My Most Precious Human
Chapter 35

I panted heavily and my head was spinning. It took me a few seconds to comprehend my situation. Sariel kept looking straight into my eyes while stroking my hands with his long fingertips. "You did well," he whispered and smirked.

He stood up, letting go of my hands. He certainly looked pleased while I stayed to wonder what had exactly happened. I looked around the courtroom. Almost half of the council members had their mouths oper in a deep state of shock. The other half was calling out outraged statements towards the Adragnas. I looked at the defendants. I saw them restrained by the guards, writhing in a rage and sending me murderous glares.

"It's a trick! It's a mind trick! Duke Calvet made her say it or she made it up herself!" the ex-Marquess yelled, foaming at his mouth.

"W-what is going on?" I nervously grabbed Sariel by the edge of his sleeve.

"You said everything you recalled out loud," he said, shrugging as if it was a completely normal thing to do.

"I did... what?" I mumbled, still processing.

"The Marquess raised an important issue. How can we be certain that the whole testimony wasn't prepared in advance? Not to mention that we don't know who the other man from the conversation was!" Judge Connor called out while sending me a look of disdain.

Sariel chuckled as if the judge had said the exact words he wanted him to say.

"Shall we meet him then?" he asked, his face maliciously grinning.

"M-meet who?" Judge Connor muttered as if he had forgotten his previous words.

"The negotiator from Randall D'Apolito's pack, Brian Myers," Sariel announced loudly and snapped his fingers.

On his sign, the door opened, and Mr. Gotha walked in with another man in shackles. I gasped, seeing the same blonde-haired man I saw while recalling the night of the auction. Loud comments arose as Mr. Gotha dragged the prisoner in front of the judges' lodge. Henri Adragna enragedly gritted his teeth. It seemed obvious that he knew exactly who that man was.

Brian Myers didn't seem like he was tortured. There was no serious bruising on his body, and yet he was trembling in fear. I had never seen a werewolf terrified of anything, and this man seemed completely broken. He resembled a weak human. Was he really a werewolf? I tried to sniff his scent, but I felt almost nothing, except for his fearful sweat.

"Introduce yourself!" Mr. Gotha roared at the blonde-haired man.

"I'm... B-Brian Myers... from... from the Southern Woods Pack..." he mumbled.

"Who is your Alpha?" Sariel questioned.

He flinched at the sound of his voice. He acted like a mere coward. I had never met a wolf so stripped of his dignity.

"R-Randall D'Apolito," he mumbled.

His confession stirred up agitated murmurs. A smirk of satisfaction kept growing on Sariel's face.

"He smells nothing like a dog! Can we really trust Duke Calvet's words?! For me, it looks like he brought another dirty human in front of our Great Council!" Judge Connor spit venom while trying to sound like a righteous preacher.

I guessed vampires couldn't smell him exactly like I couldn't. I gazed at Sariel, but his expression was even more confident than before.

"I suppose you've never heard of odorless werewolves?" Sariel sneered, "Among the wolves, there is a special mutation that appears in less than one percent of the werewolf population. Their scents are almost undetectable. Since the vampire senses are highly sensitive, they use simple herbs, and that is all they need to do to hide their existence. That makes those with a mutation perfect to become spies," he explained.

I looked at this blonde wolf. I would have expected him to roar and struggle, trying to break his chains, but he stood still while feverishly glancing at Mr. Gotha and Sariel, as if he was begging them for mercy. What kind of torture made him like this?

"Was this the man you saw in the flashes of your memory?" Sariel asked me, pointing at the prisoner.

"Yes. He was the one negotiating with Thomas Dorwart," I said, looking Brian up and down.

As soon as I opened my mouth, that weak wolf snapped. He jumped up, pulling out his claws, ready to charge my way.

"Traitor!" He spat viciously in my direction, "How can you betray your- "

Mr. Gotha punched him in the face, knocking him out onto the floor before he could finish his words. My heart almost burst out of my chest. I could not express, how grateful I was to Sariel's aid for doing it. The last thing I wanted was to let all of those vampires know that I was the daughter of that man's Alpha. Nonetheless, I cautiously looked around, making sure that no one would like to ask what the prisoner meant Fortunately, they couldn't care less about the werewolf's uproar. I heaved a sigh of relief.

"There's still an issue with our precious witness's truthfulness. A call for the leading judge to check it herself." Duke Orseolo smiled coldly.

I gulped. I had already seen what the process of checking looked like, and I genuinely didn't want my head to be put in the main judge's hands. Her mojo clearly worked like an electroshock device! "What if she fries my brain?!" I panicked inside my head.

I gazed pleadingly at Sariel, but he didn't share an ounce of my anxieties.

"Fine. Your Honor may see for herself if the witness is lying or not," he said indifferently.

I flinched at Sariel's words.

"No... He was supposed to protect me... It can't be true, can it?" My thoughts went hectic.

Sariel grabbed my hand and pulled me from the witness's chair. I looked at him, scared and confused, but his face remained emotionless. I instinctively resisted, trying to release myself from his grip. Even though I knew my weak muscle power would not affect him at all, I did it. I just felt like I had to do something.

"No!" I called out, my weak voice hardly reaching his ears.

He didn't even look at me. He dragged me right in front of the main judge.

"Do your thing, and get over with it," he said coldly.

A strange kind of confusion painted on the female judge's face. It looked like she wasn't as eager to test me as everyone else in the room was. She glanced at Sariel hesitantly.

"Are you certain about it, Duke Calvet?" she asked.

"Yes, if it allays the doubts, then go ahead." His words rang in my ears with a sound filled with cruelty.

"That surprised me, Duke Calvet. You care so little for your employee?" Duke Orseolo chuckled nervously.

It sounded like he was convinced that Sariel would never jeopardize my life just to prove something in front of the court.

"As the New Argent City's protector, I wish for nothing more than to punish those who betray our kind," he stated calmly, then looked at me, "and she is nothing but a mere human. Do I have a reason to care about her?" He smirked coldly.

My body began to tremble. I realized that I could have been deceived by him in the most spiteful way. I did everything he needed me to do. He even hypnotized me and made me dig in my mind to find what he wanted. Now, I was no longer needed, and it looked like this was his way of abandoning me. The ends justify the means, and only then did I realize how foolish I was to believe him.

"You promised..." I muttered softly, forcing Sariel to look me in the eyes.

He didn't spare a single glance at me or say a word. He just pushed me forward into the hands of the main judge, then walked back to his seat. I gulped.

"Close your eyes, sweety," the female judge whispered while placing her hands on each side of my head.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I trembled in fear, awaiting the agonizing pain. My heart throbbed frantically. I prayed that it would be a single strike that would make me unconscious. I anticipated it coming for long seconds until I heard the female judge gasp. I cautiously opened my eyes. The judge was looking into my eyes, slightly flustered.

She cleared her throat. "She was telling the truth," she declared, taking her hands off of my head.

I nearly collapsed. I couldn't believe that I was safe and sound, and apparently, neither could the other judges.

"What happened?" Duke Orseolo hissed, clearly unsatisfied with the fact that I wasn't hurt. "How can a mere human survive your test, Judge Calvet?!" he roared angrily.

I gazed at her, confused.

"Did he just call her Calvet? Her name is Calvet, like the Duke?!" I tried to process this fact in my head.

She smirked at me, then replied to Duke Orseolo, "It's because she's a human that she survived. Her mind hasn't resisted me, unlike the vampire mind." She shrugged.

My hands kept trembling while I wondered if it was just like she said. If for some reason, she lied to protect me, I would owe her my life. I turned my head towards Sariel. A slight smile painted his face. Was it al an act? Did he know it would turn out like this?

"Guards!" Judge Calvet called out loud, "Lead Ms. Leber back to the witness seat."

Two guards rushed my way. They cautiously grabbed my hands, letting me slightly lean on them while walking on my swaying feet. Sariel looked closely at each of their moves as if he was once again concerned about my well-being.

"It seems that we have no more issues to solve." Judge Calvet smirked, looking at the other judges.

They all silently agreed, although at least two of them didn't seem too satisfied with everything that had happened.

"As for the wolf, since he was a bit helpful at the court session, grant him a quick death," said Judge Calvet, pointing at the still unconscious Brian Myers.

As the split of the second, the guards that just led me to my place pulled up the prisoner's body and twisted his neck, nearly ripping his head off. Then they tossed his dead body onto the floor. The whole room showed absolutely no emotions when it happened.

"As for the Adragnas..." Judge Calvet continued as if the execution from a few seconds ago had never taken place, "The evidence presented at this court proved they were guilty of planning treason, which is enough for the death sentence. I call for a vote."

Judge Calvet's voice seemed indifferent on the surface, but one could sense a hint of bitter satisfaction. If she truly was a member of Sariel's family, it would have been obvious that she wanted those who once attacked her home punished, just like Sariel.

The members of the Great Council voted. Nearly the whole room wanted Adragnas dead. I couldn't tell if it was because they were deeply outraged by their betrayal, or because they didn't dare go against Sariel. No matter what it was, the Duke got what he wanted.

Judge Calvet smiled coldly, looking at the defendants' aggravated desperation, "The Great Council has spoken. The whole Adragna family shall be sentenced to death by cutting out their hearts and dismemberment of their bodies." A murderous grin appeared on her face.

"No! No! You cannot do this! I curse you! I curse you all!" Henri Marquess cried out in fury.

The guards dragged the entire family out of the courtroom, ignoring their roars and moans. Only a few members showed their concern, but it merely stayed in their expressions. No one spoke on the Adragnas' behalf. I guess they were afraid that they would join them...

"The Great Council's session is now closed. The members are dismissed," Judge Calvet cheerfully declared.

I sighed. At least those hateful bastards would get what they deserved.

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