Clink Clink, Tap Tap.....
The sounds of metal cuffs clinking along with steady footsteps can be heard throughout the otherwise silent corridor.
'Where did it all go wrong?'
As Mikhail is dragged on by the imperial knights, he wonders.
'Just what heinous crime did I commit to be punished this cruelly?'
As the doorman to the imperial court opened the door, Mikhail is promptly dragged to the middle of the court room and thrown towards the ground.
"Ugh!"
A low groan void of any energy escaped his mouth.
His luscious platinum blond hair now matted with dirt, his face which was once considered the beauty standard of the Estelle empire was just barely recognisable through the filth caking it and his body which had only ever worn the best quality fabrics was now wearing coarse clothes not even used by commoners for dressing.
Although even without the filth or the rags that he was in, no one would have been able to guess that the Third son and Duchess of two of the empire's four founding families was actually this person with a face so gaunt that it looked ghostly and a body that was basically just bones with a thin layer of skin covering them.
He barely managed to hold up his body to look up at one of the people who drove him to this state.
The guards looked up at the emperor, saluted and moved back.
Ahem, Ahem.
The jury waited for the emperor, the emperor indifferently glanced at the jury and gave a slight nod. With the emperor's permission, the jury resumed his attention at Mikhail.
"Mikhail Calix, you have been accused of the crimes of abandonment of duties, aidding and abetting, indulging in illegal substances, adultery, human trafficking, attempted murder of your current husband and treason. Do you object to any of these allegations?
"....."
"Your silence shall be interpreted as acceptance. Along with these, various other crimes such as ....."
The jury coldly continued on to describe other crimes without any acknowledgement of whether Mikhail has any objections or not.
Mikhail just silently looked up at the emperor, his gaze slowly swept around the room, glancing through the familiar faces of his father and brothers along with the face of his husband who was looking at him emotionlessly.
Celestin Calix, The Duke of Calix, one of the four great families, the southern part hailed as the grain house of the Estelle empire along with its owner who was praised for being a benevolent ruler.
And Mikhail's husband, the main culprit who drove him to this state, the one whose crimes he was being accused of, the one who murdered their children in cold blood and the one who had his loved ones executed.
His husband, the person he despised more than anyone in this world.
He then looked at the people he used to refer to as family. His father and brothers, who were looking at him with pity in their eyes. The ones who ignored his pleas of help, the ones who turned a blind eye to his beggings. Yet somehow had the audacity to act as if seeing him in this degraded state was painful for them.
Out of his shameless "Family members" only his younger brother was looking at him with an expression of guilt knowing he had failed his brother, the one without whom he might not even have survived.
He turned his head to the other side repulsed by the mere sight of these monsters.
His gaze now meeting a man, a stranger who he had barely held a conversation with the previous night, the man who helped him have some closure despite him being branded as a criminal. The only man who believed him.
He gave a small smile only to receive a pained expression from him. He looked as if he wanted to announce to the court that Mikhail was innocent but knew that doing that will only have an adverse reaction.
"...Arson and defamation."
The jury had finally rested his words and was now looking at the emperor to get his judgement.
The emperor now with an icy gaze full of suppressed anger looked at the monster in human disguise covered in filth both literally and metaphorically.
Even though the prison he was put in could not actually be considered a prison but rather a confinement cell for a noble which resembled a guest room at a luxury hotel, he had somehow managed to reduce himself to this state.
The emperor assumed that it was out of his ego that he refused to eat or drink anything, dirtying the room just like himself just to satiate his petty pride. Afterall at the height of his glory he had been infamous for his arrogance and ego.
Inspite of his immense anger, he knew that the punishment for his heinous crimes could only be lessened so as to give face to the Raelynn Duchy.
The Raelynn Duchy of the West, was one of the four great families which aided the first emperor of the Estelle empire in finding the nation. Not only were they a family full of fame, respect and prestige but they were also the owner of the Evanora Magic tower, one of the only two Magic Towers of the empire specialising in light magic.
"Mikhail Calix, Do you have anything to say in your defence?"
The emperor spoke through gritted teeth as if he couldn't wait to drink his blood and chew on his bones. He saw the feind turn his attention to him and wordlessly glare at him in an unfounded anger.
This look enraged the emperor even more, making him almost lash out and order for him to receive the worst tortures for his crimes when he saw the beast open his mouth as if to say something.
He immediately sneered and became curious as to what excuse he would come up with.
But what the supposed beast said not only shocked the emperor but everyone in the room.