Chapter 18: The Trial

Gwynnis and his companions arrived at the alleyway mentioned by the beggar. It was a dark and narrow alley hidden deep within the streets, where sunlight seemed unable to penetrate. The place was damp and shadowy, with moss growing in the corners and the ground covered in sewage and excrement. Flies buzzed everywhere.

As Gwynnis stepped over a pile of filth, he witnessed a fly being disturbed and landing on the face of the cautious mayor following behind him. The mayor's angry outcry, as he accidentally stepped on something soft and black, resonated loudly, almost thunderous.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Gwynnis couldn't help but snicker.

His companions fell silent, and his lone laughter echoed in the quiet alley.

"What are you laughing at?!" the mayor bellowed, losing his usual composure.

"Nothing, just thought of something amusing," Gwynnis replied, trying to placate him.

"Alright, don't be angry. It's just a fly that sat on shit landing on your face, then stepping in shit. It's normal, just get used to it," he said, watching the mayor furiously scrubbing the bottom of his shoe, unable to let go of the incident.

Gwynnis took a handkerchief from Rosalyn and handed it to the mayor, whose face color improved somewhat as he vigorously wiped his face.

The group continued moving forward and soon reached the deepest part of the alley, almost cut off from the outside world and eerily quiet, hard to believe that a bustling street was just a few meters away.

A few loiterers, seeing Gwynnis and a large group of people entering, quickly left the area in a nervous rush.

In a corner specified by the beggar, a girl about sixteen or seventeen years old lay on a pair of wooden boxes, covered with a moldy, tattered blanket.

As the guards approached, the girl trembled and tried to shrink further into the corner, desperately trying to make herself invisible.

However, her clumsy movements were futile. Gwynnis and his men were there for her.

Gwynnis lifted the blanket off the girl and looked at her coldly.

"I heard you're a friend of that thief, aren't you?" he asked her coldly.

The girl seemed to understand whom Gwynnis was referring to and nodded timidly.

Gwynnis then picked her up effortlessly. She was light, and as he lifted her, she let out a pained moan and trembled violently.

Seeing her almost faint from pain, Gwynnis reluctantly placed her back on the boxes.

Rosalyn stepped forward, lifted the girl's hair to inspect a wound on her head, and pressed her chest and abdomen.

"Blunt force trauma. Judging from the wounds, it might have been a large wooden club. She's been beaten severely and won't live long, probably only two or three days left," Rosalyn concluded, stepping back.

Gwynnis watched the girl lying alone in the cold wind, silently waiting for death in the dark, filthy environment. He fell into deep thought.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The girl did not respond.

Out of necessity, Gwynnis leaned closer to her ear and asked again.

This time, the girl slowly lifted her head and replied with difficulty, "Rowenna..."

"Rowenna, you have been accused of theft, and now you are arrested," Gwynnis declared coldly. He turned to the mayor, "Is that okay, Mr. Mayor?"

Mayor Bohn waved his hand dismissively, eager to leave the place, "Whatever you like, just finish up quickly so we can get out of here."

Gwynnis then turned his attention to the shadows in the corner.

Those were children who had run away when Gwynnis and his men entered but, unable to curb their curiosity, had come back and were hiding, watching.

"You know her, right? Send a message to her friend and tell her to show up in front of me immediately, or she will be publicly hanged," Gwynnis said.

Then, he flicked a few copper coins toward them, causing the children to scramble for them.

Soon after, the kids disappeared into the shadows.

Gwynnis leaned against the wall, closing his eyes to rest, while others guarded every entrance and exit of the alleyway.

In a short while, a lone figure appeared at the entrance of the alley. Without any attempt to hide, the girl, trembling, walked step by step towards Gwynnis. Stopping a few steps away from him, she slowly knelt down, her head bowed, holding a cut-open small bag over her head.

In the most humble gesture, she returned the stolen items to Gwynnis. He opened his eyes and snatched the bag, carefully counting its contents. Everything that had been stolen was there.

"Alright, alright, we've got everything back. Let's go," said Mayor Bohn, relieved to see the lost items recovered and eager to leave.

"Arrest them all and take them away," the mayor commanded the city guards.

"Wait a moment," Gwynnis said, raising his hand slightly to stop the guards.

"You stole my belongings, and that's it? No gesture of remorse?"

"Apologize to me, right now," Gwynnis demanded coldly.

The girl knelt on the ground, hunched over. Her whole body trembled, and she was curled up into a small ball.

But Gwynnis did not hear an apology for a long time.

"Is it that hard for you to apologize?" Gwynnis's voice grew colder.

Desperately, the girl raised her head, her eyes filled with tears. She stuttered, her face turning red, but she couldn't utter a word. Her body tensed up, shaking with fear, curling up with the need to please, and gasping with despair. But she couldn't say a word.

"Enough! She's mute! What's the point of pressuring her like this?!" yelled the middle-aged man who had been brought along.

Gwynnis, instead of getting angry, smiled and turned to the man, "You said you didn't know this female thief, didn't you? Now you're admitting to harboring her. That's a crime of harboring."

Ignoring the speechless man, Gwynnis turned back to the girl. He grabbed her cheek and forced her mouth open.

Indeed, her tongue had been cut off at the root.

"Mr. Mayor, what's the punishment for theft here?" Gwynnis asked.

"First-time offenders have their hands chopped off, and repeat offenders face the wheel," answered the mayor.

Hearing this, Gwynnis nodded, and the girl's face turned pale.

"Sir! Sir! She's a first-time offender, I assure you, this is the first time she's been caught! I beg you, for the sake of Angnes, please spare her!"

"She's just a poor child, stealing only to save someone..." the middle-aged man pleaded bitterly.

"So, stealing for a good cause justifies everything? What if I was relying on that money to save a life?" Gwynnis retorted sharply.

Listening to Gwynnis's harsh response, Rosalyn withdrew her hand, which was about to tug at his sleeve. She suddenly remembered what Ansem had said: Gwynnis was a noble now, different from the common folk.

Looking at Gwynnis's back, she felt a sudden sense of unfamiliarity.

"Mr. Mayor, I'm taking these people back to my territory for public punishment. Do you agree?" Gwynnis asked Bohn.

Bohn, already impatient, waved his hand dismissively, "Baron, do as you please. Let's just go."

Saying that, he was the first to walk towards the alley's exit.

Hearing that Gwynnis was taking the people back to his territory, Rosalyn felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

Gwynnis noticed someone tugging at his sleeve. Turning around, he saw it was Rosalyn.

He snorted coldly and turned his head away.