I'm Trapped Inside a Prince as the Most Powerful Entity-Chapter 83: Twisting Testimonies

The golden-armored Imperial soldier walked across the floor of the Council Meeting Ring Room. His steps were quiet. He reached Emperor Sir David’s throne. He bowed low and presented the broken sword piece and the small magical crystal.

Emperor Sir David looked at the items. His blue eyes were steady. He picked up the sword hilt first. He turned it over in his hands. It was a normal sword, well-made but not special. It did not tell him much.

He placed it on the armrest of his throne. His attention then moved to the magical crystal. A faint light pulsed inside it. Sir David held it carefully.

He focused for a moment. A bit of his own power flowed into the crystal. The crystal brightened. An image appeared above it. It was like a small, moving picture.

The image was a little shaky. It showed Prince Eric. His face was serious. His hand was out. A flash of bright energy shot from his sword. It hit a figure that was partly hidden but looked like the First Prince of Roland.

The figure stumbled back. Then the recording stopped. It was very short, only a few seconds long.

The Emperor watched it once. Then he watched it again. His face showed no emotion. He knew how these recordings from memory worked. The Roland Kingdom had been clever.

They did not record the whole event when it happened. That would have needed a special device. Instead, this short clip was taken from the First Prince’s memory by a magician.

This was a common magic skill. But the spell only worked well for a few hours after an event. If too many days passed, the memories were not clear enough for the spell. This meant Roland had acted fast to save this "evidence."

King Noor IV watched the recording. His heart felt heavy. He did not expect Roland to have such direct-looking evidence. It was clear they wanted Eric punished. He saw the other kings and representatives talking quietly among themselves.

Their eyes moved between the image, Eric, and him. The room felt tense. He knew he had to speak. He had to tell their side of the story. This short clip made Eric look like the attacker.

King Noor took a deep breath. He raised his hand a little. It was a formal way to ask to speak.

Emperor Sir David looked from the crystal to King Noor. He nodded slowly. This meant King Noor could speak. The quiet talking in the room stopped. All eyes turned to the King of Estoria.

King Noor looked at his son, Eric. Then he looked at Alina, who was shaking beside Eric. He tried to look calm and sure of himself. "Your Imperial Majesty, respected rulers," he began. His voice was clear.

"What you just saw is not the whole story. My son, Prince Eric, did not attack without reason. He was in the Roland Kingdom, and met the First Prince, because he was on a rescue mission."

He paused. He wanted them to understand his words. "My son went to that place to rescue citizens of his kingdom. They had been kidnapped by the criminal group called the Spider Syndicate. During this rescue, the First Prince of the Roland Kingdom also came to that place. What happened next was a sad misunderstanding because the situation was tense."

Emperor David listened. His face was still hard to read. When King Noor finished, the Emperor tilted his head a little.

"Kidnapped citizens? The Spider Syndicate?" he asked. His voice was loud and carried authority. Something like surprise or doubt showed on his face.

"King Noor, these are serious claims. Do you have proof for this story? Proof that your son was on a rescue mission, and that the Spider Syndicate was there?"

King Noor felt nervous, but he did not show it. He had expected this question. "Your Imperial Majesty," he said, "I do. We have a witness who can tell you these facts." He turned and pointed gently towards Alina.

All eyes in the room now looked at the young woman beside Prince Eric. Alina had been very nervous since they entered the palace. Now, she looked very scared. So many powerful rulers with serious faces were looking at her. It was too much. She held Eric’s arm tighter. Her knuckles were white. She swallowed. Her mouth was dry.

"Speak, child," Emperor David said. His voice was not mean, but it was firm.

Alina took a shaky breath. She looked up at the Emperor, then quickly looked down. She forced herself to look at him again. "Your... Your Imperial Majesty," she started. Her voice was small and shaky. But it got a little stronger as she spoke.

"My name is Alina. My... my family, my parents and my younger brother, they were kidnapped from our city. The Spider Syndicate took them."

She stopped for another breath. "I... I was very worried. I went to the capital city. I asked Prince Eric for help. He agreed to help me find my parents. Our search, the things we found, led us to the Roland Kingdom. We found out that the Spider Syndicate’s main base, where they kept my family and others, was in the Roland Kingdom." She looked around the room. She felt a little braver now. "And there, at that base, we saw many soldiers... soldiers from the Roland Kingdom. They were working with the Spider Syndicate people."

Suddenly, people in the council room started talking and gasping in surprise. Kings looked at each other. Some looked shocked. Some looked interested. A few looked like they did not believe her. The claim that Roland soldiers were working with a criminal gang like the Spider Syndicate was a big one.

Before the talking could stop, King James of the Roland Kingdom stood up fast. His face was red with anger. He raised his hand high. "Your Imperial Majesty!" he said loudly. His voice was full of anger.

Emperor David looked at him. His face did not change. He nodded once.

"Your Imperial Majesty, members of this council," King James started. His voice was full of scorn. He pointed at Alina. "This is a lie! A complete lie! Everyone in this room knows that the Spider Syndicate’s main base is not, and never was, in the Roland Kingdom! Their main base is far away, in the Kingdom of Koli!"

He paused. He wanted his words to have an effect. "The Koli Kingdom themselves told us this information some time ago. They found it after their own work. It is known by everyone! To say their main base is in Roland is a trick. It is to lie to this council and to make my kingdom look bad!"

King Noor himself felt surprised. Then, a bad feeling came over him. What King James said about the Koli announcement was true. All the royal families, even the Emperor, had heard the news a few weeks ago. The Kingdom of Koli had said they found the main leadership place of the Spider Syndicate in their own country.

This official news from Koli made Alina’s claim about the main base being in Roland sound wrong. It could make her whole story seem like a lie.

King James was not done. His eyes looked angry as he stared at Alina. "And this so-called witness," he said the word with disgust, "I have proof that will show her lies! It will show how King Noor is trying to trick you all!"

He turned his head a little. He looked behind him, at Captain Thomas who was near the door. His son, the First Prince, who was beside him, also nodded a little. Thomas understood. He turned and walked out of the council room for a moment. Then he came back. He was leading a man in front of him.

The man wore simple, old clothes. He looked nervous and sad. His eyes moved around the big room with fear. He kept his head down. Eric thought he looked familiar.

This man was one of the soldiers who had worked for Baron Noble. Adam, using Eric’s body, had let him live some time ago at the Baron’s house. He had run away. Eric had not thought about him since. Seeing him here, as a witness for Roland, was a big shock.

King James looked at the shaking man. "Tell the Emperor," he ordered. His voice was sharp. "Tell this council the truth."

The man flinched. He bowed his head even lower. "Your... Your Imperial Majesty," he stuttered. His voice was very quiet, but everyone in the silent room could hear him. "This girl," he pointed towards Alina but did not look at her, "she is lying. Her parents... they were not kidnapped by the Spider Syndicate."

He took a shaky breath. He looked nervously at King James. King James gave him a small nod, as if to tell him to keep going. "Instead," the man continued, "a noble from our kingdom, Baron Noble, the man I worked for... or, used to work for... he kidnapped them. It was something personal for the Baron."

He paused again. He seemed to be trying to find courage. "The Third Prince, Prince Eric himself," he pointed a shaking finger at Eric, "he rescued them from the Baron’s house. He... he killed all the soldiers who were there. And he even killed Baron Noble." The man’s voice broke. "I was very scared. I was afraid for my own life after seeing him kill so many people. So, I ran away from my post, from my kingdom. I ran towards the next kingdom, towards Roland. I was looking for safety."

His next words came out in a rush, as if he was very scared.

"But the Third Prince, he even followed me! He came after me across the border into the Roland Kingdom! He wanted to kill me, to stop me from telling anyone what he did! I somehow got away deeper into Roland. But when the border soldiers of the Roland Kingdom tried to stop the Third Prince, when they tried to ask him why he was there without permission, he... he attacked them! He killed all the border soldiers who were there!" The man wrung his hands. His voice was full of fake fear. "I could not see much more after that. I was too scared for my life. So, I ran away from there as fast as I could!"

The man finished his story. His shoulders were bent. He still looked at the floor. The room was completely silent for a long moment. The weight of his story pressed down on everyone. It especially pressed down on King Noor, Eric, and Alina. King James, however, had a small, winning smile on his face. His plan was working.