The King's Mistress

Chapter 140: Law And Order

She got up to her feet and raised her hand. The throne room was filled with so much chatter, when she tried to speak, Sierra could not even hear herself. Lord Wimbly tried unsuccessfully to get the spectators of the court to simmer down.

Annoyed, he slammed the gavel against the sound block, a solid piece of wood.

"Order! Order!" He yelled.

With this, the spectators all simmered down and turned their attention to the court session that was about to begin before their eyes. Amongst the spectators were the princesses who had taken part in the concubine choosing.

Since the spectators were mostly made out of nobles and royals, there were no seats for the castle staff or common folk. Through her connections, Ida managed to find her way into the royal throne room. She stood at the far end, hidden behind lines of spectators.

She nervously clasped her hands together, praying for Sierra.

"She’s innocent, she’s going to make it through this," she repeated over and over again to herself.

Her breath was shakey as the throne room quietened down, signaling the beginning of the trial. Ida glanced up, still holding her hands together. She craned her neck to listen.

"Your honor, may I request for my chains to be removed? As I am to defend myself, I believe I should at the very least have the use of my hands," she requested nicely.

Lord Wimbly was surprised by his request. He did not know how to react. He glanced over to King Alistair and Queen Roxine, in hopes they would be able to give him some guidance.

They gave him a nod.

Lord Wimbly returned his gaze to Sierra, "Very well. Guards, remove the princess’s chains."

Conversation erupted in the throne room once more. Some were afraid of what Sierra might do. Would she attempt to assassinate the king again? Perhaps she would take the opportunity to escape.

Sierra whispered a word of thanks to the guards who removed her chains. She could see the redness on her skin from where the cuffs had rubbed against her skin. Hearing what the spectators had to say made her angry. But she reminded herself to remain calm.

Every action she took from the moment she stepped into the throne room was closely monitored. It could either paint her negatively, or affect her positively. If she was to walk out a free woman, she would need all the positive points she could get.

Firing the defense who was supposed to help her already left a negative impression.

"How cocky can she be?" freewebnoveℓ.com

"She’s going to defend herself? How is that even possible!"

But Sierra knew there was no point keeping the man. He wanted her to plead guilty for a lighter sentence. That was something she would never do. Not when she was innocent.

Lord Wimbly called for the attention of the court once more.

"We’ve gathered here today to discuss the case regarding the recent assassination attempt on King Alistair’s life. Princess Sierra of Cair had been named the prime suspect of this case and therefore she stands trial today for the crime."

Lord Wimbly looked over to Sierra, "Princess Sierra, please take the stand."

Sierra got up to her feet and walked up front.

"Princess Sierra, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty."

Gasps and shocked responses reverberated through the throne room. Myra and Taita looked on with a small smile. They knew Sierra had a strong fighting spirit. They knew she was going to fight it.

"Very well. Let us commence our session in court. Prosecutor, make your opening statement and call for your first witness," Lord Wimbly declared.

Sierra returned to her seat as the prosecutor stepped forward to present his case. Sierra listened intently, taking in every piece of information she could gather from her opponent.

Similar to a fight on the battlefield, the first step was to understand her enemy. Once she could fully grasp their strengths and witnesses, she would be able to strike.

The first witness the prosecutor called for was Princess Agnes. This was within Sierra’s expectation. She leaned back in her seat as Princess Agnes got up from her seat amongst the spectators. She made her way across the room to take her seat on the witness stand.

Sierra kept her eyes on her the entire time. The scenes of what had happened just the night before replayed in her mind. Though she did her best to push it to the back of her mind, it was not always effective.

It took everything in Sierra to hold herself back. She wanted to climb out of her seat and tear the scheming princess apart. The look of ’fear’ in Princess Agnes’ eyes was anything but genuine. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

She was going to put on a show for all of them. Before she was allowed to speak, Princess Agnes was to take an oath. She swore to only speak the truth but Sierra knew better than anyone that lies were bound to come out of her mouth.

"Princess Agnes, you’ve interacted with Princess Sierra before, yes?"

"Y... yes, yes I have," Agnes replied in a shaky voice, as if she was cowering in fear.

Sierra wanted to glare at her, but she knew better. Doing so would only make it look as if she was attempting to intimidate her. So, she looked off into the distance instead. But every so often, she would glance over at her.

The pitiful display that Agnes was putting on was irksome.

Through her testimony, Sierra was painted to be a scary and horrible person to be around. According to Princess Agnes, Sierra not only threatened her on multiple occasions, but she also bullied the other princesses.

"... but everyone was afraid to stand up to her." She ended her false tale with that.

"Why’s that?" The prosecutor asked.

"Haven’t you seen the way she fights? The accuracy of her bow skills, the way she wields her swords. She’s more like an assassin than a princess!"

Sierra got up to her feet, "Objection. That’s not a statement, that’s hearsay."