The Lycan King's Puppet-Chapter 33: The Trial 2

Chapter 33: The Trial 2
She fought the urge to look at Yeren. Apart from her sister, who else knew?
Seraphine?
Zachary?
Would they risk their lives for her?
"In that case, let us begin." The man at the center.
The silence stretched until it felt manufactured.
Jarren leaned against his polished cane. He looked bored. He exuded the aura of someone who knew the endgame before it began. He didn’t even have to say it - it showed on the cut of his clothes, the tilt of his head.
"Do you not have any witnesses?" Redmare asked.
She swallowed.
"None, my lord."
Redmare sat on the raised bench on the daise.
She turned towards the throne finally.
The young King sat there, leaning lazily against the back rest.
Everything about him was languid and indifferent - except his eyes. They were sharp and cold, but not towards her.
He cut eye contact by turning to Andon.
"Lord Straught. Call forward your first witness."
A young stableboy in shaggy leather and breeches stepped into the box.
Claire took her seat and folded her hands in her lap.
The maids and servants of the castle were watching the proceedings from the platforms above them.
"I was there when the missus and her sister came to live wi’ the Master. She was disobedient and disrespectful, often insulting her Uncle and his servants. She hit the young Master once and threatened to flee... then she vanished."
Her fingers curled into her palms, tears burned behind her - it was the same boy Aurora had taught about horses.
But she couldn’t blame him.
"Is that all?" The old courtier asked.
The boy nodded and bowed.
Claire followed him with her eyes, her jaws clenched.
Another came, reciting tales of her wanton behaviour with boys in the village surrounding Penbrook, which warranted her restriction of movement.
The third one had more to say about Aurora - how the Uncle had been so good to them and they burnt him out of emotional instability.
"That’s not true!" She nearly launched out of her own box.
Jarren only smirked, twurling his cane lazily.
"You will have your turn, Miss Stenly."
Then, Margaret stepped forward. Their eyes met briefly.
The woman looked completely different - thinner and more like a walking corpse. She blinked several times.
What had they done to Margaret?
"Don’t do this." She whispered soundlessly.
Margaret took her stand in the box and cleared her throat.
The whole court seemed to sense the tension.
"Miss Stenly once tried to seduce her uncle into her bed before my very eyes... she invited him to her room while she was having her evening bath."
Claire clutched the edge of the seat, struggling to bite back the sting hovering on the edge of her tongue.
None of her rage was directed at the poor woman.
Yeren shifted in his seat, requesting privately for a goblet of wine.
"He left immediately he saw her state of dress. She was even caught kissing her late father’s steward in the woods-"
She coloured, confirming the truth of the kiss to anyone who had been watching her reactions closely.
And their eyes met.
He seemed unaffected by the revelation - as if he already knew, or just did not care.
"My Master decided to restrict her movements to keep her pure for her intended groom - until her relations with the King were exposed."
A gasp tore through the crowd.
Yeren didn’t move, didn’t blink, nothing. He just watched.
"Have you finished?"
Margaret nodded and exited the stage.
"And we call upon the last witness. After the young Lord Straught, the King will address the court."
Claire pulled a strand of her hair out of her face.
Arlan stood up and walked to the box. He had been looking bored, but his expression changed to that of a burdened person.
It suddenly dawned on her that he was going to betray her. His testimony would destroy her faster than what anyone could say - because he was a highborn, it was generally believed that the testimonies of highborns could not be bought with gold or lands.
"I will speak." A voice carried through the hall effortlessly.
Her gaze snapped to the figure that wheedled through the crowd.
Zachary?
She had completely forgotten he had been present.
Was he willing to testify for her?
"Who are you...?"
"A witness of Miss Stenly."
"And I as well." A feminine voice cut through.
Seraphine. Her voice was feeble and shrill, but loud enough to carry through the room.
Most of the Lords had already cast their lots in Jarren’s favour.
The old man looked at the King.
Yeren took a long sip of his wine. "Proceed."
"Take your stand."
Zachary entered the box across Claire.
"Do you solemnly swear before the moon Goddess..."
Her eyes filled as she watched him take his vows. His eyes never left hers as he spoke.
Zach recited the events from the day she left her home at Loodswood till the day she ran away.
Even the kiss wasn’t left out.
"Hearsay." Jarren and a few others murmured when he narrated things he had witnessed by proxy.
Seraphine mounted after him, paying obeisance only to the King.
Her account was brief as she feared using her voice.
Yet, Claire knew it wasn’t enough.
The words of a highborn carried more weight than the words of peasants - which included her.
No matter how nice the King appeared, power was power.
"Is that all?" The old man asked once again.
Claire glanced at the crowd, a certain peace settling over her now that she was no longer alone.
"Permit me to interrupt."
The sound of a wooden staff scuffing against the polished stone floors drew everyone’s attention.
Claire could smell the herbs and cinnamon from the approaching person.
"I have something important to say."
Whiskers started immediately.
A hunched woman in tattered robes and braided hair appeared in the center of the room.
She smiled briefly at Claire before turning to the King.
He was so far away, seated on his throne, but he felt closer than the courtiers surrounding her.
The room was hot despite the large floor to ceiling windows. Perfumes and strong fragrances polluted the air.
"This girl..." She pointed at Claire. "Showed up at my door with a boy dying of poison. The boy had eaten honey berries and was at the gates of heaven when I laid my eyes on him. She pleaded for me to save his life."
"That boy is Arlan Straught, the son of the man defending his station. I can attest to her character and selflessness and to his longstanding mental instability since her mother’s death as well."
Jarren flushed red. "That is irrelevant."
Claire held her breath.
Other council members joined the argument, claiming that the woman’s citations were irrelevant.
Yeren raised his hand to silence them.
The woman went back the way she had come after waving to Claire.
Zachary moved to stand beside her.
"May the last witness proceed."
Arlan stepped into the box.
"She is lying."