeed unusual for a trial to make it to the elder hall so quickly, it wasn't totally unheard of. -Maybe it's finally something major…-

But not everyone took her words as casually as I did. "A trial got escalated that quickly?!" On the opposite side of the hall was a large blue and brown half-breed named Lex Naftis. He was one of the two halfies to fill the spots left behind by Eugene and Basilia.

Even after working together for a few years though, Galen wasn't too fond of him. "It was escalated through an executive decision." She didn't even glance at him when she spoke.

But I was too preoccupied with what she said to notice. "Wait, really?" -When was the last time that happened?- "Who escalated it?"

Thinking she knew, I looked over at Galen, but she simply motioned toward Pluto Chrysos, who sat on the opposite side of me. Put simply, he was a filthy rich, gold-scaled 665-year-old elder, the second oldest within the Hall, and the oldest present today by nearly 300 years.

Having worked in the Hall for nearly 400 years at this point, seemingly nothing ever caught his interest, and today was no different. "It was a trial published and escalated by Halcyon Aetos." He said it so nonchalantly, that Galen and Lex took a second to react.

But unlike them, I was more confused than shocked. -Aetos?- "Didn't the Aetos family say they were backing out of the Court when that so-called prodigy was born?"

"That was just the younger generation." Pluto shot me a look of indifference before turning back to his personal work. "Halcyon would rather give up his family name than lose that next-in-line spot to the Elder Hall he finally got after 200 years of effort."

-Fair enough...- "But for him to submit and escalate his own trial... Is he that confident he can win?" [1] -Isn't he afraid to lose the very thing he's devoted his life to achieve?-

Galen seemed to be thinking the same as me as well. "I knew he escalated it, but to think he was the one to actually submit it as well... Has he finally gone insane?"

"It's definitely possible..." -It sounds like he's scheming more than anything though...-

We continued to idly chat about it for a couple minutes after that, but eventually, Pluto cut us off.

"Whatever he's thinking, if it is a false claim, we need to catch it." Finally moving his personal work to the side, he glanced at the double door to the hallway that led outside. "He's here."

Assuming he just sensed an aura outside, none of us questioned him and started to follow his lead.

While we were cleaning up our things, Pluto threw a glance at Lex. "Before he comes in, Lex, don't take everything he says at face value. Since your new here, you might not know, but he's always been a schemer."

With a slightly nervous nod, Lex finally finished cleaning his things.

It was only a few minutes after that though, that a 20-meter-tall, wine-red dragon opened the door to the Hall. *clang-creak* She bowed her head right as she walked in and spoke clearly. "Halcyon Aetos has arrived."

Waiting for her to continue, the Hall fell into silence for a moment. "Who did he come with?"

"He came alone, Sir Chrysos."

Immediately squinting his eyes, Pluto glanced around the room to see us all sharing a similar expression. "Haah... Please send him in."

"Right away." With a polite bow of her head, the young girl turned around and walked out of the Hall. *creak-clank*

As silence quickly filled the room, everyone fell into thought.

-He seriously came alone?- I simply couldn't ignore such a large red flag. -He's been in the Court for nearly 200 years... What in the world is he thinking...-

As I was thinking about it though, the noise of the lock on the door being removed echoed through the room. *Clank* *creeeeak* As the door swung open, a 57-meter-tall, sky-blue dragon walked into the room with an air of confidence all around him.

He was already off to the worst start possible, without a single one of us in the Hall giving him so much as an indifferent look.

"Central Noble Halcyon Aetos greets the Elder Hall." After a shallow bow, he looked up to see our looks of skepticism, but his confident expression remained unchanged.

There was another short moment of silence after his greeting before Pluto started us off. "As this is an escalated trial, please start with the subject of the case and tell us who you plan to involve with it. Then you may begin with your side of the story and present evidence as you see fit."

With a quick nod, Halcyon's expression finally turned serious. "I wish to accuse Amphitrite, The Queen of The Forbidden Seas, for illegal usage of a Divine-Grade artifa-"

*WHAM* Cutting his words short, the door to the hallway behind him was slammed open.

The moods of everyone in the Hall somehow darkened even further.

"Sir Aetos! Sir Aetos!" The 18-meter-tall, dirt-brown half-breed called for Halcyon the instant he got through the door, but none of us were amused.

"Do you understand what it means to interrupt a trial?" Not caring to wait for someone else to do it, I jumped down from my seat and got ready to forcefully remove the man. -How did he even get past the guards?-

His face paled when he noticed me walking toward him. "Y-y-yes, I am aware, Great Ragnarok!" He threw himself into a grovel without the slightest hesitation.

"Then I hope you have a damn good reason for it." I gave him a threatening glare as I stood over him.

"I was ordered to deliver urgent news to Sir Aetos no matter what, please forgive me!" There was a short moment of silence that followed his plea.

"Well? What is it?" Seeing his nervous glance toward Halcyon, I decided to try and appease my curiosity. -For him to still be reluctant in this situation.. it must be quite serious...-

"W-w-well, Sir Aetos, your son, Cyrus Aetos..." He paused as he noticed Halcyon's death stare. "He has been confirmed dead in Siratha's capital, Valtivar, as of yesterday evening!"

The Hall immediately fell into silence again, but it wasn't from sympathy or sadness. It was suspicion. -Did he just say Siratha? What was he doing there?-

Before I could act on that suspicion though, Halcyon broke the silence. "You expect me to believe my son simply died in the largest city on the western continent?!" He looked like he wanted to rip the messenger apart.

"S-s-sir, I am only here to relay what I was told!"

Seeing the man cower in fear, I finally asked what was on everyone's minds. "Is there anything else you know?"

The messenger tensed up immediately but was quick to continue. "His body was found buried under the rubble of the Helvig Family estate with a large hole through his torso." He paused to look up and see everyone's looks of expectation before hastily continuing. "Prior to his body being found, the estate was destroyed with no survivors left behind. It is safe to assume he was caught up in the event!"

Although the Helvig family name didn't immediately ring a bell, I knew just how serious the destruction of a noble family in Valtivar, and the death of a young elder was. -Did one of the apostles do it?-

But as I was thinking about it, Galen spoke up. "Halcyon, I thought your son was taking care of his child in central Bahamut. What was he doing in Siratha? In a Marquis estate, no less?"

It was a question that was spoken like an acquisition, but surprisingly, his anger didn't grow. "How am I supposed to know what he's doing with his own ti-"

Before he could finish, I remembered something and cut him off. "Wasn't the Helvig family the one we investigated all those years ago for illegal distribution of information?"

Galen was quick to confirm my memory. "Yes, we didn't find anything at the time, but..." She squinted her eyes at Halcyon. "That doesn't mean we couldn't have accidentally overlooked something..."

Unable to continue holding it back, his anger slowly started becoming more apparent. "Are you implying my son was leaking information to those wretched elves?" He wore a look like he expected sympathy.

But Galen's glare was merciless. "As the leaking of information has continued since that investigation, that is a possibility we cannot simply ignore."

Seeing Halcyon's lack of response, Pluto voiced his opinion on the situation. "Messenger kid, you said the Helvig estate was destroyed last night, correct?"

The messenger gave him a nervous nod. "T-t-that is correct sir Chrysos..."

"Hm. Then how about we send a group to clean up the place and send a group to Sir Halcyon's estates to conduct a new investigation as well." Pluto looked at Halcyon to see how he'd react, but surprisingly, he didn't react at all.

"I have no objections."

Pluto gave him a look of distaste at his response. "I doubt it would have mattered if you objected, but shall we cast a vote just in case?" Seeing everyone's similarly distasteful expressions, a smile came to his face. "Those in favor, please raise your tail."

Immediately, the four of us present in the Elder Hall raised our tails.

"Then, let's put it on paper, shall we?" Using magic, a paper and quill were pulled off his desk. He started reading what he was writing immediately. "In addition to a new investigation of the Helvig family and the cause of their demise in Valtivar, Siratha, we will conduct an investigation into the Aetos family. During this investigation, Halcyon Aetos is forbidden to communicate with family members, and will conduct the previously scheduled trial as normal until further notice."

Halcyon's expression darkened as Pluto continued, but there was nothing he could do besides sit there and accept it.

-But isn't he a bit too calm after just receiving news of his son's death?- I simply couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

After continuing to read and write countless other legal details, Pluto eventually finished and moved the paper and quill towards Lex, then Galen, then me to sign it.

None of us had the slightest objection before I finally handed the paper back to Pluto.

"That is 4 signatures, the investigation will begin immediately." He casually handed the paper to Lex after checking the signatures. "Lex, could you run this over to Leander? He should be in the Central Estate still."

The way Pluto asked sounded quite demeaning, but surprisingly, Lex seemed more than happy. "Of course!" Quickly grabbing hold of the paper with magic, he hopped out of his seat and trotted past me down the hallway. "Hehe, to think I'd actually be able to meet the Foreign Intelligence Leader in my lifetime!"

As he trotted down the hall and made his way outside, I couldn't help but sigh. "Haah..." -And I really wondered why Galen doesn't like him...-

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[1] - If someone within 'the court' starts their own trial and lose (caught in a lie), they are subject to several years of probation without pay for abuse of political power, but if they start their own and escalate it prior to the result of any initial trials, that punishment increases to being stripped of nobility and all assets.