Free Web NovelChapter 87: Liar, murderer
The knocking came again.
Louder.
More forceful.
Yuto’s eye twitched.
A moment ago he had been embracing Gina.
Now he was walking toward the door with the growing suspicion that the universe simply hated him.
"Stay behind me," he said.
Gina nodded nervously.
The knocking continued.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
"Open up!"
Yuto sighed.
"Yeah, that’s never a good sign."
He reached for the handle and pulled the door open.
The moment he saw who stood outside, his expression froze.
Several armored guards stood before him.
Their faces were grim.
Their weapons were visible.
Their posture made their intentions crystal clear.
Yuto stared.
The guards stared back.
"Oh crap."
Before he could say anything else, the lead guard stepped forward.
"Yuto."
"That’s me."
"By the order of Lord Naoto Masaru, you are under arrest."
Several guards immediately pushed past him into the house.
Gina gasped.
"W-What are you doing?!"
One guard seized Yuto’s arm.
Another moved behind him.
A third positioned himself beside the door.
The efficiency of the maneuver suggested they had expected resistance.
Instead, Yuto simply raised both hands.
"Easy."
The guards looked surprised.
"You aren’t resisting?" one asked.
Yuto shrugged.
"If Lord Naoto wants to see me that badly, who am I to deny him?"
The guards exchanged confused glances.
This was not how criminals usually behaved.
Still, they weren’t about to complain.
They quickly bound his wrists.
Yuto remained calm throughout the process.
The lead guard nodded. freёwebnoѵel.com
"Take him."
Gina immediately rushed forward.
"No!"
The guards ignored her.
Yuto was escorted outside.
A carriage waited on the road.
Several mounted guards surrounded it.
Clearly the Masaru House had no intention of allowing their prisoner to escape again.
The guards pushed Yuto toward the carriage.
Just as they were preparing to leave—
"Wait!"
Everyone turned.
Gina came running from the house.
Tears already glistened in her eyes.
"I want to come!"
The lead guard frowned.
"No."
"Please!"
"No."
She grabbed his sleeve.
"I have to come!"
"You do not."
"He is my family!"
The guard looked annoyed.
"That changes nothing."
Gina’s eyes reddened.
The first sob escaped her lips.
"He is all I have left..."
The guards shifted awkwardly.
"I-I don’t care."
"Please..."
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"If he’s truly being judged..."
Her voice broke.
"Don’t I deserve to know what happens to him?"
The guard looked away.
"That is not our concern."
"He is my only family."
More sobs followed.
The surrounding guards began exchanging uncomfortable looks.
One of them scratched his cheek.
Another avoided eye contact entirely.
Finally, one guard leaned toward the captain.
"Sir..."
The captain sighed.
"No."
"Sir..."
Another guard spoke.
"It’s not like she’s going to interfere."
The captain pinched the bridge of his nose.
Clearly he was already regretting today’s assignment.
Gina continued crying.
Eventually the man groaned.
"Fine."
Her eyes widened.
"Really?"
"You sit quietly."
"Yes!"
"You do not interfere."
"I won’t!"
"You obey every instruction."
"I promise!"
The captain pointed at her.
"If you become troublesome, you’re walking home."
Gina nodded repeatedly.
The captain immediately regretted giving in.
A few minutes later the carriage departed.
The journey was silent.
Yuto sat calmly between two guards.
Gina sat opposite him.
Every now and then she looked at him with worry.
Yuto simply smiled.
The smile somehow irritated the guards more than panic would have.
Hours later the familiar walls of the Masaru estate appeared.
Yuto’s gaze hardened slightly.
The Masaru House.
The source of so much misery.
The place where Gina had been forced into servitude.
The place that believed itself untouchable.
The carriage rolled through the gates.
Yuto immediately noticed something unusual.
Security.
Everywhere.
Armed guards lined the walls.
Archers stood atop towers.
Patrols moved constantly.
The entire compound looked more like a fortress preparing for war than a noble estate.
"They’re nervous," Yuto murmured.
One guard scoffed.
"You should be nervous."
Yuto only smiled.
As the carriage came to a halt, a deafening roar reached his ears.
The crowd.
Hundreds of people had gathered.
Maybe more.
The moment Yuto stepped out of the carriage, the insults began.
"Murderer!"
"Scoundrel!"
"Animal!"
"Rat!"
Someone threw a rotten vegetable.
It exploded against his shoulder.
Another object followed.
Then another.
Rotten fruit.
Food scraps.
Stones.
Yuto felt something strike his forehead.
Warm blood trickled downward.
Yet he never reacted.
His hands remained behind his back.
His head remained slightly lowered.
He simply walked.
Calmly.
Steadily.
Each step measured.
Each movement controlled.
Strangely dignified.
One of the guards noticed.
The man frowned.
Then his expression twisted into anger.
"You!"
Yuto glanced toward him.
"What?"
"Stop walking like that."
Yuto blinked.
"Like what?"
"Like you’re important!"
The crowd quieted slightly.
The guard stepped closer.
"You’re a criminal."
His voice rose.
"A murderer."
Another step.
"A rat."
Another.
"You should walk with your head in the dirt."
Yuto looked at him for several seconds.
Then smiled.
The smile only made the guard angrier.
"Something funny?"
Yuto nodded slightly.
"You said I walk like a person of importance."
"Yes."
The smile widened.
"That’s because I am a person of importance."
The crowd erupted.
Insults exploded from every direction.
The guard looked as though he might burst a blood vessel.
"Arrogant dog!"
Yuto shrugged.
"You asked."
The guard sneered.
"It doesn’t matter."
He jabbed a finger at Yuto.
"You’ll be dead soon anyway."
The crowd cheered.
Yuto’s smile faded slightly.
Then he looked directly at the guard.
"Tell me something."
"What?"
"You were born a commoner, weren’t you?"
The guard froze.
The question caught him off guard.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Yuto tilted his head.
"You come from the same class as me."
The guard’s expression darkened.
"So?"
"So why do you hate me so much?"
The crowd became quieter.
The guard frowned.
"You murdered Lord Teki."
"Did I?"
The guard hesitated.
Yuto continued speaking.
"The nobles who rule this estate."
His gaze swept across the compound.
"Do they care about you?"
The guard’s jaw tightened.
Yuto continued.
"Do they view you as an equal?"
Silence.
"Would they allow you to sit beside them?"
More silence.
"Would they let you marry into their family?"
The guard looked away.
Yuto’s voice became softer.
"Or are you simply protecting the same system that dehumanizes people like us?"
The words landed heavily.
Several nearby guards shifted uncomfortably.
Even some spectators looked uncertain.
The guard’s face turned red.
"Shut up."
Yuto continued.
"You and I were born beneath them."
"Shut up."
"They look down on both of us."
"SHUT UP!"
The guard suddenly swung.
CRACK!
The punch connected with Yuto’s face.
Pain exploded through his jaw.
His knees struck the ground.
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
Gina screamed.
"YUTO!"
The guard raised his fist again.
But before he could strike—
Several guards grabbed him.
"Enough!"
"Calm down!"
"What are you doing?!"
The furious guard struggled violently.
"He insulted the House!"
"He was provoking you!"
"You can’t strike the prisoner!"
The man continued raging.
Meanwhile Yuto slowly rose to his feet.
Blood dripped from his lip.
Yet he merely smiled.
That smile somehow made the enraged guard even more furious.
Eventually the guards dragged their companion away.
The procession resumed.
This time nobody spoke.
A strange tension hung over the crowd.
At last they reached the center of the compound.
An enormous platform had been erected.
At its center sat a single figure.
Naoto Masaru.
The head of the Masaru House.
The old noble sat in an ornate chair.
Power radiated from him.
Authority.
Status.
Control.
Everything about him proclaimed superiority.
His gaze settled upon Yuto.
The crowd immediately became silent.
Naoto spoke.
"Yuto."
His voice carried throughout the compound.
"You stand accused of the murder of Teki Masaru."
The crowd stirred.
Naoto’s eyes narrowed.
"Are you guilty?"
Silence fell.
Everyone waited.
Yuto met Naoto’s gaze.
Then calmly answered.
"No."
Murmurs spread.
Naoto frowned.
"You deny it?"
"I do."
"Then explain yourself."
Yuto nodded.
"Teki harassed me."
A ripple passed through the crowd.
"He mocked me."
Another ripple.
"He tormented me."
Naoto remained expressionless.
Then Yuto raised his head.
"And he harassed my girl."
His gaze shifted.
He pointed directly toward Gina.
Hundreds of eyes turned toward her.
Gina froze.
Naoto followed Yuto’s finger.
His expression immediately darkened.
"When did the harassment of a filthy peasant become important?"
The statement was delivered casually.
As though discussing weather.
As though Gina’s humanity carried no value whatsoever.
The crowd laughed.
Many nodded in agreement.
Gina’s face paled.
Yuto’s expression became cold.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
He straightened.
His back became perfectly erect.
The easygoing young man disappeared.
In his place stood something else.
Something sharper.
Something dangerous.
When he spoke, his voice carried clearly across the entire compound.
"Fortunately."
The crowd quieted.
"I am not a filthy peasant."
Naoto frowned.
Yuto’s eyes gleamed.
"I am an Ethereal."
A shocked gasp erupted.
"I am a Paragon."
The gasps became louder.
"And I am a Menace."
The entire compound exploded.
"What?!"
"No way!"
"Impossible!"
"He’s lying!"
Shock spread like wildfire.
Even some guards stared in disbelief.
Naoto’s expression finally changed.
For the first time, uncertainty flickered across his face.
Then a voice shouted from the crowd.
"LIAR!"
Silence broke instantly.
"LIAR!"
Another joined. freewebnøvel.coɱ
Then another.
And another.
"Liar!"
"Murderer!"
"Vagabond!"
"Scoundrel!"
"Rat!"
The chants multiplied.
Soon hundreds of voices filled the compound.
"Liar!"
"Murderer!"
"Liar!"
"Vagabond!"
"Liar!"
