“How—.”
The word had barely come out when it was cut off.
“Present the charges.”
Dean Pennel spoke up as though the military stream Dean by her side hadn’t spoken at all. All of the old man’s aggression flew out the window, and he deflated like a balloon.
“Theron Galethunder,” a herald of sorts by the side took a step forward and unfurled a long scroll. “You have been accused of several counts of murder…”
The herald continued to list the casualties one after another.
At some point, Theron started to look around at the courtroom, if you could call it that. What was most interesting to him was the fact that this wasn’t a formal court; it was almost like a court-martial court, but only for Imperial Academy students.
That was a very important point because Theron technically wasn’t… at least not in the eyes of the Imperial Academy themselves.
That said, it was interesting for another reason. This meant that he was pulled here not by the Sect, but by someone from the academy.
The question was… was this because the Sect didn’t want to pursue it?
Theron’s eyes landed on the Matriarch that was looking at him with those rotating black holes for eyes. Another disciple would have long since looked away from her, but he seemed to take a moment to memorize her face. Only then did he look away.
‘Doubtful. If the Sect wasn’t involved at all, she wouldn’t be here. In that case, is it a show of power? They probably know they don’t have enough evidence to kill me, and that I also have just enough backing that killing me without due process would make the most sense as a show of strength.
‘But to what end? A show of power to the Thistles? Waste of time. To me? Even more of a waste. No, it’s a show of power to the Clans and families I targeted. They want to make it clear that if they use those deaths as a reason to strain relationships like I want, they’ll be dealt with in short order because the Obsidian Eclipse Sect and the Imperial Clan are in lockstep.
‘Clever. But that also means that I can push the issue pretty hard today. I bet I can get a lot out of it.’
Theron suddenly smiled a gentle smile.
He would never put himself at risk without an exit plan. How convenient for him that they had taken this route instead. He happened to be in need of more Water Mancer spells.
While he had gotten quite a few from his wedding, and many of them were actually quite powerful Silver Mancy ones, they weren’t exactly what he was looking for either.
The only trouble here was that there was no way they would let him off without any punishment at all, or else that would have the reverse effect of the threat they were so very clearly trying to exert.
Dean Pennel felt her lip twitch when she saw Theron’s smile. Ever since their first meeting, this child had left a very deep impression on her. As expected, he had already seen through the true purpose of this farce.
Inwardly, though, she was laughing as well. She would see how he would escape from her palm this time.
Half of her believed that it really was Theron who did this. But…
Sneaking into the Obsidian Eclipse Sect and killing a maid servant of a Quasi Gold? Killing not just one, but four high-tier Silver Mancers by her count?
As impressive as Theron’s talent was, his strength shouldn’t be on that level yet.
“How do you plead?” the military stream Dean blew out his mustache and beard, finally speaking.
Theron looked up at him. “Is this because I defeated the students of the Main Imperial Academy? They threatened me first.”
BANG!
The military stream Dean, Dean Slater, felt his temper flare to his head.
“You will treat these proceedings with the seriousness they warrant, or I will kill you on the spot. Do you understand me, boy?”
Theron blinked. “These charges are obviously ridiculous, so I’m only asking a question. According to your list, I apparently killed so many Obsidian Eclipse Sect disciples. I didn’t know that the Imperial Clan’s academy and the Sect were close enough for the former to bring forward charges for the latter.
“I can only speculate that it’s revenge for embarrassing your disciples. In which case, I’d remind you that I’m not a disciple of the Main Imperial Academy; my application was rejected by one of your Deans. So if you want to try me, you’ll have to do so in a real court.
“By extension of that, I’m the son-in-law of an Earldom with potential to become their heir in the future. I am also the Chosen of the Luminescent Moon Sect. You aren’t allowed to arrest me on suspicion alone.”
The Imperial Academy could bring their own students in for questioning whenever they wanted. But an official court had much stricter rules, ones that not only favored nobles, but also drew a clear line between Empire matters and Sect matters.
On the one hand, Theron was a Vermouth, so he had the status to be treated as the Vermouth Ancestor had earned for his descendants.
On the other hand, he was a Sect disciple, and he had killed other Sect disciples—or rather, had been accused of doing so.
That obviously made this a matter to be handled between the Sects, not the Imperial Clan.
The more Theron spoke, the larger the thumbs up in Dean Pennel’s heart became. It sounded like Theron was being combative, but highlighting these norms was actually only helping them. It would only focus the attention of those they wanted paying attention on exactly what they needed to.
It seemed that it was now time for her to speak.
“Actually, Little Theron, your application was approved yesterday, not long after you left. You are indeed a student of our Main Imperial Academy now.”
Dean Pennel smiled her usual gentle smile.
Those in the courtroom shivered. They feared that smile the most.