"Do you confirm to what this Bruce Ackerman accuses you of?"
A stern-looking knight, clad in polished armor with a dark cape flowing at his back, spoke in a voice that carried authority. His sharp eyes cut toward the man kneeling in makeshift cuffs at the center of the chamber.
The cuffed man's gaze wavered. His eyes darted to the two figures standing beside him, one tall, lean, and unreadable, the other slender, elegant, and radiating a quiet but terrifying aura.
Bruce stood with arms folded, his expression carved from stone. Beside him, Sophie Reign smiled sweetly, almost serenely, but her eyes held a blade's edge that made Dante's throat go dry.
For a brief, fleeting moment, Dante clung to hope. Maybe Bruce would retract his accusations. Maybe mercy still existed here.
But the longer he looked at that stoic face, the more his heart sank.
'All hope is lost,' Dante thought bitterly. 'Then… may my brothers avenge me.'
"Still looking for mercy?!" Bruce scoffed, his voice sharp enough to draw the attention of everyone in the hall.
Sophie tilted her head slightly, her smile never fading. Her beauty alone could have stolen the breath of any man present, yet to Dante, it was the smile of a predator who had already decided his fate. The contrast made his skin crawl.
A long, heavy silence filled the chamber before Dante finally exhaled, shoulders sagging. "...Yes. I confirm. I did indeed perform the vile act he accused me of."
The words came out hollow. He had no choice. Witnesses stood ready outside, people who had heard his desperate confession under Bruce's merciless interrogation. To resist now would only make things worse. His pride was already shattered.
"Good."
The knight gave a single nod and withdrew a steel quill, dipping it in black ink as he scratched notes into the official record. The sound of pen against parchment echoed loudly in the tense silence.
Then the knight flipped open a thick, leather-bound book filled with laws and decrees. His gloved finger traced a line before stopping. He lifted his head, his gaze cold and clinical.
"What is your Awakened rank?"
"Rank… E." Dante's voice cracked with shame. He couldn't bear to meet anyone's gaze. His head lowered until his chin nearly touched his chest.
The knight's expression shifted. For the first time, there was disgust in his eyes. "E-rank…? Pathetic." His voice was low but audible, thick with contempt. "Instead of living quietly within the safety of the kingdom, you chose to poison your kin and sow discord. Trash that stains the nobility."
The knight pinched the bridge of his nose briefly, then forced himself back into formality. "The royal palace is short of servants," he muttered under his breath, closing the book with a sharp snap.
Dante's heart dropped. His entire body trembled, terror washing through him like a wave. That punishment, of all punishments was worse than death to a man like him.
The knight unrolled a parchment and spoke with authority, his voice booming through the chamber:
"According to Violation of Law 158: Treachery Against Blood and Kin through Poison, your crimes are confirmed. For attempting the slow murder of your own family with malicious intent, you are hereby stripped of your noble privileges.
You are sentenced to ten years of servitude within the Imperial Palace. You will serve the Emperor and Empress as a mere servant.
You will not be eligible for promotion during this term, regardless of your conduct. Only upon completion may you regain your freedom and noble status, and only if you earn the rare Title of Assistant Head Servant or Head Servant.
Even then, you will remain under the strict surveillance of the Holy Knights."
The words fell like a hammer.
Sophie's smile grew faintly wider at Dante's visible collapse, her fingers brushing lightly against Bruce's arm. Her touch was soft, but her voice, whispered for him alone, carried steel.
"Justice is poetic, isn't it?" she murmured. "He wanted your family enslaved by poison, and now he'll spend ten years enslaved himself."
Bruce didn't smile. His gaze remained fixed on Dante, who shook like a man already condemned to death.
Meanwhile, after reciting the long string of judgment, the Holy Knight raised his head, his sharp gaze locking onto Dante. His voice was heavy with authority.
"Do you accept your punishment, Dante Ackerman?!"
Dante didn't dare risk further angering the knight. His body shook as he dropped to his knees, bowing low until his forehead pressed against the cold stone floor. The posture of a slave. The posture he once mocked and laughed at.
"Haha! It seems you know your manners." The knight's stern face softened, laughter booming through the chamber.
But where the knight saw compliance, Dante only felt despair. 'Damnit! I've truly run out of luck this time… To think I, the great Dante, have been reduced to this! A servant… a slave! Brothers, sister, avenge me!'
While Dante cursed his fate, he could never imagine that the one beside him, Bruce, was silently wishing for something far harsher.
Bruce's eyes narrowed, his thoughts cold.
'The laws of this world are far too lenient. He nearly killed my mother, my sister, and me… and this is all he gets? Ten years of servitude? Back on Earth, he'd be sentenced to life imprisonment… or executed. Death would be cleaner. Better. At least it would guarantee he'd never come after us again.'
Bruce's lips curved in a faint, humorless smile. If Dante could have read those thoughts, he might have vomited blood on the spot. To him, Bruce's calm face already looked brutal, merciless.
With a pleased smile, the knight straightened and waved his hand as if closing the matter. "Alright then. Bid your relatives farewell."
"…Farewell," Dante muttered, his voice flat, dead, utterly defeated.
Pah-!!!