Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted-Chapter 96: Sentencing

"Faster than I expected."
And the king's attitude was far more devout than Loren had imagined, because he had suffered too much. Although he was the king, the Stern Family had always been pressing down on him.
Especially since he was not old, only in his forties, while the head of the Stern Family was over a hundred years old. Every time he met the Stern Family head, he had to perform the etiquette of a junior.
Moreover, the Stern Family head was a genuine hero, whose prestige among the common people was much higher than his, the king. If he really dared to deal with the Stern Family, that would mean he didn't want to be king anymore.
Now, he had finally seized an opportunity, as the Stern Family had now committed a major mistake.
The reason why the Bountiful had been so much stronger than the Plague recently was all due to the Hymn. Although ordinary people couldn't feel much, some high-level figures could realize that the God of Plague was being suppressed more and more severely by the God of Bountiful Harvest.
Therefore, losing the Hymn was not only a loss for Bardo, but also a loss for the Plague Church. After all, Bardo was just one of the countries that believed in the God of Plague, and not even the most powerful one.
To put it bluntly, even if Helen had killed the king and blown up the palace, the Stern Family could have protected her.
But this time, she destroyed the Hymn. Unless she went and destroyed the God of Bountiful Harvest right now, the king couldn't think of anything else that could save her.
Even the entire family would be implicated. But opportunity also comes with crisis. The Sterns are a family of the Bardo Kingdom. Within Bardo, everyone knows it's the Stern Family's fault, but countries outside Bardo might pin this blame on the Bardo Kingdom itself. It wouldn't even be impossible for them to be collectively attacked tomorrow.
That's why the king was so humble, even Mirrorheart hadn't knelt like this.
"Your Majesty, you..."
The guards who followed behind found the king's actions somewhat difficult to understand. As they entered, they also brought in the Enforcement Team members, as criminals.
This time, the Deputy Captain was truly despairing. He had seen the king suffer setbacks more than once, but the king kneeling? This was the first time. Even if he were a fool, he should understand what kind of situation this was now.
"Enough talk! Quickly give them the flogging punishment, until death!"
Upon hearing the king's words, right in front of Loren, the guards began the execution. Screams of agony and the sounds of whipping instantly filled the entire prison cell.
The other prisoner was now completely stunned. Ever since Loren broke through the wall, he had started to believe someone would come to save Loren, but he never expected it would be the king.
"Rise, Your Majesty."
Only when Loren told the king to rise and still addressed him as "Your Majesty" did the king finally breathe a sigh of relief.
After Loren walked out of the cell, he unexpectedly flicked the prisoner next door on the forehead. For this, Loren used the power of the Judgment card. The prisoner remained completely unharmed, just a bit confused.
After confirming he was truly innocent, Loren continued speaking:
"This guy next to me is innocent, let him go. Don't forget compensation.
"And me, start the trial. Hurry up, I need to get back for lunch."
After rising, the king personally opened the cell holding Loren. He understood Loren's meaning—this was to make them deal with Helen and the Stern Family.
"Alright, please leave this place first, it's cold here..."
The king led Loren out of the dungeon. Other guards also took away the other prisoner, while the execution of those Enforcement Team members continued.
Originally, they had been begging for mercy, but after Loren impatiently dug at his ear, the whip fell on their mouths.
"Where do you wish the trial to be held?"
The king kept following behind Loren, as if he were an attendant.
"In the square. Let the common people see it too."
"Good!"
Loren's request perfectly suited the king's wishes. Helen's deeds were known to everyone, but they didn't dare speak out. On the surface, they still sang praises of Helen's achievements, treating Helen as the Divine Detective, as a hero.
Privately, they would curse the king, thinking Helen's rampant behavior was due to the king's incompetence.
But they didn't curse Helen, nor the Stern Family, because cursing the king wouldn't really get them into serious trouble—at most, they'd be arrested and locked up for a couple of days.
But cursing Helen would truly get them charged with a crime and killed. Who could be offended, who couldn't—the people understood this clearly.
So the king urgently needed an opportunity to reverse his public image and shake off the Stern Family's suppression.
Soon, the king's men set up a simple courtroom in the square while also sending people to spread the news.
Within minutes, the area around the square was packed with people. Not only ordinary citizens, but also travelers and ers. Due to certain services, Bardo was a major tourist country with many visitors.
Loren sat in the defendant's seat, while the king fussed over him right beside him. Today, the king was the most excited one, because he had seen the Pope's arrival. With the Church's support, anything he did would go much smoother.
"Bring Helen up!"
For this trial, the king and the Church—the two highest-ranking figures in Bardo—acted as judges together. After the king announced it, several guards brought Helen forward.
Many Plague Envoys followed behind the guards. If not for these Plague Envoys, they truly couldn't have brought her up.
"You said Master Mentor molested someone. Who did he molest?"
When asking the question, the king even called Loren "Master," making it blatantly obvious this verdict wouldn't be fair.
"Me."
"..."
Loren glanced at Helen. He was quite sure he wasn't blind. To put it bluntly, even if he really went looking, he wouldn't give someone like her a second glance over a nun from the Bountiful Church.
"Is there evidence?"
"My word is evidence."
"So there's no evidence then?"
The king revealed a smile, glancing at the Pope beside him who remained silent. The Pope was glaring fiercely at Helen.
Helen looked at the king and Pope in the judge's position, looked at the Plague Envoys surrounding her, and at the ordinary people watching from the crowd.
By now, Helen also understood what was going on, but she was still confident. As long as she admitted her mistake and punished herself with a symbolic gesture, this matter would be over.
"..."
Helen silently accepted the king's words, lowering her head.
"Good. Now sentencing Helen Stern for false accusation, imprisonment for three years.
"The false accusation case is concluded. Next is the next case. You sent people to assassinate Master Mentor. Your people have already confessed. Do you plead guilty?"
"I plead guilty."
One charge after another fell upon Helen's head, yet she still didn't feel much fear.
"Helen Stern, attempted murder, imprisonment for twenty years. Next is the next case.
"During your tenure as Enforcement Team Captain, you repeatedly conducted severe torture, forcing innocent people to confess, creating countless wrongful and false cases. Do you admit your guilt?"
As soon as these words were spoken, a collective gasp of shock suddenly rose from the crowd in unison. They had originally thought this was just another show, but it turned out such a major charge was really being revealed.
Upon hearing this charge, Helen finally reacted.
"I didn't..."
She looked at the surrounding citizens, saw the smiles on their faces. Helen suddenly flew into a rage:
"I'm a hero! How many criminals have I helped you catch! Why are you laughing at me!"