.

Hands, those of the imperial guards, palms roughened with callouses from swords, grabbed Sebastian roughly by the elbows. Sebastian, fighting against their grip, was forcefully turned toward the door. 

"W-Wait! No! I-I'm innocent!" Sebastian pleaded, turning his neck in an attempt to face the judge again. But nothing was said.

Everyone began getting up to leave as the guards walked Sebastian toward the door. Sebastian was now desperately looking from side to side, pleading silently for anyone in the crowd to help. And then he saw the one person who had not gotten out of their seat. 

Jylan's face was pale, shadows falling over his dark eyes and his mouth a straight line. He wasn't looking at Sebastian, however; his eyes were set on the floor in front of him – possibly the faint cracks along the tiles, or the specks of paint from water spills, or a black dot slithering from left to right as a spared pest when the insect control professionals had come to rid the castle of bugs. 

Sebastian struggled against the iron grips, his hair flapping into his eyes as he desperately called out, hoping someone would hear. "PLEASE! I'M INNOCENT! JUST ASK PRINCESS LEI WHEN SHE –"

But as he was dragged out of the courtroom, the large, semiarch-shaped doors cracked shut with not one person having stood up on his side.