Alien world

Chapter 1712, Section 345: Infiltrating the Courtroom

"That's not what I meant..."

Seeing Oulin's calm expression, the organizer felt a chill run down his spine and quickly moved aside, saying, "Please... don't cause trouble at the banquet."

"Do I look like someone who doesn't follow the rules?" Annan muttered discontentedly, letting go of Oulin and walking into the banquet.

The banquet hall, which had been bustling with activity just moments before, fell silent as Anan entered, much like a professor suddenly appearing outside Cathy and the others' classroom. It gradually quieted down, plunging into an eerie stillness.

"It's okay, just stay away from me."

Annan left Oulin to avoid implicating her, and walked towards a familiar face.

"Hi, York, I didn't expect to run into you here." Annan greeted a nobleman he had visited a couple of days ago.

"I...I'm innocent..."

“I know that those with a guilty conscience wouldn’t dare to attend the banquet.”

Annan then greeted the nobles with more threats than pleasantries.

Someone couldn't hold back any longer and, in a moment of impulsiveness, stepped forward to warn: "Annan, you're going too far in disregarding the rules of the Empire..."

"I'm not an Imperial citizen."

"This is not your Free City!"

Annan countered, "What's your name?"

"Uh... I... I have things to do. You'd better watch yourself!" His enthusiasm was extinguished by the ice water, and the guy's legs went weak. He fled from Annan's side as if he were running away.

"Are you coming back for dinner?"

Annan called out to his retreating figure, then looked around. The nobles all avoided his gaze, wondering if Annan Reeves might suddenly point at them and accuse them of colluding with Chaos.

Actually, Annam wasn't there to cause trouble or to find them at this banquet; rather—

Annan walked to a corner of the banquet and said to a middle-aged man in a gorgeous suit who was sitting on a sofa, "Grand Duke Elio, hello."

"Are you going to send me in too?" Grand Duke Elio asked lazily. They were afraid of Annan, but he wasn't.

“You’re exaggerating. On the contrary, I hope you can send me in.”

"So, you really want to save them?"

Annan then flattered him, saying, "Only a smart person like you could see that those fools outside actually thought I was making baseless accusations."

"Is not it?"

What good will it do me to offend so many people?

Grand Duke Elio remained noncommittal, only asking, "Why should I help you?"

"Because I am the last hope to save Blackwatch. Your Excellency, you wouldn't want your brothers to be branded as traitors and their heads piled up like a mound of corpses, bringing shame upon the family, instead of fighting the Chaos as heroes, would you?"

Yes, the Legion Commander and the Grand Duke are brothers.

Given such a close relationship, the fact that Grand Duke Elio was not implicated is enough to prove that he is not only innocent, but also capable of convincing the court of his innocence.

Grand Duke Elio swirled the wine in his glass, round and round, before speaking after a moment:
"I can give you a chance to persuade the priest; whether you get in or not is up to you."

"enough."

Annan smiled, bowed to the Grand Duke, and left the banquet with Oulin amidst the guests' sighs of relief.

Grand Duke Elio snorted coldly, glancing at the nobles who were too frightened to even breathe.

He didn't like the unruly Annan, but he had to admit that all these people combined couldn't compare to Annan Reeves.

……

Unsurprisingly, news of Annan's "disruption" at the banquet spread.

After all this commotion, no one could understand what Annan was trying to do, and some even began to doubt – was this guy really here to save Blackwatch?
Although it won't cause any serious harm, it would be incredibly humiliating to be led astray by Annan and arrested.

Unable to deal with the courts or Annan, they went to the Ministry of Protocol and demanded that Annan Reeves be deported.

"He did not violate Imperial law, and we have no right to expel him," the Ministry of Ceremonies replied curtly. What a joke! They're counting on Annan causing a scene in court; if they expel him, who will they look to? You?

On the morning of the second day after the banquet, Archduke Elio's men rushed to the manor, saying that an opportunity had been found: Ple Hernandez, who was still imprisoned in the courtroom, requested to see Annan, thus indirectly allowing Annan to enter the courtroom.

Although it was not quite what Annan had envisioned, at least there was an opportunity to get in.

Hernandez is a good man; if it weren't for him, Annan wouldn't have been able to connect with the court so easily.

Annan followed Duke Elio's men out of the city, and soon after entering the city, he met up with Olin.

"I'll take you there."

"I can do it myself."

"I have something to tell you."

Just then, Annan also had something to say to Oulin: "I saw the reconnaissance airship at the stable just now, and I thought you had already launched it."

"Magical creations are forbidden in the skies above the Empire."

"We also have the physical version."

"Artificial objects won't work either."

……

At the entrance to the courtroom, O'Lin stopped at the steps, while Annan, who was visiting for the fifth time, followed the priest who had come to guide him into the courtroom without looking to either side.

Cold and dark.

The dim candlelight, the chilly atmosphere, the empty hall, the skulls serving as decorations—only then did Annan notice that the courtroom had no windows. Apart from being unusually clean, the courtroom resembled the headquarters of some evil organization.

"May I ask where you detain your prisoners?"

The priest chose not to answer, and silently led Annan to the interrogation room.

Peller Hernandez was already seated opposite him.

After being detained for two days, Peller Hernandez seemed to be in relatively good condition, except that his hair was unkempt and somewhat messy.

Annan sat down and found that the chair was a bit high, and his feet were dangling in the air.

"What are you doing here? Are you here to mock me?!" Pler Hernandez gritted his teeth and glared at Annan.

“Didn’t you want to see me?” Annan turned the tables.

"you……"

Ignoring the furious Peller Hernandez, Annan asked the priest, "Could you excuse me for a moment?"

"I need to record your conversation."

"Ok."

Annan withdrew his gaze and said seriously, "Imperial stuff..."

The priests in the courtroom glanced sideways.

"Sorry, I've accidentally picked up some rat-like verbal tics... Surely the court wouldn't be so stressed about a few verbal tics?"

The priest remained silent, and Annan continued, "Puller Hernandez, only those who have wronged you know that you are more wronged than anyone else."

The priest kept his eyes straight ahead, appearing as if he hadn't heard anything.

Annan immediately understood, but Ple Hernandez did not, because he had indeed been repeatedly interrogated by the court during the two days he was wrongfully imprisoned, and some old stories had been brought up.

"You dare admit it?! Priest, did you hear that—"

Annan's mockery deepened: "Fool, you're being used as a pawn and you don't even realize it?"

As if doused with cold water, Peller Hernandez's anger vanished, and he looked at Annan with suspicion and uncertainty.

"What do you mean?"

(End of this chapter)