To Regain What Was Lost

Chapter 6: Trial

"This man has murdered an innocent shopkeeper." 

Nodding, William rubbed his chin. "Hm...interesting...go on." 

"We have 36 witnesses claiming he is guilty, enough evidence to fill up a literal house, which is nearby-" 

"Show it to me later." 

"...which we'll show you later?" 

William nodded. 

"Which we'll show you later," the man repeated, "and an orb recorded him committing the crime...do you want us to show it to you now, or would you rather also see it later?" 

Nodding, William scrunched up his brow. "Interesting...." he muttered. 

Suddenly realizing he was nodding, William quickly clarified, "I'm not nodding because I want to see the orb right now. I'm just thinking, and letting you know I'm paying attention. Right now, I'm on a roll. I'm piecing your evidence together, and I'm almost at the verdict, so I may not need to see the orb. I need just need a little more pieces to solve this puzzle of a mystery. It's difficult, but I feel like I'll come up with the right answer soon." 

"Difficult?" 

"Yes, very." 

"Er, but we didn't actually present any evidence..." a scrawny new soldier informed hesitantly. 

"He's the judge right now, show some respect!" an older soldier standing near the newbie whispered angrily, rapping the recruit's head. "He is sorry, sir. Aren't you?" 

"Yes I am," the newbie stammered, tears welling up in his eyes as he felt his head. 

"Ugh, I can't believe..." Wyetta hissed, "send the man back to training camp. How could they let such unprofessional, inexperienced out with a certificate? I need to check on them later. They must be too lax." 

Completely ignoring small disturbance, William pointed at the guilty...er, suspected man. "Sir, tell me what happened." 

The man stared apathetically at William for several minutes in dead silence before suddenly grabbing a quill, scroll, and ink, and furiously writing on it. 

"Interesting..." William mused, observing the man's behavior. 

"Servants, I demand a piece of paper and a pen. I need to note down this man's behavior." 

"What's a...?" 

Sighing, William pointed at one of the witnesses lined up on the side of the room. "You, get your writing utensil, and something to write on, and record what I say," he ordered. 

"Y-yes sir!" the child cried, scared out of his wits. 

After nearly half an hour passed with nothing but the scratching of quill on scroll, and the occasional remark from William, the suspect finally put his quill down, and handed the scroll to William. "Thank you sir," William told him as he picked up the scroll, and put it on his desk. 

Banging his gravel on the desk, William cleared his throat, and announced, "I declare him not guilty." 

"What?" sputtered Wyetta. "He is clearly guilty. Not only that, you didn't even read his scroll! I'm not just saying that he is guilty just to get more money, although that played a pretty big factor. I declare him guilty! Make him work and give me money for the rest of his life!" 

"Hey, you're not the judge here," William replied rebelliously. "Besides, he has been nothing but obedient the past few minutes, so he must have turned over to a new leaf while we weren't looking."