One-Shot Transmigration: Sorry I'm Here To Ruin Your Happy Ever After-Chapter 125: The trial(5)

But beneath his calm look, a storm churned.

Each insult landed like a blade.

Each sneer pushed against the very limit of his restraint.

Each mention of Kaizar twisted the grief and longing already eating him alive.

He had endured the slaughter of his family.

He had endured one month of silence.

He had endured not knowing whether Min-jae was alive or dead.

But this...

this open, gleeful humiliation...

It made something dark burn in his chest.

Governor Kyren watched him quietly from across the row, he, at least, offered no mockery. His expression held a flicker of pity.

But pity meant nothing right now.

A magistrate raised his voice, pulling attention back toward the dais.

"The accused has until the bell tolls."

The heavy bell tolled once. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

A rustle moved through the hall.

The magistrate lifted the parchment again. "If the accused does not arrive by the final..."

BANG

The great doors slammed open so hard they struck the stone walls.

Gasps erupted.

Heads whipped toward the entrance.

Guards reached for their weapons.

Every whisper, every insult, every smug assumption...

Died. Instantly.

Because there he was.

Kaizar Amagi.

Min-jae stepped into the hall.

His boots hit the marble with sharp, echoing steps, breath coming faster than he meant to show.

Not that he noticed.

He was too focused on one thing:

This felt unreal.

He’d made it.

He was here.

He wasn’t running anymore.

Min-jae stepped inside and nothing about him was plain. His hair was freshly trimmed, jaw smooth from the shave Saar had practically bullied out of that terrified barber.

His clothes were sharp, tailored, the fabric catching the light in a way that made it clear: this was quality, this was deliberate, this was someone who walked in ready to be seen.

He didn’t look like a disgraced fugitive.

He looked like a man walking straight into fate.

A noble woman whispered sharply, "He actually came..."

"Gods... he looks elegant...."

"Where did he even..."

The noise blurred.

Min-jae could only hear the sound of his own heartbeat pounding behind his ribs.

He scanned the hall slowly.

Deliberately.

Smiling faintly at every noble who had dared to speak ill of him.

Then...

His gaze found Meical.

And everything inside him stopped.

Meical sat frozen among the governors, rigid as stone, eyes wide, breath leaving him in a trembling exhale he couldn’t hold back.

A month of grief.

A month of not knowing.

A month of thinking the worst.

All of it was laid bare in the look on his face.

Relief.

Disbelief.

Pain.

Joy.

Love.

Fear.

All tangled together, flooding so raw it nearly shattered Min-jae’s composure.

Min-jae’s fists curled at his sides.

Not out of fear.

But out of resolve.

I’ll prove it. I’ll prove everything.

Not just for me...but for Meical.

He deserved to have a spouse he could brag about.

Radomir’s eyes widened, then narrowed. His lips raising into a small smile.

Kaizar was more beautiful than the last time he saw him. A little darker in complexion but it didn’t hide his beauty.

Seraphine’s smile faltered as she clenched her fists under the table.

Today, today she would sleep peacefully knowing Kaizar’s head would be buried next to his body.

And Meical...

Meical’s knees almost buckled.

A tear clung to the edge of his lashes, refusing to fall.

He whispered, voice cracking despite himself..

"...Kaizar."

After one long month, he could see his beloved once again and he had lost so much weight and his fair and rosy skin has gone dark.

Still he was the most beautiful man in the room.

The court official cleared his throat shakily, breaking the silence.

"W-with the accused now present... the proceedings may begin."

All eyes turned to Kaizar Amagi.

And Min-jae lifted his chin...ready to tear Seraphine’s empire of lies apart, piece by piece.

The official swallowed, straightened his parchment, and forced authority back into his trembling voice.

"By order of the High Court.." he declared, "we begin the full hearing concerning the charges brought against Kaizar Amagi."

The hall settled into a tight, brittle silence.

Min-jae walked to the center of the chamber, his steps steady now, the earlier rush of breath quieting as the weight of the moment wrapped around him like armor.

The magistrates rose in sequence for the formal introductions.

"Presiding over this trial.." the herald announced, "His Eminence, Radomir Volkovich Dragomirov, Supreme Adjudicator of the land."

Radomir’s gaze slammed into Min-jae’s, a challenge simmering beneath the surface. Min-jae met it with a cool, calculating stare, his eyes saying, "bring it on"

"Next.." the herald continued, "the governors of the four regions."

One by one, the governors stood.

The East.

The West.

The North.

And finally....

"Governor of the South, Meical Vukasin."

Meical rose slowly.

His composure was impeccable... from a distance.

Up close, he was fracturing.

His hands trembled behind his back. His throat bobbed. His lashes were still wet. He tried to hold himself with the dignity expected of his post, but standing there before his husband, it was impossible to mask the storm beneath the surface.

The whispers returned, meaner this time, emboldened by the earlier delay:

"Of course he’s emotional...it’s his spouse on trial."

"Imagine being tied to something like that."

"No wonder he didn’t show up before. Shame runs deep."

"Disgusting, the both of them.."

A few snickered openly.

Someone coughed a slur behind a gloved hand.

Min-jae didn’t speak but his eyes sharpened like a blade drawn from its sheath.

He heard every word, filed every voice and remembered every face.

The herald continued quickly, desperate to drown the cruelty with protocol.

"The Court Officers overseeing the evidence: Magistrates Lywen, Otrev, and Halden. And representing the Treasury in regard to the financial misconduct claims..."

A tall official stepped forward with a bow.

"Chief Auditor Miraz."

"And at last.." the herald raised his voice, "the accuser — Seraphine from house of Arvem."

Seraphine rose with perfect grace.

A picture of poise.

A picture of false virtue.

She offered a bow to Radomir, then turned her eyes to Min-jae.