Chapter 58

In the Lord's Hall, Gerald was in his seat. Below, stood a small crowd, mostly members of the Tellus family. Harrid and Frederick were near the hall's door. Gerald had allowed the two of them to witness the coming trial.

Suppressed murmurs were coming from his relatives below, while Arthur and Robard stood by his side, silent.

"Have you chosen yet?" Gerald said, his voice echoing through the hall and silencing the murmurs of the crowd.

"Yes, my lord," answered an old man, stepping forward from among Gerald's relatives. Two other men stepped forward beside him, both middle-aged. "The three of us will stand witness to the trial, my lord."

Gerald nodded. "Then step up here. The traitors are soon to arrive."

The old man nodded and ascended onto the platform where Gerald was seated. The two other men followed him.

Gerald nodded to Harrid, and the latter opened the door. A guard came in, leading a woman and a man with chained wrists. He led them towards the platform, and the crowd opened a path for them. The guard stopped right below the platform, dragging the two prisoners and pushing them in front of him. Gerald's eyes would now naturally rest on the pair without having to put any effort into it.

Arthur stepped forward. "Grina Tellus. Estor Tellus. You have been found guilty of treason. Have you anything to say in your defense?"

Estor was dressed in the rags of what Gerald could imagine to have been luxurious garments. Grina's clothes fared better, her dress still intact but as badly smudged with dirt as her face was.

Estor raised his head and mustered some courage. "We've . . . " He gulped and grew silent as all eyes landed on him. He lowered his head again.

"We deny it," Grina's voice rose through the hall. Gone was the croaky, defeated voice of two days ago. Gone was her resigned expression.

Gerald knew that she was aware of her certain demise, but she was here to fight. He knew that she would fight to the last moment.

"How dare you lie in the presence of the Lord?" Arthur said, his voice sharper than Gerald had ever heard it before. "You won't be able to deny it when the Lord's court produces proof of your guilt."

Grina snorted and lowered her head.

Gerald glanced at the three men next to him who were led by the old man. He wanted a full trial, and a full trial involved three neutral men standing witness to the proceedings. They would see the proof the Lord had against the accused, and they would have the right to speak. Later, their testimony would be spread among the people. If the Lord were to mistreat the accused and punish them for untrue crimes, the three witnesses would, supposedly, spread the truth among the people.

Gerald could have put Grina and her brother on closed trial, where only those he allowed to attend would have the right to be here, and there would have been no three witnesses. But he'd chosen to allow all of the family members to attend, and he'd allowed them to choose the three witnesses from among themselves. The whole reason he'd waited this long to act against Grina was to avoid riling his family members. Now he wanted them to witness her absolute guilt.

He glanced at Arthur and nodded.

His minister cleared his throat then spoke with a vigorous voice, "bring them in."

Harrid opened the hall's door again, and a guard came in followed by three men. The three were in commoners' clothes, but defeat instead of poverty was apparent on their faces.

The three men were brought to stand beside the accused. They bowed deeply to Gerald then stood with lowered heads.

"The three of you are former members of the garrison, yes?" Arthur said.

"Yes, my lo—your Excellency," one of the men answered, the other two nodding after him.

"You stand in the presence of the Lord," Arthur announced. "Do you swear to tell the truth and only the truth?"

"We do, your Excellency," the three answered in unison.

"I speak in the Lord's name. And I ask you, did this woman have you, on several occasions, open the gates of Ard during nighttime without the Lord's command?"

One of the men glanced at Grina who glanced back at him sideways. He gulped and looked up, meeting Arthur's eyes. "Yes, your Excellency," he nodded.

The two beside him nodded and echoed the same answer.

The old man from the family cleared his throat and nodded respectfully towards Gerald. "My lord, it is simply the folly of a young woman. She must have wanted to wander the wilderness with some of her guard, nothing more."

Arthur glared at the old man. "The accused is hardly young. And are 100 armed men considered her personal guard?"

The old man stared back at Arthur but he didn't get the chance to retort.

Arthur looked down at the three men again. "Did this woman," he pointed at Grina, "have you open the gates for her and 100 armed men on one of the said occasions?"

"Yes, your Excellency. She did."

"And did she, on other occasions, have you open the gates for some subordinates of hers to leave or enter Ard without her personal presence? Even dragging horses and wagons with them at times?"

"Yes, your Excellency."

Arthur turned to the old man again. "I suppose she was sending her men to do the wandering for her, yes?"

The old man grew silent, glancing down at Grina with pressed lips.

"It is not farfetched to assume that these wagons were used to trade with brigands," Arthur continued, receiving a few glares from the crowd below.

Grina looked up, staring at Gerald as if a long lasting suspicion of hers had been proven. He had expected her to suspect his relation with Gasper's crew sooner or later, and he'd been right, it seemed.

Arthur looked at Gerald, awaiting a gesture. Gerald nodded, and his minister produced a small stack of letters. "These letters have been found in the remains of the Red Rain band's camp. They were sent to Edgar, the captain of the band, by," he spread one of the letters open then read the name from it, "Grina."

"May we see those letters," the old man said.

Arthur nodded and handed him the letters.

The old man took the letters, handing some of them to the two beside him and reading one himself.

"As you can see, the accused exchanged letters with the mercenary captain," Arthur said. "Among those letters, you can find some of their insidious plans for the Viscounty."

"I have sent no such letters, and I have received nothing," Grina said form below.

Arthur graced her with a gaze of scorn and smiled. He looked at the old man. "I suppose you would recognize Grina's writing, yes?"

Gerald had already assumed that the old man knew Grina well. He knew that his minister had likely assumed the same by now. The old man was too adamant in his defense of the siblings. The three members of the family would be expected to handle this matter with absolute scrutiny, but they wouldn't simply attempt to disprove or bend the truths like the old man had done.

The old man was silent for a moment. "I—" he breathed in, as if he'd forgotten to do it before speaking in his haste. "I recognize no such thing. I have rarely seen Grina's writing."

"Many others could recognize it," Arthur said. "And these letters," he produced two other letters, "will certainly prove her guilt." He handed them to the old man.

The old man opened them and his face fell.

"Those are the letters Grina sent to two of her acquaintances recently," Arthur smiled. "We recovered them from people with the good of the Viscounty at heart. You can compare the writing in those two letters to the ones we've found in the mercenaries' camp. It's obvious that the accused didn't even put effort into changing her writing when she sent those letters to the mercenary captain. But she had underestimated the Lord's subordinates." He glanced down at Grina with disdain.

Grina glared up at him. "I have sent no such letters," she pressed her words.

"You have, and you have also received letters from the late captain of the Red Rain band, but you have disposed of them," Arthur said. "More than a fortnight ago, you received and sent letters in the middle of the night on several occasions, do you deny it?"

Grina didn't hesitated. "I do." Then realization dawned upon her face and it paled.

Gerald smirked faintly. What would make Arthur certain that she'd received the letters in the middle of the night? Even if it was to be expected that she would receive them late at night, Arthur wouldn't have mentioned it during the trial unless he was certain of the time. Grina had been late to realize that.

"Bring them in," Arthur shouted.

Harrid opened the door of the hall again, and a guard came in, leading five people into the hall. Among the five, one was a commonly dressed woman and the rest were dilapidated men in rags. The three former members of the garrison were taken away and replaced by the five newcomers, who bowed to Gerald.

Arthur looked at the four homeless men first. "Do you four swear to speak the truth and nothing but the truth?"

"Yes." The four men kept their heads lowered, not once raising their eyes to meet Arthurs'.

"Have you four witnessed letters delivered to and sent from Grina Tellus's manor?" Arthur pointed at Grina.

"We did."

"Aye, we did, lord."

Gerald had arranged for some of Yanna's acquaintances to testify against Grina. He'd wanted her fate sealed without a chance of coming back.

Arthur nodded then looked at the woman that stood beside the four homeless men. Gerald knew her to be one of the manor maids that served Grina. Arthur had surprised him by persuading one of Grina's subordinates to testify against her. Grina had cared for them and their families for years. They had failed to turn any of her subordinates against her for the past several days.

"I swear to tell the truth, your Excellency," the woman said, meeting Arthur's eye before he could lay the question.

The minister nodded then asked, "Twenty-one days ago, did you receive a letter for your mistress at midnight?"

"Yes, your Excellency."

"And what did she tell you after you handed her the letter?" Arthur said.

"She told me to keep the matter discreet and never to mention the letter to anyone, your Excellency."

Arthur nodded, then turned to the old man and smiled. "The matter is sealed, as you can see. The accused are guilty. Unless you believe all of this is coincidence."

The old man's mouth twitched but he didn't speak.

Arthur extended his hand and received the letters from the old man. "The Lord shall now pass his judgment. Does anyone intend to protest the truths presented in this court?"

Silence answered the minister, and he nodded to Gerald, awaiting his words.

"None of this proves my brother's guilt," a voice stopped Gerald before he could speak.

He looked down at Grina and frowned.

Arthur glowered at her and said, "do you deny that your brother was aware of all of your plans."

Grina looked Gerald in the eyes, a certain determination in her gaze.

Arthur, unanswered, fumed. "I speak in the name of the Lord. Answer me when I ask. Do you deny that your brother knew of your plans."

Grina didn't answer him. She kept her eyes fixed on Gerald. "I hope the Lord will keep this matter in mind while passing his judgment. My brother has had no hand in my plans for the Viscounty, and he was not aware of any of the things mentioned today. I'm certain the Lord will be just in his sentence."

Gerald narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. She was forcing him to lessen Estor's sentence, even though he knew the latter was guilty. He hadn't put any effort into finding proof against Estor, as the danger was mainly from Grina.

The old man turned and looked at Gerald, as if waiting for his response.

Gerald glanced at him and gave a faint nod.

Traces of ire were still on Arthur's face but he seemed to suppress them. He straightened himself and said, "the Lord will now pass his judgment. Any protests?"

Silenced embraced the hall again. Then Arthur nodded to Gerald once more.

Now Gerald would decide Grina's fate. She'd finally fallen into his hands, powerless. The thought of ending her life had been on his mind for months now. She had earned it. But he thought otherwise now.

For his plans for the other family members to succeed, he had decided otherwise. Grina would never have any influence again, whether left alive or not. If she ever managed to gain power again, then he would be a fool deserving of what befalls him. He'd imprisoned those who served her from the garrison. He'd imprisoned all of her men. And she was already besmirched with the stain of treason. No one would help her, even her closest friends. None of the members of the family would be foolish enough to try.

But he had to avoid the emergence of another Grina, in his time and in his children's time as well. If he wanted his rule and the rule of his heir after him to be uncontested, he had to declaw his relatives in Ard. He had to do so before building the Viscounty up to what he wished for it to be; otherwise, he would be building it up for others to take. He didn't know if that was the only reason for his change of heart, but he knew that it was enough for him to avoid sentencing her to death.

The silence in the hall grew eerie, and the grim expectations on the faces of the three family witnesses and the crowd below gave a tense air to the court. Gerald breathed out, loudly enough for everyone to hear. Every eye in the hall rested on him in sullen anticipation.

"I pronounce Grina Tellus guilty of treason," Gerald said, staring down at her. "And my sentence is imprisonment for life. All possessions of the traitor will be seized by the Viscounty."

Grina's eyes widened in surprise, and she looked at him twice as if ascertaining what she'd heard by observing his face.

A sigh of relief came from the old man upon hearing the sentence. A lot of faces relaxed at Gerald's words. And that's what he wanted. He wanted them to feel at ease. If he was going to straighten the affairs of his house, he couldn't do it with blood. His family would forever stay his family. He had to handle things softly but swiftly.

"I pronounce Estor Tellus guilty by sippenhaft," Gerald said. If he couldn't directly implicate Estor then he could simply sentence him for being the family of a traitor. He would lighten his sentence considerably though, enough to show the rest of the family his lenience. "He will be released from the castle's dungeons and allowed to return to the manor, but he will henceforth be kept under guard and confined to his home. All his possessions of the sentenced, aside from the manor, shall be seized as well."

Grina broke from her unbelieving expression into a smile. She looked at Estor who looked back at her disbelievingly. Gerald watched the two of them share a final moment of joy.

Estor would never meet his sister again. No one would ever meet her again, Gerald would make sure of it. She would only see the dungeon guards for the rest of her life.

..

Gerald's court was soon emptied, and the siblings were taken away. Grina would be sent to the dungeons, while her brother would be sent back to the manor to stay under the scrutiny of his guards.

Only his two aides stayed in the hall after everyone had left. Even Harrid and Frederick had been told to leave the hall.

Robard had been silent since the beginning of the trial, but his silence was one of satisfaction. He nodded to Gerald. "My lord. I shall take my leave to do your bidding."

Gerald nodded back. "You have your leave."

His knight soon left.

Arthur faced Gerald and said, "are you certain of your sentence, my lord? Did you leave her alive to reassure your relatives?"

Gerald cleared his throat. "Yes. Have you prepared everything?"

"Yes, my lord," his minister nodded. "Old Han has already been informed. By the end of the next month, there will not be a single Tellus remaining in the garrison. Old Han will relieve them of their duties."

"Good," he smiled. "Robard will be isolating any ones in the army. It won't be as easy to remove them from his ranks. They have fought and bled for the Viscounty after all, but they will be kept under scrutiny and eventually let go."

He wouldn't harm his family, even if he hadn't grown up among its members. Even if they didn't have faith in him.

He wouldn't harm them, yes. But if he were to choose between the stability of his rule and their goodwill, he would sacrifice the latter without hesitation. They had to be removed from every position of power, or there would always be a risk. A risk he wasn't willing to bear.