Chapter 132: Manufactured Testimony

The pieces fit together quite well, yet something felt off.

It left a bitter aftertaste, one might say.

I tried to find the cause somehow, but I couldn’t get a grasp on it.

Surely it can’t be because of that person?

I focused on the man who clenched his fist encouragingly toward the defendant.

A man dressed in a black suit and leaning on a cane.

An elegant elderly gentleman exuding a refined aura—Marquis Wesley Malone.

Why was the President of the Imperial Lawyers Association here in person?

And for such a disadvantageous trial, no less.

I immediately pulled up Marquis Malone’s status window.

<Status Window>

Name: Wesley Malone

Status: Marquis

Position: President of the Imperial Lawyers Association

Relationship: Worsened

Condition: Extreme anger due to damaged honor, fury over his grandson’s trial verdict, intense resentment and hostility toward Duke Carius.

Overall Ability: B

He was a man with an anger problem, to the point where it seemed like he had anger management issues.

I remembered him not being this bad before.

Was it because he was humiliated at the debate and even his grandson received a fairly heavy sentence?

Currently, two of Wesley Malone’s grandsons were in prison.

He had mobilized immense power, but it was useless.

His maternal grandson Norman Hewitt received a 50-year sentence, and his paternal grandson Bilber Malone had also been imprisoned.

The mutual assault charge was recognized, resulting in a one-year sentence.

But why is that anger directed at me?

His grandsons were the ones who committed the crimes in the first place.

Was he blaming me because trying to cover it up with power didn’t work?

What a narrow-minded person.

Still, there isn’t enough evidence to link him to this case.

Of course, the motive was sufficient.

That man would want me to be disgraced by any means.

Then, suddenly, someone spoke to me discreetly.

It was Judge Colrund Emir sitting beside me.

“Your Honor?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“You’ve been silent for quite a while. It’s time for the verdict.”

“Ah, right.”

Just because I was suspicious didn’t mean I could uncover anything immediately.

The witnesses and evidence had already been presented.

The defendant’s pitiful expression bothered me, but what could I do?

All the evidence pointed to the culprit.

But it was at that exact moment.

A certain doubt suddenly flashed through my mind.

Why hasn’t Wesley Malone said a single word yet?

He was here as the defense attorney for the woodworking shop owner Jalen.

Yet he still hadn’t made any arguments.

Even while the prosecutor was aggressively grilling, he kept his mouth tightly shut.

He only showed encouragement toward the defendant.

Yes. From Marquis Wesley Malone to the defendant and the witnesses—everything feels wrong.

As I started identifying the sources of unease one by one, something elusive lingered in my mind.

A defense attorney who left everything to a defendant with a speech impediment.

A defendant who simply accepted that.

And witness testimonies that matched far too perfectly.

When I considered them all together, I could tell what was wrong.

“Your Honor?”

“Just a moment.”

I slightly raised my right hand toward Judge Emir, who called me again.

Then I summoned the court knights.

“Keep the witnesses separated in different rooms so they cannot contact each other, and bring them in one by one.”

“Pardon? Yes, sir.”

Everyone looked puzzled, but the trial proceeded as I directed.

Soon, the first witness, Grayson, entered.

“Witness.”

“Yes.”

“Where were you when the defendant swung the wooden club?”

“I was carrying lumber, so at the entrance of the workshop.”

“Alone?”

“The materials were long and heavy, so two of us were carrying them together.”

“How wide is the entrance to the workshop? Can two people carrying lumber pass through at the same time?”

“Uh… No.”

“Then who was in front?”

“I was.”

“Please describe the actions of the defendant and the victim at the time you witnessed it.”

“He had already hit Gordon several times, so his condition was terrible. The boss was holding the club high. It looked like he was about to strike the head.”

“What happened next?”

“Mr. Mook came out from the office on the opposite side and hurriedly stopped him.”

After the statement, the court knights sent Grayson back.

The next person was Semaz, the laborer who had been carrying the lumber with him.

I asked the same questions, and the answers were similar to the previous ones.

The last witness was Mook, who had intervened at the critical moment. The content was essentially no different from the previous witness examinations.

Murmurs began to spread among the spectators.

“What? Why is he making them repeat things we already know?”

“The trial flow is completely different from before. Does he lack confidence this time?”

“Amazing. To think His Grace Carius is hesitating over the verdict.”

“Anyone can see the defendant is at fault. Maybe there was some backroom deal or something…”

“Hey! With the enormous wealth he already has, what would he even take?”

“It might not be money.”

“Be careful. If you run your mouth recklessly, you’ll get beaten.”

Some negative opinions surfaced, but they were quickly buried.

It seemed there were still far more people who trusted me.

An unavoidable reaction. It’s reasonable to have doubts.

However, the recent statements were a necessary process to reveal the false facts.

I called all the witnesses back in and asked this question.

“Mr. Semaz?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“You said you saw the shop owner Jalen trying to strike Gordon’s head with the club, and Mr. Mook stopping him, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“That’s strange. Mr. Grayson gave the exact same testimony. Given the structure of the woodworking shop entrance, it’s impossible for two people to witness the assault scene at the same time.”

Grayson had entered first, and Semaz came after.

Since they were carrying long lumber on their shoulders, the person in the back would have had difficulty clearly seeing the situation ahead.

Yet their testimonies matched perfectly.

That could only mean one thing.

They coordinated their stories in advance.

It seemed I had hit the mark. Semaz’s eyes trembled violently.

That was what people meant by pupil earthquake.

I quickly opened the status windows of the key figures.

Then the word “Panic” popped up for all three witnesses.

Just as I thought!

I cheered inwardly.

The suspicious points had been revealed to some extent.

If I dug deeper into the witnesses, I would learn the exact truth.

But then, a strange scene caught my eye.

Wait a minute. Why is Marquis Wesley Malone reacting like that?

It wasn’t strange for him to be surprised.

Everyone in the courtroom was shocked by the unexpected development.

However, Marquis Malone’s status window also added the words “Panic” and “Restless.”

He knew about the testimony manipulation too?

Moreover, something even more ridiculous happened next.

Now even the defendant was sweating profusely.

I unconsciously pulled up his information, and sure enough—

Even the defendant was extremely agitated.

I finally reached one conclusion.

They all colluded to manipulate the trial outcome.

Why on earth would they do something so ridiculous?

The reason was easy to guess.

There was only one person here who resented me.

Marquis Wesley Malone.

I looked at the defense seat with cold eyes and spoke.

“Since the testimonies are inconsistent, I will postpone the trial date and order a reinvestigation.”

I stood up, bowed toward the gallery, and left the courtroom.

Soon after, a loud uproar erupted inside.

“What happened? The testimonies contradict each other?”

“It means they were fabricated.”

“All of this was staged?”

“Those rotten bastards tried to scam His Honor the Chief Justice!”

“They must be completely insane.”

“They should be thrown in prison for a hundred years so even their corpses never come out!”

The court knights broke into a sweat trying to stop the angry spectators from rushing forward.

I left the chaotic scene behind and returned to my office.

Then I called Cordell McNeil, who was hidden in the shadows.

“I have a request.”

“You want me to monitor Marquis Wesley Malone, right? He’ll definitely take some action to cover up this incident.”

“Correct.”

“Leave it to me.”

Cordell’s eyes flashed dangerously.

Then he vanished without a trace.

I shrugged with a puzzled expression.

“He’s not the type to accept requests so obediently. Why is he acting like this?”

Whenever I asked him to do something, he would usually make all sorts of excuses to avoid it.

It couldn’t be because he got caught sneaking off to parties at night.

Even if I said something, it would only last for that moment with him.

As I tilted my head, Feltron, who was lying on the trial documents using them as a blanket, resolved my doubt.

That Malone or Malang guy.

“You mean Marquis Wesley Malone?”

—Yeah.

“Why him?”

—I heard he was flirting with the girls at the Midias beauty salon.

“Ah……”

Cordell McNeil’s lady worked there, didn’t she?

Now I fully understood why he was suddenly so cooperative.

But one question still remained.

“He goes to parties every night chasing women, yet acts all pure-hearted.”

He said it earlier.

“What?”

—He said he’s sincere to everyone.

I could somehow picture Cordell’s future.

He would probably say something like this to the lady at the beauty salon.

‘Falling in love isn’t a crime, is it?’

The Jalen Woodworking Shop incident developed in an unexpected direction.

It was revealed that the witnesses’ testimonies had been fabricated.

In the first place, the defendant had never committed any assault.

Even more shocking was the fact that the mastermind behind it all was Marquis Wesley Malone.

Planger Sierre and Dianandre Giovanni met again after only a few days.

Both dukes wore extremely grim expressions.

“I planned to appeal, have His Majesty personally judge the case, and then release new evidence.”

“If it had gone according to plan, it would have been a definite fatal blow. It’s a shame.”

“Tsk! The attempt itself was good.”

“Still, moving Wesley Malone was a good choice. Thanks to that, we weren’t exposed at all.”

“How will you handle that man?”

“He will step down from his position as association president. Vice President Sean Malone as well.”

“Hmm. My apologies.”

Duke Sierre spoke with a bitter face.

After all, Wesley Malone was a man of the Giovanni noble faction.

They had borrowed someone else’s talent, yet the result was poor.

No matter how thick-skinned Duke Sierre was, he couldn’t avoid responsibility here.

However, Duke Giovanni seemed unconcerned.

“It’s fine. To bring down Abel, we have to accept sacrifices of this level.”

“Thank you for your generous understanding. I will definitely repay this debt.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

“By the way, shouldn’t we lie low for a while?”

“It was quite a big incident, so it would be good to stay out of sight for now. Let’s do that.”

The two dukes nodded heavily and stood up.

They lightly shook hands.

On the surface, it looked like a perfect alliance.

Of course, their inner thoughts were completely different.

Hehe! I was planning to dispose of Wesley Malone anyway. Lately he’s been getting too ambitious.

Debt? From the beginning, using him was all part of the calculation. Even if things went wrong, I could escape cleanly.

Hiding their sinister intentions, the two hurriedly left the hideout.