I suddenly gave off a bad impression to her majesty. I really got off to a bad start. But this is just the start, so it will be fine if I don’t screw up again.
I pull myself together and face the trial again, speaking with a natural tone without breaking my elegance.
“Your majesty, you are misunderstanding.”
“Lord Alchemia, again, I am not Miss Understanding.”
Enough of that gag. It’s not really funny, so quiet.
It really shows how much of a pain this person is, demanding elegance and not seeing how unfunny her jokes are.
I ignore her and continue.
“Yes, there might be contradictions in my statements, but that is unavoidable. It was the bandit who demanded I stuff the gold coins in the bag, and if I refused, my life would have been at risk.”
I say, teary-eyed, conveying the terror of this intruder. I also tell her about how this bandit destroyed my precious alchemy cauldron.
She half believes it, and continues listening. This is going well.
It’s not like everything I say is a lie. Someone did break in, so I can go into detail about her characteristics. I don’t remember her name, but a robber introducing themselves is a rare thing anyway, so it doesn’t matter.
If I continue explaining like this, she might reach the conclusion that there was nothing I could do.
But then, someone unexpectedly jumps in.
“Lies! She destroyed her own drawers and desk!”
“We didn’t see any robbers!”
“She’s making it all up!”
W-who are you!?
People suddenly stand up in the audience and start yelling. Some of their faces look familiar, so I immediately know they’re neighbors.
I can’t deal with something this sudden, and go quiet for a while. And then I think back to what happened then.
It was almost half a year ago, so my memory is fuzzy, but I do remember passing by people when I ran from the atelier.
They have basically no connection to the queen, so I didn’t pay attention, and I really didn’t expect them to bother me at this point.
N-not good. I need to shut them up.
“S-shut up! You’re the ones making things up!”
I yell back, to no avail. In fact, their voices get louder.
It should be obvious that I have no friends here. I am alone in this courtroom, hearing their verbal abuse.
At this rate, the trial might be suspended, but it’s none other than the queen who puts a stop to it by smacking a wooden gavel a few times.
The dry sound of wood hitting wood echoes in the room.
“Quiet. Court is in session.”
She looks left to right slowly, and her glare has an effect. The rowdy room goes quiet instantly.
She looks young and has a petite body, so she does not look threatening, but no one has more presence than her.
Her eyes move from the audience back at me, and a chill runs down my spine.
“Lord Alchemia, you heard what they said, but it contradicts what you said a lot. How do you explain that?”
“D-do you believe them, your majesty!? It is all lies!”
“I’m asking you precisely to see if it’s true or not.”
“A-all I can say is that I was ordered by the bandit! Did I not also write that in the letter!?”
I’m talking about a letter I sent a week after I left the atelier.
The seas were closed off thanks to Undine, so I had to stay in Melport, and I wrote a letter explaining why I couldn’t go back to the capital.
I wrote on it that I was attacked by a bandit, so it should match what I’m saying.
“Then let me change the question. Why did you run from the knights in Melport?”
“Uguh, t-that’s…”
That question lands a critical hit on me. I can’t think of an excuse.
“I did not order you to return to the capital, out of consideration for you, but when you disappeared, rumors of you power harassing your exclusive mage started making the rounds, along with reports of you pushing unreasonable demands and troubling the adventurer guild. This all means you can’t be trusted.
This is why I sent those knights to try to find out what really happened, but then you ran away… You really enjoy angering me, don’t you?”
Her face turns red and she trembles with anger when she remembers that.
“N-no! I didn’t go with the knights because… Of Loyd!”
“Your former exclusive mage? Unlike you, he is honest.”
She knows Loyd? I want to ask about that, but now is not the time.
“Yes, that Loyd! I had to go see him. That is why I was unable to comply with the knights. Even if the order came from your majesty, I had decided previously that I needed to get my dear childhood friend back to my atelier.
I mean, there would be no meaning in returning to you without an exclusive mage, and without being able to perform alchemy!!”
“It sounds to me like you just came up with that. There is no truthfulness to your words.”
(I know that very well! Dammit, she really doesn’t believe anything I say. At this rate, the worst case scenario awaits me. Isn’t there a way to get out of this?)
I desperately try to work out a solution in my head, but that just makes it harder to think.
Every time I open my mouth, she points out something small. Rather than not screwing up, I feel like this is getting worse as it goes along.
“Can I ask one final question?”
“Eh? F-final?”
I look at the clock on the wall, and see less than ten minutes have passed since we started.
And yet, she intends to end this, and her eyes feel very cold. The panic and fear lead to me breaking out in a cold sweat.
Her final question is something I was not expecting.
“Lord Alchemia, were you intending to kill someone with that bahamut bomb?”
She points to a maid, who is holding the bahamut bomb made in Soteira’s atelier.
I can hardly believe what I’m hearing. I wanted to make a bahamut bomb to use as a threat, not to kill anyone. But the queen fully believes it was supposed to be a killing instrument.
If I don’t clear that up, I really am going to receive the harshest penalty, so I try even harder to explain it.
“You majesty! That above all else is a misunderstanding! I made it to use on monsters I could find on the road!”
“That’s a lie. You wanted to use it on Iris, the former saintess in Minerva, didn’t you?”
She asks like she can see right through me, and my body freezes when I hear the name Iris.
No one was supposed to know about me being after Iris.
How come she knows even that? Is she aware of the relationship between Iris and Loyd?
“H-how come Iris was…”
I say, but she interrupts me.
“So you really did make this to kill her.”
“N-no…”
“I will give you my verdict.
Making light of royalty, being rude countless times, and lying during a sacred trial are all serious crimes!
But most importantly, attempting to harm the former saintess Iris, a treasure of the country, is inexcusable! A cold cell is perfect for someone like you!”
She stands up from her throne, and points the bejeweled staff right at me.
“You will be sent to Abyssal Wall for an undetermined time! You will never set foot in the capital again!”
“N-noooooooooo!!”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
I am Ruby, the genius alchemist. I was supposed to leave my mark in history as a chronicle rank alchemist.
Why am I being sent to Abyssal Wall as a criminal? How did this happen? What did I do?
Did I steal? Did I hurt someone? All I did was try to get Loyd back.
Loyd Loyd Loyd. If he never ran from the atelier, none of this would’ve happened. It’s all his fault! He selfishly disappeared, and threw off my plans.
I couldn’t gather materials, my atelier’s rank plummeted, and nothing went well.
And now, even the queen has her sights on me. It’s all his fault. And this girl in front of me is just as guilty. If she didn’t go after me, I would’ve gotten him back.
“Screw youuuuuu!”
““““!?””””
I scream as loud as I can, and the people watching the trial are shaken.
“I didn’t do anything wrong! It was all Loyd! All him! And you all too! You just say what you want knowing nothing of my troubles!”
I say while glaring around the room, including the queen.
“It actually started when you got in the way of me looking for an exclusive mage! You just did what you wanted! You damn brat that inherited this position from your parents, and knows nothing of the real world!”
I don’t care about elegance at this point. My emotions overflow, and I berate this brat.
“W-watch it! What are you saying to our esteemed queen!?”
The guards quickly come up from behind me and press me to the ground.
“Lemme gooooooo! I am the great alchemist Lord Alchemia!”
“D-dammit, stay still! H-hey, gag her!”
“You don’t have to do that, I will shut her up.”
“Your majesty!?”
She raises her hand to stop them, and slowly walks over to me.
She’s now close enough that I could reach her legs if I stretched my arms.
“You used to be more elegant.”
“Shut up!”
“I was very happy when I learned you made medicine for my mother. I thought I would do anything for you.”
“Then take back that verdict! You owe me!”
“But I was mistaken. I hurt him. I should have valued him as well, not just you.”
Her face then turns sad as she faces down. Her expression feels like it suits her age for once.
“Don’t just reach a conclusion on your own! What are you on about!?”
She doesn’t respond. The silence continues for a while, until she turns to me again.
“Lord Alchemia, was your alchemy really just a product of your power and yours alone?”
(What do you mean? Of course it is.)
I really don’t get it, but when she notices I’m not responding, she lets out a small sigh and continues.
“If you don’t even understand that, why do you think he would go back to you? It was you who abandoned him.”
“…!”
Is what she says before leaving the courtroom. I can’t say anything back.
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