Chapter 427 – The Hearing.

“What are you waiting for, get over here!”

Viola’s eyes blazed with fury as she stormed towards Lucienne. The imposing figure of her Baskerville Knight loomed beside her, ready to enforce her will. The other students and enforcers in the hallway instinctively moved aside, creating a path for the impending clash.

“…”

“Did you really think you could escape the consequences, Lucienne?”

Viola sneered, her voice dripping with disdain.

“I’ll make sure you regret ever crossing me and the Castellane house will nev…???”

The young girl was about to go into a rant, but her voice suddenly vanished. The mages in the vicinity instantly noticed the perpetrator who had cast the spell without even uttering one chant. It was the armored Enforcer who had now placed himself between Viola Castellane and Lucienne Arden.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

Roland’s voice traveled through the corridor, backed by his magic and intimidation skill. He had made it sound a bit more menacing and distorted to further mask his true identity from Lucienne. Even now, he was not trying to expose his identity, which could also put his life in Albrook at risk. For the time being, his role was that of an enforcer who adhered to the rules, and the people before them were rule breakers.

“Why are the detainees walking free? Why is the man who attacked an enforcer here? Explain yourselves!”

Elythaes, who he had faced before, had been healed and was back to shadowing Lady Viola. He was fully armed, and his hand never left his hip where his swords were placed. It was clear that he was ready to attack the moment he saw an opening. After the intimidation skill was used, the students’ knees started to buckle, and only Viola remained standing as she was being protected by the Baskerville Knight.

“You have no authority here. They were released by the Deputy Head of the Department. Now stand aside!”

“The deputy head?”

One of the other enforcers who were present called out from the side. The Enforcement department was quite large, and the second in command was the Deputy Head Enforcer. The two people who had been previously guarding the room where Lucienne was being held showed an adverse reaction when the deputy was mentioned, it was clear that some type of internal power struggle was taking place. Roland, as someone relatively new, couldn’t really call into question someone of that position, or at least not if he wanted to follow the rules. Thus, after hearing his name mentioned, he decided to back off but kept himself in front of Lucienne.

He could tell that his sister had gotten cold feet after seeing Viola so soon. It was clear that fear had been ingrained into her through months of abuse. She showed signs of prolonged bullying where the victim found themselves unable to think rationally in the presence of their tormentor. Her eyes were darting around as she was trying to avoid Viola’s gaze. This was a bad sign for the hearing, if she decided to withhold information, Viola would probably go unpunished.

“That’s right, the Deputy head … “

“Leave.”

“What?”

Before the enforcer could push his own agenda, he needed to regain control of the situation. Roland was quick to quiet him down. Even if the students were free to walk around, there was nothing within the rules that allowed them to approach the afflicted party.

“You tried approaching the victim with threats, if you continue with these actions, I will have to detain you again.”

The enforcer, realizing the severity of the situation, reluctantly stepped back. Viola, however, was not one to be deterred easily. She glared at Roland with a mixture of anger and frustration as her plans were disrupted by this unexpected interference. However, she could do nothing more than scream into nothingness as the silencing spell didn’t allow her voice to travel.

“Don’t worry about her, just focus on the hearing.”

Roland turned to the side while ignoring the hissy fit that Viola was going through. She was even being held back by her trusted knight who at this point knew better than to try his luck. His tone was gentle and aimed at Lucienne who was finally able to calm herself down. Eventually, she looked at the angered Viola with a more resolute expression and soon the two of them vanished around the corner to finally hear a maddened scream after the silencing spell was removed.

“She sure is a nosy little brat…”

“Pfff…”

After the two were a ways away from the group of students, he gave his true opinion of the marquess’ daughter. Describing her as an annoying brat made his sister chuckle and smile. The air started to clear up, and the tension was lessened. Soon, the two were on their way towards the hearing room, with the other students trailing slightly behind them. The atmosphere was heavy but after his annoyed comment, Lucienne’s mood seemed to have turned for the better.
“We are here, how are you feeling?”

“A bit nervous… but I will see this through!”

“Good, let’s go then.”

Lucienne clenched her fists while looking at Roland’s back, soon the large gate before them parted and they were greeted by members of the mage council. Just like before, Master Rathos was performing his duties as one of the judges. After Roland’s inauguration it became known to him that this old Merlin-like man had a very high position in the institute, he was the Vice Headmaster. Thorne was also here, along with Delauder who would be his main opponent.

‘I don’t recognize the rest, five judges in general… Arion mentioned that Delauder is probably taking bribes but not like I can mention this here without any evidence…’

“Ah finally, we can begin.”

Rathos smiled towards Lucienne as she entered along with Roland. Delauder on the other hand whispered something to another judge they were sitting with. It was clear that some of them were already bribed and even if Thorne took his side, there was a possibility of them losing this case.

The hearing room was grand and adorned with magical symbols etched into the walls. The five judges sat at a high table, their expressions a mix of curiosity and sternness. Roland could tell that Lucienne was feeling anxious but it was too late to turn away. He could only stand and watch as she was called forward to confront the prying eyes of the council of mages.

“Lucienne Arden, you are here today to present your testimony regarding the recent incident involving the Institute training facility. Please speak the truth and hold nothing back,”

Announced Thorne with a commanding voice which made Lucienne stand up at attention.

“Y-yes, Professor Sir.”

Lucienne responded, her voice trembling slightly. She stole a quick glance at Roland, who stood beside her and gave her a resounding nod of encouragement. They had discussed how the hearing would go, so she responded with a nod of her own but before she could speak, someone else interrupted her.

“I will remind you that speaking falsehoods in the presence of the high mages is forbidden and will be severely punished! If you can’t prove any of your claims, I would also advise you to…”

“Professor Delauder, please watch your tone.”

Delauder was quick to interrupt Lucienne before she could even start, luckily Thorne kept him from speaking further. It was clear that he was trying to give her a warning before she even began her testimony, perhaps to intimidate her into silence.

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“I, um, I would like to report what happened during the training exercise…”

Lucienne’s voice was soft, and her hands were trembling slightly. Roland noticed the anxiety in her eyes, but he also saw a spark of determination. Thorne nodded encouragingly, signaling her to continue.

“Well, it all started when Lady Viola…”