Shion Lan saw the Light Family out of the case, so he continued.
"So, they tried to use me as a shield for their goals."
King Jord Joul said,
"Establishing an illegal organization is approved. Now, Terrifying people. Shion, it was you, wasn't it?"
Shion didn't expect that, and Rev Stroman said,
"Even if we are guilty, Lord Lan mustn't go this far!"
Without another word, unstoppable pressure fell upon Rev.
"Your Majesty!!"
"I didn't allow you to speak. Stay down."
Then King Jord looked at Shion.
"Tell me what happened."
Shion explained that he had gone to Stroman Province to make Rev apologize, but he hadn't expected Rev to attack first.
"What about the cursed sword?"
King Jord asked about the Sword of the Sins, and Shion said,
"It was my guarantee that I would stay strong. I didn't intend to use it, but I found myself facing three nobles."
"Lord Lan, I gave you the sword to save it, not to use it."
"It's already tamed! It won't hurt anyone anymore!"
The king decided to let Shion keep it and ordered them to unseal the sword.
The Sword of the Sins trembled after being released, but Shion opened his hand, and the sword moved into his palm.
"The sword is obedient. It won't rampage again."
They all saw no traces of the sword's madness while it was in Shion's hand.
Shion continued,
"I want to seize this opportunity and clear my name of using a cursed artifact. The sword isn't cursed in my hand, and that makes the accusation invalid."
The king said,
"It is still a cursed weapon. No one knows when it will go mad again."
Shion was cornered, but Solan said,
"I can summon the sword spirit. We can ask him if you want, Your Majesty."
The king allowed Solan to do so, but Rev Stroman objected.
"She is the Pure Spirit and Lord Lan's lover! She will try to manipulate it!"
The king said,
"She would have done that during the trial of the Ranus Family, but she couldn't. Now, I don't think she has the ability to do so."
The king rejected Rev's objection. Then Solan used her summoning spell, and the sword spirit appeared in the world. It was a stinky old man with a malicious aura.
The malice radiating from him made the girls breathe heavily, but Shion was unaffected, as he was the master of the sword. Enfel Kito was a controlled corrupted puppet, while Solan was the Pure Spirit.
The king asked,
"Sword of the Sins, how can we be sure that you won't use Lord Lan?"
The sword spirit was about to answer, but he and Shion felt the presence of Shi Yun Lan.
The sword spirit was silent for a moment. Then he said,
"I don't want to die."
The king was surprised, but the spirit continued.
"He told me not to say his name, but you must remember the Neumann Family Province."
Those who knew about it fell silent.
The head of the Shi moved again.
Shion didn't know why Shi Yun Lan had done that, but he would ask him later.
The king said,
"It's not a cursed artifact anymore."
The Noble Alliance was shocked.
"Your Majesty! You can't favor him!"
All the heads of the Six Great Families filled the hall with their domains and auras.
"If you don't want to die, shut your damned mouth!"
The atmosphere became heavy. No one knew what had happened except Shion, Solan Neumann, King Jord Joul, his daughter Jina Joul, Kin Light, and the heads of the Six Great Families.
The king changed the topic.
"Why didn't you ask for a duel? Is my permission meaningless?"
Shion said,
"I didn't intend to cause trouble. I just took the sword with me to feel safe, and Lord Stroman attacked me first. I wanted him to apologize properly."
The king asked Rev,
"What is your explanation?"
"They broke through my door!"
"You can use that to destroy his reputation, but you know you can't do that. Isn't that right?"
Shion was known for sending his family to the execution stage. Breaking down a door wasn't a serious offense, and Shion wouldn't remain silent. He would expose everything, as he wasn't afraid.
"You threatened Lady Lan personally, and Lord Lan broke your door, but you turned it into a battle."
The king talked to Shion.
"Lord Lan, you should have made a report. Getting involved in a battle may cause losses among the victims and innocent people."
Shion bowed.
"I apologize. I was angry, and I just wanted to see him first before asking for a duel."
Rev sneered.
"Who broke through my doors and demanded that I kneel?!"
Shion didn't hesitate.
"And who was the one afraid to face me and threatened my mother?"
"You—!"
"Enough!"
The aura made both Shion and Rev unable to stand. Shion knew that if he tried to resist, it wouldn't be good for him. He waited until the pressure faded from his back.
The king said,
"Terrifying people, threatening others, establishing an illegal organization, and fighting without permission. What do you have to say, Lord Stroman?"
Rev couldn't say anything, but Solan said,
"I have an accusation against Nell Stroman. She tried to kill me when I was out of energy."
"What?!!"
The king felt a surge of rage. Solan Neumann was his biggest regret, and he didn't want her to be hurt, even if she was a spirit.
"..."
Kin wanted to speak, but he remembered Nell, so he retreated.
'Nell wasn't able to kill her, but in the end, she had the intention and acted on it.'
Kin convinced himself and said,
"I was a witness. I was out of the battle, but I could have prevented Nell from killing Solan while she was in her weakest state."
"You bastard!!!"
Rev couldn't hold it in anymore and began to scream, but he was knocked down by Finn Shine.
"Now we have the previous accusations against Rev Stroman. His daughter is still accused of attempting to kill Solan, and she will be under investigation. Avar Jewel was cooperative, forged the evidence, and we can say that he shared in the threats, as he was in Lord Lan's mansion the day before the battle, trying to make him join the Noble Alliance. The other nobles, except the Light Family, were accomplices and will share the same fate."
King Jord concluded,
"I will release my final judgment after reviewing the evidence."
The king and the heads of the Six Great Families went to another room to make a decision.
Shion was sure he would survive, unlike the other nobles.
The king came back after a few minutes.
"The head of the Noble Alliance, Rev Stroman, will be stripped of his noble status and become a commoner. He will be imprisoned for fifteen years. Nell Stroman will be imprisoned for ten years for attempting to kill Solan. The Stroman Family will become a third-rank noble family, and their possessions will be seized. Every head of the Noble Alliance will be sentenced to ten years in prison, and their families will become third-rank noble houses. Their possessions will also be seized. Avar Jewel will be sentenced to ten years in prison and ordered to pay 20 million golden coins as compensation."
The king finished speaking, and the Noble Alliance fell into despair.
"No!!"
"Mercy, Your Majesty!!"
No voice could reach the king as he continued,
"The Light Family is innocent, as there is no evidence of their involvement in the crimes, and they fought against the Noble Alliance. Kito Province will receive compensation. Lord Lan will receive compensation..."
He was about to stop, but he looked at Solan, who said,
"If I get something, add it to Lord Lan's compensation."
The king said,
"The remaining compensation will go to Lord Lan."
The trial ended quickly, and the king summoned the Light Gazette.
"Spread my decision throughout the whole kingdom."
The Light Gazette nodded, took pictures of everyone, and left.
The news spread throughout the kingdom within a few hours, and the announcement was astonishing.
The establishment of an illegal organization by second-rank nobles, the involvement of the Jewel Guild, the taming of the cursed sword, and a large battle that no one knew about were all revealed.
Maki Delisho was in the palace reading the news when she thought,
"That #####!! She sold the documents to the Ocean's Core Guild! That new guild destroyed us!!"
Maki didn't know what she hated the most: the new guild or Pearl Jewel. She didn't know that Pearl was the head of the new guild, or she would have had a heart attack.
She knew that someone from the royal family would come to collect her money. She said,
"I didn't join this family to save them! I will escape and ask for a divorce!"
Maki prepared herself and took everything that was precious. She found a painting. It was old and dusty, but the woman inside it was very beautiful.
"Deci..."
Maki pronounced the name of Pearl's mother with hatred. But she took the painting because it was valuable to Pearl and said,
"I will destroy her like her mother! I will make men enjoy her body! I will kill her like Deci!!"
After saying that, she held her son, Grival Jewel, and escaped the palace.
Shion was on his way home, but he stopped the carriage.
"Shion?"
Solan asked, but Shion said,
"It has been days. We haven't had a picnic together as I promised."
He smiled and went out of the carriage, extending his hand.
"Shall we?"
Solan smiled and went out with him, walking around.
"Solan, it's evening. What about dinner?"
Solan nodded, but she remembered,
"I'm in my spiritual form. I can't eat."
Shion remembered that and said,
"Well, let's listen to some songs."
Shion had a great time with her and asked her while they were going back home,
"So, you are going to Bimal Academy?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"They have different beasts! I once read about a beast with spiritual power!"
Shion had memories of it with her and said,
"The spiritual firefly!"
Solan nodded and added,
"If I could reach the queen of the fireflies, I would take another step toward the ninth level!"
Shion looked at her and laughed.
"Don't you want me to protect you?"
Solan said,
"You protected me for fifteen years in the recorded world and freed me from my curse. Now, I want to be your safety."
Solan was talking seriously as she played with Shion's fingers.
"You saved me when I was surrounded by the ominous aura. Now, I want to save you."
Shion looked at her and hugged her.
Solan didn't speak. She simply let herself relax in his arms.
They remained silent until they arrived home.
"Goodbye."
Solan disappeared, leaving Shion in the mansion.
Shion entered the mansion and was immediately greeted by his little brother's hug.
"Shion!!"
Shion felt the little arms around his legs and lifted the little boy.
"My lord."
Marie appeared and bowed.
"Where's my mother?"
"She is asleep. The others are asleep as well, but the young lord is still awake."
Shion played with his brother for a while before giving him to Marie.
He went to his room, leaving the cursed sword behind.
"It was tough."
He breathed slowly, thinking about what was coming.
"Kin told me that he would go to Bimal Academy too. And there will be students from Bimal at Karath Academy. I don't know why, but I feel something strange."
Shion didn't know how to describe it. Uncomfortable? Unfamiliar? He couldn't put it into words.
He didn't think about it anymore and changed his clothes before going to sleep.
Days passed, and the new academic year began.
Shion was given a yellow symbol representing him as a third-grade student. He left his wing and descended to the courtyard.
There were many students. New faces, familiar faces, and faces that had disappeared because they had graduated.
The tables were arranged for the four grades and four divisions.
Shion went to his third-grade table in the Noble Division. The moment he arrived, the other students fell silent.
They were afraid of the man who had defeated an entire organization and tamed the cursed sword. Shion was the most powerful student at the academy.
"Lord Lan, isn't it?"
Shion turned to find a new face. The boy was in the third grade like him, but he was wearing different clothes.
Shion asked,
"A student from Bimal?"
The other student said,
"Yes. I want to challenge you!"