Chapter 4: I Met the Guy Whose Nuts I Destroyed!
"Why are there so many Holy Knights and where are they taking the Young Master?"
"Haven’t you heard? The young master finally did something even worse than his usual mischief. He stole the Queen’s undergarments."
"What else could we expect from the shame of Ruinbringer but what are they going to do with him?"
"Probably execute him, what else? After all, this isn’t small enough for the duke to ignore anymore now that His Majesty the Holy Emperor himself is involved."
The corridors of the mansion were as grand as ever. Countless servants stole glances at me as the many Holy Knights escorted me out, their voices were as loud as ever, not even trying to hide their sheer disrespect toward me.
I still remembered how scared I had been in my last life and these fucking servants with their uselessly wide mouths had only intensified it even more but I had enough experience to forgive these peasants in this life.
Soon enough, after passing through the chattering corridors, we arrived in front of a grand room. Its wide doors stood open while two Holy Knights were already waiting there before a massive blue portal.
It was the sole teleportation portal in the dukedom, directly connected to the Imperial Palace where my trial was taking place.
A few Holy Knights stepped in while the others stood behind me, waiting for me to enter. So, I honoured their wishes before they could push me and stepped into the portal. Immediately, the strange yet nostalgic sensation engulfed me.
My body felt weightless as the scenery shifted into a tunnel of light made up of different colours, as if I were travelling through a rainbow.
Unlike how they portrayed it in the fantasy novels of my previous world, teleportation to far-off locations wasn’t instant. Especially when the destination was somewhere as distant as the capital of the Empire, located thousands of kilometres away from the Ruinbringer Dukedom.
The Holy Knights around me, like mechanical robots, didn’t move even an inch throughout the tunnel of light, staying close to me as if I were crazy enough to jump into the spatial storm surrounding us.
As the light carried us forward, my mind wandered back to the seriousness of the situation once again. The crime was serious enough for me to be escorted to the Imperial Capital, where I was going to be judged by the Holy Emperor himself, a Transcendent.
Last time, I had only been saved because of Amyra’s valiant sacrifice and the greedy nature of the bastard I called father but this time, without Amyra, the chances of my execution were pretty high, if I had to say so.
Still, I had a way...
I looked forward again. Beyond the guards standing before me, I saw a portal similar to the one I had entered through, the entrance to the Imperial Palace.
The Holy Knights moved closer to me and as soon as my body passed through the portal, the familiar sensation of weight and gravity returned.
I blinked through the lingering sense of disorientation before my gaze fell upon the new environment. It was a vast room with tens of similar portals arranged in neat lines, overseen by teams of knights.
But the knights, as cruel as ever, didn’t even give me a moment to gather myself before the cold voice of the leader echoed once again.
"Let’s move."
Before we could actually leave, another voice echoed from the side, laced with amusement.
"Ohh, is that the little bastard of Raymond Ruinbringer? For the son of the Ironblood Duke, doesn’t he look too scrawny? Don’t you think so too, Gerald?"
My gaze snapped to the side as a bald old man of short stature with a long grey beard stood there. His violet eyes looked as though they had seen everything the world had to offer while the childish little smile on his face suggested otherwise.
Solarius Divus Auremont.
Or as people knew him, the previous Holy Emperor of the Holy Empire of Solaria.
I immediately kneeled along with the knights around us, except for the one leading us who gave a small bow only.
"We greet the Eternal Radiance!"
The leader, the one called Gerald, looked at the old man with a frown. "With all due respect, Your Highness, this isn’t the time to be going on one of those trips of yours."
He didn’t speak about me and instead criticised the previous Emperor for travelling somewhere again, making me realise this Gerald character wasn’t some nobody either but that confused me since I hadn’t heard of him after my trial in my last life.
"Hoho, Gerald, stop acting like some jealous wife. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do and who is that stuck-up bastard to stop me from doing that?" Solarius spoke in a grumpy tone.
"Please refrain from speaking like that in front of others, Your Radiance."
"What are you even afraid of, Gerald? Isn’t this brat going to be executed anyway? And I trust your subordinates to keep quiet, so why bother?"
He said it with another one of his strange chuckles, talking about my death as though it wasn’t some big deal before his gaze paused on me.
"Hey, brat Ruinbringer, why did you do that? Why steal some undergarments and although it won’t be of any use to you since you’re going to die soon but... a true man never acts so disgracefully toward a woman."
He continued in the same tone.
"Women are treasures to be cherished, not tools. Keep that in mind for your next life, if there is one."
I would have genuinely taken his advice if I had actually committed that crime or if this bastard wasn’t renowned for having a harem of eight hundred and sixty-nine wives.
Still, I didn’t raise my head immediately because, as perverse as this old man was, he stood in a league of his own, standing at the peak of the Transcendent Stage.
"I will take your advice to heart, Your Radiance." With my head still lowered, I continued. "But I truly haven’t committed this particular crime. How could a loyal follower of Goddess Velthira even think of such a vile act?"
The moment those words left my mouth, the entire environment froze as an incredible pressure slammed onto me... Though honestly, it was barely even a fragment of what Lily possessed.
Still, even if my mind could resist, my body creaked beneath the weight as the floor under me shattered.
"Ho ho, you brat. You claim to be a loyal follower of our Goddess while being accused of such a crime?" The pressure intensified as he walked toward me, his steps slow and commanding.
I didn’t give up. My chaotic mind activated in full as a smile appeared on my face. I knew this was going to happen and this was precisely what I was aiming for. Hell, I had even matched the timing to my departure for this exact moment because I needed this guy at my trial.
Without him, what I planned wouldn’t succeed.
So I raised my gaze and stared directly into his violet eyes.
"I am weak and a scrawny bastard but I, as a follower of our Great Goddess of Love and Passion, am no pervert who steals women’s undergarments, Your Radiance."
As soon as I said those words, the edge of his lips curled and the pressure vanished instantly.
"You do have passion, alright." He turned toward the knight leading us. "I changed my mind, Gerald. I am curious about this trial after all."
He waved a hand once as my body lifted off the ground and a pure golden energy embraced me before merging into my body, healing my wounds instantly.
The old man didn’t stay long and after a few words with Gerald, he vanished with an amused smile.
***
The rest of the way to the Trial Chamber was silent but the knights around me still threw strange glances at me for somehow convincing the old man to attend the trial.
But honestly, that had been the easiest part because as unsightly as that guy was in this life... I had spent a decent amount of time with him during the Divine War in my last life and eventually came to call him a friend.
And even if that bond had been washed away by time, his personality remained the same. So, I knew exactly where his buttons were.
Lost in my thoughts and ignoring those stares, we arrived before a massive door carved with intricate symbols depicting some kind of story.
Two giants stood beside it, towering over me dozens of times, guarding it with ironclad armour and massive spears.
"I have brought the accused." The knight captain, Gerald, spoke while showing his badge.
"We recognise you, Brother Gerald. No need to flash your badge every time." One of the giants sighed as they pushed open the doors.
"It’s a process you should follow, Guganta." Gerald replied before walking inside without hesitation.
I followed without caring much about the giants or the story on the door as a massive chamber greeted me. I was no bigger than an ant there with the ceiling stretching hundreds of feet overhead and although the Emperor himself was human, for someone who ruled over so many races, this was quite normal.
Gerald instructed me to walk to the centre while he and his subordinates moved toward the walls, taking their positions as guards.
As I continued walking, my gaze swept across the structure of the chamber.
There were three levels.
At my level sat hundreds of nobles of many races filling countless seats, all dressed in lavish clothes and wearing usual sly smiles.
The second level housed those of greater importance, the ones holding the rank of Count and above.
At the very top, there were only three seats.
Among them, in the centre, sat a man with long glowing orange hair and violet eyes, wearing a crown and a cold expression.
The Current Holy Emperor.
Solvere Divus Auremont.
Behind him to the left sat Solarius...
While on the right sat a very familiar face, the man whose sister, girlfriend and even manhood I had stolen in my last life, the current crown prince of the Holy Empire and...
... the man who killed me.
Aurelion Divus Auremont.
Or as I called him in my last life,
The Chosen One of the World and my natural enemy.
