Chapter 26
Chapter 026.
The moment I returned to my seat, laughter erupted from here and there.
Not only the students but also the professors' eyes were filled with contempt and light mockery.
"What's going to change by struggling?"
Abigail's sneering words were clear enough for everyone here to hear.
In everyone's mind, I seemed to have already been concluded as the culprit.
There was no way that any of the adults present at this one-sided hearing were unaware of the truth.
If that were the case, shouldn't at least the professors who knew the truth, aside from the students influenced by Abigail's novel, have difficulty meeting my eyes?
However, they recited nonexistent criminal facts with nonchalant faces.
"Merian, the poison you used is Methomyl, known for being tasteless and odorless. It's commonly used to catch wary wild animals. Since a mercenary could easily obtain it, there will be questioning for him when he arrives."
"Or perhaps it was obtained from Viscount Locke's trading company."
Abigail spat out a statement filled with considerable personal emotion.
Several professors stopped her with uncomfortable coughs.
Their intentions were obvious.
No matter how far the Academy was willing to go, they couldn't touch the Locke Trading Company.
How many nobles, constantly indulging in luxury and investments, lived without a connection to a trading company?
Even the professors, who elegantly dealt with academics, were no different.
Someone added mockingly to me.
"It seems you had a closer relationship with your only brother than with Miss Locke. Judging by the fact that you contacted him."
It was as if the fact that I had contacted Orion through the Communication device and summoned him only reinforced the conviction that I was a suspect.
Their attitude clearly showed that they would implicate even those who came to help, just to finish the job.
Was that sacrifice acceptable to satisfy the Ember Count family?
Moreover, weren't they the ones who had to bear the sacrifice?
The innocent scapegoats who caught their eye.
I couldn't know how many powerless students of the Academy had been sacrificed for the sake of currying favor with those in power.
I quietly looked out the window.
Macha was not yet visible.
The guilt of calling him out during his busy time added to my burden.
As much as I felt sorry for Orion, my anger towards them grew like swelling eyelids.
My heart grew cold.
The professors continued to recite plausible circumstantial evidence as if it were actual evidence, and I silently counted the charges being added to me.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
And a half.
Surprisingly, it seemed that the more they added to my guilt, the less guilt they felt.
'It would be easier for them to think that I was originally trash.'
Just as I was listening absentmindedly with my mouth shut.
Someone burst into the room without knocking.
"A, a big problem!"
A deathly pale face was visible.
I raised my head and stared at the principal, who looked displeased by the sudden interruption.
"What is it?"
"That, that is..."
The person trying to deliver the message stammered several times, unable to continue.
The professors frowned, sensing something ominous from his flustered expression.
I still scanned the door, leaving the men who were waiting to bind me on either side.
Rough footsteps were heard from the hallway.
A student's startled scream was added as a bonus.
The professors, who had been sitting heavily on their chairs, finally got up, sensing the unusual atmosphere.
Someone slowly revealed himself from behind the man who had come to deliver the news and opened his mouth.
"I'll explain."
Blonde hair shining brighter than the sun and clear blue eyes.
The owner of a 'beautiful' appearance that captivated anyone who met him entered the conference room fully armed.
Behind him, the knights of the royal guard, wearing swords, stood in a row with cool expressions.
'So, it was true that they were training.'
I felt newly sorry for them, but also a bit dumbfounded.
'Coming in with muddy feet.'
Clearly, the Academy required indoor shoes to be worn from the hallway onwards, and coats to be taken off.
Moreover, since the internal temperature was constant, all the knights who were fully armed and covered in armor...
'It must be hot.'
They were sweating profusely.
Of course, everyone was overwhelmed by the atmosphere and didn't notice at all, but as the one who had called them out, who were putting in so much effort, I felt sorry.
Amidst all that, Orion, who was wearing light armor (expensive), approached me and stood beside me.
"It seems my sister needs a guardian."
He placed his hand on my shoulder.
At the word 'sister' from his mouth, everyone stared at me and Orion, unable to close their gaping mouths.
I nodded slightly towards Orion, who was giving me a reassuring smile, without paying attention to the murmuring people.
I could see a lot of students gathered outside the door.
'The bigger the issue, the better.'
I turned my gaze towards the frozen principal.
He was at a loss, not knowing how to interpret this situation.
I slowly took in the changing atmosphere around me.
All of them were witnesses to this terrible situation and, at the same time, victims of a terrible sacrificial ritual.
Orion began again.
"Miss Locke over there told me the whole story."
Reinia came forward between the knights and slowly bowed.
The last time we met, we were awkward and burned with rivalry, but today we worked together like a charm.
"You detected poison, I hear. From the young master of the Beryl Viscount family."
"That is..."
"But where did it come from? If you can distinguish and identify the original form of the poison from the poisoned young master, you must be at least a 3-class Magic User. It seems you received cooperation from the Magic Tower very quickly."
From a 3-class Magic User onwards, you must request cooperation from the Magic Tower when calling for an official investigation or public purpose.
In particular, if you can not only detect poison in Trevor's water bottle but also identify what kind of poison it is so easily, how could you have revealed the colorless, odorless, and tasteless poison, which few people know, in just a day and a half?
"As the guardian of my sister, who is on the list of suspects, I would like to see the investigated records."
The Magic User standing next to the principal turned pale at Orion's words.
He must have been brought along to intimidate me or for show, so if something really needed to be done, he would be in trouble too.
Everyone was silent and speechless.
If this matter came to light now, it would not end with just one or two people being beheaded.
It was an act of arbitrarily treating the Duke family's daughter as a criminal with a sloppy frame-up.
The things that had already happened were enough to be recognized as crimes, and if you added the things that would happen in the future, you would feel dizzy.
"Miss Merian..."
I looked alternately at the principal's desperate face and the face of the professor who had once been in charge of me and taught me for almost a year.
Seeing them looking at the student they had been trying to push off a cliff just a moment ago with such desperation, like a savior, made me laugh in vain.
Orion smiled and asked again.
"So, is this a hearing to catch the culprit, or a dirty trick to oppress a powerless and young student and make her a scapegoat?"
"I hope that scapegoat is not my sister."
So, he was someone who could drive someone so fiercely.
Lenny, who was next to him, quietly picked up a notebook, checked the faces of the professors one by one, and wrote something down.
'Hey, what are you going to do with that?'
His face, which had laughed that burying a person was nothing if you had money, overlapped.
I was worried that my friend was going down a path he shouldn't be.
The theology professor asked quietly with a dark face.
"Did you hide your identity?"
"I will be punished if not revealing my identity to the Academy is a problem, but I felt that there were many unfair aspects to the Academy's actions in this matter. I think the investigation process should be transparent and detailed."
"I have no reason to intimidate you with my status. If you just fix the investigation process, everyone here is no different from criminals."
The professors' faces flared up.
Even in the midst of that, the fact that they were glancing at the armed knights made me feel bitter that they were more afraid of the knights' swords than my words.
"One more thing, I am different from Miss Abigail, who has no logic in her words and does not properly understand the situation. I have something to say about what happened there."
With those words, I glanced at Orion.
He knew that I was asking for what I had requested and nodded.
The knights parted to the side once again.
The faces of the people changed rapidly at the sight of the man with a reverent gait slowly walking in behind them.
"How, the Bishop...!"
Everyone was shocked by the appearance of the Bishop, who had given the congratulatory speech at Mom and Duke's remarriage ceremony and had taught me theology since I was a child.
The vice principal jumped up from his seat.
"This is a matter within the Academy! How can Vice Duke drag the temple into this!"
"I only came after receiving a tip."
The Bishop spoke softly.
As someone who gave theological lectures and speeches in front of thousands of people every week, there was a strange power in his soft tone that made the other person unable to move.
The moment I met his eyes, I quietly nodded.
"The Duke family's daughter, Merian Miller, here, testified that the Frey Count family's daughter over there is related to Dark Arts."
Once again, the hall was swept up in shock at his words.
Everyone murmured and looked back and forth between me and Abigail.
One of them, she and I, was clearly lying.
And now, I had the Duke family behind me and had even called the Bishop here.
In an instant, the atmosphere changed from criticism towards me to flowing towards her.
I stared blankly at Abigail Frey, who had turned deathly pale.
She began to step back, unable to hide her trembling hands.
