How the Villainous Consort Avoids His Death Ending - Chapter 49.1
The mayor of Belforte quietly hushed the courtroom with a hand, muttering irritably.
“Having a trial for something like this… It would be much simpler to just execute him immediately.”
His low, mumbled words reached me, sitting in the front row. Tristan, sitting next to me, twitched his thick eyebrows.
Noticing Tristan’s change in expression, the mayor glanced at him, assessing the situation.
The day before the trial, Tristan and I had visited the mayor’s office.
Tristan introduced himself as the Grand Duke of Hezekia and requested to attend Matthias’s trial. The mayor seemed hesitant to trust a man in a shabby cloak.
However, since Belforte was the imperial capital, there were quite a few people who knew the face of the Grand Duke of Hezekia. Once his identity was verified, the mayor could not hide his astonishment and reluctantly granted permission.
I could guess how the mayor felt. He would not understand why the Grand Duke of Hezekia was interested in a trial of a single, crazy villager from this backwater. Moreover, with the Grand Duke present, the verdict could not be issued as comfortably.
Even now, as the trial began, the mayor’s expression was openly displeased. It was obvious he wanted to finish this tedious process and leave as quickly as possible.
‘If the mayor of Belforte is in Everett’s faction, Tristan must feel uncomfortable too.’
I quietly stared at him before turning my head toward the defendant’s seat.
In the defendant’s seat sat the man who had shown a wild, almost insane expression the day before, Matthias.
Matthias had messy hair, a deeply wrinkled shirt, and still wore the crushed top hat. He looked shabby, but there was a notable difference from when I first saw him in the cabin.
Probably, it was the clear gaze and upright posture that gave him a different presence in the courtroom.
Matthias, as the accused, had no formal lawyer. The villagers who could act as his guardians were simply not in a position to hire one.
At last, the mayor of Belforte struck the marble desk with a wooden mallet and announced.
“The trial concerning the treason charges against the defendant, Matthias, will now begin.”
The courtroom fell silent instantly. I swallowed dryly and looked at Matthias again.
“Defendant Matthias…”
The mayor, seated deeply in the judge’s chair, flipped through the papers in front of him with an annoyed expression. In a voice that was barely audible, he monotonously read the list of charges.
“This trial has been initiated due to repeated actions and statements against the imperial order and the authority of the royal family. These constitute a clear potential for treason. Accordingly…”
The mayor listed all of Matthias’s alleged offenses in detail. Then he placed the papers down, gesturing to the defendant with a bored, exasperated expression.
“Defendant, do you admit to all of these facts?”
Matthias did not answer.
His thin lips were tightly pressed, but his ash-gray eyes swirled with emotion. He seemed either confused or frustrated. Yet, the madness he had shown before was absent. I silently observed the despair faintly appearing on his harsh face.
As the silence stretched, the mayor slammed the desk and shouted.
“Defendant. I asked if you would admit to the charges!”
Murmurs from the gallery grew louder. Being accused of treason without solid evidence, simply for causing a disturbance, seemed absurd. Even ignorant commoners were unlikely to accept such a trial.
The mayor himself probably did not genuinely believe Matthias was a traitor. Matthias was a poor commoner, too impoverished to raise soldiers or organize a rebellion. He did not even have a single follower. How could such a man dare dream of overthrowing the Empire?
‘Probably, they are just acting this way because rumors make everything troublesome…’
I thought, feeling a mixture of frustration and pity.
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