Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 80

080

To invalidate Damian’s diplomatic immunity, a majority attendance and agreement from the Royal Committee is required.

In other words, the consent of 15 out of the 29 members gathered at the hearing is needed.

There was absolutely no need to worry.

No sane person would do the crazy thing of helping Damian. A misstep could lead to treason and losing one’s head.

“After the Second Prince visited the Second Queen’s palace, the Second Queen immediately left for the Arya Kingdom. Did you proceed only verbally to avoid leaving evidence?”

The assemblyman attacking Damian now was originally one of his supporters.

“Eek! No! I simply advised my mother to visit her hometown because she was homesick!”

“So, you’re saying you encouraged the Second Queen, who isn’t even a mana awakener, to travel during the height of the Red Star Fever [a period of heightened magical energy]? That’s quite filial.”

The assemblyman who mocked Damian glanced at me. His eyes seemed to desperately shout that he had cut ties with the Second Prince.

As long as he doesn’t get greedy beyond his station, he’s the kind of person who can contribute to the kingdom’s administration.

I nodded slightly, and he smiled brightly, pleased.

“You were, of course, aware that Amika Arya’s airship, which was permitted entry for Generol [a valuable resource or product] trade purposes, went directly to the Lobruk County, right?”

“I don’t know! How would I know that!”

“How strange. At the request of the Fifth Prince, we captured a shadow controlled by the Second Prince there.”

“…The underlings did it on their own!”
.

.

.

Everyone was desperate to add their spoon to the invalidation of diplomatic immunity, and Damian consistently feigned ignorance despite the numerous pieces of evidence.

It didn’t take long for everyone to realize that he wouldn’t confess.

“Why drag it out? The Fifth Prince has already presented decisive evidence of Duke Weiss’s confession.”

“Fabrication! It’s all fabricated! That guy made up all the videos!”

That seemed to be what Damian was clinging to with a glimmer of hope. He hoped that the video recordings I edited were fabricated.

I stood up and looked at everyone.

Then, I took out a stack of documents.

“These documents are the results of the Red Tower, Blue Tower, and Green Tower, three magic towers, determining the authenticity of the video orb. It was urgent, so they sent it quickly. I don’t think I need to say it, but all three sent back the result ‘No Fabrication’.”

I did some editing, but the video itself wasn’t false, so it was a natural result. I glanced at Damian, and he had a distorted face.

“Hoo… shocking. How could the Second Prince of the kingdom do such a thing…”

One of the assemblymen shook his head and lamented. He was a supporter of the First Prince, but still one of the reasonable ones.

“…Sorcery! He used sorcery! That guy used sorcery to make Duke Weiss talk nonsense!”

Damian’s hollow cry.

No one listened. If I could use sorcery on a 7-star knight, I would have been on the throne a long time ago.

The Royal Guard members roughly subdued him as he struggled.

“Let go! Let go of me, you bastards!”

Assemblyman Bert, who was the chairman, looked at him with cold eyes and opened his mouth.

“Very well. I don’t think we need to vote, but we must follow the procedure.”

The vote proceeded quickly.

The result was unanimous.

“It’s touching to see the Royal Committee agree like this. I hereby declare that the diplomatic immunity exercised by the Second Prince of the kingdom, Damian Lionel, has been invalidated.”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“This— Ugh, ugh! Ugh!”

The sound of Assemblyman Bert striking the gavel and Damian struggling as he was subdued by the Royal Guard members rang out simultaneously.

“Following this, the trial for the atrocities committed by Damian Lionel will continue in one hour, so please take a break. That is all.”

Damian, making a ‘ugh-ugh’ sound, was dragged out, and people left the hearing room one by one.

The Royal Guard members began to move busily.

It was to quickly transform the hearing room into a courtroom. The existing cramped courtroom could not accommodate those gathered today, and there was also the issue of video transmission to Barona Square.

I crossed my arms and watched their work.

Nothing changed much.

The chairman’s seat was changed to the judge’s seat, and I and Damian were changed to face each other.

Today, I will stand in the courtroom as a ‘prosecutor’ rather than a ‘defendant’ like before.

Someone approached me with the sound of clicking heels.

“You’re amazing. Just the day before yesterday, you were in that seat. It’s a shame I didn’t see it in person back then.”

It was Miloa.

Her gaze was directed at the seat where Damian would stand.

“Aren’t you resting, Countess Miloa?”

“Even though I look like this, I’m the Deputy Chief of the Royal Guard Intelligence Division. I have to add a spoon to what the Fifth Prince has prepared to avoid getting cursed out, right?”

“That’s a wise decision.”

What I was most concerned about was the First Prince’s camp deciding to spare the Second Prince.

If that happened, I would have had trouble from the invalidation of diplomatic immunity.

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to do such a thing with me holding the powerful weapons of Generol and Genesia.

However, unexpected variables can always pop up, and if we get into a mud fight, only the kingdom’s people will suffer in the end.

“We’ve decided to proceed with this matter without any personal interests.”

“That’s welcome news.”

“It’s thanks to the Fifth Prince supplying Generol fairly.”

“Personal interests shouldn’t be mixed in when it comes to saving the kingdom’s people.”

Miloa was silent for a moment at my answer.

As the Royal Guard members’ work entered the final stages, her voice was heard again.

“You’ll soar once again with this. I wonder how Count Clian is feeling. I wonder what it’s like to escape a sinking ship and ride the latest airship…”

“Why don’t you ride with me if you’re curious? I can always give Countess Miloa a ride.”

Miloa chuckled.

“I’m not so unfaithful as to abandon someone I’ve decided to support, unless the ship is sinking like in Count Clian’s case.”

“That’s a shame.”

“I know, right? Why were you born so late? You should have been born five years earlier.”

I was also very sorry about that.

“Ah, there’s my subordinate coming with the documents to end the trial early.”

When I looked in the direction Miloa was looking, a Royal Guard member was approaching quickly. After receiving the documents and skimming through them, she handed them to me.

I nodded after looking through the documents.

It wasn’t necessary, but it was definitely a document that could end the trial as soon as it started.

“I wanted to go back and rest early, but this worked out well. I’ll use it well.”

And one hour later.

The King appeared.

It seems like it’s been a year since I saw his face in person. I met his eyes as he sat in the judge’s seat. Jealousy, powerlessness, resentment, expectation… I could see complex emotions that were hard to describe.

“Cough, cough.”

The King, who coughed, covered his mouth with his hand.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

His attendant rushed over and offered a handkerchief.

“It’s nothing. I think I smoked a little too much tobacco yesterday.”

The King wiped his hand with the handkerchief and looked down at the courtroom.

“I will begin the trial. Everyone, be quiet.”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He declared the opening and looked at Damian.

“Defendant Damian Lionel is accused of conspiring with Duke Weiss Lobruk, the admiral of Seokham Island, to cooperate with the Arya Kingdom to kidnap and murder Schuitz Leming. Do you admit to this?”

“I cannot admit it! All the evidence is fabricated by that guy!”

“So, that’s what he says.”

The King’s gaze turned to me.

I slowly rose to my feet.

“Your Majesty, the respected King, and the audience watching the trial, the people of the kingdom. I think most of the atrocities committed by Damian have already been acknowledged as a result of the hearing. Moreover, just now! One more piece of evidence that Damian can never deny has arrived.”

I held up the documents I received from Miloa so that everyone could see them.

“This! This is an official letter from the Arya Kingdom. I will read only the important parts.”

After clearing my throat, I read only the important parts.

“As a result of our own investigation, we have found that Amika Arya, who contacted the Second Queen at the instigation of the Second Prince, committed the act independently without any notification to the home country.”

It was a typical tail-cutting.

“We deeply regret that this was not noticed in advance, causing great confusion in the Lionel Kingdom.”

Perhaps if the Lionel Kingdom hadn’t created Generol after the outbreak of the Red Star Fever, they would never have included such words of apology.

Wouldn’t they have been furious, saying that they had murdered their own 7-star summoner?

“Unfortunately, during the investigation, the Second Queen of the Lionel Kingdom hanged herself due to extreme stress. There is no room for excuses for the death of a queen of another country in our country due to our negligence. We will humbly accept the compensation requested by the Lionel Kingdom.”

The Arya Kingdom chose to make this incident solely Amika Arya’s doing by completely silencing the Second Queen, no matter what losses they incurred.

– Huh! The Second Queen really did?

– Did they completely eliminate the witness?

– Hoo… those guys are amazing.

This was a bit shocking, and the quiet atmosphere became a bit noisy.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised by this part too.

Because.

‘The Second Queen is still alive.’

The Second Queen’s name was clearly listed in the [List of People]. I haven’t figured out what happened yet.

It’s not important right now, so I’ll think about it after the trial is over.

“Fortunately, the scene of the Second Queen testifying is stored in the video orb. As you will see later, we clarify that we have never tortured or coerced the queen of another country in any way.”

It seemed like I only needed to read up to here.

I put the documents on the table and looked at Damian.

“Can’t you still admit it, Damian?”

“I, eek! How can you trust the words of the islanders who have been fighting with the kingdom for hundreds of years!”

There was no room for remorse at all.

I wondered if there was any point in dragging out the trial. I stared directly into the King’s eyes and opened my mouth.

“Treason to sell the kingdom! That shamelessness with no remorse! Therefore, I earnestly suggest that he be sentenced to ‘death’!”

– D, death?!

– It’s never been executed on royalty before!

– It’s breaking tradition!

The courtroom became noisy.

– Wooooooooo!

It felt like I could hear the shouts of the kingdom’s people gathered in Barona Square.

Looking at Damian’s blank expression, he seemed to have never imagined that I would mention the death penalty. In the worst case, he probably thought he would be exiled to Berington Fortress or the Belkas Mountains.

No way.

“The prince of the kingdom! The prince who should protect the people of the kingdom! He committed an act of treason that he should never have done! I think we should leave a precedent so that this never happens again, taking this as a lesson!”

I looked around the audience.

Especially the royals.

“If anyone disagrees with my opinion, please speak up. Why! Why should Damian’s life be spared even though he committed an act of selling the kingdom?”

Silence filled the courtroom for a while.

***

Philip Lionel, the King of the Lionel Kingdom.

‘Death, death, huh…’

He mulled over the words Evan had uttered, scanning the audience.

The expressions of the royals were amusing.

In the early days of his reign.

It was so satisfying to see the people who used to argue with him about everything now closing their mouths and groaning.

Even if he wasn’t the one who made them that way.

“Cough, cough.”

Philip coughed softly, carefully swallowing the bitter blood that rose up his throat, and shifted his gaze to Evan.

He was standing there proudly in the way he had dreamed of.

Philip chuckled and took the gavel in his hand.

“I will deliver the verdict. I find the defendant Damian Lionel guilty of treason. The defendant’s actions severely threatened the safety and stability of the kingdom, and therefore, this judge sentences the defendant to ‘death’.”

“N, no way! Ugh- ugh—”

The Royal Guard members roughly subdued Damian, who was trying to lash out. Philip glanced at the scene for a moment and opened his mouth again.

“This judge strictly condemns the defendant’s actions that threatened the stability and security of the kingdom, and emphasizes that this ruling is made to protect the interests of the kingdom and the safety of the kingdom’s people. Even if you are a member of the royal family, remember that you will be severely punished if you deceive the kingdom and its people.”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

***

Three days later.

A guillotine was set up in Barona Square.

Crowds of people.

Damian was dragged away by the Royal Guard members. He still hadn’t given up on life, and he resisted fiercely.

Eventually, he was subdued by the Royal Guard members and his neck was fixed under the huge blade.

– Kill him! Kill him!

– You traitorous bastard!

– You son of a bitch to be fried to death!

Stones, garbage, and other things flew towards him from all directions. His struggling body stopped only after being hit in the head with a large stone.

Did he faint or something?

I watched the scene from afar with Reina and Alfonso.

“I never imagined they would leave the corpse like that.”

Reina muttered quietly.

It wasn’t a very pleasant sight, but there was nothing less than that as the end of a guy who tried to sell the kingdom.

“You should be grateful that he was sent to the guillotine cleanly. Let’s go back.”

There was no time to be immersed in the aftermath. There was so much to do in the future. It was only now that we were standing on a new starting line.

“By the way, Prince. What about the merchant fleet that we were supposed to receive from the Second Prince? Is it going to be buried as is?”

Alfonso worried unnecessarily.

“It was a bet that took place before Damian committed treason. Of course, it will be mine. And do you think there will be anyone who will pick a fight with me over that?”

“Um… Countess Miloa?”

“…”

I realized that I had only just stood on the starting line again.

“There isn’t much time left until the Foreign Minister of the Arya Kingdom arrives, have you done everything you were told to prepare?”

The new beginning, um… it seemed like it would start with ripping off the Arya Kingdom.